The nosy guys cheered delightfully and hopped into the car, but since they only had two cars there, the rest had to take a taxi to Hyatt Hotel.Charlie got into the BMW 760. Claire sat in the front passenger seat while Mrs. Lewis, Stephanie, and Harvey sat in the back.Charlie said after starting the car, “Guys, sit tight. Later when I reach the straight road ahead, I can win the race with just a step on the accelerator.” Then, he looked at Mrs. Lewis and said, “Mrs. Lewis, please hold on to the handrails. Once I accelerate, I will win a Mercedes-Benz for the orphanage! You can sell it for three hundred thousand dollars, then use the money to buy toys and books for the children!”Mrs. Lewis nodded with a gentle smile. “I thank you on behalf of our children!”Meanwhile, five people were inside Max’s car, all of whom were his lackeys.Max drove and stopped beside Charlie’s car, wound down the window, and said with a smirk, “Hey, buddy, whenever you’re ready, man! I’ll give you a t
If he really went back on his words, he would be a laughingstock forever!However, he didn’t want to give away his brand new car to the orphanage!For an instant, he even thought that he would simply drive away, skip the dinner, and never interact with his orphanage friends again in the future!Something struck his mind again and he had a change of plans. He shifted to the right lane swiftly and tailgated the car in front of him!Max had the perfect plan laid out in his mind, and that was to stage a car accident! That way, the race would be forfeited due to unexpected circumstances, so he would not lose!Thus, he eyed the cars on the road, searching for a scapegoat.At this moment, the guy in the front passenger seat yelped in horror, “Max! Max! You’re going to hit the car! You’re going to hit it!”Max smirked and thought, ‘Yeah, I want to hit it!’However, as he got closer and closer, he realized that it was a black Porsche Cayenne. He stepped on the brakes immediately!A Por
Although the Porsche was a luxury car brand, an ordinary Cayenne was just over a million.German’s Volkwagen was considered a common car brand too, however, the Phaeton was a very rare and expensive model.The top-spec Phaeton was worth more than two million dollars which were equivalent to the top-spec Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and BMW 7-Series.Earlier, Max was so taken aback by the Porsche Cayenne’s logo that he had instinctively tried to crash into a cheaper car. When he saw the Phaeton, he only recognized the Volkswagen logo and the car looked like a cheap Passat, so he ran into it swiftly.Never did he expect that it had turned out to be the underrated Phaeton…When he thought of the car’s price tag—2 freaking million dollars!—he was so depressed that he wished he could die right there and then.The parts-to-whole price ratio was an important element in a car that would reflect the auto maintenance cost in ordinary use. In other words, if the parts of a car were taken
The Four Great Guardians were well-known figures in Aurous Hill, and Jayden was the most famous of them all.His nickname in the underworld was Chief Jay.Max never expected that he would run into Jayden’s Phaeton in order to avoid a Porsche Cayenne.He regretted his decision very much. If he knew that it would end up like this, he would have crashed his car into the Porsche!No! If he knew it would be like this, he wouldn’t agree to race with Charlie! It was a trap!Yes, that’s right!Charlie was to blame for all of this! The b*stard had tricked him! His BMW 520 must be a modified car since it was surprisingly powerful.If Charlie hadn’t set up the trap, he wouldn’t have made such a decision!Max hated Charlie very much as he thought of it.Jayden snorted at Max’s pale and shaky face, and growled, “Hey, show me your driver’s license and ID!”Max nodded profusely, went into the car to retrieve all the cards, and handed them to Jayden respectfully. Jayden glanced at the cards
Max shivered in fright and horror. His mind was in a big mess, he didn’t know what to do.Jayden shrugged him off indifferently. He went back to his Phaeton to take his personal belongings and then tossed the car key to Max.“I have a spare key for this car, I’ll give it to you when you hand me the new car. Don’t worry, although I’m a mobster, I never blackmail anyone. I’ll take what’s mine, I won’t take anything that is not. We in the underworld have a principle—honesty!”“However, if you don’t fulfill my demand, I’ll track you down!”Then, he raised his hand to hail a cab, got in, and left like a gust of wind.Max’s friends watched the scene in awe and bewilderment.Jayden was truly the boss in the underworld, acting very decisively and with a no-nonsense attitude. He had simply tossed his 2 million dollar car here and left. He was so awesome.On the other hand, Max was crouching on the floor, wailing and crying.Where could he get the money to buy a new Phaeton? Even if he s
“Alright.” Stephanie nodded indifferently. She called one of the friends who was sitting in Max’s car.“Hey, Max said that you had an accident, right? How are you guys? Is everyone okay? Mrs. Lewis is very worried!”The man cleared his throat and stuttered awkwardly, “Um… Max ran into a Phae…”Before he could finish, Max snatched the phone off the man’s hand and blurted, “Stephanie, I’m fine, we crashed into a Passat. I’m negotiating with the driver now to resolve the problem. Don’t worry, we’re almost done here, I’ll be there soon.”Stephanie said flatly, “Okay then, we’ll wait for you at the hotel entrance. We’ve been here for a long time.”Max quickly said, “Ah, I’m so sorry for the delay. Please tell Charlie that I’m sorry for not being able to complete the race, we’ll race again in a few days!”Stephanie mumbled a reluctant ‘Okay’ and ended the call.The man who had received Stephanie’s call asked, “Max, are you still going to the reunion after what happened?”“Of course!”
