Book 2 : She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement

Chapter 42 pt.2

Chapter 734: What Should Xander’s Last Name Be?

Justin smiled. “No, I’ve never heard of it.”

His words seemed to make Philip choke, and even his choice of words became less harsh. He said, “How come you don’t know anything at all, young man? How exactly did you manage to expand the Hunt's to their current size? The way I see it, the Smith's should have taken over as the number one family a long time ago!”

His words gave Justin the illusion that the man seemed to be mentoring him a little.

Philip continued to speak fiercely. “The Imperial League is the most mysterious business organization in the world. There are twelve members in it, and they each use a different animal as an alias. They can dominate world economy trends because they have the sharpest intuition and they are sensitive enough to discern world development trends and pick up improvements in technology. Some time ago, the Imperial League had said that the real estate market in America will undergo rapid development, so everyone went to America to take their share of the loot. Now, the Imperial League says that the real estate market will go into decline, whereas new energy and technology will usher in all-around development, so everyone is starting to invest in those.”

At this point, Philip said, “Don’t be mistaken and think that it’s the Imperial League members who are influencing the direction of the world; rather, this is the inevitable trend of social development. The Imperial League is just going along with the trend! But with such a group of forward-looking people in there, our twelve families will never meet with any trouble! We will always be in the leading positions in the world. The Hunts don’t even know about the Imperial League, you’ll be eliminated by society and become out of touch sooner or later!

“Heh, if you don’t find a way to join the Imperial League, then you can wait to be utterly crushed by me!”

Justin: “…”

If it had only been an illusion earlier, then he was now sure of it-Philip was pointing him to a way out.

From beginning to end, Philip had never wanted them dead!

Justin fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he spoke, his term of address for Philip also becoming a little more respectful.

“Uncle Philip, you actually don’t hate my mother at all, do you?”

His one-liner made Philip choke.

After a while, he sneered, “How can that be? I hate her with every fiber of my being. For the sake of a mere $80,000, she abandoned me. Ha, in the face of money, our relationship is not worth anything!”

Justin, however, said, “You could’ve killed me when you kidnapped me back then. Wouldn’t that have pained and saddened my mother even more than separating me from her? Why bother waiting to save me after twelve hours?”

Philip didn’t speak.

Justin spoke again. “You were just waiting for my mother to give in and approach you for help. Were you waiting for her to apologize and bow down to you?”

Philip sneered, “Boy, you talk too much!”

Justin let out a low laugh and said no more. However, he’d already understood.

Philip really did love his mother very much.

It was true that Philip also hated his mother, but in the face of love, most of his hatred had been offset. Even though he’d punished his mother like that, he had never wanted to kill her. This showed that he had never really thought of hurting her.

Perhaps…

Justin lowered his eyes. He couldn’t help but start wondering.

When Herman realized the truth back then, if he had protected and defended his wife aggressively instead of giving her away, perhaps Philip would not have been so persistent but chosen to let go instead.

Because sometimes, the best way of showing one’s love was to let go.

It must have been Herman’s choice that had made him even angrier and even more disappointed, right? Iris had abandoned him for a man like that!

When Justin put himself in the other man’s shoes and thought about it, he immediately understood Philip’s indignation and selfish motives back then. Even though he was the one who had caused his family tragedy, in this instant, Justin instead hated Herman even more, not Philip.

He lowered his head and suddenly asked, “Uncle Philip, do you know what led to your failure back then?”

Philip was silent for a while. Then, he sneered, “Is a kid like you planning to teach me how to behave?”

Justin ignored his sarcasm and spoke earnestly. “Love can withstand trials, but it cannot stand being constantly put to the test. You and Mom were in a relationship with each other for three years in college. When you were a poor boy, she had already chosen you. Doesn’t that already show that she isn’t someone who detests the poor and pursues the rich? Yet you still deceived her after that, putting her to the test again and again. That could have only ended in tragedy.”

There hadn’t been any misunderstanding between Philip and Iris.

What there was between the two of them was just a sense of resignation.

Back then, Iris’s father had forced her into marrying Herman by threatening to not pay for her mother’s medical treatment. At that time, Iris had tried approaching Philip for help. She had asked him if he had any money, and if he could pay for her mother’s medical expenses for her.

A person who had been wealthy since he was a child wasn’t something that others could compare to. No matter how hard he pretended to be poor, there would always be traces of his true origin.

Iris must have suspected it before, right?

Yet, Philip had taken the opportunity to put her to one last test and made her choose between her mother and him.

If Iris could abandon even her seriously ill mother for their relationship, then he would never ever distrust her again.

