No. 1 Supreme Warrior

Chapter 501 – 550

Chapter 501 Selena rolled her eyes at her mother before returning to her house as well.

“So much money and that happens to be the George family, you know. They are wealthier than our Taylor family. He actually…” Fiona frowned while she watched the couple’s attitude. It seemed it would be slightly difficult if she wanted to pull the whole ordeal off.

However, her heart felt incredible when she thought about the George family’s assets. She truly could not understand how jackie could be that foolish since he would be able to marry another beautiful wife on top of getting so much money. How could he not agree to such a wonderful offer?

Although Joan already promised her that she would help talk to him, she understood her son very well so she never exactly did.

Instead, it was Ben and Xena who both shamelessly came to talk to jackie the next morning. This made jackie feel even more confused about them.

Selena instead behaved slightly more normal and calm the following couple of days. She returned home punctually every day.

Similarly, jackie did nothing much too since he would only sit around in the courtyard leisurely the following days. Ivan was immensely disappointed when he spent days on end spying on the mansion to spot jackie and the wealthy lady, dating.

Old Master Taylor’s birthday was soon approaching and Neil’s men did not notice jackie buying any luxurious gifts for the Old Master.

Just the night before Old Master Taylor’s birthday, Ivan and Neil were both drinking together.

“That’s odd, why didn’t jackie or the wealthy lady move in even after they bought that mansion? I kept a lookout as much as I could during the day and night as well. Godd*mmit, I am exhausted from the constant lookout but I never noticed jackie ever returning to the mansion ever again!” Ivan frowned and said, “Wasn’t this mansion bought to be their love nest so they could date in private?”

“That wealthy lady is incredibly rich and ninety million dollars isn’t a lot of money to her. Could jackie have asked her to buy that mansion for him so he could use it to gift to Old Master Taylor during his seventieth birthday?” After some thought, Neil said, “My men had been following jackie around for a couple of days now and they too had not noticed jackie buying anything expensive. He was basically just going to and from work every day.”

“It’s very likely though since jackie isn’t a fool. If the mansion happens to be his dating spot with that wealthy lady, he would know it’s easy for them to be caught by you guys since it’s literally just opposite Taylor’s family home. Besides, the possibility of them running into you guys would be extremely high when they enter or exit the mansion anyway! Hence, I presume that the mansion was a gift jackie begged the lady for so he could then use it as a gift for Old Master Taylor! It seems their dating spot would be at a different location!”

Ken began to make assumptions as he said, “As for Young Master Ivan running into them previously though, the woman was just checking the place out since it’s only natural for her to want to check out a new place she had just bought, right!”

“Yeah!” Ivan nodded and said, “If that’s the case, jackie will no doubt be able to butter up to Old Master Taylor tomorrow and he wouldn’t be exiled from the Taylor family then. It seems we will have to wait for at least two days before getting Xena to make a move on him again.”

…

“Honey, have you prepared a gift for Grandpa’s seventieth birthday tomorrow? You’ve been going to work every day and I didn’t notice you bringing any gifts back. You know, tomorrow happens to be Grandpa’s seventieth birthday right!” Selena could not help herself from asking as she laid in bed at night.

“I’ve prepared it way before this already. Grandpa will no doubt love it!” jackie chuckled calmly.

Chapter 502 Selena frowned after hearing jackie said that. Could the gift jackie mentioned be the mansion? Could that mean jackie actually won the auction for that mansion? However, the Drake family never gave jackie advanced pay though. Could that be a gift from the wealthy lady to jackie and that was jackie’s gift for her grandpa?

Selena would not look down on jackie even if he became a sugar baby just for the sake of staying in the Taylor family because she had already decided that even if jackie could not fulfill his promises and was not acknowledged by the Taylor family, she would still stay by his side. She believed if they do not have money, they could make money together instead of using such methods to make money just for the sake of being acknowledged by the Taylor family.

Not to mention, if news of jackie being a sugar baby broke out, Old Master Taylor might actually be incredibly furious about it. He would rather not accept a mansion if that was the case since he would feel incredibly ashamed of it.

“Oh, that’s right honey, I’m planning to give you a surprise tomorrow night!”

She did not expect jackie to say that after pondering about something for a brief moment.

“Really? It would be extremely surprising for me if you could bring the gift along with the ten million dollars for Ivan tomorrow!” Selena chuckled bitterly. She did not probe deeper about the gift he prepared for Old Master Taylor was since she would eventually find out tomorrow.

…

Fiona and everyone else got up early the next morning.

“Dress better and don’t embarrass us since it is Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday today. Old Master Taylor even personally gave us a call yesterday to have us arrive earlier!”

Fiona started rushing everyone early in the morning.

At this moment, jackie was dressed in a suit he had just bought yesterday. He looked even more stunning than before.

“Yes, this suit is not bad. Truly, a more expensive suit would feel different when a person puts it on!” Fiona nodded satisfyingly before asking jackie, “Oh, that’s right jackie, where’s the gift you’re planning to give the old master? You wouldn’t have not prepared anything didn’t you?”

Fiona dimmed when she noticed jackie’s empty hands as she said, “We didn’t prepare anything you know. Since you’re giving a ten million dollars worth of a gift and we’re a family so we are able to save on bringing one. You can’t embarrass us now, okay!”

jackie chuckled calmly as he replied, “Oh, mother-in-law, don’t you worry. The gift is already prepared since it’s not that big, I’m able to carry it in my pocket!”

“That small?” Fiona glanced at jackie as she wondered if he was bringing a disappointing gift and claiming it to be luxurious? Or else, how could such an item fit in his pocket?”

“It is indeed quite small!” jackie nodded.

“ jackie, are you sure the value of your gift is worth ten million? We didn’t prepare anything and you’re going to be the representative of our family, okay?”

Andrew was also dressed in branded clothing. He even got his hair done yesterday intentionally.

“I am very certain!” jackie nodded once again.

“Let’s go then. The old master happened to prepare twenty tables at the event!” Ben cheerfully exclaimed.

jackie smiled as he took a glance at Xena before frowning instinctively. This woman was not a good person since she thought of Ben as only a rebound guy. However, Ben was still naively dating her. He actually forgave her even after the previous incident.

Chapter 503 However, what made jackie feel odd was, Xena seemed honest and was staying by Ben’s side all the time. This made him wonder if she actually had turned over a new leaf after the boss of the bike group died?

However, with much deeper thought, that possibility seemed quite likely. Xena might feel hopeful again after seeing jackie giving Fiona twenty million dollars on top of gaining George family’s favor when their Taylor family were given two Rolls Royces. Moreover, both jackie and Selena each had a Porsche 911. These assets alone were more than enough for Xena to turn over a new lead and change her mind to be with Ben.

It did not take them long to arrive at the Taylor family home with their cars.

“I didn’t expect them to be able to drive such a car when they’re still living in that dump!” Cecilia mocked immediately after she noticed jackie and the others arrive.

“Yeah, I heard jackie knew of some medical skills and had successfully treated Sharon’s obesity. Those Rolls Royces were gifted by the George family. it’s not even bought by their own money, so it’s nothing praiseworthy!” Another Taylor family member chuckled coldly.

“I am quite interested to see just what kind of a gift jackie will give Old Master Taylor today!” Cecilia cackled coldly while she mocked.

“What gift have you prepared?” The man next to her asked Cecelia.

Cecilia chuckled calmly and said, “Doesn’t the old master love drinking tea? I’ve gone out of my way to buy two bricks of Pu’er tea. It’s over two hundred years old and it’s worth over sixty thousand dollars! It’s not easy to get my hands on them, I had to call in a favor from my friend!”

“Not bad, it seems you know how to butter up to people’s interests. You’ve gone all out this time!” The man spoke in a surprised tone after hearing Cecilia’s reply.

Cecilia chuckled immediately and said, “Come on, it’s the old master’s seventieth birthday, right? It’s not a regular birthday so obviously, I had to prepare a better gift so the old master would be happy.”

“I am quite curious to see just what kind of a gift that son-in-law jackie would prepare. A gift that’s worth over ten million dollars is considered a literal treasure though. Regular items would not be that expensive!” The man took a glance at jackie before cackling out loud.

“Yeah, it’s still early and the registration staff is not here yet. I heard registration starts at eleven and the meal will begin at noon!” Cecilia said with a laugh.

“ jackie, you b*stard!” He did not expect both Ivan and the Old Master of the Taylor family, Theodore would storm over here furiously.

“No way, right? Didn’t we just get out of the car? We didn’t even do anything so why is Ivan mad?” Ben was stunned when he noticed the situation. How could they angered anyone when they did not even do anything yet.

“ jackie, who gave you the right to decide? You sure have some guts!” Theodore was also storming out furiously. His expression was pale from being so furious.

“What’s the matter, Theodore? We’ve just arrived and shouldn’t our cars be parked here? Have we parked at the wrong spot?” Andrew looked confused as well as he had no idea what was happening.

“The old master had said that only twenty tables would be set up. However, when we walked to the back, it was completely filled with extra tables. Heck, tables were even placed on the grass. I’ve asked the kitchen staff and they told me that jackie came over yesterday to have them set up two hundred and twenty tables!”

Theodore seemed like he was about to cough up blood from being agitated. Every single table was already expensive for the old master’s seventieth birthday since all of the alcohol and cigarettes were expensive.

They even hired a chef from a luxurious hotel for this event. However, only the Taylor family members were invited.

They did not expect that for the brief moment of jackie’s arrival yesterday, he actually told the chef to prepare two hundred and twenty tables and the main point was, the hotel actually made arrangements for that many tables.

Chapter 504 ” jackie, this, is this real? Did you know how much a table costs? Our preparations this time are very lavish and expensive. The food menu is pretty classy and it costs sixty thousand per table. Twenty tables would be 1.2 million dollars! Why did you prepare an additional two hundred tables? Did you know how much these extra tables would cost? That will set you back by ten million dollars!”

Andrew’s face dimmed. If that was true then jackie would have been too bold since it would be very unnecessary to do that.

“No way right, jackie? You dropped by yesterday?”

Ben was also frowning as jackie seemed to be a magnet for trouble. They finally had some peaceful days and he did not expect him to pull a stunt like that during the Old Master’s seventieth birthday.

“What on Earth was going on back there? I’ve asked the chefs as to why are there so many tables laid out and they said one of us had ordered them to lay out 220 tables!”

Old Master Taylor stormed out furiously at this moment. He seemed incredibly furious.

“Grandpa, it was jackie who had made them do such an arrangement. I’ve asked them and they said someone whose last name was White, a member of our Taylor family told them to do so. Tell me, which one of us in the Taylor family has the last name, White?”

Ivan immediately came forward to speak out. He was delighted in his heart. It seemed that jackie was truly a fool since he had already infuriated the Old Master the moment they showed up. He had already intended to have him exiled from the Taylor family today. He did not expect he would present him with such an opportunity on his own. He only had himself to blame now.

“Impossible!” The instant Selena heard that statement, she immediately said, “You guys only know the person’s last name. I think you guys must’ve wrongly accused jackie now! I think someone was pulling something behind our backs by pretending to be one of the members of our Taylor family and claiming that person’s last name happened to be White. Just to pin the blame on jackie!”

“Yeah, good point! It could be caused by one of us here!” Fiona glared at Ivan when she made that statement.

Since Ivan absolutely loved pulling tricks and she believed that no matter how bold jackie was, he would not be bold enough to do anything like this. Ivan on the other hand would be very likely to do something like this.

“What are you staring at me for, Fiona? Do you actually think it’s me? What reason do I have to do something like this?” Ivan did not expect Fiona would stare at him. He was incredibly furious at that moment. Although he intended to trap jackie, he would never think of pulling a stunt like that. He would not mind giving such a stunt a try if he had thought of it initially though.

Xena wanted to speak up for Ivan since she was currently Ivan’s girlfriend. However, she was afraid of exposing herself. To keep her identity a secret and gain jackie’s trust, she also came forward to speak for jackie, “we never accused you of anything so why did you come forward yourself? It seems you are guilty of something!”

“You…” Ivan was incredibly furious as he did not expect Xena would actually side with jackie.

However, he was no fool. It did not take him long to understand what Xena was thinking so he spoke with a cold look, “You have no evidence anyway so you can’t blindly accuse anyone. I have asked them and they told me it was a guy with the last name of White. That person had ordered the hotel to prepare an additional two hundred tables!”

“My son will never do such a thing and I believe him! He wouldn’t order so many extra tables for nothing!” Joan also frantically spoke up for jackie.

“Yeah, my father would not do such a thing!” Kylie too sided with jackie as she stared at Ivan with resentment before adding, “You big meanie, only you would do it! You’re framing my father!”

“I…” Ivan was fuming since that little brat actually called him a big meanie. This infuriated him into oblivion.

Chapter 505 ”It might actually be Ken, Neil, or Micheal since they’ve always hated jackie anyway. They did this to target jackie!” After remaining silent for a brief moment, Selena made that assumption.

jackie had a peculiar look on his face as he stood by the side. He did not expect everyone to jump to his defense before he could even speak up for himself. He was incredibly touched by this.

“regarding if it was jackie’s doing or not, we’ll just have the hotel staff come over since they met the person anyway!” Ivan chuckled maniacally as he stared at jackie. He believed it must have been jackie since that person’s last name was White. It would be a miracle if that was not jackie.

As for why jackie was this foolish to have done that was not that important anymore. Having so many extra tables would at least cost ten million dollars. He was interested to see what jackie would do.

“You can stop asking now, it’s me!” jackie let out a bitter chuckle before waving both hands around as he replied.

“Look, look at him now, you guys. He’s admitted it!” Theodore immediately pointed at jackie before yelling at him, “It seems he is also afraid of us calling the hotel staff over because he knew he will be exposed real soon so he was forced to admit!”

“ jackie, it’s really you? Oh, how you’ve disappointed our trust in you. I didn’t expect it to be your doing!” Fiona almost started to stomp her feet around from being so infuriated. She had never expected that her troublemaker of a son-in-law would start stirring up trouble again after they finally have some peaceful days. He was truly a jinx!

“ jackie, you really are… I have no words for you. Why would you order two hundred tables for no reason?” Selena nearly passed out from how furious she was.

“No way right? It’s really Daddy?” Kylie bashfully lowered her head as she felt as if she had made a mistake. This little rascal had just spoken up for her own father but she did not expect, it was really her father’s doing.

“ jackie, why did you order so many extra tables for no reason?” Although Joan had faith in her own son, she was also startled by what jackie had said.

Old Master Taylor’s expression dimmed before exclaiming, “If you think it’s funny to do such a thing, you can leave today.”

Ivan was incredibly delighted after hearing that statement. He immediately said, “ jackie, you owe us an extremely clear explanation today. Could you have ordered an extra two hundred tables which were going to cost an extra 12 million as a gift for Grandpa? This isn’t a gift, jackie, this is a surprise, right?”

The other Taylor family members had long since gathered around them. Everyone was speechless when they heard that. Indeed, an extra two hundred tables would cost ten million now, right?

If this happened to be a gift, it seemed that this guy was a fool and his head had been kicked by a donkey.

“Should I really explain this anyway?” jackie chuckled calmly as he said, “I ordered that many tables because I know twenty tables alone would never be enough. There will be a lot of guests coming today and I’m even worried if two hundred and twenty tables would even be enough!”

“what a joke. How many guests would be present anyway? Do you think we won’t have a rough estimate in our heads?” Theodore chuckled and said, “When we held the sixtieth birthday for the old master back then, the relatives and some friends we are close to only filled seventeen to eighteen tables. Our twenty tables would be more than enough now!”

Chapter 506 ”More than two hundred tables? that is basically impossible. How can we have that many guests?” One of the Taylor family members started cackling out loud. The way he was looking at jackie seemed like he was staring at a madman.

Cecilia was also laughing as she said, “Aside from the members of our Taylor family, it would only be regular wealthy merchants who have good ties with us. In addition to a few third-class aristocratic families that are close to us. Those second or first-class families will never show up because they all look down on us, third-class aristocratic families. Therefore, there can never be that many people present!”

“ jackie, this isn’t the gift you prepared now, right? This isn’t considered a gift, right? You came empty- handed and it seems like this happened to be a gift you’ve prepared for the old master?” Ivan chuckled coldly.

“This isn’t a gift. I just so happened to request those tables for you guys only! Don’t you worry, if the Taylor family is unwilling to foot the bill for those tables, I will pay for it when the bill comes later!” jackie chuckled calmly as he seemed completely unbothered by any of it.

“Nonsense. Of course, you’ll have to foot the bill when it was you who ordered that many tables. Are you expecting us to pay the bills for you?” Ivan exclaimed furiously immediately, “The most we will do is pay for the original twenty tables we’ve ordered.”

“No way, how can jackie fork out that much money?” The moment Fiona heard they wanted jackie to cough up twelve million dollars, she panicked.

From her perspective, jackie’s money was also her money since Selena was married to jackie anyway. Now that jackie had already given her twenty million, he was now considered one of them. Not to mention, she still had to rely on jackie to marry Sharon. When that happens, it would be amazing for her if the George family became part of their family, right?

“It’s his fault for randomly placing the order anyway so it’s only natural for him to pay the bill. This has nothing to do with us!” Ivan chuckled maniacally. He then added, “I’ll see just what you’re going to do with the remaining two hundred tables and food. Are you going to eat all of the food yourself or are you going to be a charitable man by giving away the food to the poor on the streets?!”

Everyone started laughing after hearing that statement. It seemed the thought process for this son-in-law was indeed an oddity to have ordered an extra two hundred tables for absolutely no reason.

“Don’t worry, there will be a lot of wealthy merchants that will show up this time. Those who have never made their presence before will show up this time. Not to mention, those first and second-class families that never came back then will be present this time. Therefore, I am quite worried that those two hundred plus tables won’t be enough to accommodate all of them!”

“keep boasting. How could that many people show up? This happens to be my grandpa’s birthday, not the birthday of the God of War, you know!” Ivan was cackling out loud as he felt that jackie was making an extremely huge joke.

“ jackie, are you intentionally insulting us by making that statement? I, your grandfather isn’t some reputable man so how could people like marshals or Kings of War even bother to show up to celebrate a birthday of a third-class aristocratic family like us? Not to mention, those first and second-class families will never show up!” Old Master Taylor’s expression dimmed as he found what jackie said, insulting.

If it was not for Selena sealing a major business deal for the Taylor family a few days ago, sparking hope for the Taylor family becoming a second-class aristocratic family in the next two years, he wanted nothing more than to kick jackie out immediately. However, he had no choice since she was still his own granddaughter and had done such a huge favor for the Taylor family so, he had to hold back his anger.

He let out a bitter chuckle before saying, “Forget it then. Let’s just forget about this ordeal for now since what’s done is already done and the hotel has sent so many staff over with so many waiters on top of so much food. We don’t have much of a choice now anyway.”

“Dad, no matter what happens, jackie has to be the one to pay the bill later!” Theodore exclaimed after some thought.

As Old Master Taylor was just about to nod, he did not expect a man that was responsible for the guest reception yelled out from the entrance, “Marshal Dennis is here to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday!”

The old man was stunned. He was shocked that a marshal would actually show up to celebrate his birthday when his family was only a third-class aristocratic family?

