601

by kinyamsabajigin

Jfhvc

It was true that Gerald didn't want to meddle with Giya's affairs anymore. He wasn't her boyfriend, so he wasn't obligated to help her that much. What more, the affair involving both the Longs and Giya was a proper one.

What more could he even do?

At that moment, his phone started to ring.

Chapter 601

It was a call from Zack.

"Mr. Crawford, we have some leads regarding the jade pendant!" said Zack the moment Gerald picked the phone up.

"Oh? Where are you right now?" asked Gerald in return.

The expert treasure appraiser from Northway went by the name of Mr. Zayden Weyham. Gerald had met him before during the celebrity party, and they even toasted each other on that day.

Since he had some issues to deal with back then, Gerald had told Zack to bring Mr. Xiques along to meet Mr. Weyham. Mr. Xiques himself could only discern that the jade pendant was produced southwest of the Salford Province.

However, details about its origins had still been vague up to this point. Zack's call was a sign that they were finally able to find something.

"I'm in Mr. Weyham's manor with Mr. Xiques now. Would you like to come over now, Mr. Crawford?"

"I'll be there soon!"

After hanging up, he told Yoel and the others about his plan before heading straight for Mr. Weyham's manor.

Mr. Weyham and his family had a lot of influence as well as a good reputation. While they were well known for their business in Northbay, Mr. Weyham's business actually began in Mayberry. Since Mr. Weyham's hometown was also in Mayberry, it only made sense for him to return to his homeland now that he was much older.

During the celebrity party, the Weyhams were seen as a considerably famous and influential family.

Gerald would definitely refrain from treating such a family coldly.

In no time at all, Gerald arrived at Weyham's manor. He found Mr. Weyham having tea with both Zack and Mr. Xiques.

"Mr. Crawford!" said both Zack and Mr. Xiques respectfully as they stood up.

After nodding toward them, he turned to look at Mr. Weyham before saying, "Thank you so much for this, Mr. Weyham."

"No need to be so cordial, Mr. Crawford. Please, have a seat."

After a brief greeting, Mr. Weyham immediately cut to the chase.

"Mr. Crawford, this pendant comes from a family from Wendall City in the Salford Province. Though this kind of jade is extremely rare, I was lucky enough to go to Wendall City with my master about fifty years ago. Back when I first saw it, a young man local to that city was wearing it. It should be the symbol of their family!" explained Mr. Weyham.

"And what family is that?" asked Gerald rather anxiously.

In all honesty, Gerald wasn't really interested in helping his father look for that Xara woman. However, Queta was almost the same as Xara, the woman his father had been looking for all this time. This was what made Gerald curious.

'Is Queta my stepsister who shares the same father with me but has a different mother...?'

'Why do I feel so close to Queta every time I meet her?'

Something was definitely fishy with the incident. Since his father wouldn't tell him the truth no matter how much Gerald asked him, Gerald would investigate the matter himself.

Weyham shook his head slightly as he said, "I was just discussing this with both Mr. Xiques and Mr. Lyle earlier. I was still pretty young then, and I only managed to glance at the young man who wore that pendant once. Make no mistake, I distinctly remember seeing that pendant then, but I really don't know which family in Wendall City he belongs to. I was even looking through a few large families in Wendal City with Mr. Lyle just now, but none of those large families have this kind of tradition!" said Mr. Weyham.

"I see... Well, since we know it comes from Wendall City, I'm sure it won't be too difficult to investigate into it!" replied Gerald as he smiled faintly.

As they began talking about other things, Mr. Xiques suddenly stood up and walked over to a pendulum clock. Staring at it curiously, he asked, "If I'm not mistaken, this pendulum clock is from the 1900s... Am I correct, Mr. Weyham?"

Mr. Weyham nodded before replying, "Indeed, it is! It was made in M country and back then, it was even placed in the president's office!"

"How did you even manage to get your hands on such a thing?" asked Mr. Xiques, astonished.

"It was a birthday gift from the Longs of Yanken!" replied Mr. Weyham with a chuckle.

Since Mr. Weyham mentioned the Long family so casually, it was obvious that Mr. Weyham wasn't aware of the conflict between Gerald and the Longs.

Chapter 602

Gerald only smiled faintly as he took a sip of tea.

"It's rather late now, grandpa... There are so many guests today..."

At that moment, a girl wearing pajamas slowly descended the stairs as she stared at Gerald and the others curiously.

"Ah, Lissa. Come over here and greet Mr. Crawford. Weren't you quite curious about him before this?" said Mr. Weyham as he smiled.

"He's Mr. Gerald Crawford?" asked Lissa as she made it to the final step.

When she got to him, she scanned him from head to toe before frowning slightly. Immediately after, she chuckled before saying, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Crawford. I'm Melissa Weyham but you can just call me Lissa."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Lissa. You can just call me Gerald!" replied Gerald as he extended his hand out to shake her hand.

Lissa was considerably beautiful and after talking to her for a while, he found that she was quite generous to others as well.

Gerald's first impression of her wasn't bad, to say the least.

What more, she was a pretty nice talker too. She talked about all kinds of things with Gerald.

"So you're Mr. Crawford, huh. What kind of entertainment do you usually partake in?" asked Melissa.

"I don't usually attend many activities, to be quite honest," replied Gerald as he shook his head.

"Humph! I refuse to believe that! I'm sure you always enjoy yourself to your heart's content!" As she said that, Lissa laughed heartily.

After a while, she seemed to remember something. This prompted her to ask, "Speaking of which, I got to know a few friends here in Mayberry. We're going to have a gathering tomorrow afternoon and I'll be treating them to a meal! If you're free, would you like to come along, Gerald?"

Gerald remained silent at her proposal.

"How rude, Lissa! Why on earth would Mr. Crawford want to fool around with you and your mischievous friends?" replied Mr. Weyham with a bitter smile.

"Well fine then!" said Melissa as she pouted slightly.

Since Mr. Weyham had done him a favor, Gerald knew that rejecting his granddaughter would eventually make him feel awkward for doing so. In the end, Gerald nodded slightly with a smile before saying, "It's fine. Tomorrow was it? I'll be there."

"He said it, not me!" said Melissa with a smile.

A short while later, Gerald left the manor together with Zack and Mr. Xiques.

Though he initially wanted to return to Mountain Top Villa to have a rest, he suddenly recalled that he had lent the villa to Xavia.

Due to that, he told Zack to arrange a room in a hotel that he owned. He would stay there for the moment.

When Gerald arrived at the hotel's entrance, he saw and heard a few security guards shouting, "Lousy beggar! Get lost already!"

They were busy trying to push away a dirt-covered old man who had extremely messy hair.

"What beggar? I'm no beggar! I just need to borrow a shower!" said the old man.

"To hell with that! Do you even know what place this is?" sneered the security guard.

"Humph! Let me tell you, I'm not any mere person! I'm Mr. Crawford's grandfather! Your boss is my grandson! Now hurry up and let me in!"

"This old b*stard! How bold!"

By then, the guards were ready to beat him up.

Gerald didn't really want to get involved in the mess. He didn't care about what the old man said and the guards were there to take care of him anyway.

However, when Gerald took a closer look at the beggar, he was stunned.

"Stop," said Gerald.

Chapter 603

Gerald realized that the old man was the same one who had blackmailed him when he was still looking for Giya back then. Gerald would never have dreamed that the old man would actually come looking for him again.

"How come it's you again," said Gerald as he frowned slightly.

"Ah! My grandson! It's wonderful that you're here now! Humph! These guards won't let me in! Tell them to let me in!" said the old man with his hands on his waist.

"Why do you want to go in there? What do you need this time? I've already helped you before and I even cured your injured leg! Stop pestering me, do you really think that I'm a nice man without any temper?" replied Gerald rather impatiently.

Gerald didn't really mind helping people if they looked as pitiful as the beggar did. However, he had already helped him once. If the old man continued to abuse Gerald's pity, he would definitely be crossing the line.

"Why would you say that, grandson? What do you mean I'm pestering you? You just resemble my lost grandson a lot! If he isn't dead, he should be around the same age as you are this year!" said the old man, his tone suddenly grievous as he lowered his head.

"What nonsense are you spouting? That's it, I'm beating you up!"

Just as they were about to hit him, Gerald took pity after hearing the old man's tale and he raised his hand slightly.

"Yes, Mr. Crawford!" shouted both guards as soon as they saw his gesture. Both of them then returned to their initial positions.

Seeing that, the old man sat on the porch with a sad expression on his face.

Gerald just couldn't bear looking at the beggar's poor state so he fished out a hundred dollar note from his wallet.

"I get it, you want money too, right? But I warn you, this is the last time I'm giving any to you. Now leave!"

He was aware that it would become a bad habit of the old man to depend on him if Gerald kept giving him money.

Still, it wasn't like Gerald could stop himself from doing it. The old man was rather old and he couldn't just turn a blind eye and let others beat him up.

"It's not money that I want, my grandson! I just want to go in and have a bath! Just look at how shabby my clothes are!" said the old man with a chuckle.

Gerald then pointed at the old man before saying, "I'm warning you now. Don't address me as your grandson ever again! If it's just a bath you need, there's a bathroom nearby. Go ahead and take your shower there!"

After saying that, Gerald handed some money to the guards before turning away to leave.

The guards instantly understood what he meant, and said, "D*mn old man! Mr. Crawford is so kind! He's allowing you to take your bath there, so come along already!"

He then began dragging the old man away.

"Thank you, my grandson!"

"I told you to stop f*cking calling me that!"

The incident wasn't really a big issue for Gerald so he simply headed to his hotel room to take a shower and retire for the night.

Not long after his shower however, he heard a knock on the door. Upon opening it, he was shocked beyond words.

It was the old man again!

"D*mn it, what are you doing here? Actually, how did you get in here?" asked Gerald, slightly stupefied.

In order to use the elevator in this hotel, one would first need to have a hotel room access card. What more, Gerald was staying on the VIP floor. To get to this specific floor, the person would also have to pass through a security door.

Not only did the old man get past all that, he was also able to find the exact room Gerald was staying in!

The old man simply chuckled before saying, "I came to look for you, my grandson. Could you arrange a place for me to stay?"

"Also, I hope you haven't forgotten that I've helped you before. I was the one who had given you the clues to look for that girl back then," added the old man as he chuckled again.

"Now I just want to know how you got here," replied Gerald as he scratched the back of his head in resignation.

While the old man certainly did look cleaner now, whenever he grinned, Gerald could sense that he was no nice man.

"If you're talking about those glass doors, they were easy to get past. I just gently poked them with my finger. All of those machines out there are out of order as well, so that's how I got up here!"

As soon as the old man was done with his explanation, a loud noise was heard.

Chapter 604

The door swung open and in rushed ten security guards, each armed with an electric baton. They had finally managed to track down the old man with the help of the surveillance footage.

"You old b*stard! There you are!"

The guards then immediately surrounded him.

"Apologies Mr. Crawford! This old man sneaked into the lobby after his bath when we weren't paying attention to him! He apparently heard your room number from the female receptionist then he ruined all the machines needed to get up here! Apologies again, Mr. Crawford! We'll beat him up then kick him out, right this instant!"

Gerald didn't know how to respond at that moment. Everything about that old man just made him feel uneasy.

At that moment, Gerald's phone began to ring. It was a call from Queta.

Gerald had earlier sent a Line message to her regarding all the new things he had discovered. She must have just read it.

Glancing at the old man again, Gerald then answered the call.

"I assume you've read the message, Queta?"

"I have... What should I do now, Gerald? Will I... Will I really be able to find my mother?" asked Queta anxiously.

"Yes, and don't worry. I'm looking for her too. Just wait for a few more days for me to resolve all the things I currently have on hand. Once I'm done, I'll go there with you! I'd honestly be worried if you went to the Salford Province alone!" replied Gerald with a faint smile.

"Sounds good! I'm feeling much more assured now!"

After a brief chat, Gerald hung up. Seeing that he had ended his call, the guards were just about to drag the old man out when the old man suddenly began shouting, "Salford Province? My grandson, I want to go there too! That's my hometown! Being me along, my grandson!"

With a little struggling, the old man managed to break himself free from the grasps of the security guards. He then rushed toward Gerald before begging again.

"That's my hometown! My grandson, could you take me home?"

Gerald scanned the man from head to toe after hearing his pleas. The old man looked like he was quite eager to go there. He seemed to be quite agitated as well.

As Gerald thought about it, he realized that he didn't really have too bad an impression of that old man. He was just annoyed by how shameful and dastardly he was.

"Fine, I'll get someone to send you there!"

"I heard what you said through the phone earlier. It seems like you and another young girl want to look for someone in the Salford Province! I'm quite familiar with the place, so I can definitely help you find that person! You've already helped me so much so I'll definitely lend a hand in this!" said the old man.

Hearing this, Gerald felt as though the old man had finally said something sensible for once.

"As if Mr. Crawford would ever need your help! Get lost!" roared one of the security guards.

"Humph! Just ask him about my information reliability! If I didn't tell him where that young lass was, do you think he would be able to find her that soon?"

"You!-"

"That's enough. Just take him away... Get a room and some food for him. And find someone to send him back to the Salford Province tomorrow!" said Gerald as he shook his head in resignation.

Though the old man had claimed that he wanted to help Gerald, Gerald couldn't help but laugh bitterly at the thought.

After that, he retired for the night.

A quiet and peaceful sleep later, Gerald received another call when morning came. It was Mr. Weyham's granddaughter, Melissa.

It was then when Gerald remembered Melissa's invitation to the gathering that she had organized.

Since he wasn't that close with Melissa, he immediately tried thinking up an excuse to reject her.

"Hello, Gerald! From the moment you agreed to attend my gathering, my grandpa's been quite happy! He's even told me to serve you well!" said Melissa through the phone.

It was now getting increasingly awkward for Gerald. Mr. Weyham had been there when he agreed so of course he knew about it. What more, Melissa was quite a sincere girl which made it even harder for him to reject her.

He eventually gave up and said that he would come soon.

Not too long after, he arrived at the gathering place in his car. He had made up his mind that he would leave after staying for just a short while.

The venue in question was the Mayberry Grand Hotel.

When he got to the door, Melissa was already there waiting for him.

Beside her stood a mature and rather sexy lady who seemed to be in her thirties. Her hair reached all the way down to her waist and she seemed to be quite slim as well. Overall, she looked like a woman with a good disposition.

Chapter 605

Her skin was quite fair as well.

When he saw her, Gerald simply nodded with a smile.

Melissa chuckled when she saw him do that. She then said, "She's my cousin, Gerald. She's a looker, isn't she? She came over to have some fun with me."

Gerald replied with a simple nod.

"But just so you know, she's already married! She was a beauty even during her school years and though so many years have passed since then, she's still as gorgeous as ever!" said Melissa in a teasing tone as she laughed.

"From her reaction, I'm now sure that you're Mr. Crawford. It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Rosalie Owens but since I'm older than both of you, you can just call me Sister Owens!" said Rosalie with a smile.

"By the way, Mr. Crawford, I'm sure you already know that my cousin's family is quite powerful in Northbay! She's even teaching in a university there too!" added Melissa.

Gerald nodded again as he greeted, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sister Owens!"

The three of them then entered.

Not long after, a luxury car that looked to be at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars arrived at the entrance of the hotel.

The car's driver got out and respectfully opened the door of the passenger seat right next to the driver's. Out stepped a rich young man in a suit holding an expensive looking pocket watch.

"Mr. Long!" said the driver respectfully.

The person who had stepped out was Yunus Long, and he had a wicked smile on his face as he looked at the hotel.

He then moved to open the backseat door before saying, "We're here now Giya. Come on out now."

Giya simply got out without saying a word. She had only put on some light makeup, but she still looked very beautiful.

When Yunus saw her, his eyes immediately brightened.

The first time he met her, he felt that she was different from the other women. He could safely say this since he had indeed met a lot of different women.

Giya was in another league since she was the first woman he had met with such a good disposition. Because of that, he tried to woo her numerous times.

Since he was the third young master of the Long family in Yanken, as long as he approved of it, an endless number of girls would happily throw themselves onto him. At the time, he was even the one making a move on her. It was only logical for her to fall for him, or at least that's what he thought.

Giya however, hadn't even paid him any attention.

After some investigating, he came to learn that she had fallen for someone else. That was the moment when Mr. Long started pressuring the Quarringtons.

Eventually, he was able to force Giya to have a meal with him.

"Oh, don't be so unhappy, Giya! Though I'm a bit of a dandy, I'm still a rather good guy! You know, there are many people out there who appear nice but they're honestly just hiding their true colors! There aren't many people out there as straightforward and honest as I am!"

"Thank you but I'll be the judge of that!" said Giya coldly.

"Whatever you say. Now come on, let's go!" replied Yunus with a smile.

After saying that, he stretched his hand out and tried to hug Giya's waist but she immediately dodged away before glaring at him.

"Can't I even slightly touch you? You're my fiancée!" said Yunus.

"And who made that decision? I didn't agree to be engaged with you. Behave yourself, Mr. Long!" Giya said that rather tensely.

Aside from disgust, she had no other feelings for him.

Since her family was facing a crisis, her parents had advised her to be with him for their sake. She had honestly tried compromising with the Longs so that she could slowly, but eventually come to accept Yunus.

In the end, however, she knew she had failed. She only felt disgust toward him, and there was zero chance for any other feelings to develop.

Chapter 606

She was so disgusted by him that she had already begun filling her head with rather extreme ideas.

Giya had only attended the meal because her father had persuaded her to go that day. Thinking back, she wasn't even sure if she should have taken that first step.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. The engagement will happen sooner or later! Let's not talk about that now. Come, let's just go in already!" said Yunus as he brought her into the hotel.

Meanwhile, Gerald had just entered a private room. Melissa had invited quite a lot of people that day and aside from her cousin, Rosalie, most of the others were young people who looked to be around the same age.

Some of them seemed to be from Mayberry while the others came from elsewhere. The only constant was that they all treated Gerald extremely respectfully and cordially.

This was especially so for Melissa who had constantly been serving him food as she sat beside him.

Melissa had even invited Gerald to have fun with them that night, since there was another group of friends who would be attending then.

Though Gerald had initially planned to leave after sitting there for just a while, not long after they entered the room, Melissa ordered for the food to be served. As a result, he couldn't help but stay and continue having a few more drinks with them.

The group of people was rather good at drinking.

As everyone drank and chatted with one another, at some point, one of the guests started getting a little drunk.

It was Melissa's cousin, Rosalie.

"I don't think I can take anymore... I'm getting a bit dizzy so I'll just retreat to the car for now and get a nap. You guys go on ahead and continue drinking," said Rosalie.

"Huh? I thought you were a good drinker! Also why the car? There are rooms in this hotel. Let me just get one for you to take a rest in. Ah, I also have a bottle of soda with me. Here, drink some of it to make yourself more comfortable!" said Melissa as she opened the bottle and handed it over to Rosalie.

Rosalie simply nodded slightly. She really looked like she couldn't take anymore.

As Melissa told a waiter to prepare a room, Rosalie could barely stand properly. It was apparent that she was really bad at drinking.

"Hey Melissa, let me help you get Sister Owens upstairs!" volunteered one of the young men in the room.

While Melissa was beautiful, Rosalie's looks surpassed even hers. Despite the fact that she was much older, she exuded a special charm.

Adding that to her good disposition, it was almost certain for every man who locked their eyes on her to eventually be charmed.

"Oh, get lost! Don't assume I don't know what you're thinking! Let me tell you, my sister is an Owens and she comes from Northbay! She's not someone you can simply take advantage of!" said Melissa, in an annoyed tone.

Though she said that, she definitely looked like she needed help. It would be both difficult and tiring for her to get Rosalie upstairs all by herself.

She then looked at Gerald before saying, "I trust you, Mr. Crawford. Could you help me get my cousin upstairs?"

"Sure thing," said Gerald while nodding slightly.

Though it was rather inconvenient for him to do so, he couldn't just reject Melissa's plea. He wasn't thinking of any wicked thoughts either so he simply obliged.

Eventually, both of them managed to get Rosalie into a room on the seventh floor.

With the back of her hand placed against her forehead, Rosalie quickly fell asleep as soon as she got to her bed.

Melissa sighed before saying, "Let her take a rest for now... I didn't think she was this bad at drinking. On the contrary, you're quite good at that, aren't you Mr. Crawford?"

"I'm not too bad at it."

As he said that, the sound of retching could be heard. Rosalie was vomiting terribly and she looked extremely unwell.

"Oh god, are you alright cousin? I'll go get some medicine to help you sober up. Could I trouble you to help look after my cousin for a while, Mr. Crawford? I'll be right back!" said Melissa as she rushed out of the room.

Gerald however, didn't know how to look after her.

After vomiting for a while, Rosalie eventually fell asleep again in a daze.

Feeling it would be imprudent of him to remain in the room, he took the room's access card and stood by the door. Gerald would wait for Melissa to come back there.

Not long after, he heard Rosalie's voice from inside the room. However, her voice suggested that she was struggling. It was almost like she was being constricted by something.

Gerald didn't pay much attention to the sounds at first. He thought that it was just her being drunk.

However, the more he listened, the stranger the noises got. There seemed to be other noises coming from within the room as well.

Chapter 607

The more he pondered about the noises, the stranger the situation felt. Eventually, he decided to open the door to see what was going on. What he saw made his eyes widen in astonishment.

A strange man was trying to undress Rosalie in the room! Rosalie seemed to have been struggling for quite a while and tears were already in her eyes.

When the man saw Gerald, he simply smiled coldly before jumping off the bed and diving out the window.

But this was the seventh floor.

Gerald immediately rushed toward the window and looked down. However, there was no trace of the man at all.

'Where the hell did he go?' Gerald thought to himself, stunned.

Turning around to check on Rosalie, Gerald found himself blushing deeply. As he was just about to cover her up with some blankets, he heard footsteps coming from outside.

"For heaven's sake, why are you so annoying? Gerald's already looking after my cousin, there's no need for you to come along! You aren't getting anything by doing this!" said Melissa's voice a little down the hallway.

It would appear that the group he had been drinking with earlier had followed Melissa as well. From her tone, it was clear that they had insisted on coming along, possibly because they saw her leaving to get medicine earlier.

'D*mn it! What should I even do now?'

Gerald was stupefied. What kind of misunderstandings would arise if they saw him in a room with a half- undressed Rosalie?

What more, when he attempted to help put her clothes on, Rosalie simply looked at him with teary eyes and told him not to come any closer. To make matters worse, she started calling for help with a faint voice!

'D*mn it all!'

At that moment, knocking could be heard at the door.

"Gerald? Are you in there? Could you open the door- ...Wait, cousin? Is that you? What's wrong?" shouted Melissa from behind the door. She had clearly heard her cousin's voice calling for help by now.

"Gerald? Mr. Crawford? Are you in there?" asked Melissa in her shocked state.

"Yes, I'm still in here!" replied Gerald as he immediately went to open the door.

"What took you so long to open the door? Could you have been- Ah!"

Though she had initially meant to tease him, when she saw the scene before her, she immediately let out a scream.

Hearing that, the other people who came with Melissa peeked in and some of them began screaming as well.

Everyone there was now looking at Gerald in disbelief. Though Mr. Crawford looked like a gentleman, to think that he was actually such a cunning and dirty person!

"What... What did you do to my cousin, Mr. Crawford?!" shouted Melissa.

"I... You're misunderstanding the situation! I didn't do anything!"

"If it wasn't you, then why would my cousin do something like that to herself?" retorted Melissa.

"Someone else was in here! When he saw me after I came back in to check on her, he leaped out the room's window!"

Gerald was definitely having a hard time defending himself and explaining the situation properly.

"We're on the seventh floor!"

A few of the men rushed toward the window before shouting, "Holy, it's so high up here! If anyone jumps from this height, they'll be crippled for life if they don't die!"

As Melissa covered Rosalie with some blankets, she said, "I trusted you, Mr. Crawford... To think that you were so dirty and wicket... I can't believe my grandpa actually praised you for having good conduct! You're as disgusting as they come!"

"She's right! It never once occurred to me that Mr. Crawford was actually someone like this! He hid his true colors so well! At least the other rich heirs act straightforwardly!" said a girl disdainfully.

"I swear to god, I wasn't involved in this! It's all a huge misunderstanding! Go look at the surveillance footage! I was standing outside this entire time!" replied Gerald.

Someone then immediately went off to notify the manager. It wasn't long before the manager arrived.

"Fetch me the surveillance footage for this floor right this instant!" ordered Gerald.

"Surveillance footage? Apologies, Mr. Crawford, but our surveillance system went out of order yesterday! I'm rather anxious about it since we still haven't managed to repair it yet!" replied the manager.

"How do you know who I am?"

Chapter 608

This was the question Gerald posed as he looked at the manager.

The manager simply smiled apologetically before saying, "I've met you once at the chamber of commerce, Mr. Crawford. Also, your elder sister, CEO Jessica Crawford, has given me a lot of attention in the past! It would be impossible for me not to know who you are!"

"Humph! Stop trying to put up a show here, Gerald! Literally everyone in Mayberry involved in the business field needs to pay at least some respect to you! We know both of you are on the same side! Why's the surveillance system broken now? Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental?" said Melissa rather angrily in a loud voice.

By then, several other people who were staying the night had walked out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about. It wasn't long before the floor's hallways became crowded. Soon after, the gossiping started as well.

"What's going on?"

"It appears that some rich heir saw a drunk girl and dragged her into a room. Thankfully the girl's cousin managed to stop him before he could r*pe her! But really though, what a wicked b*stard he is!"

"Oh lord, and here I thought I'd only be able to witness such things on television! I can't believe it happened in real life too! Disgusting!"

As the discussions went on, some nosy person even contacted the news hotline.

While all that was happening, Yunus was having a meal with Giya on the hotel's third floor. Mayberry Grand Hotel was a hotel that prided itself in its entertainment, leisure, and dining experiences.

The two were currently seated in a very grand looking restaurant. Despite that, Giya had only taken a few bites of her food.

At that moment, a group of customers entered the restaurant. After sitting down on the table beside the duo, they began discussing what had happened upstairs.

"Hey, have you heard? Something big is happening on the seventh floor!"

After listening in to snippets of what they had to say, Yunus sipped his red wine before saying, "Why are there so many wicked and dirty people in the world..." He then proceeded to smile subtly.

Giya on the other hand, frowned slightly.

"So what happened after that? Are they still arguing about that? Actually hold on, who's the rich man in question?"

"I heard that he's someone extremely influential and powerful! I'm not too sure, but some have said that it's Mr. Crawford himself!" said one of the seated people.

"What? Mr. Crawford? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"Well of course it is! Why would he even do such a thing?" shouted Giya out of the blue as she looked at the people sitting next to them.

"...Huh? Why are you being angry with us? We're just talking about what we heard. If you want to be sure, just go upstairs and check for yourself!" replied another man.

"Anyway, what does Mr. Crawford look like? Is he handsome? He's particularly mysterious, isn't he?"

"He's rather handsome, but still, he did something so imprudent! I heard a few of them addressing him as Gerald or something. I say he's definitely Mr. Crawford!"

When she heard Gerald's name, Giya's body trembled slightly.

"What... What did you say? What was his name?" asked Giya as she stood up.

"G-Gerald!" replied the person beside her, slightly intimidated.

"...That's impossible. It's definitely impossible!" said Giya in utter disbelief.

When she saw a few people heading upstairs, presumably to catch a glimpse of the scene, Giya ran to the seventh floor as well.

Yunus only smiled bitterly as he watched her leave. As he took another sip of red wine, he took his phone out and made a call. "You can come upstairs now!"

After that, he too began ascending the building.

"Move aside, please! We're reporters!"

At that moment, the seventh floor was getting increasingly noisy.

The ones who had shouted were reporters from Mayberry News, and they were currently rushing toward the scene. With any luck, the incident would be the headline for the following day's newspaper.

Gerald himself was surrounded by several people. He had neither the means to defend himself nor any logical way to explain the situation.

Giya on the other hand, had just arrived at the scene and she took a step back in disbelief the moment she saw Gerald.

"That's... That's impossible! It's preposterous! Gerald isn't someone like that!" murmured Giya softly to herself.

"Impossible? He's right there! Caught red-handed! He had tried to do something improper to a drunk girl and even the victim is saying that he's the perpetrator!" retorted one of the guests who had heard Giya's comment.

"Lissa? Why are you here? What happened?"

The voice had come from Yunus who saw Melissa as he approached the scene. Behind him, was a group of bodyguards.

"...Eh? Yunus? I'm so glad that you're here! It's Sister Owens! Something has happened to her!"

Chapter 609

"What? Sister Owens is the victim?" asked Yunus, stunned.

"She is!" replied Melissa before explaining everything she knew about the incident. Rosalie was slowly sobering up by then.

Despite her dizziness, she still glared at Gerald with resentment. Though she had been very drunk earlier, she was aware enough to know that it was Gerald and her cousin who had helped her into the room.

While she was still dazed, someone forcefully tried to take her clothes off! Who else could have done so if not Gerald? Thinking about it made Rosalie's eyes water.

"How bold of you! I hope that you realize that the Longs have had a good relationship with the Owens for generations! How dare you do something so improper to Sister Owens! Audacious! The Longs of Yanken will definitely make you pay a heavy price for this, regardless of how powerful you are!" said Yunus coldly.

"Huh? The Longs of Yanken? Holy cr*p it's Mr. Long! This has become a much bigger deal now! Not only are the Owens involved, but also the Longs!"

"My god, though Mr. Crawford is quite powerful, how would he ever be able to endure the wrath from both Mr. Long and the Owens? This situation is really getting..."

The group of people there started whispering among themselves after hearing all that.

"Yunus, please seek justice on my cousin's behalf! She was nearly humiliated by this b*stard!" shouted Melissa.

"Oh don't worry, I plan to do exactly that!" replied Yunus as he smiled wickedly.

After saying that, he immediately sent a swift kick toward Gerald.

"Beat him up real good! I don't care how f*cking rich he is! He's bold enough to humiliate an Owens, is he? Beat him up without any mercy!" shouted Yunus.

Hearing his command, a few of his bodyguards immediately rushed forward and surrounded Gerald. The young men and women present were no longer afraid of Gerald either since Yunus was on their side.

Just as they were about to attack, Giya suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

She was in tears as she shouted.

"Giya? Why are you here?" asked Gerald, stunned when he saw her.

Though she didn't verbally reply, she turned to look at Gerald. Her utter disappointment was apparent in her eyes.

She then said to Yunus, "Mr. Long, please let him off. I'm begging you..."

"Let him go? Humph! Giya, it's not like I don't want to help you, but this person is too wicked to be let off without being taught a lesson! I won't be able to face Mr. Owens and the others if I don't do anything now! Don't meddle in this!" replied Yunus coldly.

"I'm begging you! Just let him go!" pleaded Giya.

Giya was in despair because of the unexpected incident. To think the person that she was in love with turned out to be such a disgusting man. She just couldn't accept it.

However, it was even more difficult for her to just watch Gerald getting beaten up right before her eyes. She could feel herself ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Seeing her reaction, Yunus gave a faint smile.

"Alright then, Giya. Since you begged so hard, I won't personally teach him a lesson. However, since he's created so much trouble, the others are still free to do so!"

After saying that, he waved his hand at his subordinates and they immediately retreated from the scene.

"Giya! I didn't do any of this! You need to believe me!"

Gerald was now starting to realize something.

'Too many coincidences have occurred tonight. Why was that person in that room?'

'And how could Yunus just so happen to be here at this very moment?'

These thoughts swirled in Gerald's mind as he came to the conclusion that he was being set up. A specific target to be brought down.

Despite his realization, under these circumstances, he still wouldn't be able to explain himself well.

"I'm not hearing any of it!" shouted Giya as she glared at Gerald one final time before pushing the others aside and rushing downstairs.

"Giya!"

Before he left with his bodyguards to catch up with Giya, Yunus motioned his eyes toward Gerald as he passed by a man dressed in black. The long-haired man with an extremely pale face had been standing in a corner this entire time.

"You're not allowed to leave, Gerald! You owe my cousin an explanation regarding what happened today!" shouted Melissa.

A group of people actively prevented Gerald from leaving the scene.

Chapter 610

Just as Gerald felt like he had already hit rock bottom, he felt a chill run down his spine as a hand was placed on his shoulder.

When he turned around, he saw a man with hair as long as a woman's standing right behind him. Gerald felt almost pressured by the man's immense intimidation alone.

"Step aside! What are all of you doing here?" shouted an old voice out of the blue.

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here old man? Stop shoving others around!"

The crowd then began scolding the person who had first shouted.

"I'm here to look for my grandson! You're all just standing in the way!" sneered the owner of the old voice as he squeezed himself into the room.

Seeing how shabbily he was dressed, the people in the room hurriedly opened a path for him as they tried to avoid him like the plague.

The long-haired man on the other hand, simply glared coldly at the old man as he retracted his hand.

"What are you doing? Let go of my grandson!" growled the old man as he stepped forward and shoved Melissa to the side.

Gerald could hardly believe his eyes. It was the old beggar that kept pestering him.

"He's your grandson?" asked Melissa, stunned.

"Humph! What, don't we look alike? My grandson, I went looking for you today but that group of people said that you weren't there! I thought you had abandoned me and headed for the Salford Province alone! I'm glad you're still here, now let's go!"

The old man wasn't even going to bother asking about the details of the incident Gerald had found himself in. He simply grabbed Gerald's arm and began to pull him out of the room.

"Who said you could leave!" growled the long-haired man, his eyes both frigid and ferocious as he immediately tried to grab Gerald's other arm.

His attempt, however, was blocked when the old man grabbed onto his wrist. After the old man lifted his hand away from Gerald's arm, the long-haired man instantly retreated backward, his back hitting the wall.

At that moment, the long-haired youth started sweating profusely. All he could do was stare at the old man in shock.

Gerald knew that his only way of escaping at that moment, was by relying on that old man. Thus, he simply remained silent as the old man led him to the exit.

"Are you alright, my grandson?" asked the old man with a smile. They were now standing beside a riverbank in a park.

"I'm fine. Thank you, sir," replied Gerald, his voice filled with gratitude.

If the old man hadn't appeared earlier, Gerald would probably still be there trying to explain himself. It was pretty clear that he wasn't going to be able to leave easily.

Despite feeling grateful, Gerald was feeling equally as confused.

'How is this old man always able to casually appear whenever I'm facing difficulties? He's also always indirectly helping me...'

'That's not all, how did he even know where to look for me today in that hotel?'

As Gerald thought about it, he looked toward the old man before asking, "Sir, how exactly were you able to find me today? Were you stalking me this entire time?"

As soon as Gerald asked that, the old man seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"In all honesty, I was. You've helped me before, remember. Since I knew you were in trouble, I couldn't just turn a blind eye! I knew I had to help no matter what!"

He then smiled before continuing, "You allowed me to take that bath and even treated me to a meal yesterday. I suppose you could say we're both even now."

"You mentioned me being in trouble... How exactly did you find out about that?"

The old man suddenly seemed much more mysterious than Gerald had initially thought.

"Well you see, I was sleeping in the garage last night and I just so happened to hear a few people discussing how to frame you today! After I heard their plan, I immediately ran looking for you. As was expected, you fell right into their trap!" explained the old man.

The old man then elaborated a bit more.

While he was looking for a place to rest in the underground garage, he had heard Yunus making a call. It turned out that Yunus had conspired with Melissa to frame Gerald today!

All the puzzle pieces were coming together now. Both love and resentment had played a part in this event. No wonder Melissa had tried her best to invite him over to the so-called gathering she had organized. It was all just a giant scheme she had conspired with Yunus!

Every step had been meticulously plotted out.

Even before the old man told him about this, Gerald had already thought about this possibility. There were simply too many coincidences happening in one night for the incident to seem natural.

Now however, Gerald was being faced with a dilemma.

'Why on earth would Melissa want to frame me? We don't even hold any grudges toward each other!'

"Humph. Silly boy... You're so much wealthier than they are but you're too kind. They don't need a valid reason to plot against you," said the old man with a smile as he shook his head.

"Also, this incident is much more serious than how you're imagining it to be. If I hadn't dragged you away, your tendons would have been ruined by now. He was aiming to do it on purpose of course. And he would definitely have repeated the tendon injuring process many more times had I not saved you!" said the man based on what he could earlier see.

After hearing that, Gerald was filled with great fear.

Previously, the bulk of the troubles he faced were mostly related to interests. He was unwilling to make it difficult for others, so that he wouldn't be seen as cruel or ruthless.

Now however, Gerald finally understood what his sister had meant. If a person wasn't cruel enough, they wouldn't be able to stand firm.

Even if the person was an influential and powerful heir, they could still easily be ruined if they didn't project a ruthless and strong enough aura.

After heaving a long sigh, Gerald's eyes slowly turned icy cold.

Chapter 611

While that was happening...

"Mr. Long, I apologize but I've failed!"

"What? How did you manage to fail, Scorpion? Can't you take down a mere person like Gerald?" said Yunus through the phone, dumbfounded. He was in the washroom when he received the call from Scorpion.

"I apologize, but an expert helped him escape! If I hadn't retracted my arm in time it would've been broken by now!" replied Scorpion as he held the phone with his good hand. He was making the call from inside a car.

Scorpion's arm—which had been placed on a flat surface—was now pulsing, his tendons all protruding and red. It almost seemed like fresh worms had covered his entire arm. At the moment, he couldn't even move it.

His forehead was covered with cold sweat and he felt rather weak.

"D*mn it all! That b*stard's really f*cking lucky! But either way, we already have a good start! Once the headline goes public tomorrow, he'll definitely become extremely infamous! The Owens won't let him off easily and my family will just help them then! It's only a matter of them before we ruin him completely! Also, go get some rest for now, Scorpion!" said Yunus before hanging up the call.

As soon as the call ended, Yunus saw that Melissa was calling him now.

"Hey Yunus? Wasn't there too much of a commotion today? You just told me to trick him and get him into the room right? I distinctly remember that you said that my cousin wouldn't suffer any losses in this. Why did you end up doing that?" asked Melissa rather anxiously.

"What losses? Rosalie didn't go through any of that. She wasn't even humiliated! The most important thing is that we got the results we wanted. Isn't that what matters the most?" replied Yunus in a persuasive tone.

"Humph! How could you say she wasn't humiliated under those circumstances? She was half naked in the end! Don't forget she's an Owens! We need to settle this affair quickly or it's going to be difficult to explain all this to our families!" said Melissa before sighing.

"I really regret helping you now... You have no idea how much trouble I've gone through. I've been accompanying and entertaining Gerald since last night you know! I was so afraid that he would refuse to attend my gathering. If he really did end up doing that, I would've had to think of another way to get him to go there!"

"Also I hope that you realize that I've officially offended a rich heir in Mayberry because of you. He and his sister's wealth isn't too far off from what the Longs have! I missed a great opportunity to befriend a rich youth because of you!"

Yunus then burst into laughter before saying, "What exactly are you regretting about? You have the Longs of Yanken backing you up now! It's like you've just gained the most powerful and influential people on your side! Regardless of where you are in Weston, everywhere there is under the influence of my family! I hope you realize that Gerald only has influence here in Mayberry! Alright, since you helped me get Giya this time, I promise to grant you a wish too!" replied Yunus as he smiled bitterly in resignation.

Only after saying that was he able to slowly coax and pacify Melissa.

Meanwhile, Gerald had just returned to his hotel. However, there was a distinct difference now. The entire hotel had been enclosed.

Zack, Michael, and the Drake & Tyson duo were already waiting for him inside.

They had received some news regarding the incident today, which led them to pay most of their attention on it.

Initially, they had thought that the Longs would be hesitant and not daring enough to actually make a move on Gerald. It turned out, however, that everyone's judgment had clearly been wrong.

"We've caught the news director, Mr. Crawford! The f*cker was already arranging for the news headline for tomorrow at home!" said both Drake and Tyson as they rushed into the private room.

"Bring him in!" said Gerald in a cold voice as he sat down on the boss's chair.

He couldn't help it. Since Yunus had spent so much effort to frame him, he needed to tackle the news issue first. Yunus's slander on Gerald could not be exposed under any circumstances.

"What are you all doing? Unhand me!" shouted a middle-aged man who was soon dragged into the room by a few bodyguards.

The man in question was the news director who had been bribed by Yunus. He went by the name of Leach.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Leach. I'm sure you already know why I brought you here today. Where are the things that your subordinates captured today?" asked Gerald.

"I have no clue what you're hinting at, Mr. Crawford. Also if I may, you'd better reconsider what you're doing right now! It's only fair, right, and proper for my subordinates to take photographs! I'll never hand over any photographs they take regardless of what you do to me!"

Chapter 612

Mr. Leach's tone was icy as he said that.

"Fair, right, and proper you say? As if! From what we've found, your subordinates had been lying in wait in their cars for at least two hours before the event even took place! Are you saying that they were able to foresee tonight's incident that early on?"

"While the surveillance system in the hotel was conveniently out of order today, they're still working just fine in other places! Let's just cut to the chase, Mr. Leach. I'm sure you know a lot more about today's incident than me, am I right?" interrogated Gerald.

This was the first time Gerald had ever been framed.

His sister had previously told him that doing business would be both a test, and a chance for him to gain experience. Gerald hadn't felt the weight of her words before this, but he realized just how true her statement was now.

Despite hearing Gerald's words, Mr. Leach refused to talk and simply averted his gaze.

To him, regardless of how powerful Gerald was, it was only a matter of fame. Sure, Gerald and his sister were famous, but the Longs from Yanken were different. They were an entire family.

Mr. Leach would much rather offend Mr. Crawford alone rather than Mr. Long and the rest of his family.

"Since you're remaining quiet, I'm certain now that you've been trying to deliberately ruin me. It seems like I don't need to play the nice guy anymore!" said Gerald.

"Humph. I know what you're trying to do. I anticipated that something like this would happen so I've already informed my subordinates to expose the entire incident if I don't return in an hour. While they're at it, they'll make a police report as well!" replied Mr. Leach.

"Oh, is that so? Mr. Leach you're overthinking it. I only called you over to ask you a few questions. I've no intention of doing anything to you. You may leave now..." said Gerald with a faint smile.

After he said that, Mr. Leach was allowed to leave. Confused, he slowly got up to head for the exit but then he saw Gerald taking his phone out.

Gerald then began playing a video on his phone.

"Daddy! H-help! Save me!" screamed a girl's voice in fear through Gerald's phone.

When Mr. Leach heard her voice, he immediately rushed back in before anxiously saying, "What are you doing? Is that my daughter's voice?"

"Humph! You don't have to worry about her. Your daughter's now in your village hometown. You know, our company's film and television department have gone there to shoot a video about safety education. It was only natural for us to invite your daughter for the shooting since she's so beautiful! Her role is of a young girl who's been kidnapped and if her father isn't able to meet a compromise with the kidnappers, she'll be killed!" said Zack with a smile before taking the phone from Gerald's hand and showing it to Mr. Leach.

When he watched the video, he found that what Zack had said was indeed true.

Mr. Leach gulped slightly at that moment. Their implicit message to him was clear as day.

Mr. Long had indeed arranged for the entire incident to happen, just to slander Mr. Crawford. Mr. Leach knew full well that he was the one who was wrong here.

Even if someone wanted to take revenge on Mr. Leach, he knew he couldn't say anything.

However, his daughter was safe now and she was even having fun with Mr. Crawford's staff. Mr. Crawford had given him a great deal of respect and he couldn't just keep his act up.

"...Mr. Crawford, when they claimed that you r*ped that girl at first, I certainly didn't believe that. I felt like there was some kind of misunderstanding, and I now know that it's a terribly, terribly huge misunderstanding!" said Mr. Leach, his face pale.

"You're not the one at fault here, Mr. Leach. Also, we aren't scummy enough to freely blackmail others like Yunus. Tell us how we should resolve this. Understand that if you do deliberately try to ruin me, I'll definitely not be willing and happy about it!" said Gerald.

"Alright, I'll tell all of you the truth now. Yunus told us to modify the photographs in order to slander you. His goal is to get the Owens to become your enemies! I, for one, believe that you would never do such a dirty and wicked thing, Mr. Crawford!" explained Mr. Leach, his entire body covered in cold sweat.

Now that Mr. Leach had told them the truth, Gerald looked toward Zack and nodded slightly. Zack then showed Mr. Leach another video.

As he watched the video, his eyes widened in disbelief. Mr. Leach was soon so angry that his entire face turned pale.

Chapter 613

"Are those... Mr. Long's subordinates?"

The video displayed a house in the village, and in it, five men in black suits were simultaneously being tied and beaten up. All their faces were swollen by the time Gerald's subordinates stopped and began standing guard over the captives.

There was no doubt about it. Those tied up men could only be Mr. Long's subordinates.

"Mr. Leach, Yunus is an extremely wicked man. Since he was afraid that you'd go back on your words, he ordered for some of his subordinates to capture your daughter this afternoon! You're lucky that our men got there first!" replied Zack with a smile.

After hearing his explanation, Mr. Leach was now able to piece together the entire incident.

"That Yunus! How wicked that man is! I was almost fooled by him! Mr. Crawford, I've severely wronged you this time!" said Mr. Leach as he apologetically bowed repeatedly in front of Gerald.

His apology was sincere. After all, it was Gerald's indirect involvement that saved his daughter. Mr. Leach knew now that Yunus was the kind of person who would use all kinds of underhanded schemes and means just to achieve his goals.

If Yunus had actually been able to capture his daughter, bad things would definitely have happened to her if Mr. Leach had chosen to go against him.

Thinking about it alone made Mr. Leach shiver with both regret and fear. Simultaneously, he was also feeling guilty and thankful toward Mr. Crawford.

After a while, he lowered his voice before saying, "...Mr. Crawford, I have a recording here with me that I'm certain you'll be extremely interested in!"

Hearing that, Gerald and Zack looked at each other silently for a moment. Gerald then nodded his head and Mr. Leach slid out a recording.

It seemed that Gerald no longer needed to worry about the news issue anymore. Mr. Leach himself seemed to know what he needed to do to handle the rest of the mess.

All that was left to do, was for Gerald to properly deal with Yunus.

