Before Sonia could fully understand the meaning behind Charlie's words, he had already reached out and gently tapped her shoulder. In that instant, Sonia felt her previously sealed sixth meridian completely open! Her cultivation immediately broke through into the six-star warrior rank. Every advancement in a small realm brought a refreshing feeling, and Sonia clearly sensed the changes within herself. She was instantly overwhelmed with excitement, unable to control her tears of joy. Just a few minutes ago, she was feeling frustrated and desperate about her future cultivation, but Charlie had so generously opened her sixth meridian for her. To be clear, even if Charlie hadn't sealed her three meridians, she still wouldn't have reached the stage of breakthrough to a six-star warrior yet. Even though she was in the late stages of becoming a five-star warrior, it would have taken at least a few more years to make a breakthrough. What Charlie did not only removed the shackles on
At ten o'clock in the morning, a private jet converted from a Boeing 747-8 landed at Aurous Airport. Once Julien, heir of the Rothschild family, and his entourage had arrived, customs clearance was completed as quickly as possible. The family's staff stationed in Oskia had been waiting for his arrival. Although it was unknown when Julien would be in power, for them, he was the second-in-command of the family, so they treated him with great respect. As Julien left the airport, a Cadillac convoy was parked outside. These vehicles were all ordered by the Rothschild family from the United States, featuring the same models as those used by the president. Although they didn't appear as extravagant and luxurious as Rolls-Royce cars, each of these vehicles costs much more than a Rolls-Royce Phantom. In fact, the old money families had already abandoned Rolls-Royce a long time ago. Nowadays, Rolls-Royce wonders were more often young second-generation rich individuals or those who su
After the convoy pulled into the parking lot, more than a dozen bodyguards in black suits came down immediately and surrounded Julien's car with a professional stance as they looked around vigilantly. One of the men walked toward Heaven Springs, and Albert walked out to meet him at the same time. The man scanned the surroundings like a CIA agent and whispered into the microphone of the walkie-talkie he was wearing, "Everyone, stay where you are and stay alert!" Albert had already stood in front of him by the time he finished speaking. The man looked at Albert and asked, "Are you the manager of the restaurant?" If Charlie hadn't informed Albert about the guest today, Albert would probably have been intimidated by the man and his posture. However, Albert already knew Julien's identity and his next trip to his dog kennel, so he didn't take the man seriously at all and sneered contemptuously, "Manager? Hah! I own this place!" After that, he raised his eyebrows and asked the man
Charlie nodded with a smile and said, "Come on, Julien, have a seat." Julien stared at the large round table with over a dozen seats in front of him and suddenly felt a bit unsure.He wasn't very familiar with Oskian dining etiquette. The table was truly massive—if he were to sit directly across from Charlie, they'd likely have to raise their voices to talk. However, with such a large table and so many empty seats, if he were to deliberately sit close to Charlie, it would come across as overly ingratiating. Just as Julien was at a loss about what to do, Charlie patted the seat to his right and said with a smile, "Sit here, Julien. This table is too big, and sitting too far apart feels distant. Let's just sit a bit closer—it makes things feel friendlier." Julien quickly nodded and sat down next to Charlie. Charlie then pointed to the empty seat next to Julien and said to Albert, "Albert, sit next to Julien. It's better to get to know each other." Albert nodded. "Okay, Mr. W
Charlie said with a smile, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't think I'm intentionally trying to make things hard for you—this is just our tradition. At the start of a banquet, everyone drinks three glasses together." Charlie wasn't lying to Julien. The custom of starting with three drinks was common across most Oskian banquets. However, depending on the region and the average drinking capacity, the type of alcohol and the size of the glasses could vary. For those with high tolerance, it was three glasses of strong liquor with each glass holding at least 50 milliliters. For those with a lower tolerance, it was three glasses of regular beer with each glass holding at least 150 milliliters. Julien knew that Charlie would not lie to him, but he was still a little confused and mumbled, "I... I have also accepted banquets from Oskians, but... but I have never drunk like this." Charlie smiled and said, "Given your status, I bet the people who've hosted you in the past wouldn
"You're looking for someone?" Charlie raised his eyebrows upon hearing Julien's remarks and, with a faintly amused expression, curiously asked, "What kind of person would require an heir as wealthy as yourself to personally come to Oskia? Could it be that you're searching for a long-lost younger son of your family?" Julien chuckled and replied, "You must be kidding, Mr. Wade. Our family values bloodlines above all else—there's no way we could have any lost lineage out there." Lowering his voice intentionally, Julien spoke seriously, "You might have heard that when the American president travels, even a single strand of hair or a drop of saliva must be collected and taken away by designated personnel. The same goes for our family men—every bit of sperm, how it's used, and with whom we spend the night, must be accounted for. Even what's left in the condom is meticulously collected and taken away. Anyone daring to father an illegitimate child outside the family becomes a public enem