Chapter 507 Not to mention, he had never even heard of the name of this marshal before.

“A marshal came?”

“That happens to be quite a capable marshal. How awesome! It seems our old master will be very reputable now!”

A few of the Taylor family members looked very delighted. Since even a marshal came, would that not make their family proud?

It seemed if any other third-class aristocratic families found out about this, they would all be envious of their Taylor family.

“That rascal sure came early!” jackie cracked a calm smile when he noticed Dennis. He did not expect Dennis would be the first one to show up when the others had not arrived yet.

“Why did Dennis show up? Isn’t he a good friend of Ken’s? Could he have come because he knew that Ken is coming?” Ivan’s expressions dimmed before softly whispering to Old Master Taylor, “Grandpa, Dennis happens to be a good friend to Young Master Ken. Since Young Master Ken is a close friend of mine and he’s coming today, Dennis might be coming because of how close both me and Young Master Ken are. This isn’t too surprising.”

“Young Master Ken is coming? The Clark family happens to be a second-class aristocratic family though!” Theodore was stunned with joy as he said, “Ivan, you sure are something. I didn’t expect you to get Young Master Ken from the Clark family to show up too!”

“Not only that, don’t forget, I know Michael Wilson and Young Master Hugo too. They are all coming. They’re only coming because of me!” Ivan started cackling maniacally in that instant. He was clear that they were all here just to watch jackie embarrass himself.

Ivan was worried that if he did not explain himself when all three of them show up later, everyone else might assume that jackie was right.

Hence, he added after some thought, “Therefore, aside from those few people, everyone else that jackie mentioned earlier will never show up!”

Just as he was done speaking, Dennis had already approached them.

“Greetings, Marshal Dennis. I truly didn’t expect you would grace our Taylor family with your presence!” Theodore immediately came forward to greet him while chuckling.

“Greetings, Master Theodore, Old Master Taylor. I wish you a long and healthy life!” Dennis spoke while waving his hand.

“you’re too kind, too kind indeed!” Zeus cackled out loud as he was very happy from receiving that wish.

However, he heard everything Ivan said earlier, and aside from those people he had mentioned, he might not be expecting any more guests to show up.

“Major Trent has arrived to wish Old Master Taylor a very happy seventieth birthday!”

“Major Pendragon Mace has arrived to wish Old Master Taylor a very happy seventieth birthday!”

Just at this very moment, the receptionist called out once again.

“Two more majors?”

All of the Taylor family members were all looking at each other and were wondering if they had all misheard anything.

Chapter 508 Old Master Taylor gulped as he was wondering if he was dreaming. Three majors came. Those happened to be majors and they commanded at least a few thousand to tens of thousands of men on the battlefield.

He did not expect them to show up to celebrate his seventieth birthday with him!

“What’s the matter? Young Master Ivan, didn’t you say that not many people would show up?” jackie said while chuckling calmly.

“no matter what, they still can’t fill all two hundred tables!” Ivan was also chuckling as he believed jackie was merely lucky. Moreover, those two majors might actually be very close to Marshal Dennis hence, their presence.

“The master of the Clark family has arrived with the members of the Clark family to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday!”

“The master of the Hugo family has arrived with the members of the Hugo family to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday!”

“The master of the Wilson family has arrived with the members of the Wilson family to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday!”

It did not take long for three series of announcements to be made from the main entrance. All three second-class aristocratic families actually came as well.

All three masters had brought along all three of their young masters in addition to some high ranking members of their respective families here. More than ten people actually showed up in an instant.

Their bodyguards were all stationed outside.

“They actually came!” Zeus felt slightly surprised when the masters of those three families showed up as well. He initially thought that only the young masters of those three families would come. However, unexpectedly, the masters tagged along as well.

Both Theodore and Zeus immediately came forward to greet them.

A constant stream of guests came after that. However, those were people that Old Master Taylor and the others had expected.

Those people that jackie claimed that would show up seemed to be absent.

“weren’t you extremely confident earlier, jackie? Look at how many people had shown up now? Those two hundred tables worth of guests are all just air now?” Ivan chuckled before mocking jackie.

“Isn’t it still very early? It isn’t even time for the gift reception anyway. Where’s the fun in showing up early, right?” jackie chuckled calmly since the person tasked for the gift reception had not arrived yet.

After another moment had passed, the person tasked with gift reception had finally arrived.

“So many people had arrived already!”

After that person got seated, a few staff were tasked with receiving gifts from the guests and some were tasked in noting the gifts down.

“Grandpa, I won’t be noting my gift down. I’ll just hand it to you directly since we’re a family anyway!” Cecilia smiled and took out the gift she had prepared as she said, “The gift I prepared for you is two

bricks of Pu’er tea that had been dried for two centuries. It’s not that expensive since it only costs 600 thousand dollars. The main thing is, such a gift is hard to find!”

Cecilia was quite detailed in her introduction. She was obviously trying to show off.

The other guests went over to get themselves registered aside. They were mostly giving out money as their gifts. Of course, these people would not be frugal with the amount they were giving. They would fork out at least eight to ten thousand dollars.

“Grandpa, this is something I’ve prepared for you… It’s a jade statue of Guanyin. This is very well carved but it’s not that expensive. It’s merely eight million dollars!” Ivan had also made his move. He took out a twenty centimeters tall jade statue of Guanyin from a box. It looked very impressive.

“Is this made from Hetian jade? It’s not bad, the coloration is impressive and it’s very intricately carved. Thank you!” Old Master Taylor nodded satisfyingly. He could tell how sincere Ivan was to go out of his way to pick out a gift for him.

Chapter 509 The other Taylor family members all came forward to give Old Master Taylor their gifts. Of course, the gifts they presented could not compare with what Cecilia or Ivan had offered but they were quite expensive too. Those gifts averaged around a hundred to two hundred thousand dollars. Hence, they were still considered luxurious gifts.

“Alright, old master. The gifts have been recorded here. I will be recording down any other gifts that will be given later!” The staff responsible for the gift reception recorded everything about the guests that came earlier before making that statement.

“What are you still standing around for? Aren’t you going to present your gift?” Fiona’s expression dimmed after noticing jackie had not done anything yet. It was unsure what jackie was thinking since he had not made a move yet.

“Yeah, brother-in-law, you wouldn’t have not brought anything with you now, would you? Hurry up and present it!” Ben was also pretty impatient.

“ jackie, don’t you forget about our bet. If you aren’t able to fulfill your end of the bargain, you will have to be exiled from the Taylor family!” Ivan reminded him as if he was worried that jackie might have forgotten about their bet.

“I know. I know that once I present the gift, you guys will acknowledge me as the son-in-law of the Taylor family, right?” jackie said with a smile.

“Yes, yes, yes. Now hurry up and show us a gift that is worth over ten million dollars!” Cecilia giggled as she said, “Both of your hands are empty. What exactly is your gift that could be so tiny and expensive at the same time when you’re carrying it with you?”

Upon noticing everyone forcing jackie to present his gift, Michael, Neil, and Ken came to spectate. They were all waiting for the moment where jackie was unable to present his gift and being exiled from the Taylor family.

“ jackie, I heard that you have won the bid for that mansion. I’m not sure if that’s true or not? Could that be the gift you’re planning to give the old master?” Ken said after some thought.

“What! jackie won the bid for that mansion?” After Fiona heard him say that, she immediately turned to look toward that mansion across the street. That happened to be an entire villa and it should cost about twenty to thirty million dollars. When exactly did jackie buy a mansion? How could he have not told them about it?

The corner of jackie’s mouth twitched slightly. He initially was planning to bring Selena over to surprise her after the event was done. He did not expect that b*stard Ken would expose the entire thing here. How could he still give Selena a surprise now?

“Brother-in-law, is that true? Is that the gift you’ve bought for the old master?” Ben gulped as he found jackie amazing. That mansion was not cheap and jackie was able to win the bid for it.

Ivan immediately said when he noticed jackie’s expressions dimmed, “ jackie, there’s a lot of guests here at the moment and we’re actually saving your pride for exposing it now. Or else, when more people show up later, you’d embarrass yourself even more!”

Selena stood calmly on the side. Judging from the looks of things, Ken did not intentionally try to strain their relationship by spouting nonsense. Since that mansion was actually bought by jackie after all.

She was curious to hear jackie’s explanation at that very moment. If jackie actually had a relationship with that wealthy lady behind her back, not only would the Taylor family members exile him, she too would want him to leave too. That was because jackie would have completely disappointed her if that was the case.

“I actually bought that mansion. I spent 95 million dollars on it. Young Master Ivan, you should know that better than anyone else, since you helped me shine my shoe after that!”

jackie let out a bitter chuckle as he took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly took a puff.

Chapter 510 Ivan’s expression immediately dimmed after hearing that statement. Was jackie not trying to intentionally embarrass him? However, he was not exactly bothered by being embarrassed as long as he was able to get jackie exiled from the Taylor family today. Everything would be worth it for him.

“95 million? Was it really that expensive?” Cecilia gasped after hearing that as she said, “So, in order to increase the value of your gift to the old master, you intentionally spoke a random amount, jackie?”

“Regardless of whether it’s worth that much or not, is an afterthought. However, I actually spent that much on that house to win the bid. If you don’t believe me, you can ask both Young Master Neil and

Young Master Ken. They were both there on that day as well!” jackie calmly replied.

“Young Master Ken, Young Master Neil, did he actually spend that much money? I refuse to believe him, the son-in-law who was enlisted as a soldier for five years can fork out that much money!” Cecilia was very dissatisfied. She was dissatisfied because she could never have forked out that much money and was she actually inferior to the son-in-law?

“He actually did. The thing is, Young Master Ivan too had his eye on that mansion and wanted to bid for the mansion as a gift for Old Master Taylor so he went to the auction that day. However, he did not expect jackie to be present as well…” Ken laughed before continuing, “So, both of them wanted to bid for it. They even made a bet that the loser would shine the winner’s shoe. Young Master Ivan conceded in the end and jackie won the bid for that house!”

Fiona clenched her fist furiously as she listened from aside. She was fuming. jackie happened to be wasting too much money now. He actually wanted to snatch it from Ivan. Why could he not just give it to Ivan? That house was not even worth more than ninety million anyway.

Besides, he initially agreed to only a ten million dollars gift for the old master anyway. Could he not have bought anything else that cost ten million dollars? He could have saved eighty million dollars then. Even if jackie did not want this much money, it would be better off just giving it to her. His mother-in-law happened to be short in cash anyway. Of course, she merely kept those thoughts to herself. As unhappy as she was, she could not speak her mind in front of everyone then. Besides, jackie spent that much money to win the bid for that house while making Ivan shine his shoe for him at the same time. This had earned some form of pride or glory to their family.

At this moment, Ken chuckled coldly as he said, “However, I’ve had people look into jackie and he never requested for an advance paycheck from Miss Tanya. Coincidentally, we ran into the same wealthy lady from the previous auction together with jackie again. Cough! Cough! This meant that the money came from that wealthy woman. The hard-earned money of that wealthy woman it seems!” Ken emphasized

his tone when he said ‘hard-earned money’ as if he was trying to hint at something. He even slowed down when he said that.

“That’s right. That gift came from the bed, it seems!” After Michael heard that, he burst out laughing. How could Ivan not tell him when he knew so much information.

However, that was not important now since jackie, their son-in-law had utterly disgraced the entirety of the Taylor family now. If what Ivan said was true, it would be a miracle for jackie to not be exiled from the Taylor family immediately. He believed that as long as jackie was no longer in the picture to stop him, he would have a chance to pursue Selena.

“ jackie, what they’re saying, is it true? Were you really together with that wealthy lady?”

Fiona had nearly passed out from being agitated. Neil had told them about it previously and she thought they were intentionally spouting nonsense. However, Selena did not exactly probe deeper regarding that ordeal so the entire matter was dropped.

Chapter 511 Who would have known that they would mention that incident today. It would be extremely shameful if jackie had actually afforded the villa by being a sugar baby. It would be even more shameful if his sugar mommy was very old. Maybe in her seventies, even eighties? That was shame beyond words!

“There isn’t any sugar mommy, they’re just kidding,” jackie smiled and tried to explain himself.

“You can stop denying.” Ken laughed and then continued, “We have photos to prove our words!”

Old Master Taylor was all the more confused. He turned to Ivan and asked, “Ivan, what’s going on here? What about the auction? What about the rich woman?”

That was when Ivan detailed the situation to Old Master Taylor. Of course, he did not forget to mention that jackie had bought the villa in an auction.

Old Master Taylor’s face darkened with each word. His face was almost pale when he said, “I’ve wondered how you were able to fork out over ninety million to buy the villa without advance payment of your salary. There’s only one possibility and that is, getting money from your sugar mommy.” He then pointed to the villa and continued, “This is a great gift and I really like this villa. But if you’ve bought it with dirty money, I’ll never accept it and I’ll never live in it. I, Zues Taylor, will feel ashamed and filthy living in that house. Last but not least, I’ll never recognize you as the son-in-law of the Taylor’s. You’re a disgrace to our family!”

“That’s right, don’t humiliate us any further, scram!

“Yeah, go! Go to your sugar mommy!”

“Who’d have known a loser like you would be a sugar baby just to afford this gift for the Old Master… Hehe… This is…”

The Taylor family’s relatives started chiming in one after another.

“ jackie, you’ve let us down!” Andrew was angered too. He thought jackie could finally gain recognition from everyone in this joyful event by presenting this villa as a gift. If that were the case, Andrew and his family would be able to all move into the villa together. He did not see this coming.

“My dear son, how…how could you? I’d rather you marry Sharon than being a sugar baby to a rich woman!” Joan’s eyes reddened and she could not believe that her son would do such a thing.

Unexpectedly, jackie laughed out loud and asked, “Is there no way else that I could afford the villa other than asking for an advance salary payment and being a sugar baby?

Who said I didn’t have the money myself?” He paused before he continued, “It’s true that I have bought the villa—with my own money. Didn’t any of you know that Daxia had generously rewarded veterans? I

have served the military for five years and some of you may have seen me fight before. Did you think I could survive five years as an ordinary soldier?” jackie got more and more emotional as he spoke.

“So… He wasn’t just an ordinary soldier?”

Some of them started to guess as they roughly knew jackie’s fighting ability—how he fought against a dozen people so effortlessly.

Chapter 512 “Oh yeah… Very few can actually survive past one month on the battlefield, let alone five years…”

“You’re right, those who can survive for a year are considered above average good. jackie must be very capable to be able to hang in there for five years. He mustn’t be just any ordinary soldier, maybe he held a higher position!”

Many started to second guess…

“as far as I know, you’ve spent almost a hundred million since you came back. This villa would cost you another ninety over million! In that case, the government must have rewarded you a pension worth that of a head commander’s,” Ivan remarked laughingly.

“Mhmm. I know of an assistant commander who’s received a hundred million as pension, some head commander… Maybe two hundred million. So you’re a head commander?!” Ken joined the guessing game.

“Do you have anything to prove your position as a head commander, jackie? As far as I know, any commander would hold a commander’s token as a symbol of their position.” Old Master Taylor wished really hard that jackie could show everyone his token to prove his position and that the money he used to buy what he bought, was the money he well deserved from protecting the country. In that case, it would be an honor to the Taylor family, not a disgrace.

Dennis rubbed his nose bridge and was trying to suppress his laughter. jackie had his token but he did not plan to expose his true identity. All he wanted was to live a normal life. Everyone in the house would have to kneel and bow before him if he were to present his token.

It was the one and only in Daxia, only the Supreme Warrior could have it. jackie could command and rule anyone in the army. It was extremely inconsiderate of him to display the token in front of this many people. He would get into trouble regardless. If he did not display it, he would be labeled as ‘the sugar baby’; if he did, his true identity would be exposed.

He was on the fence and his expression darkened. “I…” What should he do?

“What’s the matter? Just show us the token if you’re really the head commander, it’s an honor—not something to be shameful of! Come on, shut their mouth. I believe that you’re not a sugar baby,” Joan tried to persuade jackie.

Then, Ivan interjected as he was excited to see jackie not being able to show the token. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a token as the commander?”

‘We’ll see how long more you can put on this show, jackie. It’s shameful enough that you’re a sugar baby, and to cover that lie with ‘head commander’s pension’? That’s funny!’

“Come on, jackie. You were so confident just now. How do you prove that you’re not just an ordinary soldier? Where’s your token? You can’t prove anything without it!” Cecilia laughed and thought he had nothing to show after all.

Chapter 513 jackie bitterly smiled then said, “It’s true that I’m not an ordinary soldier. In fact, I hold a relatively high position in the military force. But I’ve lost my token, it was probably picked pocketed somewhere. Hence why I haven’t revealed my identity all this while, I was worried that no one would believe my words without the token.”

The crowd was speechless. How did he…

“I believe in him!” Selena walked forward. “When he first came back, I thought he was an ordinary soldier and only had a few hundred thousand on him. Later, I knew that my estimation was incorrect, five years of service in the military would have earned him maybe ten to twenty million… And I was wrong again! Now I think he’s a head commander, to be able to afford this villa!”

“you’d speak up for him because he’s your husband, Selena! What a sweet talker.” Micheal laughed. “You think he’s a head commander just because he bought this villa, not because of his capabilities? Now what do you want us to do and how can we trust his words? He can’t even prove his position!”

“Mhmm!” Neil interjected, “Of all, we know the money could be from his sugar mommy!”

Ivan chimed in, “So you said the money was yours… Then how do you explain your relationship with that rich woman? I’ve seen her many times. There was even once when you walked out of the villa with her!”

Neil continued, “She always goes around wearing a mask as if she was avoiding paparazzi. This is a telltale sign that she was avoiding her husband or acquaintances, and that means you both are up to no good!”

“A rich lady? aren’t you worried she’ll kill you if you angered her?” jackie smiled coldly and continued, “Stop guessing, everyone. She’ll be here later and you’ll know who she is. Brace yourself.”

“What! She’ll be coming here? How dare she!” Ivan laughed.

“Wow, such a thick-faced woman to dare to show up today. Tsk tsk…” Ken laughed too. “Selena, look at your husband’s sugar mommy. She’s about to come and claim her turf.”

“First of all, she’s rich but not that rich. Her wealth is granted by Daxia as a reward for her serving the country. Second of all, she’ll come today out of respect for me. Otherwise, she won’t attend functions like

this.” jackie’s expression darkened. He was angry because he could not stand them making fun of his disciple, Lana.

If it was not for Old Master’s birthday and the many people that were present including his daughter and wife—he really wanted to beat them up to teach them a lesson! jackie was really pissed at them for pushing him to the edge of the cliff.

“Tsk tsk tsk. So you mean, she’s nothing ordinary!”

“We shall see who this ‘extraordinary woman’ is. We can finally see her face when she removes her mask to eat.” Ivan laughed.

Suddenly, a voice announced at the door. The voice sounded as if it was trembling.

“Quin Hayes, King of War with six stars, arrived and is here to wish Old Master Taylor a happy and blessed seventieth birthday!”

Chapter 514 Everyone was expecting to see jackie make a fool of himself when suddenly, the six-starred King of War arrived to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday.

