Life After Prison

A series of unfortunate events befell Severin Feuillet and led him to a five-year prison sentence, but by the time he was released, he had acquired wisdom from the teachings of a savant. Once Severin stepped back into society, he was prepared to give his all for his fiancee, but she had cheated on him and married an assaulter. Unbeknownst to him, the president of a certain company—a beauty in the finest—had given birth to his adorable baby daughter in secret. She had waited five insufferable years for him, and so thus began Severin's most daunting challenge yet, becoming a father. Chapter 1 The North Pole Prison was located in—as its name suggests—the North Pole, specifically the northernmost part of the North Pole. It was situated more than 500 meters beneath the earth's surface, and it was there that the world's most vicious and well-known criminals were imprisoned! It was a prison that no one in history succeeded in escaping from! At that moment, an elevator had risen to the earth's surface from beneath. The elevator door opened slowly, and a man with a scruffy-looking face stepped out from inside. "Congratulations on being released from prison." A burly man said in a coarse voice. He was in charge of guarding the place. A bodacious middle-aged woman looked solemnly at the prisoner who had just stepped out of the elevator and said, "You'll be a free man after stepping out of that gate over there!" Severin Feuillet, fresh out of prison, glanced at the door in front of him with mixed emotions. "I could've left this place whenever I wanted." The middle-aged woman's red lips parted slightly, but she did not say a single word. After all, she could not refute what he had said. The multitude of evil people imprisoned beneath them included well-known secret agents, warlords, and even the leaders of several huge underworld organizations, yet all had been subdued by Severin. All those individuals were nothing to him. There was war in the country of Dracodom three years ago, and it was an uphill task for the kingdom to resist the foreign powers that invaded it. Eventually, the kingdom's officials decided to send four young people to receive tutelage from Severin. He taught them for only half a year and sent them back as full-fledged warriors who turned the tide of the war almost instantly. Their achievements then earned them recognition as Dracodom's renowned war heroes! When Severin reached the gate, he stopped, turned around, and glanced intently at the tall castle-like building behind him. He then knelt down and kowtowed three times. "Old Wacko! I'll be leaving this place now! Thank you for taking care of me the past five years!" Emotions began welling up inside of Severin. When he was first sent to that prison, he witnessed how a gray-haired old man was bullied and withheld from having any food. Severin then willingly decided to share half of his food to the man. Everyone in prison called the old man a wacko because he was constantly mumbling about achieving immortality. Many ignored him, and some even abused him verbally, yet the Old Wacko seemed rather nonchalant about the whole thing. Severin was the only one who chatted with him every day, prompting the others to call Severin 'Little Wacko'. Later, Severin discovered that the Old Wacko was actually an erudite savant, and the latter passed down all his knowledge to Severin. The day that Severin left the prison was also the day the Old Wacko left, but their destinations were completely different. The thick steel gate closed behind Severin as he walked out. "Greetings, Master!" Two middle-aged men, an old man, and a middle-aged woman all knelt down together. The jaws of all Dracodom's upper-class individuals would almost certainly drop to ground if they were to see the respect that those four people accorded to Severin. After all, they were none other than the Four War heroes who had just helped Dracodom win the war! Severin frowned when he saw them. "Why are you folks here?" The four of them stood up, and the old man cupped his hands respectfully before answering, "We, as disciples, are obliged to welcome our Master upon his release from prison!" "I take it you're all doing well?" Severin asked curtly as he glanced at their medals. "Master, we've been acknowledged as the Four Great War Heroes of Dracodom. It's not just power and glory that we've acquired…we have our own territories too!" The middle-aged woman explained to him the achievements that she and the others have made. It was obvious that she was quite proud of herself. However, Severin replied without much expression, "Glad you didn't tarnish my reputation." The four of them were secretly delighted, for it was not easy to get a compliment from Severin. "Master, here's a Supreme VIP card. It has an overdraw of one and a half billion. The card is yours, so use it as and when you like. I'll top up the account whenever you spend any money!" The middle-aged woman handed over a bank card with a smile on her face. A middle-aged man then asked, "Would you like a position? I can give you a territory so you can rule on a small-scale!" Next, the old man said, "My granddaughter is a beautiful woman, Master. Perhaps you'd be interested to meet her..." Finally, the middle-aged man suggested, "The province of Middlebridge still lacks a ruler, Master. Why don't you have a look at the place and see if you're keen?" Severin, however, shook his head in disappointment. "All I want is for none of you to pester me. I'd like to spend my days in peace with my parents and Lucy, thank you very much. I've been meaning to make it up to them for my past mistakes! I don't even know if they're doing alright now." "Won't you at least accept this card even if you don't want anything else?" The middle-aged woman looked anxiously at Severin. All four of them had received wealth and power, courtesy of Severin. It was only natural, then, that they hoped to give him something in return! "Give me a cell phone and leave your contact information in it. I'll pay you guys a visit once I have the time!" Severin smiled faintly and touched a minimalistic-looking ring on his finger. That was all he had left to remember the Old Wacko by. "I'll give you a phone! Thank goodness I brought one with me!" The middle-aged man immediately took out a new cell phone and handed it to Severin. "Our phone numbers are all in there!" Severin nodded. "Do you have a smoke?" The middle-aged man immediately took out a pack of cigarettes and handed them respectfully to Severin. After lighting the cigarette and taking a big puff, he said with the utmost appreciation, "Thank you all. Don't you worry about me though. I am your master, after all, so I'm more than capable of surviving on my own! Besides, I've already reached 'that' level of attainment!" "Did you just say 'that' level?" The four of them exchanged shocked looks at each other. "Could you bring me to the city of Brookbourn before nightfall?" Severin asked. "Sure thing!" All four of them replied at once. As the sun was about to set, Severin had already appeared at the gate of Brookbourn. "Are you sure there's nothing else you want, Master?" The middle-aged man seemed determined to convince Severin. Severin smiled at him and looked at the familiar city before him. "You guys should go, or else you'll all be making the headlines if someone recognizes you!" The four war heroes nodded, then immediately turned and walked toward the helicopter they came in. Before long, Severin had reached the entrance to a middle-end residential area. He walked in and proceeded to make his way to the door of a familiar house. He sighed as he looked at the nostalgic house number, for it was supposed to be his matrimonial home with his fiancee, Lucy Orwell. Severin was set up some years ago, after he got drunk and gambled away his money. When he lost, he was forced to stamp his fingerprint on a contract to hand Lucy over to a rich kid named Easton Lough. That night, Easton led Severin to the matrimonial home that Severin initially prepared for himself and Lucy. There, Easton planned to force himself on Lucy in front of Severin. It was Lucy's anguished screams that sparked a brief moment of sobriety in Severin, prompting him to smash a beer bottle right over Easton's head. The Loughs was rich and well-connected, so they were able to send him straight to prison. They also made sure to let him know that the Loughs could tap into their connections to ensure that Severin would be imprisoned for ten years. Severin's only consolation was Lucy promise to wait for his release so she could become his bride. "I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised to see me after my early release!" Severin reached out to open the door, but it was not completely closed, and a little push was all it took to open it. He thought to himself, 'The door's ajar, so Mom, Dad, and Lucy are probably all home!' "No, don't be naughty..." When Severin came to the door of the master bedroom, he heard Lucy's familiar voice. "What's going on here?" Severin's heart tightened, and he suddenly felt an ache in his heart. He kicked open the door with a bam and glared at two people on the bed. Chapter 2 The loud bang startled the amorous couple on the bed. The man hurriedly covered himself with a blanket, while the woman turned pale with fright and pulled another blanket to cover herself. "Who are you? Some beggar from the streets?" Easton froze when he saw Severin in tattered clothes. "You said you'd wait ten years for me, but it's only been five years and you're already..." Severin clenched his fists so tightly that there was a crackling sound from his joints. The blood that surged up to his brain due to anger made his forehead veins throb, and he looked exceedingly ferocious right then. "Severin?!