Unfortunately, Iris did not dare to take any chances in the end. She had chosen her mother.

Philip suddenly became angry. “Love is the purest thing in this world, it should not be mixed with any kind of interests or impurities! Your mother is a person who shirks her responsibility in love, that’s why she met a man like your father! A man who can’t even withstand a single test!”

Philip was a very extreme man.

Justin snorted. “If Mom could only choose one between her mother and her lover, yet she chose you and decided to let my grandma die… How could someone like that even exist?”

“Why not?! Back then, I…”

Philip pulled the brakes in time at this point. He sneered, “Heh, you think I was in the wrong, right? In that case, what about you? Can your relationship withstand a test?”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “I never put such things to the test. Neither do I ever put human nature to the test.”

“Do you never put it to the test, or are you just afraid of putting it to the test?” Philip provoked him. “Isn’t your current situation exactly a trial? Now that you are in a pinch, how are the Smiths reacting? They must still be showing you full support, right? So, you’re moved? Is that it? Shall we make a bet?”

Justin smiled. “What kind of bet?”

“We’ll make a bet on the Smiths’ reaction after you lose! We’ll see if they will let their young lady marry you after you lose! And make a bet on whether your fiancée will still marry you or not!”

Justin lowered his eyes. “I won’t lose.”

Philip sneered, “Having confidence is good, but arrogance will only blind oneself. There is no lack of people who are stronger and more powerful than you in this world. Do you think you are already number one in the world just because you’ve flourished the Hunts? You are nothing in front of anyone from the Imperial League!”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“Who’s giving you advice?! Justin, I’ll wait for you and Iris to bow down to me. There will come a day when you’ll come begging to me!”

Philip was probably livid. After saying that, he hung up the phone at once.

Justin stared at the phone.

His anger towards Philip from before slowly dissipated.

At this moment, he heard voices from outside. A smile formed on his face and he walked out of the study. As soon as he exited the room, he saw Nora and Iris bringing the three children upstairs.

At the sight of him, Cherry ran over first. “Daddy!”

The two boys, Pete and Xander, were more reserved. They walked up to him docilely. Pete said, “Daddy.”

Xander pursed his lips and muttered unwillingly, “Daddy.”

Seeing his awkward behavior, Justin squatted down and looked at him at eye-level. He asked, “Xander, can we now change your name?”

Upon hearing this, Nora knew at once that Justin must have seen everything that happened just now. She curled her lips disdainfully.

That stinky man was such a sweet-talker. He must have asked her over so that she could help Iris out, ha.

Despite her thoughts, she looked at Xander with concern. Suddenly, she smiled and suggested, “How about adopting my last name and being a Smith too?”

Justin didn’t object. “Adopting Smith as your last name works too. Xander, I’ve thought of a few names for you. Would you like to test them out?”

Xander looked at the five faces around him. All of them had concern in their eyes, which made him a little uncomfortable.

But after he thought about it, he still said, “I don’t want to take Hunt as my last name, lest those people say that I came back to fight for family assets with Pete. Ha, I’m not interested in that bit of assets at all. I will make my own money when I grow up!”

Justin echoed him. “Uh-huh, so let’s change your last name to Smith?”

Xander glanced at Nora. Then, he lowered his head and said, “I… I don’t want to take Smith as my last name either.”

The few of them were surprised.

Xander rolled his eyes. “Does it really matter what my last name is?”

Nora thought for a while. “Not really, it seems?”

“Then that’s it, right?”

After saying that, Xander turned around and ran straight to his room. After entering, he locked the door from inside.

The little fellow sighed silently.

At this moment, his cell phone rang suddenly. When he answered, Trueman’s voice came from the other side: “Hello, Xander, it’s Daddy.”

Chapter 735: The Board of Directors!

Hearing that familiar voice, Xander’s pupils shrank greatly. Yet, a sense of longing suddenly welled up in him, and he said into the phone, “Daddy, I miss you.”

Even if there really were problems with the way Trueman taught Xander, Xander had ultimately still been brought up by him during the past five years.

In the Hunt Manor, Xander had to be subjected to so many people’s negative attitudes towards him. It was only with Trueman that he was the one and only person who mattered.

As soon as he said that, Trueman scoffed and said, “You miss me? Then why don’t you come back? I will arrange for someone to pick you up.” Xander paused.

Upon seeing his reaction, Trueman said, “See? I knew you wouldn’t come back once you’ve met your real parents! Even though you say that you miss me, your actions say otherwise, because you have already integrated into their family, right?”

Xander lowered his head. “Daddy, I won’t forget you.”