At that moment, Gerald's phone suddenly started ringing. To his surprise, it was a call from Tammy. As he thought about it, he realized that he hadn't met her in a while, even though she was Giya's best friend.

He guessed that she must be calling because of what had happened today between him and Giya. Giya had definitely misunderstood the situation.

As soon as he picked the phone up, he could immediately hear Tammy's dissatisfied voice saying, "What is the meaning of this, Gerald?"

"What did you do to Giya? She's been crying endlessly from the moment she got home just now! Today was supposed to be an extremely joyous day for her since she got first place for this semester! She had

even been entitled the most outstanding student of recommendation to be admitted to the university! We had initially planned to host a celebratory party for her! How did things end up like this?"

"There's been some misunderstandings and I wasn't able to explain anything to her in time!" replied Gerald.

At first, Gerald cared quite a bit about how Giya viewed him since she was, after all, his friend.

Even before Tammy called, he had already thought about giving her a well-deserved explanation. With the current turn of events, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to do so anymore.

However, Gerald was unable to simply shake off the fact that Giya had been sharing a meal with his enemy. The more he thought about it, the more angry and resentful toward her he became.

He had treated her as his friend, but she ended up being together with Yunus.

'What more is there for me to explain?' Gerald thought to himself.

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? I've asked her but she was unwilling to tell me anything. You're being vague as well, so if it really is just some misunderstanding, just come over quickly and explain the whole story to her. We're at Giya's home now!"

Tammy was well aware of the relationship between Gerald, Mila, and Giya. However, the one causing Giya to have such excruciating pain was still Gerald. As Giya's best friend, Tammy just couldn't bear to see her suffering like that.

That was the reason why she snuck out to give Gerald a call in the first place.

"I refuse to go," said Gerald in a soft voice.

'There's no need for me to get further entangled within this mess. I've already stood against the Longs for Xavia's sake. Now there's Giya. '

Gerald felt uneasy being in the midst of this issue, mostly because Giya was involved in the equation

"What do you mean you're not coming? Look, I know you have Mila, but please! Even if you don't want to continue being her friend, you need to explain the situation to her properly! After all, all of this started because of misunderstandings, no? She had fallen in love with you back then because you randomly gave her that jade bracelet! I know now that you're Mr. Crawford and that you're amazing and all, but don't you think it's a bit imprudent for you to just play with a girl's heart like that?" replied Tammy, her voice anxious.

"I didn't play with anyone's heart!" said Gerald.

However, what Tammy said was enough to make Gerald reconsider. It was true that his entire relationship with Giya has started just because of some misunderstandings.

Nothing he had done at the time was on purpose.

Chapter 614

Gerald sighed to himself.

'I'll just go and explain it to her... I'll reveal to her what kind of person Yunus really is!'

"Fine, I'll head over now!" said Gerald.

It was now already six in the evening and this time, Gerald didn't go alone. The Drake & Tyson duo followed him all the way to Giya's home.

When they arrived at the front gates, the duo waited outside as Gerald entered.

"There, there, Giya... Please don't be sad anymore... Though I'm not quite sure what happened between the two of you, today's still the day you received the title of most outstanding student of recommendation to be admitted to the university... It's a day for celebration, isn't it?" persuaded Tammy.

"Besides, maybe one day Gerald will come to realize just how good you are!"

Giya simply sneered when she heard that.

"Stop trying to persuade me, Tammy. The thing that happened between me and Gerald isn't as simple... Actually, forget about it. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Whenever I think of him now, I just feel disgusted!" said Giya as she took a deep breath.

At the moment, Giya was feeling rather frightened of all men in general. After all, she had earlier seen with her very own eyes that no matter how nice a man looked, he would eventually just turn out to be some sc*mbag in secret.

If she hadn't witnessed the scene for herself, she wouldn't ever have believed that Gerald had done such a thing. To think that the person she used to like was no different from all the other men.

"Alright, alright, I won't talk about it anymore... However, that doesn't change the fact that you should be happy today! I've even prepared a surprise for you!" said Tammy as she sipped some red wine.

Just as everyone became curious as to what the surprise Tammy had prepared was, the doorbell was rung.

"The surprise is here! Coming!" said Tammy excitedly as she headed toward the door.

Feeling that she shouldn't show any further negative emotions, Giya broke into a faint smile as she looked at the door.

However, when she saw Gerald standing at the door, her smile gradually faded.

Tammy laughed out loud before saying, "As they say, the person who starts it must end it! I called him over so that you two can talk it out! You can settle any unhappy misunderstandings with each other now!" said Tammy.

"Why did you come?" asked Giya. Her usually charming face was now as cold as ice.

"I came to explain about what happened today. It's all just one big misunderstanding," said Gerald.

"I don't want to hear it so you don't have to explain anything. If there isn't anything else, Mr. Crawford, then please leave. Seeing such a despicable person standing before me hurts my eyes!" replied Giya, her words icy cold.

Gerald took a deep breath before saying, "Look, I just want to sort out the misunderstandings..."

"I really don't think that's necessary, Mr. Crawford. It's not a big deal whether you explain it to me or not anyway. Also, it's already night time. It's improper of you to be here since there are only girls here. I also don't want Yunus to think that I'm still contacting you! So if there's nothing else just leave already!" said Giya, colder than ever.

After hearing that, it was crystal clear to Gerald.

'Now that I think about it, it is rather ridiculous. It was unnecessary for me to come here to try to explain myself in the first place.'

'What more, she's already addressing him as Yunus now instead of Mr. Long. I guess she's finally found her true love.'

"Very well! I won't bother you anymore!" said Gerald with a bitter smile before turning to leave.

"Hold it!" shouted Giya as Gerald stopped.

"There's something I want to return to you."

Chapter 615

The object in question was the jade bracelet that Gerald had given to her before.

"From this moment onward, we'll cease to have a relationship! Humph! To think that I kept this jade bracelet with me till now... At first, I thought that it would be a nice memento to keep with me since we would never be able to be with each other! However, mementos aren't necessary anymore! You can have it back!" said Giya coldly as she handed the bracelet over to him.

"Fine by me!"

"Also, Gerald, I hope that you'll delete my contact number after this. You stick with your Mila and I'll stick with Yunus. We'll have no reason to see or even talk to each other again after that!"

"Will do!"

Gerald didn't really have much else to say. After taking the bracelet, he simply greeted Tammy and the other girls with a silent nod before immediately leaving the premise.

"...What? Why... Why did he let you go so easily, Giya? What exactly happened between you two?" asked Tammy, her confusion apparent in her voice.

"It's nothing, just stop asking about it. By the way, Yunus gave me a rather luxurious gift to me this afternoon. I'll bring it over for all of you to see. Wait here while I go get it!" said Giya as she wiped her tears away and forced on a smile.

Seeing how hard Giya was forcing herself to smile, her friends just couldn't bring themselves to eat, drink, or enjoy themselves.

"Giya, could you please not be like this? Look, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but could you please refrain from torturing yourself? We all know that you don't like Yunus. You clearly like Gerald so why are you lying to yourself like this?" said Tammy.

"I'm not torturing myself at all! You're all just overthinking this. You know, I think I finally understand now. I've never really liked Gerald the way a woman likes a man. Now that I think about it, all those feelings I had for him were probably just out of pity and compassion! I never loved him in the first place!"

"Regardless, I'm already quite happy and relaxed now. I no longer have to worry about or miss him anymore! I can be together with Mr. Long and the Long's daughter-in-law! Humph! To be frank, aren't you all jealous of me?" said Giya with a smile.

Tammy and the others could only look at each other helplessly. Nobody knew what to say so they remained silent.

Gerald on the other hand, knew that everything between him and Giya had finally ended. He couldn't really put a name to the emotion he was feeling.

It was neither joy, nor sorrow. To put simply, the feelings he felt were complicated.

When he got back to the hotel with the Drake & Tyson Duo, Gerald received a call from Zack regarding the search for the person who had leaped from the hotel's seventh floor window.

Though Zack had implemented several tactics—some more forceful than others—to find that person, he was unable to find the perpetrator.

From what they could speculate, the person they were looking for had to be a skilled climber. It would also be natural to assume that he was very cunning as well.

While Gerald was fine with not getting instant results—since they had already received the needed clarification from Mr. Leach earlier that Gerald was indeed being slandered—the person who had leaped out the window still needed to be caught eventually.

Noticing that Zack was blaming himself, Gerald simply advised him not to be too anxious.

The night was peaceful for Gerald and he headed to bed early.

However, more chaotic things were happening amidst the peace.

As an unknown person sat beside a river, he slyly said, "I've done what you wanted, Mr. Long. But I've yet to see the money that I've been promised."

"Humph! Have patience! Your main goal is still to find a proper place to hide in. Worry not, the pay isn't going anywhere!" sneered a cold voice on the other end of the line.

Chapter 616

"The thing is, I don't feel easy about this at all, Mr. Long. I hope that you're aware that because of you, I ended up not only offending Mr. Crawford, but also the Owens family. You know, Mr. Crawford's men were looking for me all over Mayberry City yesterday. If Miss Rosalie actually decides to look into the case in future, then I'll surely be done for!"

The speaker, then added, "I've already given up everything just to help you this time, so fork out the cash as soon as possible. The sooner I leave this godforsaken place, the better. It isn't a stretch to say that the Owens family will eventually find out who really laid their hands on Miss Rosalie. Should that happen, chaos will surely ensue. After all, the Longs and the Owens have had so many business dealings together!"

"D*mn it, Harry! Are you threatening me?" replied Yunus as he snorted coldly.

Yunus had indeed been the one who had set up both Rosalie and Gerald back in the hotel. It was part of his plan to gather capable allies in order to finally bring Gerald down. After all, the Owens and the Longs held almost equal amounts of power. With the two great forces combined, Yunus would definitely be able to finally defeat Gerald.

If everything went according to plan, not only would he have saved the damsel in distress, but he would also have helped the Long family regain their power and industries in Mayberry City.

The Longs would finally get their chance to take revenge after Jessica drove them out of Mayberry City's commercial industry in the past.

Once that happened, it would pave the way for Yunus to inherit a greater share of his family's succession in the future.

Naturally, Harry was also aware of the grudge between the Crawfords and the Longs.

He knew how Yunus had easily gathered so many supporters and helpers in Mayberry City within such a short amount of time. The Long family had, after all, been part of Mayberry City in the past, and the connections and relations that they had built back then still stood to this very day.

"Look, I don't really like threatening you either, but I don't really have a choice here. If I don't get the money soon, I might not even survive long enough to get it! Just so you know, Gerald's sister isn't back yet. What do you think is going to happen to me when she returns and finds out that I had colluded with you to frame her brother? Have you forgotten what she did to the Long family back then? Do you need me to refresh you on what exactly happened?" said Harry.

"Alright, alright... Where are you? I'll send someone over to hand you the money now. Make sure you keep your mouth zipped tight and leave as soon as you receive the money!" replied Yunus coldly.

After hearing that, Harry immediately shared his location with Yunus. It didn't take long for two Maybach cars to appear before Harry.

Out stepped an old man followed by a few bodyguards dressed entirely in black.

The moment all of them stood in front of Harry, he began chuckling before saying, "Now this is how it should be! Setting up others to take the blame is my forte. All of you have certainly made the right choice in hiring me! I assure you that they won't be able to obtain a single strand of evidence at all! Haha! Regardless, let me count the money first!"

Harry then took the money and started counting, a smile on his face.

"It certainly was a wise decision to hire you. You're definitely skillful, we'll give you that. However, you talk a bit too much. Since both the Crawfords and the Owens are involved in this matter, my young master is slightly worried that you won't be able to keep your mouth shut in the long run!" sneered the old man who looked quite similar to a steward.

"Worry not! My lips are sealed!" replied Harry as he continued smiling.

At that moment, the old man looked at his subordinates. Among them, was the long-haired Scorpion.

Seeing their cue, all of them immediately pounced on Harry, subduing him in seconds!

"The f*ck? Are you guys seriously trying to silence me for good? D*mn it all!"

"Hahaha... Apologies, Harry. On the bright side, your sacrifice here today will ensure that the Owens and the Longs will work together just fine. We'll finally be able to take down the Crawford family! Also, while we're at it, you should never have threatened Mr. Long in the first place! End him!"

As soon as his sentence ended, Scorpion—whose hands were bandaged—began strangling Harry.

"F-f*ck all of you!"

In his attempt to escape with his life intact, Harry managed to kick Scorpion away. With his neck now momentarily freed from Scorpion's grasps, Harry then immediately dived into the river, securing his temporary escape.

"D*mn it all! How could all of you be this careless?! That person can't be trusted at all! If we don't get our hands on him today, we may never have another opportunity like this again!" yelled the steward at his subordinates.

As for Harry, he remained in the water for a long time before finally crawling ashore.

Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he started cursing fiercely.

"That d*mned Yunus Long! What a b*stard he is! To think I nearly died because of him today! Fine then! Since I can't make money off of you, then there's no need for any further hesitation! You dare lay your hands on me? I'll be laying mine on your woman then! Just you wait!"

Chapter 617

While all this was happening, Giya's friends were still with her in the Quarrington family villa.

The girls were drinking and singing together, seemingly having a lot of fun. In truth, they were all trying very hard to cheer Giya up so that she could forget all of her sadness regarding Gerald.

Since Giya's parents had earlier left for Yanken, Tammy and the other girls had agreed on staying the night to accompany her.

"Say Tammy, I need to use the bathroom... Will you accompany me?" asked Giya.

"Sure thing!"

Both of them then headed to the bathroom upstairs together.

However, not too long after, a scream could be heard coming from upstairs!

Shocked, everyone immediately rushed toward the source of the scream. However, once they got to the bathroom, Tammy and Giya were nowhere to be seen.

"Tammy? Giya?! S-stop messing around with us! Where are you two?"

The girls began shouting as they searched around the villa. After quite a bit of time had passed, they concluded that their disappearance was no prank. They had really vanished without a trace!

At that point, most of them were so anxious that they were already on the verge of bursting into tears.

"W-what should we do now...?"

"What else can we do? We need to call someone!"

Moving back to Giya and Tammy, they awoke sometime after in what seemed to be an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere.

All they remembered was that a shadowy figure had appeared before them as they were about to enter the bathroom. The last thing they could recall before passing out, was feeling a sharp pain behind them.

"L-let us go! Who are you?!" yelled Giya fearfully.

"Yeah, let us go this instant! We're warning you, Giya's well connected with several rich and influential people! If you still refuse to let us go, then you'll definitely be done for!" added Tammy, her voice quivering slightly.

"Hahaha! Oh no... I'm so scared... Please, I know who you are, Miss Giya. I'm well aware that you're Mr. Long's fiancée. To tell you the truth, that's the main reason why you've been kidnapped in the first place! I'll cut straight to the chase, Miss Giya. I need you to force that b*stard Yunus to fork out the money he owes me! As soon as I get my money, I'll leave immediately without even touching a single strand of hair on your head, Miss Giya!"

Of course, the kidnapper in question was none other than Harry.

After all, he was the kind of person who lived for money, and he would do anything to get his hands on more. Even now, he was only threatening and blackmailing Yunus to get the cash he had been promised.

He wasn't really trying to ruin their relationship. That was why he had yet to reveal the truth about the set up for both Gerald and Rosalie that Yunus had orchestrated together with him.

Aside from that, Harry was also aware that if word got out about his involvement in the case, he would simultaneously be offending the Crawfords, the Longs, and the Owens. He would definitely suffer a horrible death should that day ever come.

Harry was smart enough not to act based on his emotions, which led him to eventually come up with his current idea instead.

"Hehe... You truly are beautiful, Miss Giya. I'm certain that Mr. Long will give me any amount of money in exchange for his beautiful fiancée's safety!" said Harry as he gently squeezed Giya's cheeks.

"Pfft! Mr. Long isn't the only person who'll be coming after your neck! There's another equally rich and influential heir who's close to Giya! And his name is Mr. Gerald Crawford from Mayberry City!" exclaimed Tammy.

"What? Gerald?!" replied Harry, a stunned expression on his face.

If it wasn't because of Gerald, he wouldn't have been reduced to his current state where he had to constantly hide in the wilderness.

Harry was well aware that the Crawford family should not be underestimated under any circumstances.

"Stop it, Tammy! I told you, I have nothing more to do with that person anymore! We are no longer connected in any way! Why on earth would he possibly help me now?" said Giya as she looked at Tammy.

"Humph! I doubt that! Even if you're no longer friends, I believe that Gerald will still save you in the end!"

Chapter 618

Tammy sounded confident with her words.

"It's not like I want to see that s*umbag ever again anyway!" replied Giya.

"Hey, hey! Are you two done talking yet? If you aren't aware, you're being held hostage! Are you pretending that I don't exist now? Huh?!" said Harry angrily.

Hearing that, Tammy was so frightened that she immediately went silent.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Harry then took Giya's cell phone from her.

"Look, I don't care which rich heir you're talking about, I just want my god d*mn money!" grumbled Harry as he looked through Giya's contacts to find Yunus.

"Giya? Why are you calling me out of the blue?" asked Yunus in an affectionate and doting tone as soon as he picked up Harry's call.

"Cut the cr*p already! Giya's in my hands now. If you don't want your precious Giya to encounter any 'accidents', I propose that you hand the money you owe me right this instant! I'll free them after that!" cursed Harry through the phone.

"What?! Harry?! You're brave, I'll give you that! But to think that you'd actually kidnap her when I just spared your life!" replied Yunus, his voice cold as ice.

"Spared my life? Hahaha! Let me tell you something, Yunus. I'm going to settle both the old and new accounts with you today! I also want triple the amount of the original sum of money that you still owe me! Consider it to be compensation for the emotional and psychological damage that you've done to me! If you're having second thoughts, I also have all the footage of you doing all your bad deeds in the past! If you want me to hand those recordings over to you, deliver the money to me. Personally! Both of us can settle the score between us after that, once and for all!" sneered Harry as he explained his terms.

Now that Harry had seen Yunus's true colors, he wasn't going to fall into the same trap twice in a row.

While Yunus's men were quite powerful, would they really be able to capture him? Haha!

Harry was sure that Yunus understood what was at stake now.

"I won't be going there personally. However, I will be sending someone over to hand you the money! Where are you?"

"As I said before, you have to hand it to me personally! There are still some things that I need to talk to you about, face to face. I assure you that if you don't come alone, you'll definitely regret it in the future! Also, it seems I forgot to mention this earlier! You come alone!"

"Say what you want, I told you I'm not going. My decision is final! If you want, you can come over instead to deal with me!" replied Yunus as he laughed.

"D*mn it! Are you seriously not planning to come over?! If you're persistent with your decision, then I guess I'll forgo the money... However! Do you truly believe that I won't take out my dissatisfaction on your fiancée? She's quite the beauty, you know!"

"Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That is all I will give, and when you receive it, I expect both my fiancée and the recordings to be handed over! There is no further room for discussion! Also while we're at it, you should take the time to consider your own eventual fate as well!"

After saying that, Yunus immediately hung up.

"Hello? Hello?! D*mn it! What a brute! He doesn't even care about his own woman at all!" shouted Harry, his face red from anger.

Giya herself had heard the entire conversation. Though she had never liked Yunus in the first place, she still felt a chill in her heart after listening to their call.

Sure enough, regardless of how good a sc*mbag pretended to be, they would still be a sc*mbag in the end. It was usually during moments of crisis when their true natures would finally be exposed.

"Hahaha! I'll just tell you now that Yunus and I were never on good terms! If you're still planning on using me as a hostage to threaten him, dream on!" said Giya as she smiled wryly.

"What else can I do? I can't just leave empty-handed! I've simultaneously offended three wealthy and influential families! Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars isn't going to cut it!" replied Harry as he anxiously scratched the back of his head.

All of a sudden, he started patting his thighs. It seemed like he had arrived at a sudden realization.

"F*ck! I almost forgot! If all else fails, then I should just try to make a fortune off Mr. Crawford! If the Long family is willing to hand me four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, then Mr. Crawford should

definitely be willing to pay even more! After all, he's richer than they are! If I'm lucky, I could even rack the numbers up to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars! Now that would be a worthy transaction! What more, I already have all the information that he wants anyway! Hahaha!" said Harry aloud as he smiled.

He then walked toward Giya before saying, "Miss Giya, please give me Mr. Crawford's contact number."

"I hate to disappoint you, but I don't have anything to do with that man anymore. In other words, I don't have his number with me! Also, don't you think it's a bit ridiculous to use me as a hostage to threaten him?" sneered Giya coldly.

"Haha! And what's so ridiculous about that? Well, even if he doesn't come for you, he'll definitely want the valuable information I have on hand. After all, he's probably still struggling to clear his name after Mr. Long and I set him up for that attempted r*pe case involving Rosalie back then! He'll definitely come anxiously looking for me once he realizes that I have all the information he needs!"

Since Harry was planning to leave the country anyway once he succeeded with his plans, he no longer had to worry about keeping any secrets. At this point, offending others was the least of his worries.

As soon as Giya heard this, she immediately raised her head before saying, "...What... what did you say?"

Chapter 619

"Well... I guess there's no harm in telling you the truth at this point. After all, it'd be better for you to know what kind of person Mr. Long really is since you're marrying him soon. I have to say though, Mr. Crawford really is too careless. He barely ever has guards escorting him wherever he goes! Mr. Long was aware of this so he one day approached me, saying that he had something to discuss..."

By the time Harry's story ended, Giya's heart was beating extremely rapidly.

"So he was innocent after all! You did this! Why did you have to set him up?!" shouted Giya, her eyes bloodshot.

She was experiencing a great surge of emotions in her heart.

How could she have been so stupid?

She had known Gerald for quite a while now. How could he ever be the kind of person Yunus had framed him to be?

Gerald had even tried to defend himself, saying that he wasn't the one who had committed the act. He must have only tried to prove his innocence to her because he considered her to be a good friend. What more, he even specifically went over to find her, but what did she do?

She didn't even give him a chance to explain himself. What more, she even called him a disgusting jerk! He must have felt extremely disappointed back then!

She was his only friend yet she refused to believe him...

Why... Why had she driven him away back then? Why did she refuse to let him explain himself?

"Gerald... I've misunderstood you... I'm... I'm so sorry...!" said Giya as tears started running down her cheeks.

"Alright, that's enough! I don't care about your misunderstanding with him! I just want my money already! Once I get my hands on it, no one will be able to find me. You can continue your squabble with him all you want after that! Now hurry up and give me his phone number!" ordered Harry.

"I don't have it! Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you! I'm not letting you hurt him!"

"For f*ck's sake, were you even listening? I'm not going to hurt him! Rather, I'm giving him a chance to prove his innocence! Just give me the d*mn number already! Don't blame me if I stop being gentlemanly! Do you believe that I'll take care of your friend first if you plan to delay this any longer?" said Harry as he unbuckled his belt.

"W-wait! No! No! No!" yelled Tammy in fright.

"G-Giya, it really seems like he doesn't have any other intentions aside from getting money! Why don't you just give him Gerald's number so that he can come save us?" said Tammy, almost in tears.

"Haha... Tammy, even if I tell him that we're in danger, Gerald won't come to save us... I broke his heart too badly this time... We can't even be friends anymore!" replied Giya, her eyes red.

"Even if he does come, it'll just be because he wants to clear his name of this huge mess!"

"Oh, for the love of god! Just give me the number so that I can take the money and leave! It's that simple!" said Harry, his voice growing wearier by the minute.

"I... I have his number! You can have it!" said Tammy, finally giving in.

A little while later, Gerald picked his phone up before asking, "Hello? What's wrong, Tammy?"

"Heh... Hello, Mr. Crawford, it's me, Harry! How are you?"

"Harry?"

"Have you forgotten about me already? We met briefly at noon in the hotel!"

"It's you!" shouted Gerald as he immediately sat up on his bed.

"That's right! I'm aware that you've been searching all over Mayberry City for me, so after giving it some thought, I'm hoping that you'll be willing to negotiate and strike a deal with me! Also, Miss Giya and Miss Tammy are with me now. Just thought you'd like to know about that," replied Harry.

"You dare to even kidnap Giya? What's your motive?" replied Gerald coldly.

"Alright, so here's the thing. Since Miss Crawford had looked out for me so much before, let's just say that I'd feel slightly guilty just leaving things as they are. Why don't we do this? See, I've taped the entire

incident and I'm willing to hand over all the evidence as long as you're willing to provide me with a sum of money! Once I get that money, you'll be able to prove your own innocence!"

"I'll ask you again. Why did you kidnap Miss Giya!" repeated Gerald.

"Oh, don't worry about her. I assure you that she's completely fine. However, you'll need to hand the money over to me. Personally. I won't accept any bank transfers and you're not allowed to have any bodyguards around. I know how powerful Drake and Tyson are!"

As she listened to their conversation, Giya could only bite her lower lip softly.

"Fine. I'll be heading over now, but you better release them immediately after!" replied Gerald without the slightest hesitation.

Though Gerald was still feeling slightly disappointed with Giya, he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if Giya were to end up facing misfortune because of his lack of action.

Chapter 620

While it was true that Gerald felt that Giya shouldn't have distrusted him since he had already helped her so much in the past, he didn't really feel any enmity toward her.

In fact, he honestly didn't want to cause any further harm to her.

The way he saw it, since he no longer had anything to do with her anymore, she would no longer need to suffer because of him.

"That's what I like to hear! You know, now I feel a little guilty for setting you up like that... Regardless, I'm currently at..."

After Harry relayed his location and detailed a few more things, both of them hung up.

Giya now had tears trickling down her cheeks.

"He... He doesn't hate me at all! He's still willing to put himself in danger because of me!" said Giya to herself as she felt her heart melt.

Moving back to Gerald, he notified Drake and Tyson about some things before personally driving to the location he had been given. It wasn't long before he arrived with a bag of money in hand.

As Gerald stepped out of his car and stood in the middle of the wilderness, Harry was already observing his every move through a pair of binoculars.

"Heh, I see you, Mr. Crawford... True to your word, you didn't bring anyone else with you!"

Once he was sure that Gerald was truly alone, he sent Gerald another location and ordered him to immediately rush over there next.

D*mn it! This guy really knew how to scheme! Gerald could only helplessly obey his orders.

Eventually, he finally stood face to face with Harry. Harry himself bore a wretched expression on his face.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crawford!" said Harry as he bowed slightly before Gerald.

"Cut the cr*p. Release them immediately! Also, where's that recording that you promised?" asked Gerald as he threw the bag of money over to Harry.

"Relax, everything's here! You'll definitely be able to prove your innocence with this!" replied Harry as he smiled.

After hearing that, Gerald then walked over to Giya and Tammy to loosen the ropes that Harry had used to tie them up.

He also helped them remove the tape covering their mouths. Harry had earlier attached them to the duo in fear that the two girls would start screaming at any moment.

"Gerald!" shouted Giya the moment she was freed from her restraints. She clung on to him and started sobbing immediately while saying, "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I should have believed you! I even pretended that I was in love with Yunus just to make you angry! I'm so sorry..."

Both of Gerald's arms were raised from the elbow. He was momentarily unsure of how to even react to Giya's actions. However, he knew better not to return her hug.

Eventually, Gerald gently pushed her away with a subtle smile on his face before saying, "As long as both of you are safe, it's fine. For now, let's leave this place!"

"Wait! There's one more condition I'd like to add, Mr. Crawford!"

"What else do you need?" asked Gerald, a frown on his face.

"While I may escape today, should the eldest young lady ask about this in future, under no circumstances should you reveal that I was the one who had orchestrated all this. My identity should remain strictly secret. While you may be kind and generous, Miss Crawford bears a completely different personality. If she ever finds out that I did all this, I'll definitely be torn to shreds with no less than a thousand blades! I beg of you, Mr. Crawford. I truly have no other ill intentions, so I hope that you'll keep my involvement a secret in order to spare my life. You can direct her to the Long family if you need a culprit! After all, I'm only doing all this because they hired me to!" said Harry as he ended his explanation with a gulp.

Gerald simply nodded slightly before leading the two girls out of the abandoned house.

From a window, Harry continued spying on them through his binoculars. He was clearly afraid that Gerald would secretly send someone after him.

After taking a few steps out of the house, Gerald smiled faintly before shouting, "You're only looking left and right, Harry! You're going to miss key details if you're only limited to that field of vision!"

"...The f*ck? What do you mean by that, Mr. Crawford?"

After hearing that, Harry had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong.

It was also at that moment when he heard a slight droning sound from atop the house. Harry was dumbfounded when finally turned to look at the sky.

Chapter 621

About thirty helicopters were encircling the abandoned house!

Tammy was equally as dumbfounded as Harry, and she immediately covered her mouth with both her hands the moment she saw the helicopters.

Dear lord! Though Tammy had grown up in the city, even she hadn't personally witnessed such a magnificent scene like this!

"You... You went back on your word!" shouted Harry, terrified.

D*mn it! His plan to escape after receiving the money was now down the drain!

As he said that, several bodyguards were already using rope ladders to descend the helicopters. In no time at all, Harry was completely surrounded.

"It really is you, Harry! And here I thought you wouldn't dare return after going missing for such a long time! I have to say, I would never have expected you to go this low! You even set Mr. Crawford up! Aren't you terrified at all that Miss Crawford will find out about this?" asked Zack with a sneer as he walked closer to Harry. Drake and Tyson followed closely behind him.

It was obvious that Zack and Harry were acquainted with each other.

Harry himself knew that there was zero chance of him escaping the situation the moment he saw Drake, Tyson, and Zack together.

He knew it was far too late for him to try to explain himself. If Zack informed Jessica about the matter, she definitely wouldn't let him off that easily. In fact, Harry had no trouble imagining a scenario where he ended up dead with several missing body parts.

To him, he felt that the only possible way to avoid that outcome was to allow himself to be captured without any resistance.

"Heh. I'm only doing all this to survive after the eldest young lady banished me. Regardless, while I was part of the elaborate plan to set Mr. Crawford up, I assure you, Mr. Lyle, that I've granted him a lot of mercy. Just so you know, not only did Mr. Long order me to set him up, but he also told me to knock him unconscious so that I could make his situation even worse! However, I turned that suggestion down immediately! As you can clearly see now, I've also taken the initiative to hand Mr. Crawford the evidence needed to prove his innocence!" explained Harry hurriedly, a smile on his face.

"Also, Mr. Lyle, weren't we once brothers working for the eldest young lady? I remember saving you once in the past. Can't you spare me this time? In case you think I haven't changed, I was only a kid back then. I'm all grown up now!"

"Oh? So you still remember the time when you were still her subordinate! I assumed that you had already forgotten all about those days! Regardless, as for how we're going to deal with you, Mr. Crawford will have the final say in this matter!"

At that moment, Zack and the others were standing by Gerald's side.

"Harry used to work for my sister?" asked Gerald in surprise. No wonder he seemed so afraid of her.

"That is correct, Mr. Crawford. Michael, Harry, and I worked under her when the eldest young lady was still in Mayberry City. Back then, Harry was still in his early twenties. Disaster struck when he got one of our female employees pregnant while he was drunk. The eldest young lady was so enraged by that that she immediately told him to get lost the moment she found out about it!" replied Zack as he continued looking at Harry, a cold smile on his face.

"So that's the whole story! Well, since he's already handed the evidence over to me, I won't pursue the matter or hold anything against him anymore!"

To be completely honest, Gerald had really wanted to find the person who had set him just to give them a tight slap on their face.

Now that Harry was staring while smiling at him in person, however, Gerald simply didn't want to continue talking to such a shameless man anymore.

"Humph! You're lucky today! Leave with the money and get lost already! Your life will be spared this time!"

Though Zack was angry, he was simultaneously feeling slightly relieved. After all, both of them had worked together before and Harry wasn't wrong either. He had indeed saved Zack's life before.

The truth was that Zack had secretly been afraid that Gerald would cruelly order him to kill Harry there and then.

"I... I'm not leaving!" replied Harry.

"What more do you want?"

"Mr. Crawford, as you can clearly see, I have nowhere else to go now. Please allow me to work by your side. I promise that I won't make any more mistakes in future. I beg of you, Mr. Crawford! Please let me work for you!"

Harry was being dead serious when he said that.

Even when he had first met Gerald in the hotel, he could already tell that Gerald was a generous person with a rather benevolent personality.

That was the reason why he had secretly disobeyed the order to harm Gerald, despite agreeing with Yunus to do it. He just couldn't bring himself to hurt such a person.

Chapter 622

What more, he was terrified of what Jessica would do to him if she ever found out that he had hurt her brother!

However, he also didn't do it because Jessica had treated him kindly before.

Regardless, he hadn't initially dared to return before this chain of events took place. He truly only wanted to get his money and leave this godforsaken place.

He had previously made sure to keep a record of everything that happened while he was dealing with Yunus. He had predicted that if everything went smoothly, Gerald would continue being misunderstood for about a week. If things had gone according to plan, he would have eventually handed the recordings over to Zack anyway once he had successfully hidden himself.

It was just his luck to end up in his current situation. Since there wasn't going to be an easy way out of this anyway, he knew there was nothing to lose in asking Gerald to take him in.

"You?" replied Gerald as he couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Forget it. Just leave while you can! Worry not, I'll forgive you today and I'll tell my sister not to hold you accountable for your actions as well."

Since Harry's face looked naturally wretched, Gerald found it hard to tell whether he truly meant what he said or if he was simply fooling around.

"Wait! As a form of courtesy, I'll also present you with another big gift, Mr. Crawford! I'm certain that you'll like it!"

Hearing that, Gerald and Zack exchanged glances. Eventually, Gerald nodded before saying, "Fine. My final decision depends on what the gift is!"

After saying that, he turned around to look at Giya and Tammy.

"Mr. Lyle, please get a car to send the girls home first!" said Gerald, his voice slightly cold and indifferent.

While Giya had hoped to talk more with Gerald, expecting him to show a least a little more concern, he didn't say a word to her.

Soon after, a car drove over to them. Gerald then entered and left immediately.

Of course, he was doing all of this on purpose. After all, he felt that it would be best for him to continue displaying this attitude so that he would be able to avoid any further misunderstandings in the future.

Giya could feel her heart aching slightly as she watched the car drive off. Was this the future of her relationship with Gerald? Was he going to continue being this cold and indifferent toward her?

Had he lost any affection he had for her as a friend as well?

Haha... That was probably the case.

Gerald had simply arrived to retrieve the evidence that he needed. He was only saving her because she just so happened to be there. Why was she even overthinking it?

Who was she anyway? Did she honestly think that Gerald was going to risk his life for her? Was she really feeling touched because of this?

'Giya you stupid girl... Gerald only has Mila in his heart... It's obvious that he's using the situation to his advantage to put some distance between you and him...'

She could only bitterly remind herself of the reality of the situation.

To think that she had thought that there really existed a person who was willing to sacrifice their life for her. It was all just a bunch of deceptive lies!

After returning home safely, Giya found herself tossing and turning in bed for most of the night. She was only able to fall asleep nearing dawn.

However, she was woken abruptly by a loud noise outside at around nine in the morning.

"You have to figure out a solution to this matter, Walton! After all, we followed you and left the Quarrington family together in the past! You're responsible for all of us! If you fail to do that, we won't be able to sustain our family any longer!"

Giya's parents had returned, and together with a few of her aunts and uncles, they all seemed to be having a discussion with Walton regarding how they should deal with the issue between the Longs and Quarringtons in Yanken.

In the past, Walton had led this particular group of people away from the Quarrington family out of rage regarding some matters. However, they were now in a situation where they could no longer sustain the company that they had co-founded together.

Since he was the one who had led them away from the rest of the Quarringtons back then, he naturally had to take responsibility over everyone who was currently present.

"There doesn't seem to be any results in Giya and the third young master of the Long family's relationship! We simply can't allow this to go on! Yunus's birthday banquet is going to be held at Wayfair Mountain Entertainment today and he's already invited Giya to accompany him there! He's obviously still waiting for Giya to accept his marriage proposal!"

Everyone was discussing the same thing.

"Alright, that's quite enough. All of you are already aware that Giya had run into some trouble last night. While she made it out safely and is currently resting in her room, it saddens me to say that Mr. Long didn't even do anything to help my daughter at all! It's beyond upsetting!"

Walton and the others had rushed home early that morning the moment they found out that Giya had been involved in a kidnapping incident.

Before anyone could even begin discussing the kidnapping, the door creaked open.

Giya then stepped into the room with a bitter expression on her face.

"Mom? Dad? You don't have to worry. I'll attend his birthday banquet today."

Chapter 623

"Giya? Why aren't you resting in your room? Why did you come out?" asked Walton, his voice clearly distressed.

Seeing her, some of her extended family members coughed before saying, "You know, Giya really is a good girl. She's well aware that we can't afford to offend the Long family. What more, hadn't Mr. Long spent millions of dollars to save you when you were kidnapped? He definitely loves you a lot!"

In the room, Walton was the only one who knew the reality of the situation. Since he was worried sick, Giya had detailed the events that had taken place the night before to him. The others were completely oblivious to the truth of what had really happened.

Hearing the comments from her uncles and aunts, Giya only laughed as she expressed a wry smile. She understood what they were trying to tell her.

Despite that, Giya wasn't angry at them at all. She was aware that the pressure from the Long and the main Quarrington family was really suffocating both her own, and her extended family.

What more, she knew that her uncles and aunts still needed to support their own families. That was the gist as to why she wasn't holding anything against them.

Besides, she just couldn't care any less about her situation anymore. What else could she do?

Gerald didn't seem to care about her anymore. After all, he already had his beloved Mila.

While she had initially thought that there would still be a chance for her and Gerald to be together in the past, she didn't even want to think about it anymore.

The way she saw it, the only way she could possibly be of any use in this situation was to sacrifice herself. At least then she would finally be able to help her family attain peace!

After taking a deep breath, Giya smiled before saying, "Dad, mom, I'll go get ready first so that we can attend Yunus's birthday banquet later!"

She then returned to her room.

Seeing his daughter like that, Walton couldn't help but feel slightly depressed.

Meanwhile, Harry was together with Gerald and in his hand was a USB flash drive.

"Hehe... This is my gift to you, Mr. Crawford. I'm sure you'll be very interested in it," said Harry as he slid the USB into a laptop and began playing a video.

After watching the entire thing, Gerald couldn't help but sneer before asking, "Did you record this last night?"

"Heh, I did! I may not have many skills, but if it's regarding despicable or sneaky acts, no one can compare to me!" replied Harry as he patted his own chest twice.

"That's quite enough. There's no need to brag about that!" replied Zack as he smiled wryly.

"Either way, we now have enough evidence on hand. Together with the footage, we should finally be set to beat him in his own game!"

"Indeed!" said Gerald as he smiled while nodding.

At that moment, Gerald's phone began to ring. It was a call from his godbrother, Yoel.

"What's wrong, Yoel?"

"Brother! We got beaten up! Aiden got beaten up the worst!"

"What?! How bold! Who did it?" asked Gerald angrily.

"Who else could it have been? It's that b*stard Yunus of course! He's hosting a big birthday banquet today and almost every influential and powerful individual in Mayberry City has been invited over! The only people he specifically excluded from the event were people associated with the Crawford family! Because of that, Aiden and I brought some men over to cause some trouble for him..."

Yoel then quickly explained everything that had happened to Gerald.

Essentially, both Yoel and Aiden had been dissatisfied since Yunus was clearly targeting the Crawford family through the event.

The Long family was powerful after all, yet Yunus still chose to host his banquet in Mayberry City. What more, he was even hosting it at Wayfair Mountain Entertainment! The place Jessica used to run!

It was clear as day that Yunus was deliberately targeting Gerald.

Still, Aiden and Yoel had gone there looking for trouble without even telling Gerald beforehand. Since it was being hosted by Yunus, it was to be expected that many Long family members would also be present. That obviously contributed to the huge loss they ended up suffering.

"For now, both of you should come back and look for me first!" replied Gerald.

He wasn't going to just let this slide. After all, he treated both of them like his own brothers.

"We're already downstairs! I'm supporting Aiden right now!" replied Yoel.

"I'm coming down now!" replied Gerald as he led Harry and the others downstairs.

True to Yoel's word, both of them had been terribly beaten up. Aiden's face was very badly bruised and most of it was already swollen. Even Yoel had a few bruises on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Crawford! I've embarrassed you today!"

Chapter 624

Aiden's voice was dispirited, almost as though he had just lost a great battle.

"It's fine. Just hurry up and get inside first!" replied Gerald as he patted both their shoulders before heading inside with everyone else.

"Gerald! Gerald!"

However, before he managed to get far, he heard a female's voice calling out for him.

Turning back to see who it was, he was surprised to see Felicity standing there.

Though he hadn't met her in quite a while, he was still slightly taken aback at how much her beauty had increased within that period of time.

"Felicity? What are you doing here?" asked Gerald.

He wasn't sure how she had managed to find him. Thinking back, however, it was probably because his home address was no big secret.

"Humph! Since I hadn't managed to catch you at all after returning to school, I decided to personally come over to see you!"

For a period of time, Felicity had struggled with herself when she found out about Gerald's true identity. Though it took her a while, she eventually had a complete change of heart and attitude toward Gerald.

Back when she was still unsure whether Gerald was truly Mr. Crawford, she had constantly been confused as to whether she was truly in love with Gerald or not.

However, that changed the day she saw all those people bowing before Gerald in that small neighborhood. It was at that moment when she no longer felt conflicted about her feelings.

"Well now you've seen me! You've achieved your goal!" replied Gerald with a wry smile on his face.

"Pfft! Since when have you become this way? I know, you must have several girls by your side now so you've forgotten all about your classmates! Regardless, there's actually another reason I came looking for you today!"

Gerald simply nodded, signaling for her to go on.

"So here's the thing. I recently started a celebrity company and I'm an anchor now. Since my company is under yours, I thought that we could go to Yorknorth Mountain to try attracting more attention and customers! However, the people there told us that we weren't allowed to enter!" replied Felicity.

"I can help with that. From now on, you're all free to enter!" said Gerald with a smile.

Felicity pursed her lips slightly when she saw how kind he was treating her.

While she was filled with joy, her heart bore equal amounts of sorrow.

She was naturally happy because Gerald wasn't blaming her for being so rude and mean to him in the past. He was still treating her as a classmate and friend.

However, she was also sad because she couldn't help but recall the time when they were just starting university. Back then, Gerald would constantly sneak peeks at her. As a girl, she definitely understood what that meant.

Gerald was interested in her.

At the time, however, how could she possibly have been interested in someone like him? Looking back at it now, she was filled with regrets.

It would've been great if she had gotten together with Gerald back then!

"Speaking of which, could you do me a favor as well?" asked Gerald out of the blue while Felicity was still reminiscing in her head.

"...Huh? A favor? Is there anything I can help you with?" asked Felicity, visibly surprised.

"Yes. Why don't you come in first? We can further discuss the matter inside!" replied Gerald with a smile.

While this was happening, a crowd had already formed in Wayfair Mountain Entertainment, and the banquet was getting livelier by the minute.

Ever since Jessica disbanded and auctioned off the initially named Mayberry Commercial Street so that Gerald could focus on starting his own business, Wayfair Mountain Entertainment had been auctioned off as well for management purposes.

Since Yunus had inexplicably decided to host his birthday banquet here of all places, everyone attending naturally knew what this meant.

To put bluntly, the Long family was going to plant their flag here again in the future! They were going to rise again from where they once fell in the past!

"Ah, Mr. Long! So many people came over today! They're all certainly giving you a lot of face!" praised a servant as he looked at how festive the banquet was.

"Haha! But of course! Also, have Giya and her family arrived?" asked Yunus.

"I've asked about them and it seems that they're all on their way here. Looks like she'll finally be yours, Mr. Long!"

"Humph! I treat her so well and I'm even willing to lower myself in front of her. To think that she was in love with Gerald before this! If I hadn't pressured her, she would've just continued treating me as though I didn't exist! Yet the more she acts that way, the more I want her to be mine! D*mn it! I'm only getting angrier by talking about this! I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

"Oh no-!"

At that moment, a waitress had been trying to refill Yunus's wine glass. However, she accidentally knocked the wine glass over!

"D*mn it! Don't you have any-"

While Yunus was already prepared to launch an onslaught of curses, the moment he saw how beautiful the waitress was, he immediately stopped.

Chapter 625

"Well hello there, beautiful. How did I miss you earlier?" asked Yunus.

"O-oh... Well you did seem busy just now... What more, some people were causing a scene earlier... I can understand why you didn't have the time to pay attention to me!" replied the girl as she smiled slightly. She looked even more beautiful when she smiled.

As the girl was about to continue pouring wine for Yunus, he grabbed hold of her hand before saying, "Hold on a minute, look here! You spilled some red wine on me earlier! Such a simple apology simply won't cut it! If you want my anger to be subdued, you'll have to find another way to please me!"

"Um... Then, what else can I do to make you happy, Mr. Long?" asked the girl shyly.

"Hahaha! That's what I like to hear... Come to the back with me!"

Since there was still more than an hour left before the birthday banquet would officially begin, Yunus had made up his mind that he would have some fun with this girl first.

"Now, Mr. Long?" asked the butler, clearly aware of the time.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eye on the time. I'll be back soon!" replied Yunus as he began leading the girl to a room further back.

At that moment, a woman abruptly stood in front of Yunus before saying, "What are you doing, Yunus?"

"Ah, sister-in-law! I have something to attend to now. Worry not, I'll be back soon! Haha!"

The woman in question was none other than Xavia. Behind her, stood Natasha—her younger sister— along with several of Natasha's classmates.

Xavia's eyes reflected her feelings of contempt. She naturally knew what Yunus was about to do with that girl.

To make matters worse, she had gotten into an argument with Yunus last night. The cause of it was because she had planned to invite Gerald to his birthday banquet today.

Her intention was simple. She simply wanted to show off to Gerald, and in order to do that, he first needed to be present.

The location was perfect for her plan as well. This was Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. The place where she had suffered her darkest and deepest sorrows!

It was the best place for her to give Gerald a slap to his face!

Quite honestly, she knew she wouldn't be satisfied just slapping him once or twice. She wanted to completely embarrass him. To make him awe at her when she was at her peak so that he would come to regret everything that he had done to her!

