Amidst the tension, they arrived at Water Dock.Xavier smiled ambiguously at Stefan. "Stef, why don't we have a friendly competition? If you find her first, I'll accept the fact that she's yours and will forever consider her out of my reach. However, if I find her first… I'll make my move!""Whatever," Stefan replied nonchalantly."You're the most generous man in Beach City!" Xavier exclaimed before opening the door and hastily getting out of the car. He immediately started searching for Renee.Stefan, on the other hand, slowly got out of the car and smoothed out the wrinkles on his high-end suit. Like an emperor on tour, he scanned the surroundings arrogantly.Water Dock's antique market was the largest antique market in Beach City.Since it was located at a strategic intersection between several countries, many valuable treasures were smuggled and sold there. As a result, many local traders became wealthy. Likewise, with increased wealth came an increased crime rate. The area a
Xavier instantly deflated.Renee was indeed not like ordinary women. She was way too smart. She could easily see through him. It wasn't as easy as he thought.Never mind the other stuff—Xavier had spent the entire evening running around the dock, and he couldn't even find Renee. Defeated, that was when he finally went to Stefan to gather some intel.Feeling a little awkward, Xavier tried to change the topic. "Stef, what are you doing? You're holding a bamboo tube. Are you performing a magic trick?"Stefan ignored Xavier and started to focus on shaking the bamboo tube.After five or six shakes, a bamboo stick fell to the ground.The old man picked it up and read the text on the stick, and a complicated expression emerged on his face."What are you looking for, young man?" he asked."I want to know if she and I still have a chance," Stefan said coldly.Needless to say, by 'she,' he was referring to Renee.The old man let out a long sigh. "The breeze comes and goes; the beginnin
After finishing his sentence, Xavier ran off the same way he did before."How childish!" Stefan rubbed his temples and shook his head speechlessly.However, he was a little worried that something bad might happen to Renee. He stood up and prepared to leave.The old man stopped him. "Young man, that is your friend's fate. You don't have to get involved. Why don't you stay here and browse through these treasures? Perhaps, something you buy might one day become the thing that brings you and the love of your life together."It was strange. Whereas others would've thought this old man was making nonsense up, Stefan trusted him and stayed. He scanned the things on display, and that was when a silk object caught his eye.To be more precise, the art on the silk object caught his attention."How much is this?" Stefan asked."Since you and I met by fate, I'll sell it to you for a dollar. Consider it as a payment for drawing the bamboo stick." The old man then put the silk object in a box
Stefan murmured to himself, "Renee, oh, Renee. You're such a pain in the ass. You're going to be in deep trouble once I get my hands on you!"The casino was huge. People gathered in large groups in each area, but there was one particular area with the greatest number of people. Eager gamblers surrounded a round casino table as they made excited cat-calls.Stefan instantly knew something fishy was going on, and he quickly strode over.Unsurprisingly, there was a young woman all tied up on the table.The woman barely had any clothes on—the white silk dress that concealed little of her skin was extremely thin, while a feathered mask covered the upper half of her face. Curled up into a ball in the corner, she was evidently trembling.Stefan felt a tightness in his chest. He clenched his fists and prepared to charge forward.That's because he could tell the woman's facial features were nearly identical to Renee's despite the feathered mask she was wearing.She had the same pointy nos
"Watch out!" Stefan shouted from the edge of the crowd.After all, this was someone else's turf. Xavier's behavior was too conspicuous, and he was putting himself in a passively dangerous situation."You actually have an accomplice!" The man discovered Stefan and gave instructions to another group of security guards. "Capture him and shoot him right away!""How dare you?" Xavier, who was relatively calm in the beginning, instantly lost his cool.He gently put Renee down before glaring coldly at the man. "You can be rude to me, but you're asking for trouble if you talk to Stefan like that!"The man was dumbfounded by Xavier's reaction.He'd met fearless people before, but none audacious to such an extent. Xavier was practically dicing with death. How was Xavier brave enough to provoke him like this?Without saying a word, Xavier delivered a kick to the man's stomach. "Get on your knees and apologize to Stefan!"Stefan felt a little speechless. 'You can get on your knees, but tha
"Of course!" Hank nodded repeatedly. The man on the ground nearly peed his pants. "Thank you for sparing my life… Thank you for sparing my life," he muttered continuously.It wasn't their fault for being so humble. The Stuart family was leagues above them. They might not care about the law when it came to grey areas like these, but they wouldn't dare go against the Stuart family unless they no longer wanted to dabble in this field.In actual fact, Xavier was only so arrogant because he had told his subordinate to inform Hank about the situation before he went there."This casino is simply too gory. I can't stay here for another minute!" Xavier covered his nose and exclaimed in disgust."It can't be helped, Mr. Stuart. This is the only way the casino can attract people. It's messy, but it's also where all things are possible. Here, you can win anything under the sun, things that you'll never be able to buy anywhere else!" Hank wasn't the owner of this underground casino. He was, at
After Stefan finished his sentence, he turned around and left without even looking at Renee."Hey, Stefan. Are you leaving already?" Xavier realized that his joke had gone too far with the joke when he watched Stefan leave. "I was only joking, and you took it seriously. Don't worry. Renee still belongs to you. Even if I rescued her, she's still yours. I won't do anything stupid!""It doesn't matter. Do whatever you want." Stefan made an 'okay' gesture with his hand before walking out of the controversial place.Xavier couldn't make Stefan stay, and he stood there dumbfounded.Was Stefan so generous that he'd give his wife away?Xavier turned around and looked at Renee, who was still tied up. She looked like a gift waiting to be unwrapped. For some unknown reason, Xavier felt embarrassed."Renee, don't be afraid. Stef is probably just jealous. He's gone. I'll have to take care of you for now."Xavier had never spoken to Renee like this. It only served to show what a gentleman he
Xavier gulped. He couldn't process what the woman just said."I sold myself to the casino, and the casino could do anything it wanted to me. I had already lost the will to live because my fate would be equally torturous no matter which man I ended up with. Thank goodness, God took pity on me and left me in your hands…" The woman was overly emotional and couldn't help but lean closer to Xavier."Wait a second. Don't come near me!"Xavier, a towering man of over six feet, backed away as if he'd just seen a terrifying beast. He intentionally kept his distance from the woman.The woman seemed visibly hurt by his response, and she stopped moving. "Mister, are you disgusted by me? Are you afraid I might keep bugging you?""No, that's not it!" Xavier waved his hands. "That's not what I meant. I just think that you're a person, not an object. You shouldn't allow others to control your life.""I get what you mean, but I've already signed a contract with the casino. If you don't want me, I