Chapter 1438 New Year''s Day
Even if it were Darren''s double who was arrested, his life was still left in shambles. His actions had
caused problems for a lot of people. Not only had he offended the HT Group being led by Jacob, he
had also agitated the Ke Family.
The fact that he had recently suffered a major loss with one of his business ventures made it even
harder for him to recuperate. The n had been to buy a massive piece ofnd and build gorgeous
vis that would sell for a high price. Unfortunately, the foundation couldn''t even beid out because of
the sediment underneath. If only Darren had known of this beforehand, he would have been in a better
state financially.
All of his business partners, whom he had considered dear friends for so many years, withdrew their
shares from hispany. After some research, Darren found out that most of his partners'' departures
had been caused by Jacob and the Ke Family.
Additionally, the head of arge constructionpany called him on the phone and said, "Mr. Xu, I
know that we''ve been good friends and business partners for so long. But I''m sorry to say that we have
to cut ties now. Ourpany''s interests arergely focused on making enough money."
Darren was in disbelief about what he had just heard. He tried his best to suppress his emotions and
asked, "How much money did they give you? You''re withdrawing your investment without hesitation!
How could you throw away our friendship just like that?"
"Mr. Xu, please don''t joke around. What good is it for me to stay with apany that will soon be
gone? I will not waste my entire life''s hard work on some silly friendship!" The head of the construction
company even mocked Darren. "If you don''t mind, Mr. Xu, I can cut you in for a decent price with the
deal I have with Jacob. You can take it as a token of gratitude for our wonderful friendship."
Darren''s eyes widened in rage. He couldn''t believe the things that he was hearing.
''Close a deal together? Cooperate with the man who ruined my life?
The shameless fat bastard must be out of his mind!'' Darren thought to himself.
He looked like all life in him had been sucked out. He didn''t bother to respond and simply hung up the
phone. In a fit of rage, he raised his hand and threw his phone all the way to the adjacent wall.
Everyone near his office heard the impact, but amazingly, the phone was still working and only had a
cracked screen.
One of the secretaries outside the office ran away in shock. Most of the employees there had been in
fear that they would be fired that day. Moreover, more than half of the secretaries in the secretarial
office felt like they were at their limit. They simply resigned because they couldn''t handle the stress
anymore. Most of them walked out with tears in their eyes.
And all of the employees who stayed, especially the ones who were very close to Darren''s office, felt
extremely unlucky. They were forced to bear Darren''s outbursts of anger.
The secretary who ran away a few moments ago went back to her station. She then asked her nearby
colleagues if they heard what she had heard. One of them responded in a concerned tone, "Darren has
lost his temper more than a dozen times in the past 3 weeks. Thepany''s financial losses have
exceeded the limit. Do you think that thepany is going to shut down soon?"
"Bah, bah, don''t talk nonsense. Go back to your desk and resume your work. If Darren were to hear
you right now, he would fire you in an instant!" a man from a few desks away responded.
"Calm down, I was just wondering. Besides, he won''t—" The woman who was just talking abruptly
stopped herself when she met Darren''s gaze that was peering through the ss window of his door.
''What a stroke of bad luck, '' she thought.
With heavy steps, Darren pushed the door wide open. He then announced in a hoarse voice, "I have
an important dinner party at six o''clock in the evening. I need someone to apany me. Tell them to
dress appropriately and to not bete!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his back on everyone and left.
"That scared me to death! I thought he heard me. Nevertheless, isn''t it someone else''s job to notify us
of such a simple task?" the woman who had spoke of thepany''s closure said.
Upon hearing Darren''smand, every woman in that office suddenly turned pale. One of them
eximed in distress, "Not a single soul in here would be willing to apany him, because he would
expect them to drink with him! That''s why he has toe out and shout at us."
In the meantime, Jacob was delightfully driving home to his wife and kids. Thest few months of the
year had been rather stressful, what with the injustice and indignation they had suffered because of
Darren. But now, all that seemed quite insignificant. It was like all the problems they had had were
buried deep in the snow of this wonderful winter time.
Jacob parked his car right in front of MK Manor. He blissfully watched as his children ran out to greet
him with his beautiful wife walking behind them. Jacob hugged his children, and then held Emily''s soft
hand. Upon seeing her soft smile that seemed to radiate warmth, he felt that every problem he had had
to work through was definitely worth it. He then asked Emily, "We should celebrate the new year with
the whole family, right?" A gentle smile spread across his handsome face while he lovingly gazed at her
eyes. He eagerly waited for her response.
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Emily lowered her head and bashfully smiled. Although she was not in the best of moods, she was still
very satisfied with her current situation. But before they entered the house, she said to Jacob, "It''s a
new year and all of us are going to be at home. It''s been such a long time since you''ve spent some
time with the children, so you should y with them for a while. And it would be nice if you let them be
themselves. If you''re too harsh with them, they won''t be close to you in the future."
