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?”

had turned the atmosphere

to persuade Jasper but a glare

him blindly.

words killed the

wretched expression, Jasper’s aunt yelled cruelly, “I’m still your aunt and your elder no matter how you look at it, Jasper.

yourself. The village will

say what they want, I don’t care. The truth of the situation is very obvious here, whether I’m the one being cruel or if you’re

for one yourself. Go home, you’re delaying my family dinner. I’ve already given you

paled in humiliation and anger before she suddenly wailed madly.

are now, huh, Jasper? You’re even scolding your own aunt now! Do you think that just

aunt was wailing louder by the second. Charlie got up and stared at the hoe behind the door

I’ll kill you. You think

pulled his mom away. “Let’s go first, Mom. I’d like to see just how much longer they can be so full of

was expressionless as he watched the family

my dad managed to borrow that 10,000 from them at the

shook her head in

“Haha.”

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

begged them

look at Charlie and Sally who were quiet before turning to Jasper and speaking sincerely,

…

At Jasper’s house.

could only let Wendy sit on the long bench with embarrassed looks on

was a familiar sight when Jasper had brought Penelope

distaste and refused to even enter the house, opting

however, was

than Penelope, and she was not deterred by the family’s poor condition at all. Instead, she kept talking to Jasper’s parents and addressed them closely as Sally

comparing the two, Sally breathed a