Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 64

Chapter 190: Am I Dying?

Nora, who had seen family members of patients that were even more unreasonable, wasn’t bothered. Instead, she wrote: ‘Jimmy is likely suffering from encephalitis.’

She was about to send the message after drafting it when she suddenly saw a message prompt:

‘You have been kicked out of the group chat by the administrator.’

Nora, “?”

She raised her eyebrows and stared at her phone for a while. A brief moment later, she scoffed and opened Cherry’s chat window. Then, she sent a message to Pete: ‘He is likely suffering from encephalitis. Have his father take him to the hospital for a checkup.’

Doctors should be benevolent.

The child was still so young. She didn’t want to let the matter go unchecked.

Neither would she lower herself to his parent’s level.

After sending the message, she lay down and got ready to sleep.

_

At the kindergarten.

Pete walked over to Jimmy after reading Nora’s message and relayed her words to him.

Jimmy was so frightened that he burst into tears at once. “Sob! I have encephalitis! Am I going to die?!”

Ms. Lynn was dumbfounded when Jimmy burst into tears. She tried to coax him, but he cried and asked for his mother instead.

As a result, Ms. Lynn could only give Jimmy’s mother a call.

Jimmy’s mother was a hot-tempered and straightforward woman. After receiving the teacher’s call, she went straight to the school swiftly and resolutely.

She spotted Jimmy, who was crying so hard that he couldn’t breathe, right away.

Jimmy’s mother panicked at once. “What’s wrong? Did your classmates bully you?”

A sobbing Jimmy replied, “Mommy, I’m dying. I have a very serious illness. Sob…”

His mother frowned and asked, “Who told you that?”

“Cherry did.”

Jimmy’s mother became furious at once. She shouted at Ms. Lynn, “Who is Cherry?!”

Ms. Lynn wanted to stop her, but Jimmy’s mother, who was a tall and thick woman, was simply too strong. She pushed Ms. Lynn away, entered the classroom, and demanded, “Where is Cherry?”

Pete stood up leisurely and frowned.

At the sight of him, Jimmy’s mother immediately broke into a rant. She said, “Why did you say such nonsense to Jimmy? Don’t you know that it’s not right to scare kids?! Apologize to Jimmy at once!”

Jimmy was holding his mother’s hand. The five-year-old boy looked confused—obviously, he didn’t know what was going on.

He shook his mother’s hand and said, “Mommy, Cherry wasn’t trying to scare me. My head hurts. I really am sick.”

“What do you mean you’re sick?” Jimmy’s mother’s expression turned cold and she said, “It’s normal for a child to experience headaches and fevers. Besides, your head always stops hurting every time you get home. Moreover, people in our family are all in good health. What kind of sickness can you possibly be down with? What kind of nonsense are you saying?”

It wasn’t that Jimmy’s mother didn’t care about her son. It was just that every time she took Jimmy home during the last few incidents, his head would always stop hurting whenever they were about to go to the hospital.

After this happened several times, it was inevitable that Jimmy’s mother would suspect that he was just pretending to be sick.

Otherwise, why would his head only hurt in the kindergarten and never at home?

Jimmy’s mother pointed at Pete and sneered, “Fine, you’re a kid, so I won’t lower myself to your level. I’ll look for your mother instead!”

She looked at Ms. Lynn and said, “Tell Cherry’s mother to come to the kindergarten! Otherwise, I won’t let this matter rest today! How can I let my little Jimmy be bullied in school?”

Ms. Lynn breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Jimmy’s mother was bad-tempered, she was reasonable and hadn’t raised her hand against the child. She was a much more decent person than Whitney Lowe.

Ms. Lynn hurriedly called Nora.

Pete sat in his seat while Jimmy’s mother waited with her son in Ms. Lynn’s office.

Next to him, Mia was terribly nervous. She tugged Pete’s sleeve and whispered, “Cherry, I heard that Jimmy’s parents are prominent figures in the underworld.Whoever offends Jimmy will be…”

She held her hand up, drew it across her neck, and added, “… killed off secretly!”

Pete, “?”

Mia was so frightened that she shrank back after she spoke. “My mommy also told me not to offend Jimmy when I first came to school. Jimmy’s mother looked so scary just now!”