'See Gerald? So what if you left me? I'm leading an extremely glorious life now! Are you regretting all your actions now, Gerald?!'

Revenge was the only thing on her mind.

However, Yunus had other things on his mind. He had held his birthday banquet here because he specifically wanted to target Gerald.

This was the gist of why they ended up quarreling the night before. Naturally, Xavia wasn't able to outtalk Yunus.

Because of that, she simply left together with her sister. At the time, she really couldn't be bothered with him.

"U-um... Mr. Long? What exactly are we doing here in the guest room? Don't you have a lot of guests waiting to meet you outside?" asked the girl.

"Hehehe... Don't tell me you don't know why we're here! Now get in!" said Yunus as he grinned. Upon saying that, he shoved her into the guest room.

"W-what are you trying to do?!" shouted the girl in horror.

"S-someone! Save me, please!"

"Heh! I've already booked the entire venue today! Who would actually dare to-"

At that moment, the door was suddenly kicked open! Five men then rushed in immediately.

"Sister?! D*mn it! How dare you touch her! Are all of you recording this? You must be tired of living, huh?!" shouted one of the men viciously as he walked up to Yunus.

As he said that, the other men were busy taking their cell phones out to record the scene happening before them.

"B-brother! You're here! I was so scared just now!"

Chapter 626

The girl then hurriedly ran to her brother's side.

Yunus himself had been taken aback after seeing so many things happening at once. When he finally turned to look at the angry man's face, he was shocked beyond words.

"H-Harry?! Why are you here? How did you even get it?" asked Yunus as he started breaking out in cold sweat.

"Oh? What a pleasant coincidence! So you're the culprit, Mr. Long! So you dared to insult my beloved sister, huh? I'm going to f*cking kill you right here and now!" roared Harry as he kicked Yunus directly in the chest.

Yunus found himself flying to the other end of the bed. When he finally landed, he immediately clutched on to his chest. He felt as though he would start vomiting blood at any second.

"Hold him down!" ordered Harry as several of his men immediately pinned down Yunus's arms and legs.

Yunus's face was pale with fright. He then started yelling, "Guards! Guards, get in here right now!"

He yelled so hard that even his voice started sounding hoarse.

"Scream on! Scream as loud as you want! As long as you're in this room, nobody's going to hear you! Not only did you send your men after my head, you almost took advantage of my sister as well! You're an unforgivable piece of sc*m, Yunus Long!" shouted Harry as he slapped Yunus's cheek.

"I-I was wrong, Harry! Also since when have you had a sister? I didn't know about her at all!"

At that moment, Yunus couldn't afford to retain his usual dominant personality anymore.

In reply, Harry gave Yunus another hard slap before saying, "Questioning me now? After treating my sister like this? You're truly done for today!"

"L-like I said, I was wrong, Harry! Harry, listen to me, both of us have had our fair shares of grudges and grievances. While you may want to take your revenge against me, I know that deep in your heart, all you're really after is more money, right? I can give you all the money you want! Also, it's my birthday today and the elders of the Long family are present as well! Why don't we discuss things civilly?"

Yunus was well aware that he had been set up. He had walked straight into their trap so that they could frame him.

He was currently filled with regrets for not holding back his lust earlier.

"Also, Harry! You know who I am, right? I'm sure you're aware that it won't do you any good to offend me... What more, Wayfair Mountain Entertainment has security cameras everywhere. It won't be long before my men realize what's going on! When they finally get here, things won't end well for you! So how about it? Why not just take the money and leave now?!" explained Yunus hurriedly.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Long. I have to say, it's amusing how you're still trying to scare me right now. First of all, we came in through the back door. Secondly, I don't think you're aware of who supervised the installation process of all the security cameras in the building," replied Harry before sneering coldly.

"...Y-you don't mean..."

"That's right! It was me!" shouted Harry as he landed yet another slap on Yunus's face.

"W-what do you want then?" asked Yunus as he gulped.

"Oh, I only need you to do something very simple! See, you've insulted my sister today and I've caught you red-handed! I don't need your god d*mn money! I need you to kneel in front of me and call me master three times in a row! Actually hold on, master would be too easy. Let's go with grandpa instead to make things more interesting! While we're at it, you'll also need to say how much of a brute you are at the end of each of those three sentences. I'll forgive you once you've done that. How about it?" sneered Harry.

"In your dreams!"

Immediately after he said that, Yunus received his fourth slap of the day.

"Do you think I'm playing around? I'm going all out today, Yunus! In the worst-case scenario, I'll just perish together with you! I know very well that a b*stard like you won't let me off easily anyway!" said Harry as he took a knife out.

When he saw the look on Harry's face, Yunus realized just how serious the situation had become. At this point, Harry looked like he was willing to do anything.

"A-alright! I'll do as you ask, Harry! I'll do it!" shouted Yunus as he knelt down in fright.

"...Grandpa, I'm a brute!"

As he repeated the sentence thrice, the other men continued recording every pathetic second of it.

However, nearing the end of his last sentence, Yunus suddenly raised his head and threw the bedsheets at Harry!

While the others were momentarily stunned, he got up, opened a window, and then jumped out!

"D*mn it! Don't let him get away!" yelled Harry after recovering from his shock. He and the others then immediately began chasing after Yunus.

However, Yunus had already started shouting the moment he made his escape. All the noise naturally caught the attention of the bodyguards in front.

"Mr. Long!"

The shout had come from Dante who had a large group of bodyguards together with him.

Chapter 627

"Harry! The guards are here!" said one of Harry's men.

"D*mn it! We'll definitely be outnumbered! We'll have to retreat first!" ordered Harry. Together with the girl, the group then swiftly made their way out of Wayfair Mountain Entertainment.

"After them! Hunt them down and kill them all!" shouted Yunus angrily.

This was the first time Yunus had ever been treated this way. The immense humiliation was near unbearable for him.

As his guards chased after Harry and his group, Yunus's butler approached him before asking in a worried tone, "Are you alright, Mr. Long?"

"How the f*ck could I possibly be fine? You were the one who had chosen this crappy place to host my birthday banquet in! If it wasn't for this venue, Harry and his men wouldn't have possibly been able to sneak in this easily! Do you even know I almost died?!"

Despite the fact that his butler looked to be almost sixty, Yunus still slapped him hard on the face.

Feeling embarrassed, the butler then immediately said, "I-It's all my fault! I've clearly wronged you, Mr. Long!"

"...If I may, it's still your birthday today, Mr. Long, and several wealthy and influential figures are waiting inside to meet you... Why don't we go back in first?" suggested the butler.

Hearing that, Yunus grumbled angrily before walking back into the building while adjusting his necktie.

"Hey, hey! Look there! That's Mr. Long's fiancée, right? Miss Giya?"

"Indeed! You know, I've heard rumors of her extraordinary beauty and excellent temperament. Now that I've seen her in person, I can certainly agree with what I've heard!"

Several of the businessmen and celebrities at the venue were looking at, and discussing Giya and her family who had naturally also been invited to the birthday banquet.

"Speaking of which, have all of you heard? Miss Giya seems to have a rather close relationship with Mr. Crawford! Their relationship is quite ambiguous and from what I've been told, she almost became Mr. Crawford's girlfriend!"

"'Almost'? I heard that she's already Mr. Crawford's woman! A more extreme rumor is that she's already pregnant with his child! The two of them possibly being a couple is no big secret anymore!"

"What?! Is that really true?!"

"Hey, quiet down! What'll happen if Mr. Long's men hear any of that! Even I've heard some rumors about Miss Giya and Mr. Crawford being together! However, regardless of what we've heard, Miss Giya is still obviously Mr. Long's woman now! "

The crowd then continued discussing the matter in low voices.

Giya herself was currently walking around with Tammy and her other friends. No matter where she went, she could hear snippets of their discussions about the relationship between her and Gerald.

Had it not been for the occasion, she would have already cursed everyone who was bad-mouthing her. All she could do was blush in silence.

Even Xavia had overheard the discussions running rampant among the crowd.

Hearing all that only served to make her angry.

She was supposed to be the protagonist today! However, with Giya here, it was clear that she wasn't going to be in the spotlight. The realization of this only made her even gloomier.

What more, they were all saying that Gerald and Giya had a close relationship! Xavia's discomfort grew even worse from that.

After all, to everyone, Giya was better than her in every aspect. And that wasn't the worst part. Despite being so capable, Giya was actually on good terms with her ex-boyfriend!

All this irritation made Xavia extremely frustrated. She couldn't help but glare daggers at Giya whenever she saw her.

It was at that moment when Yunus re-entered the scene.

When he saw Giya, he couldn't help but feel slightly resentful.

Regardless of how much he pursued her, she always retained her cold and indifferent expression when she was together with him. Despite her knowing that Yunus was celebrating his birthday today, the event did little to change her attitude toward him.

Yunus was also irritated by the fact that he had earlier been terribly insulted and humiliated.

As he sat down on the main seat in frustration, a few members of the Quarrington family walked over to greet him.

However, he only continued sitting in silence, not even bothering to reply to any of them.

At that moment, Xavia walked over to him before saying in an envious voice, "You know, Yunus, it's your birthday today, but it seems like your fiancée is a little unhappy. Also, do you know what everyone was saying earlier?"

"Go on."

"Almost everyone was insisting that Giya actually likes Gerald! Some of them were even saying that you forced Giya to be together with you! I've even heard some news saying that you were the one who had caused Gerald and Giya to break up!"

Chapter 628

"What utter bullsh*t! Who said that?! I'm killing all of them!" growled Yunus angrily as he slammed both his hands on the table.

Everyone was shocked and nobody dared to say another word.

His reaction made everyone remember why they had attended his birthday banquet in the first place. Their true goal was to get into Yunus's good books after all.

Seeing that everyone had ceased their gossiping, Yunus then looked at Giya before saying coldly, "Come over here and sit next to me, Giya! I want these people to know that you're my woman! You're Yunus Long's woman I say!"

Giya frowned when she heard him say that. Rather than obeying his orders, she simply turned to face the other way.

When they saw her reaction, many of the guests began smiling in excitement.

Giya had clearly given Yunus a mental slap to the face! She wasn't giving him any respect at all!

Yunus had already been very unhappy today.

Not only had his annoyance grown after hearing what Xavia had relayed to him, Giya had just given him the cold shoulder!

To top it off, he was now feeling even more pressure since everyone was intensely staring at him!

His rage at that moment knew no bounds.

"I told you to come over here! Didn't you hear what I said?!" yelled Yunus as he got up and walked over to Giya. The moment he was in front of her, he grabbed her by the arm and violently began tugging her toward his seat again.

"What are you doing?! What are you behaving this way?" shouted Tammy as she and the other girls glared angrily at Yunus.

They had initially thought that since it would be impossible for Giya and Gerald to be together anymore, being together with the young master from the Long family would be the second-best thing, as long as he was a good person.

They could clearly see now how much of a sc*mbag Yunus really was.

"She's my god d*mn fiancée! She has to do whatever the f*ck I tell her to! And now, I want her to sit beside me to pour me some f*cking wine! F*ck Gerald! Gerald's nothing but trash in my eyes!" roared Yunus as he continued tugging her arm.

All of the Quarrington family members had ugly expressions on their faces. However, as was expected, nobody dared to speak up.

Xavia smiled triumphantly as she watched the scene before her play out.

Once they arrived at the main seat, Giya sat on the chair next to it while holding on to her wrist. Yunus had clearly grabbed on to it too roughly.

"It's my birthday today! Could you stop being so cold to me for once?! Smile, god d*mn it! Smile as you pour my god d*mn wine!"

Nobody could understand why he was suddenly losing his cool. However, nobody was complaining either. After all, they were all enjoying their front row seats to this drama!

The bitterness in Giya's heart peaked at that moment. However, she knew that she didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Forcing on a faint smile, she then began pouring some wine for Yunus.

"Fantastic!" cheered and applauded the people from within the crowd.

Xavia herself smiled subtly as she said, "Haha... My sister-in-law is too good for someone like Gerald. Why would anyone say that she loves him? From what I can see, it's clear that she's head over heels for Yunus! If none of you are buying that, why not Giya and Yunus kiss in front of everyone then? Haha! That'll be the biggest birthday present for Yunus!"

After hearing what she said, everyone started cheering and applauding again.

"She's right! Go on! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

"Humph! If it's a kissing scene all of you want, then a kissing scene you'll get!" sneered Yunus as he attempted to hug Giya so that she would be forced to kiss him.

However, Giya immediately avoided him before shouting, "What do you think you're doing? Have you gone mad?!"

She just couldn't stand him anymore.

"Oh? What's happening here?" said Xavia as she faked her surprise.

On the contrary, everyone else truly was surprised.

"My word, what is wrong with you, sister-in-law? You're not giving Yunus any face at all, despite the fact that he's celebrating his birthday today! Humph! Does your heart truly still belong to Gerald?" added Xavia.

Hearing her statement, Yunus's anger rose even more as he glared at Giya.

Chapter 629

"How dare you try to avoid me?! You're to obey everything that I say! If you can't do even that, I'll make sure that the Quarringtons cease to exist in Mayberry City!" roared Yunus furiously as he yanked on Giya's hair out of anger.

He then pulled her into his arms, forcefully positioning her into a hug. Giya however, wasn't having any of that.

"Release me you lunatic!"

As Giya struggled desperately to free herself, she began subconsciously raising her hand...

And a moment later, a slap could be heard.

Giya had just slapped Yunus's face.

"...You... You hit me? You actually dare to hit me?"

Yunus was so shocked and angry that he could almost feel himself ready to spurt out blood.

Everyone else could only stare wide-eyed at what they had just witnessed.

"Are you alright, Giya?!"

It was Tammy and the other girls who had broken the silence as they pulled Giya away from Yunus in their effort to protect her.

"...Kneel... Kneel before me immediately! Otherwise you'll definitely regret it!" growled Yunus, his anger limitless as he cupped a hand on his hurt cheek.

As he said that, the other members of the Long family had also gotten up, slowly gathering around them.

After all, Giya had just slapped Yunus in public. It was equivalent to her slapping the faces of all the other Longs as well!

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Long! Giya was rude and disrespectful to you! I'm so sorry, Mr. Long!" said Walton as he immediately rushed forward to apologize to Yunus.

He had gritted his teeth while also clenching both his fists as he said that. After all, no father would be able to tolerate seeing their daughter being treated like this.

As for the other members of the Quarrington family, all of them were extremely afraid that things were just going to continue getting worse.

At that moment, Giya's third uncle began walking toward Yunus with a smile on his face, clearly trying to de-escalate the situation.

However, before he could even say a word, Yunus punched him out of the blue!

"Get lost!" roared Yunus as Giya's third uncle fell to the floor.

"Third uncle!" cried out Giya.

The other Quarringtons were now beyond terrified.

Turning to look at Giya, Yunus then began slowly walking toward her.

Suddenly, he felt something hit him on the forehead!

"F*ck!" shouted Yunus as he placed a palm over his forehead. Looking at the floor, he realized that he had been shot with a plastic pellet!

"Who the f*ck did that?!" cursed Yunus aloud.

In response, another plastic pellet was shot! This one hit Yunus's forehead as well.

Now knowing which direction the pellets had been shot from, Yunus looked toward the venue's main entrance.

He saw a few men standing there, their possible leader holding on to a toy gun which was still pointed toward Yunus. When the hell had they come in?

"Haha! Bullseyes for both shots!"

Said the person who had shot the pellets as he threw the toy gun aside before starting to laugh.

"D*mn it, it's you again? Are you sick of living or something?"

Yunus recognized their faces. They had earlier come to cause trouble, after all. However, they had been promptly beaten up by his men before they managed to escape.

Of course, the group standing at the building's main entrance was Yoel and the rest of his men.

After hearing Yunus say that, Yoel began walking toward him with both hands in his pockets. His group of men followed closely behind him.

"I'm glad you noticed! I'm feeling quite uncomfortable now, you know? Come on! Beat up again, please!" replied Yoel as he sneered.

"Why you... Men, get them-"

Before Yunus was able to order his men to beat them up, his butler hurriedly ran over to stop him.

"Mr. Long, please don't act recklessly. Let's see what he's up to first!" whispered the butler.

"Yunus Long! If you know what's good for you, then you better release my sister-in-law! Otherwise, you'll be done for today!" shouted Yoel as he pointed toward Giya.

"What?!"

Everyone present was shocked.

"Oh dear, Mr. Long has really gotten himself in a very messy situation this time!"

"I agree! The Long family is really going to embarrass themselves this time!"

Just like before, the crowd had already started discussing the current situation among themselves.

As for Aiden, who had previously been injured, he nudged his shoulder against Yoel's before giving him a look. It was his way of reminding Yoel to pay attention to what he said, even if they were here to cause a scene today.

The entire operation was a very big deal.

"So it seems that the rumors are true! Is the young master of the Long family really interested in other peoples' leftovers?"

The discussions were going more rampant than ever in the crowd.

At that moment, Giya looked at Yoel before saying, "Sister-in-law...? What are you talking about?"

"Heh... Well, it doesn't really matter! Regardless, since we're all already here, I definitely won't allow you to get hurt any further!" replied Yoel.

Yoel was so angry that his face was now beet red.

"I see... No wonder Yoel and his men came over to cause a scene earlier! They were trying to take Miss Giya away! The young masters must've been angry! After all, Yoel is Mr. Crawford's godbrother!"

"Indeed!"

However, before they were able to continue discussing any further, a woman suddenly said, "Hah! How brave of you to come all the way here just to create a ruckus! But why isn't Gerald here? Why's he only sending his men? Get him to come personally if he wants trouble! Also, don't simply refer to others as your sister-in-law!"

Chapter 630

The woman in question was Xavia.

She didn't know why, but she felt extremely uncomfortable when she heard Yoel referring to Giya as his sister-in-law!

"F*cking hell! They're really tired of living, aren't they?! This is the second time you've tried to cause a scene at my birthday banquet! I'm beating all of you to death if it's the last thing I do!" yelled Yunus angrily.

By then, all of the present Long family bodyguards had surrounded Yoel and his men. There seemed to be at least a hundred of them.

This was such a huge scene that all the businessmen and celebrities there were taken aback.

"Oh dear lord! You have so many men with you! I'm terrified! Pop quiz time! Do you know which family has more men with them in Mayberry City?" said Yoel with a laugh, his hands in his pocket.

As soon as his sentence ended, a whistle was blown.

Following that, a large group of men began rushing in from the main entrance without warning!

An estimated five to six hundred men had also surrounded the building's exterior, all of them working for the Crawford family.

With countless men suddenly standing behind Yoel, Yunus was left completely taken aback.

Even Xavia shut up when she saw all the men that Yoel had suddenly summoned.

Based on the current situation, it was visibly clear that it would be impossible for the Longs to win this battle.

'All these men belong to Gerald... Since when has he become like this?' Xavia thought to herself.

By then, several of the Long family's seniors were looking around them anxiously.

"Third young master, please don't act impulsively! They're deliberately trying to provoke you now! If you make the first move, they'll have a reason to start fighting back!" said one of the senior members hurriedly.

"Please be patient, Yunus... I'd like to see what they're planning on doing next..." said another Long family member anxiously.

"Mr. Lyle is here!" shouted someone from the crowd at that moment.

As soon as they heard his name, the crowd automatically began making way for him to pass through.

Zack and Michael could be seen standing at the end of the newly cleared path.

"Mr. Lyle! Mr. Zeke!" greeted a few of the businessmen there as they, too, stood aside to ensure that there was an open path in front of the two men.

All of the Long family's members were now aware that Zack was present as well.

Among the Longs, a middle-aged man suddenly stood up and quickly walked over to him.

"It's been a while since I've last met with you, Mr. Lyle. It's the Long family's third young master's birthday today you know? What exactly do you mean by this current scene?"

It was obvious that some of the senior members there knew Zack.

"Oh, it doesn't mean anything. And yes, I'm aware that Yunus is celebrating his birthday today so I just came along to have some fun! Happy birthday, Yunus!" replied Zack with a smile.

"Then how would you explain all the guards here?" asked the same man again.

"Oh, them? Well, all of them used to work in Mayberry Commercial Street. They were all equally excited to hear that the Long family's third young master was celebrating his birthday at Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. After all, this used to be our old home! That's the only reason why we're all here today. Don't you think you're being a little too sensitive, Mr. Long?"

"Regardless, since we're already here to celebrate his birthday, don't you think you should invite all of us in for at least a drink?" replied Zack.

Yunus could barely hold his anger back when he heard this. However, he wasn't a fool. He knew well enough not to make a move against Zack.

He could only turn his head to the side in anger.

"But of course! The Long family has always been hospitable to our guests! Please, come with me, Mr. Lyle!" said the Long family senior hurriedly.

Not too long after, Zack, Yoel, and a few others found themselves sitting at a table next to Yunus's.

Yunus was feeling extremely depressed at that moment. Just as he was about to take a sip of red wine, a loud smacking sound was heard.

Something had hit Yunus's cheek!

When he looked up, he saw Yoel and Aiden aiming peanuts at him!

"D*mn it!" growled Yunus as he glared at both of them with a vicious expression on his face. All he could do was clench his fists tightly while taking deep breaths, hoping that it would allow him to control his temper.

However, moments later, a piece of braised pork hit Yunus directly on his forehead!

"You f*ckers!" yelled Yunus as he immediately stood up in anger.

"Yunus! Calm yourself!" said another senior member of the Long family as he placed his hand on Yunus's shoulder to prevent him from doing anything rash.

Chapter 631

While the other Longs were also furious at Yoel's provocations, they knew better not to say anything in their current situation.

"There's no need for that, Mr. Lyle. Please restrain your people!" said one of the Long family's seniors.

Zack smiled before adding, "Yeah, Yoel. Stop being so rude!"

Yoel only kept quiet once he was told to do so.

Meanwhile, Gerald was standing at the corner of the large golf course behind his hotel. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Are the helicopters on their way?" asked Gerald through his phone.

"We'll be arriving soon!" replied both Drake and Tyson simultaneously.

Gerald hadn't really wanted to take the helicopter today, but Zack had insisted that he do so. He needed to appear powerful in order to deter the Longs. Hence, he needed to be high profile.

Since he was going to confront the Long family anyway, Gerald simply agreed. He couldn't care less anymore about retaining a low profile.

As he awaited his ride, Gerald looked around the golf course. Several groups of people were scattered across the course, enjoying their individual games of golf.

"Our sincerest apologies, good sirs, but we have to clear up the golf course soon. Could you please leave for the time being? We're truly sorry for the inconvenience."

This was what a few employees had set out to relay to those currently playing in the course.

"Huh? Leave? We just started!"

"That's right! You can't expect us to just be alright with that! I'm still with my client! Give me your manager's contact number! I want to speak to your manager!"

"Yeah! We've paid so much to enter the club and we don't even have the right to stay? I'm definitely not leaving!"

The customers were furious.

"We finally got to play with Ms. Karen you know? And now you're making us leave? That's preposterous!" said one of the girls rather unwillingly.

"Chase, Sherry, what do both of you think?"

"Yeah, we aren't done playing yet. Since the others haven't left either, we should continue as well!" replied Chase.

This particular group consisted of four people, with three females and a male.

"Still, your husband is so great, Ms. Karen! I would've never dreamt of coming to such an amazing golf course if he hadn't brought us here!" said another girl.

"Haha, well, my husband had to accompany an important client here today. Since they were going to play golf and we weren't doing anything, I just thought it would be nice for all of us to come here together. Even though you were all just my students in junior high school, we've been in touch for so many years that I now treat all of you like my own siblings!" replied Karen.

Seeing that they couldn't make the customers leave, the employees simply left. Their task wasn't to force the people to leave. They simply had to reduce the number of people on the golf course by informing them that they were clearing up the course soon.

If they were really going to clear up the entire golf course, the task wouldn't be handed over to simple employees.

"Gone at last! What nuisances! Either way, both of you are getting married soon, right? Chase, Sherry? You could consider taking your wedding photographs here. The course is so beautiful that even I feel better just by looking at this scenery!" said one of the girls excitedly as she took her phone out and snapped a picture of the surrounding area.

"I'm going to take more pictures of the scenery! Like... Here! And here! And there as well!" said the girl with every photo that she took.

"Woah!" said the girl out of the blue. Frozen in place, she squinted at one of the pictures she had just taken.

"What's wrong, Lucille?" asked Karen, Sherry, and Chase as they turned to look at her.

With a shocked expression, Lucille then pointed toward a direction before saying, "Ms. Karen... All of you, look! That person standing in the distance... Doesn't he look a bit like Gerald?"

"What? Gerald?"

Shocked, everyone then turned to look at where Lucille was pointing at.

It was true. The person standing at the corner of the golf course with his hands in his pockets, was indeed, Gerald.

"Is that really him? What is he even doing here?" asked Lucille curiously.

Chapter 632

"Who knows? I heard that he knows quite a lot of people! If I were to guess, he's probably here... to pick golf balls for them? Haha!" said Karen.

"That does sound logical. I remember he said that he was doing his own business when we last met at our class gathering! Ridiculous!" sneered Lucille.

When Gerald was still in junior high school, three of the people in the group were his classmates and the fourth was one of his teachers. They had met him the last time Gerald went back to his old house to celebrate his birthday.

The day they met was coincidentally also Chase's birthday, and the day Gerald found out that the girl he had liked in high school—Sherry—was now together with Chase.

Gerald had left the gathering early back then since there weren't a lot of common topics to talk about. What more, Gerald was rushing to celebrate his own birthday as well.

After he left, Chase and the others planned to visit Sunny Springs. However, after having their dinner and arriving there, they found that there wasn't much to look at anymore.

It was then when Karen had told them to wait for the day her husband needed to accompany his client again. She would be able to bring them along to a five-star golf course then.

All that led to the current events.

"So, Ms. Karen, do you think we should greet him?" asked Lucille.

"Why not? Look over there guys! He's really picking golf balls for others!" said Karen as she pointed and laughed.

"Hey you! Could you bring that golf ball to us?"

Just as Gerald hung up, a ball rolled up to his foot. Apparently a girl who was practicing her golf club swings accidentally swung it there.

A guy then pointed toward Gerald. He clearly wanted Gerald to bring the ball over to him, so Gerald simply followed his orders.

"The hell? What kind of worker even is that!" said the same guy as he rolled his eyes toward Gerald.

"Oh, honey! Don't be mad, you'll scare him off!"

"You'll have to constantly make use of people like him! If he isn't disciplined enough, he'll be cutting slack every day!"

Gerald simply smiled bitterly as he heard them talking. He didn't really want to start an argument with them.

As he was making his way back to his initial spot to enjoy a moment of silence, Lucille and the others came up to him.

"Haha! What a coincidence, Gerald!"

All of them were watching when Gerald was scolded after picking the golf ball up.

They had initially thought that Gerald was doing well with his business, but once they saw that scene, all of them became equally excited.

"Oh? It's you guys?" said Gerald, slightly surprised.

Not only were his high school mates here, but also Sherry, the girl he used to like.

"What? Are you afraid that we saw what you were doing? I thought you were doing your own business! Is this the business you were talking about? Picking up golf balls for people?" said Karen as she continued mocking him.

Sherry on the other hand, simply looked at him and shook her head. People without a future certainly wouldn't change much!

"Ah, Karen! Here you all are! I've been looking for all of you!" said a young man wearing a suit as he walked over to the group.

"What is it, hubby?"

"Well, we're short of a ball picker over on our side. Could you help me get one from the front desk?" replied the man.

"Haha! There's one here right now! This person here used to be my student and now he's picking up golf balls for a living! Just take him..."

"Him? Alright then, come along with me!" said the man as he nodded toward Gerald.

Gerald simply shook his head before saying, "Sorry, I don't have the time..."

He was speechless.

Chapter 633

After ending his sentence, Gerald simply stood aside with a bitter smile on his face. While several misunderstandings were at play, he didn't feel the need to explain everything to them.

"What's his problem?" asked Karen's husband, clearly upset.

"Oh, don't bother about him! He's just being a jerk again!" replied Karen, equally as upset.

All of a sudden, someone shouted, "Hot d*mn! That's a lot of helicopters!"

"Huh? Where?"

"Holy! There's at least thirty-six of them up there and they're all forming a formation!"

Everyone there was stunned. Though this place was mostly reserved for wealthy people, those present there today were generally younger, which explained their shock.

Even Karen and the others' attention was drawn toward the helicopters.

"Aren't those helicopters used by the military, Hubby?" asked Karen, her voice clearly indicating her shock.

Her other students were simply too stunned to say anything.

"Of course not. While they surely are military grade helicopters, citizens can use them too. Still, I wonder who could have brought so many helicopters into Weston..."

Though Karen's husband was knowledgeable, even he was surprised.

"I really want to know who those helicopters are for... The kind of formation they're making could only be reserved for the richest of the rich!" said Lucille as she jumped up and down excitedly.

She even took out her phone to capture pictures of them. What an exciting day!

"Honey, look! The helicopters are about to land on the golf course!" said the lady who had misdirected her swing earlier.

"No wonder the workers told us to leave earlier. Someone powerful must be here today! I'm glad we didn't leave. I have to know this person!" replied her husband, shocked.

Though they were indeed rich, they weren't that rich! How could a person even have that much money!

"Good day, sir! Might you have any idea of who's here today?" asked Karen's husband as he walked over to the couple. He had overheard them discussing the helicopters as well.

He could tell that they were rich just from how they were dressed, which led to his assumption that they would probably know more about the situation.

Karen and the others simply followed behind him.

"I can't really tell!" replied the man with a smile.

Karen's husband then started making some small talk with the man about the wealthy people living in Weston.

Chase and the others could only look at them with admiration. This was a conversation between successful people. They could create a conversation out of the simplest of things.

It was the true power of having connections.

After all, Chase wouldn't be able to be at such a high-class place if he wasn't close to Ms. Karen.

Even Lucille was proud of being there.

Eventually, the helicopters managed to get in formation and they all landed on the golf course.

Everyone on the golf course was filled with excitement. Even those staying inside the hotel came out to watch.

"Look there! Some people are coming out of a helicopter!"

It was Drake and Tyson. Both of them were leading a row of bodyguards out of one of the helicopters.

"Oh my god! They're all so cool and handsome!" shouted Lucille excitedly.

Even Sherry was swooned at the sight of the bodyguards.

Drake and Tyson however, simply ignored them. After putting on some sunglasses, they walked toward Gerald.

"...What?"

Karen and the others were utterly confused.

"Mr. Crawford!" shouted Drake, Tyson, and all the other bodyguards in unison.

"Glad to see you're all here!" replied Gerald as he nodded.

"Mr... Mr. Crawford?!"

Chapter 634

Karen and the others were beyond shocked when they heard the name being shouted out.

What was going on? Why did they address Gerald as Mr. Crawford?

Were those helicopters really here to pick Gerald up?

All of them had pained expressions on their faces, and this was especially so for the girls in the group. The pain they felt was excruciating. After all, all three of them had constantly looked down on Gerald. They just couldn't believe that he was actually such a powerful person!

"Impossible... How is any of this possible?!" said Lucille.

Gerald didn't even bother looking at them. He was already prepared to leave.

"Gerald!" shouted Lucille, desperation in her voice.

"Yes?" replied Gerald as he turned to face her.

"You... These helicopters... They came to pick you up?" asked Lucille in a nervous tone.

"Yep!" said Gerald while nodding slightly. He then glanced at Sherry and Karen but he didn't say anything else. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he finally walked toward the helicopter, greeted by a row of bodyguards.

As for the young couple from earlier, both of them were equally shocked and scared. They had ordered a big boss to pick their golf ball up for them!

However, Gerald was simply too lazy to even bother with their reactions anymore. He was no longer as troubled as he used to be when it came to him showing off his wealth.

As Sherry and Karen continued to stare in confusion, the helicopters soon took off again.

Moving back to Yunus's birthday party, Yunus was still extremely upset after hearing everything that Yoel and Aiden had said.

Adding on to what Harry had said earlier, Yunus could feel that something wasn't right. This was because while Gerald's people looked like they were ready to cause trouble, Gerald himself had yet to arrive.

"I think Mr. Crawford is definitely coming over to snatch the bride away! He'll definitely be coming for Ms. Giya!"

"That's right! She's so pretty... Plus, the Crawfords and the Longs have resented each other for a long time. No wonder Mr. Crawford is so upset!"

At that moment, almost everyone there was gossiping.

"What should we do, Yunus...?"

The question had come from Melissa who had just approached him. After all, Yunus wasn't the only one who had turned his back against Gerald. Melissa had done so as well.

She was getting increasingly worried after seeing what had happened earlier on.

Gerald used to treat her well. He had even gone to the event she had organized just to save her some face.

While she felt guilty about it, she still opted to help Yunus in the end since Gerald didn't have a background like the Long family did.

The situation there was extremely awkward now. Nobody dared to speak until one of the seniors of the Long family, Jerry Len, spoke up.

"Everyone! Today is young master Long's birthday! It's a wonderful sight, seeing all of you here today. Even Mr. Lyle is here to celebrate this wonderful occasion with us! Hence, I'm happy to announce that we're officially buying Wayfair Mountain Entertainment as our primary investment project! Next, I'll be showing all of you our following business plans for Mayberry!" said Jerry as he looked at Zack.

"What!"

Everyone there was starting to realize that the Longs were serious about taking their revenge after being forced by Jessica to leave Mayberry in the past.

They were also aware that Jerry had only spoken because the Long family had something up their sleeves to show all of them. But what could it be?

Seeing that everyone was curious, Jerry immediately clapped his hands. A brief moment later, the droning of helicopters could be heard coming from the mountains.

It wasn't long before the crowd was able to see six helicopters hovering above Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. A roll of red satin hung under each helicopter and each roll held an individual word. When placed in order, they would form the name of the Long family's project. The rolls of satin also made it look as though six red dragons were flying in the sky.

"Holy! That's Master Long's helicopter squad, the Flying Dragon Fleet! He rarely uses any of them and only brings out all six on big occasions! Each helicopter is worth a lot!"

"The Long family has such great power..."

Chapter 635

"Woah!"

While Melissa had been afraid at first, she was shocked out of her fear when she saw the helicopters flying in the sky.

Looking at everyone's expressions, the Long family seemed to have finally managed to save themselves some face. This made Jerry smile happily.

However, much to everyone's disappointment, before the helicopters could properly display the words on the red satin rolls, all of them landed immediately instead.

"Huh? What's happening?" asked someone, shocked.

"The hell? Quick! Go check out what's wrong!" shouted another person from the side.

It was at that moment when a shocking sight could be seen from afar. A speck of black seemed to have formed in the sky, and it was slowly getting bigger as it swiftly approached Wayfair Mountain Entertainment.

That speck in question was actually Gerald's thirty-six helicopters! While none of the helicopters looked as grand as the ones owned by the Long family, in the end, thirty-six helicopters were still much grander than just six.

"What... What on earth is happening? Whose helicopters are those?"

Everyone was brimming with curiosity as they stood up. No wonder the six helicopters landed immediately.

As Jerry turned to look at Yunus, utterly confused, he could see that Yunus's own face had already turned as white as a sheet. The same went for Xavia.

"What the hell?" said Xavia as she, too, got up from her seat.

In Yanken, the Long family was both wealthy and powerful, which was why they could afford those six luxurious helicopters in the first place. The helicopters they owned weren't regular ones by any means. They couldn't just be bought off the market.

Not even everyone from the family could sit in them, but Xavia was lucky enough to have boarded one of them once.

Despite all that, they still lost in number. Who could have thought that there was someone even more powerful than them!

"Who is it?"

Everyone was still flabbergasted by the scene. Everyone except for Giya. She knew for a fact that it was Gerald orchestrating the entire scene.

One of the helicopters descended slowly, before finally landing right outside the function hall's entrance.

Once the helicopter was on the ground, Gerald stepped out of it slowly. Together with him, was Drake, Tyson, and Harry.

"Mr. Crawford! Oh my god it's really him!" shouted some of the people excitedly.

Gerald only smiled subtly. While the Long family's bodyguards were still trying to stop Gerald's people before this, the moment they saw him, the bodyguards immediately stepped aside.

"Mr. Crawford! Mr. Crawford!"

On the other hand, several of the wealthy businessmen there were already shouting his name.

Giya herself called out his name in a gentle tone, "Gerald!"

Gerald was quite surprised when he saw her. Since he was only there to create trouble for Yunus, he wasn't really expecting to see Giya there.

"Mm!" said Gerald as he nodded his head slightly before walking toward her.

The entire hall went silent.

Today was the day the Crawfords showed their true power, and they were indeed, very powerful.

"Allow me to say a few words, Yunus!" said Gerald.

While Yunus was supposed to be the spotlight of the day, Gerald simply patted him on the shoulder before signaling for him to move aside.

Yunus could only glare angrily at him. He had never been treated like this before. The nerve Gerald had to tell him to stand aside! It was extremely clear that Gerald was humiliating him.

However, Jerry simply grabbed Yunus by the arm and pulled him aside.

It was evident, at least for now, that the Longs weren't going to be able to win a fight against Gerald and his people.

Gerald then turned to look at Melissa whose face was drained of all color.

He smiled at her before saying, "Everyone! It's Yunus's birthday today and I mean no harm! I've only come to give him a few presents! Naturally, the presents are also for the Owens family who has had a major misunderstanding with me!"

"...Huh? Present?"

Everyone was extremely curious.

The Owens themselves—Rosalie included—were seated right beside him.

Chapter 636

While the Owens hadn't said a thing from the very beginning, Rosalie had been glaring at Gerald with eyes filled with hostility from the moment he appeared.

If the Crawfords wanted to cause trouble now, the Owens couldn't really do much about it.

"I believe that some of you may have already heard about the misunderstanding between me and the Owens, and I'm sure that everyone wants to know what exactly happened. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the truth!" said Gerald with a laugh.

The moment he said that, Gerald's men took that as their cue to start playing a video. It was projected on the big screen located in front of the venue.

In the video, a car could be seen parked on a bridge. It was night time and both Yunus Long and Melissa Wayham were present. Moments later, a car drove toward them and out stepped the director of Mayberry News.

"Lissa, I'll leave the matter regarding Rosalie to you. Your job is just to get her and Gerald together in a room. As for you, Mr. Leach, your job is to expose them when they're together! You don't need to worry about the rest, I'll take care of that. I guarantee that there's no way that Gerald will be able to clear his name off this!"

"No problem, Mr. Long!"

As they started talking about other things in the video, Rosalie and the other Owens had already stood up in anger.

Rosalie even glared daggers at Lissa, her eyes burning with hatred.

While Lissa's face was red as a tomato, Yunus's was deathly pale.

That rendezvous was supposed to be a secret. How on earth was Gerald able to capture footage of that scene in advance? It was impossible!

Yunus then scanned the crowd before eventually resting his gaze on Mr. Leach. He was standing among the group of people who had arrived with Gerald.

"How could you, Mr. Leach?!"

"How could I what? You animal! No, you're worse than an animal! You know, from the very moment I met you, I knew that you weren't a good person!" sneered Mr. Leach in response.

Mr. Leach was a cunning person who often worked with two strings to his bow. This was the only reason why he had managed to work with someone like Yunus Long.

"Jerry Len, Yunus Long, and Melissa Weyham! All three of you have almost tarnished the Owens family's name with this humiliating act! Our family will never allow you to get away with this! We apologize sincerely for our misunderstanding with you, Mr. Crawford! Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be leaving immediately!"

One by one, the members of the Owens family—including Rosalie—stood up and left in a rage.

"By god! Yunus Long is such a sc*mbag!"

Several celebrities and businessmen were also already gossiping about him.

"You... You son of a b*tch! How dare you!" roared Yunus as he dashed toward Gerald, furious.

However, before he could even touch Gerald, he was greeted by a mighty kick. It was so powerful that Yunus could feel blood in his mouth.

Looking up, Yunus realized that the silhouette he saw before being kicked turned out to be Drake.

"Speaking of which, I have another gift for the rest of you businesspeople as well!" said Gerald with a smile.

As soon as they heard him say that, everyone's eyes became glued to the screen, all of them filled with anticipation.

The next segment seemed to have been secretly filmed through a window at night. The contents of the video were extremely inappropriate, to say the least.

One of the wealthier attendees was particularly infuriated as the video played on. He turned to look at the beautiful young mistress who had been standing next to him before slapping her on the cheek.

"Shame on you!" roared the same man.

The contents of the video didn't really need much further explanation.

Essentially, today, all the attendees were being shown every single dirty little thing that Yunus had done before.

Even Jerry and the other heads of the Long family were disgusted by what they had seen. Their faces were boiling red. Today, their family's name had been completely tarnished.

Many people had already lost their respect for the Long family, and it was all because of Yunus Long.

"Even if I die today, I demand a thorough explanation from the Long family!" yelled one of the businessmen furiously.

Disgust and hatred could be seen in the eyes of all the other wealthy attendees.

"U-uncle Len! You have to help me! I'm being set up here! It's all an elaborate setup!" shouted Yunus in fear.

"And here I thought you were the smartest among the three siblings. Never would I have imagined that you'd be the ultimate let-down! I'm reporting this matter to grandpa immediately, Yunus!" said Jerry as the corner of his lips twitched.

"Alright, alright, settle down people. By the way, there's another video that I wish to show specifically to the Long family! The video's quite recent so I'm sure your grandpa will be even happier when he sees this!" said Harry.

The moment his sentence ended, the next video began playing.

"...Grandpa, I'm a brute! Grandpa, I'm a brute!"

In the video, Yunus could be seen seemingly shouting for his grandfather three times in a row as he knelt.

Jerry looked like he was ready to explode in anger. He then pointed toward Yunus, his finger trembling in rage.

"You... You...!"

Chapter 637

Xavia hadn't expected things to go this way.

She had only wanted to use this opportunity to widen her social circle with the attendees.

If Gerald hadn't attended the event, her plan would've gone smoothly.

Nobody could have ever anticipated that the event would end up in such a tense situation.

"Humph! You're such a disgrace to the Long Family, Yunus Long! I can't believe you would do such a thing!" said Xavia in disgust as she spat at him.

Her response was an immediate slap to the face from Yunus.

Yunus's eyes were bloodshot as Xavia, overwhelmed by the force of his slap, fell atop one of the tables.

"You f*cking b*tch! Keep your mouth shut! All you do is ramble on and on! I'm sick of all that! Who do you even think you are to lecture me like that? I'm only saying this once. You're my sister-in-law merely because I acknowledged you as part of our family! If I hadn't brought you in, you'd just be another stray b*tch trying to claw your way in!"

"You... You dare hit me?" said Xavia as she held onto her bruised cheek in disbelief. The corner of Xavia's lips had already begun bleeding as well.

Jerry didn't even bother saying anything after witnessing this.

The Long family was very big. Being a family with three grandsons to be future heirs, the distribution of wealth and power was rather complicated.

While Jerry himself wasn't one of the three young heirs of the Long family, they had sent him over this time to oversee things.

After seeing how Yunus was behaving, Jerry was boiling mad at him for tarnishing the Long family's name.

Then again, if Yunus was to lose favor among the other family members, there could still be hope for Jerry.

Since Jerry didn't have any relation with Xavia, he didn't really care about her.

At the time, the video from before was still playing on screen.

Gerald himself was watching the situation unfold before his very eyes in an indifferent manner.

He and Xavia were no longer in a relationship. He had also stopped blaming himself for being the cause of their breakup. There was really no need for him to feel guilty for a woman like her anymore.

Gerald could only hope that she wouldn't step foot into his world again. It would be much better for them to go their separate ways.

What a complicated situation.

"F*ck you! The Long family fed and clothed you! Things wouldn't have gone this way if you had only listened to me! This is entirely your fault, you b*tch!" yelled Yunus as he slapped her again.

Nobody stepped in to help her, not even her younger sister who was standing right beside her. She was paralyzed in fear.

As Xavia continued cupping her cheeks, she looked toward Gerald.

Gerald simply avoided making eye contact with her.

It was at that moment when she understood that nobody was coming to help her. She simply nodded before running out of the hall while bawling her eyes out.

As soon as she left, a wine bottle came smashing down against Yunus's head.

One of the businessmen had stepped in to fight Yunus.

Seeing this, Zack and Gerald simply looked at each other with a smile. Both of them then shook their heads before moving to the side to watch the fight further unfold.

"Thank you for what happened today!" said Giya as she approached Gerald.

"What are you thanking me for?" asked Gerald as he smiled subtly.

"For helping me out!"

"I think you've misunderstood something, Giya. I wasn't particularly aiming to help you. I just came here to clear my name!" replied Gerald with a smile.

He then began leading his men away from the scene.

Gerald was fully aware that this was only the beginning of his feud with the Long family. Zack had already told him about the previous disputes the Crawfords had with them.

Now that his sister wasn't around, the Long family was definitely going to continue trying to get their revenge for what had happened in the past.

From buying Wayfair Mountain Entertainment to Yunus trying to frame him. All of these were just signs of the many things to come.

Chapter 638

Gerald's main purpose of attending the event was just to intimidate them.

He wanted the Longs to know that they were messing with the wrong person, and that they should re- evaluate their decision of pursuing their revenge against him.

Now that he had completed what he had set out to do, Gerald was ready to leave.

Sometime after getting into his car, he noticed that someone was tailing him.

Looking into his rear-view mirror, he realized who was in the car, so he simply paid the vehicle no further attention.

Once he arrived at the hotel's entrance, Gerald was just about to enter when a girl's voice called out to him.

"Are you planning to just ignore me forever, Gerald?!"

Of course, the person in the car earlier was Giya.

"There's no reason for us to maintain our relationship anymore. Yunus should no longer pester you either, so isn't that good enough?" replied Gerald.

"Can't we even just be friends anymore?" replied Giya.

She was discontent with the way Gerald was currently treating her.

Pausing for a moment, Gerald eventually turned around and simply walked away from her without saying another word.

The truth was, Gerald was feeling quite upset about the entire thing. After all, Giya was a nice person and she even treated him well.

This was the exact reason why he had to be firm with his decision. He could no longer afford to be the obsequious person he had been before.

"S-stop right there you son of a b*tch!" shouted Tammy as she huffed and puffed while running toward Gerald.

