Book 2 : She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement

Chapter 41

Chapter 729: King’s Slap!

It was obvious that King had taken advantage of the two families fighting to raise the price in the deal three days ago. The final beneficiary was King.

No matter how he looked at it, he could not admit that he had been unfair and had lied to Bear. Therefore, Philip was certain that King had targeted Ian in the group.

The others could not say that the deal was unfair.

Ian instantly became the target.

If King were to appear now, he would definitely be on Philip’s side.

Nora was thinking about how to help Ian resolve the situation and make the atmosphere less awkward when she saw…

King: “Would a normal person spend 45 billion dollars on the Hunts’ shares that are only worth a few billions?

The others echoed King and instantly sent a message to the group.

Rabbit: “King is right.”

Wolf: “King is right.”

Nora was also typing a message. “Eagle also isn’t saying that King is unfair. It’s clearly Bear who is stirring trouble in the group…’ She was typing and wanted to say a few words for Ian when she suddenly realized the meaning of King’s message. She was stunned and confused.

Why was this King acting a bit different than his usual self?!

He had clearly made a killing three days ago and taken advantage of Bear, but now he was still coming out to mock him? This was completely against his principle of peace!

He was simply making enemies.

Nora was taken aback.

In the distant Smith Villa, Ian was stunned. He was prepared to express that this was not what he meant. At most, he would apologize to King and Bear.

After all, everyone in the group was a big shot. Furthermore, in the past, even if King did not smooth things over, he did warn them to be careful with their words.

But—why had King suddenly become so straight?

When he said this, Ian was really stunned.

Philip, who was overseas, was even more stunned.

After spending 45 billion dollars, he had actually been very unhappy. However, he did not dare to lose his temper at King, so he could only vent all his anger on Eagle.

After all, Eagle was an American. Eagle might be Justin himself.

During the period when Eagle joined the Imperial League, the Hunt's were the number one family in New York.

That’s why he suddenly launched an attack on him in the group. The goal was to make everyone in the group reject him.

Moreover… his account was one of the first six to join the Imperial League when it was established!

Although he did not dare to be called the richest man in the world, since no one knew how much money King had, Philip was indeed invincible overseas.

Even King had given him some face in the past. In the group, if King was first, Philip would be second.

Therefore, no one had expected King to suddenly attack Philip.

What did that mean?

Philip was furious. “King, did you send the wrong message? Or was your account hacked? What do you mean?”

Nora was also thinking about what King meant when she saw him throw another sentence into the group. “It means that your IQ is very low.”

The group instantly fell silent.

After all, if the first and second big shots fought, who would dare to interrupt?

Even Ian was confused for a moment.

King sent another message: “I’m selling my shares to you not because Eagle is poor, but because he’s smarter than you and not easy to cheat.”

_

In the Smiths’ villa, when Ian saw this sentence, he could not help but sit up straight. There was a look of satisfaction on his face from being recognized.

He smiled and sent a message in the group.

Eagle: “Mr. King, you think too highly of me.”

King: “You’re worth it, sir.”

Everyone: “??!”

Why did the word “sir” suddenly become so meaningful?

The people in the group instantly fell silent.

In the past, Eagle did not receive much respect in the group. After all, he was considered a newcomer in the group.

But now, King spoke so highly of Eagle. Could it be that King had instructed Eagle to raise the price yesterday and his goal was to cheat Bear?

This…

Bear was furious. “King, what do you mean?”

King: “What’s the point of bullying a small family in New York? What are the principles of the Imperial League? You openly tried to break them, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

The principles of the Imperial League…

Nora thought about it. Imperial League’s group page clearly said that they were not to bully the weak.

But!

First of all, was Justin weak?

Secondly! Over the years, Imperial League had wanted to expand its influence, so how could it not have bullied others?

Everyone was in control of the global economy, so they were all fine. Why did King suddenly mention this principle?

Everyone was confused.

However, Philip was indeed Philip.

Offending King would not end well for him.

The reason King had dominant status in the group was that he was the leader.

