No matter how highly Karl valued the opportunity, he simply couldn’t let Nora take such a risk.
Even though he and Ian always bickered the moment they saw each other, deep down, they still greatly admired and respected each other. Putting aside the fact that he and Ian both held each other in high esteem, just the relationship between Tanya and Nora alone was already…
Karl thought of how Tanya had reacted when he called to ask her to get in touch with Nora for him. His daughter had kept asking things like: “Is it dangerous?”, “Are you sure it won’t be dangerous?”, “Is there no danger at all?”, and so on. Karl had guaranteed that he would never let Nora get even a scratch in the incident.
Now that things had turned out like this, who knew what the Hitman League might do to them?
If Nora got hurt, how was he going to answer to his daughter?
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Karl decided that he’d rather miss the opportunity to clean up the company’s act and go into the light than risk having anything happen to Nora.
But unexpectedly, when he was about to hang up the phone, Nora instead said, “No, it’s fine. The mission will continue as planned!”
Karl was surprised. “What?”
“All right, that settles it. See you tomorrow.”
After hanging up the phone, Nora played with the three little fellows for a while and then went to bed early at eight o’clock in the evening.
Cherry and Pete had long since become accustomed to her going to bed early, but Xander felt that his mommy wasn’t spending enough time with him and he still wanted to play some more with Nora.
Even if Nora didn’t say anything but just patted his head, he still felt especially happy.
But the woman was now lying there motionless and had gone into a deep sleep after just a mere two minutes. He curled his lips unhappily and muttered with discontent, “How come she sleeps so much?”
Cherry continued gaming without even raising her head as she replied, “Geniuses need a lot of sleep!”
The moment she said that, Pete nodded in agreement.
In the game, Chester was also very approving of the statement. He said, “Yeah, come to think of it, Justin always slept more than others since he was a child. He needed nine hours of sleep a day. Later, when my father scolded me for being such a bum and told me to learn from Justin, I also started to sleep nine hours a day.”
Cherry was surprised. “And then?”
Chester replied, “He slept for nine hours a day, so I also slept for nine hours a day. Justin didn’t fold the quilt, so I also didn’t fold the quilt. After he woke up, he started to study, so I watched him study. He was terrifying once he started studying; sometimes, he could even study for a whole day! I was also very impressive-I could watch him for a whole day! And now I can also play games an entire day!”
The three little ones: “…”
Chester grinned and said, “But it’s fine. I’m just an ordinary person, so it’s not really an issue. Look at how busy Justin was… Besides, smart people have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. He took over the family business when he was only 18, unlike me, who can still afford to be here and play games, even though I’m already 22 years old. Right?”
Pete: “…”
Xander: “…”
The two had no way of refuting him.
As for Cherry, her eyes widened and a longing look appeared on her face. She said, “Wow! I’m so envious, Chesty! I will also work hard like you in the future!
“If my brothers sleep for ten hours a day, then I will also try my best to sleep ten hours a day! If they work hard to eat, then I will also eat lots of meat and grow up quickly! Pete and Xander, the two of you gotta study hard, okay? I will also work hard to play my games!”
After speaking, she turned to look at Pete and Xander and held up her little fists at them. “I’m cheering for you, Pete and Xander~”
Pete: “…”
Xander: “…”
Chester finally understood how dire the consequences of his words were.
If Justin found out that he had led his little niece astray, he would probably jump out of his grave and beat him up, right?
At the thought of Justin, Chester’s heart sank.
Chester’s father was Justin’s fourth uncle and the youngest son in the family. He grew up with a lifestyle of eating, drinking, and making merry. His mother hated how his father was always just mucking around like that, so she had put high hopes on him after she gave birth to him.
The elderly Mrs. Hunt treated all the kids in the family equally. Roger, who was the son of Mrs. Hunt’s second son, graduated from a prestigious university and later joined the company. He was certainly capable, but unfortunately, his heart wasn’t in the right place. Moreover, he even sabotaged them in all sorts of ways, which ended up in him being completely kicked out of the picture by Justin. Regardless, Roger was indeed talented.
Brenda, the daughter of Mrs. Hunt’s third son, didn’t even need any elaboration. A graduate of a prestigious university, she was not only part of the Interpol but had even risen up the ranks to take the position of captain. Her ability was evident. The hard work that Brenda had put in since she was a child was also obvious to all.
He was the only one who liked gaming. However, neither Mrs. Hunt nor his mother had been approving of it.
In the end, it was thanks to Justin, who took care of him, that he could be this carefree, playing games every day and doing what he liked while receiving dividends from the family business.
When he thought of this, Chester got into a bad mood.
Why did someone like Justin have to die?