"Okay! But there still should be some limits. Otherwise, they''re going to be spoiled brats. They might
even climb up onto the roof and remove the tiles like monkeys!" Jacob replied with a chuckle. Even
though Jacob wasn''t like a typical tyrannical father, he still felt the need to discipline his children. He
was a soft-hearted man and felt like he owed his children, but still chose to remain somewhat uptight
and show a tough demeanor in front of them.
Suddenly, his firstborn came back and happily called out to him to ask for permission. "Dad! Can I go
outside to take some pictures? The teacher said that I need to learn how to appreciate nature. And I
have to submit this assignment when we go back to school."
Jacob was a bit worried, because the wind outside the house was quite strong and the snow was
pouring heavily. The view was actually breathtaking and worth taking photos of, but it was not worth
letting the children go outside and have them running around in the snow.
The couple exchanged nces and knew exactly what the other one was thinking. It could be a bit
worrisome, but they still chose to allow the children to go out.
"You have one hour. If you''re not back in the living room before lunch, I promise that you won''t be
allowed to set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival," Jacob firmly replied. He always had his own
way of disciplining his children. Upon hearing his words, the kids'' happy mood decreased a little.
However, they were distracted by the thrilling prospect of ying around in the snow, so they still ran
away with big grins on their faces. With joyful cheers andughter, they disappeared in the blink of an
eye.
At noon on New Year''s Eve, the Ke Family''s big house was bustling with noise and excitement. It was
filled with rtives, friends, and random visitors. Everyone had a warm smile on their faces.
Lunch was filled with all kinds of delicacies. The two kids ate until their stomachs were full. After that,
they didn''t hesitate to head out to y once again. Laughter from the yard could be heard all the way
inside.
After a while, Emily sat with her three children. Holding her youngest child, Baron, in her arms, she
couldn''t help but tease Bowen. Then, she leaned close to her daughter, Beryl, and talked about menial
family affairs with a happy smile on her face. On the other hand, a rare urrence was taking ce.
Jacob had put his work aside to y chess and drink tea with his father-inw. He needed to lose so
that his father-inw wouldn''t feel so bad on this wonderful New Year''s Day. However, it took him some
wit to let his father-inw win without him noticing.
Meanwhile, Louis contemted deeply about why none of the kids wanted to y with him. He pettily
thought that there must be something wrong. After some time, he came to a conclusion. "Oh, I haven''t
bought a gift for my niece and nephews yet! I need to give them something before this day ends.
Otherwise, I''ll be in deep trouble. I can''t imagine how the three kids will react when theye to my
bed tomorrow morning and I show up empty-handed."
Jacob heard Louis'' mumbling and nced at him. He couldn''t help butugh at the man. He then told
Louis, "My children aren''t spoiled brats. Besides, if you just give me a big red envelope full of cash, I
promise they won''t ask for gifts from you."
Louis didn''t pay attention to what Jacob said. He continued to casually change his shoes and pick up
the car key. With a slight grin on his face, he replied, "Don''t you know that there''s a difference between
a gift and a red envelope? A gift is something thates from the heart, while a red envelope full of
cash is just for the heartless. Do I seem like that kind of a person to you? If it isn''t clear by now, I love
my dear niece and nephews very much."
As Louis was stepping out of the house, Emily curiously looked at him. She couldn''t help but tease him.
"Aren''t you just using the kids as an excuse to leave? I''m sure that even if they weren''t at home, you
would still think of some excuse to leave the house, right? Something like going out to buy some food
for New Year''s Day. I promise they won''t disturb you tonight. But if that still isn''t enough, you can just
come back tomorrow morning. Please don''t use them as an excuse!"
Louis''s face turned red. This time, he was a little embarrassed by what his sister had said. He
whispered, "If I haven''t found a suitable gift, I will give each of my niece and nephews a big red
envelope each when Ie back!"
Everyone in the house knew that Louis couldn''t let go of a certain someone and might note back
that night. So, the only thing they could do then was to bid him good wishes while he left the house.
As expected, Louis went straight to the department store and embarked on a huge shopping spree.
When he was done, it wasn''t easy for him to fit all of the things he had bought into his small car, but he
managed to do it anyway. He was so excited to bring everything he had bought to Taylor''s house. All
this effort was surely going to make her happy. But when he got there and was about to press the
doorbell, his joyous expression was reced with a very serious one. He even took a deep breath and
quietly thought of a n.
He then said out loud, "That''s right. I must use this Baymax stuffed toy in order to win Amy''s approval.
After that, I can ask her for help and finally win over Taylor''s heart."