He was the one who was leading everyone forward step by step. Philip had to give him face. Therefore, when he saw that King had given a reasonable explanation, Philip did not dare to probe further. He lowered his head in the group. “I forgot to explain. I have a personal grudge with the Hunt's.”

King: “Since it’s a personal grudge, then these 45 billion dollars are worth it.”

Bear: “You’re right.”

Through the screen, Nora could feel Philip’s anger. However, his forbearance made Nora alert again.

At Philip’s level, it was easy for him to toy with people.

Just like how he could imprison Iris for 20 years with one thought!

However, it was precisely such a person who was used to being arrogant, but he was being so adaptable. He was indeed one of the rulers of the few mysterious families in the world!

Seeing that there were no more messages in the group, Nora finally put down her phone.

When she looked up again, she heard Cherry call out “Mommy” in a childish voice. Cherry was usually a bootlicker and had a sweet mouth, but she always felt that her words were not sincere.

However, the one who was the most clingy to Nora was Cherry.

After not seeing her for three days, the little fellow did not even play games anymore. She hugged Nora’s thigh and did not let go. “Mommy, I miss you so much, I didn’t eat or drink well these past few days!” Pete, who ran over with her, reminded her, “That’s called not wanting to eat or drink. Besides, I don’t think you ate any less.”

Cherry immediately looked at him and explained boldly, “That’s why I didn’t say I didn’t eat, I said I didn’t eat well!”

Pete: “…”

Nora touched Pete’s head and then looked at Xander, who was sitting on the sofa and looking over eagerly.

The little guy was very proud. He was clearly looking over, but he still pretended not to care. It was funny.

Nora walked over and rubbed his head. “Does Xander miss Mommy?”

“Tsk!” Xander rolled his eyes. “You’re too mushy. I’m not that childish!”

Although he said that, he did not pull his head away from her.

Pete immediately rolled his eyes. “Then who is it that asks almost every day why Mommy sleeps for so long?”

Xander: “?”

His face turned red instantly and he snorted. “I was afraid she would die!”

“You’re not allowed to curse Mommy!” Cherry looked fierce.

Pete frowned as well. “Don’t say such nonsense. How could Mommy die? You’re talking nonsense!”

Xander pursed his lips. “I was just saying. It’s not like she’d really…”

He still did not say the word ‘die’.

The three children huddled together and argued. It made Pete talk more. Cherry’s ADHD had recovered even without gaming,and it also made Xander not hate this family so much.

Nora checked Xander’s body again.When she saw that he was fine, she finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Justin still had some work matters to settle,so he went to the study. Nora was downstairs playing with the three children.

She looked at Xander and suddenly asked, “Xander, do you want to change your name?”

Xander was stunned and looked at her. “What name should I change? There’s no need to change it.It’s meaningless.”

Nora hesitated and said, “But you’re Justin and my child.You can choose whether you want your surname to be Smith or Hunt.”

Xander immediately pursed his lips. “I don’t want my surname to be Smith.I don’t want my surname to be Hunt either!”

Hearing this,Nora was stunned. “Why?”

Xander’s eyes instantly flickered. “Sigh,why are you so annoying?! I’ve been called Xander Yale for five years.Why do I have to change my name? I’m not changing!” With that, he jumped up in anger and ran upstairs.

Nora frowned.

Why was Xander so sensitive and against changing his name?

Was he hiding something?

Or was he still…

Nora sighed silently. Trueman had raised him for five years.If he still had feelings for Trueman, it was really a headache. After all,she could not forcefully change Xander’s thoughts and feelings.

As she was thinking, Pete said, “Mommy,don’t be angry.I know why he doesn’t want to change his name.”

Chapter 730: Taking Revenge For Xander

Upon hearing what Pete said,Nora asked, “Why?”

Pete sneaked a glance upstairs again,then he glanced at Cherry,who was hugging Nora’s thigh, and coughed.

Before Nora could say anything,Cherry said in her young and tender voice, “I’m not leaving, Pete! I also wanna listen!”

Left with no other choice, Pete could only sigh silently.He glanced at the upper floor again before he finally said, “When Xander woke up,he overheard some people’s conversation.”