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief after getting a good look at him. "You're back? How?!" Severin felt his heart convulse violently as a faint self-mocking grin appeared on his lips. "You ended up with this b*stard, now? Of all the people you could have chosen to be with, did it have to be him?" Easton's confidence returned a bit more after seeing that the intruder was Severin. While putting on his clothes and pants, he said, "You got a problem with that? Are you saying that I'm not good enough for her? I've got money and power, so isn't it obvious that I'm better than some loser in hobo's clothes?" Severin ignored Easton completely. Instead, his bloodshot eyes were staring firmly at Lucy. "Hahaha, isn't it funny? I came back to you as soon as I've reached 'that level' because my plan was to give my whole world to you. I wanted to make you the happiest woman in the world, but here you are, sleeping with the man who forced himself on you all those years ago!" Severin then paused for a moment and continued, "I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to wait for me, but did you really have to be with someone like him?" Severin's telling-off led Lucy to put on a nightgown and stand up. She then remarked proudly to him, "You're the funny one here, Severin. Did I hear you right when you said that you were going to give your whole world to me? What do you have to offer when you're dirt poor? You can never reach the standards of rich young men like Easton. He can buy me bags that cost several thousand on a whim. Can you do that?" After ending her rant, Lucy sat on the head of the bed and crossed her legs. She took a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it as she continued, "I'll spend my entire life having to suffer if I get married to a loser like you. With Easton, I can enjoy a whole lifetime's worth of riches and glory. So, the choice is pretty clear, even to an idiot." "Hahaha, did you hear that? Even idiots wouldn't choose you!" Easton went up to Severin with a smug expression and said, "Hehe, let me give it to you straight. She and I hooked up barely half a year into your imprisonment. It still surprises me that your girlfriend of three years in college chose to get together with me! Tsk, tsk!" Severin slapped Easton with the back of his hand, resulting in some bleeding at the corner of Easton's lips in addition to two fallen teeth. "Are you nuts, Severin? Do you wanna go to back to prison?" Lucy was startled by what happened and rushed over in a hurry. She turned to Easton and asked, "Are you alright, Easton?" Her reaction left Severin with overwhelming sense of disgust. It hardly crossed his mind that the person he wanted to give his world to was actually nothing more than a gold digger. He gritted his teeth, pointed to the door, and said, "Get out! Both of you!" Lucy stood up, and retorted with a snicker, "Fat chance, Severin. You're the one who should be getting out of here! This house belongs to Easton now. Did you think you could just go to prison without paying any compensation for the injuries you caused when you injured him? Then again, if you like the house so much and you have money, I can always sell it back to you. I won't be staying here for long anyway. I'll move into Easton's villa after we get married!" After a pause, Lucy looked at Severin with disdain and added, "But judging from how shabby-looking you are, I don't think you'll be able to afford it even if I slash the price by half." Severin clenched his fists and said coldly, "No thanks. I couldn't bear to live in such a disgusting place." "How dare you…" Lucy, in her anger, clenched her fist and raised it as she took a step forward. It looked as though she wanted to hit Severin. However, she stepped back in fear after Severin shot her a glance. He was an impulsive person who did things without considering the consequences, and she did not dare to bet her life on it. After all, she was the one who would stand to lose if Severin had killed her in anger. "Where are my parents?" Severin asked coldly. "Your parents? They're living in the dilapidated old house at the city outskirts! I heard that there's a leak in the roof whenever it rains!" Lucy mocked. She then said contemptuously, "By the way, Easton and I will be holding our wedding banquet at the Richemont Hotel. You don't need to bring any gifts since you don't seem capable of affording it anyway, but you're free to attend the banquet with your parents. That way, the three of you will get the chance to eat some good food. If I hadn't invited you guys over, you and your parents will probably only be able to afford meat twice a month, or three times a month if you're lucky!" Severin looked indifferently at Lucy one final time. "You'll regret this," he said, before leaving without looking back at her. Severin made his way to parents' home and soon arrived outside the door. As he looked at the dilapidated old house, there was an aching twinge deep inside his heart. He initially thought that Lucy would wait for him even if he went to prison, and he believed that his parents would not have to get by too terribly. After all, he had already bought a house for Lucy and himself to stay after marriage, and Lucy's family might also be able to help his parents out. However, if Lucy had turned into such a vile person in barely half a year of his incarceration, he wondered how his parents' lives were in the years that he was gone. "Mom, Dad…I've been a terrible son. I'm sorry to make you both live like this." Severin clenched his fists tightly as he looked at the dilapidated old wooden door in front of him. He could not just let everything slide just like that. At that moment, he saw a woman parking her electric bicycle just outside the gate. She was wearing a helmet, and appeared to be a food delivery person. After the woman entered the yard, she placed something near the door and knocked the door several times before running out quickly and speeding off on her electric bicycle. Severin frowned and watched from afar as the woman left. Her shoulder-length hair fluttered rather beautifully in the wind. The door finally creaked open, and a silver-haired woman with an abundance of wrinkles on her face walked out. After glancing around in all directions, she picked up what seemed to be an envelope from the ground. Severin walked into the yard in disbelief as he looked at the woman in front of him. His eyes turned red instantly, and his nose began to tingle as he called out in a trembling voice. "Mom..." Upon hearing that familiar voice, the woman stepped forward and stretched out her trembling hands to caress Severin's cheek. "Severin, is that you? I…I'm not dreaming, am I? Is it really you, Severin? You've…returned?" Men seldom cry unless they were facing a moment of true grief, and so the same could be said of Severin. His mother had so many wrinkles on her face that it looked as though she had aged 20 years in five years, and seeing that that led Severin to burst into tears. He knelt down at once and said, "Yes, Mom. It's me. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry that Dad and you had to suffer these five years!" "I'm so glad that you're back. You have the chance to start a new life in the future, get a job, and start everything afresh." His mother—whose name was Judith Feuillet—helped him up and hugged him tightly, for she was afraid that it was all but a dream. "Don't worry, Mom. Now that I've been released ahead of schedule, no one will dare to push you and Dad around anymore!" Severin wiped away his tears and tried his best to put a smile on his face. At that moment, a man with a scar on his face kicked open the rickety gate and brought in a few thugs with him as shouted, "Did you prepare the money yet, you old hag? Don't blame us for going rough on you if you've prepared less than seven hundred this time!" As soon as Severin heard that, he clenched his fists tightly as a cold light flickered in his eyes. He had given his mother's enough burdens, and it seemed that she had been roughed about a lot too. Severin would have none of that now that he had returned. Chapter 3 Judith was taken aback by the sudden appearance of those six men, and she hurriedly said to them, "Okay, okay. Wait right here. I'll go in right away to get the money." Judith immediately ran into the home and came out soon after with a somewhat aged plastic bag in her hand. She opened it to reveal money consisting of one, two, and five dollars, along with a whole bunch of quarters. As for dollar bills in bigger denominations, there are only seven or eight of them. "F*cking change? Again?!" The scar-faced man became impatient and said to a guy next to him, "Count them!" "It's going to take ages to count seven hundred bucks' worth of change." The underling was a little unhappy, but he walked over here anyhow. "Hold it! When did my mother owe you money?" Severin shielded Judith after seeing the entire situation and asked with a sullen expression. "Well, I'll be damned! I thought you were some beggar who came here to ask for food. I wouldn't have recognized you if you hadn't defended your mother. Aren't you that loser who hit Mister Easton with a beer bottle five years ago?" The scar-faced man took one step forward and looked carefully at Severin. He then scratched his head with a smirk and said tauntingly, "You've been released? Well, I have to admit that I do admire your courage. I can't imagine how you got the guts to hit Mister Easton when everybody knows that he's from an influential family." Severin said calmly, "The past in the past, and I don't regret anything!" Having said that, Severin walked over, looked straight at the scar-faced man, and pointed to the plastic bag full of money on the ground. "What's the deal with all this money?" The scar-faced man sneered and said, "What's there to explain? Don't you have a brain? Did you think that you wouldn't have to pay any compensation for beating up Mister Easton? The Loughs demanded two hundred thousand, which your fiancee paid by selling your matrimonial home to Mister Easton for a hundred and fifty thousand. As for the remaining fifty thousand, you were allowed to pay the sum back in installments." Then, the scar-faced man touched his chin and said, "Your parents have paid back a little less than half in the past five years, so there's still about twenty-six thousand remaining. In any case, it's a good thing that you were released early. At least you can help to make the payments!" The younger brother who squatted on the ground and counted money complained, "Yeah, your momma always gives us a pile of small change. It's a waste of our time to count it all!" "You don't need to count. The total is five hundred and seventy-six!" Judith said tremblingly. "F*ck this sh*t! It's short again!" The man who squatted on the ground had tattoos all over his shoulders. After hearing Judith's words, he tossed the