"You're such a bad person, Gerald! How could you do this to Giya? Do you know how much she always mentions your name in front of us? While it's true that you've had some trouble with Giya misunderstanding you, you should also know how terribly sad Giya was! She had even gone to find Rosalie in hopes that she would forgive you and not pursue the matter any further! Though the Owens hadn't promised her that they would forgive you, that still doesn't mean you can treat her like this!" shouted Tammy.

This was true as the day that incident happened, Giya had personally met up with Rosalie. Despite her efforts, the Owens had been reluctant to let go of the matter that easily.

"Aside from that, there've been rumors in Mayberry that Giya is your girlfriend! They all thought that the reason you attended Yunus's birthday ceremony was to make a scene for Giya's sake! While I know that the rumors don't affect you, have you actually thought about what Giya will be going through now? How the Long family now thinks of her? What do you even suppose Giya should do now?"

"That's quite enough, Tammy! I already know why Gerald is ignoring me!" said Giya as she wiped her tears.

Staring straight at him, Giya then added, "I... I know I was being selfish. However, I have one final request from you, Gerald. Remember that time I was hospitalized after being kidnapped? You told me that you would do one thing for me as long as you could manage it. Tell me Gerald, does that statement still stand?"

"It does," replied Gerald with a nod.

Gerald also remembered that Giya had gone over to look for him back then to escape her marriage. Once she arrived in Mayberry, she had been kidnapped because he hadn't paid any attention to her.

He had blamed himself for the entire situation back then, which was why he had told her that she could make a single request which he would then try to fulfill.

At the time, Giya had playfully said that since Gerald had been the one who suggested it, he wasn't allowed to take back what he had said.

Gerald however, knew that he had meant every word that he said.

While that promise had laid dormant all this time, it had finally resurfaced again.

"Tell me what you want. As long as I can do it, I'll help you with it!" said Gerald.

After all, a promise was a promise. In addition, Gerald just couldn't bear breaking her heart any further. He didn't even know how to refuse her anymore.

"That's good to know... Rest assured, once you fulfill that favor, I'll never pester you again. I'll disappear from your life for good!"

"So... What exactly is the favor?"

"I want you to marry me!"

"...Come again? Marry?"

Despite having mentally prepared himself for whatever she was going to throw at him, Gerald still ended up being shocked when he heard those words.

"Ah, there's no need to be afraid. I don't mean an actual marriage. I just need you to fake a marriage with me in front of the Owens and Long family. Will you be able to do that for me?" asked Giya.

Chapter 639

To Giya, her request was fairly simple.

She understood that she wasn't perfect, but was she so bad that Gerald didn't even want to look at her for one final time?

Still, it made her feel a little better since he was still willing to consider her favor.

From her point of view as a girl, though fulfilling the request wouldn't entirely grant her contentment, it was the only way for her to completely end her relationship with Gerald.

She wasn't really trying to conspire anything bad at all.

Giya simply wanted Gerald to do something for her. To prove that he still cared for her. With any luck, she hoped that that would finally be able to satisfy her.

That was the gist of why she had made that request.

However, Gerald was visibly hesitant about agreeing to it.

While he had pretended to be other peoples' boyfriends before in the past, those favors weren't too hard for him to handle. It was the least he could do to help out his friends.

However, faking a marriage was a completely different thing. It would be something actually difficult for Gerald to pull off.

While he could choose to refuse her request, he acknowledged that he had indeed promised to fulfill a single request from her before this.

What more, he held no grudges against Giya. Gerald himself was honestly still holding on to both his feelings of gratitude and regret toward her.

"Really though, it's just a fake marriage! I won't ask for anything more after that. I'll need about a day to get ready for it, but before that, tell me. Are you willing to fulfill my request? Again, I repeat my promise that as long as you do this for me this time, I won't bother you ever again in the future!" said Giya as her eyes began to water.

"..Mmm... Um..."

After a long, agonizing pause, Gerald finally nodded in agreement.

"...However, I have one condition!" Added Gerald.

"Go on!" replied Giya as she bit her lower lip.

After considering his words for a while, Gerald finally said, "Apart from the Long and Owens family, nobody else should know about the fake marriage!"

"I agree with your term!"

After saying that, she took in a deep breath before putting on a somber expression on her face.

"...Alright then, Mr. Crawford. I won't take any more of your time today. It will be held tomorrow and don't worry about the arrangements. I'll handle the rest myself!"

Upon ending her sentence, Giya and Tammy then left.

Gerald on the other hand, laid down on his bed as soon as he got back to his hotel room. He was dead tired and wanted to at least get a short rest.

Sometime while he was resting, he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by the old man.

"Grandson!"

"Mr. Quick! Why are you here?" asked Gerald as he subtly smiled.

The old man standing before him was no ordinary person. In fact, he was no longer a beggar either.

Since Mr. Quick had helped him back then, in return, Gerald had treated him extremely well.

Not only did Gerald promise to take him back to his hometown in Salford, he even gave him money and ordered his men to take good care of him.

After getting to know him a little better, he also received the old man's name. His full name was Finnley Quick, a name that sounded quite imposing.

Perhaps it was Mr. Quick's old age that made Gerald feel like he was quite muddle-headed. Gerald found it hard at times to distinguish which of what Mr. Quick said was true or false.

Gerald pitied him very much.

Regardless, he was surprised that Mr. Quick hadn't gone back yet. The old man was quite mysterious. He could precisely locate Gerald wherever he was every time!

"You said we were going back together!" replied Mr. Quick with a smile.

"I... Well yes, I'll be going to Salford, but only tomorrow or the day after!"

"That's quite fine by me. I'll wait for you! Also, if you don't mind me being a burden, I could even help you!" The smile on Mr. Quick's face remained as he said that.

"Alright, alright, I understand, Mr. Quick... For now, you should probably get some rest first. I'll pay for your meals from the past few days soon!" said Gerald as he shook his head with a slightly bitter smile.

"I'll be waiting for you then! Remember, either tomorrow or the day after!" replied Mr. Quick as he left the room enthusiastically.

Naturally, Gerald wasn't going to allow the old man to go searching by himself.

After all, Mr. Quick had already helped him a few times, and Gerald was truly grateful for his help.

He remembered the time when he was surrounded in the hotel. Had Mr. Quick not rushed over to save him, who knows what would have become of him?

Chapter 640

However, due to his old age and muddle-headedness, it would be quite a bit of trouble if Gerald was to follow him around. Gerald wasn't trying to be rude, but he just couldn't bear the thought of letting him suffer!

Early the next morning, Gerald received a call from Tammy. She had of course, called to discuss the fake marriage.

To keep the marriage a secret from the public, Gerald had told neither Zack nor Michael about it.

Gerald understood the reasoning behind Giya's request. The main purpose of the fake marriage was to let the Longs and Owens know that they were engaged.

"I'll be picking you up, Gerald! Wait downstairs!" said Tammy.

"Alright, alright, I'll be down in a minute!" replied Gerald as he smiled bitterly.

The entire plan was quite simple. They were just going to have a banquet in a hotel so that Giya's family could finally settle down.

By the time he got downstairs, Tammy was already there waiting for him. They were ready to depart.

As they were about to leave, Gerald noticed someone standing in front of a car that had been parked at the hotel's entrance.

It was Natasha Yorke.

As soon as she saw him, Natasha jogged over to Gerald.

"Gerald! I came over to look for you but your bodyguards wouldn't allow me to enter! Humph!" said Natasha.

Gerald's bodyguards were well aware that Natasha was Xavia's sister. Regardless of whatever reason she gave them, they persistently denied her from entering.

They didn't even bother informing Gerald about her arrival.

"What is it?"

"Quick! You have to save my sister! She's going to take some cyanide in an attempt to commit suicide! We fought last night yet I still failed to persuade her! You're the only person who can stop her!" said Natasha, her voice anxious.

"Then let her do it. Do you really think I can stop her?" replied Gerald as he smiled bitterly.

"How could you be so heartless...? Do you have any idea why my sister's taking things this far? She wants you to take her seriously! What more, didn't you see how Yunus beat her up at the banquet yesterday?"

"Yunus wanted my sister to lure you out so that he could do bad things to you! But my sister refused to do it! Look at you now! You're all fine and dandy while my sister's in deep trouble! Are you still going to turn your back against her now?"

"As I said, she has nothing to do with me. If you're willing, pass this message from me to her. If she wants trouble, that's fine by me. However, never stir up trouble in my villa ever again!" sneered Gerald as he walked away.

"You... You b*tard! You're a monster, Gerald! You're on your way to marry someone when my sister's about to commit suicide!" screamed Natasha at him.

"Huh? Who told you that I'm getting betrothed?"

"Stop pretending! The Long family already knows all about it! I can't believe that you're lying straight to my face!" bellowed Natasha.

"I don't care if you know, honestly, now stop wasting my time!"

Xavia had indeed been humiliated yesterday after being beaten up by Yunus in front of the crowd. In the past, Gerald might still have felt pitiful and sorry for her.

But not anymore.

He then left the hotel with Tammy as Natasha stomped her foot in anger before finally leaving.

A little while later at Mountain Top Villa, a housemaid informed "Madam, your sister has arrived!"

"Huh? Did Gerald come with her?" asked Xavia.

"Only your sister, madam! Gerald isn't present."

"Im... Impossible!" screamed Xavia angrily as she pushed the maid aside and walked to the door to see for herself. True to the maid's word, only Natasha could be seen ascending the stairs. There was no sign of Gerald at all!

"That... That son of a b*tch! When did he become this heartless...?" said Xavia, her face filled with dismay.

Chapter 641

Xavia had already planned everything out.

She knew that the moment Gerald found out that she was in danger, he would definitely come running over to save her. Xavia had no doubts about it given how well she knew his personality in the past.

Once he arrived, she would begin crying and throwing tantrums before threatening to commit suicide. After seeing that, he would definitely be saddened and try to console her!

After that, she would finally have her chance to be together with Gerald again.

While Xavia seemed like she utterly hated Gerald at first glance, her main and only aim was to make Gerald regret leaving her.

Though she had managed to corner Gerald up in the bar that day, she had never planned to order her subordinates to beat him up. The most she had wanted to do back then was to mock him slightly before asking him how it felt to have fallen right into her hands.

She wanted Gerald to be filled with grief.

To her surprise, Gerald hadn't even bothered checking in on her today! Not even after hearing about her suicide attempt!

"Ahh! I'm so god d*mn angry!"

Though the Longs were powerful, Xavia knew in her heart that the Longs were no match against Gerald.

"Sister, I said everything you told me to, to a T! However, it really seemed like he was getting ready to be engaged!" said Natasha.

"Humph! I'm not buying it! As if he would ever get engaged to Giya! It doesn't make any sense!"

Though she said that, Xavia was quite anxious as well. In fact, she had been nervous from the moment she learned of the news last night.

After all, the news had been specifically spread around to the Quarringtons and the Longs. Since the Long family knew about it, it didn't take long for the information to reach Xavia.

Without warning, Xavia suddenly picked up a vase before smashing it on the floor!

She then sat on a sofa, speechless in her despair.

While this was happening, a roar of laughter could be heard at Mayberry Airport.

"Wow! Mayberry is so beautiful! Much more beautiful than Hong Kong!"

"Indeed. We chose to come here for a reason you know? By the way, Mila, you and your husband had better take us around to maximize our enjoyment here! Remember, we only managed to get a few days off! However, we really wanted to go to Mayberry with you to have a look around! We haven't even returned home yet, so you better not disappoint us!"

The conversation had come from a few girls who were currently dragging their luggage bags out of the airport as they continued chatting excitedly among themselves.

"Speaking of which, Mila, you've told us before that your boyfriend is a rather exceptional person. Why didn't you tell him to pick us up?"

The one who had asked was a cute girl who seemed to talk excitedly regardless of the situation. She had a bowl cut and her face was slightly chubby, easily making her the cutest among the six girls in the group. From the tone of her voice, she also sounded slightly naïve.

"Don't you remember what Mila said before? Her boyfriend doesn't really get women so he's rather insensitive! He's so straightforward that he doesn't even know how to surprise her romantically! Well, it's not a sin to be an insensitive man, but at least one of the partners in a relationship should know how to give pleasant and romantic surprises to the other! If both partners don't know how to do that, how would the relationship even be sustained? That's why we have our Mila here to focus on giving her Gerald surprises!" said another girl whose hair hung to around her waist. She was smiling the entire time she said that.

"Oh! I get it now! It's like what happened a few days ago right? When Mila gave Gerald a special call on his birthday? She had told him that she would be having a short holiday in a few days, but Gerald had only said that he would meet Mila after that! I felt like smacking my forehead after hearing that! He hadn't even taken the initiative to make any requests even though Mila had purposefully mentioned the short holiday!" said the bowl cut girl from earlier as she laughed out loud.

"That's right! At the time, Mila hadn't managed to hold herself back so she ended up telling Gerald about it! Personally, I think that it would've been better if you hadn't told him about the holiday. You could've just given him a surprise from your sudden return trip! Those are the best! Then again, now that I think about it, it would be better if you guided him more since he's already so insensitive. If you don't, I fear that his straightforwardness will only get worse!" added yet another of the six girls.

Hearing what the other girls had to say, Mila felt like their logic was sound. Still, she hadn't really thought about it back then.

When she had called that day, she had only mentioned the holiday because she wanted to see how Gerald would react after hearing about it.

'Well, it's fine. He's just as straightforward as ever.'

Regardless, Mila had indeed wanted to return for quite a while now to give Gerald a surprise. After all, the present Gerald had changed quite a bit compared to his past self.

Mila herself wanted to be a more supportive girlfriend, so she felt like she should put in more effort in hopes that he would also learn to do the same. Once that was achieved, they would then be able to manage their relationship even better.

"Humph! Well, in my opinion, Mila's just bragging. She may have claimed that her husband is quite powerful in Mayberry, but I couldn't find any information about Gerald online at all!"

Chapter 642

Another girl from the group had said that, her arms crossed.

All six of them were housemates who were both learning new skills and doing their internships at Hong Kong Television Station.

However, they were now on holiday to enjoy themselves as a group.

The girl who had claimed that Mila was simply bragging was named Wanda Wabsor. Though her figure was similar to Mila's, the same couldn't be said about her appearance.

If they needed to select the station beauty in Hong Kong Television Station, Mila would undeniably get chosen since she was the most beautiful woman there. Wanda herself could barely hold second place in the beauty department.

Since all of them were housemates, not only did they live together, but they also had to learn and work in the same space most of the time. In short, they had to see and talk with each other a lot.

Being girls, it was quite hard for them to avoid feeling jealous among themselves.

However, it would be far-fetched to say that they resented each other. The most they did was mock each other playfully. Regardless, they were still happy being together.

"Oh, Wanda! Don't say things like that! Mila would never brag! You can tell just by how loyal Mila is toward Gerald!"

"That's right! Just look at the television station we work for. So many people have tried to gain Mila's affection, but what does she do every time? She rejects them all! She only ever thinks about that insensitive man! When you look at it that way, Mila's such a good girlfriend!"

The responses had come from two other girls from the group.

"Humph!" After hearing that, Wanda simply kept her mouth shut. This was honestly another reason why Wanda was jealous.

For girls living outside, it was quite normal for them to have at least some sort of ambiguous relationship with other guys, even if they already had a boyfriend.

Wanda herself had a long-distance relationship with her own boyfriend.

However, even she had some ambiguous relationships with a few guys. By that, it meant that she would neither reject nor accept the actions of some of her admirers who tried to gain her favor.

Mila on the other hand, was different. Regardless of how earnest and sincere her admirers were, Mila was always resolute with her response.

'Sorry, but I already have a boyfriend!'

In a way, it made Wanda feel like Mila was simply too perfect.

"Humph! Well, it's fine if you don't want to continue talking about it. Anyway, how are our living arrangements?" asked Wanda.

"Well, I don't have many bedrooms in my house... Actually, I have another place in mind. Let's go to Gerald's house! His house is quite spacious and he has a lot of bedrooms too!" said Mila.

A roar of laughter ensued.

"Mila, we all know you just want to meet Gerald sooner. You don't even want to return home yet! That's fine though, since it definitely beats just staying in the hotel with nothing to do. Let's accompany Mila to visit Gerald!"

After that, they hailed a taxi before excitedly heading to Mountain Top Villa.

"Holy! Would you look at that! This... How could such a luxurious villa be built on top of a mountain? It almost seems like its peak is amidst the clouds! Mila, is this really Gerald's house? Are we going to be staying here?" asked the girl with the cute face from before whose name was Molly Sabell.

Earlier while they were in the taxi, the taxi driver had mentioned that Mountain Top Villa cost around a hundred and twenty million dollars. Hearing that, they had been excited to see the villa for themselves.

They honestly hadn't expected to be even more surprised now that they were standing in front of the real deal.

Wanda was filled with jealousy. So it turned out that Mila's husband truly was a powerful and rich heir, just like she had claimed!

'Why is she so lucky?' Wanda thought to herself.

"Come on, let's go in already!" said Mila as she held her besties' hands before walking toward the villa's door together.

Once they arrived at the door, Mila was giddy with excitement. After all, she hadn't met Gerald in three months now. What if he wasn't home?

Even though Mila had her own key, she still opted to ring the doorbell first.

When they heard footsteps from the inside rushing over to open the door, Mila's excitement grew with every passing step.

Chapter 643

"Who is it?" asked a maid just as she opened the door.

When she saw Mila, she was visibly stunned.

'What was such a beautiful girl doing here?'

"Um... Who are you looking for?" asked the maid.

"Is Gerald home? I'm looking for him!" replied Mila with a slight smile.

"Who's there, Hope?" said an impatient sounding voice from inside the villa.

"They're here to look for Gerald, Miss!" answered the maid.

"Huh?"

Hearing that, Xavia walked over to the door...

When she saw Mila, she was momentarily shocked speechless! Naturally, the same could be said for Mila when she saw Xavia.

"Mila!"

"Xavia!"

Both of them shouted each other's name in unison.

Mila for one, definitely knew who Xavia was. After all, Xavia was Gerald's ex-girlfriend. It was impossible for Xavia not to know who Mila was as well.

In fact, her knowing about Mila was exactly why she was sure that Gerald marrying Giya was nothing but a rumor. After all, Gerald already had Mila as his girlfriend.

'D*mn it all!'

What more, Xavia was aware of how much Gerald loved Mila! At least that was what she still assumed to be the case up till this point...

While finding out about the engagement had initially surprised her, if Gerald really was going through it, that would only mean that he must have broken up with Mila. After all, she knew that Gerald wasn't the kind of person to have an affair with another girl.

Far from it, in fact. Gerald was extremely serious when it came to dealing with his relationships. Otherwise, he would've never even considered the thought of getting engaged with Giya.

'But since he's broken up with Mila, why did Mila come over to look for him?'

'F*ck! Could Mila's end goal be the same as mine? Does she want to get back together with Gerald too? Doesn't that mean that I'll have another enemy to deal with who's even more powerful than Giya?'

'After all, Mila is very beautiful... While it's true that I can use my past with Gerald to my advantage, what other tactics do I even have? I'm definitely no match against the two of them!'

'This just won't do! I must make her leave at once!'

Xavia then began plotting against Mila right there and then!

"Why are you here?" asked Mila, a frown on her face.

"Why wouldn't I be? I've gotten back together with Gerald! I'm pregnant too, so I'm staying here now to take care of both me and my baby!" sneered Xavia.

"Quit spouting nonsense!" yelled Mila who had gone pale from fright.

But then again, if she was just spouting nonsense, what was she doing in Gerald's house?

"I don't care about whatever you have to say! Oh, and I'm marrying him soon. How about you? Why did you come back to look for him? Whatever your intentions are, you'd better give up!" replied Xavia as she rolled her eyes.

"What happened Mila? Who is she?" asked Molly angrily.

"She's Gerald's ex-girlfriend!" wailed Mila as she burst into tears.

"F*ck! What a sc*mbag!"

At that point, the others could already piece together the situation.

"Let's go, Mila! You shouldn't show your tears in front of such people!" said Molly as she glared at Xavia.

"So it turns out that Gerald had been lying to you this entire time! To think that he was getting married soon to someone else while he was still constantly contacting you! It's true that there really are no nice men in the world!" said Molly.

Chapter 644

Mila simply took in a deep breath before saying, "I'm going to call Gerald now! I want him to tell me in person what exactly happened!"

After saying that, she took out the key to Mountain Top Villa before throwing it directly at Xavia. Xavia was obviously stupefied by this.

'F*ck! Why does it now seem like Gerald hasn't broken up with her yet? In fact, they still seem to be deeply in love with each other!'

'What exactly is happening? Did Gerald really become a sc*mbag?'

As Xavia thought about that, Mila had already tried giving Gerald a few calls. However, he answered none of them.

"Why isn't he answering any of my calls? He used to always answer my calls immediately!" said Mila anxiously.

So it was as Xavia said. Gerald really was having an affair with her all this time!

Mila could only laugh bitterly in her mind.

All of a sudden, Xavia came up with a nasty plot. Just as Mila was about to leave, she shouted out, "Mila, wait!"

"What more do you want?" yelled Molly coldly in response.

Hearing that, Xavia bit her lower lip slightly before shedding some tears.

"Mila, though we've never contacted each other before, I do feel that you truly are a really nice girl. I said all that to you earlier because I couldn't bear to tell you the truth! You'd be too greatly disappointed!"

"Humph! She's just being a hypocrite while shedding crocodile tears! Pay her no attention!" replied Molly.

"Mila, while it's true that I live in Mountain Top Villa and Gerald has given me a luxurious life, do you know how much of a sc*mbag he actually is? He refuses to get back together with me, simply because he's already moved on! Even though I now bear his child, he won't let me return just because I'm his ex- girlfriend!"

"Also, I have a great secret to share with you, Mila!" added Xavia.

"What is it?" asked Mila.

Mila then lowered her voice before saying, "It turns out that Gerald is actually Mr. Crawford of Mayberry! He's filthy rich! However, he only told me about this after I got pregnant with his child, which is why I'm not sure whether you know about this yet."

Mila then looked at Xavia for a brief moment before nodding. She was starting to slightly believe her.

After all, Gerald had initially told her that his identity should never be exposed.

However, even Xavia knew about it now. What more, she was also living in Mountain Top Villa! That fact alone clearly pointed out the issue.

"Then again, since you managed to come here, it must mean that you already know about Gerald's true identity as well! If that's the case, I'll just cut to the chase. Men usually turn wild and bad once they become rich! Once I got pregnant, I thought that I could finally fulfill my wish of getting back together with him! Alas, it just isn't possible. That's because he's now together with yet another girl!" said Xavia as she wailed even louder.

"Another girl...?" replied Mila, her voice now weak.

"That's right. Now, if Gerald had truly wanted to be with another girl, I'd gladly have given up. However, he told me that he wanted me to continue being with him. He lied straight to my face while he was still together with that other girl! What more, he's getting engaged to her today! I didn't dare stop him in fear that he would beat me up!" said Xavia in between sobs.

Mila felt like she had just received a great blow.

"Where is the engagement being held? I'm meeting him immediately!" said Mila coldly.

"He's at..."

Xavia then told Mila the venue where Gerald's engagement would be held.

She had initially planned to go there to create a mess. However, after thinking about it for a while, she realized that she would only achieve the exact opposite of her desired results if she went there looking for trouble.

That was the reason why she had given up on the idea and simply went to bed.

Unexpectedly, Mila had turned up at the villa out of the blue. What great timing!

"However, you must promise me that you'll never let him know that I told you any of this. If he ever finds out about it, I'll be beaten to death!"

"Got it!"

After she said that, Mila and her friends immediately left for the venue.

On their way there, Mila was still filled with disbelief. She had always given her full trust to Gerald. She simply felt that she wouldn't have had the wrong impression of him for so long.

She was definitely not going to misunderstand Gerald simply because of what Xavia said.

This was why she wanted to go there to see for herself first. She needed to know if Xavia was really telling the truth.

"Humph! How ridiculous! You cherish him so much to the point where you talk about him at least eight times a day! In the end, he doesn't even care about you!" sneered Wanda.

"Could you please stop talking for a moment, Wanda? Mila's already having a hard time," replied Molly.

After a short drive, the car finally stopped in front of the hotel's entrance.

"Mila, this should be the place!"

Chapter 645

Meanwhile, Gerald had been putting up quite a show together with Giya.

Giya herself seemed to have lied to her parents.

Knowing this, Gerald found it increasingly awkward to keep up the façade. Hence, he was now trying to find an excuse to leave already.

When she saw this, Giya held on to Gerald's arm intimately before saying, "Mom, Dad, I'll be seeing him off first. I can handle it so both of you can just stay here!"

After saying that, both of them then walked out of the hall together.

Once the hotel's entrance was within sight, Gerald immediately said, "It's high time you returned my cell phone to me!"

Earlier, Gerald had constantly looked at his phone while he was chatting with the others. To preserve the image of intimacy between him and Giya, the other Quarringtons had temporarily confiscated his phone.

They added that he shouldn't be playing with his phone so that he could focus more on chatting properly with them.

Gerald hadn't said anything about it at the time.

After that, they continued chatting for a little while longer and having their meal, it soon led to the current situation.

"Now what kind of tone is that?" replied Giya as she placed the phone in Gerald's hand, her other arm still locked together with his.

"Why did you switch my phone off...?" said Gerald helplessly as he tried to retract his arm.

However, she refused to let him go. Her charming face clearly reflected her stubbornness and reluctance to part with him.

After all, Giya had agreed that after today, both of them would cease to have any form of relationship with each other. At best, they could only remain as friends.

How could Giya be willing to simply accept that?

Despite knowing why she wasn't letting go, Gerald didn't want to continue retaining such an ambiguous relationship with her. This was why he was being so firm and resolute with the matter.

"I don't want to let go!" said Giya.

"Gerald!"

When Gerald looked up to see who had shouted his name, he was stupefied.

"...Mila? You... When did you return?"

Gerald's heart plunged into despair at that very moment.

While he was both surprised and pleased to see Mila, the situation he was currently in made their reunion incredibly awkward.

"What... What are you doing?" said Mila as she pinched her palm hard. She was hoping that the pain would allow her to control her tears from bursting out at any moment.

Molly and her other friends on the other hand, were glaring at Gerald fiercely.

On their way there, they had persistently consoled Mila that Gerald wasn't such a person. They had even told her to have confidence in him.

After all, they had eavesdropped on Gerald and Mila's conversations before. Just from listening to the way Gerald talked back then, they could tell that he was an honest and naïve man.

They were at least certain that he wasn't the flirtatious kind of rich heir.

However, now that they had witnessed this scene, Molly and the others were simply astonished beyond words. What a sc*mbag!

"Mila! It's all just a misunderstanding!" said Gerald as he finally yanked his arm free from Giya's grasp.

"I heard that you're getting engaged with someone today... Is that true?" asked Mila.

"No! Just please listen to my explanation first!"

Gerald was feeling extremely anxious. After all, if his relationship with Mila was ruined because of such a trivial affair, Gerald knew for a fact that he would end up being filled with remorse.

"Is she Mila?" This was all Giya managed to say. After all, Mila's arrival had been extremely sudden.

Scanning Mila from head to toe, Giya could see that Mila was a natural beauty. Her disposition was very charming as well.

No wonder Gerald loved her so much.

Chapter 646

While Giya was looking at Mila, jealousy reflected in her eyes, very strong emotions were also overflowing in Mila's heart.

"You... You've let me down! You disappoint me greatly Gerald! I don't ever want to see you again!" shouted Mila as she shoved Gerald harshly before turning around.

Mila then ran away while covering her mouth as Wanda scowled, "You disgusting sc*mbag! So what if you're rich?!"

Even she couldn't help but scold Gerald in Mila's place.

After all, they were all girls. They would definitely resent sc*mbags like him!

Gerald himself had gone pale from anxiety. He simply couldn't imagine why Mila had suddenly made her appearance there and then. However, that could wait.

Gerald immediately began chasing after her.

Giya was also facing an onslaught of complicated emotions. Since she couldn't process all of it at once, she simply redirected all her feelings into anger.

With Gerald now gone, she simply turned around and re-entered the hotel.

It was sometime later when Mila and her friends were all huddled together in Mila's bedroom.

Seeing Gerald standing outside, Molly drew the curtains back slightly before saying, "Mila, please don't cry anymore... That man still has some kind of conscience. He rushed all the way here and he's now standing outside your house!"

"Just tell him to leave already! I don't ever want to see his face again!" wailed Mila as she hugged both of her knees while crying in bed.

Her friends could only look at each other. While all of them were angry, they were simultaneously thinking of how pitiful Mila was.

Mila had, after all, been thinking about Gerald this entire time. She had even wanted to meet him first above all else upon returning to Mayberry! In the end, however, she had to witness such a terrible scene with her very own eyes.

"Humph! I'll go downstairs and demand a clear explanation from him!" said Molly, her voice slightly anxious as she descended the stairs.

"Are you that sc*mbag, Gerald?" asked Molly coldly, her hands on her waist.

"I am. Is Mila alright? Everything you saw was just a misunderstanding!" said Gerald, getting straight to the point.

"Misunderstanding? All of us saw it clearly! That woman was intimately locking arms with you in the hotel earlier. How could any of that be a misunderstanding? Are you going to tell me now that your entire engagement with her is a fake?"

"Before that, are you Mila's colleague from Hong Kong? And yes, everything was faked. Could you please tell Mila that?"

"I'm not going to tell her anything. Who knows if you're telling the truth? Don't even try anything funny, I've already seen several tricks used by sc*mbags before! Regardless, you're an extremely greedy person! You already have a girlfriend yet you still yearn for other girls!"

"Quite frankly, I don't care whether you're telling the truth or not. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but do you know how well Mila treats you Gerald? There are countless people at the television station who have tried to gain her affection, you know?"

"However, she knew that she had you, and she was satisfied and grateful for that. Because of that, she was always extremely careful whenever she dealt with her admirers. Whenever anyone tried to overstep their boundaries, she would immediately reject them mercilessly!"

"I'm sure you're aware that you're currently in a long-distance relationship with Mila. If Mila had wanted to have an ambiguous relationship with any of the guys there without your knowledge, it's not like you'd be able to find out. However, she stood her ground every time, making sure to be both cold and aloof toward every guy who had ever tried to woo her. Now, she doesn't have a single male friend at our television station! Are you even aware of any of that?" explained Molly angrily.

While it was true that she could have refrained from saying those hurtful words, she found no real reason not to hold back.

She simply felt that the entire situation was unfair for Mila.

"I'm well aware!" replied Gerald as he nodded.

While he definitely already knew how committed Mila was as a girlfriend, hearing the extent of how much she valued him made him touched. Simultaneously, it also made him filled with a deep sense of self-reproach.

What Molly said was right. Mila had always treated him the same way.

Gerald on the other hand, had crossed the line a few times before during incidents that involved him helping his friends. However, when it rained, it poured, and each of those incidents always ended up with him going too far.

However, Mila could refrain from having any male friends at all, just for Gerald's sake.

'Why can't I make less contact with girls for Mila's sake as well?'

At the end of the day, Gerald just couldn't help but feel guilty. He just hoped that he could explain himself well enough for Mila to potentially forgive him.

"...Either way, that really was a fake engagement... See, that girl from earlier? She's just a friend of mine..."

After that, Gerald then slowly detailed everything that had led to that incident to Molly.

Molly kept her gaze fixed on Gerald's eyes the entire time. By the time he was finally done explaining, she realized that he really wasn't lying.

'Could he really be telling the truth? Then again... There's one more thing that doesn't add up. Let's see how you explain yourself out of that.'

Chapter 647

"What? You're just lending that villa to that girl?" said Molly after hearing Gerald's explanation about Xavia.

Regarding Xavia being pregnant, Gerald wasn't too sure about that. However, it wasn't too hard for him to imagine her plotting up such a lie. He could deal with her later.

For now, Gerald simply wanted Mila not to misunderstand him anymore.

"Alright, I can sense that you're not lying. I'll try to advise Mila on this. You'd better not be feeding us any lies. Do you know how much Mila hates being lied to?"

Despite having only a brief conversation with him, Molly was near certain that Gerald wasn't the kind of reckless or flirtatious rich hair. On the contrary, he seemed to be quite a nice and friendly man.

If he was honestly saying the truth, then Molly was definitely willing to help him out.

Hence, as Molly returned to Mila's bedroom, Gerald remained downstairs.

A short while later however, she came down again before saying with a sigh, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you Gerald. Mila simply refuses to listen to me... She doesn't even want to see you at all. I'm afraid you've hurt her too much this time. You'd better leave for now..."

After saying that, she returned upstairs.

Gerald could only sigh in response. He was filled with grief.

He had always yearned for Mila to return. Now that she was back, they had met during such terrible timing.

At that moment, Gerald's phone began ringing. It was a call from Queta.

"What's wrong, Queta?" asked Gerald as he felt a gentle smile form on his face. After all, he had always treated her just like his younger sister.

"Mr. Crawford, I'm not Queta. I'm Lisa, her colleague. We've met before!" said the girl on the other end of the line.

However, something about her tone hinted that something urgent was up.

"I remember you. What's wrong?" asked Gerald immediately.

"It's Queta. Something's happened to her and she's now in the hospital!" explained Lisa, her voice more anxious than before.

"What?"

Gerald was shocked to hear this.

He then stared at the stairs for a brief moment. At first, he considered shouting so that Mila would know that he was leaving for something important. However, he feared that it would only annoy her more if she heard him shouting.

After all, she was still deeply resenting him now. In the end, he concluded that it would be better to first check in on Queta first

"So what exactly happened? Tell me clearly!" said Gerald as he began leaving Mila's house.

"Well, she was fine up till noon today. It all started when Queta suddenly said that she was feeling sick while we were having our afternoon classes. I had initially gotten some hot water for her, thinking that she was just having a regular fever. Unexpectedly, she fainted not too long after! I'm now in the hospital with her and she's already regained consciousness. However, she's still very weak."

"Why did the incident happen in the first place?" asked Gerald anxiously as he hailed a taxi. After learning more details, he then rushed to the hospital that Lisa and Queta were in.

"What did that sc*mbag say?" asked the other girls as Molly returned upstairs.

"He didn't say too much, but it seems like he'll wait there till Mila's willing to meet him!"

"I doubt it. Is he really that loyal?" sneered Wanda as she drew the curtains open again to look outside.

The first thing she saw was Gerald getting into a taxi before leaving immediately.

"Humph! I told you! It's only been a short while yet he's already hailed a cab and left! Just look at that, Mila!" said Wanda as she pointed at the leaving taxi.

Mila took a peek outside the window and when she realized that what Wanda had said was true, she became so anxious that she began scratching on her bedsheets.

'Yes, I'm furious. And yes, I was the one who said that I didn't want to listen to your explanation... But how could that possibly be true?'

'Even if you hadn't wanted to explain yourself, you could've just waited downstairs for a little longer. That would've proved to me that you still felt the same for me...'

'But now you've left. What now?'

Mila was filled with excruciating pain at that moment.

While this was happening, Gerald arrived at the hospital.

Chapter 648

Queta's face was as white as a sheet when Gerald saw her in the ward. She looked terribly weak. Thankfully, just as Lisa had said, she had already regained consciousness.

"How are you feeling?" asked Gerald as he walked toward her bed.

"I'm not too sure either... At the time, without any warning, it simply felt like all the blood had been drained from my body. My vision went dark and the next thing I knew, I had already fainted," said Queta in a soft voice.

"And what did the doctor say?"

"See, that's why both of us are so anxious. While a few doctors have discussed her condition, they still haven't been able to detect the cause of her illness! At the moment, none of them even dare to continue treating her yet!" said Lisa.

Hearing that, Queta's eyes began watering slightly. After all, even she was slightly terrified.

Regardless of how strong she usually was, facing such a situation was still going to be hard on her.

"I see..." said Gerald as he nodded. He then looked at Queta, feeling sad for her.

After stepping out of the ward, he immediately contacted the Drake & Tyson duo. They were ordered to send in the professional medical team from the base.

The duo wasted no time after receiving their order and not too long after, the professional medical team arrived at the scene.

Since everyone from the team was quite famous, it was certain that the hospital would give their full cooperation with them.

After a two-hour check-up session, the medical team approached Gerald, looking rather glum.

"Mr. Crawford, it saddens us to say that we haven't encountered symptoms like the ones Miss Smith is currently experiencing before this. Even though we've used both Western and Chinese medicinal means to attempt to diagnose Miss Smith's illness, we've still failed to make any progress," said a few members of the medical team as they shook their heads.

"What? Even you've reached a dead end?" replied Gerald, feeling greatly disappointed.

"Apologies, sir. Might I suggest calling the medicinal team from your family instead? They have higher medical skills than we do!" added an experienced and rather old looking Chinese medicine practitioner in a shameful voice. He seemed to be their leader.

"Alright, I got it. You may leave now!" said Gerald as he nodded slightly.

While he hadn't been able to confirm his true relationship with Queta yet, Gerald still treated her like his younger sister. Even if she ended up not being related to him, Gerald would still consider her to be a close friend.

Now that she was in trouble, how could Gerald just sit back and do nothing?

"Please take care of Queta for the moment, Lisa. I'll try to think of something!" said Gerald.

"I will, Mr. Crawford."

Gerald then made his way back to his hotel. Once he got there, he started sending out orders and making arrangements for Zack and the others.

Zack was placed in charge of looking up the family's famous doctor.

He also called his father to notify him about the incident.

However, just as Gerald was about to leave again, he was immediately greeted to the sight of someone squatting right outside his hotel room.

The old person was even holding on to a sack that seemed to contain a blanket and his luggage.

Of course, the person in question was none other than Finnley the old man.

"My grandson, what were you up to today? Didn't you say that you'd go home today?" said Finnley as he smiled happily when he saw Gerald.

He then stood up while still holding on to his sack.

Scanning Finnley briefly from head to toe, Gerald noticed that the old man had even stolen a blanket belonging to the hotel!

"Finnley, I hate to disappoint, but I really don't have the time to send you home now. I have too many things on my hand at the moment... How about this? If you really want to go home now, I'll just order someone to drive you back to the Salford Province first," said Gerald rather impatiently.

Gerald currently had a lot on his plate, and he was clearly feeling the immense pressure.

He knew that if anything were to happen to Queta, he would feel extremely uneasy when he actually looked for that woman later on.

"I refuse! You told me that you'd send me home in person!" said Finnley as he shook his head.

"Fine, but you'll have to wait for a few more days then. Something's happened to my best friend so I can't afford to go yet!" replied Gerald.

Just as Gerald was about to leave, Finnley firmly grabbed on to Gerald's shoulder out of the blue.

"Hmm? Something's not right... My grandson, who did you meet today?"

Chapter 649

"What's the matter?" asked Gerald who was caught slightly off-guard by the question.

He didn't know what was wrong with the old man. While Finnley looked both elderly and thin, his grip was surprisingly strong. After grabbing on to Gerald's shoulder, Gerald was unable to move even if he wanted to.

'How is he even this strong?'

"Just curious. Again, who did you meet today my grandson? I can smell an unusual scent from your body..." asked Finnley as he chuckled.

"Define, 'unusual scent'," replied Gerald as he looked at Finnley who suddenly appeared a lot more excited and mysterious.

'Maybe his muddle headedness is acting up again!'

"It's the scent of venom-based poison!" said Finnley in a sudden hushed tone.

"The person you met today is suffering from venom-based poison! You probably came into contact with that person which is why you have such a venomous scent on you!" added Finnley.

"D*mn it, have you been watching too many Thai movies?" said Gerald helplessly.

He simply felt like leaving at that moment. However, after giving it some thought, Gerald felt that Finnley's strange deduction wasn't completely unwarranted.

While the doctors from before had failed to pinpoint the cause of her illness, Finnley's theory did in fact match with some of her symptoms.

Gerald knew about this since he had heard about venom-based poisons before sometime in the past. Essentially, it worked similar to some viruses and bacteria, only the poison was instead excreted from a parasite that made its home in the human body.

His options were running low and Finnley sounded quite confident with himself.

'What if he really has some kind of way to cure her?'

"...Alright, since even the doctors have failed to diagnose her illness, could you please have a look at the patient?"

"Of course! I know about literally everything! As I've told you before, I'm not a beggar. I was quite powerful in the past!"

If it wasn't because Gerald was running out of options, he wouldn't be wasting his time with Finnley now. Then again, Finnley's hometown was southwest of the Salford Province. Maybe he really did know something about the illness.

That was the other reason why he was willing to at least give Finnley a try.

When both of them arrived at Queta's ward, Gerald saw that one of the older and more experienced practitioners of Chinese medicine from his medical team had stayed back to take care of Queta.

He seemed to be performing acupuncture for her at that moment.

Several other Chinese medicine practitioners were also standing close by, respectfully observing and learning from him.

Even the Drake & Tyson duo were there.

Peeking into the ward, Finnley immediately sneered before saying, "What's the use of poking her body with those pathetic needles? What you're doing is utterly meaningless!"

After he said that, both Gerald and the old man entered the ward.

"Who are you? How could you spout such nonsense to the exceptionally skillful Dr. Hudson? Somebody, kick him out immediately!" said a person standing at the side. He seemed to be the president of the hospital and he looked quite unhappy after hearing Finnley's remark.

Dr. Hudson had been quite famous for several years now. His juniors were rightfully angry as well since they had been both delighted and grateful to be even able to witness his medical skills in action.

How could they just allow some old man to condemn him?

Dr. Hudson himself frowned slightly at Finnley's comment.

However, since Mr. Crawford had been the one who had brought him over, the doctor could only suppress his anger.

"Based on what you said, I'm assuming that you know a thing or two about medicine too, am I correct?" said Dr. Hudson as he snorted.

"Still, for an elderly man, you're still acting quite imprudently!"

"I'm far from imprudent! Now step aside!" said Finnley as he shoved Dr. Hudson to the side.

He then immediately took out the silver needles that Dr. Hudson had earlier inserted into Queta's arm.

"You-!" said Dr. Hudson in anger as his cheeks flushed red.

Chapter 650

"What about me? You've just been jabbing her with needles when she's clearly suffering from a venom- based poison! All you've done is increase the speed of her blood circulation! Isn't that just giving the parasite more chances to move around uncontrollably around her body?" replied Finnley.

"Girl, when you were around eight, did you go through something similar to what you're experiencing now? Though you were probably mostly just dizzy back then, it happened again when you were twelve, right? Only then, you felt even more lightheaded than before. Things should have gotten worse once you got to the age of sixteen. If my deduction is correct, you should have felt extremely lightheaded while simultaneously feeling that your limbs were worryingly weak for that period of time. Since your condition's only continued to worsen every time it shows itself again, straight out blacking out now when you're twenty-two shouldn't come as a surprise!" added Finnley as he turned to look at Queta.

Still lying on her hospital bed, Queta was shocked to hear Finnley's analysis.

"How... How did you know all that?"

Gerald himself was looking at Finnley, utterly astonished.

'How could he have managed to guess all that from just a simple glance? This mysterious old man is really something else...'

Thinking back, he remembered that Finnley hadn't given off such an impression to him the first time they had met. Far from the powerful and smart old man Gerald now saw him as, back then, Finnley was simply a beggar with an injured leg who had forced Gerald to bring him to a doctor.

While he was starting to get curious about Finnley's true background again, he refrained from asking about it for now since it would only be an inconvenience during these critical moments.

Still, if Finnley really was really able to cure Queta, that would definitely be for the best.

"Well, since you're my grandson's best friend, I'll treat and remove the venom-based poison for you!"

"Thank you so much, sir!" said Queta gratefully.

"There's no need to thank me. Ah yes, I'll need all of you to leave for now. I'm going to be performing a different kind of acupuncture to remove the venom-based poison, so ordinary people are prohibited from observing!" added Finnley.

As soon as they heard that, everyone turned to look at Gerald. After all, if the person with the highest position trusted Finnley, so would they.

What more, Gerald had been the one who brought Finnley over and the old man made both logical and knowledgeable statements as well.

Gerald had no reason not to agree to Finnley's terms, so he simply nodded and began leaving with the others.

Dr. Hudson himself couldn't say much about the matter. He simply shook his head with a sigh before walking out of the ward.

"Wait!" shouted Finnley as he stopped Dr. Hudson from leaving.

"I could see that you were quite skillful. You can stay here to help me!"

"You need my help?" asked Dr. Hudson in slight disbelief.

Hearing that, Finnley looked at Gerald.

"Well, since he's allowed you to help him, go for it Dr. Hudson. I'd personally breathe a bit easier knowing that two experts are doing their best to treat her," replied Gerald.

After all, with both Finnley and Dr. Hudson working together, it would be similar to implementing double safety measures.

While Gerald left for real this time, the Drake & Tyson duo continued staring at Finnley coldly, their arms crossed.

The old man always had some kind of trick up his sleeve, and the duo had long been annoyed about that. What more, Dr. Hudson was their colleague. Seeing him being fooled and teased by that old man definitely made them even angrier.

After glaring at him for a little longer, the two finally began to leave when suddenly, they heard the old man say, "Tsk... These silver needles are useless!"

Finnley had been looking at the pack of silver needles that Dr. Hudson had with him when he said that. After discovering that they were useless, however, he simply threw them away in resignation.

"You...! That's going way too far!" yelled Dr. Hudson, his hands shaking in rage.

"Humph! I'm telling the truth! Those needles there were all garbage! I need actual needles like the ones the brothers there have! You two, take your silver needles out now!" said Finnley as he looked at both Drake and Tyson who were still standing at the door.

Once they heard what he said, the two men looked at each other in dismay. Their expressions had changed drastically as they looked at Finnley.

"What are you looking at? Come now, don't hide them up your sleeves anymore! I'll return them once I'm done!" said Finnley as he moved toward them slowly.

Before they could even react, Finnley was already in front of them! He then snatched their packs of silver needles with extreme ease!

"You!"

"Brother!"

Drake's forehead was filled with cold sweat as he stopped Tyson from making a move.

While the old man frankly seemed quite ugly and ordinary, his actions were fast and precise. They were so fast and precise, in fact, that Drake was now feeling equally scared and nervous.

Drake had never experienced such feelings before.

Glancing one last time at Finnley in disbelief, he then dragged Tyson out of the room.