“What! Quin Hayes is here!”

“You shouldn’t call him by his name, you should address him as King of War Hayes. Otherwise, he can slap you to death if he finds you disrespectful!”

“My god, he’s the King of War… A SIX-STARRED King of War! What is he doing here at this function? This…is our honor!”

The Taylor family’s relatives started a discussion among themselves and they were obviously astonished.

“King of War Hayes presents a gift in cash worth sixty million!” the man who was in charge of reception and gifts announced.

“I really didn’t know what’s a suitable gift to get and I’m not familiar with your hobbies. So I decided to give you cash, that way, you can spend it to your heart’s content!” Quin walked forward as he laughed out loud. He seemed like a cheerful man.

“King of War Hayes, you’re… You’re too courteous. It’s our honor to serve you as a guest, as we know you seldom attend functions even when you’re being invited. Your presence here is a great honor, you need not prepare me any gifts. You’re too generous!” Zeus was so touched and surprised to have received such a guest. It was out of his expectation to have received three marshals in the event—what more, a six-starred war king?

“Sixty million?! That’s such a generous gift!” Some wealthy merchants lamented. Why would the war king waste his money like that?

“Master Wilson and Young Master Wilson have arrived to celebrate Old Master Taylor’s seventieth birthday. Here is a pair of jade sceptres for the birthday star.”

Soon after, more guests arrived.

The Taylor family’s relatives frowned while some could not help but look at jackie. Was jackie right when he said that the unexpected guests and war kings will attend the birthday party?

Well, so many of them had already turned up! The Wilson family had never turned up in the past events even though they were only a third-class aristocratic family—but they showed up!

“Head Commander Liam Benett has arrived to wish Old Master Taylor a happy seventieth birthday. He presents a golden comb as a gift.” Again, the man who was in charge of reception and gifts announced.

Soon after, a head commander entered the hall together with his family.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me! jackie was right!” Ivan’s face darkened as he observed. He was worried that jackie would get the praises and compliments from Old Master Taylor for inviting two hundred tables of guests! He also wondered how jackie predicted that these people of high social status would show up?

Or, did they show up because they knew the war king was going to come?

“Assistant Commander Chris Tyson has arrived to celebrate the seventieth birthday of Old Master Taylor. He presents the old master two pieces of gold Phoenix hairpin!”

Just as Ivan was cracking his head, more guests had arrived—a commander nonetheless. He held a relatively high position too!

“Master Louise from a second-class aristocrat family has arrived together with his family to celebrate the seventieth birthday of Old Master Taylor. They presented a jade abacus!”

Chapter 515 Another unexpected guest arrived in a family of three. They presented their gift as they entered the hall.

“ jackie, how did you know so many people will show up?” Old Master Taylor could not keep his cool anymore and asked. “Will there really be guests enough to fill two hundred tables?”

jackie was rather calm. He smiled and coughed, “Grandpa, you see the guests who showed up today… Who’ll be paying for their meals? If you’re paying, then I’ll tell you.”

“That’s right! You can’t make my son pay for this. Look, the second-class aristocrats, war kings, commanders are all here! Given enough time, maybe even a God of War will show up soon!” Joan quickly suggested.

“very well, we’ll pay for all the guests today regardless of how many of them show up!” Old Master Taylor was ecstatic.

jackie smiled calmly and said, “It must be because these people heard the news that the Goddess of War will show up today. If she shows up, many others would too!”

“God… God of War will show up?” Old Master Taylor gasped. What was going on? Why would a God of War attend this celebration? Did the Taylor family have any connections with them?

But if it was not for God of War, why would all these people—war king, commander, and the others— attend his birthday party?

Dennis overheard their conversation and came to them and said, “Don’t you worry, Godess of War will be here today. She’d mentioned it in our last gathering and she invited us to come and celebrate your birthday with you.”

“That’s great!” Old Master Taylor was so excited that a God of War would show up at his birthday celebration, which would be a great great honor to the Taylor family—regardless of the reason she decided to attend the party. That way, the second-class aristocrats would never see the Taylor’s the same way again.

On top of that, it would be an excellent opportunity for them to regain their reputation in the society. That would enable them to easily secure business deals in the long-term.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, the God of War will be coming?” Ivan and Ken were stunned after getting to know that. They expected jackie to boast about the guest list—not actually getting the ‘unexpected’ to attend.

They were afraid that even two hundred tables were not enough to serve the guests if a God of War actually showed up. That would be a serious issue.

“ jackie, how could you do this?! Why didn’t you pre-empt us about the attendance of a God of War?! We’re all caught off guard! A God of War may get mad at us for not preparing enough tables for

everybody! Could you shoulder the consequences if you hadn’t booked these extra two hundred tables?” Ivan was so agitated that he scolded jackie.

“I wanted this to be a surprise,” jackie said with a smile.

“Whatever, jackie. We won’t pursue the matter about the extra two hundred tables further. But you’ve mentioned, that ‘sugar mommy’ of yours will be coming too? If you still can’t prove to us that you bought the villa without the money from her, you’re still a sugar baby! You can’t even show us a token to prove your position as the commander!”

They had been waiting for this opportunity to tease jackie but was previously interrupted with the arrival of King of Wars. They revisited the topic once the guests made their way to the backyard.

“ jackie, I won’t accept this gift if you had really bought the villa with a sugar mommy’s money. This isn’t something I want to get myself involved in,” Zeus spoke with full certainty. That was his last straw and he had to save his face from that.

Chapter 516 Ivan Taylor and Ken Clark, who were by their side, were happy when they heard this. jackie did not tell the Taylors to prepare more tables when he knew that the Goddess of War was coming.

However, they had no idea that jackie was still very calm. “You’ll know if she’s a rich lady when she’s here. How should I put this? Nine hundred million is nothing to her, what more ninety million!”

Pausing for a moment, jackie turned to look at Old Master Taylor and added, “I have your gift ready, Grandfather, but it’s not the villa next to this.”

“What?!” Many from the crowd inhaled sharply when they heard this. If it was not that villa, then what was his gift?

Selena, who stood behind jackie, frowned. This man was full of surprises, she could barely keep up with him. So the gift he prepared for her grandfather was not the villa after all?

“Not the villa? Then, this villa is…” Zeus Taylor trailed off.

Turning to look behind him, jackie pulled Selena closer to him. He then took a key out from his pocket and placed it onto Selena’s palm. “It’s for Selena. The place we’re currently staying in doesn’t have enough space, so I want my family to move over. I originally wanted to surprise Selena with this, but I never thought Ivan would see it first and ruin the surprise…”

jackie lovingly touched Selena’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, Honey. I wanted to wait till dinner ended to tell you this tonight and bring you there to have a look. I had no idea that it’d turn into this, and I have no other way but to tell you the truth a little early.”

Selena was dazed, so much so that her red lips parted. She wondered if she had heard wrongly. All this time, the villa was not the place where jackie and the rich woman were secretly seeing each other; it was his gift to her. She silently thanked herself for not dwelling in the matter or exposed jackie for it. Otherwise, things might have turned badly.

“ jackie, did… Did I hear wrongly? You spent over ninety million and won the auction on the opposite villa, just to give it to my daughter? For our whole family to stay there?” Fiona gulped, evidently excited. Initially disappointed at jackie as Fiona believed he was kissing up to a rich woman, she was happy once more at this moment. It seemed that she had really misunderstood jackie.

jackie smiled indifferently. “Don’t worry, Mother. The deed for the villa isn’t here yet, but it belongs to Selena alone. This house was bought for her. Moreover, it isn’t proper for Kylie to be sleeping with us in the same room. After all, Kylie is already four years old!”

“Amazing! That… That house is ours for real?” Kylie clapped her hands excitedly. “That’s so cool! Mommy, we have a new house!” she beamed. “A very, very big house!”

Selena’s nose turned sour. The bitterness she experienced throughout these five tears was finally turned into tears of relief that trickled down her face.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” Kylie frowned when she saw Selena crying, her face evident with worry.

Selena knelt down and patted Kylie’s delicate little head. “Don’t worry, Kylie, Mommy is just happy,” she spoke through tears. “These are happy tears, okay? We’ll be staying in a big, comfortable house soon!”

jackie was overcome with emotions as he gazed at his dear wife kneeling before their daughter. Selena had endured numerous hardships throughout these five years. From now onward, if she was wanted, he would willingly give her the entire world.

“Alright!” Kylie nodded.

Chapter 517 The trio—Ken, Neil, and Michael—began to scowl as the scene before them, inwardly jealous.

“Only ninety million or so? If you marry me, you’d have no problem having one or two billion,” Michael snapped, lips pursed into a tight frown. jackie was able to capture Selena’s heart by purchasing a villa; she did not even give them a chance to please her.

“So you’re saying that this villa is for Selena, right jackie? How about the old master’s gift then?” Cecilia spoke, unable to hold in her curiosity anymore. Folding her arms across her chest, she arrogantly added, “Is it possible that you didn’t prepare any presents?”

“That’s right, jackie. What about your promise to us previously? You can get out of the Taylor mansion if you didn’t prepare anything!” Ivan also stood up.

As though a light bulb went off in his head, Ken chimed in, “ jackie, you bought a villa for your wife. What does it say about you being so generous? This means that you’re very rich. If that’s the case, the present you prepared for the old master must be very valuable!” Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Michael decided to join in as he spoke, “Is it possible that the present you prepared is just ten million? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be somewhat of a downgrade for Old Master Taylor? After all, you’ve just

gifted a villa that you bought with almost one hundred million to your wife!”

Unfazed, jackie merely replied, “Don’t you worry; it’s much more expensive than this villa!”

“Really now? There are a lot of wealthy businessmen here,” he mused. “There are so many people here. When are you taking out this present of yours? It’s best if it’s something that can give us a run for our money!” Michael started guffawing.

Then…

“The master of the George family is here with his family to congratulate Old Master Taylor on his birthday!” No one saw this coming. The head of the George family, he who was from the first-class aristocratic family, was here.

“They’re really here. The people of the first-class aristocratic families are here!” People began to chatter among themselves at the arrival of the George family.

“That’s enough. Presents can be given to me at any time. We’re really busy right now,” said Old Master Taylor, effectively interrupting Ivan and Michael. “I need to welcome the George Family Master first. This is the George family we’re talking about!” The old master then went ahead and greeted the George family with a smile.

There were so many important guests here today. To him, what jackie gifted him was not that important. It only mattered to him as long as the money jackie used to buy the villa was not earned by coddling rich women.

Moreover, what jackie said about the presents he prepared exceeded the value of the villa was too grandiose; he was definitely boasting. The words that came out of this man’s mouth tend to be unreliable sometimes.

“I’m here to see you making a fool of yourself, jackie. However, we’re too busy right now, so I’ll give you some more time. I don’t believe that you can drag it out today and avoid showing the present altogether!” Ivan laughed. “I want to see what kind of present you’ve come up with that’s more expensive than this villa. I’m waiting for the moment the present blinds our eyes!”

Ken also walked over and smiled coldly. “Young Master Hugo’s subordinates had been following you recently, and they reported that you hadn’t been buying any luxurious items. You only go to work and come back home every day. Apart from that, we also made some inquiries and know that the Drake family didn’t make any advance payment for your salary. I want to see how you’re going to explain these things and how’re you going to explain about that rich woman. We’re waiting for you. I want to see how long you can hold things off!”

Chapter 518 “Congratulations, Master Taylor!” The George Family Master offered him a small smile, gave Master Taylor his present, and walked inside.

“ jackie! It’s so good to see you again!” A charming woman, who had on a white dress with flower patterns adorning the clothing, appeared from behind the George family’s patriarch. She immediately ran up to jackie once she saw him. “Oh, I missed you so much!”

The corners of her father’s mouth twitched ever so slightly when he saw his daughter getting so excited when she saw jackie. He was speechless. He never understood why his daughter would fall for this guy. Yes, jackie was medically skilled and was equally talented in many other aspects, but he was older than Sharon. As if that was not enough, he had a wife and a four-year-old child. His daughter, on the other hand, was high-born and incredibly beautiful. Finding a suitable candidate for her hand in marriage would be as easy as pie.

“Who’s this? She’s so gorgeous.” Ivan, Ken, and the others scrutinized this woman carefully. She had to be a member of the George family as she did tag along with them.

“It’s Sharon George…! Didn’t jackie treat her disease? Dear me. She’s an entirely different person once she’s slimmed down. Her figure, her pretty face…” Michael swallowed his saliva.

F*ck. If he knew Sharon would look so prepossessing after slimming down, he would have pursued her from the start. He had no idea that this woman was a gem in a rock.

Who would have known this woman could turn out to be so beautiful?

“Look at her eyes closely; it is Sharon George!” Ken was ashamed. Sharon was actually here. When they were at the auction house previously, this woman was obsessed with jackie. With her current attitude, was it possible…?

“Oh, Miss Sharon is here!” Before jackie could muster a proper reply, Fiona instantly walked up to welcome Sharon with a smile on her face. “Long time no see!”

“Indeed, Auntie. Long time no see!” Sharon smiled at the woman before walking up to jackie. Her inviting red lips were pursed into a sweet smile as she blushed. “I haven’t seen you these past few days, and now I finally get to meet you. How have you been?”

Standing next to them, Selena was speechless. Did Sharon George just ignore her, jackie’s actual wife?

“I’m fine!” jackie smiled awkwardly. Instead of entertaining her, however, jackie turned to look at his wife and said, “Let’s have a walk at the garden over there, dear!”

Touched by her husband’s attentiveness, Selena meekly replied, “Okay.” She held her daughter’s hand with one hand and jackie’s hand with the other. The three of them walked toward the garden not far away.

“I…” Frozen on her spot, Sharon was in disbelief at how he treated her. jackie truly was ruthless to her; he did not even bother to entertain her for a minute. She liked him so much, she had no idea… What was worse was that his actions were basically telling her to give up; that he was happily married.

Fiona did not anticipate jackie to act out like that either. She was just as dumbfounded.

She hastily stepped forward, closer to the young woman, and quickly spoke, “Don’t take his words to heart, Miss Sharon; he’s just too crude about matters such as these. You also know that he’s just come back from the battlefield.”

Sharon smiled bitterly before she replied, “Don’t worry. I understand where he’s coming from, so no offense is taken. This is normal as the three of them are such a loving family. It’s not good for me to involve myself like this. Is this not enough to tell that jackie is a good man?”

Chapter 519 “It’s very good that you can think of it that way. Don’t give up, Miss Sharon; perseverance is victory. Do you understand?”

Fiona had the impression that Sharon would be downright frustrated at what had happened, but she never expected that Sharon would have a unique way of thinking about it. This only made Fiona happy, ever hopeful that jackie could still consider having Miss Sharon as his second wife. They were not as poor as they used to be, but who said one could ever have too much money?

At the same time, Michael slowly approached the young miss as he pretended to clear his throat. “Ahem! Miss Sharon, it’s been a long time since we last met,” he spoke. “We’ve known each other for some time now, but I still don’t have your phone number. Let’s exchange our numbers so we can contact each other, and we’ll get some drinks whenever we’re free!”

Neil caught on quickly and ran over to them in an instant. “Yes, that’s right, Miss Sharon. Let’s exchange numbers, and we can come out for karaoke sessions when we’re free!”

After all, the current Sharon was not the previous fatty. Her figure and her face were nearly a rival to Selena’s. Above all, her family was richer than theirs, and she was only 20 years old. Snagging her would be equivalent to hitting a jackpot.

Nonetheless, the corners of Michael’s mouth twitched when he saw Neil coming over. This bastard Neil was utterly shameless. He had been trying to converse with Miss Sharon for a while before asking for her number. Why was this idiot here, too?!

To their surprise, Sharon’s first reply was a laugh. “Sorry, but I don’t think there’s any need for that!” She replied, not bothering to entertain them. She smiled coldly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t know that you talked crap about me behind my back when I was fat? I also heard that you guys called me ‘Fatty’! Am I wrong?”

Neil and Michael were embarrassed, unable to muster a proper reply for a good few moments.

“No, that never happened!” Neil hastily replied, an awkward smile on his face as he did. “I see that we’re inconveniencing you right now, so we’ll leave you be. However, if you need someone to accompany you for drinks or anything else, you can look for us!”

“Yes, yes, yes… Miss Sharon, let’s chat more when we have time!” Michael piped in, equally embarrassed.

At that moment… “The master of the Young family is here with members of the Young family. They congratulate Old Master Taylor on his seventieth birthday and present…” The Young family, one of the four most prominent families, had arrived.

They had learned that the Goddess of War would be attending Old Master Taylor’s 70th birthday, thus they chose to attend and brought gifts with them.

Zeus had no idea that what jackie had so boldly claimed was genuine. Not only were there assistant commanders and head commanders, but there were quite a number of marshals here too.

Rich businessmen who were not initially present from the start, second-class aristocratic families, and even first-class aristocratic families were all here.

Once he saw the onslaught of people flooding the place, Old Master Taylor mentally wiped his sweat. Fortunately, jackie had prepared an additional 200 tables. Otherwise, there would not be enough seats for so many people.

“The Mont family’s Master is here with…”

“The Roy family’s Master is here with the members of the Roy family. They’re here…”

The two other first-class aristocratic families made their appearance at last, fulfilling the attendance of all Four Major Families.

While the current attendance was quite a feat on its own, what shocked the crowd to its core is when a resounding voice announced,

“Eight-star King of War, Skyler Celestino is here to congratulate Old Master Taylor on his seventieth birthday and presents a gift of eighty million!”

Chapter 520 “Oh my god… E—Even King of War Skyler Celestino is here!” One of the assistant commanders took a sharp inhale, shocked when he heard the announcement.

“That’s right. King of War Celestino didn’t even attend King of War Magnus Sutherland’s gathering for the veterans; never did I expect that he’d attend this party!”

A regular soldier standing by their sides even rubbed his eyes before looking at the middle-aged man who walked in from the entrance. There was no mistaking it; it was indeed Skyler Celestino.

This was an 8-star King of War, his position and status much higher than other Kings of War. Apart from that, he had achieved numerous great feats by this time. Even if Quin was in front of him, he would have to address Skyler as his ‘Big Brother’.

This in itself summarized Skyler’s reputation in the public eye.

“It’s to be expected. After all, the Goddess of War is coming too. Skyler Celestino doesn’t like gatherings and has an aloof personality, but he has to give the Goddess of War face! He does admire Goddess of War, Lana Zechs the most!” One of the majors smiled indifferently. “So I’ve anticipated the God of War’s attendance, and sure enough, he’s here!”

Everybody else nodded. They had no idea that so many important people would be here at such a small Taylor family party.

“Grandfather, the people here are all people of high-status!” Ivan was in so much shock that he had no idea who he should talk to first, all to establish an early connection with them.

He was unfamiliar with all these Majors and Marshals, and he had no idea who to talk to.

That went for the 8-star King of War, too. Ivan wanted to get close to them, but he feared he could not strike a conversation with these people. He was already a nerve-wreck, so he dared not step forward. There were too many important people at the Taylor family today, and they had broken his cognition over and over again.

