The Richest Man Looking for Love

3 Can't Go Home Yet

When Ken arrived to meet Tony, he was immediately presented with a table full of delicious food, expensive food that he had been unable to afford for the past year because of his meager salary.

Ken immediately ate ravenously without needing any prompting from Tony. Tony himself could only understand as he watched his Young Master devour all the food he had ordered.

Tony could not wrap his head around his Young Master. Ken possessed enormous wealth and a multinational company headquartered in Hong Kong, yet a year ago, Ken suddenly left all of that behind and, with only a modest amount of money, left Hong Kong.

Ken was even recorded as never touching his personal bank account and never contacting or asking for help from Diamond Group branch offices that existed in almost every country.

In the end, it was Tony who was assigned by Maggie Chow, Ken's mother, to search for Ken.

Tony had even formed a team and conducted searches in almost every country in the world. His team scattered everywhere, until one day, Tony remembered something.

Tony recalled that Maggie Chow, Ken's mother, originally came from Indonesia and had the maiden name Maggie Kusuma Chow. Because of that, Ken might have gone to his mother's hometown. Moreover, Ken was very fluent in Indonesian because, since childhood, Maggie Chow had taught him to converse in Indonesian, in addition to Mandarin and English, which were commonly used in Hong Kong.

Tony was very happy when he finally managed to find Ken. However, Tony did not immediately greet Ken. Tony chose to investigate first, the boarding house, the job, Ken's friends, and the places Ken usually went to during this past year. After getting all of that, only then did Tony approach Ken as he did this morning.

"Ken, come home with me. Your mother is asking you to return to Hong Kong immediately. Enough of your hardships this past year. Come home..." Tony said, trying to persuade Ken.

"Who said I'm suffering? I'm not suffering."

"But you're only working as..."

"Being a cleaning service is also a career. If I wanted to, I could apply for a job with my Cum Laude diploma from Harvard. I could immediately get a good job without relying on my family's company. But no, I deliberately didn't do that. I deliberately sought menial work. I deliberately struggled from the bottom like ordinary people."

"What is all that for, Ken? Why are you torturing yourself like that?"

"It's better for me to suffer in the beginning than to suffer in the end. Just look at what happened to me. Two girls that I loved, both of them only wanted my status, only wanted my wealth. One cheated me out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the other made me sell several small companies I tried to build outside of Diamond Group, in my attempt to escape Diamond Group's influence. Those two cases made me think that I have never been truly loved. I was liked because of my status and wealth. Because of that, I am trying to become an ordinary person. I am trying to make a woman love me for who I am, not for what I own."

"But there's no need to take such drastic steps, right? You did experience two heartbreaks in love. The solution is to find someone else, not to disappear like this," Tony protested.

"I deliberately distanced myself from my family, and why? Hah! Because that first girl, I knew her from an arranged marriage set up by my family. What was the result? She cheated me out of hundreds of millions of US dollars. That's the reason I distanced myself from my family. Because my family still hasn't learned their lesson. They want to arrange a marriage for me with another woman, huh!" Ken grumbled.

"Then, why distance yourself from Diamond Group? If you are indeed disappointed with your family and distanced yourself because you don't want to be set up in another arranged marriage, you could live in another country and lead a Diamond Group branch office there. It could be a Diamond Group branch in this country. Right?"

"You still remember that second lover who cheated me, right? I knew her because she became my secretary at my office. And look what happened. She used my trust to take over all the companies I built outside of Diamond Group. That's what made me distance myself from Diamond Group during this escape of mine." Ken gulped down the avocado drink in front of him to chase away his sadness.

"So, what are you looking for in this country?" Tony asked.

"I am looking for my soulmate. A woman who accepts me for who I am. A woman who loves me without my status as the heir to a multinational company called Diamond Group. I am looking for a woman who loves me in my current situation, who accepts me with my current job. Because a woman who accepts me with my current job, I am sure, will never disappoint me," Ken asserted.

"Have you succeeded?" Tony asked.

"I am currently targeting someone. All this time, I deliberately haven't asked her out yet because I want her to see who I really am first. Only then will I start approaching her, and I do plan to start approaching her this very night."

Suddenly, Tony pulled out a cellphone from below and immediately placed it on the table. Then he said, "This is your mother. She wants to talk."

Ken thought for a moment, then he took the phone from Tony's hand and said, "What's up, Mom?"

"Hey! Is this how you speak to your mother, whom you left for a year without any news at all, huh!!!" Maggie Chow said from the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, Mom. How are you, Mom?"

"Now, that's better. Mommy is fine. It's just your Daddy who is a little sick. How about you?"

"I'm doing fine, Mom."

"Why have you never touched your money? That is your own money."

"I do have money, Mom," Ken denied.

"Money from where, huh? All this time, you have never touched your own bank account. So, where do you get money from, huh? Tell your Mommy."

"I work, Mom. Don't worry about me, Mom."

"Working as a cleaning service, right? Just as Tony said, right? Is your salary enough for your food and all your needs? What about your health? You could starve to death, Ken."

"It's enough, Mom. The proof is, I can live just fine."

"Ugh... don't be like that anymore. One year is enough, Ken. Come home to Hong Kong. Take over Diamond Group before your second uncle succeeds in taking over Diamond Group from us."

"I can't yet, Mom. There is still something I have to do. Just relax, Mom. Once my goal here is achieved, I will immediately return to Hong Kong," Ken asserted.

"You have to lead Diamond Group, Ken," Maggie urged.

"I know. Tony already told me, and there is still time for me before the deadline set by Grandfather. I promise, after my goal is achieved, I will return to Hong Kong," Ken concluded.