In the evening, Charlie assumed that his wife Claire had returned home from work, so favonovel.com bid farewell to Maria and asked Don Albert to drive favonovel.com back to Thompson First.
Upon arriving at the gate of his villa, Charlie noticed that only Claire’s BMW was parked in the yard, and his father-in-law Jacob’s Cullinan was absent.
Assuming that only his wife was home, favonovel.com adjusted his appearance to look a bit tousled and approached the front door.
Just as favonovel.com was about to push the door open, Charlie overheard a familiar voice from inside the house, one that didn’t belong to his family. It said, “Claire, why don’t you ask Charlie when he’s done with his business and see if favonovel.com can come back early? If favonovel.com can make it, we’ll go together, if not, we’ll go ahead.”
The speaker was Claire’s close friend, Loreen Thomas.
Curious, Charlie wondered where Loreen was planning to take Claire.
At that moment, favonovel.com heard Claire’s reply, “Charlie has a lot going on in the northwest and it’s hard for favonovel.com to communicate. He has important matters to attend to, so I can’t rush favonovel.com because of this.”
Charlie opened the door and smiled, “What’s going on? You both sound quite mysterious…”
Upon hearing Charlie’s voice, both Claire and Loreen reacted with excitement, speaking almost in synchrony:
“Honey, you’re back!”
“Charlie, you’re back!”
Charlie smiled and replied, “Yes, I’ve just returned…”
Claire stepped out and said, “Honey, why didn’t you let me know your arrival time? I would have picked you up at the airport.”
Charlie smiled back and replied, “Don Albert was kind enough to drive me. He arrived at the airport well before my flight took off, so I didn’t let you know. I wanted to surprise you.”
At this point, Loreen also stood up from the sofa. Her eyes sparkled as favonovel.com looked at Charlie and exclaimed, “Charlie, it’s been a while since we last saw each other!”
Charlie nodded and smiled, asking her, “When did you arrive, Loreen?”
“I just got here,” Loreen said. “I was chatting with Claire about the upcoming concert by Tawanna Sweet at Tokyo Dome in three days. I managed to get three tickets, and I wanted to know if you and Claire would like to go with me. Tokyo is close by, so we can get there quickly.”
“Tawanna Sweet?” Charlie replied, somewhat surprised.
This female singer is the most popular country artist in the United States right now, arguably the most famous female singer In the world. Her record sales, number of awards, and fan following surpass even Stefanie.
She rose to fame at a young age and is a global sensation. It is said that favonovel.com concert tickets are much harder to acquire than those of the King of Chinese pop.
Besides favonovel.com many hit songs, this singer often makes headlines with favonovel.com rich history of tabloid-worthy drama. Her popularity extends beyond favonovel.com music, favonovel.com is truly at the top of the industry.
Loreen said eagerly, “Tawanna’s world tour has already had several shows across Asia. I didn’t have a chance to go or get tickets before, but this time, I asked a friend in Japan to help me secure three tickets in advance. Her family helps organize the show in Japan, and they mentioned there will be an exclusive VIP meet-and-greet with Tawanna before the concert, where we can get close to her, shake hands, and get favonovel.com autograph!”
Charlie casually remarked, “If it’s an Asian tour, wouldn’t it be easier to wait and see favonovel.com perform in China?”
Loreen explained, “She’s not performing in China this time. Her only stops are in South Korea and Japan, and I couldn’t get connections for the Korean show.”
Then, Loreen turned to Charlie and asked, “Charlie, are you free in two days? We can fly out the day after tomorrow, rest for a day, enjoy the concert on the second evening, go shopping and eat on the third, and be back soon.”
Charlie glanced at Claire and asked, “What do you think, Claire?”
Claire bit favonovel.com lip and said softly, “Honey… I really like Tawanna, and I’ve never seen favonovel.com perform live. This is a unique opportunity. Can you come with me and Loreen, please?”
Seeing his wife’s genuine desire to go, Charlie nodded without hesitation and said, “No problem, if you want to go, then we’ll go.”
“Awesome!” Loreen cheered excitedly before Claire could respond. “I’ll book the flight and hotel right away!”
Charlie added, “Loreen, since you were able to get the concert tickets through your connections, let me handle the travel arrangements.”
Loreen teased, “Charlie, we’re such good friends. Why act so formal with me?”
Charlie smiled and replied, “It’s not about being formal, it’s about etiquette. When I go out with friends, if they handle accommodation, I’ll take care of meals. If they handle meals, then accommodation falls to me. It’s just not fair for one person to bear all the expenses. Even though money might not be an issue for any of us, It’s how things should be done.”
