Chapter 1 An Exceptional Man

• “Pour me a cup of coffee, Darling,” Cassius Crawford ordered, sitting in front of his computer.
• Vanessa Seltzer, who was resting on the couch, got up and brought a cup of coffee into the study.
• Cassius pushed his keyboard aside and stared at his wife in name only.
• Her skin was as fair as snow, her legs were slender, and she had a pure look in her eyes that complemented her beautiful face.
• Because she was wearing a short skirt and a pair of slippers at the time, Cassius felt a little turned on when he saw her adorable feet.
• They had been sleeping in separate rooms despite being married for three years. While there was no love or affection between the two, Cassius was content with admiring her beauty up close every day.
• Disgusted by him ogling her, Vanessa placed the cup down and asked coldly, “Are you playing Monopoly again?”
• Cassius nodded and gently pushed a button on his keyboard to acquire a company with one billion.
• Vanessa looked at the stock market chart on the computer screen and sneered when she saw the Monopoly logo on the bottom left. “That game sure looks like it’s real! You seem to have earned a lot from that virtual stock market, don’t you?”
• “Not really. Three of my stocks went up, so I earned about two billion or so,” Cassius replied with a faint smile.
• Vanessa shook her head speechlessly. “That in-game currency is useless in real life. I can't believe you're holed up playing video games at home while I'm working hard out there! Can you really call yourself a man?”
• Cassius showed no change in expression as he said, “You can leave now.”
• Although Vanessa was angered by his response, she had long since gotten used to his behavior.
• After all, there wasn't much she could do about a useless man like him. He was too shameless to leave on his own, she had no means of kicking him out, and he wouldn't even retaliate whenever she scolded him. Vanessa didn't know what else she could do at that point.
• Her friends had asked her why she married an “exceptional” man like Cassius.
• All Vanessa could do was flash them a wry smile as she made up a bunch of excuses.
• Her marriage to Cassius was a huge mistake, to begin with.
• Three years ago, Vanessa had just entered the corporate world. Being ignorant and naive, she had gone to a bar and run into Cassius there. To her surprise, she found out that she had already signed her name on their marriage certificate by the time she sobered up the next day. She had no choice but to bring Cassius home.
• At that moment, she heard the sound of the front door opening. Her father, Hansel Seltzer, had returned.
• Hansel had a deep frown on his face as he entered the house. “Is that b*stard still playing those video games of his?” he asked while glancing at the study.
• Vanessa quickly brought him a cup of coffee. “Forget about him, Dad. Why do you look so upset? What happened to you?”
• Hansel let out a wry chuckle and replied, “Fourwaters Union will be having a charity event in Horbah tonight. Mom insisted that I get myself an invitation and attend the event. Given the current capabilities of our family, there's no way we'd qualify for a high-end event like that! She's clearly trying to make things difficult for us!”
• The Seltzer family was considered second-rate at best in Horbah. As Hansel's position within the family was the lowest, the elder had always looked down on him.
• Vanessa comforted him, saying, “Since we won't be able to get ourselves an invitation anyway, you could just call Grandma and tell her you couldn't get one.”
• Hansel slammed his fist on the table. “I can't! Your Uncle Hector managed to get himself an invitation! Doesn't that make me look even more incompetent?”
• “Huh? How did he?”
• Hansel got even angrier at the mention of that. “How else do you think? It's because he got himself a great son-in-law!” He stood up, looked at the study, and coughed loudly. “I'm not as lucky as he is. Instead of getting a great son-in-law, I ended up raising a useless piece of sh*t!”
• Vanessa's face burned bright red in embarrassment.
• After giving it some thought, she said, “Don't worry about it, Dad. I'll try to figure something out.”
• Hansel flashed Vanessa a pained look. “It's my fault for not standing firm back then. You wouldn't be enduring so much suffering if I had found you a decent husband.”
• Vanessa shook her head. “I'm the one at fault here.”
• Suddenly, she received a text message on her phone.
• Vanessa's eyes lit up with joy the moment she read the message. “It's from Grandma. She wants me to go have dinner at Psyonus Hotel! She's finally willing to see me!”
• Hansel was all too familiar with that cold-hearted lady. Instead of feeling happy, he said worriedly, “Mom won't treat you to a meal for no reason. She may be your grandma, but she is still a businesswoman.”
• Vanessa, on the other hand, was beaming with excitement. “I'll do my best to gain Grandma's approval!”
• She quickly grabbed her stuff and left the house in a hurry.
• Hansel, too, let out a sigh and left shortly after.
• Just like that, the house fell silent once again.
• Cassius exited from the Monopoly game, which was just a cover, and clicked on a chat group.
• The chat group, which was named Fortuna, became active all of a sudden. The icons of its members were all flashing non-stop.
• Mr. Zimmerman of Fourwaters Union: You're finally online, Mr. Crawford!
• Mr. Warren of Eastwaters Finance: We've sent out the financial statements for this quarter, Mr. Crawford. Please have a look. We await your instructions.
• Ms. Xanthos of Global Media: As per your instructions, Mr. Crawford, we acquired four entertainment companies last month. The details have been sent to you via email.
• The companies within the group included Apricotwoods Group, Northern Oil Group, and hundreds of business conglomerates as well as international companies.
• Cassius went through the documents they had sent him before clicking on another chat group, which was named Sinister Eye.
• Not only was the group chat very quiet, but its members also had mysterious-sounding usernames.
• Darkwater Mercenary Company, Eastblade Security, Thirteen Hackers Corps, Royal Private Intelligence...
• Cassius glanced at the usernames with a satisfied look on his face. Then he messaged: Hello, everyone.
• The members all replied in unison: Welcome, Boss!
• Cassius messaged in Fortuna: How are the preparations going for Fourwaters Union's charity event?
• Mr. Zimmerman of Fourwaters Union: Everything is organized to the highest standards according to your requirements, Mr. Crawford. As of the moment, it has basically attracted all the first-class financial groups in Horbah.
• Cassius nodded as he replied: Get me an invitation to the event.
• Mr. Zimmerman of Fourwaters Union: Sure thing! Are you attending the charity event, Mr. Crawford?
• All of Cassius' subordinates knew that he would never reveal his identity so easily, so they couldn't help but get curious.
• Cassius: It's for my wife.
• The group chat went into an uproar when they found out that Cassius was already married.
• Mr. Zimmerman of Fourwaters Union: Why didn't you tell us sooner, Mr. Crawford? I'll personally prepare the invitation for you!
• Cassius: Did the major business organizations in Horbah make any other moves?
• Ms. Xanthos of Global Media: I have a piece of interesting news. The heir of Horbah's wealthiest family, Johnny Quinton, has recently lost his wife. He's putting the word out that he's looking to have an arranged marriage with another wealthy family. The second and third-rate families in Horbah are all trying their best to win Johnny over.
• Cassius let out a chuckle as he replied: Interesting indeed. Which families are trying to marry their daughter off to that old man?
• He then received files on beautiful women from Horbah that were of suitable ages.
• Cassius sneered when he saw the pictures from his subordinates. “Arranged marriage between wealthy families? More like selling their daughters off! These people only care about profits—”
• He was halfway through his monologue when a picture of Vanessa popped up before his eyes.
• He was so shocked that he spat out the coffee in his mouth.