After saying that, Julien looked up at Charlie, his expression suddenly turning a bit uneasy. He quickly added, "Please don't misunderstand me. What I said has nothing to do with anyone here, especially not you." Charlie smirked and said, "Your words seem to have a hidden meaning. Are you implying that I've bullied your family?" "No!" Julien hurriedly replied. "Absolutely not!" Julien, taking advantage of the fact that they were already drinking, decided to pour himself a full glass, downed it in one gulp, and, emboldened by the alcohol, said with a grievance-filled tone, "Mr. Wade, there's no one else here, so let me speak from the heart. Your sending Helena back to New York to make a comeback really put me in a tough spot! I personally went to bring Helena over, and what you originally told me wasn't like this at all. You said that if I helped you, my father would be so shocked that I would be named the successor to the family head. But I never expected you to have Helena deliv
Charlie calmly said, "You and I have direct contact, but your father doesn't. Whether in theory or practice, you are closer to me. If it weren't for your lack of sincerity, why would I bypass you and have Helena establish an indirect connection with your father on my behalf?" "Think about it this way. If you were the owner of a supermarket and you noticed that the person living across the street chose not to shop at your store but instead went to a more distant one, you wouldn't blame the customer. Instead, you'd have to reflect on your own shortcomings. Either others offer something you don't, or you're overpriced compared to them, or you provide inferior service despite similar pricing. If you don't examine yourself, you can't simply block the customer and ask why they didn't shop with you, can you?" "You're absolutely right, Mr. Wade..." Julien nodded repeatedly in shame. "From now on, I'll be 100% honest with you without the slightest bit of concealment." "We'll see." Charlie
Bitterness swelled in Elaine's heart as she really didn't think that Matilda was doing so well for herself.The fact that Matilda was worth millions alone made her far superior.At the same time, she was also rejoicing that she had never actually met Matilda. If Matilda asked how she was doing directly, how would she respond?In the end, Matilda was no Hannah Queen.Elaine would actually feel accomplished if she compared herself to Hannah.On the other hand, Matilda eclipsed Elaine in every way—she was more beautiful, kind, smart, and knowledgeable. Even her figure left Elaine dead in the water!It was as pointless as comparing a hen to a peacock!Whenever she thought of her, she could comfort herself that she had stolen her man even if she couldn't measure up in any way.But now, Jacob was completely insignificant to Matilda while Elaine still treated Jacob like a trophy.Even as a sense of inferiority seized her, Charlie sighed. "Come on, you should understand where Jacob is
"Exactly!"Charlie agreed, striking the metal while it was hot. "To be honest, the years Matilda spent in the States would be wasted if she was actually still interested!" "She's a Wall Street veteran who'd definitely have met so many successful men! Why would she be interested in a loser like Jacbo Wilson? It's not like she returned from the States after thirty years to help the poor, don't you agree?"Charlie then finished with a sigh. "The way I see it? You're the only one who'd be interested in him."Jacob heard that from behind the wall and was left absolutely fuming and humiliated.He was the only one who knew that Matilda had come back for him—even if she was worth millions now.However, he just didn't have the spine to divorce Elaine and get together with Matilda.He presumed that it was no rush and that he could just give Elaine the silent treatment—who knew, she might just give in and ask for a divorce herself, and then, he would have no issues getting together with M
"Her real lover?!" Elaine exclaimed in shock. "What are you talking about?"Charlie put on a serious face as she said, "Matilda came back to Oskia for her one true love, who is now her fiance. His name is Yolden Hart, a top economist who's now a lecturer at Aurous Hill University, who was invited all the way from the States. He's a professional manager and used to work in Wall Street, so he'd be qualified to be a CEO in any Fortune 500 company…""Professional manager?" Elaine pouted. "That still means he's a wage slave!"Charlie laughed. "Don't underestimate professional managers now. Just look at Apple Inc.'s CEO—the man earns around a hundred million USD per year, and that's over seven hundred million in Oskian dollars!"Elaine was left gaping, unable to imagine how a wage slave could earn so much.At the same time, Charlie continued, "To be fair, Professor Hart wouldn't earn that much, but 50 million per year is still no sweat for him. Do you get the amount of money we're talki
Elaine appeared taken aback, and she promptly demanded, "You've met Matilda too?!"It was only then that Claire realized she had let the cat out of the bag, and she suddenly didn't know what to say. "Oh… Uh… Mom… I, uh… didn't?"Nonetheless, Elaine was suddenly pressing her menacingly, "If you've never met her, how would you know she's a serious person?!"As Claire stayed silent, Elaine broke down in tears. "No… You're lying to me too! Aren't you?!"While Claire was left at a loss of how she should salvage this mess, Charlie suddenly entered and said, "Claire didn't—but I did.""What?!" Elaine was left staring at Charlie, stunned.Still, she soon demanded, "Y-You've met Matilda?! Did Jacob take you with him to see her?""Yes," Charlie admitted, nodding.Elaine snapped right then, and she bellowed, "Then why didn't you tell me?! To think that I've always done right by you, treating you like my own son, but you wouldn't tell me that Jacob is cheating on me! Y-You disappoint me!"