Dr. Hudson himself placed his arms behind his back as he stood at the side. He simply couldn't believe that such an old, beggar-like man like Finnley could have any sort of capabilities at all!

However, Finnley's method of inserting the silver needles was simultaneously precise, skillful, and dazzling.

It didn't take long before Dr. Hudson began to realize what technique Finnley was using. The moment he did, however, the doctor's mouth began trembling slightly as he muttered, "Is... Is this Deadly Acupuncture Therapy?"

Chapter 651

After a short while of Gerald waiting anxiously outside the ward, both Finnley and Dr. Hudson exited the ward.

When Gerald saw both of them, he found it slightly odd and suspicious that Dr. Hudson now seemed much more respectful toward Finnley. Gerald had also noticed that while they were leaving the room,

the doctor had almost tried supporting Finnley's arm, though he quickly changed his mind at the last second.

"How did it go?" asked Gerald.

"She's almost cured! You can go in and pay her a visit now!" said Finnley with a chuckle.

Hearing that, he entered the ward immediately to check on Queta. She was looking much better now compared to earlier, and even the usual rosiness on her cheeks had started to return.

"You don't have to worry, Gerald. Mr. Quick has exceptional medical skills!" said Queta as soon as she saw him, clearly worried that Gerald was still concerned about her condition.

"That's good to know!" replied Gerald, breathing a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Quick!" Gerald then said as he gave Finnley a nod.

The old man had truly helped Gerald a lot. Though Gerald had been quite annoyed with him in the beginning, he was now filled with sincere gratitude toward Finnley.

"It's no big deal! My grandson, if there's nothing else, can we leave now?" asked Finnley, evidently talking about Gerald sending him back to his hometown in the Salford Province.

Finnley seemed like he really wanted to leave now, which led to Gerald's expression immediately turning somber.

After all, he still had one more issue to attend to. Though Mila had misunderstood him, she was now so angry that she wasn't willing to even listen to his explanation. What should he even do now?

"Hold on for a little while longer. We'll head there as soon as I settle this issue!"

After saying that, Gerald told Queta to take a good rest first before leaving her ward to make a call.

Even though he made several consecutive calls, Mila hung up immediately every single time.

Gerald could only sigh internally.

"Mila, why don't you pick any of his calls up...? Maybe he's changed his mind by now!" said Molly. Back at the Smith family's house, Mila and her friends were seated in front of the television while eating snacks.

Seeing how Mila had hung up on every single one of Gerald's calls, Molly couldn't help but try to advise her.

"I refuse!" said Mila as she threw her phone aside while nibbling on a potato chip. She was clearly behaving this way out of spite.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Mila immediately sat up when she heard the familiar ring.

Her parents weren't home, so the person at the door could only be Gerald, right? Though Mila was certainly angry, she wasn't unwilling to meet Gerald.

Instead of her, however, Molly was the one who opened the door.

"Humph! So you still know that- ...Huh? Why is it you?" said Molly, her tone indicating clear disgust.

"Is Miss Smith here? I need to talk to her about something!" replied a pleasant feminine voice.

The woman at the door was none other than Giya.

"Why did you come here?"

Mila definitely didn't have a good impression of Giya. In fact, she resented her.

If Gerald had nothing to do with Giya, why was she latching on to his arm so intimately? Why had she even wanted to be engaged to Gerald in the first place?

"Miss Smith, I would like to talk to you in private, if that's alright?" said Giya.

If Giya had simply chosen to return home after all that, she knew how uneasy she would eventually feel if she didn't settle the things between her and Mila first.

Chapter 652

This was the reason why she wanted to have a nice chat with Mila first.

"What do you want to talk about? Spit it out already!" said Mila as both of them arrived at a park.

"I'll be frank with you. It'd honestly be better for me if you broke up with Gerald. I won't hide the fact that I do indeed, love him, and I've tried to gain his affection on multiple occasions!" said Giya.

Miya simply looked to the side without saying anything.

"However, it's exactly because I love him that I can see how loyal he is to you. I'm not making any of this up either. His feelings for you have remained unchanged from the very beginning. No matter how much I've tried to earn his affection, he simply ignored every one of my advances. This is just my two cents, but if you do end up breaking up just because of some misunderstanding about our relationship, he'll definitely experience extreme grief. He really is a kind man who likes helping people out, you know? Even the engagement was just him helping me out. He hasn't done anything to wrong you!" explained Giya as she looked at Mila.

After that, Giya elaborated more about what Gerald and her had been doing throughout Mila's absence.

It was honestly beyond Mila's expectations. To think that so many things had happened to Gerald during that period of time.

However, Mila was honestly slightly jealous and irked by the fact that Gerald had helped Giya so many times.

After thinking about it for a little while longer, however, she realized that Gerald really hadn't done anything wrong.

"I kind of get what you mean now. Do you mean to say that you've experienced much more with Gerald compared to what I have?" asked Mila.

"In no way had I meant to indicate that. However, since you've said it like that, why don't you look at it this way? During your time together with Gerald, what exactly have you done for him? Where were you when Gerald was facing his own difficulties?"

Giya had meant no harm with her words. She honestly just wanted to talk it out with Mila.

'What... have I done for Gerald? Where was I when Gerald was facing his own difficulties...?'

The two questions made Mila speechless.

Initially, Mila had just felt that their relationship still had a long way to go since Gerald was still pretty straightforward and insensitive romance-wise. However, she had never considered how she herself hadn't been doing anything for Gerald.

Gerald on the other hand, had constantly been helping and taking good care of her.

Not once had she given anything back to him. What more, she had even misunderstood him and was unwilling to hear his explanation despite having returned unannounced this time.

In fact, he had probably left earlier since he was still busy. She had been a mere distraction to him all this time!

After chatting for a while longer, Mila and Giya parted ways.

Back at home, Mila locked herself in her bedroom the entire afternoon, unwilling to even chat with her friends. She was feeling rather depressed by her new realization.

Her actions made Molly and the others extremely worried.

"What's wrong with Mila...? What did that woman even say to her? They chatted for an entire hour! Something must have happened!"

"I agree! Mila's been like that from the moment she got back!" replied Molly as she bit into a potato chip.

"Humph! I say we go ask Mila about this. If that Giya woman had really said something bad to her, let's just go teach her a lesson!"

After hearing that, the rest of Mila's friends made their way up to Mila's bedroom.

"Mila, please open the door already!" said Molly in a worried voice.

Soon after, Mila unlocked the door but when the others saw her, they were all equally puzzled.

Mila had packed all her luggage up!

"Mila? What are you doing? We haven't even been here for a full day yet!" questioned Wanda.

"I know... But I miss Hong Kong already so let's go back now!" replied Mila.

"...Huh? Right now?"

Everyone was surprised by her rash decision.

"But Mila... What about Gerald? It wasn't easy for you to return, and we know how much you wanted to meet up with him... Though there was a great misunderstanding, I honestly feel that Gerald's innocent this time around!"

"I know, I know... I'm well aware that Gerald would never do any of those things... However, I'm sticking to my decision. I really want to return to Hong Kong now!" said Mila, her eyes now teary.

Mila had earlier tossed and turned in her bed for quite some time, deep in thought about her next move.

She definitely didn't resent Gerald anymore. Honestly, she just wanted him to coax and pacify her.

Though her wish was simple, Giya's words continued to echo in her head. What Giya had told her had simply never occurred to her before today.

She was well aware now that she couldn't do anything for Gerald. With that thought in mind, she knew that as long as she stayed here, she would only continue being a burden to him.

That was the moment when she made up her mind to return to Hong Kong. She would work hard and enrich herself to become even stronger.

Her end goal was to one day be able to strike a balance in their relationship.

Seeing how determined she was, her friends said nothing else and quickly began packing up their luggage again for their return trip to Hong Kong.

While they did so, Molly took her phone out before secretly sending a text message to Gerald.

"Come to the airport, quick! Mila is leaving for Hong Kong soon!"

Chapter 653

Gerald had just retrieved some porridge for Queta when he received a text message from an unfamiliar number.

After reading its contents, Gerald was stunned.

'Mila's returning to Hong Kong? Already? I haven't even had the time to explain myself to her yet!'

Immediately after, he began driving to the airport. On his way there, he bombarded Mila with endless calls. However, not once did she pick up.

Alas, when he finally arrived, he was just in time to see a plane slowly taking off.

Gerald was so anxious at that moment that he was ready to make some arrangements to get a helicopter to catch up with her.

However, before he could do anything rash, he received another text message.

This one came directly from Mila.

"Gerald, I'll be returning to Hong Kong first. You don't have to explain anything to me regarding what had happened today. I believe in you. To tell you the truth, I was acting out of spite earlier because of my jealousy. I honestly just wanted you to coax and pacify me. However, now I'm aware that I've never even considered your feelings before doing all that! For now, please don't come looking for me yet. I just need some time. Forever loving you, Mila."

After reading the message, Gerald was even more anxious now. He continued scratching the back of his head as he wondered, 'What could this mean? Why would she say such things out of the blue?'

Gerald hit his steering wheel in his slight frustration.

'It's been such a long time since we've last met, yet she's already gone before we've even had a chance to talk to each other properly...'

When Gerald returned to the hospital, he was visibly still upset.

In the end, Gerald couldn't help but tell Queta about what had happened, hoping that she could give him some advice about the matter.

'What exactly did Mila mean by that message? Does she want to break up with me? Or is it truly something else...?'

After hearing Gerald's story, Queta simply smiled.

"She's not breaking up with you at all! Didn't you see that she specifically added the part saying she loves you forever? I'm sure she wrote that knowing for sure that you'd overthink the message. Don't worry Gerald, it's clear that she simply wants to be left alone for a while!"

Gerald simply sighed internally when he heard Queta's answer.

'In short, she's still mad with me...'

'If only I hadn't agreed to help Giya, none of this would have happened!'

'Regardless, Mila did say that she wanted to be left alone for a while... It would be best if I didn't disturb her for the time being...'

'Alright, once I find Xara in the Salford Province, I'm going over to Hong Kong to meet her.'

The very next day, Gerald, Queta, and Finnley rode together on the high-speed rail headed for the Salford Province.

Gerald's was on a mission to find someone there.

Before boarding the high-speed rail, Zack had told Gerald about a small property located in the Salford Province that Gerald's sister had invested in before.

While she seemed to have long forgotten about it, it was the reason why he now had someone in the Salford Province to help him.

Since he had relevant connections there and sufficient money, it would only take a few more days to look for said person.

"Do have some fruits, Mr. Quick! I've cut some for you!" said Queta who was still slightly weak.

However, it was obvious that she was feeling grateful to Finnley for saving her life. In fact, she had been taking good care of both Gerald and Finnley from the moment they entered the high-speed rail.

"So... Where exactly is your house, Mr. Quick?"

"I've forgotten the exact address, but I'll definitely be able to look it up again once we arrive at the Salford Province!" replied Finnley.

Gerald could only smile helplessly at that.

Just as Gerald looked out the window, seemingly deep in thought, he heard a baffled female voice saying, "...Gerald? Why are you here?"

This surprised him. To think that he would bump into an acquaintance here of all places. Turning around to see who had called him, he found out that it was Maia!

Beside her, was another person whom he had bumped into the other day. If he remembered correctly, his name was Warren.

The two were sitting just opposite of them and they seemed to be part of a group that consisted of a few other unfamiliar people.

What surprised him the most, however, was how they were dressed. In contrast to what they were wearing on the day they last met, they were now all dressed up like students.

By then, a girl from Maia's group was also looking at Gerald, following Maia's gaze.

"I'm headed to the Salford Province! Where are you going?" replied Gerald casually.

"We're going there too! But there's no need for you to know why we're going there!" said Maia calmly.

'What a serious coincidence!'

Chapter 654

'It seems that I can bump into him just about anywhere!'

'Regardless, it seems that Gerald is doing quite well. After all, instead of taking the normal train, he chose to take the rail instead!'

After the simple greeting, the two of them chatted for a while longer before Maia eventually stopped talking to him.

While Gerald was simply trying to be nice to her, she didn't seem to want to bother about him at all.

Gerald was fine with that, and he simply did the same.

After all, though it seemed like Maia was heading to the Salford Province to undergo some secret mission, Gerald wasn't interested in it in the least.

Meanwhile, Queta had just finished cutting up another fruit. She could see that Gerald and Maia seemed to know each other. What more, she was sitting just opposite them.

Sensing the opportunity, Queta smiled as she asked Maia in a kind and warm tone, "I've just cut up a fruit, Miss. Would you like some?"

"Thanks, but I don't eat fruits!" declined Maia casually.

To her, Gerald was still as lowly as ever. She naturally didn't need to show any of his friends any respect either.

It was similar to a scenario where a circle of friends would completely ignore a single person, simply because everyone else there looked down on them as well.

Since Gerald was the person her group looked down upon, any friend of his would definitely be treated the same way.

On the contrary, if the person was quite powerful within the circle of friends, any friends they introduced would definitely be respected and favored upon by the others.

Queta's initial intention was to make Gerald seem more respectful in front of his friends. Unexpectedly, the beautiful lady seemed to dislike her right off the bat.

After hearing her reply, Queta simply blushed before retracting her hand, feeling slightly bitter.

"Maia, I've brought along some tangerines over. They're from my hometown relatives and they're quite sweet! Here, let me peel one for you!" said Warren as he smiled at her.

While it was common for others to try pleasing them, given their high statuses, they weren't going to just give random people a chance to please them. That would clearly be giving them too much respect.

After hearing Warren's offer, Maia immediately nodded slightly.

"Tangerines from Mayberry are quite famous! We're from the north so we rarely get to taste them. Let us have some too!" teased a few girls who sat just behind Maia.

Their group clearly consisted of people from all over the place.

"Sure thing. Here you go!" replied Warren with a smile as he handed a few tangerines to them.

After peeling one for Maia, Warren handed the tangerine over to her and she plopped it into her mouth before saying, "You're right! It really is sweet!"

As Maia's group began chatting about family affairs next, Gerald could see that Queta was blushing awkwardly as she stared at Maia.

Gerald couldn't blame for feeling that way. After all, he was feeling slightly angry as well by Maia's behavior.

It was clear that Maia didn't respect Queta at all.

He then smiled and patted Queta on the shoulder before peeling an orange for her.

"How will we get to Wendall City, Gerald?" asked Queta as she ate her orange.

"We'll go there by car. Since we aren't dealing with anything particularly special, we won't be needing the help of the owners of the property my sister invested in in Salford City yet. We'll see how the rest plays out later!" replied Gerald.

After all, aside from him, Zack was the only other person who knew about his father's orders for him to secretly investigate the incident.

As far as the others knew, Gerald was simply going to the Salford Province for a trip.

This was why he had not informed the owners of the invested property there about his arrival yet. After all, he didn't really have any requests at the moment.

He had also heard that the property wasn't too large, much smaller in fact, compared to what he owned in Mayberry.

In the blink of an eye, four hours had passed and evening was slowly creeping in.

Around that time, more than ten luxury cars had been parked right outside Salford High Rail Station.

"Why isn't he here yet? It's tiring standing here for so long... Regardless, to think that you'd come in person, Mr. Zatyr. Who exactly are we waiting for?" said a woman.

"Shut up and stand properly! If you end up offending that person because of your ignorance and discourtesy, you'll definitely suffer terribly!" shouted Mr. Zatyr—a middle-aged man—at his subordinate.

Chapter 655

County Salford was the city center of the Salford Province. Being the city center, it was always thriving and busy.

Despite being a bustling city, the ten luxury cars parked in front of the ever-busy Salford High Rail Station were still particularly eye-catching.

At that moment, the rail finally arrived at the station.

Standing up, Gerald stretched slightly before getting off the rail together with Queta and Finnley.

When he passed by Maia and her group of friends, however, he simply walked past them without greeting them at all.

"Humph! Just look at that behavior! Who wants to bother about him anyway?"

'How dare he not take the initiative to greet me?' Maia thought to herself. She had never expected Gerald to end up becoming such a stubborn man.

It was evident that Maia had a superiority complex.

'If you had only greeted me, I would've refrained from bothering you. However, for a person like you to ignore me, your actions are similar to destroying a beautiful object! How humiliating and upsetting!'

However, she would let it slide this time. After that, she too got off the rail together with her group.

"Didn't you say that someone was going to pick us up once we arrived at the station, Warren?" asked Maia as a few of her friends started looking around.

Just as she asked that, the sound of a car honking could be heard. Seconds later, a large Land Rover drove over and stopped in front of the group.

The driver reeled his car window down and the group soon saw the young and handsome man driving it.

"Over here, Warren!" said the man.

"Jamier!" replied Warren while slightly waving his hand.

"Wow! It's a Land Rover! What does your friend do for a living, Warren?" asked a few girls who were standing beside him.

"Ah, well, he used to be my classmate in the police academy. After he graduated, however, he didn't become a police officer. That's because his father had called him home so that he could inherit their family's company!" answered Warren with a chuckle.

The girls couldn't help but look at Warren with admiration after hearing that.

Why were exceptional people like that? All the people they were acquainted with were somehow equally as exceptional!

"Speaking of which, Maia, didn't you say that you had several close high school classmates in County Salford? You said that they would come fetch us, right? If we leave in this car now, won't they be unable to meet up with us then?" enquired one of the girls.

"Speaking of classmates, how's that one high school classmate of yours doing now? The one whom you said established their own business? What's his deal?" asked Warren as he walked toward Jamier's car.

"Oh, that friend? We were both from our high school's competition team back then, and he's one of my many classmates who passed the test and eventually wound up in County Salford. Since our mission will be starting in a few days, I thought it would be nice to meet him to have some fun first. I have to say though, Warren, my friend's nowhere near as outstanding as Jamier!" said Maia rather sourly.

At that moment, they were all standing beside Jamier's Land Rover. While they were further introducing themselves to get to know each other better, another honk was heard.

This time, a BMW5 series parked right behind Jamier's car.

When the car's front window was lowered, a man and woman could be seen sitting side by side.

Both of them then waved as they said, "It's been a while, Maia!"

"Vincy! Lennard!" replied Maia happily.

Seeing that even Maia's classmates had arrived in a luxury car to fetch her, the two girls standing beside her became quite jealous.

After all, neither of them had that many classmates or friends to boast about. Even if they once had any, they had long ceased contact with them.

The greeting and introduction session then resumed, this time with two extra faces.

Since they were all successful people, they shared a lot of similar thoughts and perceptions.

"We haven't met each other in so many years, Maia! I've missed you terribly! This is the perfect time for us to get together again!" said Vincy as she held on to both of Maia's hands enthusiastically. Vincy herself looked quite charming.

All of a sudden, Vincy lifted her head as she stared behind Maia, looking quite stunned.

"...Huh? Isn't that... Could that really be Gerald?" said Vincy as she observed Gerald and his odd group walking out of the station together while carrying their luggage bags.

"Humph! It's him alright!" replied Maia.

Chapter 656

"Gerald!" shouted Vincy.

Gerald was surprised to hear his name being called out. Turning around, he saw both Vincy and Lennard.

Gerald had never really talked to both of them outside competitions, so he wasn't too close to either of them. Between the two however, Gerald was definitely more acquainted with Vicky. After all, Lennard came from a rich family so that gave him even less reason to talk to Gerald back then. Lennard was much closer to Maia and the others.

Gerald then walked over to them with a surprised look on his face before saying, "Vincy! Lennard!"

While he wasn't well acquainted with them, they still used to be classmates. It was the only reason why he was speaking to them in such a friendly manner.

Lennard only scanned him briefly from head to toe before unwillingly nodding in response to Gerald's greeting.

Vicky on the other hand, jumped in front of Gerald before patting him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Gerald! It's been a while! You barely even keep in contact with us anymore!"

Back in the day, Gerald and Vincy used to be partners whenever they participated in competitions. Since both of them usually managed to get decent rankings together, Gerald was starting to feel slightly nostalgic now, now that they were meeting again after so long.

"I know right? It's been such a long time!" replied Gerald.

"Speaking of which, is the duo over there your girlfriend and a family member of hers? She looks really pretty by the way! You know, Lennard could fetch you guys to wherever you want to go!" said Vincy.

"Actually, I have to meet someone later!" added Lennard as soon as he heard Vincy's suggestion.

Vincy just smiled awkwardly after hearing his reply and quickly changed the topic.

"Oh, by the way, both of you may not know it yet, but Lennard and I are getting married! I've also been pregnant for about three months now!"

"Oh wow! Congratulations!" said Maia, visibly shocked by the revelation. She then turned to look at Gerald as though she was comparing him to Lennard.

"...Hey, I just realized this, but look at all those cars over there!" said Jamier out of the blue while pointing at a corner.

"Huh? Oh wow! They're all luxury cars!" said a girl in a shocked voice after turning to look for herself.

Everyone else was equally as surprised.

"Say, doesn't that first car belong to Barry Zatyr? The well-known businessman in our town?" questioned Lennard who seemed to recognize the car model.

"I believe so! It's so weird seeing a man like him waiting to pick someone up. I remember going to a business function together with my dad when I was younger. Back then, I had accidentally knocked into him and he patted my head, you know?" said Jamier rather proudly.

"I think I'll try to go over there and greet him! One of the managers waiting with him now knows my dad!" said Jamier as he walked over.

His action both shocked and impressed everyone there.

After walking up to said manager and talking for a little while, Jamier eventually returned.

"How did it go?" asked Warren.

"I simply greeted him with a simple hello. He told me that they're here to pick a big boss up so he didn't have time to talk to me. Mr. Zartyr glanced at me as well, but I didn't dare to speak with him!"

While everyone was talking excitedly, Gerald couldn't help but feel awkward standing there. Thus, he told Vincy that he was leaving before exiting the scene.

Vincy didn't try to stop him since she knew how awkward it was for him simply being there.

"How odd, why isn't Mr. Crawford here yet?" said Barry as he checked the time nervously, beads of sweat flowing down his forehead.

Zack hadn't arranged for Barry to pick Gerald up since he had specifically told him not to organize anything grand for him. Because of that, Zack had only told Barry that Gerald was coming over today, and that he just had to wait for his call.

While Zack had meant every word that he said, Barry simply didn't dare to forgo a formal welcome, which explained why he was still waiting there for Gerald to arrive. However, Gerald had yet to arrive even though they had been waiting for so long.

Meanwhile, Gerald and his own group had just found a hotel to stay the night in. After settling down for a while, Gerald's phone began to ring.

Chapter 657

It was a call from Zack.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to check if you've arrived, Mr. Crawford. I'll be sending you a number belonging to the general manager of County Salford. His name is Mr. Zartyr and just like the Crawfords, County Salford has businesses from all around the world as well. Once you've arrived, you can look for Barry Zartyr if you need anything," said Zack.

He was simply checking in on Gerald to make sure that he wasn't in any kind of trouble.

"Got it!"

"Speaking of which, Mr. Crawford, I've previously assigned Barry to look for the Jade pendant in County Salford. He apparently has some news about it already!"

"Alright! I'll be giving him a call soon!"

As soon as he hung up, Gerald lay on his bed before calling Barry next.

Barry seemed quite agitated upon receiving the call. However, he managed to calm himself almost immediately before getting straight to business.

"Yes, Mr. Crawford, I've searched high and low for news regarding the pendant and I finally managed to find something. While I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact family the pendant originates from, I managed to find an old man who was willing to have a look at the pendant after I described it to him. According to him, he'll be able to tell which family the pendant comes from just by having a look at it!"

"Alright, but it's rather late now. I'd appreciate it if we could meet up tomorrow morning. You can take me to the old man then!"

After having a brief conversation, Gerald then hung up.

He then tried calling Mila. He was simply used to calling her every night, just to have a short talk. However, she hadn't been picking up on any of his calls for a while now.

Meanwhile, Mila was thinking about Gerald back in her hostel as well.

There were many female students from all over the world staying in the TV station's apartment building. While some of them were there to study, the others were there for their internships.

"Say, Mila? Could you accompany me to get some stuff?" asked Molly as she patted Mila on the shoulder.

"Sure thing!" answered Mila.

Both of them then headed downstairs before leaving for the hypermarket. When they got there, the hypermarket was crowded with people.

"Hey, hey, isn't that Mila? Didn't know you had the time to come out and buy stuff with that packed schedule of yours!" said a rather tall and extremely pretty girl as she looked at Mila coldly.

"It's none of your business, Hallie! Quit being so nosy!" snapped Molly as she spoke on Mila's behalf.

Hallie was from Modow and her results were slightly lower than Mila's. Since both the entertainment and specialist departments had joined this time around to compete, both she and Mila were competitors. After all, they would only send their best intern to join the entertainment department.

The person who got into the entertainment department would stand a chance to become famous. Currently, the most popular candidates for that spot were Hallie and Mila. However, Hallie seemed to have connections with the entertainment department, and she was taking every chance she could to sabotage Mila's performance on stage. It was a competition based around popularity, so it was natural for both of them to not be on good terms.

Just as Molly looked as though she was ready to start a fight, Mila immediately stopped her.

"Forget it, Molly. Let's just go back!" said Mila as she started walking away.

"You won't get into the entertainment department! Give up already!" sneered Hallie with her arms crossed.

When Mila got back to the hostel, someone was already waiting for her.

"Mila! You're back! I came by earlier but you weren't here. I just finished my script. Could you have a look at it, please?" asked the girl as she smiled.

"Of course!"

She then followed the girl to her room. After going through the script for a little while, she then made her way back into her room.

Mila had initially thought that she was just going to have another regular day. However...

Chapter 658

All of a sudden, a girl could be heard crying near Mila's room. By the time Mila got out to see what the commotion was about, a few others had already left their rooms to see what was wrong. Mila and the others simply followed behind them.

"What's wrong? What happened?" asked one of the girls present.

"I... I went out with my housemate earlier and when I got back, I realized that the diamond ring that my boyfriend got for me was missing! It's a very expensive ring and I can't find it anywhere!" said the girl with a wail.

Hallie had heard the racket from next door and she too was now present.

"Don't cry, Xyleena. You could have just misplaced it. You know how careless you can be. Maybe you accidentally left it somewhere?" suggested Hallie.

"But Hallie, I would never misplace something so important! I'm always particularly careful with that six thousand dollar ring!" cried out Xyleena.

"How odd! Well, how about this. Where have you been today and who else was in the hostel? Could it be that your door wasn't properly shut so someone who knew about the ring came in and stole it?"

"In the first place, who told you to show your ring off to everyone in broad daylight?" added Hallie.

"Well... All five of us went shopping together... Only Narissa was in the hostel... She said she needed to write her script..." said one of the housemates.

"No... It wasn't me! I didn't take the ring!" said Narissa, terrified.

"But you were the only one in the hostel at that time. Who else could it have been?" interrogated Hallie.

"Why don't you let us check your bed so that you can prove your innocence?" suggested Hallie next.

Mila was well aware that Hallie was simply directing her anger at Narissa since Narissa was close friends with her.

Understanding that, Mila then immediately defended Narissa by saying, "I can prove that Narissa didn't touch Xyleena's stuff! After all, she isn't that kind of person!"

"Prove? And how exactly are you going to do that?" said Hallie as she pointed at Mila.

"Hold on, I remember now! When I went out to get a drink earlier, I think I saw Mila and Narissa entering the hostel room together!" said a girl who was living in the room next to Mila's.

"Huh?" Everyone was now staring at Mila.

"No wonder you're helping her so much. Did both of you team up to commit this crime?" sneered Hallie.

"Quit spouting nonsense!" said Molly anxiously.

"If it wasn't either of you, then let us check your beds! If you didn't commit the crime, why are both of you getting so worked up?" replied Hallie.

"Mila... You..." said the girl who had lost her ring while staring at Mila. After all, both of them were quite close friends as well.

"Fine! Do as you wish!" said Mila.

Upon getting their approval, Hallie then proceeded to go through Narissa's belongings. However, she wasn't able to find anything.

Hallie and her sisters then entered Mila's room.

After going through her things for a while, Hallie lifted Mila's pillow before shouting in shock, "Xyleena, look! Isn't that your ring over there?"

Everyone present then watched as Xyleena walked over and picked the ring up.

"Y-yes! This ring belongs to me!"

Xyleena couldn't believe it. She simply stared blankly at Mila before saying, "...Mila? Why would you do such a thing?"

Chapter 659

Mila herself however, was equally as shocked as they were.

"H-how is this even possible? I didn't take it!"

"The evidence is here and everyone can clearly see it! How are you still trying to defend yourself? What a show!" said Hallie.

"Mila, I've always admired you but you've really disappointed me this time... If you really liked my ring, you could've just told me!" added Xyleena in disbelief.

"I... I really didn't take it! I didn't!" denied Mila as she continuously shook her head.

"She's telling the truth! Let me tell you, Hallie, Mila's boyfriend is the richest man in Mayberry! She could get anything she wanted! Why would she even need to steal someone else's ring?" said Molly.

"Hahaha! Oh no... The richest man in Mayberry... I'm so scared!" replied Hallie as she laughed hysterically.

"Who cares about any of that! What's stolen is stolen. I'll definitely be bringing this up to the director tomorrow! Let's go! I can't believe that you're actually the director's favorite! There'll be a grand event at Hong Kong TV Station tomorrow and we'll listen to your explanation then!" added Hallie as she turned around and left while dragging Xyleena along.

As for Narissa, she only looked at Mila with a confused expression on her face. Eventually, she bit her lower lip before leaving as well.

"Mila? How is any of this possible? We believe that you'd never do such a thing, but who could've put that ring under your pillow? We were here the entire time!"

Since Mila's group was aware of who her boyfriend was, they knew for a fact that Mila would never steal anything. Even if they didn't know about Gerald's true identity, her friends would have still known her well enough to believe that Mila was innocent.

"I... I think I know who put it there... But I don't think she did it purposely!" said Mila, her eyes tearing up.

It was impossible for her not to know what was going on.

However, Mila simply didn't understand why Narissa would help Hallie sabotage her. After all, every time Hallie bullied her, Mila would be the first to stand up for her.

When Molly and her other friends finally realized who had committed the act, all of them—especially Molly and Wanda—were furious.

"D*mn it! I'm going to go look for her now! What an utter piece of trash!"

"Forget it, there's no use looking for her. If they're willing to trust Narissa to sabotage me, then Narissa will definitely never spill the truth out! This entire trap had been set up specifically for me! Even if she were to fail this time, Hallie will definitely try to set me up again the next time I participate in a competition together with her. She'll never let me off that easily!" said Mila as she sat on her bed, depressed.

"Why don't you give Gerald a call? Hallie's a local and she has great connections. You won't be able to win a fight against her without his help! I mean, just look at her! To think that she was actually able to get Narissa to listen to her! She clearly wants you out of the competition! I'm certain she would leap for joy if she managed to send you back to Mayberry in the process!" replied Molly, her tone worried.

"I know, Molly. However, all of you don't have to worry about this anymore. She's just targeting me. I don't want to end up pulling the rest of you into this. I heard that someone great is coming to the station tomorrow, so all of you should get some rest and prepare while you can!" said Mila as she lay on her bed as soon as her sentence ended.

Though Mila seemed tough, she was still a girl at heart. Not only did she lack the proper connections to fend for herself, she even lacked a person who could take care of her there.

She missed Gerald terribly now. If only he was here, he would definitely be with her regardless of the situation. She only needed to tell him what had happened for him to instantly rush over to her.

At the moment, she really wanted to call Gerald and cry together with him. It wasn't an easy feat for a girl to live outside on her own.

However, before she could do so, she remembered what Giya had told her. If she only relied on Gerald every time something happened, then what good would she be to him other than being a pretty face?

She felt that she needed to be a woman standing together with Gerald instead of just being a pretty flower for him to protect. Thus, she refrained from calling him.

This led to Mila having a sleepless night till it was almost dawn.

A grand event was going to be held at the station so they needed to prepare the function hall.

Those involved were the Hong Kong TV Station, the TV stations around the Southern Ocean, and some other television stations that collaborated under the Westons. All of them were under the same management group, and they were each equally powerful in the media industry.

Chapter 660

Rumor also had it that the television company was owned by a fairly young woman who had an astounding background. In fact, she was so influential that even the powerful television company meant nothing to her.

While the rumor had spread like wildfire, nobody actually knew if it was the truth. After all, nobody had even seen her before.

This was why the TV station was quite concerned about the event. Even all the furniture in the function hall had to be perfectly arranged. This was proof of how concerned the station was.

What more, several celebrities would also be participating. It was definitely going to be a lively event.

While everyone was preoccupied with making sure that the hall was perfectly decorated, Mr. Hill clapped his hands loudly before telling the interns and the crew members to stop for a moment.

"Gather round, everyone! I have some news for all of you!"

Hearing that, everyone did as instructed.

"Today's VIP is a very special person indeed! All of the crew members have to be extra careful today!"

"Regarding who gets to be the prize presenter, I'll personally pick one of the interns to do it. However, the person who gets picked will have to be even more careful since you'll be interacting with our VIP!" said Mr. Hill who seemed equally as nervous.

"We fully support you, Hallie!" shouted a group of people from within the crowd.

All of them seemed to be popular rich heirs. They were clearly here to support Hallie since they had permission to enter the hall.

Quite a number of other guests had arrived as well, including a few big bosses from Yanken and Modow.

The corner of Mr. Hill's lips twitched when he heard that. However, he only smiled awkwardly before saying, "I've discussed this with the TV station and all of us have decided to give this opportunity to Mila!"

"All the best, Mila!" said Mr. Hill. He obviously had high hopes for her.

Mila simply nodded in response.

"I disagree!" shouted Hallie, sounding incredibly upset. Only the best intern would get chosen to be the prize presenter and that was clearly her! It was obvious that she was feeling nervous since she hadn't been selected.

"You have other responsibilities to attend to, Hallie. Why are you disagreeing?"

Mr. Hill was well aware of Hallie's background, which was why he was careful with his tone and words.

"I'm not saying that I want the post, but anyone else other than this thief can have the role! Choosing her would be an insult to the VIP!" replied Hallie.

"Thief? What do you mean by that?" asked Mr. Hill, his tone much stricter than before.

"Well, I was going to report the incident to you last night but I wasn't able to. See, Mila stole Xyleena's diamond ring which was a gift from her boyfriend! All of us present at the time saw that the ring was under her pillow!" explained Hallie as the other girls nodded.

Nobody would've believed her if they hadn't seen the ring there with their own eyes.

"Because of that, Mila shouldn't be qualified to be on stage!"

"That's right! How could someone like her be allowed to go on stage?"

"Might as well just throw her out! She's just a disgraceful thief after all!"

"Yeah! She's just dishonoring us interns!"

The ones who were shouting those comments were all interns who were evidently jealous of Mila.

"But I really didn't steal it... I didn't..." said Mila as she faced all their accusations and disdain.

Chapter 661

"What's going on here, Mila?"

Though Mr. Hill admired Mila a lot, he still had to be impartial, especially when so many people were involved with the uproar.

"Explain it to the director yourself, Xyleena!" said Hallie as she dragged Xyleena into the spotlight.

Xyleena, for one, had been unwilling to speak in the first place. She could only stammer, reluctant to tell the truth. After all, she and Mila were on good terms. Mila was also usually a very nice person.

However, after finding out that the culprit was Mina, there was nothing more that Xyleena could say. For the sake of Mila's dignity, she honestly just wanted to remain silent and let it all slide.

"Explain yourself, Xyleena!" demanded Mr. Hill as he frowned.

Seeing that she had no other choice, Xyleena detailed everything that had happened the day before. She couldn't lie about it either since there had been so many witnesses around when it happened.

After hearing her explanation, Mr. Hill found it difficult to believe what she had said. Quite honestly, he didn't buy her story at all.

However, if he tried to gloss things over or refuse to make a fair decision after hearing all that, he knew he would have to eventually deal with Hallie who could most definitely report the case to the police.

What more, Hallie had brought along many of her college classmates to support her. They would definitely not let the case rest easily if he persisted with picking Mila.

"Mila, I can't do much regarding this matter. If that's what really happened, then I'm afraid I can't give the spot to you!" said Mr. Hill.

"You definitely shouldn't!" said Hallie as she crossed her arms.

Narissa simply stood in a corner as she looked at Mila. She seemed like she wanted to say something. However, before she could even make a move, she spotted a warning gaze from Hallie.

Seeing that, Narissa could only helplessly clench her fists and lower her head. She felt shameless.

There was nothing Mila could say to defend herself. As a result, she had no choice but to watch her opportunity get taken away by someone else.

She was simply in a helpless position since nobody dared to go against Hallie.

"Mila!" said Molly as she and the others approached her.

"Don't worry, Molly. I'm fine. I just need to use the restroom!" replied Mila as she turned around to leave.

After washing her hands, Mila was just about to leave the ladies when Hallie and a few of her good friends blocked Mila's path.

"What else do you want? Aren't you done yet?" said Mila as she glared at Hallie icily.

"Oh, but of course I'm not! I know what these people will think of me. Actually, maybe they already think that I deliberately planted the evidence there to frame you, but it doesn't really matter anymore. While the opportunity is now mine and you've clearly lost, I'm definitely not done with you yet!" replied Hallie as she glared back, her eyes reddened.

Ever since she was a child, Hallie had always wanted to be first in everything. Regardless of where she went or whatever organization she was participating in, she wanted to be the leader. The 'Big Sister' of everything.

There was nobody who dared not to call her that.

Since she had come to the TV station to study and learn, she had also taken advantage of the people and platform there, resulting in almost everyone referring to her as the 'Big Sister'.

Despite that, she was still lacking behind Mila in almost every aspect.

What more, she thought that Mila was simply faking her friendliness, and that she had fooled everyone into liking her.

From the poor Narissa, to the extremely wealthy Xyleena whose boyfriend was equally as rich, all of them treated Mila well.

In the past, Xyleena had been one of Hallie's best friends. Now however, she was extremely close to Mila as well.

'Do you really think I haven't figured it out yet?' Hallie thought to herself.

If someone else or even Hallie had stolen Xyleena's valuables, Hallie knew that Xyleena wouldn't have easily forgiven any of them, not even her. Rather, Xyleena would probably not let the thief get away without a fight!

However, not only did Xyleena not pursue the matter when Mila had been framed as the thief, but she had even convinced the others not to spread the news around as it could have an unfavorable effect on Mila!

Why...?

Just why did everyone like Mila Smith so much?!

Chapter 662

"I don't care if you hold any grudges against me. It's not like I can even fight you!" sneered Mila.

"Oh, it's not about that. I just don't understand why everyone likes you but hates me. Even though everyone knows that you're the one who stole the ring, I'm sure that they're all still going to think about your wellbeing first! In fact, I'm certain they'll start saying that I'm the one who framed you!"

"I don't want to hear it. However, I believe that the truth will prevail in the end!" said Mila as she tried to leave.

"Stop right there! I'm the 'Big Sister' here! You can't just ignore me like that!" shouted Hallie as she grabbed Mila's arm and forcefully pulled her back.

A second later, Mila could feel a burning sensation on her cheek. Hallie had just slapped her!

"I'm going to go ahead and say it now. I've been meaning to teach you a lesson for the longest time! I've held myself back every time others praised you, but there's no need for me to put up with your bullsh*t anymore!" said Hallie as she raised her hand, preparing to land another slap.

"Stop right there! What on earth are you doing, Hallie?" shouted Xyleena.

At that moment, several girls rushed toward the scene. Among them was Xyleena and several of Mila's dorm mates.

Xyleena had early sensed that something was amiss when she saw Hallie walking together with her gang of friends.

"Who do you think you are to hit Mila?"

"So what if I hit her? What're you going to do about it? I'm the 'Big Sister here! I'll teach her a god d*mn lesson whenever I feel like it!" retorted Hallie.

She then pointed at Mila before saying, "If you want to remain here next time, just be honest!"

After saying that, she led her gang away.

"Are you alright, Mila?" asked Xyleena in a worried tone.

"I'm fine!"

"D*mn it, that Hallie's being such a b*tch! That field spot was supposed to be yours, but after her meddling, you now only get to greet the attendees at the entrance! I can't stand that b*tch and her hateful a*s anymore! Let's beat her up!" said Molly furiously.

"Don't even think about it. If you even touch her in the slightest, it's definitely going to be much more difficult for you girls to gain a foothold here, especially if you're doing it for my sake. Leave it be, there's nothing else we can do since she's the boss around here!" said Mila, her tone grateful.

Mila personally didn't mind being an entrance hostess. After all, she would rather do that than drag Molly and the other girls into the matter.

At that moment, Narissa walked over to Mila's side before saying, "Mila, we have to greet the guests now... Many wealthy businessmen and celebrities are already coming over. Let's head over first..."

However, when their eyes met, Narissa accidentally let out a squeak.

"Humph! I don't see you getting a promotion for being a bootlicker!" sneered Molly as she stared at Narissa.

Everyone else there gave her an equal look of contempt before leaving to get the rest of their things done.

Mila simply looked at Narissa before saying, "Sure, let's go!"

Once they arrived at the entrance, they saw that the big square was crowded. Many VVIPs were also already present at the venue.

Unlike Hallie, she was now able to walk amongst the group of big celebrities.

"M-Mila... I'm... I'm so sorry!" said Narissa out of the blue. She was looking at Mila as she said that and her cheeks were burning red.

She simply couldn't hold it in any longer and she soon burst into tears.

For Narissa, it had always been difficult for her to study outside. It was Mila who had constantly treated her well. Even when she faced hardships financial wise, Mila had always been the one who had used her own money to help her.

It was near unbearable for Narissa to see how much trouble she had caused Mila.

"Mila... You have to understand... I was forced to... Otherwise, I would've gotten into trouble..." said Narissa in between sobs.

Chapter 663

Narissa then explained the entire plan that Hallie had set up to frame Mila.

Basically, since the opportunity to work with the TV station was extremely important to Narissa, Hallie had threatened her by saying that she wouldn't let Narissa intern there if she didn't go along with the plan!

Because of that, Narissa had no choice but to cooperate with her.

While Mila had indeed been somewhat angry with Narissa, after hearing her side of the story, she just couldn't hold any grudges against her anymore.

After all, she couldn't just put the blame on Narissa.

If Mila lost this position, sure, it would affect her job later on. However, she could still return to Mayberry where she still had her family and Gerald.

However, if Narissa lost the position, she would have nothing left.

'If I were in her shoes, I would probably do the same thing, right?' Mila thought to herself.

In the end, the true culprit of this entire fiasco was Hallie Yates. If she needed to hate someone, it should definitely be Hallie.

"I'm thinking of standing my ground against Hallie, Mila. I don't want her to continue treating you like this!" huffed Narissa.

"Please don't. It's fine, I don't blame you at all. I know that you're having a hard time, but this matter is between Hallie and me. I won't blame anyone else but her!" said Mila.

"Humph! How dare both of you talk nonsense! Stand still already!" said Hallie as she walked over to them, a smug smile on her face.

"Molly! Wanda! Stand here as well! We need more people handling the guests so I requested for two more hostesses!"

Hallie then glanced at Molly and Wanda as she stood by the entrance. By then, the VIPs had already begun showing up and they were all ready to greet them.

"William Rye, President of Yanken, has arrived!"

Following that announcement, a young man walked over like a superstar, surrounded by lots of people.

As he walked on, a flag representing the VIP was raised.

Every VIP who attended was prepared to show something off to present their identity and business.

After all, this was a prime opportunity for them to advertise and make themselves known since people from all over the world—all the attendees being wealthy businessmen—were flooding the grand scene.

"The President of Modow has arrived!"

One after another, the number of VIPs steadily increased.

Hallie herself had the honor of standing at the very end to welcome and shake hands with each of the VIPs.

By then, the red carpet had already been stepped on by what seemed like hundreds of wealthy businessmen and celebrities.

For some odd reason, the longer she stood there, the more excited Mila felt. However these were just bigshots from Sunnydale.

'Why the hell am I even feeling excited?'

All of a sudden, she wondered if he too would be one of the VIPs...

Outside the venue, paparazzi and reporters were swarming the red carpet area. After all, aside from their charming faces, the VIPs were also flaunting their expensive luxury cars to show how powerful and wealthy they each were.

"Mila! Mila!" said Molly as she ran to her side.

Since Molly was now here, it wasn't hard for Mila to imagine Hallie kicking her other friends out as well as part of her revenge.

"Do you think Gerald will come? If he does, we can make a fool out of Hallie! Even if all her contacts banded up together, they'd still be no match for him!" said Molly excitedly.

"I... I don't know!" replied Mila as she shook her head.

"Oh for the love of god! I can't believe you're this stubborn! If I had a rich boyfriend like yours, I would've followed him around the world! It's all because of how stubborn you are to prove yourself as a strong and independent woman! What's so bad about being called a trophy wife? For me, as long as my husband is rich, that's all that matters!"

While Molly had previously supported Mila in her quest to become an independent woman, getting into trouble with Hallie had changed her mind.

Deep in her heart, Molly thought that if Gerald was her boyfriend, she would've used him to embarrass Hallie for bullying her. That way, Hallie wouldn't ever dare to mess with her again.

While Wanda hadn't said a thing, she was also standing together with them, looking forward to Gerald's arrival.

Chapter 664

After all, even she would be able to show off slightly if he truly came.

"What are you guys talking about?" said Hallie with a snicker as she approached Mila and Molly who had been whispering to each other for a while now.

"Nothing much. Also, Hallie, while it's true that you've been freely toying around with us, don't ever try to cross the line. Consider this to be a fair warning if you wish to live to see another day! I've already told you that Mila's boyfriend is Mr. Crawford from Mayberry, an extremely powerful man! He may even come today, and if he does, well... You'll just have to wait to find out!" replied Molly.

"Hahaha! Oh no... I'm terrified... Please, I've heard of several rich people in my life, but never have I heard of... What's his name again? Crawford from Mayberry? Haha!" sneered Hallie sarcastically.

"Oh, you just wait and see, Hallie! You just wait and see!" said Molly in response.

As soon as her sentence ended, the crowd's excitement seemed to suddenly escalate as ten dazzling sports cars, unlike any of the previous ones, arrived at the scene.

It was surprising to see such expensive cars here, to say the least.

Even Hallie was shocked speechless. While she had seen many expensive sports cars before in her life, this was the first time she was seeing a convoy of this many luxury cars together.