When Xander regained consciousness,his IQ had once again increased,and he also became more sensitive.

The young child had never had his parents by his side since he was born.Although he had just returned to the family,he could nevertheless sense the family’s servants’ dislike of him.

After all,he had really been very naughty previously.

He pretended to be nonchalant on the surface but had been improving his behavior in private.He went to the lower floor to play with Cherry’s childish dolls with her,and also accompanied Pete and worked on Mathematical Olympiad problems together.In truth, he had also been working hard to integrate himself into the family.

But the day before, he had simply been too bored. On top of that,the little guy liked to be secretive and sneaky in everything he did,so he had sneaked into the shared toilet used by the servants at home and eavesdropped on their conversations.

This was because he had found out,after a search on the Internet,that the toilet was where one could listen to the juiciest gossip.

The little guy had squatted in the cubicle and listened to the men chatting outside.

“Did you notice that Xander’s temper has improved recently?”

“That’s probably because Pete and Cherry are so well-behaved that he has also become better-behaved due to their influence.He grew up elsewhere,so he has an unruly temper,but he has reined himself in now!”

“You’d better not say such things so carelessly. Mr.Hunt hates us talking about them in private!”

“I know,aren’t I just telling you?”

“Well,no matter what the reason,you can say that Xander has been reformed,I suppose.But in that case,why hasn’t Mr. Hunt changed his name?Or legally registered him as part of the family yet?”

“Tsk,here,I’ll explain that to you.This is just my speculation,but you see how Cherry’s last name is Smith, right? In the future, she will probably inherit the assets that the Smith's leave for her mother.As for Pete,his last name is Hunt,and he has long been unofficially appointed as the future heir of the Hunt's. If Xander changes his name,then should he take Smith or Hunt as his last name?”

“Are you saying that Mr. Hunt doesn’t plan to give him any shares?”

“Speaking of shares… Do you know?The Hunt's always have the final say in the Hunt Corporation because they have more than 50% of the shares firmly in their control. Although Herman and Justin have separated now,this must not happen to the next generation.Therefore,he will only give the shares to one person, o that he can guarantee that person’s absolute rights and control of the Hunt Corporation.Will he give them to Xander?Or to Pete?Who knows?The purpose of Xander’s sudden return is precisely to fight for company shares with Pete!”

“Tsk,no wonder he suddenly came back when he has already been away for so many years. That’s true,the Smith Corporation’s shares are also a large sum of money.Even if Mr.Hunt doesn’t give him any shares,Ms.Smith definitely will.He’s in for a windfall this time!”

“Exactly… But little bastards like him can only fake good behavior, he definitely won’t be able to change his personality deep down inside.No matter what he does,he won’t be able to compare to Pete’s gentlemanly demeanor.”

The two left the toilet as they chatted,leaving Xander dumbfounded and speechless inside.He walked out in a daze.As soon as he stepped out, he saw Pete,who was also standing outside.He must have heard what they said just now.

Xander flushed at once. In particular, as he looked at Pete,he suddenly shouted, “Don’t worry,I’m not interested in the Hunts’ assets! I also don’t have any interest in fighting for them with you! I will make all my money by myself in the future!”

After saying that,he pushed Pete away and ran to the villa.

“Later, even though he didn’t quarrel with me,he didn’t spend much time solving Mathematical Olympiad problems with me anymore.He has been playing games with Cherry the whole day today!”

Pete hung his head and spoke in disappointment.

He must have also wanted very much for Xander to play with him.

Cherry raised her head, her big dark eyes blinking as she said, “Really?Why didn’t I notice anything?”

_

Cherry was cute and was a sweet-talker, but she was also very insensitive. It would be a wonder if she could sense the little boy’s secretive thoughts!

All she could do was just fight others in a battle of wits.In truth, she really was rather insensitive.

However,it was also through the contrast between her and Pete that Nora had discovered something-children who grew up with their mothers would indeed have a stronger sense of happiness.

Look at Pete.He might openly say that Xander was sensitive,but wasn’t he also just as sensitive? Otherwise,how would a five-year-old possibly contemplate so many problems?!

