‘Maybe… maybe the old man misunderstood. Maybe if I explain—’
As the thought crossed Ethan Carter’s mind, the corners of his lips began to twitch upward in anticipation.
‘Right… There’s no way the Wells family would personally come here just for Reid Industries. The olan must have come to support me! After all, I helped them with Fortune skills—how could they not repay that favor?’
However, fate wasted no time in slapping him across the face. Before Ethan could savor his imagined victory, reality struck harder than any blow.
After delivering who-knows-how-many slaps to Trisha, the old man—assisted by Edwin—slowly made his way toward the head of the conference table.
To everyone’s shock, he stopped directly in front of Alex Reid. And then… The room collectively held its breath as old man, and the head of the one of the most influential families in the city, gave a slight bow of respect to Alex in which Alex returned a slight bow of respect.
“Ha ha ha… I apologise,” his voice and laugh, though aged, carried the weight of unwavering sincerity, “I must really apologize. I have failed to educate my family properly and allowed my granddaughter to cause you trouble. Please, I beg your forgiveness. I hope you can find it in your heart to be a big person and overlook this transgression.”
A stunned silence descended upon the conference room, heavier than before.
The gathered executives, many of whom had been gleefully anticipating Alex’s downfall mere moments ago, now found themselves frozen in place. Their gazes darted from Alex to old man and back again, as if their eyes might somehow deceive them.
“This… This has to be a dream, right?” one man whispered, rubbing his eyes as if to dispel an illusion.
“Did I hear that correctly? The Wells family… apologising to Alex?”
“Impossible. Absolutely impossible! What could Reid Industries possibly have done to warrant this level of respect?”
No one could comprehend what they were witnessing.
Even Trisha, still slumped on the floor with her cheeks swollen and blood at the corner of her mouth and nose because of some hard slaps could only stare blankly at her grandfather.
The man who had always stood above all others, the pillar of the Wells family, was now bowing to the very man she had conspired against.
However, the one most shaken by this turn of events was none other than Ethan Carter.
“This… What the hell is going on?!” His breath came in shallow gasps, his chest tightening with rising panic. ‘The old man, Mr. Edwin—they’re supposed to be here for me!’
Unable to contain himself any longer, Ethan’s voice broke the tense silence as he sprang from his seat.
“W-What’s the meaning of this?!” His voice cracked with disbelief. “Sir! Mister! Surely you’re mistaken! I’m the one who helped the family! Shouldn’t you be here to support me?”
“Support you?” Edwin scoffed, his expression dripping with disdain as he turned to face Ethan.
“Listen closely, boy,” he said, his tone cutting through the air like a blade. “You think your amateur skills are worth our family bowing in gratitude? Let me make this clear: we encounter so-called ‘masters’ like you at least a dozen times a year. If we didn’t throw you out the moment you opened your mouth, that was already more respect than you deserved. And you actually thought you were special?” Edwin let out a low chuckle, as though amused by the very idea.
The words hit Ethan like a sledgehammer to the chest. A wave of humiliation washed over Ethan, leaving his face burning red with shame.
“Wait a minute—so Ethan never helped the Wells family?”
“He’s been bluffing this whole time?”
“Damn it, this bastard! I trusted you! You’ve screwed us all over!”
The realization dawned on the gathered executives of the other companies like a slap to the face. Their anticipation of Reid Industries’ downfall had turned into collective embarrassment, and their frustration quickly found a new target.
Accusations and curses erupted from every corner of the room as one by one, the executives who had sided with Ethan turned against him without hesitation.
“You dragged us into this mess, and now we’re the ones left looking like fools!”
“Do you have any idea what this will cost us, uou bastard?”
“Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable…”
Their words struck harder than physical blows. Ethan staggered back a step, fists clenching at his sides as he tried to steady his breath.
‘No. This can’t be happening. I’m Ethan Carter—the prodigy, the future king of business! I won’t be humiliated like this!’
Grinding his teeth, Ethan forced down the panic rising in his chest. His gaze snapped toward Edwin, eyes blazing with defiance.
“You may look down on me now, but let’s not forget one thing—the Wells family’s Fortune layout is no ordinary design. I could tell at a glance that it’s the work of a true master, far beyond what any average practitioner could hope to achieve!”
A murmur rippled through the room at Ethan’s claim. Though many had turned against him, a few couldn’t help but nod in agreement all of them being from the Wells family though.
“His knowledge of skills isn’t completely baseless… Maybe he’s not as incompetent as we thought.”
“That’s right—only a true expert could recognize a high-level layout like that. He must still have some skill.”
Emboldened by their whispers, Ethan straightened his back and pointed directly at Edwin.
“You insult my skills, but unless you can find someone more skilled than me, your words are meaningless! I stand by my claim, when it comes to Fortune skills, I am unmatched in this modern age!”
As he finished, Ethan lifted his chin, eyes gleaming with pride.
After all, his confidence came from more than just arrogance, he had the advantage of a system that enhanced his abilities beyond ordinary limits.
With system help, he had deciphered layouts that should have been impossible for any contemporary practitioner to understand.
…
Bonus Chapters on: 500, 1000, 1500 Power Stones.
…
(A/N: Soon! This arc is going to end soon and a new arrogant protagonist will be introduced with new heroines and new faceslaps targets and more interesting things!!!)
Don’t forget to add this novel to your library and sent some power stones for support if you like the novel.