The other children were also discussing the matter quietly among themselves.

“Will Cherry stop coming to school tomorrow?”

“I heard that Jimmy’s father has a big pet tiger that only eats children! Will Cherry be eaten on her way home?”

“You mustn’t die, Cherry!”

“Sob, Cherry, I really like you…”

A child’s world was very simple and innocent, especially when Cherry the charmer had already become their favorite person in the class.

As a result, Pete was surrounded by the children. Their eyes were all red as they said their goodbyes to him.

“Cherry, I like you the most. You have to come to school alive tomorrow, okay?!”

“Cherry, why don’t you go and buy a piece of meat after school? This way, even if you encounter the big tiger, you can let it eat the meat so that it won’t eat you.”

“Here, Cherry, this is for you. It’s a little hammer that my mommy gave me. She said that I can use it to hammer anyone that bullies me. Why don’t you take this and beat the tiger with it?”

“…”

Pete, “…”

He couldn’t help rolling his eyes. These children were so silly… that they were so cute.

The feeling of loneliness that had been hidden in the depths of his heart ever since he was born seemed to have unknowingly faded away a lot during his days in kindergarten.

Mia became even more frightened. Her eyes reddened as she said, “How about letting Daddy send you home after school today?!”

To Mia, her father was the most powerful person ever!

“No, it’s fine,” replied Pete.

As a result, when a displeased Nora rushed over to the kindergarten after being woken up, she immediately saw her son being surrounded and sent off by a crying crowd.

Nora, “…”

However, before she could even say anything, Jimmy’s mother rushed up to her. She jabbed her finger in her face and said angrily, “Never mind that you were talking nonsense in the group, but how can you also say such nonsense to a child? Look at how pale Jimmy has become because of you!”

Jimmy was following his mother at the back. The little boy was trembling all over, and he looked as if he was about to have a fit because he was crying so hard.

Nora frowned and said, “Now’s not the time to be quarreling. I’d suggest that you take your son to the hospital for a checkup right away.”

“To hell with the checkup!” Jimmy’s mother shouted angrily, “We’re already meeting in person, yet you’re still so full of hot air! It’s all because your daughter scared him that my son has become like this! Encephalitis? … Would anyone need a lumbar puncture because of encephalitis? This is the first time I’ve ever heard about it! Aren’t lumbar punctures related to leukemia or something? Are you sure you know what you’re saying or not?!”

Nora, “…”

Jimmy’s mother rolled up her sleeves as if she was about to hit someone. She demanded, “I want you to apologize to my son right away! Tell your daughter to apologize to my son, too! Take back what you said just now and tell him that all of that was just a joke!”

However, as soon as she said that, Jimmy suddenly held his head with his hands and threw up.

Chapter 191: The Child’s Father!

Jimmy’s mother was terribly shocked. She quickly looked down and picked up Jimmy. “What’s wrong? Jimmy, what’s wrong?”

After throwing up twice, Jimmy finally stopped. Covered in perspiration, he frowned and asked, “Mommy, am I dying?”

Jimmy’s mother finally panicked. “Of course not. Mommy’s here, baby. Mommy will take you to the hospital right away!”

She held him in her arms and walked out.

When she passed by Nora, Nora told her again, “Have a lumbar puncture done immediately and check whether it’s encephalitis or not when you reach the hospital.”

This time, Jimmy’s mother looked at her and said nothing. Instead, she strode off.

After she left, Nora checked the time—school wasn’t over yet. Thus, she left Pete there and went home by herself.

Ms. Lynn, “…”

She’d thought that Cherry’s mother would comfort Cherry a little before she left—after all, she had just quarreled with her classmate. But why was she so nonplussed about it?

No, that wasn’t right. Cherry’s mother was a very good mother. She must be very busy with work at the moment and must have rushed over from work right after she received the call. She must be rushing back to work to make money to raise Cherry now!

Yes, that must be the case!

With that in mind, Ms. Lynn went back into the classroom, upon which she immediately saw Cherry engrossed in a book.

Ms. Lynn couldn’t help but walk over. She ruffled Cherry’s hair and said, “Don’t be scared, Cherry~”

Pete stiffened, but forced himself to tolerate the body contact.

He found that there seemed to be more and more people whom he could accept coming into physical contact with these days.