When Nora thought of this, as well as of the two servants’ conversation, she felt a burst of anger. She lowered her head and looked down at Pete at once. “Can you recognize the two servants who were talking behind your backs?”

“Mommy,I have already looked into it!”

One could always rest assured with Pete’s way of handling things. Despite his young age,he was already capable of taking every aspect into consideration.He said, “The two of them are in charge of cleaning the garden in the backyard. One of them is Greg Lewis the other one is Lionel Scott.They have been working for the Hunt's for three years.”

Nora: “…”

The corners of her lips spasmed and she couldn’t help but ask, “Since you have already found out everything, then you must also have ways of dealing with them,so why haven’t you taken any action?”

Pete’s authority at home was not to be violated.

Moreover,although the boy was mildly autistic, he was not stupid.On the contrary, he was very clever.

Pete replied, “Xander must be competing with me right now.Since everyone says that I am better than him,if I step forward to defend him,he will definitely feel even more uncomfortable. Besides,isn’t it the parents’ responsibility to protect their children?”

Pete looked at her eagerly, “Also,I think that Xander would prefer you to protect him instead.”

Nora: “…”

The corners of her lips spasmed.Faced with Pete like that,she suddenly said, “Pete,be honest with me.Back then,when two of your private tutors bullied you, you hadn’t resisted them. Is it because you had never thought of putting up any resistance?”

Pete lowered his head when he heard this.

He initially didn’t want to explain,but he suddenly felt like opening up in this instant.He nodded and answered, “Yes.At that time,I thought that I had brought harm to my grandmother,so I didn’t feel like fighting back anymore.”

Nora heaved a quiet sigh.

The boy was simply too sensitive.

She took Pete’s hand and walked straight out. “Come on,let’s go to the garden and look for the two of them!”

As for Cherry, her eyes swiveled a little and she let go of Nora’s leg.Then, she ran upstairs.

Mommy was about to unleash her prowess. How could she possibly not get Xander to watch a show as entertaining as that?

How exciting! How thrilling!

Hehehe…

In the garden in the backyard.

Two male servants were chatting as they swept the floor.

“I saw Pete yesterday. The look in his eyes when he looked at me was just so… Why does it make me feel a little uneasy?”

“What are you thinking? Pete never gets angry,it’s fine.”

The other man whispered, “Say, do you think Pete overheard what we said that day?After all,he was standing right outside when we stepped out.”

“Heh,so what even if he heard us?We are here as cleaners by Roger Hunt’s recommendation.Can a kid like him even fire us? Besides, even if we are fired,we will still get a large sum of money."

Chapter 731: Making False Counter-charges

“No, Roger Hunt put us here so that we can snoop around for news, but who would have thought that Mr.Hunt’s supervision would be so strict?We have been here for three years,but we haven’t found any useful news at all, sigh!If we are fired,he may not necessarily protect us.”

“Don’t worry needlessly. It’ll only embarrass him if he doesn’t protect us. Even if it’s just to prevent himself from being embarrassed,he will still protect us. Besides,

everything we said was favorable towards Pete.I don’t think he will spread any nonsense!”

The two,who did not notice the people walking towards them from behind,continued speculating in low voices. “Furthermore,Mr.Hunt can barely protect himself now.Now that his father has returned to fight for the company’s ownership with him,he can’t be bothered to deal with us.It’s the safest for us right now!”

“You’re right, heh heh. I wonder who will win, Mr.Hunt or his father? At the bottom of it all, it’s all just because of Mrs.Hunt.”

“Have you seen Mrs.Hunt?She doesn’t look like a fifty-year-old at all. You can easily say that she’s thirty;and even if you say she’s twenty, there will probably still be people who would believe it!How can someone be so beautiful?!”

“Women are trouble.It’s precisely because she is so pretty that things went wrong!On top of that,she doesn’t even look old at all.What else is she, if not a vixen?”

“Shut up!”

Nora was originally planning to listen and see what else the two of them would talk about,but in the end,they changed the subject and started talking about Iris instead.

This was intolerable.

Her fierce bark gave the two men a shock.They turned back in unison to see Nora come up to them while holding Pete’s hand.

Nora’s pretty face was tense,and there was faint anger and a pressurizing aura in her eyes.Added to this her tall and slender figure,which allowed her to stand at about the same height as the two men,her aura became increasingly strong.

They were so scared that they hurriedly lowered their heads.“Ms. Smith,” they said.

Nora narrowed her eyes and stared at them. “Badmouthing your employers behind their backs.Is that what your contracts asked of you?”

The Hunts’ servants were mostly old-timers whom the Hunt's were already accustomed to having around.Some of the old-timers’ family members would also work there.Although there was no such thing as indentured servitude these days,their employers would never abuse them.In fact, they treated them very well,so most of the servants in the family were very loyal.

There were some old-timers who received even better treatment, such as Fanny,who served the elderly Mrs.Hunt.She had served Mrs.Hunt her whole life, so the two were as close as sisters.

However,the servants also knew that they should protect themselves,so all of them were hired on a contractual employment system.

When the two servants were hired to clean the garden in the backyard three years ago,they had also signed employment contracts.Thus, their job scope and job requirements would definitely be stated in detail in the contracts.

The two servants looked at each other in fright. One of them said boldly, “Ms. Smith,you must have misheard.We didn’t badmouth our employers.”

The other man also recovered from his shock and stammered, “Y-yes, he’s right.We didn’t talk about our employers behind their backs.We were talking about another family,you must have misheard!”

Nora: “?”

They were really just so… Were they pretending that nothing had happened when they had already been caught red-handed?

She lowered her eyes. She couldn’t be bothered to say anything else to the two,so she immediately said, “You should know very well whether or not you’ve talked about your employers behind their backs just now.As for Pete and I,we were standing right here.Heh, are you going to take the initiative to resign?Or do you want me to get someone to fire you?”

Nora was very aggressive. “If it’s the latter,then I’m afraid the two of you will end up being blacklisted.You don’t need me to explain the consequences of that, right?”

Should they be blacklisted,no one would employ them when they went job-hunting in the future.

Besides…

Pete raised his head.In his big eyes,which looked just like Cherry’s,was not the latter’s cheeky cuteness but instead a scheming look.In his young and tender voice, he said, “Mommy, why are you letting them off?If we tell Daddy,the two of them will be in for it!”

What Nora said had already intimidated the two servants just now,so when they heard what Pete said,the two immediately fell onto the ground in fright.

One of them said, “Sir Pete, we realize our mistake now,sob!”

Nora stroked Pete’s hair. “Forget it, everyone makes mistakes.Let’s forgive them wherever

possible!”

Upon hearing what she said, the two servants looked at each other,both swallowing hard.One of them said, “T-thank you, Ms. Smith.W-we will leave by ourselves.”

Nora nodded and pointed at the door. “Get out.”

The two nodded.Then, they turned around and walked out.

When they disappeared from the garden,Xander’s voice traveled over. “Hmph,are you letting them off so easily?You are such a weakling and a pushover!”

Nora cast her eyes down and heaved a silent sigh.

She squatted down and looked at Xander. “You are still young,so you don’t understand how important jobs are to people.Now that the two of them have lost their jobs,they will find even feeding themselves a problem.This is already a very severe punishment.”

Xander had grown up with Trueman.Nora didn’t want him to become too narrow-minded.She wanted him to learn to be kind to others.

Xander sneered, “Even so, that won’t do!Their punishment is too light!”

Cherry blinked.She didn’t understand the ins and outs of what had happened,but even so, she immediately retorted, “Don’t talk nonsense, Mommy must have her reasons for doing what she did!Mommy will definitely punish them for you!”

Pete explained, “Xander, don’t worry.Do you think they will have it easy after they resign?Mommy has already said that jobs are very important to them. Do you think that people who can never find a job again in the future will be able to enjoy life?”

To be honest, punishment for talking ill of others behind their backs shouldn’t have been so severe.

However, since they were Roger’s pawns,how would Nora possibly be that kind?

Moreover!