Before the cars had even stopped, a few staff members dressed in suits were already rushing toward the greeting hostess's side while shouting, "Mr. Crawford, the director of Dream Investment Group has arrived!"

Those who heard that felt chills run down their spines.

"Hurry! Mr. Crawford's already here!"

"What? He's arrived early!"

The entire group still seemed to be in utter shock as the hosts and hostesses began running downstairs to greet him.

After all, though there were many other VIPs, Mr. Crawford was still the most important person today.

Even several of the businessmen and heirs that had earlier entered exited again, just to greet him after hearing word about his arrival.

"...What? Mr. Crawford exists?!"

At that moment, Hallie's face was the palest anyone had ever seen. It was as though her heart almost stopped beating.

After seeing the commotion happening before her eyes, she no longer doubted that Mr. Crawford was indeed, the most important person of the day.

It didn't take long for her to snap out of it, and once she did, she immediately threw jealous glances at Mila as she said incredulously, "You said Mr. Crawford's your boyfriend? How could that even be possible?"

Could it really be that she was never actually a match for Mila Smith to begin with?

How was she always this lucky? To be even able to have such a powerful and wealthy boyfriend?

"Hah! You look star-struck! Every word we said was true! Mila here is Mr. Crawford's girlfriend!" replied Molly excitedly.

She wanted to see how Hallie would react after being beaten in her own game.

Mila on the other hand, had her eyes peeled on the convoy before her.

She wasn't really expecting any help from Gerald. Rather, she was thinking about how she hadn't even had the chance to talk to him properly despite having returned to Mayberry briefly that day.

Saying that she didn't regret resenting Gerald was a big fat lie.

"Holy f*ck! This should be the most luxurious convoy we'll be able to see tonight, right?" exclaimed someone from within the crowd.

"I'd assume so! Each of the ten cars in there costs at least three million dollars! That's like thirty million dollars in total!"

As many from within the crowd gasped in surprise after hearing that, the cars finally stopped moving forward.

"Mr. Crawford's here!" shouted a man.

Following that announcement, fireworks were set off on the television building's top floor, and the night sky was instantly painted with beautiful bursts of colors.

Simultaneously, water was also shot out from the water fountains on both sides of the pond while the staff carefully began raising a massive flag.

Mila herself had her head lifted, nervously looking out for Gerald.

Chapter 665

When the main car's door was finally opened, the crowd was stunned.

A fair-skinned and rather chubby guy with eyes as small as pumpkin seeds stepped out as he waved at the crowd in his gorgeous suit.

"Is he Mr. Crawford?"

"Really?"

"Of course not! I recognize who he is! He's Yoel Holden! The son of the richest man in the county state!"

"Is that so? I guess by the looks of it, Yoel's attending in place of Mr. Crawford, right?"

While the crowd was busy discussing among themselves again, the stage manager looked visibly disappointed when he saw Yoel instead of Gerald.

However, he still had to take Yoel seriously. After all, Yoel Holden was also one of the VIPs.

Mila on the other hand, wasn't familiar with Yoel. This made her slightly surprised and disappointed when she saw him.

'Why didn't Gerald come...?'

Even if Gerald had made his appearance, she would've hidden in a corner so that he couldn't spot her. Regardless, it was no lie that she had at least hoped to have been able to see him.

While Mila wasn't the kind of girl who liked to show off, any girl's heart would throb like crazy if they ever saw their boyfriend making such a grand entrance.

Sadly, it wasn't her boyfriend in the car. It didn't seem like Yoel knew who she was either.

As Yoel was led up the stairs by the guide, Hallie—who had earlier been scared witless—said, "Well, well, well. What have we here? Why didn't your boyfriend come over to greet you?"

She was clearly trying to rub it into Mila's face.

"D*rn it! It wasn't Mr. Crawford after all! Why isn't he here?" said Molly rather regretfully. She was certain of how utterly pleased Hallie must have been feeling at that moment.

"The f*ck were you trying to pull off, b*tch? Weren't you talking about how great your boyfriend was earlier? Embarrassing! It seems that I didn't slap you hard enough earlier!" mocked Hallie, a hint of anger in her voice.

Before she could say another word, another burst of excitement could be heard.

"Oh god! Oh god, oh god, oh god!" shouted someone hysterically.

"What kind of cars even are those?"

"Hot d*mn! Aren't those exclusive Lamborghini models? Designed only for the company's top customers? I think it was around three years ago when they revealed online that each car costs about ten million dollars! The cars are each equipped with a superior artificial intelligence system and their bodies are said to be even stronger than that of bulletproof cars! I don't think I need to say anything more about their stunning designs!"

"You're kidding right? Ten million dollars for a car... There's like... Five, ten... Twenty of them!"

"Holy sh*t! You're telling me that what we're seeing now is a convoy worth two hundred million dollars?!"

It wasn't just the youngsters at the entrance who were waiting in anticipation this time. Even the businessmen were giddy with excitement.

While most of the wealthy people there had gone through several hardships to earn what they had today, the VIP that would soon be making their appearance had a convoy worth two hundred million dollars!

Most, if not all, of the people in the crowd had gone pale, clearly overly excited by this unprecedented grand entrance.

As the person leading the hosts shifted his gaze to the stage manager, he could see that the stage manager himself was taking several deep breaths to calm himself.

"This is the main VIP for today, right stage manager?" asked someone excitedly.

"Yeah, that's her! Tell everyone to start paying attention immediately! Don't make any mistakes or you'll be dealt with accordingly!" said the manager, his voice quivering slightly.

After the cars stopped in front of the entrance, the stage manager began walking briskly toward them to greet the main VIP.

Molly, Hallie, and the other girls were frozen in anticipation as well. All of them were too shocked at the scene to even remember that they were fighting.

Even Mila could hardly believe any of what she was seeing.

She knew how rich Gerald was. To think that there were still people way richer than he was. After all, the main VIP was a person who owned a two hundred million dollar convoy!

What kind of house did she even live in? Gosh, everything was just so extravagant to the point where this entire scene seemed unbelievable!

By the time the car's door was opened, the stage manager and several other VIPs had formed two uniform rows outside it, standing ready and alert to greet their grandest guest yet.

Chapter 666

As soon as they saw the young woman step out, everyone in the two rows immediately bowed deeply.

The woman with snow-white skin—who looked to be around twenty-seven years old—had a pair of branded sunglasses on. She also wore extremely expensive-looking clothes, complemented by the blazer draped over her shoulders.

As she continued chewing on her gum, she tilted her shoulders slightly, allowing her blazer to seamlessly fall off her shoulders. One of her bodyguards caught on to it before it even managed to touch the ground.

Even from afar, everyone could see that all the bodyguards surrounding her had equally fierce gazes in their eyes. They also seemed to be extremely capable and strong. These were the kinds of bodyguards who would most definitely be prepared to tackle any sort of situation that they had to face.

While she was extremely charming, the woman had an extremely strong aura as well, pressuring a lot of the present people to not even dare to take a breath.

As she scanned through the crowd, her gaze fell on the large flag placed right outside the scene. It was Gerald's flag. She then smiled slightly before pointing at it and shouting, "Raise that flag higher!"

"Very well!" said the head of the broadcasting station who had not dared to even straighten his body yet.

With a wave of his hand, he immediately ordered his subordinates to do as she said.

As he did that, the rest of the businessmen at the entrance held on to their breaths as they remained bowed down. It almost felt like they were participating in a queen's arrival.

Even those who appeared to be over fifty didn't dare to do anything. They were simply too terrified to say a word, most of their legs quivering as though they had just been struck by lightning.

They all watched as Gerald's flag was slowly lifted to the highest point it could reach.

Seeing that, the woman's smile deepened.

She then walked forward and handed her handbag over to Mila, who just so happened to be the first in line among the others who were also tasked with receiving the guests.

At the time however, Mila was still looking at Gerald's flag curiously.

'Why did the president only want Gerald's flag to be raised higher? What exactly is her relationship to him?'

Mila knew that even though Gerald had several female friends, he was still loyal to her. However, after seeing all this, she was starting to feel slightly nervous.

After all, the woman seemed extremely powerful and frightening.

"Hmm?" said the woman as she frowned slightly.

It was at that moment when Mila broke from her daze and finally realized that the woman had been handing out her handbag to her!

The head of the broadcasting station was so terrified at that moment that his eyes were bloodshot as he growled, "Mila! What the hell are you doing?"

He had constantly reminded them not to make any mistakes when the grand VIP arrived. Yet here Mila was, making a mistake as soon as she arrived!

"Are you new here?" said the woman as she continued chewing on her gum calmly.

"H-huh? I-I'm sorry! I'm terribly, terribly sorry!" answered Mila. She was so frightened that her face has lost all its color,

"I-I'll dismiss her immediately! I'll even be sure to punish her and her entire family!" said the head of the broadcasting station nervously.

It hadn't occurred to Mila that just because of her slightly slow reaction, even her family would be brought into this!

'She's simply too overbearing!'

At that moment, Mila was more frightened than ever. After all, the woman standing before her now— who was exerting an immensely powerful aura—had every right to do as she pleased to her.

"Did I say I wanted you to dismiss her? Cease your nonsense!" retorted the woman as she rolled her eyes at the head of the broadcasting station.

"I've been saying nonsense, yes! I apologize for not watching my mouth!" shouted the head as he harshly slapped himself thrice.

Once he was done, his mouth was stained with blood.

Hallie on the other hand, lowered her head at that moment. She was filled with glee.

It was definitely going to be all over for Mila now!

Chapter 667

"Tell me, why were you staring at that flag earlier?" asked the woman, her voice crystal clear.

Mila simply lowered her head, unsure of even what to say.

As Mila continued remaining silent, the woman noticed the slap mark on Mila's cheek. She then stretched her hand out and lifted Mila's chin gently.

"You're so beautiful yet you were slapped. Such a pity... Where are you from?" asked the woman, her tone sounding genuinely regretful.

"M-Mayberry!" replied Mila.

She hadn't answered the woman's earlier question since she didn't want her to know that she was honestly thinking about Gerald!

After all, Mila was still unsure of that woman's true identity and status.

"She's an intern student who was chosen and sent here from Mayberry University! Her academic results are outstanding!" replied the head of the broadcasting station.

Raising an eyebrow, the woman said nothing as she took a few sneaky glances at Mila before turning to enter the main area.

However, before she entered through the door, she turned around and pointed at Mila before saying, "You there! Follow me!"

After saying that, she entered without saying another word.

"Mila! Why are you still standing there in a daze? Go follow the president already!" said the head of the broadcasting station immediately.

"G-got it!"

Mila was still in deep shock. However, she simply followed the president inside.

Hallie on the other hand, was left stupefied.

'Why?' She thought to herself.

'Why was the president taking particularly good care of Mila? Was it because she heard that Mila was from Mayberry University? She didn't even tell Mila to take responsibility for her rudeness earlier!'

Hallie was filled with jealousy.

It was when the event was about to begin when Mila finally realized that the president's surname was Crawford. She had found out about this when she heard others addressing the woman as President Crawford while following her.

So she bore the surname of Crawford as well.

Since President Crawford had requested for Mila to follow her, Mila was placed within the group of assistants assigned to help her out. Because of that, both Hallie and Mila had to work together on stage at the same time.

Now blinded by jealousy, Hallie looked at Mila with murderous eyes whenever she could.

A little while later—when she saw that Mila was busy refilling tea for the guests—a nasty plot formed in her mind!

As Hallie walked past Mila, she gave her an extremely brief but cold glare before nudging her slightly.

Due to her actions, the cup Mila was holding nearly toppled to the floor! Thankfully, Mila was able to catch it in time! While the cup was safe, its contents were splashed all over the person in front of Mila...

And that person was none other than Yoel!

"F*ck! Look at what you've done!" said Yoel as he glared at Mila angrily, a frown already forming on his face.

"I-I'm terribly sorry!" apologized Mila immediately.

As she said that, a burning hatred for Hallie had bloomed within Mila. It was obvious that Hallie's jealousy had driven her to continue creating trouble for Mila, even now!

Regardless, though Yoel was currently only here in place of Gerald, Mila had been meaning to find out what his true relationship was with Gerald. She was also interested in finding out who he was to President Crawford.

After all, even a fool would have realized by now that Mr. Yoel Holden had been addressing President Crawford as his sister. It was also obvious that the president clearly liked him a lot.

What kind of relationships did Gerald have with both of them?

Though she had earlier thought about asking them about it, after giving it some thought, she refrained from doing so. After all, she was only part of the staff there. They, on the other hand, were very important guests.

If she simply acted rashly and asked such a personal question, what would they think of her?

"Sorry? Do you honestly think that everything will be over with just a simple apology?" said Yoel as he immediately got up and shoved Mila with his right hand.

The force from Yoel's push was strong enough to send Mila falling to the floor.

During the process, her phone fell to the ground as well.

While it seemed like President Crawford was the main guest today, Yoel was clearly the actual one in control here.

After all, Yoel had been given the role of Gerald's direct substitute.

Similar to past events, whenever Gerald was busy or unable to attend any grand functions, either Yoel— who was Gerald's godbrother—or Aiden would be sent to take his place.

Since Mr. Crawford was already busy when the event invitation was received, Zack hadn't bothered informing him about it. Instead, Zack simply went through the usual process of electing Yoel to take Gerald's place, since Aiden wasn't available.

While Yoel was usually obedient and nice in front of Gerald, both he and Aiden were truthfully quite reckless and arrogant when they were on their own.

Because of that, it would certainly not be him if he didn't get angry after being drenched in water by a rude assisting staff member!

Chapter 668

Almost everyone present at the scene was stunned speechless.

While Molly was equally terrified and sad for Mila as she watched her good friend get shoved to the floor, Hallie was contrastingly sneering like there was no tomorrow.

President Crawford herself, who was getting a massage at that moment, pretended like she had seen nothing.

"Humph! How bold of you to offend Mr. Crawford! If I don't personally teach you a lesson now, you'll never learn!" shouted Yoel as he raised his arm, seemingly ready to beat Mila up.

However, before he could launch his first blow, he paused right in the nick of time.

He had noticed just in time, that the lock screen on Mila's phone—which had earlier fallen to the side— contained Mr. Crawford's photograph!

"...Hmm? What?!" said Yoel, startled.

"Do you know Mr. Crawford?" asked Yoel, clearly surprised to see his godbrother's photo in some assisting staff member's phone.

He then picked her phone up, trying hard to figure out who she really was. Since he wasn't able to come up with any logical conclusions yet, he refrained from beating her up just yet.

"Return my phone to me!" said Mila as she snatched her phone from Yoel's hands.

"I'm asking you now. Why do you have Mr. Crawford's photograph as your lock screen photo?" asked Yoel again, his voice filled with confusion.

While her eyes were closed at that moment, even President Crawford had heard his question. She then gestured for the person massaging her to leave before glancing suspiciously at Mila, even scanning her from head to toe.

"That's a personal question!" replied Mila, holding on to her phone carefully.

"Then what's your name?" asked Yoel as he scratched the back of his head. He seemed to have just remembered something important, which was what prompted the question.

"Mila Smith!"

Hearing that, Yoel's eyes widened slightly.

'Mila Smith... Why does that name sound so familiar...? Where have I heard it before...?'

'Hold on... Aiden told me that Mr. Crawford's girlfriend was doing her internship in Northbay...'

"...Are you from Mayberry University?" asked Yoel, slightly astonished by his own conclusion.

"I am!" replied Mila with a slight nod.

"F*ck!" Yoel was even more surprised now that his deduction was actually correct!

"Then you definitely know my brother, right? Gerald? You even have his photo in your phone! Could it really be that you're his girlfriend? Do you know who Aiden and Zack are?"

"I know them, yes!" replied Mila, giving another nod.

Yoel almost jumped in place after hearing her reply.

'Sh*t, she really is my sister-in-law! What have I done? How could I nearly have beaten her up?'

'I'm screwed for sure this time!' Yoel thought to himself as he turned to look at President Crawford meekly.

Seeing his reaction, she immediately stood up.

She had naturally overheard their entire conversation, and she too was surprised by the revelation as she walked toward Mila.

"Are you really Gerald's girlfriend?" asked the president.

"Yes, she is! She's Gerald's girlfriend, Mila!" shouted Molly—who had taken a step forward at that moment—out of the blue.

Seeing that she could no longer deny it, Mila simply bit her lower lip slightly before nodding in agreement.

Mila had been extremely reluctant to admit it since she wanted to be more independent instead of solely relying on Gerald. It was the reason why she had endured all her hardships alone. She simply didn't want to only be known as eye candy for Gerald if she was to continue being his girlfriend.

Because of her lack of reliance on Gerald's name in her workspace however, the truth only served to amplify how stunned the people there were.

"H-hot d*mn! Is she really Mr. Crawford's girlfriend?"

"I guess so! While she really is beautiful, I wonder why she's working as a receptionist here...?"

As the others began discussing the current situation, Mila noticed that President Crawford was staring at her.

"P-President Crawford, I-"

"You don't have to call me President Crawford anymore. After all, if you're Gerald's girlfriend, you should be addressing me as your sister!" replied Jessica, a faint smile on her face.

"Sister... Are... Are you Jessica? Gerald's elder sister?"

At last, Mila finally knew who President Crawford really was.

Chapter 669

"That I am. He's told you about me, hasn't he?" replied Jessica with a faint smile on her face.

Mila was too astonished to immediately respond to her.

Gerald had indeed mentioned her before. He had told her that his sister treated him extremely well. What more, Jessica had been the one responsible for establishing the Mayberry Commercial Group in the past!

While Mila was aware that his sister was very rich, she hadn't expected her to be this rich and influential!

At this point, Jessica could almost be considered to be a person of royalty! This made Mila even more nervous than she already was.

She had initially not felt the pressure of the Crawford family's true wealth and influence since she never had her eyes set on Gerald's money from the very beginning.

After all, it didn't matter to her whether Gerald was rich or poor. All that mattered to her was that both of them retained a good relationship.

Due to that way of thinking, even though she knew Gerald's true identity, she never really realized that there was this large a gap between them.

Now that Jessica was standing before her, however, the sudden realization of how different she actually was from the Crawfords was definitely stressing her out.

"Y-yes! He did mention you... He told me that you were in North Africa!"

"I was, I actually just returned a few days ago!" replied Jessica, still smiling.

After saying that, she turned to look at Yoel before smacking him behind the head once.

"Sister-in-law! I've clearly wronged you! I sincerely apologize!" shouted Yoel. He was so frightened that his face was deathly pale as he apologized.

Once that was done, Jessica then turned to look at the slap mark which was still visible on Mila's face.

"Speaking of which, who slapped you? Now that I know that you're my younger brother's girlfriend, I won't allow for such actions to go unpunished while I'm here!" said Jessica aloud, her voice suddenly turning cold.

"I-I'm the one responsible for that!" replied Hallie at that moment, her entire body trembling in fear.

Knowing Mila's background, Hallie had initially thought that Mila's family was just doing some kind of business in Mayberry.

It was the reason why Hallie dared to bully Mila so unscrupulously.

However, it was beyond her wildest dreams to ever expect Mila to actually be Jessica's sister-in-law! What more, it turns out that Mr. Crawford really was Mila's boyfriend!

With the cat now out of the bag, Hallie was terror-stricken.

"You?" replied Jessica, glaring icy daggers at Hallie.

"How exactly did she slap you Mila? Return the slaps to her the same way she did to you!"

Mila could only bite her lower lip slightly. After all, she wasn't an aggressive person. However, given her current situation, she really didn't have a choice.

Regardless, it was true that Hallie had constantly been targeting Mila, getting even more daring after each of her consecutive plots against her.

Mila was well aware that since Hallie hadn't treated her kindly, she didn't need to either.

With that in mind, Mila slowly raised her hand before slapping Hallie right in the cheek.

Once the impact hit, Hallie immediately covered her now hurt cheek before bursting into tears.

On the contrary, Jessica couldn't help but have a much better impression of Mila now after seeing that.

Jessica then looked at Hallie before saying, "How insensible of you to lay hands on my brother's girlfriend... I definitely have to teach you a personal lesson! Hmm... How about this? You'll need to drink in order to compensate for slapping her!"

"H-huh? Thank you for letting me off easy!" replied Hallie immediately.

"Oh, don't thank me yet. Listen to the rest first! Here are ten bottles of whiskey... You have to finish all of them in a single gulp!" smiled Jessica icily.

Her subordinates then began dragging Hallie away.

Seeing this, Mila felt her right eyelid twitch slightly. If the issue wasn't handled well, Hallie's life could very well be in danger.

Though Mila agreed that Hallie needed to be taught a lesson, what Jessica had proposed was simply too cruel for her.

Even if she was to advise Jessica against it, she felt that Jessica's decision would still be indisputable.

It was also at that moment when she realized that Jessica was the complete opposite of Gerald. While Jessica was arrogant, reckless, and extremely domineering, Gerald on the other hand, was gentle, reserved, and humble.

At this point, it almost seemed as though Jessica felt that bullying others like that was simply the natural thing to do.

"Once the function is over, I'd like you to come along with me, Mila. I have something to discuss with you. Ah, also, don't let Gerald know that we've already met each other!" said Jessica calmly as she continued chewing on her gum.

"Alright, sister!"

After hearing that, Mila started feeling equally worried and scared though she simply couldn't tell why.

Moving back to Gerald...

Chapter 670

Early the next morning, Gerald—accompanied by Barry and Queta—went looking for the master that Barry had mentioned the previous night. The master lived in a scenic spot atop a mountain.

Since a bit more time was needed before they were going to get the final results, both Barry and Queta continued waiting there.

Gerald himself walked quite a distance away from the place to make a call to his sister. It was only last night when Gerald found out that she had finally returned from abroad.

He had always thought that he would be among the first to meet his sister as soon as she returned. After all, he missed her dearly since both of them hadn't met for so long.

During the call, Jessica told him that she was attending some kind of grand function. She also mentioned that she wanted to meet Gerald there.

However, after Gerald explained that he was busy doing something for their father, she didn't have much else to say.

A while later, Gerald ended the call and was just about to head back when he heard someone call out to him.

"Gerald?"

Turning around to see who had called him, he was stunned when he saw the familiar faces.

The group of young people—whom Gerald had seen—seemed to be playing and laughing around with each other, save for the one who had just called out to him. They had all clearly come here in search for amusement.

Of the five people in the group, Maia and Warren were among them. Jamier was there too, along with Gerald's old high school competition teammates, Vincy and Lennard.

"Humph! It really is him! What a coincidence! We really can bump into him just about anywhere we go!" said Maia as she couldn't help but smile rather bitterly.

They were here because Jamier had told them that this scenic spot was quite famous. What more, it was mostly reserved for the well-off since the prices of things here were particularly expensive.

Aside from that, there was also another place called the Summer Resort which was located near the peak of the mountain. All sorts of high-end entertainment centers could apparently be found there.

One usually needed to have a certain level of influence and wealth in County Salford to even be able to go there to have fun.

Quite frankly, the scenery at the foot of the mountain was nothing compared to what one would be able to experience once they arrived at the Summer Resort.

Since Jamier wanted to prove his capabilities and have some fun at the same time, he had begged his father to allow all five of them up there to have a good time together.

After some difficulty, he finally managed to convince his father, which was why they were all ascending the mountain now. It was also why they had managed to bump into Gerald again while they were enjoying the scenery.

"I had initially wanted to invite you out to have fun with us, but I didn't know whether you had anything going on since you came all the way out here to County Salford!" said Vincy with a chuckle.

While she wasn't exactly too close to Gerald, both Vincy and Gerald retained an ex-classmate kind of friendship. Compared to the rest, she was in fact, quite nice to Gerald.

"I appreciate the thought, Vincy. I don't really have much going on now. I'm just looking around!" replied Gerald quite cordially.

"Humph! I have to say that you're not too bad yourself since you know about this famous scenic spot! However, I should remind you that you're currently only looking at the scenery from the foot of the mountain!" said Maia as she smiled.

It was her usual straightforward style of speaking.

In her mind, she had already estimated—based on her knowledge of Gerald's economic status—that he would only go to places that didn't require entry fees whenever he went on trips.

After all, to enter such high-end places, one would first need to have at least some sort of connections or money like her, right?

Hearing her comment, Gerald could only shake his head with a bitter smile on his face.

'As if there are places that you can go to that I can't...'

Though he was clearly being looked down upon by Maia, Gerald didn't want to say much. He simply couldn't be bothered by her.

Other than Vincy, who had stopped to talk with Gerald for a brief moment, nobody else spoke to him.

Eventually, it was Lennard who tugged Vinvy away from Gerald, telling her not to continue speaking with him.

It wasn't long before the group of five arrived at the scenic spot's entertainment center.

"Pleased to meet you, ladies and gentlemen! Please present your VIP cards," said a staff member standing at the entrance. A few other staff members were also standing there, each awaiting other customers to serve.

"Here you go! All of us came here together!" said Jamier as he took a card out and showed it to the waiter.

"Alright! This way please," said the staff member respectfully.

This entertainment center had been established specifically to target rich businessmen and famous people, which explained why the VIP card was required. However, the target audience aside, the center was also open to sightseeing tours, which meant that not everyone needed a VIP card to enter.

Upon entering the place, Maia soon found herself being charmed by the magnificent scenery.

"Wow! Everything's so beautiful!" said Maia rather excitedly.

The moment she turned around however, she became instantly stunned.

"What the hell? Did he actually enter this place together with us?"

Chapter 671

This was what Maia said as soon as she saw that Gerald had also entered the high-end entertainment center.

Gerald himself had simply been walking around, minding his own business before turning to look at Maia after hearing her shout. Contrary to Maia, he was as calm as a cucumber.

Maia however, wasn't having any of this. To her, Gerald could only possibly have entered due to him following them closely while Jamier was showing the staff his VIP card earlier. The staff must have allowed him in then, thinking that he was part of their group!

Seeing Gerald in such a place simply made Maia feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, Gerald! Why are you here as well? Who even allowed you in here?" said Maia rather angrily.

Hearing Maia's interrogative question, Gerald felt stunned.

'Who allowed me in? I can come and leave as I please since the staff have been notified that I came together with Barry.'

'I naturally have free access to this place!'

In all honesty, Gerald was only passing through the entertainment center because he needed to. After all, it was the only way for him to get to the small manors at the peak of the mountain—above the entertainment center—where both Barry and Queta were still waiting.

"D*mn it, have you no shame at all? Don't you know that unless you're following a tour, you need a VIP card to enter this place? Not just anybody can enter as they want!" added Maia, her voice clearly filled with contempt.

"I am aware of that!" replied Gerald with a nod.

"F*cking hell! Since you already know about that, how could you just follow us in here after Jamier showed his VIP card? You can't just sneak into this place with us!" replied Maia.

While she hadn't really hated Gerald in the past, Maia still utterly looked down on him. After today's events, however, she was starting to hate him slightly.

'Jamier didn't even invite you! Only Warren, Vincy, Lennard, and I were supposed to come here to enjoy ourselves!'

'How dare you even consider sneaking in with us? What'll Jamier think about this?'

'After all, he knows that Vincy, Lennard, and I are your high school classmates! How utterly embarrassing!'

'If you had snuck into someplace else with us without Jamier being present, I wouldn't have cared this much! Hell, I'd probably have approved of it as long as you were willing to expand your horizons!'

'But this is different. What'll Jamier think about Vincy and I now?'

All these thoughts made Maia even more embarrassed than before.

"I didn't even sneak into this place!" replied Gerald helplessly.

He knew how much Maia had looked down upon him in the past. To think that it could actually get even worse!

However, he wasn't lying either. He really hadn't snuck in.

"How could you even say that at this point...? If you didn't sneak in, do you have a VIP card?!" said Maia furiously.

"Well... No," replied Gerald. After all, he didn't really need one to enter.

"Then why are you still lying? You snuck into this place yet you still don't want to admit it! I'm honestly speechless right now!" shouted Maia, so angry that she was even stomping her foot now.

If it wasn't because of how aware she was of her status as a police officer, she would've already kicked Gerald at least twice by now!

What more, several other respectable-looking people—who were also walking around in the entertainment center at the time—seemed to be finding the scene rather hilarious.

Realizing this made Maia and the others feel deeply embarrassed.

Trying to deescalate the situation, Vincy then said, "It's fine, Maia. Don't talk to Gerald that way... Remember, we still used to be classmates! Also, Jamier? I hope you don't think too much about it. Gerald must have just entered with us to have some fun!"

"I don't really mind!" replied Jamier as he shook his head while laughing slightly bitterly.

"Humph! You're lucky Jamier's so generous! Otherwise, we would've kicked you out of here immediately! God, I feel so annoyed seeing him like this!" growled Maia as she stomped her foot a few more times before finally turning around to walk away.

Vincy could only look at Gerald rather pitifully.

After all, all of what Maia had said to him was equally unpleasant and hurtful.

Chapter 672

"I'm sure you know how straightforward a person Maia is, Gerald... After all, she's been like that even from when she was still our captain! It's just the way she is, so please don't take what she said to heart!" consoled Vincy.

"Well, alright!" replied Gerald, peeking at Maia once before nodding at Vincy.

Since Vincy had been the only one treating him well, he chose to follow her advice.

Besides, if he really wanted to embarrass Maia, he could do so any time he pleased. However, he felt that that would be slightly childish of him, so he simply refrained from doing so.

Gerald wouldn't usually have disputes with girls like her anyway.

"I hope you mean what you say... Speaking of which, if you're not too busy, let's hang out for a short while and catch up with each other! After graduating from high school, I asked about you and found out that you had been accepted into Mayberry University! I told you that you'd be able to do it back then!" said Vincy.

Back in high school, though she never actually said it, Vincy admired Gerald quite a bit. After all, Gerald was always studying and as a result, his results were top notch. What more, she also knew that he was the kind of person who would always persevere to the very end, regardless of the task at hand.

Once, the two of them—who were competing together as a small team—ended up becoming champion in one of the many competitions they participated in. Back then, Vincy had been extremely excited since she got to hold Gerald's hand while receiving the award.

After all, she quite frankly had slight feelings for Gerald back then.

She honestly wanted to see Gerald finally get his moment and rise above everyone else.

However, that moment simply never came. As a result, her feelings for him were also short-lived.

In the end, Gerald was simply too poor. Although she continued treating Gerald well, she no longer tried to gain his affection.

It wasn't as though she looked down on him or anything. She simply still retained a rather immature mindset. Putting it frankly, she wanted a more heroic person to be her life partner.

Gerald however, was rather unwilling to join her, simply because he didn't want to deal with Maia any more than he needed to.

While he honestly wanted to refuse Vincy's suggestion right there and then, Vincy seemed to have wanted to have a nice long chat with him from the very moment they had met again the day before.

He couldn't really deny that he wanted to chat with Vincy as well. After all, it had been so long since they last met.

Thinking about this made it much harder for Gerald to decline her invitation.

Since the results of the jade pendant wouldn't be out till a bit longer, Gerald eventually nodded slightly in response, not wanting to disappoint Vincy.

"Vincy! You-!"

At that moment, Maia and the others were sitting beside a hot spring while taking photographs.

Seeing that Vincy had brought Gerald along, Maia was stunned speechless. She found it weird that Vincy would even want someone like Gerald around.

"Well, since he's already here anyway, let's just have a chat together! This is as good a chance as any to catch up with each other!" replied Vincy immediately.

Hearing that, Maia fumed slightly before turning to look the other side.

Jamier himself wasn't going to argue with Gerald. Instead, he turned to look at both Warren and Maia before saying, "What do you think? Isn't the scenery here fantastic?"

"It's definitely something!" replied Maia.

"Thanks for today, Jamier. You know, next time when you come over to Mayberry, I'll get my dad to use his connections to allow us to enter Wayfair Mountain Entertainment to have some fun! Just the few of us together!" said Warren.

"Are you talking about the one in Mayberry? That's the most luxurious place there! Take my word that you'll definitely be satisfied if you go there, Jamier. Honestly, even as a person from Mayberry, I've never actually set foot into Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. However, I've heard lots about it! It's not easy to enter if you're just some random nobody!" added Maia as she let out a heavy sigh.

The way he worded it earlier, Warren's father clearly had some kinds of connections. After hearing what Maia said, Warren simply patted his own chest twice before saying, "Not to worry, you'll definitely be coming along as well when we eventually go there to have some fun! It'll be just the five of us! You, me, Jamier, Vincy, and Lennard!"

It was obvious why he had deliberately mentioned those five names.

"Oh? Well now I definitely have to see Wayfair Mountain Entertainment for myself then!"

"Of course you do! Also, anyone who wishes to enter that place needs an admission ticket. You can't just sneak in all willy-nilly!"

As she said that, Maia rolled her eyes slightly at Gerald's direction.

It was clear as day that she was mocking him.

'What else can I say to that? Little do they know that I used to be the owner of that place!'

"...Hmm? Look over there, doesn't that girl look familiar...? Oh god. Vincy, hurry! Look there!" said Maia out of the blue as she started pointing excitedly at a girl standing next to the hot spring.

Chapter 673

"Isn't she the famous celebrity, Yuna Yames? D*mn! To think that we'd actually bump into her here!" exclaimed Maia, clearly surprised.

"While I was aware that this scenic spot was occasionally visited by some celebrities who wanted to have some fun after attending functions in County Salford, never would I have imagined seeing such high profile artists like Yuna here!" said Vincy, equally as surprised.

Her surprise was warranted. After all, she had studied and even established her own business in County Salford. There was little about the place that she didn't already know.

A burst of laughter soon followed.

"If I remember correctly, you've never really been the type to idolize celebrities, right Maia? The only exception to that rule was Yuna! You admired her so much during high school that you even pasted posters of Yuna by your bedside!"

Hearing that, Maia nodded in agreement before saying, "That's right! I like her because of her self- discipline! I've seen all of her work and I even discipline myself according to how she does it!"

"Well, then what are you waiting for? Look, several people are already approaching her to get her signature! Let's hurry over there and get one for ourselves..."

"Yeah, let's go get her autograph together!" said Vincy. Judging from her tone alone, it was evident that Vincy really liked Yuna as well.

Jamier, Lennard, and Warren themselves weren't going to object to Vincy's proposal any time soon. After all, Yuna was akin to a goddess in the public's eyes.

While lots of girls liked her, even more men saw her as the love of their dreams.

Gerald himself was a fan of Yuna's.

After all, the celebrity was very beautiful and had an extremely charming disposition. However, the thing that attracted her fans most, was how down to earth and friendly she was.

If he remembered correctly, Yuna worked under one of Gerald's sister's film and television companies in Yanken.

"Come along now, Gerald! Let's go snap some photographs together with her! It's not every day we get to do this!" called out Vincy.

Gerald simply nodded silently, a smile on his face.

He was well aware that if he really wanted to have a photograph with Yuna, he simply needed to call her over. There wasn't really a need for Gerald to rush over to get such a chance.

Vincy herself immediately started jogging over to Yuna after calling out to Gerald.

Seeing that her attention was no longer on him, it was now or never for Gerald to finally be able to slip away.

However, the moment he turned around, he saw a few extremely well-dressed girls walking out of the entertainment center. Surrounding them were several bodyguards.

While the girls were all equally beautiful, they didn't seem to be celebrities themselves. From what Gerald could assume, they were simply a few run-of-the-mill rich young ladies.

Despite that, several of the men who had initially wanted to take photographs with Yuna froze in place once they noticed the girls. Some of them were even close to drooling.

Even Gerald seemed to be momentarily stunned. However, it wasn't because of their beauty. Instead, it was because Gerald had nearly mistaken the leader of the group—or at least he assumed she was the leader—to be Queta.

If he had to score how closely that girl resembled Queta, Gerald would've given a solid seven out of ten.

As the girls passed by Gerald, the Queta clone seemed to notice Gerald staring at her. In response, give him a look of disgust before leaving with her group.

'Both of them look so alike!' Gerald thought to himself.

Following that thought, he immediately started walking toward a viewing point at the side of the mountain. Though he managed to catch sight of the group of girls before they left, Gerald was astonished once again when he saw what sort of cars they were riding.

To descend the mountain, a large group of Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended cars had been prepared for the girls. Together, the cars looked simply amazing.

"Those girls are definitely equally powerful and rich! I've earned a hefty amount today! Wouldn't it be great if more ladies such as themselves came here in future!" said a voice at that moment before chuckling.

Looking to his side, Gerald saw that the voice had come from a plump, middle-aged man who was also looking at the leaving group of cars while simultaneously counting the stack of money in his hand happily.

Seeing how the man had earned at least a few thousand dollars from the girls, Gerald assumed that he was some kind of unlicensed tour guide.

"Sir, do you know which family that rich young lady comes from?" asked Gerald as he got straight to the point.

Noticing how well-dressed Gerald was, the man then scanned him from head to toe before saying, "Ahem! How am I supposed to know? I just know that their leader is rich and influential!"

As he said that, the plump man continued counting his money.

It was obvious what he was implying to Gerald.

Gerald then took three hundred dollars out from his pocket before handing it to the man while saying, "Maybe you know a little more about them now?"

The man happily took the money off Gerald's hand before saying, "Just so we're clear, I never asked for any money from you. You gave this to me willingly! Either way, if you're talking about the richest young lady in the group, she's come here twice before. Despite being a pro at being slick in County Salford, I'm saddened to say that even I don't know which family she's from. All I know is that she's filthy rich and extremely influential. Information about her isn't going to come easily, even if you directly enquire her about it!"

As soon as his sentence ended, the man then swiftly ran away!

Chapter 674

'...F*ck.'

Gerald was left speechless after seeing that.

He knew for a fact that the middle-aged man was lying. The man definitely knew more about the girl.

'Still, that girl really resembled Queta... Could she be the key to one of the clues...?'

Just as Gerald was about to run after the plump man to further enquire him about it, a sudden uproar could be heard coming somewhere near the hot spring area.

"Move out of the way! Mr. Linton is here! Step aside, all of you!"

Hearing that, Gerald turned around to see a few bodyguards clearing the crowd who were still trying to take photographs together with Yuna. It wasn't long before a rich heir entered the spotlight next, walking toward Yuna with both his hands in his pockets.

When the locals saw who had arrived, they immediately retreated to the side.

Maia herself—who had waited quite a long time just to take a photo with Yuna—was just about to snap a picture with her when a bodyguard knocked into her, sending Maia's phone dropping to the ground.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" asked Maia anxiously.

"What are we doing? What are you doing? Mr. Linton wants to discuss something with Yuna! Now scram!" retorted the bodyguard angrily.

"Maia! Maia, over here! Quick!" called out Jamier who had been standing aside together with the main crowd, his face currently pale as a sheet.

While he had only gotten to know Maia for a short time, he knew very well that Maia was a person with a short fuse. To avoid her from doing anything stupid, he immediately rushed over to drag her to the side as well.

"What's the big idea?" asked Maia, her expression cold.

"That man over there! That's Mr. Linton, otherwise also known as Yoav Linton! He's the young master of one of the most powerful families in County Salford! There seems to be some kind of beef between Yuna and him, so it'd be best for us not to meddle in their affairs!" answered Jamier hurriedly.

Gerald, who had just arrived at the scene, overheard what Jamier had to say. So it would seem that this Yoav person seemed to be a rather arrogant and ruthless man.

"What do you plan on doing?" said a man—who seemed to be Yuna's agent—as he stepped forward the moment he saw the ruckus Yoav's guards were creating.

From what Gerald could gather after hearing their discussion for a while, Yoav's company had invited Yuna to be a spokesperson for them in the past. However, she had refused their offer back then.

Since Yuna was currently the spokesperson of his rival company, it would seem that Yoav had grown quite anxious about that.

The incident's complications didn't end there, however.

While Yuna was on her way to County Salford this time around, her path had been blocked by multiple cars. Essentially, Yoav's men were trying to force her to step down from being a spokesperson for their rival.

However, Yuna was adamant with her final decision.

All this eventually led to the events of today.

Yoav himself was evidently as powerful and influential as Jamier had described. After all, even though a large group of people was currently observing the situation, none of them had even dared to take photographs of the scene.

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again! I won't do it!" replied Yuna stubbornly.

"You f*cking bitch! Don't blame me for being ungentlemanly then!"

Upon saying that, a few of the bodyguards began intimidatingly pushing Yuna around.

Seeing this, Yuna's own bodyguards stepped forward to protect her. It didn't take long for conflict to break out, resulting in the bodyguards from both parties fighting each other!

As a few of the girls started screaming in fear, Maia simply said, "What savages...!"

It was at that moment when she saw Yoav reaching out to grab Yuna's hair. Seeing that, Maia immediately made a dash for it, hurriedly pulling Yuna to the side.

As a result, Yoav—who had initially planned on tugging on Yuna's hair to maintain his balance—soon found himself falling directly toward the concrete floor.

Being the arrogant man that he was, he had assumed that he only needed one hand to yank Yuna toward him, which was why he had his left hand in his pocket.

That proved to be a clear mistake, since he wasn't able to break his fall with only one free hand!

Yoav's head began bleeding the moment his forehead hit the ground.

"M-Mr. Linton!" shouted all of his guards simultaneously, all of them sounding equally terrified.

Chapter 675

Yoav had earlier been blinded by rage. To assert his dominance, he had slid a hand into his pocket, just to prove to Yuna that he could teach her a lesson without even needing to use both his hands.

To his surprise, not only had Yuna escaped his grasp unscathed, it was him at that moment who was bleeding out of his forehead.

His bodyguards were all paralyzed in fear when they saw this, and even Yuna's guards froze in place.

Yuna herself had gone fully pale.

What a bloody scene this had become. And they were at County Salford too! It was definitely hard to say what would even happen next.

"Don't let that woman escape! She was the one who had beaten Mr. Linton up!" shouted a bodyguard as he pointed at Maia.

"I... I didn't beat him up!" replied Maia, her voice quivering slightly.

Maia was stupefied. She had only wanted to dissuade the situation from getting any worse. It was clear, however, that Yoav's bodyguards all had their eyes set on her now.

Meanwhile, the area's staff members had finally arrived after hearing complaints about the conflict. Their first action was naturally to break the crowd up.

Simultaneously, a few of the area's medical staff were also dispatched to treat and bandage Yoav's wounds.

Even the scenic spot's managers had stepped forward to deal with the aftermath.

By the end of it, not many people remained in that area. Gerald and the five others, however, naturally had to stay there.

"Mr. Linton, please allow us to send you to this area's private ward to continue bandaging your wounds," said one of the medical staff.

"Fine, but these few people here aren't allowed to leave!" growled Yoav in a wrathful voice as he held on to his lightly bandaged head before being transported away in a stretcher.

"I didn't even beat him up! Why can't I leave?" retorted Maia angrily.

'What an overbearing person that Yoav is!'

Just as Maia was about to turn around to leave, she was immediately stopped.

"Miss, you and the others need to wait here for a little while longer. Please understand that if you simply leave like this, we won't be able to give a proper explanation to the Lintons. For now, just remain here and we'll see how things will be revolved once Mr. Linton returns."

"I can prove it. She didn't beat him up. She had simply pulled me to the side," explained Yuna as she looked at Maia before nodding slightly, gratitude briefly reflected in her eyes.

"Miss Yames, please try to understand our situation. While we'll definitely step in to prevent more fights from happening, we'll first have to see how the Lintons react before the issue can be resolved!" replied the manager in resignation.

While it was true that the event had taken place in the scenic spot, even the manager wasn't capable of dealing with such an issue.

Jamier himself had been breaking out in cold sweat this entire time.

'If I remember correctly, Yoav has never suffered any losses before, not even when he was a child...'

'Now that his head has been injured and he firmly believes that Maia was the one who caused it, since I'm together with Maia now, I'll certainly be targeted as well!'

Jamier was extremely sure that his family was nothing compared to the Lintons. There was no way they would ever be able to recover if Yoav actually took offense to Jamier. Fearing the worst, he then immediately called his father, stammering nervously the entire time.

As for Vincy, she had never found herself facing such a predicament. She was now so frightened that without any warning, she burst into tears!

However, her reaction was understandable. After all, she was a girl who had just graduated and started doing her own business. She had never gotten in touch with big shots such as the Lintons, which further fuelled her fear.

Even Lennard was terrified to the point of almost crying. Holding back his tears, he too called his father to ask for his advice.

"All of you don't have to be afraid! After all, you really didn't do anything! I'll help you take the blame!" said Yuna, seeing how frightened they were.

The celebrity had noticed that all of them were in their twenties and assumed that most of them had just graduated from university.

Despite knowing that she was dealing with a big shot, Maia had still stepped in to prevent Yuna from getting hurt. How could Yuna simply bear to see her and her group take the blame for her?

It was only natural for her to want to calm them down.

While it was true that Yuna knew that Maia had done nothing wrong, her calm exterior was contrasted by the slowly growing fear in her mind at that moment. She too was honestly slightly afraid as she continued pondering how to deal with the situation.

A short while later, Yuna contacted her company before detailing everything that had happened to them.

"...Ah, I see! Very well!"

After talking for a while, Yuna's expression turned somber.

"How is it, Yuna?" asked Maia in a slightly worried tone.

Chapter 676

Maia's group then immediately surrounded Yuna.

Yuna herself shook her head as she rather anxiously explained, "Even the people at my company are quite anxious now. At the moment, they're still thinking of ways to resolve the issue. They've even contacted Mr. Zatyr. However, since Yoav sustained actual injuries this time, my company's quite worried that even Mr. Zatyr won't be able to handle the situation all that well. What more, I'm just a simple celebrity, so he definitely won't have a fall out with the Lintons just because of me. While it's true that Yoav was the one who stirred the conflict up first, the fact that he's the only one who got hurt complicates everything!"

If only Yoav hadn't gotten hurt, Barry could've easily tackled the issue! Everything was so complicated now because of the injury he sustained.

They couldn't tell Barry to trouble the Crawfords either since that was pretty much equivalent to them resigning their jobs right there and then.

There was simply no one foolish enough to try taking the blame for such a major issue, especially since it only involved a single celebrity and a few of her fans.

"Then... What should we do?" asked Vincy, still in tears.

"Let's stay calm for now. I'll try using my own connections to help with the situation. Who should I ask for help from, Lila?"

Yuna's agent turned to look at her after hearing her name being called.