Soon, school ended.

One by one, the children said their goodbyes to Pete, who left the school together with Tanya. Mia watched them get in the big black car before she got in the Smiths’ car unhappily.

At the sight, Joel couldn’t help asking, “What’s the matter, Mia?”

Mia asked timidly, “Daddy, will Cherry be eaten by the big tiger?”

Joel, “?”

Mia told him about what had happened earlier that day. Joel ruffled her hair and said, “It’s fine. The big tiger won’t dare to eat him.”

Mia’s big eyes widened and she stared at him puzzledly. She asked, “Why? The big tiger doesn’t dare to eat me because I have Daddy, but he doesn’t!”

Joel cast his eyes down and replied, “His father is Justin Hunt. Don’t worry, the big tiger won’t dare to eat him at all.”

Mia was relieved to hear that. “That’s great!”

Joel, however, turned to look outside—Tanya had brought the child into the car again. Did this mean that the child’s mother didn’t bother coming over to pick him up from school at all?

He stared at Tanya.

In his mind, however, was the DNA test report… The results were too complicated. He didn’t dare to bring it up to Ian even now.

He would need to think carefully about how to word it properly.

—

Jimmy’s mother soon reached the hospital. She rushed straight to the pediatric department with Jimmy.

Jimmy was already feeling much better by then. However, the pediatrician nevertheless carried out a series of tests on him before finally telling his mother the reason for his vomiting. He said, “It’s likely because he was crying too much from fright. Jimmy, do you still feel like throwing up?”

Jimmy shook his head.

The doctor smiled and said, “There’s no need to make too big a fuss over something trivial sometimes.”

Relieved, Jimmy’s mother nodded.

The doctor then said, “It’s better to err on the side of caution, though, so let’s do a few more tests.”

Jimmy’s mother got the nanny to go and foot the medical bill. Then, she called Jimmy’s father.

Jimmy’s father was named Jordan Hoffman. He specialized in businesses such as underground dealings and so on in New York and was considered a leader of the industry. Apart from the Smith's and Hunt's, one could say that he didn’t show anyone else any courtesy.

He was a crass boor with a big and muscular figure and stood at about 6’1″ tall with a weight of 205 lbs. He was currently working out.

His muscles bulged powerfully in tandem with the movements of the gym equipment.

When his cell phone rang, he picked it up and answered very loudly, “What’s the matter, dear?”

Jimmy’s mother wiped her tears and said, “What’s the matter? Someone bullied your son Jimmy in the kindergarten!”

“F*ck!” Jordan stood up, causing the gym equipment’s parts to clash loudly against each other. “Who is so bold as to bully my son? But did you say Jimmy had to go to the hospital because of the bullying? Why is he such a wimp?”

“…”

Jimmy’s mother choked for a moment before she yelled, “What would my son know when he’s only five years old?! A kid in their class bullied him and told him that he had encephalitis, scaring him so badly that he cried for two hours until he threw up! What are you going to do about this?”

Jordan shouted angrily, “Whose child is it that’s so naughty? How dare they insult my son! I’m going to rip that little bastard into pieces!”

Jimmy’s mother got anxious and said, “Who are you planning to rip into pieces? How can it be the child’s fault when they haven’t even grown up yet? The one I’m angry with is his mother! The kindergarten had gotten her to come down, yet she still told me to get a lumbar puncture done for Jimmy. That’s a lumbar puncture we’re talking about here, you know?! It’s a really painful procedure. Who does she think she is? Does she think she can just scare other people like that?!”

Jordan nodded. “Yes, you’re right! I’ll have someone check who her parents are right away!”

Jimmy’s mother nodded. “I will also put some pressure on the kindergarten. Why should we allow such parents to send their children to kindergarten? Let’s have them voluntarily withdraw from the school! Otherwise, I’ll drive them out!”

“Okay, we’ll go with whatever you say, dear. How is Jimmy feeling, by the way?”

At the mention of Jimmy, the woman’s tone softened and she replied, “He’s feeling much better now. He only threw up because he was crying after he was badly frightened. I’m so mad! What’s a parent spreading such rumors for? Is it that fun to scare children? If it weren’t because Jimmy had suddenly started throwing up, given my bad temper, I would have totally given her a few tight slaps today!”