But he wasn’t going to go back there anymore.

From the moment he left the basement, he had never wanted to go back. Besides, he had only thought of going back earlier because of the animals.

However, Trueman had surprisingly sent them all to him.

This freed Xander from his last scruples.

Trueman didn’t force him to return, though. He merely asked, “Have you changed your name?”

Xander replied, “No.”

“Tsk, considering Justin Hunt’s personality, would he tolerate you having Yale as your last name? I am a villain in their eyes after all. It won’t make you much of a better person if your last name is also Yale!”

Xander wanted to explain on behalf of Justin, but he said nothing in the end.

By then, Trueman had already changed the subject. He asked, “How’s your mother?”

Xander didn’t understand his question, so he answered, “She’s fine. What about it?”

“Nothing.”

Trueman wanted to say more, but someone suddenly knocked on the door-it was Cherry. She called out, “Xander, come on out! It’s time to eat~! The food today smells really delicious! They prepared your favorite chicken drumsticks~”

Upon hearing this, Xander said to the person on the other end of the phone call, “Daddy, I’m going to eat!”

After he said that, he hung up right away, opened the door, and ran out.

In another country. In a dark room somewhere.

As Trueman listened to the disconnected tone in his cell phone, he muttered, “That brat, how dare he hang up on me? He’s so heartless!”

Caleb’s amicable voice then rang out. “It’s not like you treat him well either. Now that he has found his real parents, he’s not going to come back for sure.”

Trueman’s voice rose instantly. “How did I not treat him well? I was even the one who saved his life!”

Caleb sighed. “Yes, okay, you saved him… but after that, you locked him up in the basement. Of course he’s going to be more comfortable there. He needs to lead a normal life too.”

“Hah.”

Trueman said sulkily, “Your coughing seems to have eased a lot!”

Caleb nodded. “Yeah, it got much better after I took the medicine. At the very least, I won’t have to suffer for the next three months. I probably also won’t have to suffer before I leave for good.”

“You’re such bad luck!”

_

After the family of six had lunch, Cherry, Pete, and Xander played together in the living room. The three little guys didn’t have the habit of taking naps but watching them made Nora sleepy.

Nora, who was staying so that she could spend more time with Xander, leaned against the sofa and watched them. At the same time, she mulled over where her mother would most likely put the V16.

At this time, Justin sat next to her and sighed. “Xander is still a little estranged from us. We’ll have to spend a lot of time with him to improve that.”

Nora nodded. “Yeah.”

Justin looked at her eagerly. “So, why don’t you just move in and stay here for now?”

Nora: “?”

She raised her eyebrows and looked at Justin.

Justin immediately made a vow. “I’m really just saying this for the children’s sake. Don’t worry, I won’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts about you!”

His attitude, which outright revealed everything he wanted to hide, simply rendered Nora speechless.

The corners of her lips spasmed. When she looked back at the children, she saw that Cherry, Pete, and Xander were all staring at her, as though they were all waiting for her answer.

Nora pretended to consider the suggestion.

Cherry immediately said, “Pete, how come other kids’ parents can all live together, but ours can’t? Sigh, we must really be the most pitiful children in the world!”

Xander asked, “Must everyone’s parents live together? Wouldn’t it be very crowded if they sleep on the same bed?”

Pete hurriedly interrupted Xander. He said, “But it’s warm when you’re squeezed together. I like to sleep with everyone snuggled up together.”

After the three children spoke, they continued to look at Nora eagerly.

Nora: “…”

She looked away, upon which she saw that Justin was also looking at her. As such, she could only look away again, yet when she did, she saw that even Iris was staring at her from the stairs as if she was eavesdropping on them.

Nora heaved a silent sigh and said, “Never mind, I’ll just stay here for tonight then!”

“Yay!”

“That’s awesome!”

“Mommy, sleep with us tonight!”

Cherry flailed about and danced with excitement. Although Pete and Xander didn’t say anything, the two boys’ eyes had lit up. It was apparent that they were also very happy.

Justin’s lips also curled into a smile.

At this moment, Lawrence strode into the room. When he saw Justin, he said respectfully, “Boss, Mr. Hunt has just proposed holding a board of directors meeting, so that they can re-elect the president of the Hunt Corporation.”

Justin sneered when he heard Lawrence. Suddenly, he asked, “So, he’s become certain that he has 50% of the total shares?”

Herman only had 5% of the company’s shares. He also bought some during the last few days at a high price, nearly spending all the money he’d earned abroad.

