***** "What do you imply by that?" "Why would soldiers intrude on our estate?" "What is their objective?!" "We've never committed any wrongdoings before!" At this juncture, the inside of the ancestral mansion was already in complete chaos, with everyone's faces completely pale from fear. This included Jewel. As for the Family leader. Though she was also brimming with fear, she swiftly regained control of her emotions and stood up with an urgent expression appearing on her face. "A mistake must have occurred! Our family has never committed any transgressions before!" Trying to convince herself of this with strong certainty, the family leader hastily instructed the servant who had come to report the military's intrusion to escort her. Immediately, she was escorted away while everyone else stepped back with ashen faces. Suddenly, some second and third-generation members of the family began to quietly advise their younger and older ones with solemn expressions on their faces.
***** "I insisted that you offer an apology!" At this juncture, Christiana wore an incredulous expression on her face as she gazed at her grandmother with shock. It wasn't just her. Everyone present, except for Alex, shared a sense of disbelief. They were all aware of the profound love and affection the Family leader harbored for Christiana, even though she didn't always express it overtly. Even Jewel couldn't help but feel like she was in a dream. But then she suddenly turned her gaze to Alex, her eyes brimming with questions. Alex, on the other hand, continued to smile, his heart pounding at the sight of his stunning fiancée. "I said you should apologize!" Once again, the Family leader repeated, her tone as cold and emotionless as before. But this time, Christiana finally realized that her grandmother was not joking. Instantly, her eyes welled up as if she might cry, but she fought to hold back the tears as much as she could.Then after a great reluctance, she eventually gl
***** Presently, both Jewel and Alex could be observed strolling leisurely side by side within the Marshman family. With a faint smile on his face, Alex couldn't resist but gaze at Jewel from time to time.From her expression, Alex could naturally discern that there was so much she desired to inquire about, but she refrained from doing so, probably due to uncertainty about how to approach the subject or a concern about invading his privacy. In light of this, Alex harbored another surge of admiration for Jewel. He then contemplated sharing everything with her, well, everything other than the encounter he had with her grandmother that day which even he had no idea about, what had caused her sudden change of behavior to him. Reflecting on this, Alex couldn't help but abruptly shake his head gently as he couldn't recall revealing his identity to the elderly woman. 'Oh!' Alex's mind suddenly clicked. 'It must be due to the soldiers.' Considering this, Alex wore a soft smile, findin
***** Filled to the brim with intense anxiety, Jewel rushed toward the source of her mother's piercing scream and continued calling her. But when she received no response, she could only opt to forcefully push open the washroom door and enter without hesitation. "Mo..." The words she was about to utter suddenly became stuck in her throat as her eyes widened, overwhelmed by disbelief. "Mo... Mother, is... is that you?" Jewel found it exceedingly challenging to believe that the woman she was currently seeing in the large mirror who was gaping at herself with shock and confusion was her mother. Although her mother had also been a great beauty in her youth, the passage of time had taken its toll on her, with wrinkles beginning to appear on her face. But now, as if she were a mirror image of Jewel, her face was wrinkle-free and extremely appealing. Her beauty had been rejuvenated, making her look like she had returned to her younger years, exuding a fresh and elegant allure. At thi
***** The person Alex had sought to meet was Elder Pu, the elderly man who had nearly lost his sanity after witnessing the two ornaments he had given to his fiancée. Recollecting this scene of how greatly the old man had lost his composure, Alex couldn't help but wonder to what degree Elder Pu would have lost his mind if he had seen his inventories. Shaking his head discreetly at this, Alex reciprocated Elder Pu's greeting. That's correct. At this moment, Alex could be seen standing before an old man, Elder Pu at the entrance of a massive establishment. This establishment was not your typical pick-and-choose store. Although it bore the name of a store, its structure and operations were more akin to that of a company. This company dealt exclusively with jade-related items. From the exterior, it appeared as a four-story building, immaculately painted white, giving it the appearance of a hospital. As for the interior, well... although Alex had yet to explore the other floors, b
***** "Alex Johnson," the young man abruptly muttered to himself after he heard the name uttered by the weak-looking woman before him, his eyes brimming with a murderous intent that could easily shatter a weaker person. Although he appeared calm on the surface at this moment, his clenched fists and furry-filled eyes betrayed the seething fury hidden beneath. After a moment, the young man finally took a deep breath, and then all the traces of his previous rage vanished. After that, he turned his gaze which was filled to the brim with care and affection back to the frail-looking woman before him. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I don't care about his background or which powerful school he hails from. The fact that he dared to touch you at all, especially harming you to this extent already sealed his fate. If I don't annihilate him and everyone he's ever known, then I'm a failure." The moment the woman bearing a fragile appearance who seemed on the verge of breaking down at any mom
***** Suddenly, just as the young man was preparing to commence attacking, his eyes tightened, then in the following moment, they widened, almost popping out of their sockets, and his breathing accelerated. It doesn't stop here, though. His footsteps also suddenly became rooted in their tracks as he observed his front as if he had just witnessed something incredibly hard to believe. As for the soldiers who had recently returned not long ago from their shopping trip. Although they never had the intention of opening fire at the intruder, they had intended to teach him a lesson. However, observing his utterly flabbergasted and befuddled expression with his comical posture at the moment, they all became speechless and didn't know what to say or think. After a few seconds, they ultimately all exchanged gazes and then they shook their heads, suspecting that the young man might not be psychologically well and was trying to deceive them to escape. Nevertheless, their curiosity overcame th
***** Simultaneously, what was transpiring at home mirrored what was occurring at the moment for Alex, who remained oblivious. He currently found himself facing a deceitfully appearing young man sporting a hint of conceit smile on his countenance. Alex would have already departed some time ago since he had already obtained what he came to acquire at the jade store. However, just as he was on the verge of leaving the store to return home to process all the information he had gathered today and ponder his next steps, someone called his name, startling him greatly. Upon seeing the person who had called him, Alex was immediately reminded of the past. The person who had called him was a former classmate from his high school days. This person wasn't merely a classmate; he had been the class monitor back then. While he hadn't been the one to initiate bullying against Alex, unlike the others, he had never treated Alex kindly. Whenever he witnessed others mistreating Alex, he would occ