After a short pause, Lila then said, "Let's forget about the entertainment center for now. At the moment, I have a single person in mind. As long as we're able to get him to help us, we should probably be fine in the end. What more, all he needs to do is say a few things on our behalf!"

"Go on... Who is it?" asked Yuna.

"Remember when someone asked you for your contact information during your show the other day? Mr. Yoel Holden? If I recall correctly, back when he organized a grand party which you attended, didn't he say that you could ask him for help should anything happen?"

"Yoel Holden? That super rich person from Surgis City? That Yoel?"

It was clear that Maia and the others had heard about Yoel before. While they were surprised as they looked at each other, they were simultaneously overjoyed. If Mr. Holden really did lend them a hand in this, the entire situation would become so much easier to deal with.

"That's the only option we have that I can see for now. You know, Mr. Holden knows quite a number of rich heirs. Even that grand party— that I mentioned earlier—was hosted by Mr. Holden for a mysterious

rich heir. I can safely say that he has his fair share of tricks and connections up his sleeve. If we do manage to get him to help us, I predict that the situation can be resolved with just a simple phone call!"

"Alright, I'll give it a try!" replied Yuna, nodding slightly as she began dialing Yoel's number.

After a brief moment, Yoel picked the phone up.

While she was surprised that he had picked her call up so quickly, she wasted no time detailing the ins and outs of the incident.

A while later, Yuna ended the call with a smile on her face.

"Everything's fine now. Mr. Holden told me that he'll use his connections to help us resolve this issue!"

Hearing that, Maia and the others were delighted. This was especially so for Maia since her main reason for being in County Salford was still to undergo a secret mission.

She had been worried that all sorts of issues would arise to hinder her mission before Mr. Holden agreed to step in.

While they awaited Mr. Holden's next call, Maia and the others stood around Yuna who was describing the events of the party that Mr. Holden had previously hosted.

Since it was their first time talking so much with a celebrity whom they all idolized, it was natural for all of them to be excited.

Gerald on the other hand, was feeling quite uneasy just being there.

He had earlier been prepared to lend Maia and the others a hand if they were really at a dead end. After all, Yuna was technically his subordinate as well.

Even if Yuna wasn't present in the equation, he wouldn't have just stood there doing nothing if he knew they were in trouble.

After hearing that Yoel was willing to help them, Gerald knew that he no longer needed to make a move.

However, it wasn't long after Yuna's call ended when Gerald received a Line message from Yoel.

"Haha! I need your help with something, brother!"

Upon reading his message, Gerald couldn't help but smile bitterly. He could very well guess what that something was. However, he pretended not to know anything about the situation and proceeded to ask Yoel about what kind of help he needed.

As was expected, Yoel wanted Gerald to contact Zack so that Zack could, in turn, use his own connections to handle the Lintons.

Yoel himself liked asking help from Zack since he didn't usually prefer asking his father for assistance whenever he came face to face with trouble.

However, after asking for Zack's aid on numerous occasions, even Yoel became embarrassed to seek him out for help.

This was why Yoel was now asking Gerald for help instead.

"So be it!" replied Gerald, his smile still bitter.

Before long, he detailed the entire incident to Zack and Zack started working on it immediately.

Around half an hour later, Yuna was so anxious that she was almost about to send a message to Yoel to enquire him about the situation.

Before she was able to hit the send button, all of them saw the area's manager running toward them.

"Miss Yames, Mr. Linton just notified us that the entire issue has been resolved! He'll forget about what happened today, so you may all leave now!" relayed the manager.

"Alright then. Thank you, manager," replied Yuna before heaving a long sigh of relief.

Maia and the others on the other hand, simply looked at each other excitedly.

How impressive Mr. Holden was!

Chapter 677

"Thank you so much for dealing with the situation, Yuna! You really know lots of people!" said Maia excitedly.

"Why are you even thanking me? I should be the one thanking all of you! While I do want to at least treat you and your friends to a proper meal for helping me out, it pains me to say that I have to rush back to the company immediately first. How about this? Here's my number. If you run into any trouble in future, don't hesitate to ring me up!"

It was clear that Yuna was still feeling grateful to Maia for stepping in to save her earlier.

Since she also knew that Maia was a sincere fan of hers, it made sense for Yuna to be particularly concerned over her.

After leaving her contact information with Maia, she left the scene.

"I'm super envious of you Maia! To think that you'd actually manage to get into Yuna's good books!" said Vincy as soon as Yuna left.

"It's not that amazing... Either way, let's leave for now! It'll be embarrassing if we accidentally bump into those people again later!"

While Maia didn't explicitly show it, she was beyond happy.

However, since it was true that none of the others were in the mood to enjoy themselves anymore, the decision to leave was unanimous.

Before leaving, however, Maia turned to look at Gerald.

"You guys leave first. I'll be staying here!" said Gerald, thinking that Maia was indicating for him to leave with them.

"Humph! Did you honestly just assume that I wanted you to leave together with us? No, Gerald, I simply turned to look at you to tell you something! In the past, you had nothing else going for you aside from your above average academic results! Even then, you at least still had that! Now however, I truly have a reason to completely look down on you. After all, you're the kind of scum who'll only appear if good things are present! But when bad things happen, you'll just silently stand at the side! You truly disgust me, you know?" sneered Maia with zero filter to her words.

"Don't say such things to Gerald! Everyone was scared witless earlier!" replied Vincy.

"Indeed, I won't deny that, but how come he was able to act so quickly when he first followed us in earlier? Ignoring that, maybe the rest of you didn't realize it, but I saw Gerald sneakily moving to the side earlier. That son of a gun was definitely trying to sneak away if things didn't go smoothly! I saw it with my very own eyes, you know? Don't you simply find that frustrating?" growled Maia angrily.

What Maia had said couldn't have been further from the truth. What she had assumed to be him trying to sneak away, was simply him moving to the side to send Zack that Line message earlier.

It was clear as day that Maia had misunderstood him. However, Gerald simply remained silent. He didn't need to explain anything to her.

"Let's just go have a meal somewhere, Maia. Don't waste your energy trying to talk to him," said Jamier at that moment.

Hearing that, Lennard simply began dragging Vincy away. In no time at all, Gerald was alone again.

Gerald could only sigh in his mind before laughing bitterly.

Looking at his cell phone, he then thought to himself, 'Well this is just wonderful! To think that a scolding was my reward for helping her!'

However, he quickly let it slide. After all, he had more important things to deal with. He was still more worried about the incident regarding Queta.

With that, he hurriedly began ascending the rest of the mountain.

"Mr. Crawford!" called out the old man from earlier with a smile as he saw Gerald approaching.

The old man went by the name of Wace, and he was a master of calligraphy and antique collecting in the southwest of the Salford Province.

"So, have you managed to identify the origins of the jade piece, Mr. Wace?" asked Gerald.

Hearing his question, Mr. Wace then nodded before saying, "I have indeed! While it's true that I recognized the pendant when I first saw it, I still needed some time to properly analyze it to be completely sure. Now, I'm certain without a doubt that this specific kind of jade pendant can only belong to the Fenderson family in County Salford. I know for certain since each descendent of the Fenderson family owns a similar jade pendant. Another interesting thing about this kind of jade pendant, is that it's divided into three levels. Since this particular pendant is top-rated, I can only assume that its rightful owner is Xara Fenderson, a direct descendant of the Fenderson family!"

"The Fenderson family? While I've investigated several large families here, not once have I come across the name, 'Fenderson.'" said Gerald as he nodded.

Mr. Wace simply chuckled when he heard that.

"I wouldn't blame you for not knowing about them, Mr. Crawford. After all, The Fenderson family has been lying low for more than a few decades now. They're so good at doing it that there's barely any news about the family available to the public at all! In the past, the family was considered to be quite powerful and influential not only in County Salford, but also the rest of Weston. However, in just one night, all news about the family simply ceased to exist! Because of the lack of news from the Fendersons, nobody talks about their family anymore."

Chapter 678

"...Ah, is that so?"

Hearing that, both Gerald and Queta were slightly disappointed.

Barry himself frowned while saying, "You mentioned that despite them being a powerful family, all news regarding them disappeared in a single night, correct? I wonder what drastic changes happened back then... Could the Fendersons have simply gone bankrupt?"

"That's quite impossible. If they had truly gone bankrupt, how could they have silenced the reporters from reporting about the incident?" replied Gerald as he shook his head.

Mr. Wace smiled after hearing what Gerald had to say.

"Mr. Crawford's right. For those from the older generation like me, we believe that the Fenderson family didn't actually fall into bankruptcy. Instead, we think that they underwent the exact opposite of that. Rather than going bankrupt, the family instead amplified in power, or at least that's what we assume. Regardless, the family never left the Salford Province, and they still reside here to this very day. Some have even theorized that many of the properties belonging to the large families in the Salford Province are dependent on the Fendersons. However, no matter how much they investigated it, they still failed to find out anything relevant to the theory!"

'How odd... Why would the Fendersons keep such a low profile for no good reason? However, based on the various clues I've come across, those from the Fenderson family have shown themselves before in a few events, or so Zack says. Mr. Weyham himself had met a rather exceptional youth wearing a similar jade pendant in Wendall City before...' Gerald thought to himself.

As he thought about it, the girl from earlier crossed Gerald's mind again. She simply resembled Queta too much for it to be a coincidence. Aside from that, she also seemed to have a very strong family background.

'Tsk... Could it be that she's actually a Fenderson...?'

Gerald could feel that he was close to the truth.

After that, he thanked Mr. Wace before leaving together with Queta.

Before parting ways with Barry, however, Gerald told him to enquire about the Fenderson family. Naturally, Gerald's intent was to get him to investigate that girl though he didn't go into detail about her.

"My grandson, how goes your investigation? Why are you only back now?" asked Finnley the moment they returned to the villa which Barry had arranged for them.

As soon as he saw Finnley, Gerald thought to himself, 'The Salford Province is Finnley's hometown. He's also quite a capable person... I wonder if he knows anything about this.'

"It's going well. Also, Mr. Quick, have you heard about the Fenderson family in the Salford Province before?" asked Gerald as he bit into an apple that Queta had just handed to him.

"What? The Fenderson family? Are you looking for someone within that family?" asked Mr. Quick in a shocked tone, his eyes widened.

"We are. Do you know anything about them?"

"Please tell us if you do know anything about them, Mr. Quick. It's very important to us!" added Queta as she handed an apple to Finnley as well.

"Hm... I... I've never heard about them! Despite living in the Salford Province for so many years, I've never heard about the Fendersons!" replied Finnley as he shook his head, looking quite perplexed.

Seeing this, Gerald and Queta simply looked at each other.

"Do you really not know anything about them?"

"I say only the truth!" replied Finnley, biting into his apple.

Hearing that, Gerald felt that the only remaining clue that they had about the family was also their biggest one. They needed to find out more about that girl, particularly her origins.

Sensing that he needed to be more specific, Gerald then told Barry to try identifying that girl.

Sometime later however, Barry was still unable to gather any information about her, even after using various methods.

Slightly disheartened, Queta then turned to look at Gerald before asking, "What should we do now, Gerald?"

In her mind, she kept thinking about the same things.

'Who was the one who abandoned me in the past? And what drove them to do such a thing...?'

Gerald himself wanted to find out who exactly that woman was to his father. He also wanted to know whether Queta was truly his younger sister.

It was at that moment when Gerald paused for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Worry not, Queta! We may still have another chance!"

Chapter 679

"A chance?" asked Queta in surprise.

In his mind, Gerald thought, 'That unlicensed tour guide I met with earlier might be our next best shot.'

'Come to think of it, that slick plump man cheated me of three hundred dollars!'

Gerald recalled the moment when he had heard the uproar near the hot spring area just as he was about to give that man a piece of his mind. Because of that, Gerald had failed to get him to share more information about the girl.

However, Gerald was certain that that man definitely knew more about her. After all, the middle-aged man had said himself that the girl had been there twice.

After making up his mind, it wasn't difficult for Gerald to locate where the man lived.

It was around noon when Gerald and his men drove to the unlicensed tour guide's house.

Upon arriving, the tour guide—who was thankfully at home—recognized Gerald and instantly became nervous.

After all, he had only cheated the three hundred dollars off Gerald knowing full well that Gerald wasn't a local.

Unfortunately, local or not, Gerald was now at his home with a group of black-suited bodyguards standing behind him.

"Um... Good day sir... What exactly are you planning to do?" asked the middle-aged man as he chuckled nervously.

"Oh, I don't plan to do anything. I just came here to meet you!" replied Gerald as he slid his left hand into his pocket before casually entering the man's house without even waiting to be invited in.

Once he was inside, Gerald immediately sat on the man's couch as his subordinates entered as well. Each of his subordinates looked like men who shouldn't be trifled with.

Finding the television remote, Gerald then began flipping through the channels. He was deliberately acting like he owned the place, not even bothering to say a word to the middle-aged man.

Seeing that, the man gulped, uncertain of what to do since he had no idea what Gerald had in plan for him.

Not knowing what else to do, he went toward Gerald before saying, "Um... Sir, I really don't think I need that three hundred dollars anymore... If you look around, you'll notice that my family's condition isn't all that optimal. In addition, there are both old and young ones living in this house... I'll get straight to the point. I'm in quite dire need of money and I admit to cheating you of three hundred dollars... However! I've not touched a single penny of that money, and I'll gladly return all of it to you!"

The plump man was obviously experienced in his craft. He knew how to read the situation well, and with Gerald here, the slick man knew that he couldn't afford to displease him.

Hearing that, Gerald simply pinched the bridge of his nose before smiling slightly.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not here to retrieve that money. On the contrary, if you're willing to cooperate and tell me a little more about something, I'll hand you even more cash!"

Hearing that, the plump man then forced a smile before saying, "Is this about that rich young lady from before? Why are you so interested in her, sir?"

"Hmm?"

Without even waiting for Gerald to say another word, a bodyguard standing beside him instantly glared at the middle-aged man.

"Ah, I understand. I shouldn't ask what isn't appropriate. I get it now. Regardless, I've truly only met her once. While I know that she's both rich and influential, I'm honestly clueless about her origins. However, I do know something else. She's about your age and she studies in the same school as my son! He even knows her!" replied the man as honestly as possible, knowing very well that he couldn't mess around with Gerald.

He then stood up and shouted, "Come over here, Marven! These people aren't here looking for trouble!"

"Oh? I see! Coming!"

Soon after, the door to what seemed like a bedroom creaked open and out stepped a plump young man. His body's shape was almost identical to his father's.

Still, it was rather ridiculous how the middle-aged man had made it sound like people coming over to cause trouble for him was nothing new.

"Hurry up and tell this fine gentleman about the rich young lady from your school!"

"Well... She's equally as mysterious, powerful, and influential in our school. While she studies in the class beside mine, we have our union class together. However, she never says a word to us! All of us are quite frankly terrified of her and nobody really dares to take the initiative to speak with her, not even the teachers! Though who can really blame us when she's always surrounded by so many powerful bodyguards!" replied Marven with a chuckle.

"I do, however, sit in the row beside her at times to eavesdrop on her conversations with her friends. Due to that, I came to realize that they enjoyed traveling all over the place! It's also the reason why my dad was able to act as their tour guide at the scenic spot!"

So the plump young man was equally as witty as his father. It was clear that everything that he did served to help his father gain more business.

Regardless, after hearing what Marven had to say, Gerald became much more intrigued by the girl. What a mysterious person she was.

Chapter 680

By linking the new information with the clues he had previously discovered, Gerald could sense that it was just as Mr. Wace had said. The Fendersons were still powerful, yet they seemed like they were hiding from something.

Gerald also felt that he could inadvertently alert the enemy if he acted rashly by directly inquiring the girl about it. If that were to happen, he would only gain the complete opposite of what he desired.

As he came up with something in his mind, Gerald then asked, "Does she go to school daily and attend all her lessons on time?"

"Well she doesn't really go to school daily. However, when there's a lesson in her schedule, she'll be sure to attend alongside at least one of her friends. Are you looking for her? I'll warn you ahead of time that she's extremely unpleasant to be around with. It's near impossible for anyone to even make a move on her. You know, in the past, several rich heirs who felt like they were rich and powerful enough tried to gain her affection. For some reason, however, all of them eventually ended up refraining from trying to woo her! Due to their strange actions, everyone now avoids her. She truly is a cold and aloof beauty!"

"I see. What's her name? And is her surname Fenderson?" asked Gerald again.

Marven simply shook his head before saying, "None of the teachers ever mention her name. As a result, none of us actually know what she's called! However, on rare occasions, I've heard her friends addressing her as Jasmine before. Regarding her surname, I really can't help you with that!"

"Well, alright then!" replied Gerald as he shook his head in resignation.

Quite frankly, Gerald wasn't really afraid of that girl's family's influence and power.

Honestly, he felt it would actually be quite lucky for him to actually be able to meet her again.

His mind was busy brimming with ideas at that moment.

"Which class are you in?" inquired Gerald.

Once Marven notified him about his course and year, Gerald gestured at his subordinates to hand them some money for their compliance.

With that done, he finally left the house.

Since he was trying not to alert the enemy, he needed to act as indirectly as he could. Once he managed to enter the school, he would then use that chance to get in touch with Jasmine.

As long as he kept his eyes on her, he would finally be able to track Xara down. This was his plan for now.

After returning to the villa, he immediately told Barry to make some arrangements. Gerald wanted Barry to use his connections to create a chance for him to get in touch with Jasmine.

Barry himself found no issue with that plan.

While all this was happening, the function at the television station in Hong Kong had just ended.

Before leaving, Gerald's sister had told Mila to meet her at a seaport in the evening.

Since Jessica was only going to remain there for a little while longer, Mila knew better than to be late for their meeting.

Nearing evening, Mila hailed a taxi to the promised location. When she arrived, she met a subordinate of Jessica's who had been ordered to wait there for Mila.

No ships were present and the only thing there aside from them was the vast ocean.

All of a sudden, a roar of laughter could be heard.

"Let's just wait here. You may not know about this, but Mr. Yan's pulled no small amount of strings in order to receive us this time around!"

It was at that moment when Mila saw a group of five girls talking happily among themselves. Each of them looked equally excited and they seemed to be walking in her direction.

When she finally recognized who one of the girls was, Mila was stunned.

The girl in question noticed Mila around that time as well. It was then when she stopped walking and her expression became quite interesting.

Chapter 681

"It's you?"

"It's you?"

Mila and the girl spoke in unison. The both of us obviously did not expect to run into each other.

"Alice, who is she? Why does she look so familiar?"

One of the girls asked curiously.

The leader of the girls was none other than Alice.

"Oh! She is Mila, the only student from our university who managed to secure an internship in the Hong Kong Television Station!" Alice replied a little enviously.

All of them were from the Department of Broadcasting and Hosting in Mayberry University. Therefore, Alice naturally had the opportunity to come and learn here too.

However, a team of thirty people would be assigned to television stations and also several newspaper departments based on a certain percentage. Only those with the best scores and results would be given the best learning opportunities.

"Oh! I know, Alice! Is she your ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend?"

Several girls who were standing aside suddenly began looking at Mila with a different expression in their eyes.

After all, best friends would always be best friends. They would always side with their own best friends.

Since the ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend were both a little confused at this time, the situation was actually a little awkward.

Alice had nothing to hide from her best friends.

Didn't the girls already talk about this when they first arrived in Hong Kong anyway? Of course, they talked about boys more than anything else. Moreover, they even started comparing their own boyfriends.

To be honest, compared to her friends, the first person that she dated, who was none other than Quinton was nothing worthy at all.

In fact, after some time, Alice had also begun to deny the fact that she had ever been in a relationship with Quinton.

After all, the only reason why she got together with Quinton was because she thought that he was the one who had helped her. Unexpectedly, the person who had helped her was actually none other than Gerald.

Moreover, who could possibly be even more outstanding compared to Gerald?

After all, Gerald was always so calm and restrained. Alice really liked his temperament too.

Therefore, even though the both of them were only together for one day, Alice was still very proud to tell everyone that Gerald was her ex-boyfriend. She even told everyone that he was her one and only ex- boyfriend.

Of course, when she revealed the fact that Gerald's identity was none other than the great Mr. Crawford from Mayberry City, her roommates were all in shock. They could only cry out and lament at the fact that it was a pity they broke up.

Haha!

Alice's heart started hurting when she thought about Gerald.

If nothing else happened back then, she would have already been married into a very wealthy and influential family now.

But...alas!

The word Gerald seemed to be like a haze after that and it made Alice live in the shadow all the time.

This was also the reason why she had chosen to come to Hong Kong. It was because she wanted to avoid any memories that she had of Gerald.

Therefore, Alice had an indescribable feeling when she saw Mila at this moment.

However, that kind of feeling was obviously less intense now compared to the past.

"Are you and Gerald still doing well?"

Alice asked with a touch of pride and arrogance on her face.

"Yes! We are doing pretty good!"

Mila also could not help but feel a little jealous when she saw Alice. After all, Gerald had once confessed his love for her at the corridor because of a misunderstanding.

Even though Mila knew that nothing happened at all between the both of them, she could not help but feel uncomfortable when she thought about it.

Therefore, Mila felt that there was no need for her to tell Alice that she had gotten into an argument with Gerald.

"That's great then. I wish the best for the both of you!"

Alice replied as she smiled, with a seemingly indifferent attitude.

That's right. If it were one month ago, Alice would certainly feel very uncomfortable and even jealous when she saw Mila.

She would feel very jealous and envious of Mila because she had stolen her boyfriend from her.

She had robbed her of the glory and wealth that she should have had. After all, she was the person that Gerald had been initially interested in from the very beginning.

"Hmph! So, you simply have a rich boyfriend in Mayberry City, right? Alice is not doing that bad either. She is favored by Mr. Yan from Hong Kong now. Both Mr. Yan and Mr. Crawford come from the same wealthy and influential family backgrounds. So, they are not that different anyway. Furthermore, Mr. Yan is from Harvard!"

The girls who were standing aside could not help but compare Gerald to Mr. Yan.

They wanted to win back some face for Alice.

"Oh!" Mila simply nodded slightly.

This was the reason why Alice had changed a little.

Yes, she used to think that Gerald was really superb and impressive. However, she could not get together with him because she was the one who had constantly despised and looked down on him from the very beginning. This was the reason why her love story ended so hastily.

Remorse was the best word to describe how she felt.

Chapter 682

However, Alice only came to a realization after she came out of the circle in Mayberry City.

It turned out that the world was really very big.

Gerald was not the only person in this world who had that kind of worth and value.

Therefore, Alice's feelings for Gerald began to fade and she no longer had such strong feelings for him anymore.

"Ahhh! A cruise ship!"

At this time, one of Alice's friends who was standing beside her suddenly spoke as she started jumping excitedly.

"That is Mr. Yan's cruise ship! Alice, Mr. Yan is driving his luxury cruise ship to pick us up!"

There was a very luxurious cruise ship on the sea at this moment.

A young man dressed in a bathrobe was holding a glass of red wine in his hand as he stood aboard the cruise ship.

This should be the Mr. Yan that the girls were talking about.

"Mr. Yan is really handsome!"

"That's right! Alice is really very blessed! It was originally a very simple tea party, but Alice actually got acquainted with Mr. Yan there. Alice, I think that you should just accept Mr. Yan's pursuit!"

Alice's friends cried out in excitement.

Alice remained silent and she simply stared at Mr. Yan who was approaching them with a smile on his face.

The cruise ship arrived very soon.

Mr. Yan quickly came down from the cruise ship.

"Alice, sorry for being late!"

Mr. Yan said as he looked at Alice with a smile on his face.

"It's alright!"

Alice gently smoothen her hair as she tucked it behind her ears.

"Mr. Yan, when will our cruise party start?"

The other girls asked excitedly.

"We can start immediately...okay?"

After Mr. Yan was done speaking, he was suddenly taken aback.

He looked at Mila who was standing aside at this time. She was obviously more beautiful and had an even better temperament compared to Alice.

"Alice, is this your friend too?"

Mr. Yan asked in surprise as he took off his sunglasses.

"No. I guess she is just here by the beach to walk around and relax!"

Alice replied with some dissatisfaction.

"Oh! Then, beauty, why don't you get on my cruise ship together with us then? We can have a cruise dinner party together!"

Mr. Yan suddenly bowed slightly before Mila as he extended a very gentlemanly invitation to her.

"No thanks!"

Mila only responded coldly with two words when she was faced with Mr. Yan's enthusiastic invitation.

This made the expression on Mr. Yan's face turn very ugly in an instant.

No girl had ever rejected him ever since he was a child.

Moreover, he was getting rejected publicly at this time.

"Beauty, I am afraid that you still do not know who I am, right?"

Mr. Yan could not help but shook his head as he smiled wryly.

He did not extend his invitation to her again.

"Mr. Yan, she already has a boyfriend. Her boyfriend is none other than Mr. Crawford from Mayberry City!"

One of the girls who was standing aside suddenly spoke up.

"Oh! It's no wonder then!"

Mr. Yan smiled bitterly before he said, "However, even though he is a wealthy and influential man in Mayberry City, his influence and presence is only known there. Since you refuse to join us, I am sorry then! Alice, let's go. I will bring all of you out to enjoy the sea breeze at night!"

Mr. Yan said as he looked at Alice.

At this moment, Alice smiled as she nodded.

On one hand, she was looking at Mila with a somewhat arrogant expression on her face.

It seemed as though she was trying to say, "So what if the man who abandoned me is finally a very capable and influential man? I can always find a man with even better qualities and abilities to pursue me!"

And you, Mila, would always lose out to me even though you are a goddess that even girls would always admire.

"Ahhh! Alice, look at that...that...what is that?"

At this time, the girls suddenly squealed again. However, this time, it was no longer out of excitement, but shock instead!

Chapter 683

The group of people was all surprised by the sound. When they looked up, they saw about a dozen of the top and most luxurious cruise ships appearing on the surface of the sea in the dim night.

Why was it the top and most luxurious?

This was because when they saw Mr. Yan's cruise ship, they already thought that it was the most luxurious cruise ship that they had ever seen. However, looking at the dozens of cruise ships on the sea now, it seemed as though those cruise ships were all as dazzling and incredible as a galaxy battleship!

It was an extraordinary scene.

"Oh my god! How much would one of those cruise ships cost?"

The girls could not help but squeal in excitement.

Even Mila was taken aback at this time.

Mr. Yan was even more shocked and stunned. He was in a complete daze.

"Mr. Yan, are all of those cruise ships for the Cruise Ship Festival tonight? We are really very excited now!"

The girl asked Mr. Yan as she grabbed his arm excitedly.

That's right. After all, only those really wealthy and influential businessmen and celebrities would usually be eligible to participate in the Cruise Ship Festival.

Any ordinary person could only watch this kind of event on television.

However, these girls really did not expect to see this kind of big scene when they were simply participating in the Cruise Ship Festival for the first time.

Alice also turned pale in excitement.

"No...no, these cruise ships were all designed by the world's top experts and professionals. These cruise ships must be from Tiescol Island. Each and every single one of these cruise ships is priceless!" Mr. Yan replied enthusiastically.

After all, even though Mr. Yan was very knowledgeable and had already seen much of the world, this was the first time that he was actually witnessing a scene like this.

"Ahhh? Mr. Yan, what is this Tiescol Island that you are talking about?"

The girls asked as they have never heard of it before.

"Tiescol Island is a small island on the sea. I only heard this from my dad. There is an absolutely wealthy and world-class person who bought the entire island. That person built up the entire island and turned it into a place that seemed like a majestic palace on the sea. In short, the entire island was simply very luxurious and grand!"

"Ahhh? We have never heard of that before! Is there really such a big and grand house? What does it look like? Mr. Yan, can you bring us there to take a look at it?"

All the girls asked in anticipation.

Mr. Yan shook his head before he said, "I am afraid that would be impossible. To be honest, my dad was lucky enough to have seen it once. However, he could only stay on the island for less than a few minutes. He was not even allowed to take any pictures of it at all. However, my dad said that this short few minutes on that island was totally worth it in this lifetime. Therefore, I am also very surprised. After all, what is my dad's identity? He was actually seriously in awe and he was filled with praise for that place!"

After Mr. Yan said that, everyone was filled with even more exhilaration and expectations.

Alice even thought to herself that it would simply be perfect if they could be lucky enough to see that island for themselves.

It was a pity.

"But don't be so discouraged. Girls, I will try to bring you there later so that we can take a look at the scenery of the island. However, we can only look at it from a far distance!" Mr. Yan said with a wry smile on his face.

"That's great!"

The girls were all very excited.

At this time, the top and most luxurious cruise ships had already arrived.

Mr. Yan, Alice, and the rest of the girls did not dare to continue speaking loudly anymore and they simply stepped to the side.

"Oh my god! Just take a look at the staff working on the Tiescol Island cruise ships! All of them are wearing extremely expensive clothes!"

"Of course, their clothes are expensive!"

"Damn it! I would be willing to just work as an employee on one of those cruise ships too!"

One of the girls could not help but say.

"Sure enough, there will always be people who are even greater and better than us in this world. Before this, I thought that Gerald was the best and most outstanding person. I only realized that I was wrong when I met Mr. Yan and I opened my eyes to a brand-new world. Now, I have encountered an even greater and more outstanding world today!"

Alice secretly thought the same with a very envious look in her eyes.

As for Mila, she was also clearly in shock. She also took a step backward as she stood at the side.

The cruise ship soon arrived.

There were more than twenty waitresses who came down from the cruise ship successively. They stood on both sides of the port. These waitresses were all dressed in a manner and style that were somewhat similar to those of the European aristocrats in the last century.

After that, a middle-aged man walked out of the cruise ship.

"Ahhh? They seem to be walking towards us!" The girls screamed in delight.

Alice on the other hand, also held her breath at this moment.

Chapter 684

After that, the middle-aged man walked past them directly.

After that, he came before the surprised Mila in a very respectful manner.

"Miss Mila, the eldest young lady sent me here to pick you up!"

The middle-aged man bowed very deeply and he was very polite to Mila. He naturally knew how Mila looked like and where she was waiting at this time.

"Pick...pick me up?"

Mila looked at the dozens of cruise ships that were docking and she was seriously stunned.

Gerald's sister Jessica, was really rich!

"Of course, Miss Mila. We came here to specially pick you up today. I am really sorry to keep you waiting for a long time!"

As soon as she heard the steward's words, the girl who was mocking Mila before this was so stunned that her mouth was hanging wide open!

She had been mocking her and making fun of her just now. As a result, she simply did not care about the Cruise Ship Festival at all.

Mr. Yan finally understood that it was no wonder why Mila was so cold and indifferent towards him earlier. He instantly understood the gap between him and Mr. Crawford at this time. He could not help but feel a little foolish for even attempting to show off in front of Mila just now.

As for Alice, she was naturally in disbelief.

"You...why are you picking her up and why are you using such a luxurious entourage to pick her up?"

Alice was really feeling very anxious at this time.

Regardless of whether Mila was her love rival or just an imaginary enemy, no one would ever want their enemy to be so much stronger compared to themselves.

Furthermore, at this time, Mila was so strong to the point that it was already completely incomparable.

This would affect a person's mood directly. This was exactly what Alice was feeling at this moment.

Who was Mila? She was her own love rival, and she was her ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend.

However, she was actually receiving this kind of exclusive treatment now.

She was obviously feeling very jealous and envious.

Therefore, she could not help but asked the steward this question directly.

"Haha! This is our young master, Mr. Crawford's girlfriend. So, we naturally have to give her the best and most extraordinary treatment!"

As for the steward, he only answered Alice's questions because he thought that they were all Mila's friends.

Boom!

Alice was in shock and her face turned pale in an instant.

The thing that she really did not want to hear and the thing that she feared the most finally happened.

She did not even feel so anxious or excited just now.

The reason why she was so eager to confirm these facts with the steward was because she had been wondering whether Mila was receiving this kind of treatment because of Gerald.

After all, Mila's family was not that incredible.

However, what should she do if it was really because of Gerald then? What should she do then? Ahhh!

Alice felt as though she was going insane.

"Is the Mr. Crawford that you are talking about, Gerald Crawford? You are all so powerful, so why are you giving that Mr. Crawford from Mayberry City so much face? Why?!"

Alice was acting a little hysterically at this time.

"That's right, miss. Mr. Crawford is none other than our young master, Mr. Gerald Crawford. This island was bought by Mr. Crawford's elder sister as a place for her to take a short break and vacation!"

The steward replied once again.

"Ahhh! What?"

"Gerald's elder sister is that very powerful world class person?! Does that mean that Gerald can also live on that island if he wanted to then?"

Alice asked and her eyes were red at this time.

"That's right. However, if Mr. Crawford really wanted to live on an island, he could just buy another island of his own. Anyway, that small amount of money would not even be worth a single penny to Mr. Crawford!"

"What?!!!"

At this time, the five girls who were standing in a row had their mouths wide open in shock.

As for Alice, she felt as though she was already out of breath. She felt that she would only be able to completely rid herself of this feeling by jumping into the sea and drowning herself to death.

It turned out that Gerald's identity was not simply Mr. Crawford from Mayberry City...

Chapter 685

They watched Mila leave.

The girls had already stopped talking. Aside from feeling very envious, there was also a hint of jealousy in their eyes.

Only Alice had a very complicated mood at this time.

If only she had just focused on a person's character from the very beginning.

If that was the case, she would have chosen to get into a relationship with Gerald back then.

After all, she had never been in love before at that time. She wanted to get into a relationship. That was the reason why she had asked Naomi to introduce a guy to her.

Naomi even called her the night before her birthday just to talk to her about Gerald.

"Alice, just meet him. He will also come for my birthday party tomorrow. How do I put this? He is a very dedicated and loyal person. He is also very handsome. After all, this will be your first time falling in love. Therefore, you should look for an honest and good man so that you can keep him under control! If that is the case, then Gerald will certainly be the best candidate! He will definitely treat you very well!"

"Pfft! Alright then. Since you already said such good things about him, then I will just meet him tomorrow then! Hehe!"

At this time, Alice was actually looking forward to it. In fact, she even felt that it would not be an issue if Gerald were poor.

However, after meeting them and after hearing all the embarrassing things that Danny had been saying about Gerald, Alice could not stop herself from despising and looking down on Gerald.

She felt that even if she had to find a boyfriend, it would probably be better for her to find a wealthier boyfriend then.

Alice's view and perception of love began to change a little from that moment.

Therefore, she really could have gotten together with Gerald back then.

And everything that belonged to Mila now would have been hers then.

Money would just be a set of numbers to her in future. It would have lost all meaning. She would not even need to save up any money to be able to buy any luxury goods in future.

But...it was a pity that there were no buts!

It was already too late.

Alice clenched her fists tightly and she felt very dissatisfied deep inside.

"Alice, they have already left. So, why don't we leave now too?"

The few girls have already lost their interest to get on the cruise ship.

Otherwise, should they really get on the cruise ship, just so that they could see what other people's island looked like?

Hahaha! That was Gerald's elder sister's island but she could only look at it from the sidelines.

She could not help but feel a little useless as she thought about it.

"I will not resign to fate!"

Alice looked at the cruise ships that were disappearing into the night as she reminded herself secretly.

At this time, Mila had already landed on the island.

The entire island was just as luxurious and grand as Mr. Yan made it out to be. It looked like an extremely large and luxurious palace.

It was so beautiful and shocking!

She had already entered the estate but she would need to need to ride on a special car to get to where Jessica was.

It took about a thirty minutes ride before Mila finally arrived at a villa in the estate.

After that, she stepped out of the car.

"Hurry up and let me have a look! I want to see what my sister-in-law looks like! I want to see her!"

"What's the hurry? She will already be coming here soon."

When Mila stepped out of the car, she saw a girl fighting with a boy.

The girl was trying to snatch a cell phone from the boy.

That boy was a chubby person and Mila had already met him before. He was none other than Yoel.

"Oh! Sister-in-law is here!"

When Yoel saw Mila, he hurriedly ran over to her.

After all, everything that happened during the day had really scared Yoel to death.

"Mm! Yes!"

Chapter 686

Mila hurriedly nodded.

"Ahhh? She is Mila? Godbrother's girlfriend?"

That girl also ran over to Mila immediately.

She was biting her lip out of curiosity as she looked Mila up and down.

She looked like she was about eighteen years old. She was very adorable and she was also quite beautiful.

"My name is Melinda. Hello, Mila!"

Melinda said as she shook hands with Mila.

It seemed as though the both of them had a pretty good impression of each other.

Jessica was obviously looking for Mila for some reason. So, Melinda and Yoel did not say much and Mila went in directly.

"The eldest young lady took Melinda and Yoel in as her godsister and godbrother. Yoel is in a much better situation compared to Melinda, who is a little more pitiful. She was abandoned when she was three years old and Miss Crawford adopted her and brought her back with her. She loved her and doted on her very much. Melinda is usually very naughty but she actually has a very kind heart!"

The steward hurriedly explained as he led Mila in.

After that, they came to a very luxurious study room.

The steward knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Mila walked into the room alone.

She saw Jessica lying on a recliner on an open-air rooftop, with a glass of red wine in her hand as she looked out.

"Hello, Jessica!" Mila greeted as she nodded.

"Mila, you don't need to be so polite with me. I understand your situation too. You can just treat me as your own elder sister. So, why don't we chat a little then? Besides that, you are my brother's girlfriend. Don't you think that I am obligated to entertain you because of your relationship to my brother? Sit down!"

Jessica put down her wine glass before she stood up.

After that, she smiled slightly as she looked at Mila.

"Sis, what do you want to talk about?" Mila asked.

"Well, although I have already gotten some intel, I think that it is still better for you to tell me everything in person. So, why don't we talk about how you and Gerald met then?" Jessica replied.

Mila could not understand Jessica's intentions and what she meant.

So, she simply told Jessica about how she met Gerald and also the details of their experiences together.

After listening to Mila, Jessica simply nodded and said, "So, you mean to say that the both of you have never experienced or gone through anything unforgettable together then. The both of you simply met just like that?"

"Yes, but sis, I think that the most important thing is for two people to be in love when they are together. Why do they have to experience or go through some unforgettable things together? In contrast, I feel that every moment with Gerald is unforgettable because of how he loves me and because of the way he treats me!"

When Mila heard Jessica's question, she could not help but feel a little insecure deep in her heart.

This was because Jessica's words pierced directly through her heart.

"Then, let me ask you another question. You are in a relationship with Gerald. So, have you ever thought of getting married to Gerald in future? If that is the case, are you thinking about it now or have you already thought about it before this and feel that both you and Gerald were destined to be together from the very beginning?" Jessica asked.

Mila immediately understood the meaning behind Jessica's words.

If she were just together with Gerald to be in a relationship with him, then Jessica would not put too much thought into this matter.

However, if Mila wanted to get married to Gerald and subsequently become a member of the Crawford family, then things would not be that simple anymore. Moreover, Jessica was also afraid that Mila was only in a relationship with Gerald because of his money.

"You are also a very intelligent girl, Mila. So, I believe that you understand what I mean. You should also know very well that Gerald can actually be very silly and gullible when it comes to the relationship between a man and a woman. Gerald had been missing out on a lot of love and affection when he was younger because of certain rules and regulations in our family. So, he would feel exceptionally touched whenever a girl treated him well, even if it was just a very simple gesture!"

"I actually want to find out whether Gerald really loves you and I also want to find out what you like about Gerald. Of course, that would depend on whether you have any intentions to get married to Gerald. I will not ask any further questions if the both of you do not have any intentions of getting married. However, if you have the intention of marrying Gearld, then I will have to ask you a lot of questions then. This is because there are really a lot of rules and regulations in the Crawford family. These rules are also very strict! Therefore, sometimes, I think that it is better to experience short-term pain rather than long-term pain!" Jessica replied.

"Sis, do you mean to say that Gerald and I will not end up getting married in the end? Do you believe that I only got in a relationship with Gerald because of money?" Mila asked.

Jessica smiled wryly before she said, "To be honest, yes. At the very least, based on some of the information that I obtained, that seems to be the case. Of course, I also know that you have an outstanding personality and character and you will not lie to Gerald. However, I am afraid that my parents will never allow you to get married to Gerald. After all, you have only witnessed the tip of the iceberg of the Crawford family's strength and power. Therefore, you can already imagine how powerful and influential the Crawford family is. So, the Crawford family naturally have their own way of doing things and their own set of rules!"

Chapter 687

Mila could clearly understand what Jessica was trying to tell her now.

Jessica had also given her a very clear hint.

Mila could not help but feel that her heart was really in a lot of pain at this moment.

She originally thought that things would be very simple and that she would end up getting married to Gerald and that they would be able spend the rest of their lives together then.

However, looking at the way it was, it seemed as though this was completely impossible.

Gerald did not tell her everything in the past. Therefore, Mila only thought that he was just a very wealthy and influential person in Mayberry City.

But how would any ordinary person possibly know anything about his true identity and background?

"So, Mila, I hope that you will put some thoughts into this matter when you go back. You should think about how you are going to carry on your relationship with Gerald and which direction you would want to take in this relationship."

Jessica patted Mila on her shoulder before she said, "You can stay here on this island tonight. I will bring someone to send you home tomorrow. Besides that, you can come to my Tiescol Island whenever you want to in future. However, Mila, there is something that you have to promise me. It is regarding the thing that I have mentioned to you before. I hope that you will not tell Gerald that the both of us have met up with one another today!"

Mila naturally nodded in response.

It was obvious that Jessica actually really liked Mila. However, Jessica was also helpless when it came to certain matters. The specific end result would depend entirely on Mila and Gerald's reaction and decision.

Jessica was only telling them about this matter in advance because she loved and cared about them.

That night, Mila could not fall asleep at all.

She had thought of calling Gerald several times. However, she could not help but think of the fact that Gerald was always helping her from the very beginning.

After all, from the beginning to the end, she had not been able to do anything for Gerald at all. Instead, Gerald was the one who had been doing everything for her all this while!

It was the same case now. Mila had required Jessica's help even when she was in Hong Kong. Otherwise, she would not even have been able to deal with someone like Hallie on her own.

If she really wanted to be together with Gerald and spend the rest of her life with him, then she would have to learn how to be independent. That way, she would be able to share Gerald's worries and help him in future instead of adding to his burden.

Mila could only silently remind herself...

At the same time, Gerald had just gotten into his bed.

He picked up his cell phone and he was going to call Mila, as it has already become a habit for him to do so.

The both of them have not contacted each other for two to three days now. He would be lying if he said that he did not miss her at all.

However, after thinking about it, Gerald decided to forget it. After all, Mila might still be angry. He would only explain things to her in person when he headed to Hong Kong in a few days.

He would also stay with Mila in Hong Kong for a few days then.

However, Gerald still took the initiative to send a text message to Mila to tell her to rest earlier and so forth.

Ugh!

The matter had already been settled and Gerald would get into Salford University tomorrow as a transfer student. He would then use his identity as a transfer student to find out more information about that girl.

The university also paid a lot of attention to this matter after finding out about Gerald's identity. Of course, Gerald told the university to maintain a low profile and he did not want the university to publicize this matter. After all, he was not really a transfer student.

As for the class? Gerald was assigned to the same class as Marven.

Marven was the illegal tour guide's son. He was a chubby and intelligent young man.

Gerald made an appointment with Marven early in the morning the next day and they headed out together.

"Hey! Young master, this is our university! Let me show you around our university today!"

"I am not a young master. You can just call me Gerald..." Gerald replied with a wry smile on his face.

"Alright then, Young Master Gerald!"

Gerald was speechless.

After that, the both of them headed to their classroom together.

At this time, there were already many people inside the classroom.

As soon as they saw Marven leading Gerald into the classroom, everyone immediately knew that this was the transfer student that the teacher had mentioned would be officially joining their class today.

The teacher was also waiting inside the classroom since early in the morning.

"Ger...Gerald, your seat has already been arranged in advance. You can take a seat first!" The teacher said.

Chapter 688

In fact, Gerald had already mentioned that he would not need any special attention or care from the university. After all, he was simply coming here under the pretext of a transfer student for a few days.

However, Gerald was obviously receiving preferential treatment.

He was sitting at the spot that was directly at the front of the classroom.

"Teacher, that seat does not belong to him! It belongs to Fabian. Why do you have to give him Fabian's seat?!"

At this time, a girl suddenly stood up and asked disgruntledly as she pointed at Gerald.

"Isabelle, Gerald has just transferred here. How can you speak in that manner? Gerald can just sit here first. I will arrange another seat for Fabian when he comes back from his competition."

The teacher replied helplessly with a wry smile on her face.

"Why?!"

Isabelle continued asking anxiously as she stared at Gerald with anger and disgust.

"Isabelle, you are the class representative. So, why are you speaking in that manner? Alright then, it is already decided!"

After the teacher was done speaking, she smiled at Gerald before walking out of the classroom.

After that, the class was filled with the classmates' whispering amongst themselves.

Most of them were talking about the fact that it seemed as though Gerald would not have a good time here and so forth, since he had already offended the class representative.

After all, people generally tend to bully strangers.

This was true no matter whether it was in school or at the workplace.

So, everyone instinctively displayed an inexplicably hostile attitude towards Gerald, who was the new transfer student, as though they were afraid that Gerald would try and snatch things from them after coming here.

However, Gerald did not care too much about all this.

After all, Gerald was very clear about his purpose for coming here. Therefore, he naturally would not pay any attention to this kind of trivial matter.

Isabelle said many horrible and offensive things to Gerald after he sat down. Gerald could not be bothered about it.

When class was over, Isabelle whispered some things to some of her friends. After glancing at Gerald, Isabelle and her friends headed to the washroom together.

As for the other students in the class, none of them were willing to talk to Gerald at all.

"Mr. Craw...umm I mean Gerald!"

Amongst all of the classmates, Marven was the only one who knew that Gerald had a very strong and powerful background. If it weren't because of Gerald's refusal to reveal his true identity, Marven would have already stood up and fought back for Gerald when Isabelle was attacking him just now.

"You don't have to take the class representative's words too seriously. There is something wrong with her! In fact, there is something seriously wrong with her!" Marven said,

"Hahaha. It's okay. By the way. What is wrong with the class representative, Isabelle?" Gerald asked as he smiled wryly.