“I’ll check who his father is right away, and give his father those slaps instead! What is the child’s name?”

“Cherry Smith.”

“Okay!”

Jimmy’s mother was still very angry even after she hung up. She started to madly contact the principal and the teachers on her cell phone and sent them a text message.

Jimmy’s mother: ‘Since Cherry Smith’s mother, Nora Smith, refuses to apologize for her child’s actions, I’d suggest that the school expel her child! I won’t change my mind unless they apologize seriously!’

When Ms. Lynn saw the text message, she quickly contacted Nora. “Ms. Smith, I understand that Cherry didn’t say that to scare Jimmy. Why don’t you have her apologize to Jimmy?”

Nora, who had been woken up repeatedly by phone calls, was already very impatient by this point. She replied aggressively, “Pete… oh, I mean Cherry, will take three days off from school for now, then.”

Jimmy was in very serious condition. If his mother didn’t follow her instructions and have him go through a checkup right away, three days would be more than enough for his illness to flare up.

Ms. Lynn, “?”

In the hospital.

It was only when Jimmy’s mother received news from Ms. Lynn that Cherry would be temporarily stopped from attending classes that she finally calmed down.

When Jimmy finished the various checkups, his mother finally calmed down and looked at him. She suddenly thought of the headache that Jimmy had mentioned previously and asked, “Does your head still hurt, Jimmy?”

Chapter 192: Choosing Between Two Options

Jimmy thought for a while. His head still hurt a little, but when he thought of the discomfort he had felt when they were checking his stomach just now to find out why he had thrown up, he blanked out for a moment.

Then, he shook his head and replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore, Mommy.”

Jimmy’s mother heaved a sigh of relief at once.

The woman, who had been rather flustered deep down just now, finally put her heart at ease. She said, “It’s fine as long as it doesn’t hurt anymore. Your classmate’s mother doesn’t seem like a good person. I bet she doesn’t even have a doctor’s license, right? Yet she kept spouting nonsense. Serves them right that her child can’t attend classes in school anymore!”

After saying that, she bent down, picked up Jimmy, and went home.

In a gym somewhere.

Jordan found all of Cherry’s information in no time. He frowned as he stared at Nora’s name in the field listing the name of the child’s mother, and asked his subordinate, “Doesn’t she have a father? I don’t hit women.”

The man answered, “No, she doesn’t.”

Jordan fell silent for a moment. Then, he let out a ‘hmph’ and said, “People who can send their kids to that kindergarten aren’t from ordinary families, either. Find out which family they belong to. If they are just ordinary people… then inform my wife to drop it, lest they say we’re using our power to bully them!”

“Okay.”

After his subordinate left, someone walked in and said, “Mr. Hoffman, that Anderson kid is here again.”

Jordan’s expression immediately turned cold. “He actually has the guts to come again? Tsk! Let him in!”

At the door.

A limping Logan stood there with his eyes downcast. The dark basement was dim and messy. The young man with an untamed look on his countenance stuck out like a sore thumb in the noisy environment.

He waited until someone summoned him before he finally stepped forward and limped into the room.

After going in, Logan lowered his head at once and said, “Mr. Hoffman.”

Jordan let out an icy snort and said, “Our sportsbook isn’t a joke.”

Logan kept his eyes down.

Their car races weren’t actual competitions. The bets and gambling were all underground transactions. The car racing sportsbook operated solely with Jordan’s name as a guarantee.

All the money that Logan had earned over the years came from them.

He had always been the top car racer in New York.

A great number of the wealthy placed their bets there whenever they wanted to bet on car racing.

Logan, however, shifted his weak and limp foot and said, “The next race is in three days, but I’m afraid my foot won’t be recovering in time for it.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Jordan got off the gym equipment and walked over. He picked up a bottle of iced water, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it all down in one breath.

Logan shifted his foot again. He said, “I’ll definitely lose if I participate in the race. I’m sure the players would feel very strongly about this, so I’d like to ask Mr. Hoffman for help in postponing the race for a month so that I can go for an operation and recover.”

Jordan sneered. “As they say, it takes a hundred days for bone fractures and muscle tears to heal. Are you sure you’ll be fine in just a month?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Yes, I am.” Logan gritted his teeth and said, “Even if I’m not, I can still participate in the race.”

