"What did I tell you? Our Champion Walker really did come out to play the hero and save the beauty."
After noticing that Julian's so-called "bathroom break" was taking unusually long, Ember and the other three came out to look for him.
The sound of slaps echoing from near the stairwell immediately drew the four of them over.
There, they saw four men and one woman kneeling on the ground, slapping themselves, while in front of them stood a composed Julian and next to him a woman whose tear-streaked face evoked pity.
It wasn't hard to guess what had happened.
When Adam and the others saw Ember and the other three approaching, they began slapping themselves even harder.
Adam didn't recognize Rowan, Asher, or Pierce, but he certainly knew Ember.
The Hearth family held unquestionable influence in Orient City—his family wasn't even fit to be their subordinate.
His family owned four major entertainment companies in Orient City, but the Hearth family owned the largest entertainment company in the world. There was simply no comparison between the two.
And judging by Ember's demeanor, she clearly knew Julian.
This made Adam even more terrified. Ember wouldn't even need to lift a finger; a single word from her would be enough to ruin his family.
He was acutely aware that all his power and privilege came from his family name—without that, he was nothing.
"Hannah, my friend," Julian introduced flatly, ignoring Ember's teasing.
"Hello," Hannah greeted them politely.
Although she didn't know these four, she understood that anyone who associated with Julian must have significant status and influence.
Ember's looks, demeanor, and figure even made Hannah, once the top beauty at Imperial university, feel somewhat inferior.
A woman like this wasn't just appealing to men—even someone like Hannah couldn't help but admire her.
Perhaps only a woman like this is truly worthy of Julian.
At that thought, a faint, bitter smile appeared on Hannah's face.
"What's wrong? You don't seem too happy to see me," Ember said as she walked up to Hannah, gently stroking her cheek with her hand.
The gesture made Hannah somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn't dare pull away.
"Worried I'll steal Julian from you, beautiful?"
"I'd love to," Ember said with a playful grin, "but unfortunately, Julian's my cousin. Isn't that right, cousin?" She threw Julian a wink.
Julian frowned slightly and said with a trace of irritation, "That's enough."
This woman really spared no one, regardless of gender.
"See? My cousin's getting angry," Ember said, retracting her hand at last.
"Your family owns an entertainment company, right? Hannah wants to get into the entertainment industry—let her join your company," Julian said.
Although the Walker Group was involved in many industries, it had never ventured into the entertainment sector.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, but they couldn't just overreach.
After all, if the Walker Group was to dip their hands into every profitable industry, given their current scale and the influence of the Walker family, they could easily dominate any sector they entered.
And if that happened—how would the other families survive?
Monopolizing everything was the quickest way to lose support.
The entertainment industry was one of the most lucrative fields, and the Hearth family was its undisputed titan.
Many of Drakoria's top celebrities, including reigning stars and entertainment legends, were signed under the Blaze Entertainment Company—a business owned by the Hearth family.
Not only that, but the company had branches all around the world and was ranked among the top ten entertainment corporations globally.
"Well, since you've asked, of course it's no problem. Next time we meet, your little girlfriend might already be a superstar."
Ember naturally agreed to Julian's request. Hannah had an outstanding appearance; with proper marketing and promotion, it wouldn't take long before she became the next national sensation.
"She's older than me. And what 'little girlfriend'? Don't talk nonsense," Julian said speechlessly.
He just wanted to help Hannah, a woman who had once crossed paths with him. To him, it was only a matter of a word—nothing more.
But when Hannah heard Julian say she was older, though it was true—she was a year older—it somehow didn't sound pleasant at all.
Julian's remark also reminded Ember of the time he had called her an "old woman," and her expression darkened instantly.
In one careless sentence, Julian had managed to offend two women.
This guy really was as blunt as they come. If he hadn't been born into privilege and didn't possess such strength, no woman would like him—unless they were blind.
"Julian, let them stop," Hannah said softly, seeing that the five people's faces were now completely swollen. If they kept slapping, they'd probably faint. Though she was angry, she didn't want to kill anyone.
"Alright, get lost," Julian said, waving his hand.
The five of them felt as if they had been granted pardon and immediately scrambled away.
As for making threats or seeking revenge? Only someone with a death wish would do that.
In fact, they knew the real punishment would come after they returned home. Once their elders found out they had offended Julian's woman, they'd probably get beaten even worse.
It wasn't just in novels that a family's downfall or even disappearance could be caused by their spoiled heirs offending the wrong people.
Every year, a few prominent families vanished for exactly this reason.
After all, there were always some people who enjoyed playing the pig to eat the tiger.
"Little sister, you haven't eaten yet, right? Come join us for a meal."
Ember took Hannah's hand and, without giving her a chance to refuse, led her straight toward the private room.
Hannah wanted to decline, but she truly hadn't eaten much—and besides, she wanted to spend more time near Julian. So she went along with Ember's suggestion.
"Julian, look at all that gold down there!" Celebi said, pointing at the golden "Thousand-Mile Landscape" sculpture below.
"Hm? What about it?"
Judging from Celebi's expression, the little guy was clearly hatching some kind of ridiculous idea.
"How about you get one too? Make a golden Celebi statue based on my proportions. It'd look so awesome placed at home!"
Julian couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What would I put it at home for? If I put a Rayquaza statue, it could guard the house. What would putting you do—ward off evil or prevent obesity?"
Seriously, what went on inside this creature's tiny brain? A golden statue of itself? Even he didn't have one—where did Celebi get the audacity?
"Hmph! Stingy! When I get rich, I'll make one for myself!" Celebi muttered, puffing up its cheeks and plopping down grumpily on top of Julian's head.
"Don't worry, you'll never have that kind of money in your lifetime," Julian said with certainty.
'Whether you even get to eat fried chicken tomorrow depends on whether I give you pocket money.'
"Bullshit! Once you die, I'll inherit your fortune! I'll definitely live longer than you!"
Just as Julian was feeling smug, Celebi suddenly dropped the bombshell.
'What the hell?!'
'This little thing is actually eyeing my inheritance? I'm only 22 right now!'
"You damn chubby imp—guess I've been giving you too much pocket money; you're getting bold!"
Julian grabbed Celebi off his head, pinched its cheeks hard, and said, "If I really die, my inheritance goes to my kids. You won't see a single coin!"
"In fact, I'll make sure they only give you one buck a day for allowance!"
But Celebi still refused to back down.
"People online all say that you don't even like women! So you definitely won't have kids! And when a Trainer dies childless, their Pokémon get to inherit their fortune!"
Julian: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
*****
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