money in his hand to the ground and stood up to glare at Judith. "You trying to get yourself killed, old bag?! You're short of the correct amount every single f*cking time!" "I think you guys are the ones who are trying to get yourselves killed." Severin looked angrily at the men in front of him, for it was obvious that the money had been painstakingly saved by his parents. "You wanna get beat up, don't you, kid?" The six people immediately surrounded Severin and Judith. The scar-faced man remarked viciously, "It just so happens that my fists are itching for a fight. It's been a while since they've seen blood!" "No! D-d-don't hurt my son!" Judith was so frightened that she hurriedly pulled Severin back. She then immediately opened the envelope in her hand. The contents included a letter and several 10-dollar bills. Judith counted them at once and fearfully stuffed the money inside the plastic bag that was on the ground. "T-t-there! I put in a hundred dollars. Now it's six hundred and seventy-six dollars! It's only short by twenty-four dollars now!" "That's interesting. You were hiding some of your money, didn't you? I don't suppose you'll take out that hundred bucks if we didn't threaten to beat you up?" The scar-faced man sneered and said angrily, "Are you trying to play some kind of trick on us?" Severin's heart was burning with anger, and a cold glimmer flashed across his eyes. However, he suppressed that anger when he looked at Judith standing in front of him. In order to prevent Judith from worrying, he smiled at the other guys and said, "You there, with the scar. Yeah, I'm talking to you. we still owe twenty-six thousand, right? Well, don't get yourselves all worked up over it. Twenty-six thousand is a small sum, and I can pay it to you in full. There's no point causing a ruckus here." "A small sum, huh? Can you believe it? This dirt-poor guy actually said that it's a small sum. If that's the case, then you'd better hurry up and pay it back!" Scarface looked at Severin in amusement while the thugs began to laugh. Severin walked over, picked up the plastic bag on the ground, and handed it to the shocked Judith. "Wait for me in the house, Mom. I've got money, so I'll bring them to the bank and withdraw the money for them." "Where did you get that kind of money, Severin? Please don't lie to your own mother." Judith looked worriedly at her son. "Don't worry, Mom. It'll be fine. Come on, let's go in!" Severin helped Judith up and ushered her into the house. Moments later, Severin exited the house work a bank card in hand and waved it at the people in front of him. "See this? Don't look down on me, you know. Come with me if you want your twenty-six thousand." "Is this kid for real?" "Who cares. Getting the payment in one lump sum will save us trouble of having to come here all the time. What's there to complain?" The thugs followed Severin away, and they finally came to a big banyan tree at a far corner. "What's the meaning of this? I thought you were going to bring us to the bank?" Severin's smirked as he turned around and said with a sneer, "Are you people honestly still expecting me to hand over the money when you guys roughed my mother up and call her an old bag all the time? In your f*cking dreams!" "F*ck you, kid! Are you trying to play some kind of trick on us?" The scar-faced man was so angry that the veins on his forehead were bulging. "You're asking for it, kid!" The other thugs were all riled up as well, and they surrounded him immediately. Seconds later, when everyone's fists were about to land on Severin, the latter simply frowned. A strong pressure then surrounded the entire area in an instant, causing the dry leaves all around to begin fluttering several inches above the ground. The temperature seemed to have dropped considerably as well. The six thugs, including the robustly-built scar-faced man who was an experienced fighter, knelt on the ground. "GRAAAH!" Everyone howled in pain. The stone slabs beneath some of their knees had shattered, and blood was flowing from their knees too. "Forgive us!" "We won't do anything to you parents anymore!" They all looked at Severin in horror and were genuinely frightened by what happened. Severin looked at the passers-by and finally said in a deep voice, "I'll let you off for now, but if any of you ever cause trouble with my parents ever again, I swear I'll kill all of you! Now f*ck off!" The tremendous pressure disappeared instantly after Severin's warning, allowing the scar-faced man and his gang to flee. Severin clenched his fists and muttered to himself, "You really are a ruthless woman, Lucy. Like it or not, we have a three-year history with each other. Cheating on me is one thing, selling the matrimonial home for half the value that I bought it is another. How could you sell it off to Easton for one hundred and fifty thousand when I bought it for three hundred thousand? Bunch of schemers!" After mumbling that, Severin thought to himself, 'I'll make you return every single thing you took from me! I never intended to hold grudges with worthless people like you two, but you have both crossed the line!' Chapter 4 When Severin walked back to the house, he discovered that Judith had gone out to the gate to look around because she was worried about him. As soon as she saw Severin return, she walked over with a worried face and held Severin's hand while asking hurriedly, "Are you alright, Severin? They didn't hit you, did they?" Severin's heart felt all warm and he smiled at Judith. "Don't worry, Mom. They didn't hit me. I took them to get the money and gave it all to them. They won't be troubling us anymore in the future!" "Really? You're not lying to me, are you? Do you really have that much money? We're talking about twenty-six thousand here!" Judith obviously did not believe what Severin said. After all, how could he have the money when he had just been released from prison? Severin explained, "Don't worry about it anymore, Mom. I met a very generous person in prison, and he gave me a bank card when I was released. There's a lot of money inside, and it's more than enough to pay off the debt!" "Is that so? I'm glad to hear that, then!" Judith was filled with emotion when she heard that. "You absolutely must repay his kindness in the future if you ever get the chance, Severin." "Yes, Mom, I will!" Severin smiled, and continued, "I was only released this early because of him!" Severin had no other choice but to explain it thus. After all, he had to say something in order to ease Judith's worries, but it was difficult to explain what truly happened. At the end of the day though, what he said was the truth—the old wacko was indeed a very generous person. "Well, it's good that those people won't pester us anymore. Now that you're out, you can get a job in the future so your father and I won't need to overwork ourselves!" Judith sighed, and continued, "Lucy is a terrible woman. She got together with Easton half a year into your imprisonment. She even sold off the house you bought at half the price we bought it. Now that you're out of prison, we are unable to give you any money, and we don't have a decent house. You're already twenty-eight, so we should try and save more so you can find a wife!" She began to feel emotional as she spoke. "It's a good thing that you were released midway through your sentence. If you served it in full, you would be thirty-three by the time you're out. It'd probably be even more difficult to get married at that age!" "What are you talking about, Mom? I'm handsome enough that I won't need to worry about finding a wife!" Severin smiled. He then asked Judith, "Where's Dad, by the way?" "He took up a job moving bricks, so he's at a construction site now. He still hasn't come back yet, but he should be back anytime now!" Judith glanced around her. Sure enough, a sweaty, dusty man came back on a badly maintained bicycle with a lot of cardboard boxes behind him. "I got lucky today. I saw a whole pile of cardboard boxes when I was getting off work from the construction site. They should be able to sell for a few dollars..." The man parked the bicycle at the gate, where the street lights were rather dim. As he was unloading the cardboard boxes, he asked, "Who's this, Judith? Do you know him?" Severin walked over and looked at his father Maurice, who had also aged considerably. Tears began streaming down his eyes as he said, "Dad…it's Severin. I'm back." The cardboard box that Maurice held dropped to the ground, and his body trembled slightly as he turned around in disbelief. "Severin? It's really you? My son…is back?" Tears welled up in Maurice's eyes and he looked at Severin in disbelief. "It really is Severin, Maurice. He's back. He was released ahead of schedule!" Tears welled up in Judith's eyes again, but there was a smile on her face that time. "That's…wonderful. Nothing could be better than having him back. I'm so glad they released him earlier!" Maurice stepped forward and looked at Severin carefully. "You don't look half bad, but your hair is a bit too long. You should get a haircut tomorrow. You look like a hobo right now, and what you need is a fresh and energetic look! After all, it's only when you look fresh and energetic that you can get a wife! Come on, let's head in the house, rather than hang around out here!" Judith smiled and said, "You and Severin should go in, get a shower, and change your clothes. I'll get some wine and stew so you two can have a drink tonight!" She then immediately went off to buy them. "Do you have any money on you? I have some here. I requested the foreman to give me some advance payment for our living expenses!" Maurice yelled to Judith as he was worried that she did not have enough money. "I do, I do..." Judith replied without looking back. Severin helped Maurice push the bicycle into the yard and then knelt down in front of him. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry for making you and Mom suffer. I didn't expect Lucy to be so ruthless after I went to prison, and I never thought that Easton would go that far either!" "Alright now, there's no need to mention about the past. Ordinary people like us can never go up against the Loughs!" Maurice lamented. He then helped Severin up. "Get up, Son. Let's just live a normal, honest life from now on. Women like Lucy may be good-looking, but they're unreliable. It's good enough if you can find a woman that you can live the rest of your days with!" However, Severin said firmly, "Dad, you can't just let everything slide just like that. That house was the result of you and Mom's blood, sweat, and tears! You gritted your teeth and bought it for me with all your money. That house is worth three hundred thousand! Lucy must have secretly worked together with Easton to have it sold to him for half that price! They're obviously trying to pull off a scam!" Severin became even angrier when he spoke about that. "The Orwells requested a dowry of forty thousand too! Shouldn't they refund that money to us?" Maurice shook his head, "I went to the Orwells, but they said it was not their fault that you went to prison and the marriage didn't go through. I wasn't able to get the money back, but I received a severe beating instead. I was beaten up so badly that my nose was bruised and my face became swollen. I had to be hospitalized for several days because of that!" "Damn it. They really are bullies! I can't believe the Orwells are that ruthless!" Severin clenched his fists tightly and was so angry that his eyes were horrifyingly bloodshot. Maurice was startled to see Severin's anger and said to him, "You have freedom now that you've been released from prison. Don't cause trouble with the Orwells. Their business is doing very well now, and Lucy's parents are accompanied by several bodyguards whenever they go out. It's all thanks to the Loughs that they became wealthy businesspeople!" Judith, who came back with wine and stew, heard Maurice's words as soon as she entered the yard. Without further ado, she persuaded Severin and said, "You can't be as reckless as before, Severin. The Loughs and the Orwells are both big families with big businesses. Ordinary people are powerless against them! What are we going to do in the future if something happens to you again?" "Don't worry, Mom. I promise I won't reckless!" In order not to prevent his parents from being worried, Severin smiled and said, "I'll make sure the both of you live a good life in the future. Although, I think I ought to ask them about the dowry. Lucy might just return the money to us because of our previous relationship. If she refuses, then my last option is to reason with her! I promise I won't lay a finger on anyone." "It should be alright for you to ask, but remember not to do anything to them. It'll be great if you can get the money back and pay them whatever money you still owe them. But if they refuse to return the money, then just forget about it and come back!" Maurice then pondered for a moment and added, "I hope Lucy will consider the three-year relationship she had with you and return the dowry because of that. Her family is rich now—much richer than before—so they probably wouldn't bat an eye over that small amount." Severin sneered to himself. He had experienced Lucy's attitude first-hand and was well aware that she would not recall their time together fondly. She and Easton were the rottenest couple in existence, and Severin was never going to let them get away so easily for those terrible things they did, especially the way they bullied his parents. Chapter 5 "Let's go in. I'll cook some more food for us!" Judith said with a smile. Maurice then went to take a bath. Severin's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts when he entered his old room. It was clean though, and Severin felt a burst of warmth when he saw it. Sure enough, the people who cared most about him were none other than his parents. It looked as though they came in to clean his room from time to time. When Severin opened the closet, he discovered several of his old clothes. They had aged through the years but still remained spotless and clean. Judith walked in some time later and smiled at Severin while explaining, "We clean your room once in a while when you're not here. Your clothes are probably a little small though, and they must be out of fashion by now. Old folks like us don't really understand the fashion trends of young people!" As she said that, she approached him and took out 200 dollars, which he stuffed into Severin's hand. "You should go shopping tomorrow and get some decent clothes!" "I can't accept this money, Mom..." Severin stuffed the money back, and said to Judith in a solemn tone, "You don't need to be so worried about me. I have money, and I'm going to let you and Dad live in a big villa in the future. You've suffered your whole life because of me, while I've only suffered for a few years. I can't possibly spend your money like that!" "Do you really have money on you?" Judith looked at Severin and was still a little skeptical. she believed that the generous person he met in prison would have given him a sum of money, probably in excess of tens of thousands. After all, if Severin had not paid the remaining debt of twenty-six thousand to the six men earlier, there would have been no explanation as to why they would just leave. Both Judith and Maurice had known their characters after almost five years of having to deal with them! "Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Severin smiled and assured. "Dad's done in the shower, so it's about time I take one too. Let's have a nice meal after that!" After taking his shower and changing into his old clothes, he sat with his family on the small table and began to eat. "It's been a while since you had a drink, right, Dad?" Severin could not help but ask as soon as Maurice took a sip of the wine. The question stunned Maurice for a moment. He put on a fake smile and said, "N-not at all! You know how fond I am of these drinks. Doing all that physical work is really tiring, so drinking a few sips would help me to sleep better, won't it?" "Yes! He drinks all the time!" Judith was afraid that Severin would be worried about them, so she added, "We eat meat almost every day too, don't we?" "Yep! It's pretty much a daily thing here!" Maurice smiled awkwardly. Severin's heart ached when he saw his parents' poor acting skills. Had he not returned that day, he was almost certain that there would neither be any wine nor any stewed meat on the table. At most, there would be shredded potatoes and a plate of yellowed cabbage leaves. The yellowish leaves were a sign that they were probably discarded parts that were picked up from the vegetable market. "Why are you staring at us? Come on, eat some meat! Did you eat or sleep well when you were inside prison?" When Judith saw Severin's blank and quiet expression, she scooped two pieces of meat and put them on his plate. "It was alright. Didn't I tell you that I had help from someone generous? I wouldn't have been able to come out so soon otherwise!" Severin immediately put a smile on his face, and scooped some meat for his parents too. "The two of you should be eating more. You're both so much thinner than before, and Mom's hair is all gray now!" "Your mother's hair turned gray because she was worrying too much. I never believed that worrying could turn your hair gray, but your mother has proven me wrong!" Maurice laughed in spite of himself but felt extremely bitter in his heart. "Don't worry, I've learnt a bit of medical knowledge, so I'll make her hair black again! But whether her hair is black or gray, she'll always be my beautiful mother!" Severin clinked glasses with Maurice and took a sip of wine from his glass. "You're quite the sweet talker now, I see!" Judith did not place too much of hope on Severin's statement, but at least she had a smile on her face now that her son had returned. As long as he came back safe and sound, the color of her hair did not matter at all! "By the way, what's with that envelope, Mom?" Severin was very curious as to why the woman who was dressed in a food delivery person's uniform placed an envelope at the door of their house, and why Judith could obtain two hundred dollars from it. After pondering over it, Severin could not help but ask, "Could a relative of our family be helping us?" Upon hearing Severin's question, Maurice smiled bitterly and said, "Tch. Those relatives used to keep in touch with us every now and then, but they didn't interact that much with us since you were imprisoned!" Judith also added, "That's right. After you went to prison and the matrimonial home was sold, everyone avoided us after knowing that we owe the Loughs a hundred and fifty thousand." "They did? Even Aunt Marie and Aunt Edwina, or Uncle Paul and Uncle Vincent? Haven't they helped us at all?" Severin was slightly surprised. "Uncle Paul, especially. Isn't his family well off?" Judith then said, "Your two uncles and Aunt Edwina came up with all sorts of excuses just to avoid lending us a single penny, but in reality, they were just afraid that we won't be able to pay it back. After all, we're old, and it's difficult for us to change our lives for the better. Unlike them, Aunt Marie and her family are very poor, yet she was the only one who was willing to help us. We borrowed a total of eight thousand dollars from her, and we've made sure to keep a record of each and every cent that she lent us!" Upon mentioning that, Judith advised him seriously, "You need to remember Aunt Marie's kindness and do your best to return the money to their family as soon as possible. I know that she has quarreled a lot with your uncle because of what happened, and to makes things worse, she had no money for surgery when she fell sick. In the end, your cousin had to borrow money from all over the place, even to the extent of taking out a high-interest loan just to gather enough money for the surgery!" Maurice sighed when he heard that. "Your cousin came to our house to ask if we could pay them back, but we didn't have a choice because we had no money at all. Easton's minions came to collect our debt every month, and demanded seven hundred every single time. We don't always manage to save up that much, so there was no way we could pay back what your aunt lent us. Your cousin got really angry at the time, so we gave her all the money we had at the time. It was about fifty or so dollars in total, but she threw it on the ground and left!" After bringing up that incident, Maurice took a big sip of the wine in his glass. "Don't blame her for that though. If anyone's to blame, it's us. There was nothing we could do, and we've let their entire family