“He’s also here?” jackie was, at that moment, walking with Selena and Kylie in the garden. As he was merely a son-in-law to the Taylor family, it was not his place to welcome important guests. Hence, he was able to use this time to accompany his wife and daughter.

The sight of Skyler at the party, however, made him frown. Skyler was one of the few people who knew his true identity. He had once rescued Skyler during one of their skirmishes on the battlefield. At that moment, the enemy had snapped the string of his mask, and his face was revealed when the mask fell from his face. Hence, Skyler was one of the few people who knew about jackie’s identity as the Supreme Warrior.

Selena noticed the mild distress on her husband’s face as he stared at the King of War. “What happened?” she asked. “ jackie?”

jackie immediately turned his head away. “Nothing!”

He immediately changed the subject of their conversation as he spoke, “Honey, do you hate me for buying this villa? The truth is that I’ve made a bet with Ivan Taylor, so to win over him and make him shine my shoes, I…”

Selena rolled her eyes at him playfully. “How could I not hate you? How dare you bought it when it’s so expensive? The price of this villa could buy three of the same villa, right? If it was me, I’d rather lose to Ivan and shine his shoes!”

“That’s a definite no,” jackie quickly defended himself. “I can’t let it go; Ivan has bullied you and Kylie so badly before. I wouldn’t just give it up. I say that the ninety-million price tag was worth it, just to humiliate him!”

Chapter 521 Unable to keep a straight face after hearing jackie, Selena burst into laughter. “I’m just joking!” she spoke, laughing as she did. “How can I be angry at you? I can only imagine Ivan’s face as he wiped your shoes; it must’ve been very interesting. It’s strange, though. Why didn’t you take a photo of such a long-anticipated scene with your phone and share it with me? You should’ve shared the fun with me!”

“Hey, I just forgot about it at the time. I promise I’ll take a picture next time!” jackie laughed and pushed the swing in front of him, where Kylie sat giddily.

Swung together with the swing, Kylie felt like she was flying; as though she was a bird joyfully soaring in the sky. This young girl was finally experiencing the love of her father. Nobody would call her a wild child anymore.

At that moment, a thought occurred to Selena. “Oh, right. What’s your relationship with that rich woman? Will she really be coming over?” she asked. “I had no idea that you’re a Head Commander!”

“Truthfully, I’m much higher than that, but I can’t take my token out. You only need to know that your husband is really powerful, and even the Gods of War had to respect me.” jackie had a tight smile on her face. He could only give his wife a small hint after noting that no one else was around.

“Keep boasting. You’re a head commander, jackie, and it’s not bad for you to have two billion. It’s actually astounding that you became Head Commander within five years!” Selena rolled her eyes at jackie. “I’ve never met the Gods of War. I heard that this Goddess of War is a beautiful woman.”

“Honey, the rich woman they’re talking about is the Goddess of War. I’ve told you before that I know her, and we’re friends!” jackie smiled bitterly. He had said all these before, and he even said that the Nine Great Gods of War were his apprentices. In the end, Selena merely shrugged him off, believing he was pulling things out of thin air.

This was why jackie did not bother bringing it up anymore.

“Really? If that’s the case, are you kept as the Goddess of War’s side piece? If you truly are, then I’d be happy. It’s considered as ‘making a sacrifice for the country’, right?” Selena jokingly teased jackie. Still, it seemed so impossible to her. How was it possible that jackie knew the Goddess of War? After all, many head commanders did not know the Gods of War, let alone be their friends.

It was an incredible feat if one managed to befriend the Gods of War; an achievement worth gloating over.

jackie only told these things to Selena, not to Dennis and the others. It was obvious jackie was afraid that others would expose him, and it would only embarrass him.

“You actually want me to be the Goddess of War’s side piece?” jackie smiled, though dissatisfied. She had taken this joke too seriously.

jackie never had other thoughts about this apprentice of his. Of course, he would admit she looked prettier and sexier after she changed from her army clothing to a more feminine outfit after she left the army. Outside the battlefield, she was much gentler. Nonetheless, jackie only saw her and treated her as his apprentice.

“In your dreams. Even if you’re willing to do it, she isn’t willing for that. She’s the Goddess of War! How would she fall for some married man like you? This is just a joke between us, so don’t get any ideas. If someone overhears us and tattles on us, the Goddess of War might slap you the moment she hears it! By then, your death would be a wronged death!” Selena grinned, her mood seemingly much better.

“Honey, why don’t we move tomorrow in the morning? By that time, there would be lots of rooms there. Didn’t you say that we can’t do it if Kylie sleeps with us? It’ll be only the two of us in that room. Can we…” jackie spoke, trailing off.

“You pervert! So the real reason why you bought this house in such a hurry was for… Hmph! I wouldn’t give chances to a person with impure motives like you!” Selena’s blush seared across her face. Despite turning her head to the other side in a form of disagreement, it felt as though there were butterflies in her belly.

Chapter 522 jackie instantly cleared his throat when he heard Selena’s comeback. “Honey, that’s not the case. The main reason was we were lacking a house, right?” he spoke in his defense. “Apart from that, this house is conveniently opposite the Taylors’ mansion, and you can easily go visit as you pleased! Furthermore, it’s in the center of Kylie’s kindergarten and where we work. This location is perfect, so I bid for it!”

…

“Five-star King of War, Xyle Walker is here to congratulate Old Master Taylor on his seventieth birthday! He presents…”

More and more people trickled in. Nobody anticipated that another important person, a 5-star King of War at that, would come.

Old Master Taylor had a huge smile on his face. There were a few Kings of War here and quite a number of majors and marshals. Apart from that, a large number of Head Commanders and Assistant Commanders were also present.

Not only that, but an impressive number of first-class and second-class aristocratic families were also here.

This small party turned into a grand gathering. He began to worry if 200 tables were enough to go around.

The attendees were generous, their gifts rather expensive. It was fair to say that the Taylors had earned a lot with just the presents.

Of course, Old Master Taylor was not ignorant. Most of the people were here because a certain person was said to be coming: Eastfield’s Goddess of War, a powerful unrivaled existence that had great achievements.

He had no idea why the Goddess of War would come to the Taylor family just to congratulate him, but that was not an important thing to fret over. The most important thing was that the Taylor family was heavily celebrated on this day, and their future would no doubt develop smoothly.

He even received name cards of many businessmen. Not only that, but some Marshals and Commanders also approached him and offered their name cards.

Everyone was conversing with one another in the courtyard, either in groups of twos or threes. Of course, these conversations were started for the sake of possibly establishing beneficial relationships.

Skyler, for example, was talking with Quin. “Why is the Goddess of War not here yet? Is it possible that she won’t be coming?” The 8-star King of War looked at the door and frowned.

Had it not been for the rumor that the Goddess of War was coming, he would not have come to this party.

“Women; they need time to dress up! We’re not on the battlefield right now, and our Goddess of War is a woman. I heard that she’s much prettier once she dresses up nicely.”

Quin laughed. “I’ve seen her in feminine outfits before. I dare say she’s gorgeous!”

“Is it? To be honest, I’ve never seen our Goddess of War in such clothing. Still, she’s quite tall and has legs for days. It’s only logical she’d look very nice in women’s clothing!” Skyler laughed as well, all the more excited about seeing her.

Needless to say, they held respect for the Goddess of War’s appearance. Such a person was regarded highly.

Skyler’s eyes slowly wandered and, without realizing it, found himself looking at the garden.

It was fine before he took a look. Upon proper inspection, he noticed a man grinning as he stood with a rather beautiful lady and a young girl, chatting happily.

“That person’s side-profile looks… So much like…” Skyler frowned. That person in the garden looked so much like a man he knew on the battlefield.

“Who?”

Chapter 523 Quin, who was by his side, looked to where he looked at and laughed. “You’re talking about that person? I know him: He’s the son-in-law who married into the Taylor family. That woman, on the

other hand, is Selena Taylor. She was the obsession of many rich young masters in Eastfield and was even dubbed the province’s ‘Number One Beauty’. However, for reasons I don’t know, they got married!”

“How could it be? Is he truly just a son-in-law married into the wife’s family?” Skyler frowned. He could no longer see jackie’s side-profile as he had turned around.

Still, he was convinced that this man’s figure was too much of a match with ‘that’ man’s figure.

“Yes, and he so happens to be a veteran as well. He’s been in the army for five years and is only a normal soldier. I’m not entirely sure about the details, though. My ex-subordinate, Dennis, is more familiar with him!” Quin added nonchalantly.

“Five years?” Skyler’s frown grew deeper when he heard this. “The Supreme Warrior supposedly stayed in the army for five years, too!”

“Yes. I remembered that I entered the army in later days and was there for three years. That time, I heard about a young man utterly skilled on the battlefield. Rapidly scaling up the ranks, he became Head Commander in just two years on the battlefield, and I heard that he only got better and better. He wore a mask shaped like a dragon’s face and was to be honored as the Supreme Warrior! There was supposed to be an official announcement about this, but for some unknown reasons, they canceled it. This man’s identity was left unknown, protected by his anonymity.”

Quin began to lament as well. “The world should know the name of such a powerful person. Everybody called him ‘Dragon of Daxia’ on the battlefield because he was the soul of Daxia. That title was bestowed to him because of his dragon mask, but not many people know his actual name!”

“Exactly. He’s too bright, and his existence is godlike!” Skyler exclaimed. A thought then occurred to him as he added, “I remembered that his surname is White, but I don’t know his full name. He became the only Supreme Warrior one year ago, and everybody addressed him as Supreme Warrior!”

“You know that his surname is ‘White’?” Quin spoke as he laughed at his own ignorance. “I don’t even know his surname! I only know that he’s the Supreme Warrior and was called ‘Dragon of Daxia’!

“Now that everyone has retired from the army, our chances of seeing the Supreme Warrior slimmed down significantly. He seems to have retired into the forest and became a dragon slumbering in private. Since he doesn’t like to be disturbed, then let him be!” Quin spoke before a sigh escaped his lips. “My only wish is that I want to see what the Supreme Warrior looks like, just once. My life would be complete if I do. Alas, I’ve never seen him, let alone see his actual face. This is my only regret.”

“By the way, Quin, do you know that man’s surname?” Skyler’s eyes kept focusing on jackie’s back. The more he looked at him, the more he looked like the Supreme Warrior. This caused him to wonder.

“Him? Why are you interested in him? His surname is White, and his name is jackie White,” Quin answered nonchalantly.

“His surname is White and his name is jackie White…?” Skyler trailed off. “And he’s only a normal soldier after being on the battlefield for five years? Could it be…?”

Skyler eyed his surroundings before he slowly confessed, “Brother, I don’t want to hide this from you, but I’ve seen the Supreme Warrior’s face. There was a moment when his mask fell during a skirmish, and I caught a glimpse of his face for a good two seconds before he placed it back on.”

Once he heard this, Quin inhaled sharply through gritted teeth. “King of War Celestino, I envy you so much,” he muttered. “You actually saw his face under the mask. I really envy you!”

Lips formed into a tight smile, Skyler then added, “And there’s one more thing… I can see that the Taylors’ son-in-law has a similar back figure and side-profile with the Supreme Warrior!”

Chapter 524 Skyler’s words stunned Quin for a good seven to eight seconds.

Eventually, the corners of his mouth twitched. “Who did y—you say he looked like? The Supreme Warrior?”

“Yes, he looks very much like him. His side-profile and back figure looked very similar. I remembered that this was how the Supreme Warrior looked!” Skyler looked at jackie standing at the garden not too far away. Skyler’s eyes never left jackie’s figure the moment he got that epiphany—the revelation that these two men seemed to look alike.

“How’s that possible? There are so many people that look like one another. It feels surreal to even think he’s the Supreme Warrior. He’s just a normal soldier!” Quin laughed and patted Skyler’s shoulder. “I think that you’ve gone crazy from thinking about the Supreme Warrior, but I get you. I also want to see his elegant demeanor in person too!”

“Quin Hayes, everybody says that you’re quite the airhead, and I now feel that way as well. Can’t you use your brain and think?” snapped Skyler. “We all know that the Supreme Warrior’s surname is White, and strangely enough, this son-in-law also has the same surname. Moreover, the Supreme Warrior stayed on the battlefield for five years, and this young man was also on the battlefield for the same duration. Do you think these things are purely out of coincidence?”

“Isn’t t—this normal?” came Quin’s meek reply, hands splayed out as though defending himself.

“You’re right, absolutely right. It’s normal if all of this is coincidental and it would be explainable.” Skyler nodded before adding, “Then why do you think the Goddess of War will personally come and congratulate Old Master Taylor for his birthday? Do you think that it’s for Old Master Taylor? Will you say she’s just giving him face? They didn’t know each other before this, so this is definitely not the case!”

When he felt his excitement was getting the best of him, Skyler paused for a moment. “That’s why I feel that Goddess of War Lana is here because she’s indirectly honoring the Taylor family’s son-in-law. It’s more than likely that he’s the Supreme Warrior. Do you think that the Goddess of War would honor and proactively please anyone else?”

As he heard all these, Quin then attempted to connect the dots, a frown on his face as he did.

It was not long before a snicker escaped him. “Brother Celestino, you’re worrying too much! It’s a shame you didn’t join the veteran’s gathering that Magnus Sutherland held. That day, the Goddess of War was also there and, later on, killed Master Miller and Magnus. Do you know about this?”

Skyler nodded. “I’ve heard about this. I regretted it so much. I would’ve gone had I known she would come.” Skyler paused here before he continued, “I didn’t go because I sensed Magnus had changed, and not for the best. He wasn’t the man who loved his soldiers like his own son, and he was no longer the kind man he was once known for. He might’ve done many bad things in secret but nobody could prove it. It was only for the best that the Goddess of War got rid of such a danger to society.”

“I second that. I had no idea that Magnus Sutherland was someone like this. He wanted to do unspeakable things to those two female celebrities,” Quin lamented. “When they refused, he forced them to…”

Quin trailed off before he added, “This incident happened because jackie saw it. He knew he was no match for Magnus, so he searched for Dennis and the two of them thought of a way together. Eventually, they called for the Goddess of War, Lana. It so happened that she was nearby, so she rushed over and killed this bastard. Thankfully, the two female celebrities were saved before they were raped.”

Skyler frowned. “So you’re implying that the reason Lana would do jackie a favor was that he exposed Magnus for what he was doing?” he surmised. “And that’s why she would be coming to Old Man Taylor’s seventieth birthday?”

Quin nodded. “Yes, it surely feels like it. This is the reason the Goddess of War would be here. The others should think this way too!”

Skyler merely laughed. “I feel like it’s just too much of a stretch that she’d be coming only for that reason!” He then eyed jackie, who stood in the garden still. “Let’s go and take a look. I only need to take

a look and I’d know if he’s the Supreme Warrior. After all, I’ve seen the Supreme Warrior before.”

Chapter 525 “That’s right!” Quin spoke, chuckling as he did. “It’s pointless for us to make guesses over here, but I can promise you he’s not the Supreme Warrior. They look alike, that’s all.”

As the men conversed with one another, a sports car rolled in from the entrance and into the compound. Parked at one side, a prepossessing lady with a nice figure wearing traditional Chinese cheongsam came down from the car.

Oddly enough, the lady had a mask on, and no one knew whether it was because she was sick or afraid of being recognized.

“Hey, who’s that? She just drove right in at such a speed!” Ivan yelled. “Is she not afraid of hurting people?”

Both Kings of War—the two who initially wanted to meet jackie in person—and the other attendees had their attentions diverted to this newcomer.

Neil stood up the moment he saw the woman coming. “ jackie, why aren’t you coming over? Your rich hag is here. Shouldn’t you be welcoming her?” he sneered. jackie did mention that this woman would be attending, but no one expected that she would genuinely be that shameless and show up in the end.

Of course, Neil’s father was also here. Once he noticed his son inserting himself into the impending fiasco, he pulled his son to the side. “Neil, what did I tell you? I asked you to not cause problems when you’re in public. What are you rambling about now?!”

Neil saw red at that moment. “Father, you’re too afraid of things happening around you. I’m starting to think you’re a coward. You not only stopped me from bringing bodyguards, but you even forced me to apologize to jackie back then. Now I’m out of line just by speaking the truth?” Neil asserted, a cold

expression on his face as he did. “We saw everything with our own eyes, and we’re only telling the truth. What’s wrong with that?”

Roy Hugo’s facial expression darkened. “Do you know who this supposed rich hag is? When did our Eastfield have a rich hag that could buy that luminous pearl just like that? Why are you so stupid? What if she’s the wife of a powerful patriarch in another city? We can’t mess with these people!”

“I didn’t offend her. I’m just exposing jackie,” Neil retorted. “ So what if she’s rich? This woman’s money must’ve come from her husband, right? She’d be kicked out of her family with nothing on her once her husband finds out about these two. We don’t need to be afraid of her,” Neil continued, his father’s anger dismissed entirely. This was his chance to see jackie dropped from the Taylor family. How could he miss that?

Nonetheless, Roy’s cold glare remained. “Shut up!” he barked. Roy ordered him to not proactively stand out and make a scene.

“That’s right. jackie, come over here. Why are you there accompanying your wife? You’ll never have to worry about nothing having enough on your plate when you have this rich hag!” Michael, who was waiting to see jackie’s jokes, piped in right after. All of them wanted to see what jackie would do and say.

On the other side of the area, Skyler was frowning. “This woman seems to have a nice figure. I think it’s the Goddess of War.”

“Correct. This is how she looks in feminine outfits. What do you think? You can’t recognize her when you see her in such clothing for the first time, right?”

Quin smiled and curiously spoke, “It puzzles me, though. Why did these rich young masters keep calling her ‘rich hag’? Yes, she’s rich, but she wouldn’t keep young men as her lovers. Are these people out of their minds? Do they have a death wish?”

Chapter 526 The Kings of War were not the only ones stunned; everyone who attended the previous veteran’s gathering and had seen Lana dressed elegantly was just as dazed. These rich young masters were pushing it.

Unperturbed by the not-so-pleasant words hurled at him, jackie smiled indifferently. He turned to his wife and spoke, “Let’s go over and welcome the Goddess of War. I’ve told you before that she’s the Goddess of War!”

“Is this true? You really know the Goddess of War?” Selena also felt that this pretty lady was quite stunning when she looked over at the ‘rich hag’ Ivan kept talking about. To Selena, this woman’s figure was rather attractive, enough to stir not-so-appropriate urges in people’s minds.

Above all, this woman had a refined posture as she stood straight and tall. She had the pride of a soldier. From the way she stood, she must have just made her return from the army. If she truly was a mere ‘rich hag’, she would not have such temperament. Normal people would not have the temperament of a soldier.

Old Master Taylor initially wanted to welcome the new attendee, but when he heard that it was that woman, his face darkened. He did not come forward after that as he merely stood aside. Since this person was here, he wanted to hear jackie’s explanation. If jackie could not even explain in detail who this woman was and their relationship, it was highly likely that this woman had given him the money to buy the villa.

Compared to the rest, Michael was more unruly, and it was probably because he came on his own without his family.

The man swaggered to the woman as he sneered, “How do you still have the gall to come here? Why are you wearing a mask? Is it because you can’t meet with just anyone, so you had to wear a mask?”

