Life at the Top

Jasper replied calmly, “Sure, if that’s what you wish.”

Elated, Jasper’s aunt began to praise him. “Look at you, so forgiving, surely befitting of a man who has made it in the city. You’ve got to learn more from Jasper, Bard.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll definitely follow him so I can learn more.”

Bard smiled as he nodded and bowed.

Jasper frowned. “Follow me? What are you trying to say?”

His aunt quickly replied, “Bard is your cousin, Jasper. Now that you’ve established your own company, you need to have someone on your side to look after it, don’t you? I think Bard’s a perfect choice.”

Bard patted his chest. “Don’t worry, Jasper. I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on your company. I’ll make sure not even a burglar gets in.”

Jasper finally understood what this family’s intentions were and replied, “My company isn’t hiring, nor do I need you to go and watch over it.”

Bard was an idler, and there was nothing Bard had that he could be proud of—from his educational background to his abilities and his character. Jasper, who had never liked the idea of a family business to begin with, would be crazy to allow Bard into his company.

Hearing that, Jasper’s aunt’s expression shifted, but she forced her smile to stay on her face. “Haha, is that so? Then there’s no point in forcing anything.

“Think about it, Jasper. You’ve gotten rich now, haven’t you? You shouldn’t forget about your elders, then. I want to build a house, and it’s not easy financially. How about you give us several tens of thousands of dollars?”

Instead of ‘lend’, she had told Jasper to ‘give’. Not even Wendy could bear to see the utter shamelessness of this family, but she forced herself to remain silent.

“My money doesn’t come dropping from the sky either.”

Jasper replied indifferently, “Not to mention that I’ve already repaid the money we owe you with interest. I don’t have that much money.”

Jasper’s aunt was done being polite as Jasper did not seem willing to listen to anything. “I’m still your elder, Jasper. Be grateful that I’m even talking to you nicely.

“You think that because you’re earning money you can look down on your poor relatives? You’re going overboard here.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t look down on you. My family used to be even poorer,” Jasper refuted without restraint, “But the situation matters too. Just because I’ve made money, you’re shimmying up to me so that you can get a taste of it? What kind of relative are you? Who do you think you are?”

words had turned the atmosphere

persuade Jasper but a glare from Charlie stopped

placate him blindly.

the thought from

at it, Jasper. How can you talk to

fool of yourself. The village will talk behind your

the situation is very obvious here, whether I’m the one being

yourself. Go home, you’re delaying my family dinner. I’ve already given you what I owe, so stop

paled in humiliation and anger before she suddenly wailed madly. It was as if she wanted the entire village

scolding your own aunt now! Do you think that just because

louder by the second. Charlie got up

wailing and I’ll kill

“Let’s go first, Mom. I’d like to see just

expressionless as he watched the family

to borrow that 10,000 from them

her head

“Haha.”

as a mortgage and was even forced to cut 20% of our farm’s land. They call it lending, but they might as well

he begged them for three days for my sake and got

Sally who were quiet before turning to Jasper and speaking sincerely, “You’ve got to repay your parents for all they’ve

…

At Jasper’s house.

was too poor to have actual furniture, so they could only let Wendy sit on the long bench with embarrassed looks on

was a familiar sight when

an expression of distaste and refused to even enter the house, opting to

however, was completely

by the family’s poor condition at all. Instead, she kept talking to Jasper’s

comparing the two, Sally breathed a breath of