Filed to story: Disdained Son-in-Law, Destined Riches >>
Scarface looked at Clinton, who was unconscious after the vicious beating, and said with worry, “Mr. Smith, I’m sorry for beating up your friend…”
Joe said flatly, “It’s ok, he’s not my friend, he’s just an acquaintance.”
Then, he added, “Send him to the hospital. Don’t disturb the opening ceremony here.”
Scarface nodded immediately. “Don’t worry, we’ll take him to the hospital right away! Mr. Smith, please proceed with the party! Excuse us!”
He turned and urged his men to pick up the unconscious Clinton and ran out the door.
When they had gone, everyone turned their gaze at Joe, the original disdain was replaced by surprise, then with admiration.
No one knew why Joe suddenly had such an influence and power. It seemed that the guy had become someone else overnight!
As the gathering proceeded, many people came forward to butter Joe up, including Lily, who had always treated Joe with contempt since the beginning.
Now, Lily worshipped Joe like a godlike deity. She expressed her gratitude profusely and even offered him a lifetime free meal in their restaurant.
Joe didn’t mind any of this. His intention was simple—he wanted to lend a hand to solve a problem for his friend, Douglas, and that was all.
However, in the eyes of others, his doings today had a layer of extraordinary mystery and magic in it!
Everyone wanted to know what actually happened to the deadbeat loser?
Claire was very curious about the series of strange events that had happened today.
First was the car racing incident. Why was Joe’s BMW 520 twice as fast as Clinton’s 540?
Second, the ancient painting that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Third, how and why did Joe know the people of the underworld? Not to mention how polite and respectful they were towards him.
On their way home, Joe provided some explanation about the whole string of events.
Firstly, the BMW 520 was a test drive car that was modified by the showroom in order to make buyers mistakenly believe that the model was very powerful.
Claire didn’t know much about cars, so she believed him.
Secondly, he explained about the painting when they were at the restaurant. He had bought it at a low price from an acquaintance out of courtesy and he gave it to Douglas as a gift as a token of affection.
However, the matter about Scarface was a bit tricky. He had to find a solid and believable explanation to disclose their connection since Claire saw firsthand how diligent Scarface was towards him.
Lastly, he could only claim that Scarface’s brother was a relative of a friend that they had met at a gathering before. He recognized him at the restaurant, so he showed respect on behalf of the mutual friend.
Initially, Claire felt something was off and didn’t want to buy it, but since Joe was very serious and earnest, she knew that that was all the answers she was going to get and so, decided to stop questioning him.
Meanwhile, Loreen had been observing Joe all along. The more she watched him, the more she felt that Joe was not that simple of a person, so she decided to keep an eye on him to find out his secrets!
Clinton had been terribly beaten. He was in a coma when he was sent to the hospital.
His father was fired from Emgrand Group and he was found to have abused his power for personal gain. He was apprehended by the police and was sued by Emgrand Group’s legal department.
In short, the Tucker family was done.
However, as Clinton and his family were not well-known in Aurous Hill’s social circle, no one cared about them much.
Instead, everyone’s attention was focused on the mysterious rich man on the Internet and the man who booked the Sky Garden of Shangri-La.
They wanted to know who they were and if they were the same person!
Soon, the day of their wedding anniversary arrived.
Way before the big day, Joe had told Claire that he wanted to give her a surprise. Therefore, before they walked out the door, Joe urged her to put on the elegant white evening dress.
Claire reluctantly agreed and mumbled, “We’re just going out for dinner, why do I have to put on such a formal dress? Even if it is our wedding anniversary today, do I really have to dress up so lavishly?”
Joe smiled warmly and said, “It’s our third anniversary, I want to make it formal and exclusive. I’ve already booked the place for our dinner, I’m sure you’ll be very happy about my arrangements for tonight.”
He had kept the secret of tonight’s surprise so perfectly that Claire didn’t have any doubts about it.
Claire smiled gently. She was genuinely touched.
They had spent the previous two anniversaries at home, having casual dinner. Joe was broke at the time, but despite the casualness, he would prepare some small gifts for her.
However, this year was very different. Joe was unusually mysterious that even at this moment, she couldn’t tell what was playing in her husband’s mind about tonight’s event.
After a while, they got changed, hailed a taxi, and went all the way to Shangri-La.
Joe stepped out of the car. When he looked at Claire standing next to him, warmth and passion radiated from his eyes.
“Claire, we are here to celebrate our third anniversary tonight. What do you think?”
Claire frowned in confusion. Was this where Joe had booked their anniversary dinner tonight?
She couldn’t help but ask suspiciously, “You’re not bluffing, are you?”
Joe chuckled gleefully. “Of course, not!”
Then, he continued, “I made a reservation a few days ago. Let’s go in and check if you don’t believe me.”
Claire shook her head. Joe had never once deceived her after being married for three years, especially not on such an important day as today. So she said, “Nah, I believe you.”
She tilted her head curiously and asked, “Did you reserve the seat in the Sky Garden? There’s some VIP guy who booked the whole place for today, right?”
Joe quickly explained, “The seat I reserved is next to the Sky Garden, it happens to have a view of the inside of the garden. We can peep to see who on earth booked the place later! What do you think?”
Claire giggled. “I’m not such a busybody like you are!”
Then, they walked into the Shangri-La Hotel.
As when they were waiting for the elevator, an ear-piercing shriek echoed into their ears. “Hey, Claire, why are you here?!”
Claire lifted her glance and saw a pair of a young couple walking towards them.
The man was donning a luxurious suit, which was obviously a look of a rich young man from a wealthy family, while the woman wore branded attire from head to toe with beautiful makeup. Her eyes were filled with arrogance and hubris that reflected on her apparel to be tacky and kitsch.
Claire knew the woman. She was Julie Downs, her roommate when she was in college, though they were in different classes.