Lana’s frown was hidden by her mask. “I just didn’t want people to recognize me on my way here. Now that I’m here, I’d have to take my mask off.”

She halted for a moment before she added, “I’m here out of respect for jackie. He did a good deed that day when he got rid of a bastard for us!”

“Gotten rid of a bastard for you?” Michael frowned, not understanding what it meant.

“You keep calling me rich hag. Do you know that you could die for that?” Lana’s face darkened.

“Who do you think you are? I might die? Me?” Michael scoffed. “You’re the one who’s going to die!” Michael started laughing loudly. “My dear Majors and King of Wars, this woman is a shameless rich hag. Whoever that has the strength, please take off her mask so everyone can see her face.”

He did not see it coming when Lana walked forward and slapped him across the face.

Smack!

“How dare rubbish like you talk to me like that!” she hissed.

She then moved to take off her mask as she growled, “I know how to take it off myself. However, don’t regret it!”

“Greetings to the Goddess of War!” Skyler immediately bowed as a sign of respect to Lana.

“Greetings to the Goddess of War!” The other soldiers stood up and bowed respectfully, one after another. Their bow lasted three seconds before they lifted their heads once more.

“Goddess… Goddess of War!” Old Master Taylor was so frightened that his voice trembled, his body rooted firmly where he stood.

They said that the Goddess of War was coming, but they had no idea that the rich hag mentioned by Ivan was the Goddess of War.

Chapter 527 “I—It’s her! The Goddess of War!” Face pale in fright, Neil broke out into cold sweat as he attempted to wipe them off. Had his father not pulled him away moments ago, he might have continued speaking less savory words to Lana.

“No more of that ‘rich hag’ nonsense. This is our Goddess of War, Lana Zechs!” Skyler took two steps forward and exclaimed to the people, “The Goddess of War is here to…”

He saw jackie in the midst of announcing Lana’s arrival. He believed the Goddess of War was here because jackie did a meritorious service.

He inhaled sharply mid-sentence, and his voice trembled from feeling intimidated.

Skyler then walked forward, knelt on one knee, and placed a clenched to his chest. “Greetings to the Supreme Warrior. Supreme Warrior, I had no idea that it’s you!”

“What?!” The people here were already stupefied by the Goddess of War’s presence. They never thought that they would be in for another surprise when the 8-star King of War, Skyler Celestino knelt before jackie, gave him a salute only given to the highest-ranking soldier in the army, and addressed him as the Supreme Warrior!

“Is it truly him?” Quin was flabbergasted. He knew that Skyler had seen the Supreme Warrior before, seeing as he had told him the Supreme Warrior had saved his life before.

It seemed as though Skyler still held onto his belief, not wanting to admit his mistake.

‘It’s over. At this rate, Master’s true identity will be exposed!’ Lana was petrified, too shocked at the sudden turnover of events. She had no idea what to do to dissolve this matter.

“Oh dear…” Dennis was just as shocked. He had no idea Skyler knew jackie.

Ivan was so frightened that he was stunned for a short while. Walking forward, he anxiously asked, “How is that possible? King of War Celestino, did you make a mistake? He’s only a son-in-law who married into our family, a normal soldier who had just returned from the battlefield. How could he be the Supreme Warrior?”

If jackie truly was the Supreme Warrior, then the few of them would be in trouble. They offended jackie, the Supreme Warrior, before. Was that not equivalent to signing their own death warrants?

“Sh*t!” Michael’s legs weakened and he fell to the ground. He had just offended the Goddess of War, and now jackie was revealed to be the Supreme Warrior? This… This was too much!

Was this not supposed to be where they successfully revealed the shoddy relationship between jackie and this rich hag, and jackie would be driven out of this house? How could this go wrong for them? Right now, the matter of whether jackie was the Supreme Warrior or not was unimportant. He had just offended the Goddess of War, and it was a likely guarantee he was doomed.

“King of War, how’s that possible? T—This is my son-in-law. You must’ve made a mistake.” Fiona offered an awkward smile, finding it utterly impossible that her son-in-law was the Supreme Warrior. The Supreme Warrior was extremely mysterious, and nobody had ever seen him. Even if someone did, it should be someone like a King of War.

The 8-star King of War had knelt on one knee and performed an honorable salute. He said that jackie was the Supreme Warrior. How was that possible?

“King of war, y—you must’ve made a mistake. He can’t be the Supreme Warrior!” Even Selena walked forward in embarrassment. The Goddess of War did not kneel with him, so it must be that jackie was not the Supreme Warrior, and that this was just an honest mistake.

jackie looked behind him and pointed at his own nose, “Oh my. King of War Celestino, are you addressing me? Did you make a mistake? I… I’m not the Supreme Warrior! It’d be cool if I truly was him, though!”

“That’s impossible. I saw you two to three years ago!” Skyler frowned. Even though he had just met them once, jackie’s face in his memory was already fading.

Still, he was convinced that they looked too much alike.

Chapter 528 Unable to stand idly, Lana eventually spoke up, “King of War Celestino, he’s not the Supreme Warrior. Honest. Were you mistaken? He only looks like him.” Despite her words, Lana felt as though there was a chance he did not believe her when she saw Skyler frowning. It seemed that the other party was not entirely convinced with his own thoughts either.

If not, he would not have argued with her.

Skyler stood up soon after. “Goddess of War, are you sure?”

Lana laughed, one that sounded as though confident with herself. “I’ve drunk with him, wine and tea, rather often. I’ve seen his face without the mask before, and surely more than once. Are you not trusting what I’m saying?”

“But it’s rather strange; they look so much alike. Are there people who look like each other that much in this world?” Skyler looked at jackie again, and a blush slowly crept on his face. If jackie genuinely was not the Supreme Warrior, then he had knelt to a mere man married into the Taylor family… This misunderstanding turned out to be a downright embarrassing moment for him.

“After you’ve known jackie for some time, you’ll find that he doesn’t look so much like the Supreme Warrior!” Lana assured him, followed with a nervous chuckle. “I know what you mean, though. I thought

he was the Supreme Warrior when I saw him on the battlefield, but it turns out they just look somewhat alike. Later on, I found that he really isn’t the Supreme Warrior.”

Quin burst out laughing. “Brother Skyler, you’ve made such a big misunderstanding. I saw you making such a grand gesture of honor just now, and I thought that it genuinely was the Supreme Warrior. Had I not seen the Goddess of War still standing, I would’ve knelt and greeted him like you!” The more he thought about it, the funnier it was.

Skyler glanced at jackie as his face darkened; he wanted to unleash his frustration onto him. How dare he look so much like the Supreme Warrior and caused him to lose face! He was a King of War, with 8- stars nonetheless, and he knelt and greeted a normal man who married into the wife’s family. It was really…

It was only because everyone was looking at them that Skyler could not yell at him. After all, jackie did not do anything wrong and, all the more, did not admit he was the Supreme Warrior. As a matter of fact, Skyler was the one who recognized jackie wrongly and gave him such a grand greeting instead.

“He shocked me. I mean, he can’t be the Supreme Warrior!” Fiona started laughing. If jackie was the Supreme Warrior, did it not mean that the Gods of War had to greet him? Apart from that, they had to respect him at all times.

However, jackie was just a son-in-law who married into his wife’s family. Apart from being a soldier for five years, he was a mere delivery guy before that. He might have been honored a great rank in the army, but he was definitely not the Supreme Warrior.

After all, the Supreme Warrior was the strongest and most powerful person in the entire Daxia. One-of-a- kind by nature, he was the man who did the most on the battlefield as he defended their country.

“It was an honest mistake, but that shocked me!” Some of the commanders were stunned and were speechless.

“That’s right. King of War Celestino had only seen him once for a mere two to three seconds, and it even happened two to three years ago, so it’s only natural that his memory of the Supreme Warrior seemed vague at this point!” One of the head commanders smiled bitterly. He was previously the subordinate of Skyler.

Whenever he was happy after a day out drinking, Skyler would tell people about this incident. Naturally, people envied him for this. To the soldiers, those that had met the Supreme Warrior had won in life as not many people could see his face without the mask.

jackie, on the other hand, sighed in relief. After all, he was worried Skyler would recognize him when he was in the garden.

Chapter 529 jackie initially wanted to hide from him, but he knew Ivan and the others could not wait to ‘expose’ the things between him and the so-called rich hag. Thus, even if he hid, the other party would still look for him. It would also be hard to explain the situation to Selena and the others. The only way was to pretend that he did not know the other party. If he stayed silent and let Lana take care of things, Skyler might eventually concede.

He was only afraid that Lana might not respond in time and kneel with Skyler once everyone knew and believed Skyler. That would have been terrible. Luckily, Lana was no daft soldier and quickly rose to the occasion.

“King of War Celestino, this guy can’t be the Supreme Warrior! He’s only our family’s son-in-law after all!” Ivan laughed it off as he slowly stepped forward. “Apart from that, our family didn’t recognize his identity previously because he used to be a delivery man. We even had a bet…”

Since there were so many people here, it was the best time to get jackie to take the present out. Even the Goddess of War was here. He wanted to see if jackie was bold enough to continue his bluff as he hid his present.

Skyler was utterly embarrassed from the seconds-ago incident, and it was only to his favor that someone changed the subject.

Out of relief, a grin instantly appeared on his face. “Really? What is the bet on?” Skyler mused. “Tell me.”

“He had hurt me before and said that he’d compensate me with ten million. Apart from that, he claimed he would be giving Grandfather a gift worth millions. He also promised to pay my cousin sister’s family twenty million as her betrothal gift. If he fails to do it, he has to leave the Taylor family and divorce my cousin!” Ivan explained aloud. “If he manages to do everything, the Taylor family will acknowledge their identity and allow their family to move back here.”

Skyler was not very interested in this bet, his mind still occupied with the question why this man looked so much like the Supreme Warrior. The more he looked at jackie, the more he resembled the Supreme Warrior.

Still, he entertained Ivan with a grin on his face. “Really? Did he manage to do everything?”

“He hadn’t taken out the present yet, and I don’t even know if he had given the betrothal gift. Moreover, I haven’t received the ten million meant for me,” Ivan replied. “By the way, he had mentioned this just recently that the present he prepared for my grandfather isn’t just worth millions. Supposedly, it’s worth more than their new villa, and he paid ninety-five million for that villa. This means that his present is worth a hundred million or so!” Ivan thought about it and continued, “I’ve been a curious man for the longest time. What kind of present would cost that much?”

Fiona then walked up to them. “Take out your gift if it’s here, jackie,” she spoke. Shen then explained, “ jackie had already given me the twenty million that’s meant to be Selena’s betrothal gift. All that’s left are only the ten million compensation for young master Taylor and Old Man Taylor’s gift.”

jackie nodded silently and took a bank card out, passing it to Ivan. “This is your ten million, and the password is six zeros.”

“Where’s the present? Where’s the present that costs billions?” Ivan smiled coldly. This was a pivotal point as this man had boldly claimed his gift was worth that much.

jackie shoved his hand into his pocket and took out a small-sized box.

“What’s that? How could that be worth more than billions when it’s so small?” Neil said coldly and mockingly. “No one here is an idiot. Don’t simply take something out and lie to us about it. We know how things are priced.”

Chapter 530 Ivan looked at the box in contempt. “What’s this? This broken box looks so old. How is this worth over a hundred million? What are you trying to pull?” he scoffed. “It seems like all there’s left is for you to leave now. Don’t blame us; you failed your own promise!”

Before anyone could react, the young master of the Mont family, Grayson Mont soon realized what it was. “I—Isn’t this box used to hold the luminous pearl?!” he half-yelled in utter disbelief.

“This seems to be that box! Is the luminous pearl inside?” The master of the Roy family, Robert Roy chorused in.

Did that rich hag buy it? Still, was the rich hag not the Goddess of War?

“How’s that possible? Did the Goddess of War buy it? Why is it in his possession?” Some of the people looked at jackie and Lana weirdly as they had no idea what was going on.

jackie opened the box. Sure enough, a big luminous pearl was revealed to the crowd.

“This… Isn’t this the luminous pearl that can prolong a person’s life?” Old Master Taylor gaped at the pearl. This pearl had gone through a very fierce bidding process before it landed in the mysterious rich hag’s hand who he recently found out was the Goddess of War, Lana Zechs.

Yet, this precious object was in jackie’s hands right now.

“Oh my goodness. This is the luminous pearl that’s worth five hundred million!” Fiona gulped, evidently shocked as she held herself back from snatching it. jackie was too much; he did not think about giving such an invaluable item to her.

Unfortunately, so many people were looking on, and this was jackie’s present to the old master as well. She could only endure her heartache and remain calm.

“This is that pearl!” Robert was envious. This object was an exceptionally rare and precious object. Experts claimed it could slow down a person’s metabolism. They wanted it so badly during the auction for this item.

Alas, the item had reached the five hundred million mark in the end, and they had to give up.

“Yes, Grandfather. Happy seventieth birthday! I hope that this pearl can help Grandfather to be more energetic and live a long life!” jackie smiled indifferently. He covered the box and handed it to him.

“Good, so good!” Zeus laughed, overjoyed with that gift. This pearl cost five hundred million and, coincidentally, he was already at an old age. How could he not be happy when he got such a precious object? After all, he might be able to live a few more years if he placed this pearl beside his pillow.

Ecstatic, Old Master Taylor beamed, “Satisfied. I’m very, very satisfied! jackie, you’ve completed your every promise. Today onward, I welcome everyone to come back and stay. I’ll also acknowledge that you’re the son-in-law who married into the Taylor family! You’re good enough and are definitely worthy of Selena.”

“Then we can stay at both places!” jackie laughed. He then turned around and looked at the villa. “Grandfather, you can also follow us and stay at the other villa.”

“Why not? It seems very pleasant, and I guess I could stay for a night or two, so keep a room for me!” Old Man Taylor replied. “Still, I’m used to staying in this villa, so I’ll be here most of the time. Both houses

are so nearby, so I can visit you whenever I have the time!”

“Good idea, Grandfather!” jackie praised him. “Then we’ll still stay at the previous villa we used to stay in. We can stay at both places!”

Chapter 531 Selena smiled. Elation welled in her heart after having received her grandfather’s recognition and the Taylor family’s acceptance.

Grandfather Taylor nodded his head. “I’ve made you all suffer these past few years,” he said with a somber expression. “But you were too rebellious before. There’s no way I could let you get away with it without teaching you a lesson!”

“Well, it’s all over now, and yes, I was quite a bit of a rebel when I was younger…” Selena pursed her red lips and walked over, holding onto jackie’s arm shyly. “I don’t regret it one bit,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Because I found myself a good husband. Now I feel like perhaps this is fate!”

“All right. So long as you don’t blame me!” Grandfather Taylor’s eyes were red. Selena’s personality was similar to his—impossibly stubborn.

In reality, his heart ached for his granddaughter but he had a reputation to maintain, and it was hard for him to take back whatever he said.

“Ms. Goddess of War, isn’t this pearl yours? Why did you give it to jackie?”

Ivan’s expression darkened, dissatisfaction stirring within him. He never expected jackie would actually manage to complete the three tasks. He had thought that jackie would never be able to take out something worth ten million dollars. Neil had even specially deployed several men to tail jackie to see if he had bought anything expensive. He never thought that jackie would prepare this pearl as a present.

Lana flashed a wan smile. “Everyone knows that jackie’s a skilled medical practitioner. He’s used his medical skills to save my life on the battlefield. So, never mind this pearl—I could give him ten pearls and

it still wouldn’t even begin to express my gratitude towards him.”

“I see. So, this is why the Goddess of War came for Grandfather Taylor’s birthday party!” someone exclaimed.

“That’s right. Who knew that the good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Taylor family would not only know a Goddess of War but even saved her life before? What luck, to be associated so closely with a God of War?” another wealthy businessman also exclaimed. Who would dare go against the Taylor family with these relations from now on?

After all, jackie had saved a Goddess of War. She would never refuse a cry for help if it came from him.

“ jackie and I are good buddies!” Lana grinned and looked at jackie.

“Hah Of course! The Goddess of War and I must share a few drinks before the night ends!” jackie laughed. It seemed to be a good thing that Lana was able to come to Eastfield. At least she could help him retain his cover; his identity would have been blown otherwise.

“Please, come in, Goddess of War!”

Grandfather Taylor heaved an internal sigh of relief. Thank goodness that Ken, Michael, and the others had all stepped up and caused trouble for the Goddess of War. Only then could he have an opportunity to observe everything from the sidelines.

Otherwise, he might have gone forward and yelled at her to explain herself before commanding her to get out of the Taylor family’s residence.

It would have been an absolute disaster if he made her angry.

“No worries!” Lana smiled and walked over to her car. She took out a long, rectangular box and tossed it to Zeus. “I haven’t given you your 70th birthday present yet, sir. This is a thousand-year-old Changsan

Mountain ginseng. I hope you’ll accept it!”

The crowd gasped. This thousand-year-old ginseng was practically a national treasure. It was extremely rare and difficult to find.

“This–this must’ve been so expensive! Ms. Goddess of War, you’re too generous!” Old Man Taylor was shocked to his core by the exorbitant gift. He took the box with trembling hands.

“Don’t be shy!” A playful smile glazed over Lana’s lips. She turned her attention towards the fatty, Michael, who was paralyzed. “Young Master Wilson, right? I remember how rude you were to me just now, spewing such hateful comments,” she said, smiling. “Hmph. Tell me, what should we do about that?”

Chapter 532 Michael was on the floor, completely paralyzed with fear. When he heard this, he nearly peed his pants. Cold sweat began to trickle down his body.

Although Ivan and Neil had also stepped forward to confront her, he had spoken with the most bite and even did his happy dance in an attempt to mock her. It seemed that he had truly pissed this Goddess of War off.

“Goddess of War, pl–please, have mercy on me. I didn’t know you were a Goddess of War. I…”

Michael kneeled on the floor and began to kowtow to her, but it seemed that he quickly thought of something and pointed at Ivan instead. “I was just listening to Ivan and the rest. They said that jackie was leeching off a rich woman,” he said. “They’ve led me astray! I’m innocent!”

Ivan never thought that Michael would think of dragging him down to hell. He was suddenly overcome with anger and a wave of panic.

He clenched his teeth and took two steps forward, glaring viciously at Michael. “Young Master Wilson, we’re good friends, aren’t we? How can you accuse me of something like that? Who was the one who

said he wanted to see the rich woman’s true colors? Who was the one who said that she had a secret affair? And who was the only who refused to listen, but remained arrogant and stubborn?”

“Hmph. Not another word from you!” Michael harrumphed coldly. “Don’t tell me you didn’t call her a rich hag as well?”

He was determined to drag Ivan down with him. He was well aware that his death was certain if he did not drag Ivan along with him—even if he did not die, he would probably be handicapped for life.

It was useless to drag Neil or Ken along. Ivan, however, was different—he was the young master of the Taylor family, the only son. There was no way the Goddess of War would dare kill him.

It was Old Man Taylor’s birthday—his 70th. No way a Goddess of War would dare kill his grandson during his birthday.

“I–I did call her a rich hag but I just wanted to prove that she was wealthy. My intentions were completely different from yours!” Ivan resorted to sophistry but in reality, his heart was pounding in terror.