Raymond and his family had also expressed their full support for him. With the addition of some other shareholders as well…

Lawrence smiled. “He has been going around the last few days, so he has likely convinced some of them to take his side. As per your instructions, our men have also agreed to support him, so he is very confident now. Additionally, he has also been going around telling everyone that the Hunt Corporation is a place where only your words go.”

Justin sneered, “Then let’s see on that day just how many people are really in support of him!”

Lawrence nodded. Then, he said, “However, it seems like he received a call from Philip today. The latter clearly expressed his support for him, and has also handed over the 5% of company shares he owns.”

Lawrence had a smile on his face when he said this.

Justin nodded.

After Lawrence finished reporting all the work matters, he left at once.

Nora rolled her eyes and immediately understood everything when she saw the two men’s interaction.

She knew it, there was no way that guy would ever allow himself to become stuck in a disadvantageous situation. He definitely had a plan B lying in wait!

In order to gauge and evaluate which of the Hunt's were disloyal, he was dangling 5% of the shares as bait so that he could clean them all out in one fell swoop!

He sure knew how to go with the flow. On the surface, he seemed like he was stuck in a difficult situation, but in truth, the whole thing was a trap that he had set up!

Justin understood at once when he saw the way she was looking at him. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me. You can also tell Uncle Ian not to waste any money, I know what I’m doing! You guys don’t have to worry, this situation will be resolved very soon. After all, if the Hunt's are in too big a mess, Uncle Ian won’t let you marry me.”

He was dealing with the Hunt Corporationas well as the Hunt's themselves-all for the sake of separating and clearing away the unnecessary and superfluous!

Since there was garbage that needed to be cleaned up among the Hunts, then that was what he would do. This way, he could also provide Nora, the lazy oaf, with a haven where she could sleep peacefully.

Nora curled her lips disdainfully. Suddenly, she said, “The way I see it, you’re the one who benefits the most from the whole thing!”

Justin chuckled. He was about to admit to it when Nora corrected herself and said, “No, the one who benefited the most is King! He sure is sly and cunning.”

After all, he’d earned 45 billion dollars for nothing!

Justin’s lip corners spasmed when he heard the words “sly and cunning”. He cleared his throat. When he was about to speak, Nora said, “Forget it, I won’t talk behind his back anymore. After all, I still have favors to ask of him!”

She had favors to ask of King?

Justin frowned. Suddenly, he turned Nora’s shoulders so that she faced him, and he asked, “What favor do you need from King?”

Chapter 736: Sleeping With Mommy

Nora thought about his question carefully.

Earlier, she hadn’t told Justin about it because it was forbidden for the members of the Imperial League to reveal anything to outsiders.Should they do so,they would be violating the agreement, and she had always been a very rule-abiding person.

But since Ian and the others had already brought it up in front of Justin,then Nora felt that there were some things that she could still say.

She immediately answered, “Old Maddy once told me that if I wanted to fight against the mysterious organization,I must get full support from King.”

Justin frowned. “Why?”

Nora shook her head. “He didn’t explain.”

Justin was puzzled.

For a moment,he wanted to acknowledge that identity of his,but when he thought of how he couldn’t violate the agreement and reveal his identity to outsiders,he could only keep his silence.Instead, he said, “It shouldn’t be difficult to get his support.”

Nora nodded. “We’ll see. Just focus on your affairs for now.Meanwhile,I will also think carefully about how exactly I should look for leads about the V16.”

Clues to the V16 must be hidden among the things that her mother had left her.

As for where exactly that was,though,she hadn’t figured that out yet.

Justin wanted to say something, but Lawrence had entered again and was reporting to him the current situation in the company.

At the sight, Nora didn’t speak anymore.

That night, Nora stayed at the Hunts’.

After Justin hurriedly finished dealing with the company’s affairs, the restless man’s mind was completely on returning home as quickly as possible. After handing over the company’s affairs to Lawrence, he went home straight away.

Lawrence couldn’t help but ask Sean, “Is Boss busy with something? Why is he in such a hurry?”

Sean: “…”

He kept quiet for a moment. Then, he coughed and answered, “Perhaps, I guess.”

Their boss’ wife was at the Hunts’, so of course he would be in a hurry!

As far as he knew, even though their boss and his wife already had kids, they hadn’t truly done it yet? After all, the last time they did it was because someone had plotted against them!

Lawrence, however, frowned. “This won’t do. He’s having a showdown with Herman in a few days. Going by how irresponsible Boss is being, I think I’d better go over with the documents and look for him again!”

Sean stared at how earnestly Lawrence was digging his own grave. After a brief silence, he finally said, “If you feel like being sent to some godforsaken place, then go ahead.”

Lawrence: “?”

