"Why are you being so nosy? I was just asking about someone, no particular reason."Joseph brushed it off casually."Tsk tsk, 'no particular reason'? If you don't want to talk, just say so—don't give me that half-hearted nonsense."Mason Alvarez scoffed, clearly unimpressed."Sorry to bother you so late, Professor Alvarez."Joseph addressed her politely."Hey, hey, hey, Professor Wilson, you're not mad at me, are you? Don’t be mad—I’ll drop it, I promise."Hearing Joseph’s tone, Mason worried he might hang up and quickly tried to smooth things over."I'm not angry. You know me—I’m not that kind of person."Joseph replied with a helpless chuckle."Well then, don’t hang up just yet. I’ve got something else to talk to you about.""Actually, if you hadn’t called me, I was planning to call you."Mason muttered on, half to herself."Oh? What was it you needed to tell me?"Joseph asked, curiosity piqued."Professor Wilson, the high-level academic review team from the top is arriving Monday a

“When families fall apart, when marriages end in ruin—do you really think that’s something worth celebrating?”“And tell me—who exactly are you calling trash?”Fiona’s voice was sharp and unrelenting.“Well, obviously your ex-husband. Isn’t that what you always said? That he was plain, had no ambition, just did the housework and freeloaded off you.”Hannah hesitated but answered nonetheless.“I may have spoken poorly of him, but when did I ever call him trash?”“What gives you the right to slander someone with such crude words?”Fiona’s fury was barely contained.“Fiona, we were just trying to help you vent. He wasted so many years of your life.”Hannah tried to soothe her, gently pulling her toward the table.“Put all this nonsense away.”“Otherwise, I’m not staying to eat.”Fiona rubbed her temples, the exhaustion weighing heavily on her. She had hoped this dinner might offer a moment’s relief—but instead, the burdens of the past few days had simply followed her here.“Put it away,

“Chauffeur service? Of course!”“Miss Cooper, did you forget? Last time, it was one of our drivers who brought your car home.”“Our average customer spends over a thousand per visit—we offer complimentary chauffeur service. After all, most of our guests come here to drink.”The waitress blinked at the question, then quickly replied.“I’ve had wine, so I won’t be driving. Have the chauffeur take my car back to the Cooper estate. And bring the two unopened bottles of wine along as well.”Fiona dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and replied calmly.“Certainly, Miss Cooper.”“Will you be riding with the car?”The waitress asked again.“No, I’ll take a cab to the office. I have some work to finish.”Fiona placed her keys on the table, then headed toward the front to settle the bill.“She’s really changed, hasn’t she? Doesn’t badmouth her husband anymore…”“Well, they’re divorced now—what else is there to say?”The waitress muttered to herself, storing the keys before returning to her duties

"Joseph, don’t mind her—this child just talks nonsense sometimes." "You brewed Mason's medicine so fragrantly that it made her greedy for more. She’s been pestering me ever since, asking you to prescribe her something too. Just ignore her rambling." "If you keep this up, young lady, I won’t bring you next time." Molly looked visibly embarrassed. Her daughter had always been bold and fearless—something even she couldn't control. But with so many people present, spanking her with a cane was clearly out of the question. "It’s fine. A child with a good appetite is a healthy child. A healthy appetite means a healthy body." "Come on, Aunt Molly, Uncle Mason, Mr. Blake, Leah—everyone, please have a seat. All the dishes are ready. Let’s begin." Seeing that everyone had arrived, Joseph called everyone to the table. "Leah, why don’t you give Joseph’s cooking a try? It might taste even better than that fragrant herbal brew." Joseph sat down with a smile. "Really? I could smell it from

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…Eight digits. Starting with a "1," followed by seven zeros.That was ten million. Ten million dollars in pocket money."Uncle Mason, this is... way too much." "Ten million dollars? For pocket money? Who could possibly spend that much?" Joseph was at a loss. The Morgans, it seemed, had a habit of throwing around absurd amounts of money at the drop of a hat."It’s not too much. That’s about right. If there’s one thing the Morgan family doesn’t lack—it’s money." "And money? It’s meant to be spent." Mason Morgan declared with the nonchalance of someone born into wealth."Uncle Mason, I really can’t accept this. Please, take it back." Joseph gave an awkward smile, clearly uncomfortable."Kid, I know you’ve been through hard times. I know what it was like for you in the Cooper family." "This ten million is for you—to spend, to enjoy. You’ve suffered enough. Isn’t it time to live a little?" Mason patted Joseph on the shoulder."Uncle M