down." "I understand, Dad!" Severin nodded. "Aunt Marie has been kind to us, so I promise I'll repay her kindness a hundredfold!" Judith took out the envelope and handed it to Severin, "As for the sender of this envelope, we have no idea who it is. Whoever they are, they send us money every single month. It's usually a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty, but sometimes it'll reaches a hundred and fifty! The letter inside says that she's a friend of yours whom you've met only once. There's also a reassurance that you're doing fine, and that you had told her to send the money to us!" "A friend? Whom I've met only once?" Severin frowned. He could not believe that a so-called 'friend whom he had met once' would help his parents out like that. That said, Severin was at a complete loss as to who the sender was. Chapter 6 "You don't know her?" Maurice frowned when he saw Severin's puzzled face. He did not believe that anyone would help their family for no apparent reason. Severin shook his head. "Have you seen what she looks like?" Judith shook her head and said, "No. Whenever she comes to send us money, she'll knock twice on the door twice and leave immediately. We've never seen her face, and the most we saw is her rear figure as she rode off on an electric bicycle. She doesn't come at a fixed time either. Sometimes it's in the morning, sometimes at night, but she'll generally come around the fifteenth or sixteenth of every month!" Severin nodded. "Not to worry, I'll definitely return the favor of those who helped us." After assuring them that he would not forget everyone's kindness, Severin paused for a moment before saying to his parents, "Stop picking up trash to sell, Mom. And stop going to work at the construction site either, Dad. Now that I'm back, I'll take care of you both from now on!" Maurice smiled bitterly. "That just won't do. I'm only fifty now, and I should help earn some money while I still can. There's plenty of time to rest if I finally can't do it anymore!" Judith then said, "He's right. You need to money after coming out of prison. Where are we going to get money if we don't work?" Severin thought for a moment and said with a faint smile, "You can both take it easy from now on. We have money, so there's really no need for the both of you to keep worrying. There is still a lot of money left behind from what that generous man gave to me! I won't be happy if you still pick up garbage to sell and work at the construction site." Seeing Severin's slightly chastising look, Judith smiled and said, "Alright, alright. We should relax a little now that you're back. The money owed to Easton has been paid off too, so we can breathe a sigh of relief now." Severin looked at Maurice, and remarked, "Besides, Dad needs to rest. His waist muscles have been strained for the past few days, and he'll suffer from lower back pain. If this goes on, his health would only continue to worsen! It's not worth it!" "How do you know that my back hurts? Or that my muscles are strained?" Maurice had an astonished expression, for he did not even mention his pains to Judith! Indeed, he had been suffering a backache for the past two days, but he did not go to the hospital for fear of having to spend money. In the end, he decided to withstand the pain in the hopes that it would get better on its own. "Why didn't you tell me, Maurice?" Judith glared angrily at Maurice and chastised him, "Is money or your health more important? What am I going to do if you collapsed before Severin returned?" "It's not that serious. I was planning to get a pain-relieving patch in a couple of days and put it on!" Maurice smiled awkwardly. "You should stop working at the construction site starting tomorrow. As for your waist, I have some ointment here, which you can just rub it on! I estimate that it'll take a couple of days to be completely healed!" Severin smiled, placed his hand into his trouser pocket, and fished out a small bottle of ointment, which he handed to Maurice. "Is that so? Haha, that's great, then! I can save money on the pain-relieving patch!" Maurice laughed. The old couple were both very happy after Severin came back. Maurice drank a lot of wine that night and chatted with Severin for a long time. The next morning, Maurice got up and stretched his waist. Though it had been painful for him when walking, he discovered that it did not hurt at all anymore. He pressed his waist a couple of times and confirmed that there really was no pain at all. "I think my waist is completely healed, Judith! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Maurice hurriedly woke Judith up. "Really? That sounds like a miracle. You told me that it hurt when I rubbed the ointment on your waist last night. Did it really heal in just one night?" Judith found it a little hard to believe. "Severin must've met someone really amazing then! We can finally have some rest now!" Maurice smiled, and then said, "I'll visit the construction site later and tell the foreman to settle my salary, because I won't be going there anymore!" "Okay, I'll go and see if Severin already woke up. Let's head out and get some bread later. It's about time we eat something good for breakfast!" When Judith thought of Severin's return, she seemed to have become several years younger. Her face was full of smiles, and she looked much more energetic than before. Judith came back to the room after a while. "That boy woke up really early today! He must've gone out and went shopping for clothes!" "Let him be. We can finally rest and relax a little if he can land a good job and keep it!" Maurice sighed and said again, "I'll take a break for a couple of days before checking to see if I could find a job that doesn't put so much strain on me." At that time, Severin had gone out for a walk at a park that was not too far away from the house. The sight of that familiar park elicited a little chuckle. It was such a shame that he believed Lucy would wait for him, when in the end, life gave him a rude awakening. As Severin was reminiscing about the past, a beautiful woman in a floral dress let out a cry of surprise from one of the pavilions in the park. "Grandpa! Are you okay?" Severin looked over and saw an old man lying on the ground. The latter's face was red, and he had difficulty forming a coherent sentence. A middle-aged man who had been playing chess with the old man was just as startled, and he got down to check on the old man. "You okay there, Mister Henry? Mister Henry? Sir?" Severin dashed over as soon as he realized what happened. "He's suffering a sudden cerebral hemorrhage!" Severin determined after a quick glance. "That doesn't sound good. God, what should I do next? Right! I need to call an ambulance!" The woman in the floral dress was very sweet-looking, but as soon as she heard that it was a cerebral hemorrhage, her face turned pale with fright. "The situation is still under control. Let me examine him!" Severin immediately laid the old man flat on the ground and used his fingers to tap several points on the old man's body. The old man, Henry Longhorn, was almost out of breath earlier, but his complexion seemed to have improved by leaps and bounds. He even exhaled heavily, as if a weight had been lifted off him. "Open your mouth and eat this pill." Severin took out a pill and placed it in Henry's mouth. "Here's some water!" The woman in the floral dress immediately grabbed a half-full bottle of mineral water from the table and handed it over. After Henry swallowed the pill, his condition reverted to normal about a minute later. "Young man, just a minute ago I…I…I felt like I had one foot in death's door. My vision was practically disappearing too. Thank you for saving me." Henry looked at Severin standing before him. Severin's shirt and trousers were a little too small, and they looked somewhat aged too. That, along with Severin's slightly long hair, made him look like some homeless man from the street. Even so, Henry acknowledged that the young man in front of him had saved his life earlier. "Are you alright, Sir?" At that time, the bodyguards in black suits that had been waiting by the street had finally decided to come over. Their leader asked if the old man was alright. "I'm fine now, thanks to this young man's help!" Henry waved his hand and signaled for his bodyguards to step back. "Did my grandfather really suffer from a cerebral hemorrhage? What kind of medicine did you give him?" Henry's granddaughter, Charmaine, frowned and looking suspiciously at the young man in front of her. She did not know what to do in her panic earlier, so she simply allowed the young man to treat her grandfather. After she had calmed down, she started to worry about them. 'Could the man be a charlatan? What if Grandpa wasn't suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage? What if this guy has some kind of other motive?' After all, the Longhorns had a high status in Brookbourn. "Are you doubting my medical ability?" Severin frowned, seemingly a little unhappy. Chapter 7 Charmaine was appalled, not to mention a little displeased, when Severin spoke to her in such a tone. She pulled a long face and faked a smile as she said, "Am I not allowed to ask what kind of medicine you gave my grandfather? This is the first time I've ever seen a cerebral hemorrhage being treated without surgery. Isn't it miraculous that you could cure it with some pressure here and there, along with a single pill?" After questioning Severin, Charmaine stretched her open palm to him and demanded more answers. "Are you a doctor? Do you have a medical qualification certificate? Show it to me!" Severin shook his head, "I don't have any, and besides, I don't think they're important. What's important is that I saved your grandfather, which I did, didn't I? Or are you more eager to see him dead?" He stared at her briefly before continuing, "I can't be bothered to explain myself to you. Your knowledge of the world is pretty shallow if this is the first time you've seen something like this!" "You..." Charmaine erupted in anger as she gritted her teeth and said, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I don't even know you!" Severin smiled disdainfully and said to Charmaine, "I'm talking to an unreasonable woman!" "Why, you little…" Charmaine's ire was so great that she clenched her fists and glared angrily at Severin, "I