Max glared at Charlie indignantly and said, “Do you think I’m afraid of you? If it wasn’t for the accident, I would have won!”Stephanie said with an irritated pout, “Yeah, keep up with your bluff! Just now, Charlie simply stepped on the accelerator, and you were nowhere to be seen! In my opinion, you would definitely lose if that accident didn’t occur.”“Huh! Are you kidding me?” Max huffed, trying to make an excuse, “Charlie was able to overtake me in the first place because I forgot to switch the function into sports mode.”Then, he quickly changed the subject, “Ah! You don’t understand cars, this conversation is meaningless. Hurry, let’s go in. I’ve made a reservation.”Charlie shrugged nonchalantly and entered the Hyatt Hotel with the crowd.The Hyatt Hotel was a comprehensive hotel integrating dining, entertainment, and leisure, but due to its remote location, its popularity and scale paled in comparison to Shangri-La and Glorious Club.Max led the group into the hotel. A w
Charlie and Claire sat down on Mrs. Lewis’s right-hand side at her request. The others took their seats one by one.As soon as everyone sat down, Mrs. Lewis glanced at all of them and donned a gentle smile. “Kids, I’m so happy and thankful that you still remember me for all these years and even visit me!”Everyone on the table quickly said, “Mrs. Lewis, what are you talking about? It’s what we should do.”Mrs. Lewis asked, “How have you all been all these years?”They answered with a smile, “Thanks for your concern, we are doing quite well.”After leaving the orphanage for many years, everyone led their own lives in the direction they could head, but in general, they were just ordinary people. Regardless of the ideology and ambitions in the past, all of it diminished by the cruel reality. They eventually returned to ordinary life.Everyone had changed a lot. As they talked about their lives, they sounded casual and relaxed, but the listeners fell silent. Apparently, not all of th
"Fuck!" When Jacob heard what Charlie said, he was horrified. He nervously asked, "Matilda isn't going to come to our house to deliver the invitation, is she? If Elaine finds out that I've been hiding Matilda's return from her all this time, I'll be so dead!" Charlie, having long seen through Jacob, knew he would never escape the shadow and claws of Elaine. He shook his head and said, "Whether they'll invite you, I have no way of knowing. If you're worried, you can tell Matilda that you don't want to be invited to her wedding and that you don't want to go." Jacob sighed. "That's just a temporary solution. Even if she doesn't know now, she'll probably find out sooner or later. A lot of our mutual friends already know about Matilda's return. You went to the gathering too. But those friends are not really in contact with Elaine, so she hasn't found out yet." Charlie smiled and said, "Matilda's return to the country was at a pretty sensitive time. If I'm not mistaken, she came b
Jacob then realized that Charlie was also driving a Rolls-Royce, and it was a more expensive Phantom. Surprised, he asked, "Charlie, where did you get this car?" Marilyn had prepared the car for Charlie when he left Scarlet Pinnacle Manor. He had driven it to Thompson First, so he had decided to use it today. Charlie replied, "A client lent it to me. You sounded urgent, so I drove it over." Then, he added, "You're something else. You're crying like a baby yet you're still in the mood to ask about the car. What's going on? Your friend said you'd cried twice already?" "That bloody Simon!" Hearing this, Jacob became furious and cursed, "He still doesn't have the slightest clue! He's such a damned fool! The more I try to avoid him, the more he keeps blabbering on and on. Argh, he's so stupid!" Charlie asked, "What exactly is bothering you?" Jacob's face instantly turned dejected, and with a long sigh, he choked up and said, "Charlie— Matilda— She's getting married—" "Gettin
Things were a little different and unique in the United States, though. Westerners tended to approach marriage with greater caution. Many couples stayed together for years, had several children, and yet remained as boyfriend and girlfriend. Being together, having children, and raising them jointly didn't necessarily mean they would get married. In fact, it was not uncommon for some to walk down the aisle only after having multiple kids. Because of this environment, elderly couples in the West often limited their relationships to dating, and at most, cohabitation. Very few progressed to the stage of marriage. However, Yolden, like a young man in the throes of passionate love, had invited her on a trip, secretly prepared a proposal ceremony by the seaside, and gotten down on one knee with a ring to propose. These actions deeply moved Matilda and, at the same time, gave her an unprecedented sense of security. Now, Yolden had moved their wedding up a big step and set the date just on
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic