“…Actually scratch that, I guess I can accept you, even if you don’t fulfill all the standard conditions. All you need to do now is sell the car and buy yourself a house. If you can at least do that right, you’ll get a job as a clerk in the public office. You’ll have social insurance and housing funds then. That way, you’ll be able to have a stable life in the future!” “You know, I used to have a subordinate who had a sister just three years older than you. She’s still unmarried. Once you’ve settled down, I can be your matchmaker and help you get a wife as well!” said Willie. Gerald was dumbfounded. So, as long as he was willing to donate money to him, Willie was going to give him such good treatment? Leila, however, was shocked. “Dad… Isn’t that secretary’s sister… You know… Intellectually slow...?” “So what if she is? It’s not easy for anyone to get a wife these days. Look at Gerald’s qualifications! I can’t even guarantee that the other party would be willing to marry someon
Despite that, they were still close childhood friends. Even if they hadn’t met each other in a decade, the same childlike feelings of joy that they shared would still remain. “You f*cker! When did you come back? Why didn’t you give me a call, huh?” asked Xeno as he playfully smacked Gerald’s back a few times. “Ow, ow! I just came back some time ago! It’s been a long time since I’ve returned, so I’m staying in Serene County for the time being!” replied Gerald as he smiled happily. “Xeno, that’s a customer! Be professional!” shouted a woman as she came out of the shop. She was dressed fashionably and she looked to be around the same age as Gerald. Of course, Gerald knew who she was too. She was from his junior high school and back then, she was in a relationship with Xeno. Her family owned a supermarket in town and they were pretty well to do. It seemed that both of them were still maintaining their relationship even after so many years! “Heh, don’t tell me you forgot abo
The car was his greatest asset and he was just going to give it to his friend for free? ‘Gerald, this isn’t the time to be showing off!’ Leila thought in her mind, frantically. Though Leila had recently started to change her opinion of Gerald, she couldn’t help but feel angry at his words. Before this turn of events, Leila had even secretly considered Gerald to be her boyfriend. Now, she didn’t even want to think about it! From an outsider’s point of view, it was almost as though she considered the car to be hers in the first place. “I can’t accept that! This is a relatively new car, brother! I can’t just take it off you for free! How about this, I have about a hundred thousand dollars on hand right now. I’ll buy the car at the market rate of two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. I’ll pay you the rest of the money once I sell this car off! Deal?” “If that’s the case, you can just buy it from me for a hundred thousand dollars then!” replied Gerald with a wry smile on hi
The reply had come from one of Leila’s friends. “Alright, alright, girls. Tell you what, I’ll pay for whatever we’re eating tonight! We can spend up to a thousand and five hundred dollars tonight!” said Douglas with a smile. “But Douglas, why are you the one paying? Gerald’s clearly the one who should be treating us!” “Well, you may not know this, but I owe Gerald that exact sum of money! If I pay that amount for supper, the IOU will be fully paid off!” Douglas was thinking to himself then, that Gerald shouldn’t even consider reclaiming his one thousand and five hundred dollars from him! He would rather use the money to entertain everyone rather than return the money to him. “Alright! Let’s go! It’s time I got off work today anyway!” said the salesgirl happily. At that moment, Leila’s cell phone began to ring. It was Willie. “What’s this? Hadn’t we agreed that he would donate at least a hundred and twenty thousand dollars so that I could find him a job? Why is there o
“What fifteen thousand dollar bank savings book?” asked Gerald, slightly taken aback. Before Xeno could stop him, Gerald had opened the door to see a very anxious Sienna. “Oh, don’t worry about it! I need to use the money!” said Xeno as he smiled. “What are you using it for? And what are you holding in your hand? Oh god, what are you doing with such a big cheque?!” The anxiety in Sienna’s voice only seemed to grow even worse. “The money’s for Gerald! How could we possibly purchase an almost brand new car for just a hundred thousand dollars? What more, it’s a Mercedes Benz G500!” replied Xeno. “And why would it be impossible? What’s wrong with earning some of his money? Xeno, you can’t cheat anyone else of their cash but you can definitely cheat him! Give me the cheque!” yelled Sienna as she snatched the cheque from his hand. “Pfft, we’ve sold the car for a grand total of two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. We already gave Gerald one hundred thousand dollars and we a
After Xeno was expelled, Gerald got beaten up several times. Even that girl that the gangster was after left Gerald, opting instead to be with the bully. The reason why Gerald became afraid and shy of girls whenever he saw them during his high school and university years, was directly linked to this event. Once Xeno got expelled from school, he simply continued living his life out on the streets. He was rarely ever at home. What more, when Gerald entered high school, Xeno kept changing his phone number. It was difficult for Gerald just to be able to get in touch with him sometimes! Since that day, Gerald had always kept Xeno’s sacrifice and kindness deep in his heart. This was because Xeno’s possibly great future had been shattered by a single event, and it was directly caused by Gerald! Sienna knew about all this and this was why she didn’t like Gerald. Sienna was actually a very nice girl. Her family owned a big supermarket in town and they were very rich. However, she
It was about the jade pendant. Zack had managed to contact an old, well-experienced master on a jade antique street in Serene County. He was apparently very famous in the local area. What more, he had also been told that the old master had inherited his craftsmanship from his ancestors. This was perfect since Gerald needed an experienced person like this to help identify and appraise such an ancient jade. Gerald decided that he would let the old master have a go at identifying and appraising the jade pendant first. If he couldn’t, Gerald would simply look for other jade masters from all over the country then. After all, if even the dean didn’t know anything about Xara Machamer’s identity, how else would Gerald be able to find out anything about her? His only clue was this jade pendant, and Gerald understood that. Originally, Zack had wanted to accompany Gerald to meet the master. However, Gerald’s father had told him that the fewer people knew about Xara Machamer, the be
“Job...? Also, you still haven’t told me why you came to look for my grandpa today!” said Cindy, her curiosity growing. “It’s nothing serious, I just came to ask him for a favor, no big deal,” replied Gerald. “I see… Oh! Since you’re already here, why not come in? I’ll make some tea for you!” “Maybe next time, I’ll be back soon anyway. I’m just going to head to the bank now to withdraw some money,” replied Gerald as he smiled. “What a coincidence! I’m also going to the bank to pass my mother’s cell phone over to her. Let’s go together!” said Cindy as she walked out of the shop and stood beside Gerald. Gerald could only nod awkwardly. All he wanted to do was to leave quietly after leaving the pendant for Matthew to analyze and withdrawing his money. He really hadn’t anticipated running into Cindy here today. “So, your mother forgot to bring her cell phone out with her?” asked Gerald to break the silence as they walked to the bank. “Well, that’s sort of correct. See, my m