After all, if Skyler and the others had not referred to her as ‘Goddess of War’ earlier, he probably would have gone ahead and scolded her for being so shameless.

Lana wanted to laugh at the sight of these two idiots going at each other’s throats.

However, after she thought about it, she turned towards jackie and said, “ jackie, tell me. How should I settle this? It’s Old Man Taylor’s birthday today, after all. It wouldn’t be a wise idea to spill blood here. I should probably just spare the pig’s life!”

She added, “However, he has sullied both our names by claiming that you were leeching off of me. It doesn’t only affect my reputation—it affects yours as well, and it could’ve sowed discord between you and your wife. So, you make the call.”

Ivan relaxed his breath when he heard that jackie was to make the final decision. It seemed that this Goddess of War had no intention of pressing the issue any further.

Besides, jackie was the Taylors’ son-in-law, and the Taylors were somewhat related to the Wilsons. Theoretically, jackie should be calling him ‘Cousin’, so he could not afford to not spare his reputation and press him on this matter. Right?

“Th–thank you, Goddess of War!”

Michael breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he was not going to die. Then, he looked at jackie. “ jackie, we’ve known each other for quite some time now. Please go easy on me!” he said. “Besides, it’s Old Man Taylor’s birthday today, and I’m his esteemed guest. I came over to celebrate. Don’t tell me you want to trouble me instead?”

jackie gave a dry smile. “That’s right. You’re an esteemed guest, and it’s Grandfather’s birthday today. So I really can’t trouble you all that much!”

Michael was even more elated. It seemed that jackie was not an idiot after all, being aware that he was a young master of a second-class aristocratic family and not daring to lift a finger against him. That was why he would definitely only receive a small punishment later.

Chapter 533 Yet he never expected jackie to speak after pausing for a moment. “Lambasting my name is fine. After all, I’m just a bodyguard working for the Drake family. However, you’ve slandered the name of a Goddess of War. You cannot be forgiven that easily for that. Our Goddess of War here isn’t even married, yet you’ve said such things about her…”

jackie spoke to Ivan, “Young Master Ivan, the fatty accused you of slandering the Goddess of War as well. Isn’t that practically defamation for you as well?”

“That’s right. He utterly and thoroughly slandered my name as well. I have nothing but respect for the Goddess of War. There isn’t a speck of disrespect within me. In my eyes, Miss Lana is the strongest Goddess of War among the nine. Besides, it’s a no-brainer that it’s extremely difficult for a woman to become a Goddess of War!” Ivan bobbed his head as he agreed with jackie’s words. He even threw in a statement that clearly meant to suck up to Lana.

“What? Are you underestimating women?”mHe never expected Lana’s expression to darken instead as she spoke unhappily.

“No, no. I didn’t mean that. I–I’m just saying it’s not easy…” Ivan was suddenly shocked. Beads of cold sweat traveled down his neck.

jackie then said, “Young Master Ivan, you said it yourself—this fellow defamed you. Then we’ll make this easy and give you a chance to prove yourself. Our Goddess of War here will be watching if you do it well. Go on and give this fatty two hundred vicious slaps. Oh, and each slap must be absolutely resounding to prove your respect and regard for the Goddess of War! Otherwise, it would mean that you do not truly respect her!”

“Mmhmm. Not bad. It’s time to see if you truly respect me!” Lana smiled and folded her arms across her chest. “Begin!”

“Two–two hundred? That’s too much!” Michael almost fainted on the spot, fury kindling in him. jackie was seriously overstepping his boundaries. Couldn’t the man just tell him to kowtow and apologize or something?

Instead, he told Ivan to give him two hundred slaps—hard ones at that. This was preposterous!

“Too much? The fact that you’re allowed to live is good enough, Michael, and you still wish to bargain with me? Vermin like you have no right to question the reputation of a Goddess of War.”

jackie’s lips curled into a frosty smile. He turned towards Ivan. “Young Master Ivan, this is now in your hands!” he said. “It’s time to prove your loyalty—the respect and regard you claim to harbor towards the Goddess of War!”

The corners of Ivan’s mouth twitched. Now, he would have preferred the Goddess of War to kill Michael in a flash of anger instead.

Were he to raise his hand and slap Michael, it would be a miracle if the other man did not hold a grudge against him.

The person he was most frustrated with was jackie—how dare he ask him to slap Michael, putting his respect towards the Goddess of War on the line! It was hard for him to go easy with such a matter at stake. Furthermore, he could not fake the slapping, what with so many people watching.

“What are you standing there for? Move!” Skyler glared at Ivan as he reminded him.

“That’s right. Letting him live is mercy in itself, considering what he said about a Goddess of War!” Quin also chimed in.

“If you’re not up for it, I’ll take your place and defend her honor. I’ll slap him to death in three strikes!” Xyle, another God of War, burst into laughter.

Chapter 534 Xyle’s words scared Michael to death, the fat on his cheeks trembled like jelly.

Xyle’s surname was quite similar to Michael’s—Xyler Walker and Michael Wilson—sharing the same initial ‘W’. Yet, not only did this God of War not help him, he even considered beating him up? Michael thought to himself. Right now, he was not thinking straight at all. He was thinking hard, trying to come up with ways to get himself out of being killed in three strikes.

He was a God of War. If he used his full strength, he would not even need three strikes—just the one.

“Hurry up, Ivan. Beat me. What are you waiting for!” Michael yelled, feeling as though he was being suffocated. He had no choice but to clench his teeth. It would be better for him to be beaten than to die.

Besides, Ivan was a young master raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. How strong could he possibly be? Plus, he was a good friend. He probably would not hit him that hard. That was why it was better to let Ivan do the beating rather than a God of War. He was the most furious with jackie, the b*stard. How dare he come up with a method like this to punish him! There were many affluent businessmen here, as well as aristocrats, generals—and they were all watching him…

“Young Master Wilson, I won’t hold back!”

A small spark of delight leaped in Ivan’s heart. Michael had tried to drag him down into the mud during a crucial moment earlier. What if the Goddess of War had decided to punish him as well in a fit of rage? Or worse, kill him? Where would he cry and run off to then?

Smack!

Ivan raised his hand and struck Michael’s face.

“Ah!”

It was so painful, Michael yelped. His cheek burned from the pain and a red imprint grew in its place.

“You…” Michael raised his head wildly and looked at Ivan, breathing heavily. That b*stard. Was he not using too much strength? Did he not know how to hold back a little?

Yet Ivan could not be bothered. He turned around and asked Lana, “Goddess of War, look here. Is this amount of strength appropriate?”

“Not bad! Just make sure to keep up the good work!” Lana nodded her head.

Michael’s guts turned into knots. That was why Ivan had purposely used more strength—it was to see if the Goddess of War was satisfied with it.

It was just to get her approval. Then, he would raise his arm high again, and before striking him, he would slow down at the last minute. That way, it would seem that he was rearing up for a vicious hit when in reality, his blow would be slightly softened. Michael believed that Ivan was capable of doing it.

Smack!

During his contemplation, Ivan slapped him again, going for the other cheek this time.

He felt as though this b*stard had put a little more strength into this slap compared to the last one.

“Ah!” Michael gritted his teeth and shot Ivan a fierce glare.

“There’s no other way, Young Master Wilson. Look—there are so many people watching. I have no choice but to slap you for your blatant disrespect to the Goddess of War! After all, the Goddess of War is my idol. She’s the ultimate goddess in my heart!”

A wan smile crossed Ivan’s lips as he saluted Michael with his fist and palm.

Michael was stunned. That f*cker Ivan—was he thinking of sucking up to the Goddess of War? He used that much strength just to gain her favor? Was the years of friendship shared between them worth absolutely nothing?

“Less talking, more doing!” Lana immediately snapped. He had only given him two slaps and yet they were already talking so much.

She then glanced at Neil who was standing not too far away—utterly terrified—giving him the side-eye. “Get over here now!” she snarled at him.

Chapter 535 Neil was considering himself lucky, rejoicing in the fact that the Goddess of War seemed to have forgotten everything he had said earlier. In his head, he kept praying that she would not hold a grudge against him and let the issue slide. Much to his dismay, she suddenly yelled at him to go over. It was possible that he was her target now.

Neil’s father, Hugo, was just as terrified as his son. He wanted to come forward and beg for her forgiveness. He took one step forward before he stopped.

It was not just anyone before him—it was a Goddess of War. If he pleaded for mercy, he might incur her wrath and have his entire family killed or worse, and all he would be able to do at that point was to blame his bad luck.

Hence, he simply stood there—rooted to his spot—afraid to take a step further.

“God–Goddess of War, is there a problem?” Neil gulped, his voice trembling.

“Count the slaps. Don’t miss a single one,” Lana said to him.

“Y–yes, ma’am!” Neil bobbed his head vigorously. It was so scary. His heart threatened to burst forth from his chest at any moment. Fortunately, she had only summoned him to keep count.

“Three, four…” Ivan slapped Michael again and again. The latter’s face quickly swelled into the size of a balloon, blood dribbling down the corners of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Ivan felt an excruciating pain in his hand after quite a while of slapping, as though it was about to swell as well.

He was the one hitting someone else, but his hand was in pain as well. He was only better off by a slight margin.

Although he was not the one getting slapped, the one doing the slapping was not better off by much!

“Ninety-nine…”

Soon enough, ninety-nine slaps had been given. Michael had been slapped until his face was as red as a tomato, swelling past inhuman levels. He had a dull look in his eyes, having been slapped to the point of numbness.

It was evident that he had completely recognized his mistake.

“I, the head of the Drake family, James Drake, have arrived with the Drake family to wish Sir Taylor a happy 70th birthday. They are…”

At this moment, James, Yvonne, Tanya, Timothy, and the other members of the Drake family arrived, presenting an exquisitely expensive gift.

“My God. What–what’s happening here?”

James received the shock of his life the moment he walked in. He saw Young Master Wilson kneeling on the ground being slapped by Ivan Taylor. The former’s face had swelled to the size of a pig’s.

“Huh? Young Master Clark, what’s…” Tanya was also stupefied. This was a birthday party, no? Why was something so miserable happening right now?

“The Goddess of War! The Goddess of War’s here. See? Isn’t that Lana Zechs?” Timothy quickly noticed Lana and exclaimed, “I never thought the Goddess of War would be so stunning out of her uniform!”

“Master Drake, this is what happened…” One of the ushers of the Taylor family explained to James and his family as they walked inside.

“So that’s what happened. That Michael’s as blind as a bat. How dare he say something like that to the Goddess of War!” James was taken aback. Michael usually threw his weight about shamelessly in front

of others, but he had offended the Goddess of War this time. Nothing could be done about it. He was asking for it.

After he said that, he could not help but look at jackie. He never expected that jackie, the Taylor family’s son-in-law, had saved the Goddess of War’s life. Who would have known he would have such a connection with the Goddess of War?

However, he quickly sensed that something was off. Was that really it? That jackie had used his medical skills to save the Goddess of War before she had grown strong to become a Goddess of War? Then why was jackie’s file strictly confidential? Why was his file so strange? Why were there so many things that were not officially recorded? No one could guess what jackie had done while he was a soldier for five years. That was why it was likely that the connection between jackie and the Goddess of War was not that simple. jackie was at least a God of War. That was probably the case.

Chapter 536 After some contemplation, James turned towards the Taylor family’s servant who was standing beside him. “We’re kind of lost here because we arrived a little late. Did the Goddess of War mention jackie holding a certain position?” he asked, tone quiet. “Like a God of War?”

“Oh, she didn’t say anything like that, but jackie did say that he received a token but he lost it. He also said that the money he used to bid for that villa was all his. He’s probably a head commander. It’s a big accomplishment if he managed to hold that title within five years!” the servant replied.

“Why didn’t he say anything if he was a head commander?” Spectre, who stood at the back, asked out of curiosity.

“Oh, Master jackie explained that he was afraid nobody would believe him because his token was lost on the road. So, he simply did not tell anyone. But I really admire him. The Goddess of War might not even be standing before us today if it weren’t for him, and there wouldn’t have been so many prominent figures coming to our master’s birthday party!”

The servant continued as he walked forward, “Actually, Miss Selena is a fine young woman and her husband is not too shabby either. They’ve finally earned the approval of the Taylor family. Let’s hope they’ll live the rest of their lives together in bliss.”

“Don’t worry. That’ll definitely happen!” A small smile lit up James’s face. He did not believe what jackie said. His token got lost? It was too much of a coincidence. He sensed jackie’s identity was not that simple.

He wondered how jackie managed to convince Lana, a Goddess of War, to help conceal his identity. He thought about it. Perhaps it was because the Goddess of War got injured not long after she had enlisted into the army before she was strong. jackie used his medical skills to save her, so she agreed to help him.

“Master Drake, Miss Tanya, Mr. Timothy. You’re here!” jackie smiled and greeted them when he noticed James and the others.

“Mmhmm. We probably would’ve arrived earlier if Tanya and Yvonne had not taken half the day just to pick their clothes and do their makeup.” James nodded and scanned the surroundings. “Seems like we’ve arrived pretty late.”

“Ma–Master Drake! What an honor to have you here!” Old Man Taylor immediately stepped forward to shake hands with him.

At that moment, Ivan had also stopped. His hand was practically swollen. It burned with fatigue.

Michael spat blood and tumbled onto the ground, unable to withstand the beatings any longer.

The bodyguards he brought with him stood at the main entrance of the Taylor family’s residence, waiting as per their orders.

They saw every single event that had unfolded. Unfortunately, they did not even dare to allow a sound to escape from them. There were too many powerful people there. They did not dare rush it.

“He’s fainted!” Neil gulped and exclaimed as he looked at Michael whose face was swollen beyond recognition.

“Get his bodyguards here to carry him back!” Lana spoke impatiently.

Quickly, a few of the Wilson family’s bodyguards came in, lifting Michael and carting him off quickly. They were afraid that they would die here if they moved too slow.

“This fellow lacks physical training on a daily basis. He only received two hundred slaps, and he’s already fainted just like that,” Xyle said, chuckling.

Chapter 537 “Lana, Miss Goddess of War! Long time no see!” James called out to Lana, immediately stepping forward after Michael had been carried away.

She nodded her head, then noticed the two beauties beside him. “I assume that these two are the legendary beauties, Tanya and Yvonne?” she said, smiling.

Tanya was shocked when she heard that. She never expected that the Goddess of War would praise her like that. “Hello, Goddess of War. I–I’m Tanya Drake. I’m not that beautiful—you’re a lot more good- looking than I am. Not only do you have a nice figure, you also have such a powerful aura!”

Yvonne also quickly added, “That’s right. Not everyone possesses the aura of a Goddess of War. Michael has always been brazenly arrogant. He probably wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant after this incident.”

The eyes of these two beauties were steady and clear. They were dressed in a simple fashion. Lana had a good impression of them.

After she thought about it, she nonchalantly took out her name card and passed it to Tanya. “My phone number’s here. We can go out for a cup of coffee when we’re free. Besides, I don’t know that many people here in Eastfield!”

Tanya was stunned by the royal treatment. She gulped before she took the tiny name card. “All right. I’ll contact you when I have the time. Oh, right. This is mine!”

She quickly took out her name card and held it out towards the other woman, bowing slightly with both hands clasped around the card.

Lana could not help but smile at Tanya’s antics. “Don’t be so serious. I’m not a god. Just treat me like any normal person—like a sister!”

“I–I shouldn’t do that. Even if you’re not a god, you’re close. You’re a Goddess of War!”

Tanya could not get used to that. Lana was a powerful Goddess of War—how could she treat her as a regular girlfriend and hang out so casually? No way she could do that. She already felt stressed standing before the Goddess of War, feeling as though invisible hands were clenching around her heart. She had never experienced a feeling like this before. There was an unidentifiable prestige, an unidentifiable atmosphere of strength before her.

“I was a Goddess of War. That was a long time ago. I’ve retired now!” Lana did not know whether to laugh or cry. She just wanted to shed her titles and make two new friends. Her title made it really difficult for others to interact with her normally.

Timothy, who was standing beside his sister, had a gloomy expression. He felt that he had been sidelined by the Goddess of War. He even purposely dressed up today and wore a sharply tailored suit.

Of course, he wanted to get the Goddess of War’s attention. Yet…

After a while, almost all the guests had arrived.

Zeus frowned when he scanned the area. It seemed like there were a lot of people. He did not know if the 220 tables were enough to seat everyone.

…

“Who did this? F*ck! How dare he beat my son like this!”

Michael had been carted back to the Wilson family’s mansion.

The head of the Wilson family saw him just as he was being carried in. He immediately called for a few of the Wilson family members to witness the situation.

“My God. What happened to the young master? His face has been beaten, and so badly swollen that it looks like a pig’s. I probably wouldn’t recognize him if it wasn’t for his clothes, which was what he wore this morning!”

One of the Wilson members grimaced when he saw Michael’s state.

“Who did this? Who did this! I’ll tear him to pieces!” Master Wilson clenched his hands into fists. This was his son, his flesh and blood. He himself did not have the heart to hit him. He never thought that he would be beaten up to this state.

“That’s right. We must avenge him and kill the culprit’s entire family!” The caretaker of the Wilson family also said, huffing.

“Ma–master, the young master offended a Goddess of War,” one of the bodyguards spoke carefully, raising his head.

Chapter 538 “Who did he offend? It doesn’t matter who—I won’t let him live to see the light of day!” Master Wilson yelled. He was extremely furious and was about to explode with rage.

However, he was suddenly stunned after saying that. “Hold on. Who did he offend, you say? He offended a Goddess of War?”

“That’s right, Master. He offended the Goddess of War, Lana Zechs!” the bodyguard explained.

“We’re done for, Master. The person he’s offended this time is too powerful. It’s a miracle that she didn’t come for our entire family!” The Wilson family caretaker’s expression darkened, abruptly submitting to fate.

“No–no way. He seriously offended a God of War?” Master Wilson gulped. The anger that was boiling in him just a moment ago dissipated in a flash. Fear took its place.

That was a Goddess of War. Never mind the powerhouses of Eastfields—not even the powerhouses of other big cities, would dare offend someone like that. There were plenty of people out to curry their favor, even. He never thought his own son would actually offend such a powerful figure.

“F–find doctors for him first!” Master Wilson cried towards two bodyguards after a moment of silence.

After the bodyguards left, he immediately ordered a few others to bring Michael in to rest first. Then, he turned to another bodyguard. “What on earth happened? My son isn’t an idiot. Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to offend a Goddess of War?”

“This is what happened, Master. You know that this Goddess of War always liked to maintain a low profile…”

The bodyguard flashed a bitter smile and told David everything.

“Seriously? Why the mask when nothing was going on? My son has received an extremely unfair beating!”

David gritted his teeth. He believed that Michael would not have said anything like that had he known she was a Goddess of War. He would never have shown such disrespect toward her. However, it was all in the past. He had no choice but to give in. Still, his heart was sent into a panic when he thought of his son being beaten to a pulp.

“That b*stard, Ivan. Slapping someone just because they told him to, and even using such a heavy hand! My son may have been beaten to death had he received a few more slaps!” David clenched his fists tightly. He wanted to shred that punk into pieces.