Moreover, Justin had disliked him playing games with Cherry the most when he was alive. Thus, Chester immediately said, “You mustn’t learn from me, you hear?!”
“Why?” asked Cherry.
It would do as long as her two brothers worked hard. Wasn’t it good for her to just grow up happily?
Even though Pete would also try to persuade her to study, Cherry still thought that it was more fun to enjoy herself and have fun instead –
Xander was very easygoing about it-after all, his personality was half-orthodox and half-heretical, in the first place. In order to coax Cherry into agreeing that he was the elder brother of the two, he patted his little chest and said, “Well, don’t worry. Only your big brother here needs to work hard. You can just be one happy little sister!”
Just as Cherry was about to break into a smile, Chester heaved a quiet sigh and said, “But if you do that, in the future, everyone will definitely say that Nora is a failure.”
The three children were very protective of their mommy. Upon hearing what he said, Cherry and Xander immediately asked:
“Why?”
“Why?”
The two looked at Pete in unison after they spoke, only to see him frowning, obviously aware of the reason. He answered, “Because you’re the only one who grew up by Mommy’s side after we were born. If both Xander and I make a name for ourselves in the future, whereas all you know is having fun, they won’t say that it’s because the two of us are pampering you. They will only say, ‘See? As expected, the child that Mommy brought up is no good, after all!’”
As soon as he said that, the room fell silent.
On the phone, Chester also said, “It’s exactly as Pete says. You should also know that there are a ton of busybodies whose tongues love to waggle here in New York City. They simply love making a show out of other people’s lives! In the future, when Pete and Xander have both become successful and they become so envious that they are filled with jealousy, they aren’t going to talk about how impressive your brothers are but only about how inferior you are! And then, they will blame it all on Nora!”
Cherry tilted her head. It was evident from her big dark eyes that she was thinking about something
After a while, she sighed and said, “Okay, I
get it~!”
Suddenly, she felt like her game wasn’t that fun anymore.
She put down her cell phone and said, “Chesty, I’m not playing anymore. I’m going to study!”
Chester: “?”
He hurriedly shouted, “Hey, at least finish this round before you go!”
Cherry shook her head. “Nah, I’m not playing anymore. I have to make sure I do what I say! Before I become accomplished, I’m never playing games again!”
Chester: “!!”
Had he known, he would have said those things after the round, instead!
Early next morning, Nora felt like things were a little strange at home.
She went down the stairs. It was only when she was observing the room while she ate that she realized that her daughter, whose cell phone was never out of her hands, was currently reading a book about Mathematical Olympiad problems. She asked, “Pete, what is this question talking about?”
Pete was about to answer when Xander, who was next to them, squeezed his way in and said, “Here, I’ll teach you.”
“Okie-Dokie.”
Pete: “…”
Nora: “??”
She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had gotten out of bed the wrong way today.
Why were things so strange?! Her daughter had previously shown some symptoms of ADHD because of her high IQ, but with her two sons teaching her, she was actually faring much better.
As such, Nora did not overly interfere.
Justin and their two sons all pampered Cherry and thought that it was fine as long as she grew up happily. However, Nora didn’t agree. Being a woman herself, compared to that, she would rather her daughter be strong with a passion for life.
After all, she wasn’t going to live with her brothers her entire life. The only person one could rely on was themselves.
Therefore, no matter the reason for her daughter’s sudden diligence, she was very glad.
After breakfast, she exchanged hugs with the three little ones and kissed each of them on the forehead. Only then did she leave and head to the Assassin Alliance.
But when she entered the basement, she found that no one there showed any indication of moving out.
Nora raised her eyebrows. When she reached Karl’s room, she saw the mafia boss sitting on a chair with a troubled look on his face.
Nora frowned and asked, “Why haven’t you set off yet?”
Karl sighed. “I’ve thought about it all night. Let’s not go anymore. You are more important than all of this. Tanya and Old Ian will probably give me a real thrashing if you lose even a strand of hair.”
Nora: “…”
She said with certainty, “It will be fine.”
“How can that be? I know you’re the Big Sister of the Quinn School of Martial Arts and that you’re very skilled at fighting, but assassination is different from open and aboveboard martial arts factions like yours. In particular, the Quinn School of Martial Arts’ moves are all candid and forthright, they don’t understand tricks and conspiracies at all. Although the Hitman League won’t dare to go too far, they will definitely try to sound us out. Unless Black Cat is there personally, no one can guarantee your safety.”
Seeing that Karl was staying so stubborn, Nora knew that he was worried about her safety.
She sighed. Now that things had come to this, she didn’t want to hide it from him anymore either, so she simply blew her own cover and said, “I’m Black Cat.”