Justin returned to the Hunts’ after he finished dealing with all the matters to do with the board of directors meeting, which would be held in a few days.

By the time he got home, it was already 9 pm.

According to the children’s timetable, they were supposed to go to bed at this time. Nora would also go to bed with Cherry at this time in the past.

Therefore, Justin was not surprised at all when he didn’t see her in the living room. He went straight upstairs and entered his bedroom.

As soon as he entered, he spotted a slender figure lying on the bed.

Justin was stunned.

He’d thought that Nora would go to Cherry’s room and sleep with her, so he would have to think of a way to trick her into coming over.

Unexpectedly, she was being so self-aware this time?

For a moment there, Justin felt a surge of heat rushing straight into his heart. He suppressed the stirrings in his heart, looked at the woman on the bed, and then went straight into the bathroom. After changing out of his suit, he took a quick bath and then walked out of the bathroom.

There was a bit of light on the bed when he came out of the bathroom.

Nora was lying on the bed and looking at her phone-she was actually awake!

To be honest, Justin had been worried when he was taking a bath just now. If Nora fell asleep again like the other time, then should he wake her up? Or should he wake her up? Or should he wake her up…

Unexpectedly, the woman was actually waiting for him.

The corners of Justin’s lips curled into an even bigger smile.

Even the beauty mark at the corner of his eye started to shimmer a little more. As he had just taken a shower, his cheeks were a little more crimson than usual, and his chest was also heaving up and down a little more intensely than usual.

He slowly walked over to the bed and sat right on the edge of the bed beside Nora.

The lights in the room were switched off, so the room was dim. The curtains were also fully drawn, and no light could come through. Only the faint night light was shining over. One could see that the person on the bed was indeed Nora.

Justin observed her for a while. Suddenly, he chuckled softly and asked suggestively, “Are you waiting for me so that we can sleep together?”

“Uh-huh!”

Suddenly, a young and tender voice answered him.

Justin was taken aback. His line of sight went past Nora, where he finally saw Cherry sitting up from underneath the covers.

Cherry, who was wearing pajamas with a strawberry print, was rubbing her eyes. She said cutely, “Daddy, we are all waiting for you, yeah!”

The sensitive Justin caught something amiss in her words. He asked, “All?”

“Yeah!” Cherry pointed to the side. “Pete and Xander are here too!”

After she spoke, Pete and Xander also sat up from underneath the covers.

Justin: “…”

As the corners of his lips spasmed, he heard Cherry go on. She said cutely, “A family should lie down neatly side by side together, so let’s sleep together! Daddy, your bed is a little too small, though!”

The bed in Justin’s room was a king-size bed.

After all, he was a tall man.

But now, he suddenly felt like the bed was too big. Otherwise, why would they think that a family of five could fit on one bed?

Cherry was even making a request. “Daddy, can we custom-make a bed that’s 120 inches wide?”

“No.”

Justin refused her request straightaway. Then, he said, “A custom-made bed doesn’t look nice. Besides, with such a big bed, there won’t be enough space in the room.”

Cherry: “?”

She, Pete, and Xander stared at the big and spacious 1,080-square-feet bedroom, perplexed as to how there wouldn’t be enough space in the room.

Justin immediately gave an order. “Therefore, the three of you are to go back to your own rooms now!”

He spoke very sternly.

Unfortunately, Cherry was not at all afraid of Justin, who was a slave to his daughter. She refused him straightaway. “No, I don’t wanna!”

She clung onto Nora and said, “I wanna sleep with Mommy!”

Pete said, “I want to sleep with Mommy too.”

Xander also said, “I also want to sleep with Mommy.”

Justin: “…”

When he wanted to reply, Nora said, “You guys promised that you would fall asleep within five minutes. Four minutes have already passed.”

As soon as she said that, the three little fellows lay down in unison, covered themselves with the quilt, and closed their eyes obediently.

Justin looked at the three children, and then glanced at Nora, who was already yawning. Right away, he knew that once the three children fell asleep, the woman would probably also fall asleep along with them.

What else could he do, though?

He could only sit there quietly and stare at the few of them on the bed.

It was already late in the night.

Although Nora’s eyes were closed, she was listening to the three children’s breathing.

When their breathing gradually steadied, it meant that they had finally fallen asleep.

Ha, they promised that they would fall asleep in five minutes, yet they took ten minutes to fall asleep. At last, she could finally sleep in peace now!

The thought had only just formed in Nora’s mind when someone suddenly lifted the quilt. The next moment, a scalding-hot body slipped under the covers.

“Nora, the children have fallen asleep. It’s time that we do some adult things.”