Pete explained further, “Mommy can’t openly do anything to them because this is a society governed by laws!They are just people that our family had hired,they are not our slaves!Besides… We don’t actually have the right to fire them!”

His last sentence stunned both Cherry and Xander. Both of them asked in unison, “Why?”

“Because…”

Before he could finish, footsteps came from the garden’s entrance again and Roger walked in with the two servants.

Roger had a smile on his face as usual.As soon as he entered,he said cheerfully, “Oh my, who is this? Isn’t this Justin’s fiancée?What’s wrong? How did these two bastards make you so angry that you lost your temper so badly?”

The rest of Pete’s words were cut off by him.He looked at Cherry and Xander,held their hands, and whispered, “That mean Uncle Roger will tell you the reason!”

Both Cherry and Xander looked at Roger in confusion.

Roger’s eyes were narrowed,but he had a very gentle and amiable expression on his face. He said, “Nora, you haven’t even married into the family,yet you are already throwing your weight around in the Hunts’ residence?Isn’t that quite inappropriate? Besides,what exactly have these two people done wrong?They kept crying and crying,so I couldn’t understand what they were saying.They are, after all,people whom I recruited into the family,so you have to give me a reason for dismissing them no matter what, right?The Hunt's are reasonable people,we mustn’t bully them just because they are weak and powerless!”

At the sight of him, Nora cast her eyes down slightly.She said dispassionately, “They badmouthed their employers behind their backs.Isn’t this reason enough?”

Roger immediately replied, “What?They actually had the audacity to badmouth their employers behind their backs?The reason is enough, of course.It is clearly written in the employee contract that they are not allowed to talk about their employers behind their backs,let alone divulge news and information about them to outsiders!”

After saying this, he looked straight at the two servants. “How can you make such a mistake when you know full well that you’re not supposed to do that? If the two of you have really badmouthed your employers behind their backs,then you will certainly have to be fired. In addition,you will also have to return the wages paid to you during the past three years as compensation!”

The moment Lionel and Greg heard this and noticed the look Roger was giving them,they got the hint. They shouted, “Mr. Roger,we are innocent!”

Roger snorted coldly. “You’re innocent?What’s the use of you crying foul here?Since my sister-in-law has said that the two of you did badmouth your employers,then she definitely has evidence to back it up!Otherwise, she would never make any baseless accusations.”

He then looked at Nora with a smile and said, “Nora,where’s the evidence? If you can produce the evidence, then I will deal with these two people right away!”

Pete sighed silently and explained to Cherry and Xander, “You saw that, right?America has labor protection laws.Even if you want to fire an employee for misconduct, you have to produce evidence of their misconduct first.”

Xander was perplexed. After all,he had grown up in a basement and didn’t know much about human relations.He asked, “But didn’t you and Mommy hear them?”

Cherry,however,had understood by then.She stamped her foot and said angrily, “Tsk,Xander, why are you so stupid? We did hear them,but they can also counter us by saying that we are lying!We have to produce factual evidence as proof! No wonder Mommy only threatened those two into resigning just now.As it turns out,it’s because Mommy doesn’t have any actual evidence!”

By this point,Xander had also understood.A look of deep thought appeared on his countenance. “So that’s how it is!”

On the other side,Roger was still looking at Nora. Seeing that she was keeping quiet with her eyes narrowed,he smiled and said, “Nora,where’s the evidence?Show us the evidence!Surely you do have evidence,right?”

Lionel and Greg changed their tunes at once. “Mr.Roger,we really didn’t speak ill of others behind their backs!Ms.Smith is just slandering us because she doesn’t like us!You mustn’t fire us.If you really do so,then we will sue you and go for judicial arbitration!The labor law will protect us!”

Upon hearing what they said, Roger looked at Nora smugly.

Seeing this, Xander whispered, “Are we going to drop the whole thing just like that?”

Xander might not understand anything else, but he did understand one thing,and that was

Nora wanted to take action against those two people, and if she failed, it would be very embarrassing for her!

Cherry, however, blinked and said with a smile, “No way!Does Mommy look like such a weakling to you?”

Xander: “??!”