swear I'll get my bodyguards to come over and teach you a lesson! You're very rude! Why am I not allowed to ask what it is that you gave to my grandpa?!" "It's a life-saving miracle pill. Is that clear enough for you now?" Severin shot back. The reason he did not bother to explain it to her that day was because she was in a foul mood. After some thought, he said, "If I knew you'd show this sort of attitude to me after I saved your grandfather, maybe I should've just taken a step back and wait for you to call an ambulance. In that situation, your grandpa's body might turn stiff and cold!" "Charmaine, whether or not this young man has a medical license doesn't matter, and the name of the medicine he gave me earlier is of little importance too. What matters is that he saved me, so please try to speak a little more nicely to him," Henry spoke at last. "But Grandpa..." Charmaine was angry, but she could only stomp her feet like a spoiled child. "What's your name, my friend?" Henry looked at Severin with a smile and asked. "It's Severin. Severin Feuillet," Severin said indifferently. "By the way, the reason why you had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage was probably because you got too excited when you were playing chess earlier. You have high blood pressure, so you should go to the hospital and get yourself checked. Have the doctor prescribe you some medication to lower your blood pressure, or else you might suffer the same condition again because you ended up getting too excited!" "Thank you for your reminder, my friend. Severin Feuillet is your name, yes? It's a nice name!" Henry cupped his hands as a gesture of gratitude to Severin and said, "You saved my life, young man, and that makes you my savior. Feel free to let me know if you ever need my help in the future. By the way, Charmaine, could you prepare a hundred and fifty thousand dollars for our friend here? It's payment for the treatment he gave me!" "That's too kind of you, but I don't want any money. I didn't do it for the money when I saved you earlier." Severin chuckled, glanced at Charmaine just beside him, and said, "I'm content if a certain someone doesn't treat me like a charlatan!" A look of surprise flashed across Charmaine's eyes. The young man in front of her was dressed in tattered clothes, yet he seemed to be exceedingly calm in the face of 150,000 dollars! Perhaps she really did misjudge him. "Can't you just drop that already!" Charmaine reacted with a petulant reply after remembering Severin's attitude toward her earlier. "Is that any way to talk to our new friend?" Henry glared at Charmaine. smiled and said to Severin, "I have a suggestion, young man. Since you don't want the money, perhaps I can treat you to lunch? I hope you'll at least do me the favor of accepting my offer!" Upon seeing the sincerity of the old man in front of him, Severin knew that it would be impudent of him to refuse. After all, the old man had humbled himself before Severin. In the end, Severin finally nodded and gave in. "Sure." "It's still a bit early, so how about we meet at the Richemont Hotel at noon? When you arrive, you can just let the front desk know that you're a guest of Henry Longhorn!" Henry smiled in a genuine manner. "Got it! See you later!" Severin nodded, then turned and left. "Grandpa, are you sure that guy is really what he says he is? Do all savants dress up in such shabby clothes?" Charmaine still had some doubts when she looked at Severin's rear figure. "I wouldn't have thought so if he took the money that was offered to him. I probably would have just thought that he was someone with medical knowledge who happened to know how to treat my illness. However, there has to be more than meets the eye if he could just ignore the money!" Henry smiled faintly before continuing, "Besides, would you dare to take a gamble on the situation he mentioned earlier? What if what he said is true? What if I died in the ambulance halfway during the journey to the hospital? Moreover, he has an incredibly strong ability." Finally, Henry said confidently, "I felt a trace of True Energy when he placed his fingers on my body's pressure points earlier!" "True Energy?" Charmaine gasped when he heard that. The middle-aged man who was Henry's chess opponent earlier was shocked for a moment, and he finally understood why Henry had been that polite when speaking with the young man earlier. "Let's go, Grandpa. That's enough chess for today. Let me bring you to the hospital to get a check-up!" Charmaine was still a little worried. Henry nodded, and quickly asked the bodyguards to drive, and together they arrived at the best private hospital in Brookbourn. During the check-up, Charmaine asked the medically-savvy director of the hospital, Doctor Russell Barker. "Doctor Barker, is my grandfather's brain alright?" Russell looked at the scan carefully and said in a skeptical tone, "This doesn't look right. If we see it from above, it's obvious that the blood vessels in Henry's brain have already ruptured. Blood spilled out, but not much, so the damage to the brain was pretty minimal. But the blood vessels here are intact though!" "What does that mean?" Charmaine asked hurriedly. "It means that the blood vessels have healed miraculously quickly after the cerebral hemorrhage! I have no explanation for this. How did it even happen? It's a true miracle!" Russell exclaimed. Charmaine and Henry exchanged glances at each other and remembered the medicine that Severin gave Henry earlier. "Doctor Barker, is there anything else that needs attention? Will my grandfather have to be hospitalized?" Charmaine sought a confirmation after pondering upon it for a moment. Russell smiled and said, "Not at all. The blood didn't affect your grandfather's cranial nerves. His blood pressure is a little high though, so I'll prescribe some medication to lower it. Just bring your grandfather back here for a review one month from now. Other than that, I don't think there will be any problems!” "By the way, Doctor Barker. Would my grandfather reach the hospital in time if he suffered the sudden cerebral hemorrhage at Brookhill Park?" Charmaine could not help her curiosity and asked another casual question. "Brookhill Park? I don't think he'll make it even if he was sent to the nearest hospital. Even by some stroke of luck he's still breathing by the time he arrived, he might forever remain comatose even after he received emergency treatment. And that's only if he doesn't suffer any other sudden medical emergencies during the ambulance ride to the hospital!" Russell answered without hesitation. Charmaine broke out in a cold sweat when she heard that. "It looks like we really did meet some kind of savant!" After exiting the hospital, Henry said emotionally, "You mustn't offend Severin, Charmaine. We owe him big time, and it's not something that you can repay with just a meal. Besides, he doesn't just have superb medical skills…he almost certainly is a reclusive savant!" Chapter 8 Charmaine nodded. "Yeah, I understand, Grandpa. I just didn't think that someone dressed like that could actually be some sort of prodigious doctor. Logically speaking, someone like him wouldn't be short of money, right?" "Hehe." Henry chuckled. "Savants like him probably treat this as training!" Severin had piqued his curiosity greatly. "Training?" Charmaine's brows furrowed and she seemed a little puzzled. "Training the mind is a form of training too. Great recluses might choose to stay at a city and keep a low-profile. Some savants might already be able to see through many things. Anyway, the thoughts of such reclusive savants aren't something that ordinary people like us are able to figure out!" Henry chuckled, and then said poignantly, "The reason us Longhorns are where we are today is in no small part due to a savant that helped us in the past!" Charmaine nodded pensively after hearing that. At that moment, Severin had already arrived outside a bank. He frowned when he looked at the purplish-gold bank card that Old Wacko had left to him. "Old Wacko said that there's a lot of money inside the account, and he doesn't even know how much there is inside! He also told me that I had to pay a visit to Dracodeus Isle it on the fifteenth of August for destiny or something like that. Well, there's still over a month to go until then!" As Severin's fingers caressed the Dracodeus Ring that Old Wacko had given to him, his lips curled into a smile and he walked right into the bank. "Security! Security! Why isn't security during their job! How could you let someone with such raggedy clothes in here? Is this the kind of establishment where hobos are allowed in too? Gosh, you can smell the stench of this person's poverty from a mile away!" Severin had taken just a few steps in when a lady wearing lavish jewelry yelled at the security guard with a look of disgust. The security guard came over, smiled awkwardly at Severin, and said, "Sir, please leave if you have no business here." Severin's face soured. He looked at the security guard and shot back, "What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I come in if I don't have any business here?" The security guard looked at the lady and turned to Severin again. He felt as if he had been put in a tight spot as he asked, "What sort of business do have here, then?" Severin flashed his bank card and said with a triumphant smile, "I'm here to withdraw some cash!" "I see. There's a self-service ATM over there..." The security guard smiled. Severin said in some disdain, "But what if I want to withdraw a hundred thousand? Or two hundred thousand? Will the ATM be able to handle such a huge request? I'm worried there might not be enough money in the ATM." "Pfft, how ridiculous. A hundred thousand? Or two hundred thousand? I'm not sure the account linked to your card has that amount of money!" The lady said sarcastically when she heard of that. At the end of her sentence, she looked carefully at the card in Severin's hand. "What kind of card is that? I've never seen something like that before. Is it some membership card you picked up by the side of the road? Oh, I know, you're probably one of those from the loony bins…" "What's going on here?" It was then that the bank manager came over and casually asked about the situation. "Does your bank issue this sort of card? This kid right here is