Jacob certainly left Charlie speechless—the man might get kicked out of the house, but he was more worried about his car.Sighing in exasperation, he told Jacob, "Look, if it fails, I won't be able to get you a nice place, let alone leave the Cullinan with you."Jacob blurted out, "But why—""Don't forget—I'm still living in this house even if you're gone!" Charlie explained, his expression dead serious. "If I let you have a nice place and the Cullinan, God knows how terrible a grudge your wife would hold against me. I need to have a sense of self-preservation too!""If I got you a rundown apartment, I could at least defend myself even if she gets upset about that. I mean, I can't let you sleep in the streets, can I? Claire and I would be guilty of abandoning our elders."Seeing the serious look on Charlie's face, Jacob breathed a long sigh as he clapped him on the shoulder, groaning mournfully, "Oh, I get it. I wouldn't want to upset Elaine if I were in your shoes too…"Charlie
Charlie sighed. "I told you it'd blow up, Dad, but you had to doubt me.""I wasn't doubting you," Jacob promptly defended himself. "I thought I might catch a lucky break—"Charlie cut him short, "Fair enough. Then, how are you going to handle this? I can try to stop Mom from going to that wedding and prevent her from getting in the hall even if she went, but what's going to happen to the both of you? Do you want a divorce or do you want to stay with her?"The light in Jacob's faded as he shrugged and sighed. "If I could divorce her, I would've—and I would be living happily with Matilda now. What company would I have if I did it now? Do you think Elaine would let me stay in Thompson First, with that attitude of hers?""In the end, I'd be chased out without a place to stay, and I can't suffer the humiliation of moving back with my mom and brother, can I? Hell, they might not even take me back!""So, that's a no?" Charlie pressed.Jacob smiled wryly. "At my age, even if I could, I w
Hearing that Elaine was threatening suicide, Claire exclaimed urgently, "Take me to her now!"The traffic police officer quickly nodded. "Come on!"As the traffic police officer quickly led Claire to Elaine, Charlie arrived just then and gave chase after leaving the luggage by the entrance.Stopping them, he asked, "Excuse me, officer—where's the gentleman who came with Madam Parker? May I see him?""And who are you?" The traffic police officer asked."I'm his son-in-law," Charlier replied. "I was thinking that while my wife talks to her mom, I can talk to my father-in-law, make peace, and take them both home.""Oh, that'd be great!"The traffic police officer exclaimed and quickly beckoned at a colleague, "Come over. Take this gentleman to Jacob Wilson!""Okay!" The other traffic police officer was also quite enthusiastic.Charlie entered the room where Jacob was first, immediately seeing a disfigured Jacob taking deep puffs of his cigarette.Another traffic police officer w
Charlie frowned in thought for a while, before saying, "Well, there is a plan, but I can't vouch for the chances. I also need you to cooperate with me and not let anything slip, or everything will go to waste. Can you do that?""I can!" Claire nodded, determined, before quickly asking, "So? What's the plan?""Well, it's not specific," Charlie replied. "We just have to improvise as we go along. Let's just head in for now!"-They left the airport and took a cab to the traffic police's headquarters. Just as she entered, they saw their Cullinan parked outside.Charlie sent Claire in first while he carried her luggage before following.Meanwhile, Elaine was wailing in her room, "I've been married to him for years! Suffering so much pain and humiliation, only for him to hook up with an old flame behind my back! Is it wrong if I struck out?"The traffic police officer was on the verge of a breakdown, but he still said patiently, "Ma'am, I've told you many times—what he did was wrong
Claire wasn't all that experienced in love and hence didn't know how a person caught in a love triangle would think or why they would experience such terrible mood swings.Still, Charlie's explanation gave her a general idea, and she sighed, "Actually, Dad looked really bad when Matilda came back. He was so obsessed with her that he didn't care if Mom was alive—even bringing her home for dinner. I'd be seething if I was Mom."Charlie sighed in exasperation. "Well, let's not loiter about. Let's go to the traffic police station.""Yeah!" Claire nodded, before holding his arm, "If they're there, that means they're safe, and they won't be fighting with those officers around. So, let's not head over so quickly."Charlie raised a brow. "What are you getting at?"Claire sighed, clearly troubled. "We have to think—how are we going to alleviate this crisis? If it's really as you say and Mom has mostly guessed it right, this fight might just be the start. At best, that fight on the highway