Meanwhile, Carmen, who was always talkative and readily expressed her opinions, was silent as she poured tea for everyone.Her eyes were darting toward Rachel frequently, the envy in her heart growing the more she peeked.Just seeing Rachel's appearance, style, and the healthy complexion on those cheeks of hers left Carmen feeling ugly, unable to look up at all.As she brewed tea, she noticed that her own hands were getting dry and wrinkled from age.Naturally, she was always consistently taking good care of her own skin, but skin and complexion simply weren't resistant to the passage of time. Even with all the moisturizers and other beauty products, Carmen's skin quality was aging significantly.As such, she felt all the more inferior as she watched Rachel raise her teacup with a pair of hands that were fair and blemish-free like a teenager's. On the other hand, Rachel was curious about Carmen.She had always been labeled as strong-willed and self-centered, and she was known t

Even now, Charlie didn't think too highly of Carmen.As a child, all he remembered was how Carmen had constantly hounded his parents before they had left town.And when he met Carmen again years later, she had just had a huge fight with Elaine.Things had only gotten worse since, and Charlie had even planned to keep her in Cliffcouls for at least a couple of years and see what happens.That was why he wasn't concerned with Jeremiah's words.Seeing his indifference, Jeremiah knew he was still unhappy with Carmen.Hence, before she returned, he said seriously, "There are many things where you only see one side, Charlie. Your aunt used to be close with both your mother and father… but the entire family turned against your parents, and I myself didn't try to defend them either. To be honest, she abused your parents out of self-preservation."Pausing, he sighed. "It was a time of crisis where everyone was just trying to survive—just like on Mount Wintry. That's why they weren't stand

Jeremiah nodded, "You are the head of the Wade family, Charlie. We will only do as you say."It definitely was the case for Jeremiah himself, as he definitely wouldn't argue—not when he had already given up his place as head of the family to Charlie.Moreover, he knew all too well that his family was insignificant to Charlie now, considering that just one of Charlie's Rejuvenation Pills was worth half the country's real estate.Meanwhile, Carmen had returned quickly after taking a moment to fix her makeup and calm herself, and she refilled everyone's tea in silence.Jeremiah then told her, "Carmen, Charlie will be visiting Mount Wintry soon to make the family shape up."Carmen was surprised. The Tomb Sweeping Festival comes every year, so why would Charlie want to use such an occasion for that?However, she wouldn't dare question Charlie and instead nodded solemnly. "That is reasonable. They've gone way out of line over the years, and there's none of the inclination to unite as o

Carmen wasn't disappointed by what Charlie said. Instead, she sharply caught on that he was giving her a chance.At present, the Wades had disappointed him thoroughly, but if there was a rank, the one who least disappointed him would be Jeremiah, and then herself.Even if she had messed with Elaine before, she was still in a better position than Clayton and the rest.And aside from Jeremiah, she was the only one aware that half a Rejuvenation Pill was the reward, and that alone meant she already had a headstart.If she did her best and put up a commendable performance, she would definitely leave a good impression on Charlie's mind.Barely able to hide her excitement, she said, "Don't worry, Charlie! I'll definitely put the family before my own interests!"Charlie nodded and handed the half-pill to Jeremiah. "Gramps, you will hold on to this for the time being."Jeremiah was dumbstruck.Him? Was Charlie not worried that he would just take the pill?They were talking about the R

Charlie was surprised that both Tanya and Quinn would share him equally, and he was still not sure about his own choreography on top of that.Nonetheless, the stage was quickly prepared for their performance.Tanya had the sound engineer play Assassin on a more controlled volume as they adjusted their positions and the stage designs. They were also using a stage monitor, as Tanya's fans could be way too enthusiastic—the entire venue had been surrounded by fans over the two days that the stage set was being built. Thankfully, security has maintained a perimeter, keeping them out around a hundred feet.If they heard Quinn's song, they would quickly catch on that Quinn would come on as a guest, blowing the surprise and exposing the fact that Quinn was already back in Eastcliff.After all, everyone had agreed to keep Quinn's guest appearance a surprise and not leak anything beforehand so that she could announce it herself by appearing on stage.While Quinn wasn't as famous as Tanya,