"Cough. Cough. Well, how should I put this? If I were to say that she is snobbish and would stand up for what is right, that would not be right. However, it would also not be right to say that she is selfless and treats everyone equally. She would only stand up for just one person, and she would only treat one person very well! However, she does not attach any importance to anyone else at all. Take me for instance. She has never paid any attention to me or any of the other boys in our class!" Marven replied.

"Oh? Don't tell me that the only person that she cares about in her heart is that guy called Fabian?"

Gerald replied with a smile on his face as he shook his head helplessly.

After all, Gerald could see that he had incurred Isabelle's hatred and dissatisfaction because it seemed as though he had taken the seat of this person called Fabian. That was the reason why Isabelle had begun targeting him.

"That's right. It's none other than Fabian. Oh my. I don't know what is wrong with Isabelle. She has been completely smitten by Fabian and she is absolutely in love with him just because Fabian's family is a little rich and likes showing off. Hence, Isabelle has already been interested in Fabian ever since her freshman year and she had been pursuing him until her senior year! All that she cares about is Fabian. Not to mention you, there was one time when Isabelle slapped one of her good friends who had grown up together with her, just because she said that Fabian was not a good person. This greatly stunned her friend! So, you can just imagine how obsessed Isabelle is over Fabian then. This is the only reason why she is treating you like this now!"

"Well, it seems as though I should avoid her in future then!" Gerald replied with a wry smile on his face.

After all, Gerald was here to look for someone and he did not want to cause any trouble while he was here.

As he was still talking to Marven, Isabelle and her friends returned to the classroom...

Chapter 689

Isabelle walked towards Gerald angrily as her girlfriends tagged along.

Gerald had placed his backpack on the table at this time.

After that, one of the girls walked over to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She pretended as though nothing was happening as she pulled Gerald's backpack and dropped it to the ground.

At the same time, one of the other girls hurriedly and obviously deliberately, stepped on Gerald's backpack.

"Oh! I am so sorry, Gerald. I accidentally stepped on your backpack. It is dirty now. Should I wash it for you?"

The girl asked as she looked at Gerald with an apologetic expression on her face.

Gerald obviously knew that the girls were doing this intentionally. He could only think that he was really unlucky to have offended a group of girls on his first day here.

Gerald could fight them back easily.

However, Gerald did not come here to show off. Therefore, Gerald could not really be bothered with these girls.

He only shook his head with a wry smile on his face as he said, "Thanks, but you don't have to do that!"

After he was done speaking, Gerald stretched out his hand as he tried to grab his backpack!

"Don't have to? How can we do that? Isabelle, what do you think we should do then?"

The girl with the long hair asked as she looked at Isabelle.

"That's easy!"

After she was done speaking, Isabelle took a water bottle before she poured water directly on Gerald's backpack.

Many of their classmates watched this scene unfolding before them in delight. This was a very cruel way for Isabelle to display her power and authority in this class.

"Hmph. Stella's family is very powerful in Salford. Stella is also good friends with Isabelle. It is obvious that Stella is trying to get justice for Isabelle!"

"That's right. This guy is really unfortunate. This is simply great. He did not only offend Isabelle, but he also offended Stella too! There will be good shows for us to watch in future!"

The classmates discussed this matter amongst themselves in a low voice.

After that, Stella cast a look at Isabelle, as though she was trying to prove her point.

Look, Isabelle! He does not even have the guts to fight back.

After that, the girls returned to their own respective seats.

"Gerald, Stella has a rather strong family background but I think that they do not have as much money as you do. Moreover, it seems as though they were all bullying you on purpose!" Marven told Gerald in a low voice.

Gerald smiled before he shook his head and said, "It's okay!"

After he was done speaking, Gerald picked up his wet backpack before placing it on the windowsill to dry it.

After that, he asked Marven to accompany him to the washroom.

"Damn it! He is not even angry after we did that to him!"

One of the girls was completely at a loss for words after seeing that Gerald was not angry, and he did not even feel humiliated at all even after what they did. Instead, he could still smile as though nothing was wrong.

Stella and Isabelle were also feeling a little anxious.

At this time, their joint classes were about to begin. After the short farce, everyone headed to the classroom immediately.

Gerald also pretended to head to the joint classroom to keep up with his act. He did not even bring any books along with him.

When everyone was walking towards the joint classroom together, they were all chatting enthusiastically amongst themselves. However, as soon as they entered the joint classroom, everyone suddenly closed their mouths and they were all completely silent as though they had already arranged to do so in advance.

Even Stella and Isabelle were also completely silent at this time.

Gerald had also been chatting with Marven as he walked into the joint classroom.

When he took a look at the front of the classroom, he saw that the teacher had not arrived in the classroom yet.

But why was everyone so quiet and well-behaved then?

However, Gerald quietly understood the reason when he looked at the first row of the joint classroom.

There were two girls sitting in the front row of the joint classroom.

They were both exceptionally beautiful.

In fact, Stella and Isabelle could also be considered as very beautiful girls.

However, they would fall behind if they were to be compared to these two girls.

At this time, the two girls had also obviously noticed Gerald's gaze.

Chapter 690

When the girl who was more beautiful raised her head and saw Gerald, she looked away in a cold and nonchalant manner.

The other girl was a little surprised when she saw Gerald.

Marven nudged Gerald, to give him a hint that this was it.

How could Gerald possibly not recognize them?

These two girls were not just any ordinary passers-by to him. These were the capable and powerful girls that he met up on the mountain that day. That was the girl who looked a little like Queta.

However, Gerald did not continue staring at them.

Instead, acted nonchalantly as he quickly withdrew his gaze.

Gerald sat one row behind the two girls together with Marven.

Could she really be from the Fenderson family?

The more he looked at her, the more Gerald felt that the girl really looked like Queta. The girl named Jasmine was really very cold and arrogant. Gerald noticed that even though she was really beautiful, she did not seem to portray much emotions or expression on her face at all.

However, her companion seemed to be much more active and approachable.

Marven enjoyed doing funny things and making jokes to draw other people's attention to him when they were in class.

That girl laughed a couple of times because of Marven's jokes and silly acts.

Very soon, the first two classes ended just like that.

University classes generally ended really quickly.

The two girls also left immediately.

"Jasmine, do you think that guy is interested in you? Hehehe. When we ran into him the last time, he was also staring directly at you! When he saw you in the classroom just now, he was also staring at you and he had his gaze fixed on you! I can guarantee that he is definitely in love with you, just like all the other boys!"

The two girls continued chatting amongst themselves as they walked towards the upper floor of the campus.

"I think that he is looking at you instead!"

Jasmine blushed in embarrassment. It was obvious that she was very sensitive and shy when it came to this kind of topic.

"Pfft! You might not know this but I was actually glancing at the guy from the corner of my eye during class just now. I realize that Chubby Wadley and that guy were both observing you and secretly looking at you! That Chubby Wadley used to hide at the back to peek at us in class in the past. This is simply perfect now! He has a companion do the same thing as him now!"

The girls knew Marven's name but they were already used to calling him Chubby Wadley. If Marven knew that the two goddesses would always make fun of him when they were free, he would certainly be feeling very ecstatic.

"I am not worried about Chubby Wadley at all. After all, the reason why he tried to get closer to the both of us in the past was simply because he was a little curious about us. After that, when he found out that we enjoy having fun, he simply wants to get some business for his father who is working as a tour guide. After all, it is not that easy for their family to make a living. So, Chubby Wadley is actually a very filial child!" Jasmine replied.

"So, you speak louder on purpose sometimes just because you think that he is a very filial kid?" The girl asked.

Jasmine nodded.

"Actually, I am a little worried about that guy next to Chubby Wadley. I don't know why but he gives me a very different vibe and feeling from the very first time I saw him. I don't know how to explain what kind of feeling I have. Mindy, do you feel the same way too?"

"Ahhh? Me? How do I put this? Perhaps maybe just a little. However, it is obviously not as serious as you make it out to be! I just think that he should be a pretty interesting person!"

Mindy replied as she grinned.

"I think that we should be more careful. We should not think of causing any harm to others, but we should also attach more importance to defending ourselves. It is so difficult for us to finally have this opportunity to come out and study. Therefore, we should be more careful and alert!" The girl said.

"Alright then, I...ehh? Jasmine, look! It seems as though Chubby Wadley and that guy are behind us!"

Mindy said in a lower voice.

"We don't have to care about them. Come, let's go and get a drink!"

After Jasmine was done speaking, the two girls walked into a café together.

"Ehh! Gerald, look! Isn't that the goddess? It seems like they are going to grab some coffee!"

Marven and Gerald did not notice the two beautiful girls just now. Gerald only noticed the two girls when Marven mentioned this matter to him.

"Hehe! Why don't we follow them into the café so that we can eavesdrop on their conversation then?" Marven asked.

"I don't think that is such a good idea. What if they notice that the both of us are following them on purpose? That will not be good then!"

Gerald replied as he smiled wryly.

"Don't worry, Gerald. As long as I am around, they will not find out or notice that the both of us are following them on purpose! I used to eavesdrop on their conversation in the past and they do not even know that I was doing that. Hahaha! My dad was able to earn a lot of money from them because of that! So, you don't have to worry about anything at all! Come, let's go!"

Marven said as he patted his chest.

Chapter 691

Not sure what else to say, Gerald simply followed Marven into the café.

"F*ck! They're really tailing us!" whispered the cold and unapproachable Mindy as she saw Marven and his friend enter the café through the corner of her eye.

"Looks like I'll need to investigate that man's background as well!" whispered Jasmine—who was sitting across the table—in return.

"There's no need for that, I think. Judging by his looks alone, he seems to be the honest kind of guy. You know, the type of person who'll immediately spill the truth out when he's enquired about it? If you ask me, I say you're just being overly sensitive about this."

"You'll definitely scare the cr*p out of him, just like you do to all other men. I mean let's be honest, how many men haven't fled for the hills after meeting you? And I'm not even talking about those trying to woo you! I'm referring to those who've had an interest in me!"

"And while it's true that we can now come out to study and get a degree and all, is there really a difference between us and the other women who just stay at home?" replied Mindy sounding slightly displeased.

"I can't believe you actually said that! If grandpa heard that, he'd definitely yell at you without a doubt! In fact, it wouldn't be farfetched to assume that he'd even stop paying for your tuition fees! Remember what he said! We have enemies lurking behind every corner, so you better watch out!" reminded Jasmine.

"I get it, I get it... I guess you're right..."

After that, Mindy simply stopped talking.

Meanwhile, Gerald and Marven had just taken a seat at the table next to theirs. Quite honestly, Gerald wasn't looking forward to any of this.

Deep down, he had a feeling that something set him apart from these people. In fact, his gut was telling him that that would be the eventual cause of their imminent quarrel.

However, Marven's confidence alone made it extremely difficult for Gerald to turn his offer down.

While his ears were perked, Marven was disappointed when he realized that the girls weren't chatting at all.

At long last, however, he was finally able to hear them say a single phrase.

"Let's go!"

As soon as he heard that, Marven watched as both of the girls finished the rest of their coffee before getting up and leaving the café. As per usual, Jasmine's face was stone-cold.

This time, however, Gerald received a scornful glare from Mindy before the two girls left for good.

"Wow! She was totally checking you out, Gerald!" said Marven sounding genuinely impressed.

"What a pity though... We didn't even get a chance to hear them speak at all! It hardly makes any sense! Why did they choose to whisper to each other this time around? I swear I could hear them speaking normally the last time I tailed them!" added Marven with a sigh. What a let-down.

Gerald simply patted his friend on the shoulder while shaking his head in sympathy.

Regardless, if his hunch was correct, then their plan had already been uncovered by the girls! Sadly, Marven truly seemed to be completely oblivious to this.

After parting ways with him, Gerald didn't even bother attending his afternoon lectures, opting instead to return home.

It was around then when he realized that he really had to find a chance to have a chat with Jasmine.

As he thought about it, his phone started ringing.

To his surprise, the caller ID displayed a special number. It was a call from the Drake & Tyson duo. Since they rarely called him unless there was truly an emergency, Gerald immediately picked the call up.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Crawford! You need to return home right this instant! A few people have been tailing you and I can only assume that they've found out about your real identity!" replied Drake, sounding rather urgent.

"...Huh?"

After hearing that, Gerald slowly tried to look behind him without making it too obvious. However, all he could see was a crowded street. He was still on campus after all, so sights like this were common.

The Drake & Tyson duo had been able to tell that he was being tailed through the use of the highly- sophisticated safety device which Gerald always carried around. Through it, they were able to constantly monitor his movements and alert him to any peculiarities they detected.

"I've sent some men over, Mr. Crawford! Please refrain from lingering around outside any longer!"

"Roger!" replied Gerald before hanging up. He then immediately hailed a taxi to head home.

He had been careful not to reveal his identity to anyone, right? Who on earth could be tailing him?

"Big brother! That kid's slipped away!"

Chapter 692

The voice had come from a young man who was part of a group consisting of similarly aged people. All five of them bore equally cold and murderous gazes as they stood within the sea of people.

"Why are all of you still standing there? Go after him!" yelled one of the young men who seemed to be the group's leader.

However, before they even could make their next move, the group of five realized that they had already been surrounded! A fight soon broke out and chaos ensued, preventing them from continuing with their mission.

"F*ck off!" roared the leader angrily as he shoved his unknown assailants aside, desperately trying to escape the havoc.

By the time he was finally able to free himself, Gerald was nowhere to be seen.

Enraged, the group's leader then began stomping his foot against the tar road to release his frustration.

As that was happening, within a manor well-hidden from the public view, a group of teenagers approached a butler before one of them asked, "Where's the young mistress?"

"She's at the dojo," replied the butler.

After having their question answered, the group of twelve then began making their way there.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was busy sparring others in the dojo. Her hair had been tied up in a ponytail and she sported a crisp, white, martial arts robe.

Her opponents were seven young men who usually ran missions together with the five others who had been sent to chase after Gerald. Though she was clearly outnumbered, Jasmine was still the one doing most of the beating up.

Mindy was there as well, though she was simply munching away on potato chips while occasionally cheering Jasmine on as she continued punching the wind out of her opponents.

"You're getting increasingly better at this, young mistress! Judging by how quickly your progress is coming along, soon, I don't think that I'll even have anything more to teach you!" said her master who had been observing her spar from the very beginning.

As soon as the master's sentence ended, the group of twelve from earlier arrived at the dojo. Upon seeing Jasmine, all twelve of them bowed in unison.

All of the youngsters in that dozen were world-renown champions in Taekwondo and Karate. They were all Jasmine's masters as well.

"Hah, you're being too humble... As for the seven of you, go ahead and have a rest first!"

"You're pretty powerful, aren't you? Despite being severely outnumbered, you still managed to come out on top! I wish I was as strong as you!" exclaimed Mindy.

"Well, I did try to get you to learn with me... As usual, however, you were too lazy to even try in the first place!" replied Jasmine with a wry smile.

"Humph! But of course I'm not going to train like you! After all, I think I'm more suited to being a quiet and innocent little girl. Plus, it's not like I have your level of stamina! Still, it's rather hilarious how you look just like a defenseless damsel in distress when those men from before could barely lay a finger on you! It reminds me of how you pulverized the lower halves of those students back then!" said Mindy between giggles.

"Hey, they asked for it! That's enough, I don't want to talk about that anymore!"

As Mindy continued smiling, she turned to look at the five young men who had just entered the dojo and were now standing at the side of the ring.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Young mistress! We've failed our mission!" announced the group's leader.

"Failed? Well I can't say that I'm surprised! Just how many missions have the twelve of you even managed to complete up till this point?" replied Jasmine as she looked at the seven others whom she had sparred against earlier.

"We have a solid reason as to why we failed this time! While we were going after him, a group of men attacked us! By the time we finally managed to escape the chaos, the target had already left in a taxi!" explained the young man in a rather desperate voice.

"Hahaha... It's alright. Honestly, I was hoping that all of you would fail anyway. Also Jasmine? I really think you're overthinking this. I'm telling you, that guy was simply Marven's friend. They probably just found you incredibly attractive so I see no reason for you to go full Sherlock on him. Besides, I want to talk to Marven too!"

"Don't you even dare or I'm telling grandpa that you keep talking with random outsiders! You'll be grounded for sure once that happens!" yelled Jasmine angrily.

"Fine, fine, I was just joking, alright?" responded Mindy.

"Regardless, for now, you guys should just let the matter rest. There's no need to make a commotion out of this yet!" replied Jasmine.

"Understood, young mistress!"

Pursing her lips, Mindy then walked over to the trashcan to dispose of her half-finished bag of potato chips.

Noticing this, Jasmine simply shook her head as she approached the sulking girl.

"What's the matter? Are you honestly angry just because I yelled at you?"

"No I'm not... I'm just slightly frustrated! Why can't I be like everyone else? This cr*p has been going on since we were children! Just why?!" said Mindy as tears began welling up in her eyes.

When she heard Mindy's words, Jasmine's expression immediately darkened as she was reminded of their childhood.

Chapter 693

"Jasmine? Mindy! Where are you two going?" shouted an old man rather coldly.

"We're going out to play, grandpa!"

"No you aren't! Both of you, get back here right this instant! These kids are never to leave the house, not even a single step! Do I make myself clear?" shouted the old man as he turned to look at a few servants.

"Understood, master!"

"But... but why, grandpa? Why can the rest of our friends go out to play? Why can't we do the same? We want to go to kindergarten and have fun with our friends!" replied Jasmine who was around the age of six then. Despite her young age, she was already starting to question her grandpa's decisions.

The only response she received, however, was a tight slap across her face!

That was the first time Jasmine had ever been hit.

Their grandpa loved them dearly. Apart from the stars and the moon, he would do his best to give them anything they pleased. In all honesty, Mindy and Jasmine were blessed with the greatest gift that any child could ever hope for.

However, all that came at a cost. Since birth, they had been forbidden from ever interacting with the outside world.

Once she finally felt the impact of the slap, young Jasmine would then break into tears.

The slap would remain fresh in her memory, deterring her from ever leaving the house for a good few years. However, the outside world was simply too mystifying and full of wonders. Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her.

She was twelve when she and Mindy finally attempted sneaking out again to have a peek at the world beyond their house's compound.

Their plan, however, was discovered by grandpa.

It was that day when grandpa issued the strictest rule their family had ever seen.

Despite being only twelve, Jasmine was whipped mercilessly by him! She was whipped so badly that by the time her grandpa was done, the skin on her back had split and she was bleeding badly.

However, that moment was equally punishing for her grandpa as well, the old man almost allowing himself to shed tears of grief as he continued whipping his beloved granddaughter.

"...Grandpa wants to let you go out to play as well... But... But you have to remember who we are! We have enemies everywhere! Please understand that what I'm doing is for your own good! Why can't you kids understand that?!"

To this very day, the scars from that punishment remained on Mindy and Jasmine's backs, and they would forever haunt them, a constant reminder of the shadows of their childhood.

It was only when Jasmine and Mindy were old enough and had more common sense regarding how the world worked when their grandpa finally allowed them to pursue their education beyond the house's walls. They were finally getting a chance to see the outside world!

Of course, there was one golden rule to that. They weren't allowed to befriend any outsiders.

Thus, just like many of the other Fendersons, the two girls had an incomplete childhood and the beginning of their lives were left completely stunted.

This was all the 'enemy's' fault whom their grandpa kept mentioning about.

Though he kept emphasizing on the dangers their enemy posed, their grandpa never actually told either of the girls what was actually going on.

Being the traditional-minded male he was, he simply assumed that they didn't need to bother themselves with the issue since they were both girls.

It was because of that that Jasmine felt so bitter about the whole thing.

Why weren't they allowed to know? When their childhood had been completely taken away from them just as much as the previous males in the family? Shouldn't they have just been allowed to have an actual childhood then?

Her dissatisfaction made her strive to become great in every aspect she could think of. She wanted to prove that she was no less worthy than a man!

Back in the present, Jasmine took in a deep breath before looking at Mindy.

"That's quite enough, Mindy... There's no need for us to look back at the past. After all, we're in much better positions today!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Jasmine... I know how you hate the enemy much more than I ever could... Either way, we'll someday make them pay dearly for all the suffering they've put us through!" yelled Mindy decisively.

"We definitely will! Though grandpa still isn't willing to tell us the truth about the enemy, we've been preparing for that day for a long time now. That day will definitely come soon!" replied Jasmine as she patted Mindy on the shoulder.

The next day, Gerald arrived at his classroom only to find that Isabelle was the first person he would see.

To be quite honest, she looked pretty decent. It was her temper that put him off the most. However, she seemed to be in a rather good mood today, even joking around with a few of her friends.

The moment she saw Gerald, however, she rolled her eyes before standing up.

"Ah, Marven and Gerald, what a coincidence! Both of you should have seen the cart filled with bottled water on your way up, right? They're for our class so both of you should bring them up for us!"

Hearing that, the rest of their classmates pursed their lips, trying hard not to smirk.

Naturally, Gerald was slightly pissed at this. He was well aware that she was trying to pull a prank on them.

Marven himself hardly made any effort to conceal his irritation. "Why only us? There's no way in hell that only the two of us will be able to lift all that up the stairs!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"He said, we won't be able to lift all that up the stairs!" said Gerald as he repeated Marven's reply.

Chapter 694

After saying that, he went to his table to take a seat.

Isabelle almost exploded in anger after hearing their responses. Their retaliation was completely unexpected! Especially from Gerald. He had been a thorn in her side from the very beginning. His reluctance to obey her bidding was akin to stepping on a landmine.

How dare he challenge her pride in front of everyone else!

She was so pissed that she immediately tossed her tumbler in his direction! Thankfully, its liquid contents were only able to splash on the floor in front of his desk.

"Repeat that one more time to my face! Go on! I dare you!"

Gerald simply stared at the fuming girl. In the end, she was just another spoiled upper-class brat who thought the entire world revolved around her.

"With pleasure! I could say it ten more times if you need me to! Listen closely now, wouldn't want you to miss it this time! I said that we won't be able to lift all that up the stairs! What else do you want from us?" replied Gerald, the irritation in his voice extremely apparent.

After all, he had already grown accustomed to dealing with such people.

As soon as she heard his reply, Isabelle immediately stormed out of the room, smoke coming out of her ears.

Stella, who had been observing their entire interaction, instantly shot a death glare at Gerald.

"I-it's all over for us now! Isabelle's definitely getting some people to beat us up this very moment!" said Marven, his voice hinting that he was moments away from wetting his pants.

"Like I care. I'm not afraid of her!" replied Gerald as he tried to calm his friend down.

"I-I heard that her cousin's from the sports team! He's pretty bad*ss!" added Marven, his voice quivering tremendously.

Gerald himself was thinking that this was way too early into the game for him to lose his cool. He needed a way to redirect all this anger so that he could keep a clear head.

If she really was sending some people over to beat him up, that would probably be his best opportunity to vent out his frustration by beating the cr*p out of them instead!

It wasn't long before the thundering of several footsteps could be heard running up the corridor.

When the class's door was opened, a group of men burst in! Isabelle had indeed managed to gather quite a number of underlings.

"Hah! She really did gather people to beat them up! I knew Isabelle wasn't going to let Gerald slip away unbruised! Looks like we're going to have a free show!" said one of the students in the class.

"Your sister is my sister as well, brother! Who's the lucky b*stard that gets to be beaten up today?!" roared a man as he stood before the class while scanning through the faces of all the students. He seemed to be talking to Isabelle's brother who stepped in front of the group at that moment. Her brother seemed to be the group's leader.

"Oh gosh, he's so tall and handsome!" squealed a few of the present girls as they eyed the group's leader.

"I recognize him! While he's a newly transferred student, i've heard that Wyatt treats him respectfully!"

As the girls continued whispering among themselves, Isabelle lifted one of her crossed arms and pointed at Gerald.

"Warren! Wyatt! That's the b*stard I was talking about!" screamed the angered girl.

Hearing that, Gerald got up from his seat, only to momentarily freeze when he finally paid attention to the group leader's face.

The leader was equally as stunned as Gerald was.

"Warren?"

"Gerald?"

Warren was completely taken aback. After all, he, Maia, and a few other girls had been sent here under the guise of transfer students to undergo a mission.

But why was Gerald here? It just simply didn't make any sense!

Seeing how stunned Warren was, Wyatt then curiously asked, "Hmm? Do you know that guy, Warren?"

Isabelle herself was starting to get nervous. If both of them were acquainted with each other, did that mean that Gerald would get away scot-free this time?

"In a way, I suppose!" replied Warren.

It was obvious that Warren wasn't going to be beating Gerald up any time soon. After all, Gerald knew about his true identity.

If Gerald leaked that information out, he'd surely be done for. What more, Maia and the other girls were still in the school as well!

'D*mn it, why did this have to happen...' Warren thought to himself.

"What a coincidence! Come on over, Gerald! Let's you and me have a little chat in private!" said Warren.

Chapter 695

With that, both of them then left the classroom.

"I thought you were here on vacation. Pray tell, why are you doing in this university?"

"To get an education of course. Actually, I should be asking you that question. What are you doing here?" replied Gerald.

While they didn't particularly hold any grudges against each other, Warren didn't particularly like being around Gerald, and the same went vice versa.

"Since we're already talking about it, I'll just make things clear to you now. For starters, I'm not the only one here. Maia and a few others came together with me. I can't tell you what exactly we're doing here, but if you know what's best for you, you'd better keep your mouth zipped tight when it comes to us. Our identity is not to be revealed under any circumstances! This is my first and final warning, so you better remember that!"

Once he was done with his explanation, Warren then turned around before walking away from Gerald.

'Maybe they're here because of a mission? Not that I really care,' Gerald thought to himself as he laughed bitterly while shaking his head.

Just as he was about to return to class, he felt a tug on his sleeve. When he turned back to look, Gerald noticed a rather shy-looking girl, meekly holding on to his sleeve. Despite her shyness, she was holding on to him pretty tightly.

"H-hey there, handsome! We're currently collecting donations for charity! Regardless of how much you donate, we won't complain! We're just trying to help children in the countryside who can't afford to pay for their education!"

Seeing that she was volunteering for a selfless cause, Gerald felt bad even thinking about turning her down. What more, she was obviously fighting against her shyness just to gather more funds for the charity.

The money wasn't going to be spent wastefully either. Similar to Scothow Elementary, the school he had built himself, the money would be used for a good cause.

Reassured that donating would be the right thing to do, he then nodded to the girl's delight.

"H-how much would you like to donate?" asked the shy girl.

At that moment, a few other girls who were also working as volunteers began flocking around him. They had noticed that one of them had managed to get someone to donate, so all of them had bright smiles on their faces.

"Hmm... Let's go with fifty thousand dollars!" replied Gerald with a chuckle.

"...W-what? Fifty thousand?"

All of the girls were equally taken aback by his response.

Donation campaigns like this were common across most universities. They were usually aimed to help poorer students living in the countryside.

Such campaigns tended to garner quite a bit of support, and most of the students from this university were similarly willing to partake in donating for a good cause.

While this was true, the majority of the students would only be willing to donate a couple of bucks at best, the common trend being less than a hundred dollars per donation. Not that they were complaining. After all, it was the thought that counts.

However, to think that they were now being presented with a fifty thousand dollar donation...

These girls had been working hard to collect donations for at least half a month now. This was their first time meeting such a generous student!

"M-mister! Are you really serious about donating fifty thousand dollars?"

The girls could hardly believe their ears.

Gerald simply laughed in response as he pulled his credit card out, ready to make his donation.

Once they presented him with the transaction machine, Gerald began pressing its buttons without the slightest hesitation.

"A receipt for a transaction of five hundred thousand dollars!" announced the machine in a robotic voice.

"...Huh?"

The jaws of all the girls were now hanging wide open.

"Cr*p!" said Gerald, equally as shocked.

Since he was feeling more philanthropic lately, he truly wanted to donate the fifty thousand dollars he had promised. He would never have dreamed that he would accidentally push an extra zero on the transaction machine! This was a mistake on his behalf!

He blamed it on his constant obsession over Jasmine of late.

While he didn't exactly mind the mistake, he still needed to maintain a low profile in the university.

"S-sir, it seems that you've made a mistake! I'll go make the necessary arrangements immediately! We'll return the extra amount to your account as soon as possible! Might you be free this afternoon? We'll have to go to the main office to deal with this since they'll need your signature to approve the refund!" apologized one of the volunteers profusely.

"...Ah, that's going to be a hassle! You know what, just take it! Five hundred thousand it is!" said Gerald as she shook his head. After all, there wasn't much of a difference between five hundred thousand and fifty thousand dollars to him. It was just a single digit!

The volunteers were stunned speechless by his act of extreme generosity.

Gerald then proceeded to note down his major and class. Just as he was about to write down Marven's name, he saw a group of people walking over to him with cameras and voice recorders in hand. They seemed to be reporters of some sort.

They must've come here after hearing how much he had donated to the charity! Their sudden appearance surprised him so much that he accidentally dropped the pen he was holding.

"Hold it! I'm fine with donating as long as you abide to a single rule! I wish to strictly remain anonymous!" said Gerald before immediately running off.

"I-I see! But even if we don't announce it, could we still have your name?" asked a confused volunteer as she watched him run off.

Gerald simply waved a hand without even turning to look back before disappearing into another corridor.

Chapter 696

Sometime after Gerald left, a few other volunteers began feeling sorry for themselves. After all, they wanted to meet the millionaire too!

It was just their luck that they weren't present at the time Gerald left that massive donation.

They could've used that chance to get to know him! Alas, by the time they finally found out about the massive donation that had been made, Gerald was already long gone. Soon after, the volunteers then left the area.

It was around then when loud cheers could be heard coming from inside a classroom.

"Unbelievable! Stella's donated four and a half thousand dollars to charity today!" exclaimed a few of her classmates in excitement.

Stella had earlier noticed that there was a donation campaign going on when she arrived at the university. Seeing no harm in donating for a cause, she did just that.

While the donated sum was nothing much to her and she hadn't really hadn't intended to bring the topic up as they were chatting, a slip of her tongue caused her besties to hear about the massive amount she had donated.

The information then spread like wildfire among her classmates and it wasn't long before the entire class erupted in surprise.

Their reactions were well warranted. After all, she was a university student just like them, yet she had the capability of donating four thousand and five hundred dollars! What more, the majority of students either donated very little or didn't provide any support for the charity at all.

Regardless of their reactions, it truly wasn't that big of a deal to Stella.

"Speaking of which, didn't Fabian say that he would be coming to school today? Why isn't he here yet? He's just returned from a Taekwondo championship and he got second place you know!" said Isabelle as she glanced over at the classroom's entrance.

"Oh, be a little more patient!" teased Stella.

"Humph! How could I be? If he doesn't come soon, someone else will start thinking that he's hot stuff or something!" replied Isabelle as she looked at Gerald's direction.

As soon as she said that, the class door slid open.

"Brother Fabian!"

"Fabian's here!"

The moment they saw him, almost all of the students in class began announcing his presence in exhilaration.

"Brother Fabian! What took you so long? Class is about to start!" said Isabelle while standing up as she, too, yelped in delight.

"Yeah, I'm only a bit late because I got caught up by a few ladies trying to get donations for charity downstairs," replied Fabian as he shook his head with a smile.

Seeing that Gerald was now sitting where he usually sat, he then moved to sit beside Isabelle.

"Oh? You donated as well, Fabian?" asked Stella as she grinned.

Fabian simply nodded in response.

Not only was he tall, lean, and quite good-looking, Fabian was also the richest guy in the class. What more, he was also good at sports! It was no mystery why he got so much attention from his classmates.

"How much did you donate, Fabian? Rumor has it that the one who donated the most will be invited to show their face during the donor appreciation event due this afternoon!" said Stella in admiration.

"I didn't donate much. Plus, I'm not really interested in such events!" replied Fabian as he shook his head.

Why did people even care about such events?

"Oh come on! Don't just leave us hanging, Brother Fabian! How much did donate exactly?" pestered his classmates.

"It was just fifteen thousand dollars!" answered Fabian who saw no other choice than to tell the truth.

Upon hearing his reply, silence immediately ensued.

The silence didn't last long, however, as yells and cheers soon filled the entire room.

Fifteen thousand dollars! By god!

"You donated fifteen thousand dollars, Brother Fabian?!" screamed several of the girls in unison.

Of course they were going to be shocked at that massive donation!

Stella herself was so thrilled that she couldn't even bring herself to say anything for a brief moment.

"B-Brother Fabian... That's incredible! We love you so much!" exclaimed Stella when she finally managed to find her voice again.

Chapter 697

The entire classroom was still in a daze after all that exhilaration.

The news had obviously gotten to the ears of their class lecturer as well. Since Stella and Fabian were getting honors and both of them were in his class, that meant that even he was going to become well- known!

An announcement soon came, stating that everyone from the degree program needed to attend the donor appreciation event. Such an event was a big deal in the campus since only a few other events— like sports day—gave students a chance to increase their popularity.

Upon hearing that, the duo's classmates were all in for it! After all, how couldn't they be after finding out that two of their classmates were soon going to be famous?

It was after a short lunch break when everyone from the degree program started heading toward the school hall.

Gerald, however, started heading for their classroom instead.

"Aren't you attending the event, Gerald?" asked Marven.

"I'm not!" replied Gerald.

He had attended numerous events like this in the past. This was nothing special to him. To him, the act of donating was simply a way to express love and care for others. Since he had already done that through his donation, he didn't feel the need to attend such an event with the others.

"But Gerald, look! The two goddesses are attending as well!" said Marven as he pointed toward the school hall's entrance.

Squinting his eyes, Gerald realized that he was right.

"Come on, let's just go! Since everyone else is going, we won't look good if we choose not to attend, right?" added Marven.

"I guess... Alright then!" replied Gerald as he shook his head helplessly.

Marven had a point. It wouldn't do him any good to be seen as a weirdo. After all, he still had to mingle with the students there for quite a while.

Thus, Gerald ended up following Marven into the hall.

Once they were inside, they saw the two girls sitting alone in the last row, being low-key as usual.

Nobody even dared to sit remotely close to them, preferring to stand rather than to do so.

"Darn it, there aren't any seats left!" said Marven as he scratched the back of his head.

"What do you mean? There's plenty of empty seats there!" replied Gerald as he looked toward Jasmine's direction.

Before Marven could stop him, Gerald was already walking toward them.

"Well hello there beautiful, I assume these seats aren't taken?" said Gerald with a smile.

His statement, however, garnered no response from both girls. They simply continued staring ahead coldly.

Marven himself was now nervously tugging on to Gerald's elbow, desperately trying to hint at him to sit anywhere else but there. After all, if they triggered the two goddesses, both of them would be as good as dead.

Gerald, however, simply shrugged nonchalantly before pulling Marven to sit right next to him.

Jasmine could feel her eyebrows raising though she continued remaining silent.

Once everyone arrived, the event then officially began. To start off the event, the principal gave a speech which was then followed by another from the student representative.

During the speech, it was mentioned that only 'excellent donors' would have their names announced. 'Excellent donors' were those who donated over fifteen dollars.

It was also stated that the names would be announced randomly instead of in ascending order of how much one donated. While that was so, the exact amount donated by the 'excellent donors' was still going to be mentioned.

It didn't take long for someone who donated a hundred and fifty dollars to be announced. When the students heard that, whispering could be heard among the crowd.

The whispering intensified into exclamations of awe and surprise when another person was announced to have donated over four hundred and fifty dollars.

Among the 'excellent donors', Gerald heard Maia and Warren's names being mentioned as well.

It would appear that both of them had donated nine hundred dollars respectively.

Naturally, this stirred a sensation among the students when they heard such high numbers being donated.

"Now, according to this list, a total of twelve students donated nine hundred dollars and above! Because of that, we hope to invite them up to the stage to each accept a certificate of honor!"

The host then cleared his throat before reading out, "Mr. Warren and Ms. Maia! Please come up to the stage!"

What followed was an eruption of applause as both Warren and Maia walked up the stage.

"Woah! Brother Warren looks so hot!"

Chapter 698

The statement had come from Isabelle who was currently clapping loudly as she watched Warren ascend the stage.

Seeing her reaction, Gerald simply rolled his eyes.

"How did you get acquainted with Brother Warren, Isabelle? I thought he just got transferred here very recently!" asked one of her friends curiously.

"Haha... Well, you know that my brother is friends with our school's popular Jamier, right? Since Jamier and Warren are good friends, it's only natural for me to know him!"

"I see!"

"Speaking of which, see that girl beside Warren? I think her name is Maia. She's pretty, isn't she? I have a hunch that she probably likes Warren a lot since they even transferred here together!" added Isabelle.

Though Warren was garnering all the attention for now, in her mind, Isabelle was sure that Brother Fabian would still be the eventual star of the day.

With that, she stopped talking and began focusing on listening to the announcements again.

After a few more people got on stage, the host then said, "From the Department of Economics and Management's third class, we have Ms. Stella who donated four thousand and five hundred dollars! Ms. Stella, please join us on stage!"

Hearing that, the crowd in the hall instantly went wild with cheer! Even the lecturers sitting up front seemed to be talking about her.

Sensing that the cheering wasn't going to end any time soon till she stood among the other top donors, Stella simply got up and began walking rather nonchalantly toward the stage.

At the same time, Isabelle was getting giddier by the second. After all, it would be Brother Fabian's turn to go up the stage next!

Upon reaching the stage, Stella stood right in the middle, cuing the crowd to slowly dwindle their cheering.

Finding his chance to speak, the host—who seemed to be getting increasingly excited—then announced, "Next, also from the Department of Economics and Management's third class, please welcome Mr. Fabian who donated fifteen thousand dollars! Mr. Fabian, please come up the stage!"

Immediately after hearing that, the entire hall fell silent.

Fifteen... thousand dollars?!

The cheer that came after was the loudest one yet. Accompanied by the thunderous roars of applause, it was a wonder why all the glass windows in the hall didn't shatter!

Everyone's eardrums were ringing from all the noise.

After all, someone had donated fifteen thousand dollars! Of course that would get the crowd excited!

"God d*mn! That's a lot!"

"Of course it is! It's Fabian we're talking about!"

"I knew that Fabian was rich, but by god! Fifteen thousand dollars is something else!"

At that moment, several people from the crowd were exclaiming in awe.

Isabelle herself was shaking Fabian by the elbow, looking way more thrilled than Fabian was.

"Brother Fabian! Brother Fabian! Your name's been announced!"

Seeing everyone's reaction, Fabian simply shook his head while smiling helplessly.

'It's just fifteen thousand dollars... Was there honestly a need for everyone to find that so surprising?'

Sliding both his hands into his pockets, Fabian then began walking toward the stage as girls continued to scream with glee at him.

Once he was on stage, the host then announced two more massive donations.

Two girls from the fourth class had donated twenty-three thousand dollars each! However, the host didn't mention either of their names, nor did he invite them up the stage.

Even so, everyone already knew who the donors were, and everyone in the hall took turns peeking at the two girls sitting in the last row. They were all fully aware that Jasmine and Mandy were the donors.

Though their donations were clearly superior to Fabian's, the uproar that ensued wasn't as great as his. After all, everyone in Salford University knew how rich they were. What more, they had already made several contributions in the past as well.

While the inclusion of their donations had lost their surprise factor, applauses were still made since they were still contributing for a good cause.

When it came to the twelfth student, however, the host seemed to be at a loss.

"Well this is a new one! While this student donated the most this time around, he only wrote down his class and which department he was from! Since he was unwilling to provide his name, we'll just have to respect his decision to remain anonymous! Regardless, I hope that everyone gives a loud round of applause once I announce his class!"

"Huh? Which class does he come from? How much did he even donate?" chatted the students among themselves curiously.

Everyone was looking forward to the final announcement, especially Fabian, Stella, Maia, and Warren as they exchanged gazes with each other on stage in anticipation.

Chapter 699

"Also from the Department of Economics and Management's third class, the top donor donated a grand total of... Five hundred thousand dollars!" shouted the host excitedly.

The students' response to that announcement was an immense roar of both shock and awe.

Five hundred thousand dollars?!

To think that they had already considered Fabian's fifteen thousand dollar donation to be over the top! Even after adding what the two goddesses had donated, their total amount still couldn't beat the amount of cash the top donor had given to charity!

Five hundred thousand dollars... In cold hard cash, that amount could easily reach even the hall's ceiling!

The students weren't the only ones in awe either. Even the school's leaders and lecturers got up from their seats, clapping in utter shock at that colossal amount.

While all this was happening, Warren and Maia were busy peeking at Fabian and Stella.

Fabian and Stella themselves looked completely astounded. Someone from their class had donated five hundred thousand dollars?

"Did you hear that Isabelle? The top donor is from our class!" yelled a few of Isabelle's classmates.

"I did! But... But who could it have been?" replied Isabelle in her excitement.

Five hundred thousand dollars... That was no small amount, even for the richer families!

As the excitement in the hall continued to grow, Jasmine and Mandy found themselves looking at each other.

While both of them rarely spoke a word to the other students in school, be it during their regular or union classes, they knew the backgrounds of most of their classmates extremely well.

Take Marven Wadley for example. Though both parties had never spoken to each other before, the two girls saw him as a classmate and they had even helped him on several occasions in the past.

While Marven hadn't struck it as odd that his father had been encountering less and less problems— despite working as an illegal tour guide—recently, it was honestly all thanks to Jasmine's secret interventions.

That was proof of how well both of them knew their classmates' backgrounds.

It was also the reason why they were so sure that none of their classmates—who weren't already on stage—had the capability to freely donate five hundred thousand dollars.

"Mr. Fabian and Ms. Stella, both of you are from the third class as well, right? The top donor seems to be someone from your class!" said the host as he looked at the two students.

"...But... Nobody from our class would have that kind of money to donate, right?" asked Stella.

"I wonder... Hold on, there's a chance that my dad could've made that donation. After all, he was the one who had notified me about the fundraising event in the first place!" exclaimed Fabian as he realized the possibility.

Since the cheering had earlier died down into whispers discussing the top donor's true identity, the hall had been silent enough for everyone to hear Fabian's surprisingly loud claim.

Everyone was now looking at him, including Maia.

Before she had transferred over, she had heard that there were a few popular jocks from the department of Economics and Management.

There was Jamier from the last batch, Fabian from this one and also Wyatt's. All of them had been born with a silver spoon.

"Well, why don't you call your father to confirm it?" suggested Maia.

"Yeah, it'd be better to confirm it! Make that call, Fabian!" said a few of the school's higher-ups as well.

Hearing that, Fabian then reached for his phone and began calling his father.

Meanwhile, the third class's lecturer walked over to his students, a huge grin on his face.

"While we're waiting, where's the mineral water we carried over earlier? Be a dear and bring them over, will you?" said the teacher as he looked at Isabelle.

"...Ah. I was so excited that I forgot all about it!" replied Isabelle as she gently smacked her forehead.

"Well we'll just get... I'd say six classmates to carry the bottles over then! Where are Marven and Gerald?" asked Isabelle as she scanned the crowd, trying to find them.

"Hmm? Ah, they've hidden themselves in a far corner!" said a girl who then pointed in their direction.

"Humph! I told you two to carry the water bottles earlier but you didn't! Now I have to find four other students to help you with the task... Can't you two do anything right other than laze around?" said Isabelle while giving them a disgusted look.

Before they could even reply, she immediately left, yelling at another four classmates for them to join the duo.

Gerald was no stranger to classmates like Isabelle. To girls like her, all other guys aside from the person she was into would never be good enough for her.

Then again, it's not like her approval meant anything to Gerald.

Chapter 700

Since he was definitely going to look bad if he didn't fetch the water this time around, Gerald and Marven left the hall. In his mind, Gerald was honestly sighing in relief that his name hadn't been called out earlier as the top donor.

Mandy, on the other hand, felt that something was off as she watched Gerald and Marven leaving the hall.

"Hey, Jasmine? Earlier when Gerald walked past me, I could feel my heart thumping rapidly! Hell, for a second there, I even considered the thought of wanting him to stay by my side! What on earth was that feeling...? While we haven't really acquainted ourselves with him, why does he already feel so familiar...?" whispered Mandy.

"I get what you mean. While he dresses like a regular person, he sure doesn't feel like one! We don't know anything about his background yet either..." replied Jasmine with a nod.

As both of them continued discussing Gerald, all six of the boys were already carrying the water bottles back to the hall.

They were also tasked with distributing the water bottles to the school authorities and a few workers involved with the event.

While they had water bottles in hand once they arrived at the hall again, none of the school authorities or workers seemed to be thirsty anymore.

It was probably because Fabian was still on the call on stage.

Isabelle herself was now on the stage standing right next to him, even though the call had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Once the call finally ended, disappointment was felt across the entire hall. The money hadn't been donated by Fabian's father after all.

Then who could've done it? The revelation that Fabian's father hadn't been the donor only further increased the audiences' curiosity.

Seeing that his father hadn't played a part in the donation, Fabian then turned to look at Stella before saying, "Perhaps It was your father who donated, Stella? After all, he's always been passionate about events like this, right?"

Stella nodded before replying, "Yeah, I'll call my dad now to confirm it!"

While everyone's eyes were peeled on Stella this time, a sudden yelp momentarily drew their attention away from her.

The person who had yelped was none other than Marven!

He had initially been holding on to all the water bottles as Gerald distributed them. Unfortunately for him, a girl carrying a gown—who was re-entering the hall—couldn't avoid him in time and accidentally bumped into Marven.

Marven was unable to hold on to all the water bottles, causing a few of them to tumble all over the floor.

"A-ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" squeaked the young girl in fright.

"It's fine. You go on ahead and complete your errand first!" said Gerald as both he and Marven began picking the scattered water bottles up.

As Gerald went over to pick a bottle that had rolled close to a row of students, a girl—who was close to that bottle—handed it over to him.

When their eyes met, the girl immediately realized who Gerald was.

"...Huh? It's you!" exclaimed the girl as she covered her mouth in surprise.

Gerald was equally as surprised.

It was the same girl who had collected the donation money from him earlier!

Since Gerald had been so focused on gathering the fallen bottles again, he hadn't noticed her in time. Who would've thought that she was right here!

It was now getting increasingly awkward for Gerald.

"I finally found you! Can I please have your name now?" shouted the girl happily, not realizing how loud her voice was.