Jordan said, “You should have already known when you first came here that no one can change their bets in our sportsbook. For racers like you, your bodies are also a type of gamble, yet you have the audacity to allow yourself to get hurt? You lost the last race, right? I heard that you’ve even sold your sports car. Are the Anderson's unable to fork out that money?”

Logan said stubbornly, “I’ll answer for my own actions. The Anderson's and I are separate entities.”

Jordan stood and said, “Good! I admire young men like you! Alright, I, Jordan, will help you out this time and personally go to the players to explain things to them. I’m sure they will relent on account of that.”

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you!”

Logan had only managed to pay off the huge losses from the last race by selling his sports car.

Should he lose again, the bookies who had seen potential in him, as well as the people who had placed bets worth millions of dollars on him, would probably kill him!

At this point, someone suddenly stepped forward and said, “I’ve found the information, Mr. Hoffman.”

The man handed his cell phone with Nora’s profile displayed to Jordan. His eyes widened when he saw the word ‘Anderson’.

He let out a cold laugh and handed the phone back to his subordinate. Then, he suddenly lashed out at Logan and said, “I take back my words.”

Logan, who was about to leave, was puzzled.

His eyes widened abruptly and he looked back at him.

Everyone in the underworld was afraid of Jordan. They found him boorish and unreasonable, but to be honest, after interacting with him for some time, Logan felt that he was actually a righteous and loyal man. It was just that he was a little protective of his own.

He was only unreasonable when people he considered his own were involved.

That was why he had come over to beg him for help.

He asked hesitantly, “Mr. Hoffman?”

Jordan asked, “How is Nora Smith related to you?”

Logan clenched his jaw and answered, “She’s my cousin.”

“Oh.” Jordan said very straightforwardly, “She has offended me. To be more precise, her daughter bullied my son. Therefore, I won’t be helping you anymore.”

He wanted to say something, but Jordan instead waved and ordered, “Get out.”

A few of Jordan’s men immediately walked toward Logan.

He would be doing him a favor by helping him out, but he wasn’t obligated to.

Logan didn’t fall out with him just because he suddenly decided not to help him. Instead, he nodded, turned around, and walked out of the room without needing anyone to take him out.

When he reached the door, he heard Jordan at the back slowly say, “Don’t hold it against me. They scared my son so badly that he threw up. I have to let out my frustrations somewhere after all. If I don’t vent them on you, that woman named Nora Smith would have to suffer my wrath instead. Of course, you can choose to either let my wife beat her up to vent her anger, or choose to accept this situation.”

Logan clenched his fists.

Jordan looked at the investigation report. He said, “Judging from my investigation results, you’re probably not that close to her. You’re in a pretty miserable situation right now—if you lose the upcoming race, not only will you lose everything you have, but the bookies that will make huge losses probably won’t let you off, either. Based on my calculations, unless you fork out 50 million dollars to pay them back, you won’t be able to quell their anger. The Anderson's probably won’t be able to repay a debt like that!”

Logan immediately said, “I told you, Mr. Hoffman. The Anderson's and I are separate entities!”

Jordan casually took a seat. His muscles shook a little, and his voice was rough as he said, “That may work on me, but do you think it’ll also work on others when you’re an Anderson?”

Logan broke into a frown.

Gambling in the underworld didn’t operate on the usual rules.

Jordan went on and asked, “Do you remember that boxing champion in the black market three years ago? He disappeared after he lost a match. Do you know where he is now?

“He died after someone secretly beat him up. His body was thrown into the sewer and eaten by rats after he died. On top of that, those people even went to his home. It’s said that his wife and children are begging on the streets even now.”

Logan clenched his fists.

Jordan smiled and said, “Of course, this won’t happen if you can get your foot injury healed within three days, or if you can find a racer who is even more skilled than you to help you win the race.

“However, a racer like that doesn’t seem to exist in the States. As for the international scene, Yanci is the only one who can do that.”

While the two were chatting, Jimmy’s mother came over with Jimmy.

As soon as they entered the gym, the hot and stuffy atmosphere in the room immediately made Jimmy’s head hurt as if great tidal waves were churning in his head.