After spotting one another, the young woman looked shocked and dragged the man next to him over. "Hey, isn't that Renee?" "Ariella! Why are you here?" Renee was equally shocked. The young woman before her was Ariella Oxford, the second unwed daughter of the Oxfords and one of the few friends Renee had in the elite community. The Oxfords had a long history of producing martial artists, but they were not as powerful as the major families. However, the Oxfords' ancestors were related to the Morrisons so the two families were friends for decades. Since Ariella and Renee were around the same age, they grew up together and considered each other sisters. "Oh, I'm here to dine with my boyfriend," Ariella said, pointing at the man next to him. The man was Joshua Hacket, the eldest son of the Hackets. Like the Oxfords, the Hackets were also an ancient lineage of martial artists and were business partners with the Oxfords for years. A little over a year ago, Joshua and Ariella met
"I-" Renee was utterly stunned. Both she and Leon indeed just reserved a hotel room, but she was only doing so to help Leon settle down, so what Ariella imagined was far from the truth. "Ariella, you're mistaken. Hugh here is my family's business partner and I'm here to help him settle down." Renee snapped out of it and explained, only to realize that her words were not helping. "It's fine, Renee. You don't have to explain. It's normal to have a boyfriend at your age, so you don't have to lie. Besides, we are all adults and intimacy is normal. I can understand," Ariella said with a smile, clearly not believing what Renee said. "She knew that the Morrisons were the most powerful family in the western region and Renee held a high status as the eldest unwed daughter of the family. If Leon was truly a business partner, Renee would never tend to his needs given how proud she was. It was unrealistic to consider that. In all of the western region, no one in any of the powerful f
As Renee and Leon were speechless, Ariella changed the subject. "Renee, are you and Mister Wolf going to dinner now? Why don't we all go together?" "Well," Renee glanced at Leon. Ariella was her best friend and it has been a while since they last met, so she wanted to spend some time with her. However, Leon was the first to ask her to dinner and she already accepted his invitation. Hence, she needed Leon's permission if she wanted Ariella to join them. "I don't mind!" Leon shrugged. He knew that Ariella was Renee's friend and he could tell that Renee wanted her to join, so he saw no point in stopping her. "You're asking permission to dine with your friend, yet deny that you're dating. How stubborn," Ariella noticed Renee's glance and chuckled. "Seriously," Renee was slightly irritated, but could not argue. After all, Ariella already jumped to a conclusion and it was indeed quite odd for them to be seen in a hotel together. No matter how hard she tried to explain, it w
"I'm the vice president of Cynthion Group in the southern region." Leon was not Renee's boyfriend and did not know what Joshua and Ariella were thinking. Hence, he did not think much of it and told the 'truth'. "Vice president of Cynthion Group? What is that?" Both Joshua and Ariella snapped out of it and exchanged confused glances. Neither of them heard about this budding enterprise and they had no clue as to what the company was about. Most importantly, they assumed Leon was at least an extremely wealthy and powerful figure if he was not from any powerful family. To their bewilderment, he was merely a vice president of a small business in the southern region. This meant that he was miles away from being Renee's equal and none of them could understand why Renee fell for such a man. "It's no wonder!" Realization dawned on Ariella. She was confused at first as to why Renee refused to acknowledge that Leon was her boyfriend. However, with such a difference between their s
"Cynthion Group is great? I haven't even heard of it before! How great can it be?" Joshua scoffed in contempt. He did not hear of Cynthion Group before, which meant that it was not owned by any major family. Hence, he assumed that it was merely a small business and felt that both the company and its vice president were beneath him. "If you haven't heard of it, it only means that you lack knowledge! Cynthion Group is a unique pharmaceutical firm and the alchemical pills they make can boost martial artists' strengths and help them with their training." Renee snorted. Hugh was the Morrisons' guest and Hugo entrusted the mission of taking care of him to Renee, hoping that this could salvage the business deal between Cynthion Group and the Morrisons. However, Joshua kept disrespecting Cynthion Group and Hugh. If Hugh took the insults personally, the Morrisons would only suffer losses in return. With that thought in mind, she glared at Joshua. "Here I thought it's more than tha
"Renee, speaking of the pharmaceutical industry, reminds me of something! Jaxon Feaks is holding a bouquet tonight to auction rare herbs! Joshua and I plan on going. Would you like to join us?" Ariella asked, swiftly changing the subject. "Sure! That's where Hugh and I plan on heading anyway! Let's all go together!" Renee nodded. She was slightly appalled by Joshua for what he said about Leon, but that did not affect her friendship with Ariella. Moreover, Leon wanted to participate in the bouquet and she promised to go with him, so there was no reason for her to reject Ariella's proposal. After dinner, the four drove out of the hotel and to the venue for the bouquet. ... In a luxurious mansion on the outskirts. This mansion belonged to Jaxon Feaks. It was spread over a great area with wonderful scenery. Surrounded by splendid lights, it looked majestic. At the gate, two guards stood on each side to welcome guests who arrived. When Leon, Renee, and the others arrived, lu
"We're here! Let's go in!" While Leon was deep in thought, the group traveled past the yard and arrived at the main hall. The hall was crowded with guests who dressed their best, engaging in heated conversations. Most of the guests were the younger elites from the western region, including heirs and heiresses. Though the items to be sold included rare herbs that could help with martial artists' training, martial artists in the first and second generations were all too powerful for these herbs to be of any use. Hence, Jaxon only invited younger individuals to participate instead of people from the first and second generations. Without exclusive spiritual herbs, this bouquet would be considered an ordinary gathering for youngsters, who had a lot of common topics. "Quiet down, everyone! The beauty of the western region, Miss Renee Morrison, has arrived!" ... Just then, Renee and the others arrived and her looks instantly drew everyone's attention. Someone shouted and a
"Oh, Mister Feaks, allow me to introduce my friend, Hugh Wolf. Hugh, this is Mister Jaxon Feaks," Renee briefly introduced the two. "Mister Wolf, nice to meet you. I'm sorry for asking this, but I don't think I've heard of your name in the past. May I know which family you come from?" Jaxon asked. The western region was vast and he could not possibly know the names of all families. Hence, it seemed normal for him not to know Leon and he did not think too much of it. Since Leon was Renee's friend, he assumed that Leon was someone whose status rivaled Renee's, which meant he would be far more powerful than Jaxon himself. Hence, he asked about Leon's background to create a bond in the hope of benefiting his own family. "I'm not from the western region. I'm the vice president of Cynthion Group from the southern region," Leon said, an idea crossing his mind. He came to the western region to establish a branch here in the western region. All the guests here in this bouquet were of