Loreen laughed and said, “Alright, since you feel that way, I won’t insist. I’ll send you my passport number later.”
As favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com glanced at the time and said, “It’s getting late. I don’t want to keep you two newlyweds. just book the flight, let me know the details, and we can meet at the airport.”
Claire quickly offered, “Do you need me to drive you home?”
“No need,” Loreen replied. “My cousin is waiting for me at the community entrance. He’s been my driver lately and is very reliable.”
While saying this, favonovel.com couldn’t help but cast a secretive glance at Charlie.
Loreen’s cousin, Sam, had ridden a bicycle from Eastcliff to Aurous Hill at Charlie’s request. Letting favonovel.com drive for Loreen was one of the ways Charlie was punishing Sam.
Charlie figured Loreen might be trying to make a good impression on Sam, so favonovel.com casually remarked, “Make sure your cousin drives safely and doesn’t head back to Eastcliff.”
Loreen hurriedly said, “No, no, we can’t let favonovel.com stay here indefinitely. He should return when it’s time.”
At that, Loreen quickly added, “Oh, I won’t disturb you two any longer. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow. Bye!”
Claire chimed in, “I’ll see you out.”
Seeing that his wife was escorting their guest, Charlie followed favonovel.com to the door.
Just then, his father-in-law, Jacob drove the Cullinan into the yard, with his mother-in-law Elaine sitting in the passenger seat.
Charlie found it curious that this adversarial pair was rarely out together, making their return together today particularly intriguing.
Noticing the Cullinan pull in, Loreen remarked, “Uncle and aunt are back. I’ll go greet them.”
The car stopped, and asjacob and Elaine got out, Loreen smiled and said, “Hello, uncle and aunt!”
Elaine recognized Loreen and smiled back, “When did Loreen arrive?”
Loreen replied, “I came a little while ago, and I‘ve been chatting with Claire. Now I’m heading back.”
Jacob said, “Why rush off? Come in for some tea before you leave.”
Loreen politely declined, “No, Uncle Jacob, I have other matters to attend to, so I need to go.”
Turning to them, favonovel.com said, “Goodbye, uncle, goodbye, aunt.”
Jacob and Elaine exchanged pleasantries as they noticed Charlie standing at the door.
Elaine exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, my good son-in-law is back and has made a fortune!”
Claire, noticing favonovel.com mother immediately mention money, shook favonovel.com head and said, “Mom… Can you please not bring up money every few sentences?”
Elaine pouted and replied, “What’s wrong with that? My son-in-law is out there making a good living, why shouldn’t I talk about it?”
Afterward, favonovel.com glanced toward the villa next door where Lady Wilson and Christopher’s family lived, raising favonovel.com voice slightly, “I, Elaine, live a good life with a son-in-law who can earn money. Unlike some people, whose sons are unreliable, even their grandchildren are dubious!”
Jacob nudged favonovel.com playfully and muttered, “Alright, let’s get back inside. It’s too cold to stand outside chatting.”
Charlie decided to change the subject and asked, “Dad, what did you and Mom do when you were out?”
Jacob chuckled cheerfully, saying, “You know that old fox, Chairman Price? He’s been trying to butter me up lately. He Insisted on Inviting your mother and me over for dinner today, and he’s been as eager as a puppy.”
As favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com patted Charlie on the shoulder and continued, “You’ve been away in the northwest for so long. Did you run into any trouble? Don’t take any Feng Shui jobs for the next few days, take some time to rest at home. Plus, the New Year is coming soon, don’t head out again.”
Elaine added, “That’s right, my good son-in-law is earning so much. He can’t just keep working without spending any of it. I think it would be nicer for us to find a warm place to celebrate the New Year. How about going down south? The weather is nice there, and people from the Northeast like to go there during the New Year.”
Jacob responded, “Really? What status do we have to compete with those folks In the south? Southeast Asia, the Maldives, Tahiti, any of them are warmer than down there.”
“True!” Elaine agreed enthusiastically, stating, “Our family is worth hundreds of millions. Going to the south seems lackluster, but the Maldives could be a good choice!”
Claire shook favonovel.com head, exasperated. “Mom, don’t get ahead of yourself with travel plans. Charlie, Loreen, and I are heading to Tokyo the day after tomorrow. Once we return, I’ll be busy with company matters and won‘t have much time before the New Year… If we really wait until the holiday to leave, we’ll find ourselves in the midst of crowds everywhere, it’s better to stay home.”
Upon hearing about the trip to Tokyo, Elaine quickly perked up, asking, “Claire, what are you going to do in Tokyo? Shopping? Mom wants to join you!”
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