dressed in worn-out clothes, but he says he wants to withdraw several hundred thousand. Does he even have that much money? Hey, everyone! Look here! This fool is trying to pretend as if he's some big shot by waving around a card he probably picked up from the trash! Why isn't security chasing this hobo out yet? He's a damn eyesore!" The lady had two bodyguards with her, and her yells were so loud that it drew the attention of almost everyone there. Severin, however, was in no mood to entertain her nonsense. He stepped forward, slapped the woman on the face, and said, "My clothes might be a little black here and there, but I'm a million times better than someone with heart as black as yours!" The lady was completely caught by surprise, and could not believe that Severin had slapped her. After a while, her chest began heaving due to anger, and she pointed at Severin while saying, "See! That b*stard just slapped me! Damn prick. Don't you know who I am?" "I don't need to know who you are to slap you." Severin grinned icily and had a contemptuous look on his face, as if he was looking at a clown. If supreme individuals like the Four Great War Heroes based their actions around his mood, he would have no reason to be afraid of some rich woman from such a small city. "Are you trying to get yourself beat up? She's the wife of the Eastshine Group's president, Preston Kingsley! Where did you get the courage to slap her?" The two bodyguards rushed forward aggressively. With a tall and robust figure, they had an intimidating calmness in their eyes and seemed really skilled at hand-to-hand combat. "The Eastshine Group?" Severin appeared shocked, but see he soon grinned and said, "Doesn't ring a bell!" "You're asking for it!" The two bodyguards looked at each other, took a step forward, and punched Severin one after another. However, Severin raised his foot and delivered two consecutive kicks to both the bodyguards. They ended up collapsing to the ground while clutching their chests in pain. The rich lady had been maintaining her arrogant expression all throughout, but when she saw the two bodyguards collapsing to the ground and having difficulty getting up, she was so frightened that she squatted on the ground and screamed, "Ah, he's…he's assaulting us!" "Shut your damn mouth or I'll kick you too!" Severin lifted his leg, scaring the woman into closing her mouth. Both her legs were trembling too. Seconds later, Severin spoke with a weird expression, "Oh, didn't you say that you're the wife of Mister Preston Kingsley, the Eastshine Group's president? How could you embarrass yourself like this? It's so shameful! Hey, everyone, look! She wet herself in the bank lobby. She must be one of those from the loony bins." The lady lowered her head and saw that her skirt was soaking wet. She had peed herself out of fear. "Ah, I…" She felt so ashamed and angry that she wanted to stand up and flee the scene, but she had just only begun to get up when Severin's stare scared her into squatting back down again. "Hahaha!" A number of bystanders laughed after seeing the woman wet herself in fear. The manager from earlier was startled by the sequence of events and immediately went to look for the bank's branch director. After a while, a man wearing gold-rimmed eyeglasses walked over. "T-t-that's him, Sir. He's the one causing trouble here!" The female manager stood some distance away from Severin and pointed at him in fear. The branch director seemed angry at first, but as soon as he saw the bank card in Severin's hand, he felt so frightened that he even trembled. "A V-V-V-V-Violet-Gold C-C-Card?" Severin glanced at the man. "Did you guys seriously let someone with a stutter become the president?" The branch director tried his best to calm down and said to Severin, "H-h-hello, Sir, welcome to our b-b-bank. May I have the honor to serve you personally?" "Sir, what's this Violet-Gold Card you're talking about? Why haven't I heard of it before? I've only heard of the Black Card before!" The female manager knew that there was a story behind the card after seeing the branch director's ingratiating demeanor. "Of course, you haven't. You couldn't even if you wanted to. Less than ten of these cards have been issued by our bank, and each one of them are in the hands of powerful people. It's not the kind of thing that you can own just because you're rich. Even those who have a net worth of billions don't necessarily have the privilege to own it," the branch director said to the manager. When the female manager heard this, her legs became weak and she nearly collapsed on the ground. The Violet-Gold card was the highest-level bank card issued by their headquarters, and there were only ten such cards in existence. yet one of those cards just happened to appear in a small city like Brookbourn. Severin froze for a moment, then frowned again. "F*cking hell! Does it really contain that much money? That old geezer told me that there's 'some' money in the card for me to spend!" Chapter 9 "Only ten in existence? Even those with a net worth of billions might not have the privilege of owning them?!" After hearing those remarks, the woman who had peed herself earlier proceeded to pee herself again. She felt as though the neurons in her brain had short-circuited. Nevertheless, she still could not believe that a disheveled, hobo-like young man in worn-out clothes could have that much money. She looked up to the branch director and said to him, "This must have been a mistake, right? Who knows if that bank card is a fake? Maybe it just looks the same? Do you really think someone like him could own a card like that? Is he fit to own such a card?" Severin frowned immediately after hearing that. "And what kind of person would you deem fit enough to own such a card? Someone like yourself?" The woman, though still somewhat reluctant to accept what was happening, kept quiet when she remembered how strong his strength was. The bank's branch director said coldly, "I've only seen a similar bank card once, and that was by chance. Who would have the time to forge a fake one and try deceive us?" After answering the woman, he bowed slightly in a sycophantic manner and smiled at Severin. "Sir, may I have the honor of personally serving you today? Just ask for me whenever you need to make any transactions in the future!" In fact, the bank manager did have a fair amount of doubt over whether Severin's bank card was genuine, but he knew better than to take a risk on the chance that the card was a fake. If his guess was wrong and he ended up offending the card owner, he would almost certainly be sacked from his job. Furthermore, it would be easy to find out whether or not the card was fake. The truth would be exposed before any transaction could even commence, and there would still be time for him to chase the fraudulent person away! "Well, the thing is, I don't know just how much money is inside this card. It was given to me by someone else, and I came here because I wanted to check the balance! While I'm at it, I'd like you to link my cell phone number so the SMS notification service can be activated. That'll make it easier for me to check the balance whenever I want!" Severin's nonchalance nearly left everyone present there aghast. "That bank card has to be a fake, right? Who'd be so stupid as to give him something like that?" The rich woman was secretly delighted to hear that and stood up at once. "You've just exposed your own lies!" Severin, however, slapped her with the back of his hand once more. "You sure talk a lot of nonsense." "You! You slapped me again!" The woman was even more aggrieved than before. She squatted on the ground again and started crying, lamenting that Severin lacked ethics and had no hesitation in slapping women! "Alright then, Sir. Do come with me. May I ask for your name, please?" The branch director, however, was very respectful. "My name is Severin Feuillet!" "How handsome, remarkable, and distinctive! A name like that will almost certainly propel you to much greater heights in life!" ... Severin came out a few minutes later. "Here's my business card, Mister Feuillet. If there's anything you need in the future, please feel free to contact me. Serving you is an honor, and a great pleasure!" The branch director followed Severin out and bowed even more than before. "Um…Mister Feuillet, here's my business card too. Let's have tea whenever you're free! You can come to my house for dinner too if you like!" The beautiful manager followed him from behind as well. She seemed to be rather desperate and practically only stopped short of inviting him to spend the night with her. The rich lady and her bodyguards from earlier had not left yet, and she was dumbfounded when she saw kind of attitude that the manager and the branch director were displaying toward Severin. There seemed to be no doubt, then, that the bank card had to be real. After Severin left the bank, he looked at the card in his hand and smiled wryly before looking up to the sky and saying, "Man, you really are a nutjob, aren't you? The money inside the account is almost like a nation's coffers! And you told me that it's just 'a little money'? Are you playing a prank on me? I nearly had a stroke when I saw just how much money was inside!" Severin knew that there had to be money in the account linked to that bank card—after all, the Old Wacko was a savant. What Severin did not expect was the sheer number of zeros. After pondering over his next move, Severin decided to get a haircut, then shop for some clothes so he could dress better when he had lunch with Henry at the Richemont Hotel later. After all, Henry was obviously someone from the higher echelon of society, and it would also be inappropriate to visit the hotel if he was dressed as he was then. Once his long and messy hair had been cut, Severin looked a little more handsome than before, as his chiseled face had an unwavering character to it, while his short hair lent him a buoyant and refreshing look too. "All that's needed now for me to be a dashing debonair is a couple of decent clothes!" Severin looked at himself through the reflection at the store entrance and could not help but flatter himself. Just as he was about to go shopping for clothes however, he saw a helmeted woman riding an electric bicycle into a nearby residential area. Upon seeing her rear figure, black