“Master, we can’t pin the blame on Ivan. It was all jackie’s plan, that son-in-law of the Taylor family. You know that Young Master Wilson harbored some interest in his wife. Naturally, jackie would harbor some dissent within him as well. It wouldn’t have been easy to get a Goddess of War to allow him to deal the punishment. How could he miss an opportunity like that? That was why he dealt such a vicious punishment to the young master!

“However, I myself think it was too much. No matter what you say, we’re still second-class aristocrats. It would’ve been enough to make the young master get on his knees and kowtow to apologize. Why did he have to receive two hundred slaps? Two hundred!” the bodyguard said, sighing.

Chapter 539 “ jackie? He just retired from the military, yet he has the guts to go against our family and do something so vicious against my son? Hmph! I, David Wilson, will teach him the taste of regret!”

The bodyguard’s words quickly directed David’s hatred towards jackie.

“That’s right. jackie’s unbelievably wicked, Master. Ivan had no choice either. There were so many people there, and the Goddess of War was watching so he had to use his strength. Otherwise, they’d say that the slaps didn’t count and he would have needed to start over. So…”

Naturally, the bodyguard knew that Michael and Ivan had a pretty good friendship. He knew they were against jackie, so he even put in a good word or two for Ivan.

“Alright. I get it!” David nodded. “Sure, jackie may have saved the Goddess of War, but she had given him luminous pearls worth five hundred million dollars, and she even put him on a pedestal during Old Man Taylor’s birthday party. Her debt to him is probably almost fulfilled. I’ll never forget this incident. Even if I can’t confront him now, I’ll think of a way to kill jackie soon.”

…,

At that moment, in a tower opposite the Taylor family’s residence, quite a few people were using binoculars to observe the situation in the villa.

“It’s buzzing! Lots of people went!! And there are quite a few Kings of War here. Lana Zechs came as well!”

A man with a determined face spoke, his expression darkened as he slowly lowered his binoculars.

“That’s right. jackie sabotaged your master the last time. Who knew that a Goddess of War would say he was helping to get rid of a hazard, even giving him face to celebrate the old man’s birthday?”

Quil smiled coldly before continuing, “And the other Gods of War had all come. Of course, I want to see them. That Goddess of War has such a good figure, and she’s not half-bad looking either. I think quite a few people are thinking of bedding her. Tsk tsk. It’s a pity that a woman like that is too strong for the likes of normal fellows. She’ll be quite a catch if anyone manages to reel her in!”

He never expected the man to give him a vicious backhanded-slap him across the face right after saying that.

“You…”

Quil was extremely furious, but he quickly remembered that this was King of War Magnus Sutherland’s apprentice he was talking to. He was a head commander. The bodyguards that came with Quil were no match for him.

“ jackie drove my master to death. I wanted to kill him and avenge my master!” The man’s expression hardened, murder rooted within his gaze. “But a Goddess of War doesn’t deserve to be slandered by someone like you,” he told Quil. “Don’t even think about doing anything to her. You wouldn’t be living such a comfortable life in Sky City now if we soldiers didn’t sacrifice ourselves in the war, would you?”

It was obvious that although the man wanted to avenge his master, he still had ultimate respect for Gods of War.

The Nine Great Gods of War and the Supreme Warrior were practically deities in his heart.

“Understood!” Even though he was angry, Quil managed a smile. “When do you plan to make a move?”

“After a few days. This happened not too long ago, so I don’t want to attract the suspicion of the God and Kings of War. I’ll find an opportunity to kill jackie after a few days.”

The man thought for a moment then said, “Don’t worry. You said it yourself that he has the skills that could match a head commander. He’s strong, but it wouldn’t be a problem when faced with an actual head commander like me.”

“All right!” Quil said, nodding his head.

He never expected the middle-aged man to sigh at this moment. “Ah, I never thought my master—the old man who had contributed so much to our country and killed so many enemies—would meet an ending like that. It just makes one so bitterly disappointed. No matter what, his sins didn’t warrant a death sentence. Hmph. It’s all because of jackie. My master wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t called for the Goddess of War!”

Chapter 540 “All right. We’ll let jackie live a few days longer!” Quil flashed a mirthless smile. He thought about it for a while before he added, “I noticed that his wife isn’t your regular beauty. Do you mind if I fool around with her after you kill him?”

The man’s expression shuttered, completely devoid of emotion. He looked at Quil beside him and said, “That’s your business. It has nothing to do with me. My goal is just to off that punk’s head!” After he said that, the man wheeled around and left.

Quil waited until the man left before he spoke in a frosty tone, “Fck. You’re just a head commander. Putting on airs in front of me every day while waiting for good food and drinks to be served to you. And you dare hit me. Sht. You really are full of yourself.”

The bodyguards surrounding him had bizarre expressions. They had no say in the matter. Although the man was just a head commander, they could not afford to offend him that easily. No fighter in the Xenos family could compare to him.

“I never thought that jackie’s woman would be dubbed the Number One Beauty Queen of Eastfield. There’s an unexpected reward waiting for me at the end of this!”

A wicked quickly curled across Quil’s lips. “Seems like his brother-in-law’s girlfriend is also pretty good looking,” he said. “When jackie dies, kidnap those two women for me. I’m going to use an unconventional method to avenge my uncle!”

The bodyguards behind him stared curiously. It seemed that this Young Master Xenos was truly different. He said something evil so flippantly as if there was nothing wrong about it.

…

“Come on. Cheers! It’s been so long since I’ve loosened up!”

Skyler was all smiles. He had been able to see the Goddess of War today—and even shared a table with her. He was extremely excited.

“That’s right. I never thought I’d have the chance to drink with the Goddess of War!”

The King of War, Xyle, also wore an excited expression, his face already flushed red with alcohol.

After he thought about it, he flashed Lana an awkward smile. “Miss Goddess of War, I’m an uneducated b*stard. I’ve never been one for books, and I’m not a good speaker. I’ll say whatever I want to say after drinking. I’m a carefree spirit, after all. I hope that you’ll forgive me if I accidentally say something wrong. Don’t hold it against me!”

Lana could not help but laugh. This was the sort of person she liked, not the calculative, manipulative types.

After she laughed, she raised her glass and spoke to Xyle, “Come on, let’s drink! Don’t worry. I’m not a petty sort either.”

“All right. I’ll empty my glass first to show respect to you!”

Xyle never expected Lana to propose a drink with him. He was shocked by the sudden attention and he gulped his glass down in a hurry.

The people who were watching could not help but grin. Aside from the small hiccup earlier, everyone was pretty happy at the party.

Only one table out of the two hundred was empty. The others were all full. This made Zeus heave an internal sigh of relief. This time, the Taylor family had reaped plenty of rewards. Their reputation had significantly improved.

More importantly, everyone had given expensive gifts. Some of the monetary gifts came up to a few hundred thousand—even a few million, tens of millions! It was evident they wished to establish good relations with the Taylor family.

After all, the fact that the Gods of War were here to take part in the celebration meant that jackie was extremely close to them. Now that everyone knew jackie had saved the Goddess of War’s life, everybody wanted to be close to the Taylor family.

At the very least, the Taylor family would not be provoked by any regular folk. They had spent about 10 or 20 million dollars on the party and received cash gifts worth millions. This was not even including the other gifts they had received.

Chapter 541 Zeus was well aware that this allowed the Taylor family to leap straight into a second-class aristocratic family. Additionally, the deal they had signed with South Hill Real Estate enabled them to hold on to the title of second-class aristocrats for at least two years. They could even become slightly stronger than several other families of the same class.

Everyone drank a lot, and it was around three or four in the afternoon when the guests started to gradually disperse.

After seeing Lana and the others off, jackie sauntered over to Selena.

“Let’s go, Honey. Let’s go and see our new home sweet home!” He sang with a soft and gentle smile appearing on his face.

“Okay, let’s go over and take a good look! We can then pack our things and move in this afternoon!” Selena responded after giving some thought to his suggestion. She felt a glimmer of happiness. Her heart was singing.

“Good idea! There’s nothing much for us to pack anyway. Everything we need is already there. Some simple packing will do. We can move in this afternoon!” jackie said, bobbing his head.

“Let’s go! Let’s move now! I can’t wait to see it!” Fiona beamed with great excitement in her tone. That villa was so much more opulent and sumptuous than any of the villas here. She had long desired to live in this villa.

She did not expect that her dream would come true so quickly and that she was able to move into that villa today!

The family quickly crossed the road and walked towards the villa.

On the other side, Ivan was seeing Neil and Ken off at the gate.

The three of them harbored bitterness and saltiness within them, watching the silhouettes of the family growing smaller and smaller as they approached the dream villa.

“Damn! This good-for-nothing shrimp stole the spotlight today!”

“Yeah, I didn’t see that coming. So damn lucky! This sh*thead actually saved the Goddess of War’s life. She’s bolstered his pride enough already, even giving him a luminous pearl that’s worth five hundred million, providing him an easy chance to use it as Old Man Taylor’s birthday present!” Ivan scoffed with a frosty expression.

“So, ask Xena to wait for a few more days. Grandpa Taylor has not only accepted Selena and her family, but he has also completely acknowledged jackie as Taylors’ son-in-law. He seemed like he was satisfied when he was chatting with jackie.”

“If you let the two of them go on like this, I’m truly worried that the Young Master Taylor title will become nothing and that your position as an heir will not be guaranteed!” Ken managed to spill some words after thinking about the situation.

“Stop kidding! I was the one who signed the deal with South Hill Conglomerate, the one who made an unbelievably huge contribution to the company! Earning 7 to 8 billion in two or three years is not a problem for me! jackie and Selena will never be able to affect my rights and my position as the heir of the Taylor family!” Ivan cursed. The skin between his brows crinkled.

“Young Master Taylor, you can’t be too sure! Old Master Taylor used to like Selena very much. Her business acumen and capabilities are ten times better than yours. Now that he has allowed them back into the Taylor family, it also means that he recognizes and approves of them!”

Ken sneered coldly, “Besides, if it weren’t for Selena, would you even get such a big contract? The image of you in the old man’s heart may not be as good as Selena’s now. Plus, all the luxurious and lavish gifts that the old man received today are enough to help the Taylors leap straight into the second- class aristocrat title! And all the credit belongs to jackie!”

Chapter 542 The folds between Ivan’s brows grew deeper upon hearing Ken’s words. Those words from Ken’s delicate mouth were like tiny needles that pierced Ivan’s eardrums—harsh and brutal, yet, honest and reasonable.

“Are you sure? Selena has been gentle and kind since young. She wouldn’t compete with me to be the heir, right? If this happened in the past, it would be possible, but jackie’s pay is quite high, and Selena’s as well. The family can live comfortably without much worry,” Ivan thought out loud.

“Young Master Taylor, it’s wrong to think in this way! Can’t you see how many assets and properties the Taylor family possesses now? They can be considered as a second-class aristocratic family! With an abundance of valuable properties and possessions, do you think Selena will remain the same? She’s from your generation as well. Same generation, same thoughts, right? Besides, no one complains about becoming rich!”

“Okay, let’s not talk about whether or not she will compete with you for the throne. Even if she doesn’t want to compete, your Grandpa will give her half of everything in the future, am I right? Do you really want to give half of it to her?” Neil echoed smilingly, fully intending to remind Ivan of his reality.

Ivan’s face sank. “Of course not! I’m the only man of this generation in the Taylor family! Grandpa kicked her out of the family before! How could she be so shameless to involve herself in the dismemberment of Taylors’ properties?

“You and Selena share the same roots and are from the same generation. Both of you are Grandpa Taylor’s grandchildren, so she naturally has the right to inherit the property. Not to mention, Grandpa Taylor is wise and sharp. If he thinks that you’re incapable and that you’ll weaken the Taylors, he would not think twice before making Selena the heir!” Neil sneered in a cold and mocking tone.

The more Ivan thought about it, the more he realized the truth in Neil and Hugo’s analysis. Old man Taylor’s attitude toward jackie and Selena had changed too much today. He even eulogized Selena for her business talent and filial piety after just a few glasses of wine. Throughout the conversation, he did not mention Ivan at all.

Ivan balled his fists tightly when he thought of the episode. “I will ask Xena to give jackie the pill tomorrow!”

“Don’t rush it. You have to grasp the atmosphere and find the best timing. Don’t raise jackie’s suspicion!”

Ken nodded his head and commented, “Fortunately, this pill is very strong. It’s odorless and tasteless, and it dissolves within seconds! If not, I’m afraid jackie might be able to find out. After all, he’s a doctor. He surely has the medical knowledge!”

Ivan was immediately petrified at his words. “You’re right! He knows medical stuff. What if he’s able to treat himself and be cured of the poison? Does the poison really work?”

“Don’t you worry! This pill was not easy to find. We bought it at an extremely high price. This chronic poison pill was specially developed and made by the most prominent poison-making family in the southwest—the Miao family. The person who consumes this will not feel anything at all at the beginning, but as the days pass, he will grow weak in his four limbs, slowly losing vitality before eventually dying!”

Ken rejoiced and continued, “And only the maker has the antidote for this kind of poison. It is derived from dozens of medicinal materials, how can it be treated so easily, right?”

Ken’s confidence offered Ivan’s heart some calmness. He felt relieved. “I’ll invite Xena for lunch tomorrow then! A little benefit for her would do the magic. I’ll ask her to find a good time to poison jackie. After all, it’s been a long time since Xena’s episode. It’s about time jackie lowers his guard around Xena.”

“That’s perfect! Once jackie dies, it gives us the chance to pursue Selena! She will become a member of another family and have her surname changed. That way, she loses the right to compete with you for the throne! Anyway, she wouldn’t even need to fight with you once she marries a rich man, am I right?”

Ken was hopeful as though saw a light at the end of the tunnel as he thought about their plan. He felt that he was the most promising candidate, that Selena would pick him over the others. After all, he was closest to Selena before jackie returned.

Although Michael had a pretty good relationship with Selena, he was ugly and fat. Selena would definitely scratch the fat guy off her list.

On the other hand, Neil Hugo only came to know Selena much later. He was a complete pervert who only drooled over Selena’s beauty. There was no emotional foundation for them to build a marriage on. Besides, Neil was infamous for being a playboy!

Therefore, after analyzing all the potential candidates, he was the most promising one. It was only natural for Selena to pick him!

“It makes sense, it does make sense! And when jackie dies, she’ll definitely lose her fighting spirit for some time. She may even isolate herself and degenerate forever! By that time, Grandpa will be even more disappointed and change his perspective of me again!” Ivan ended his final analysis on this matter. Soon, the three of them dispersed.

After Ken separated from the others, he brought some bodyguards with him and headed to the hospital.

Chapter 543 A luxurious ward came into his sight. He looked at the man lying on the bed, then cast his gaze out the window. Ken sighed deeply.

“Cousin, call my father. I must kill that b*stard!”

Flynn grit his teeth as his thoughts flew back to that day in the mall. He wanted to approach Miss Tanya and perhaps, make her his. However, his arm ended up getting crushed into powder by jackie.

The doctors said it was impossible to save his left arm and that the only way to keep his life was to amputate the arm.

Anger drummed through his veins when he looked at his current state—a disabled man.

Ken had never told Flynn’s father about this. After all, his cousin came to Eastfield to hang out with him. To some extent, he was responsible for his cousin’s accident.

He did call, but he could not get himself to open his mouth and speak the truth. He did not know what to say, or how to say it. Therefore, he told Flynn to wait a few more days.

Flynn was about to be discharged from the hospital, and it seemed that the call could not be delayed any further.

“Cousin, don’t rush it. Perhaps you should tell them once you get back to Lone city” He paused for a while before continuing, “Today, I bring you some good news!”

“Hmph! Good news? What kind of news can be good for me? Right now, I just want that bodyguard to die in front of me! Not a simple and quick death—a miserable one!”

Flynn’s gaze was still focused on the world beyond the windows. His eyes were full of resentment.

“You’re right about the bodyguard this time! I came today to tell you just that. The b*stard will be in his grave very soon. He’ll only be alive for another month at most!” Ken said as he laughed wholeheartedly.

“What do you mean? We’ll have to wait another month? Is it that difficult to handle a bodyguard?”

Flynn’s face was frosty, obviously dissatisfied with the good news.

“It won’t be easy! Our first fighter in the Clark family, Dan Jameson, was not even a worthy opponent. It’s extremely tough and challenging to slit that bstard’s throat! Moreover, I went to Grandpa Taylor’s birthday banquet today and I got to know that this bstard used to be a head commander in the army. It’s just that he lost his commander’s token and can’t prove it to others. The good thing is we understand and are more aware of his true strength now,” Ken expressed.

“Head commander? That won’t be easy to deal with!” Flynn frowned and continued, “You have to find a stronger and more ferocious person to end him! Wait…why do you say we need to wait a month to kill him?”

“That’s because this b*stard is about to die from poisoning! From a chronic yet deadly poison. He won’t even notice it!” With a sinister look in his eyes, Ken spewed, “Don’t worry, cousin. I have my own plans and arrangements. I’ll be sure to avenge you!”

Chapter 544 “Are you sure it’s reliable? This jerk is wicked. He’s not going to be easy to deal with!” Flynn saw that his

cousin was finally going to avenge him and his spirits were immediately lifted. He felt that he might as well die if he was not avenged.

He was the son of a second-class aristocratic family in the Lone City. He came from a noble family! How could a bodyguard destroy his arm during his visit to Eastfield—a place that was nothing compared to Lone City. It would be a shameful embarrassment to return to Lone City in such a state! Not to mention, what would the wealthy people from Lone City think of him now? That he was merely a disabled man!

“Don’t be too preoccupied with that. The pill is absolutely reliable. The thing is like this…”

Ken told Flynn about their plan and arrangement from start to finish. “We didn’t do it earlier because Ivan was worried about something. He was looking forward to Old Man Taylor’s birthday banquet as he wanted to witness Old Man Taylor cast jackie out from the Taylor family. However, we didn’t expect jackie to bring such glory to the Taylor family and for Old Man Taylor to approve of jackie just like that! This time, Ivan is determined to erase this guy from the earth!”

“Alright then. I’m just unhappy with letting that b*stard to live another month. Besides, this poison doesn’t seem like it would torture him and give him a miserable death!” Flynn clenched his jaw, the boulder in his heart was still there.

“Who said this poison won’t torture him? In the early stage, the consumer will not feel anything at all, so it wouldn’t be painful. However, in the two days before he dies, you can’t begin to imagine the pain that he’ll be experiencing. He’s going to feel as though his bones and heart are corroding, melting. That feeling will make him want to kill himself, and it’ll last for two days! By that time, no antidote in the world will be able to save him!”

Ken chuckled loudly and added, “I wanted to get rid of this b*stard a long time ago. I asked him to leave Selena alone back then, but he refused. I shouldn’t have let him live until today and allowed him to become strong. Since he still stubbornly wants to be with Selena, don’t blame me for my cruelty!”

“Alright. I won’t go back to Lone City, then. I’ll stay a little longer at yours and wait for the good news!”

Flynn sealed his decision after thinking about it.

…

Meanwhile, jackie and the others were touring the 95-million villa.

“How is it? Are you satisfied with the decoration and setting of the house?” jackie asked Selena and the others with a warm smile on his face.

For him, where he lived and the condition of the house did not matter to him as long as there was a roof over his head. However, he did not wish to treat his dear wife, her lovely family, and his family badly.

“Of course, I’m content! Look at the yard! It’s huge! Even the place where the servants and maids will be staying is spacious and comfortable! And the bonsai over there is marvelous!” Selena beamed with a wide grin. “Honey, I’m extremely satisfied!”

“This villa’s so good! When we lived in the Taylor’s residence, I used to look at the villa and feel a little envious of the people living in it. I wouldn’t have thought that one day my dream to live in it would come true!” Andrew let out laughter, satisfaction showing on his face.

However, there was one person whose face was dull and cold all the time, seemingly unhappy.

“Ma, what’s the matter? Why do I sense that you’re not happy today? We’re going to live in this big villa, aren’t you happy?” Selena frowned and asked, noticing Fiona’s expression as well.

“I’m happy, of course, I’m happy. To live in such a big villa, how could I not be happy? A three-story villa with many rooms in it.”

Chapter 545 Fiona rolled her eyes at Selena and turned to face jackie. Her expression indicated that she was truly

exasperated. “ jackie, there’s one thing I have to say now. I didn’t mention it earlier because I wanted to protect your image in front of the crowd. Now there’s only one thing I want to get off my chest!” She burst.

jackie’s brows furrowed for a moment before his gentle smile reappeared on his face. He said calmly, “Mother, I think I know what you want to say!”

“Oh, you do? Tell me why am I so angry, then!” Fiona crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Are you thinking about the episode earlier? When the Goddess of War told me to teach Michael a lesson, you think the punishment was too heavy, don’t you? You’re afraid that Michael will hold this grudge against me and that the Wilson family will cause trouble for us in the future?”

jackie chortled and continued, “Don’t worry about that. Even if they aren’t afraid of my relationship with the Goddess of War, I am not afraid of them!”

“Aww, Ma, I didn’t expect you to worry that the Clark family would do something to jackie!” A flash of warmth filled her. This was her first time seeing her own mother worry about jackie’s safety.

The corners of Fiona’s mouth twitched slightly. She blurted, “Bullsh*t! I’m not talking about this. I’m angry you didn’t tell me earlier about the luminous pearl the Goddess of War gave you!”

jackie was speechless. He initially thought Fiona was worried about his safety, afraid that the Clarks would take revenge on him. It seemed like it was just his imagination. It turned out that Fiona was concerned about the luminous pearl.

jackie forced a smile and said, “Mother, I did this to surprise Grandpa Taylor. Did you notice how happy he was today? Besides, I already knew what gift I was going to give him, so what’s the point of discussing it with others?”

“Actually, I was quite surprised too!” Selena chimed in with a warm smile. “I really didn’t expect that the Goddess of War would give that pearl to you. After all, she had spent a huge amount in the auction to bid for this pearl!”

“I must admit that it’s quite unexpected. The luminous pearl is such a valuable thing! It’s a national treasure! How could you give it to Grandpa Taylor without discussing it with us? You should’ve at least informed us!”

Fiona’s expression remained exasperated. “Have you ever thought about us? I let my beloved daughter marry you. We gave you Selena! Do you know how hard it is for parents to raise a kid? Why didn’t you think of giving it to us? I may no longer be young but I still have some years to live.”

jackie and Selena exchanged glances silently. They were tongue-tied in this situation. They did not expect Fiona to throw a tantrum because of a pearl.

“Yeah, how old are you again? You’re not even fifty! Why do you want to fight with Grandpa for this pearl? Don’t you feel ashamed?” Selena looked at Fiona and asked.

Andrew, who stood beside Fiona, was upset with the conversation. “In my opinion, jackie’s gift was very appropriate. The pearl should be given to my father. He is old now and he needs this kind of thing!” he fumed.

“Th—that’s five hundred million! Shouldn’t he at least discuss with us? We could’ve voted on a decision!” Fiona was still upset. She stared at jackie, fire burning in her eyes. “He kept quiet about the gift and made us worried the whole time! I was still worried about whether he had prepared a decent gift for Grandpa. jackie didn’t even treat us as his own!” she huffed.

“Ma, you’ve gone too far. jackie has never treated us as outsiders. I think you just want the pearl. If jackie had brought it out to the table, would you have let him give it away as the birthday gift?” Selena reprimanded her without hesitation. She then continued, “The pearl isn’t going to follow Grandpa Taylor

to his grave, and you’re not even fifty years old! When Grandpa passes, we’ll give the pearl to you. Isn’t that good enough?”

Chapter 546 “Hmph! Stop fooling me! The pearl isn’t here anymore, it’s been given to others! Even if you wanted to take it back after Grandpa dies, do you think it’ll be that easy? By that time, Theodore would’ve gotten a hold of it and he won’t let it go until he dies! You gave away this pearl, not lending it out!

Fiona was no fool. She let out a chuckle and said to jackie, “Nevermind. I’ll forgive you this time because of the villa, but the next time you come across any valuable item, you must let me know first. Tell us about it, do you understand?”

“Yes, understood!” jackie nodded, his mouth curving awkwardly at its corners. “Let’s go inside and I’ll give you guys the tour, then we can start picking our rooms. But if you allow me to suggest, Mother, you should live on the first floor as it would be more convenient for you to move around. Selena, Ben, and I, the younger people, can live on the second floor.”

“I’ll take a look first then decide, but yes, the first floor will definitely be a lot more convenient!” With her head high, Fiona walked into the villa.

“Wow, wow, wow! This is amazing! The design and decorations are extraordinary!” Xena could not help but exclaim aloud once they stepped into the villa. The interior of the villa emitted a palatial aura. It was not old-fashioned, but quite the opposite. It was contemporary and fashionable—suitable for the younger generation.

“Yeah, it’s really great! Too great! Xena, let’s go upstairs and look around, then we can decide which room to live in!” Ben immediately chimed in.

jackie’s face darkened upon hearing his words. “Wait, talking about picking rooms, let your sister pick first, then Kylie, and then you!”

jackie’s words made their faces turn sour.

However, this villa was bought with jackie’s money, and the real estate certificate bore Selena’s name. Xena and Ben had no right to say anything.

“Alright, alright, but as for the villa at the Taylor’s residence, I want to live in my old room. You can’t decide that for us, right?” Ben turned to jackie and asked after he thought about something.

jackie smiled indifferently. “Don’t worry. The possibility of us living there will be very low. After all, I believe Selena wouldn’t want to see Ivan that often, right?”

Selena’s eyes lit up at jackie’s words. She smiled, “You know me pretty well, huh! The house over there… I don’t really want to go back and stay there that much. I’m so content with this villa. Besides, my husband bought it for me at such a high price, so it feels extra warm just to live here.”

“By the way, jackie, how much can a head commander get once he’s retired from the army?” Fiona finally opened her mouth. She could not stop thinking about the reward.

jackie’s face dulled. He was speechless. It seemed that they believed that he was a head commander. After all, the reward for a major in the army could be as much as one billion dollars!

Before jackie could answer Fiona’s question, Selena stepped up and scolded, “Ma, are you thinking about jackie’s remaining cash reward, again? He has already given you twenty million, isn’t that enough? For a head commander, the reward is more or less around two hundred million, and jackie has already spent a lot on us. Right now, he probably only has around ten million left at most. Don’t tell me you want him to take it all out?”

Chapter 547 Fiona felt that she was being unreasonable as well. Still, she could not help but mutter, “Well, if he’s

willing to take out his money and give it to his mother-in-law as living allowance, why not? Naturally, I wouldn’t mind it. Who wouldn’t want to have more money?”

jackie stayed silent. Fiona’s words pretty much indicated her desire for jackie’s remaining money. She wanted him to take it all out. Fiona was too greedy, was she not?

However, Fiona was indeed his mother-in-law, and he would not want to offend her in any way. Hence, jackie could only smile and answer, “Mother, don’t worry. Just let me know when you’re done spending the twenty million dollars I gave you. We’re a family. Of course, I’ll make sure you have enough to spend.”

Fiona’s face immediately lit up upon hearing jackie’s words. A wide grin plastered her face and she said, “My dear son-in-law, you’re too good. Actually, I’m not that money-minded, and I’m not after your money. After all, you earned the money with your life on the battlefield. So, even if you have eight or ten million, you should keep it.”

Fiona paused for a moment before adding, “But at the same time, I’m worried you won’t know how to manage your savings well and end up squandering it all. That’s why I want to help manage it for you. For example, this villa is too expensive. It’s not worth ninety-five million at all.”

jackie was dumbfounded. If he allowed Fiona to manage the money, it would be his last time seeing his money. It would be difficult to ask her to take out the money once it was in her custody.

“Let’s go, jackie. We can’t wait to see the rooms. Hurry up and move to the second floor!” Ben beamed with a smile on his face.

After his last words, he turned to Xena and asked, “Xena, we can now say that we have houses and cars. Soon, I’ll go to your house and bring up the marriage proposal to your parents. It should be fine, right? I think it’s best if we get registered and get the marriage certificate as soon as possible and have a baby!”

Ben was overly excited. Although Xena would occasionally come over for a few nights, she would never let him touch her at all. At most, she would allow him a few pecks on her cheeks. Ben had been wanting to marry Xena for a long time, but every time he proposed the idea to her, she would use the fact that Ben did not have a car or a house yet as an excuse to reject him. Now, Ben had both a car and a house. It should not pose any problems anymore.

“Yes, yes, yes! Get married quickly! You’re not young anymore! Get married and give me a grandson. Then I can hold my grandson and take care of him in this grand villa!” Fiona’s heart leaped with joy when she heard it.

“Don’t worry. We’re not like before anymore, poor with no money. We were too embarrassed to urge you to get married because of that. Now we have money! Eighty or a hundred thousand is nothing! We promise that the wedding will be grand and memorable!”

Fiona patted her chest and continued, “Please, find a time to talk to your parents. Of course, we’ll give you some time to get yourself mentally prepared. Perhaps ten days or even half a month. How about that?”

Xena did not think of marrying Ben at all. Ben was not good-looking. He was average, boring, and only knew how to play games.

It was true that Ben and his family were wealthier than before, but how could compare to Ivan Taylor? Ivan is the young master of the Taylor family. The entirety of the Taylor properties would belong to him in the future!

The Taylor family had successfully leaped into the second-class aristocratic family title. If she had the chance to become Mrs. Taylor, how would she be satisfied with the current state of Ben’s family?

Chapter 548 “Alright, alright. I’ll make a call to them in a few days!” Xena smiled awkwardly. She thought to herself

and decided to agree to whatever came to her first, and act accordingly later on.

The family quickly hopped to the second floor. After a round of touring, they picked their rooms.

After selecting their respective rooms, Selena suggested to jackie, “Let’s go. It’s almost time. Let’s go back and pack our things so we can move in earlier and have an early dinner, too. After dinner, we could take Kylie to the park and take a stroll around our neighborhood.”

“Good idea! It’s a lot livelier here than the place I used to live in!”

jackie smiled at her. Holding her hand, they went down to the first floor together.

Soon, jackie and the others returned to their dilapidated small house that they used to live in, packed some clothes and essentials, and were about to move into their new villa.

Selena stood in the courtyard, her eyes fixated on the dilapidated house and its small courtyard, reminiscing the past.

“I can’t believe that we’ve been living in this house for five years. I wasn’t used to living in such conditions at the beginning!

“But, after some time, I eventually got used to it. It’s been five years… Sigh, I feel sad to leave!” Selena chortled bitterly, her voice full of emotions.

“We’ve got to go. It’s my fault for making you and Kylie suffer a lot in the last five years. From now on, I promise I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world!” jackie gave her a warm smile. He turned to Fiona and said, “Mother, it’ll be Selena’s birthday in another month, right? I’ll throw her a celebration that will shock the whole city! It’ll be an unforgettable birthday!”

“Really? If that’s true, I might go and announce it to my friends and family! If you can’t fulfill your promise, you’ll lose face!”

Fiona was truly happy for Selena. After all, her daughter had experienced the worst in the past five years. She could not even afford a decent meal during her past few birthdays!

jackie’s words lightened up Fiona’s mood. This was the first time Fiona thought well of jackie. Although he was not as wealthy as Ken Clark, he was good to her daughter.

Lads like Ken Clark and Neil Huga, they were wealthy but vicious and black-hearted at the same time. How could they ask her to poison jackie? Only evil people like them could come up with such ideas!

After Fiona gave some thought to the situation, she reminded jackie, “By the way, jackie, even though you have a good relationship with the Goddess of War, and the Kings of War came over to Grandpa’s birthday for you, you can’t expect them to help you every time. So, no matter what, keep a low profile. Don’t get yourself targeted and cause me trouble, do you hear me? The higher the tree, the stronger the wind!”

Andrew bobbed his head in agreement. He stepped forward and said the same to jackie, “Yeah, jackie, Ma is right. And you don’t have to punish young master Wilson that hard today. You could’ve just asked him to kowtow and apologize, or maybe ask them to slap themselves. Those two hundred slaps almost crippled him! Do you think they’ll let it slide just like that?”

“Pa, it’s not that serious. Marshall Dennis is our bodyguard right now, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. Those young masters and their bodyguards are just ordinary people. Besides, won’t they think twice before going against us? After all, jackie has a good relationship with the Goddess of War. If they piss off the Goddess of War, their entire family is basically done for!” Selena replied after pondering.

“Anyway, just stay low. They won’t dare to fight jackie face-to-face, but what if they find someone to slit his throat in secret? After all, everything can be done secretly, and if they refuse to admit to it by then, there’d be no evidence for the Goddess of War to wipe them out, right?”

Andrew smiled bitterly. “It’s easy to dodge an open spear thrust, but difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark, isn’t it?”

Selena nodded to agree. Her father was right. She then turned to jackie and said, “Moving forward, please try to make as little trouble as possible, for me and our daughter, okay? Try to keep a low profile, go to work and get off work on time everyday without stirring up trouble. The most important thing is that we live comfortably and peacefully!”

jackie did not know whether to laugh or to cry at his wife’s comments. “Honey, don’t you think I want that, too? It’s not that I didn’t want to stay low. I couldn’t! I already warned them to stay away from us, but those idiots were still thinking about you and wanting to fight me. Sigh, I’m helpless!”

Chapter 549 “Th—then we have no choice. Just don’t provoke them. They’ll lose interest after a while once they see that we’re inseparable—then they’ll give up! Besides, once they find some other beauty, they’ll have a new target and naturally give up!” Selena said after she thought about it.

jackie was stunned. “Really? There are others who could be more beautiful than my wife?”

A light blush suddenly colored Selena’s cheeks. “What are you talking about? My daughter is a big girl now, and I’m way past my prime. What beauty? Aren’t Sharon, Yvonne, and Tanya all beauties? They’re the real deals here—young and beautiful!”

“They’re too young. They aren’t as charming as you. Besides, they don’t have that charisma that you have!” jackie answered, still grinning as he looked at Selena, whose expression had turned bashful. Delight leaped in his heart.

She was usually so frosty, but her coquettish expression when she turned shy would melt anyone’s heart.

Xena, who was standing to the side, did not seem too happy. As the couple went back and forth, they spoke as though she was not a beauty—especially Selena. She must have excluded her on purpose when she was listing so many beauties.

“Let’s go, let’s go. Your child is so old and you’re still so sappy!” Fiona really could not bear to watch any longer. She never thought that the husband and wife would still act in such a disgusting manner. She felt as though goosebumps were about to form all over her skin.

Joan, who stood to the side, could not keep a small smile from gracing her lips. She was happy seeing that the two of them loved each other so dearly.

“Let’s go!”

Selena flashed jackie an awkward glance. She realized that she was growing to accept him more and more. She then carried their daughter and went into the car.

Soon enough, the whole family had moved into the villa. They parked four luxury cars at the villa’s porch. The view did not seem so stark now.

“I think we should go out to eat. We’ve just moved in here, and we’re all tired and drenched in sweat. More importantly, the fridge doesn’t have any ingredients in it and it’s already 6:30pm!” Selena could not help but speak up after everything was arranged.

“All right. Anything you say, dear. We’ll go out to eat once everyone has taken a bath.” jackie nodded.

In a flash, everyone went off to bathe. After freshening up, they rested for a while before heading out for dinner. No one expected Xena’s phone to ring just as they ordered their food. She took it out, looked at the screen, and rejected the call.

“Why didn’t you pick it up?” jackie’s brows furrowed. He felt that she was acting strangely. A flash of panic had sparked in her eyes when she looked at her phone just now.

Chapter 550 Xena never thought that jackie would notice this small, careless action.

Shock jolted up her spine. She managed a stiff smile. “It’s just a spam call. It’s nothing. Those housing agents are seriously so annoying. They keep calling me to ask if I’m going to buy a house!”

“Really? Lend me your phone and I’ll call them to give them a good scolding!” jackie flashed a frosty smile and extended his hand.

Xena’s expression turned even sourer when she heard this. It was Ivan who had called her.

Everything would go to sh*t if jackie and Selena found out what was happening between her and Ivan.

“What’s there to call? It’s just a spam call. Let’s eat!” Xena immediately chuckled and picked up her chopsticks.

“Why won’t you let me check it out if it’s just a spam call? Or are you scared of something? Don’t tell me your lover called you?” jackie pressed on, sensing that something was off.

The corners of Xena’s mouth twitched. jackie was too sharp, too difficult to handle. She never thought that he would be right on the money.

She immediately slapped her chopsticks on the table in a huff. “What are you talking about, jackie? What lover are you talking about? I’m not that kind of person. Besides, this is my phone. I can’t just hand it over to you—what if you looked through my private photos? Even Ben doesn’t get to touch my phone. What right do you have to ‘borrow’ it?”

“What are you saying, jackie? Don’t go overboard!” Ben immediately spoke, his expression cold. “I’m only calling you my brother-in-law to maintain my sister’s dignity, and because you’ve been doing pretty good lately and not causing us any trouble. Did you think you could step on me like that? What right do you have to look at my girlfriend’s phone?”

Fiona’s expression was also somewhat hostile. “Xena is right, jackie. Why would you, an outsider, want to look at her phone? You’re our son-in-law now, yes, but know your place. Are you harboring a grudge against her because she was against you in the beginning?”

jackie immediately smiled. “Why so serious? I’m just joking. Why the tension?” After he said that, he lowered his voice and muttered on purpose, “Ah, I was just kidding. Why so tense about it? Don’t tell me you’re feeling guilty because your lover really called you?”

“You…” Xena was extremely furious. She picked up her chopsticks again. “Who cares about you!”

“That’s right. Let’s eat!” Ben quickly smiled and scooped some dishes, putting them into Xena’s bowl.

At that moment, Xena’s phone rang again. The corners of Xena’s mouth twitched violently. She felt absolutely helpless. Why did Ivan pick this time to call her? It was definitely not the right timing. Besides, she had rejected his call immediately when he called earlier. Could he not tell this was not a good time for them to talk?

“Eh, why’s your phone ringing again? Pick it up!” jackie said with a surprised smile on his face.

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