hair, and the electric bicycle's design, Severin had a sudden realization. "It's her!" Indeed, it was none other than the woman whom he saw sending a money-filled envelope to his house the evening before, the same one who had been secretly helping his parents. Curiosity immediately prompted him to find out the woman's identity, as well as the reason behind why she was helping his family! After seeing that she was about to enter the community, Severin immediately followed her from a distance. The neighborhood there was a bit old, and after the woman parked her electric bicycle downstairs, she took off her helmet and let her hair down. Severin gasped at the woman's beautiful hair and side profile, for he was slightly startled to see that she was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Alas, he could not remember just who she was! He previously wondered if she was a relative or a former classmate, but that did not appear to be the case. The woman went upstairs in a hurry with a small cake. Severin followed stealthily without making a sound. After the woman reached the third floor, she opened the door to her unit and walked in. "Selene! I'm back!" "You brought cake too? Yay, there's cake! Thanks, Mom!" a childlike voice said from inside the unit, and it was likely that the child was the woman's daughter. Severin felt an inexplicable twinge of disappointment after knowing that the other party had a daughter. The woman was genuinely beautiful, and Severin felt that her beauty was almost flawless when he caught a glimpse of it from the side earlier. In addition, she has taken the initiative to help his parents for so many years, which shows that she was kind at heart. Had she been single, Severin would consider marrying her and giving her happiness. Unfortunately, she seemed to already have a daughter that was about three-or four-years old. When the woman entered the room, she did not close the door because she was carrying a whole bag of vegetables along with the cake. She merely hooked the door with her foot to try and close it, but a finger-sized gap remained as it did not close completely. Severin stood outside the door and looked through the gap to try and see the woman's face, since he might be able to remember who she was if she saw it from the front instead of only from the side. The woman came out of the kitchen after putting the vegetables there, and she patted her adorable, round-faced daughter's head while saying dotingly, "I forgot about your birthday because I've been too busy recently. Since I have day off today, I thought I could give you a special birthday celebration and buy you a cake to make it up to you. Are you happy to hear that?" "I am! Thank you, Mom!" Selene's face was full of smiles, but it did not take long for her to frown and pout. She asked coquettishly, "When will Dad come back, Mom? When will he be able to eat cake with us?" The smile on the woman's face slowly disappeared when she heard that, but she eventually forced a smile again and said to the little girl in front of her, "Didn't I tell you that your father went out to earn a lot of money? Things will get better for us once he earns a lot of money!" Chapter 10 Severin gave it a little thought before finally deciding to walk up to the door and knock on it. "Who is it?" The beautiful woman frowned when she heard the knock on the door and immediately walked over. She looked carefully at Severin and seemed to be a little lost in thought. "Hi, may I ask who are you?" Severin asked in a serious tone as he stared at the flawlessly beautiful woman in front of her. "I'm the one who should be asking you that question. You're the one who came to me, after all." The woman smiled and folded her arms. Mere words could not describe just how beautiful that smile was. Severin frowned and said, "Oh, my name is Severin Feuillet. I'd like to know who you are and why you're helping my parents by giving them money every month. You call yourself a friend of mine, but I don't really remember having someone like you as a friend!" He had this feeling at the back of his mind that the woman in front of him was a little familiar, just that he could not remember who she was. For that reason, he decided to ask her once and for and get to the bottom of it. Perhaps she could be his high school classmate or something of the sort. Hence, it would be understandable for him not to recognize her since they had not met each other for several years already. When the beautiful woman in front of him heard that his name was Severin, the smile on her face froze instantly. There seemed to be a kind of burning anger in her eyes, for they started turning red as tears began to well up in her eye sockets. In the end, the woman finally closed her eyes, exhaled heavily, and controlled her emotions before opening her eyes again. She pushed Severin back, walked out of the house, and said to Selene inside, "Could you excuse me for a bit, sweetie? I need to talk to this man." She closed the door soon after. "We know each other?" Severin was at a loss when he saw the woman's reaction. He tried hard to remember who she was, but to no avail. It boggled him why that woman was looking at him with a somewhat murderous gaze. "Hehe, I didn't expect you to be released so early. I thought you'd have another five years to go before they set you free!" The woman smiled, seemingly in self-mockery, and then suddenly raised her hand to slap Severin. "You jerk!" It was likely a conditioned reflex that led Severin to grab her arm as soon as she stretched out her hand. "What's gotten into you, woman? I honestly can't remember when we last met, but I am definitely not a jerk. Did you mistake me for someone else?" "Nope! It's you, for sure! I'd recognize you even if you were burnt into ash!" The woman looked fiercely at Severin despite him grabbing her arm tightly. "Don't you remember me? I'm Diane Shanahan! The woman whose life you've ruined! I'm Diane Shanahan! My life wouldn't've been like this if it weren't for you, you irresponsible b*stard!" "Diane Shanahan?" Severin pondered carefully over that name, but he still did not know who she was, or when he even met someone with that name. However, her face did feel a little familiar to her. "I swear, I don't know who you are, and I can't remember where we met. I don't recall anyone of my classmates or acquaintances with the name Diane." Severin let go of her hand, and continued, "Tell me how much money you've given to my family over the years and I'll pay everything back to you!" "That's funny! Really funny!" Diane laughed in despair and took two steps back. Tears dripped down her face as she yelled, "You'll pay? Are you even able to pay up? What will you use to pay me back? How will you return my youth back to me? How are you going to make up for everything I suffered in the past few years?" Severin was speechless, but he could sense that she was in genuine anguish. Clearly, her tears were real, and she was not pretending either. "You're being too emotional now, so I'd rather not talk to you when you're in this condition. We'll talk once you calm down!" Severin looked at her helplessly. He did not know how to comfort her, so he finally decided to walk back down. "Uwaaah!" After Severin left, Diane crouched on the ground and cried helplessly. Unbeknownst to her, the door opened slowly and the little girl inside peeked out. When Selene saw the sobbing Diane, she came out and stretched out her small hand to hold Diane's hand. "Why are you crying, Mom? Did that man bully you? There, there. Don't cry, Mom..." Selene became teary-eyed while speaking. Diane raised her head, wiped away her tears, and finally touched Selene's head while saying, "Okay, Selene. I won't cry. You shouldn't cry too, okay?" "Okay!" Selene nodded obediently. "Selene, do you really miss your dad?" Diane could not help but ask when she looked at her adorable little daughter. Selene nodded. "Other children have dads, so I want a dad too. I don't want to be a fatherless child!" Upon hearing that, Diane stood up, exhaled heavily once more, and said to Selene, "How about you go watch some TV? Your father will be coming back soon. I'm going to pick him up later and bring him back. We can celebrate your birthday together and eat cake. Would you like that?" "Is that true?" When Selene heard what her mother said, her big eyes widened considerably at that moment and she clapped her little hands excitedly while prancing about. "Yay! Dad's coming back home! Will he buy me some toys? " "He will. He'll buy lots and lots toys!" Diane felt an ache in her heart. She had been lying to her daughter all along, saying that her father had been working someplace for to earn a lot of money so he could come back and buy her lots of toys. Selene really seemed to be looking forward to having a father by her side. "Okay, Selene. I'll go find your father soon. You just stay home and watch TV, okay?" Diane switched on the television for Selene and closed the door as she left. "Diane Shanahan…hmm…Diane Shanahan…dammit! Who is this Diane Shanahan?" Severin was walking on the road with a confused expression on his face. He kept scratching his head but could not remember who in the hell was Diane Shanahan. "Am I a jerk?" Severin smiled bitterly and eventually said, "I don't think so. I probably just met some crazy woman!" All of a sudden, an Audi A4 stopped just a little ahead of Severin. After the person inside rolled down the window, a beautiful, short-haired woman stuck her head out and looked at Severin. "Severin? It really is you!" "Quinn? Quinn Janssen? From college?" Severin was stunned for a moment, and quickly remembered that the woman was a classmate from his college days. The man who was driving the car turned around and smiled at Severin. "Been a long time, Severin! Our classmates couldn't stop talking about what happened to you. None of us expected that a top student like yourself would go to prison! And it's even surprising to see that you've been released so soon! You must've received a reduced sentence after behaving yourself in there!" Then, the man thought for a while and added, "It's five years, right? Tsk, tsk. Five long years! I can't even begin to imagine it! How does prison food taste, by the way? You're the only one in our class who has experienced it, you have to tell us what it tastes like!"