Ch. 971..975: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 971-975

Chapter 971

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 971 “I got it, mom. Still, isn’t the Royal Dragon Group’s boss rather mysterious? After all, he was able to rise up the ranks in Heavenly City so quickly! The boss must be extremely extraordinary! Also, from what I’ve heard, he’s been unwilling to participate in many occasions… It makes me wonder if such a powerful figure would actually want to participate in our family’s event in the first place!” replied Tulip.

“Upon returning to the country, I’ve heard matters regarding the Royal Dragon Group as well. Rumors say that the Royal Dragon Group is packed with extremely fierce and tough subordinates. They also say that the boss of the group is a very young man with extremely vague origins! Would you happen to know anything more about them, mom?” asked Juliet who had also been curious for a while now.

After all, to think that the boss of the Royal Dragon Group was actually at the same age that she was! Juliet was also greatly interested in finding out what he actually looked like, as well as how he had acquired such great abilities to the point where people actually willingly submitted to him.

It certainly wasn’t out of the ordinary for girls to admire such capable people, and Juliet was no exception to that.

“I’m not too familiar with him either… While the Yowells did send someone over to the Royal Dragon Group to congratulate him during their opening ceremony, in the end, the boss himself didn’t participate in his own opening ceremony!”

“Regardless, I’m certain that he’ll attend our auction this time. After all, very few people are able to resist the allure of the Ginseng King. Once the Royal Dragon Group’s boss has arrived, I want both of you to be on your best behavior! You know, if he’s interested in either of you, then the Yowells truly will be the overlords of Heavenly City in the future! The Westleys can just beat it by then!” replied Heidi with a smile as she crossed her arms.

“I’m already married, mom!” grumbled Juliet as she frowned slightly.

“Nonsense! What sort of marriage even is that? Don’t think I’m unaware of what you’re trying to do by marrying such a wimpy guy! I’m telling you ahead of time that what you’re doing is useless! Also, the divorce happens as soon as the event is over! Stop being an embarrassment to the family!” growled Heidi as her face turned slightly red in anger.

Before she could continue bad-mouthing Gerald, a voice called out, “Our teacher is actually pretty good, Aunt Sachs! He was the one who saved Tulip, after all!”

Turning to look at the owner of the voice, it turned out to be Specky as he and Tulip’s other friends backed Gerald up.

“You’re all just kids, so what would you know? Love and gratitude are two completely different matters you know?” replied Heidi.

At that moment, one of Tulip’s classmates shouted, “You’re here, teacher!”

True to the student’s words, Gerald was slowly walking over to the group of people. He had earlier been making arrangements for the guestrooms after being instructed by Juliet to do so. Now that he was done, he had decided to come over.

“I guess you’ve all come over to have fun since the university’s closed for the next few days,” replied Gerald as he smiled with a subtle nod.

“That’s right, teacher!” said Specky and a few others as they all laughed.

“Pfft! What utter trash! Trying to put on airs here! Just have a good look at yourself! If it wasn’t for Juliet, would you even be able to witness such an event with your own eyes?!” scowled Heidi as she poked Gerald’s chest with a finger.

Heidi was really trying to make it a point that she was extremely upset with her daughter’s decision to marry this wimp. After all, she had made it clear to Juliet before that her son-in-law had to at least be a reputable figure!

Just as she was thinking about that, Heidi heard a female voice saying, “Hello, Madam Sachs!”

Facing the direction of the voice, everyone present saw a group of people walking over to them. The leader was a beautiful, long-haired woman who was dressed in a professional suit.

Her group seemed to have attracted quite a bit of attention by the time they finally stood before Heidi.

“Oh, it’s you, Miss TakenaMeiko! I apologize for not greeting you earlier!” replied Heidi with an instant change in mood as she smiled at Meiko.

“It’s alright, Madam Sachs! You seemed to be busy earlier so I didn’t want to disturb!” said Meiko—with her rather inarticulate attempt at speaking the local dialect—as she glanced at Gerald. After looking at the earlier reprimanded man for a brief moment, she nodded toward him before smiling subtly.

The Japanese woman’s smile was truly beautiful. After all, whenever she did so, her lovely eyes would curve into the shape of two breath-taking crescent moons that simply gave off a warm and pleasant vibe.

“My apologies! I was simply lecturing one of my naïve servants! You’re not getting in the way of anything at all! Still, you must be exhausted from your journey all the way from Japan! I’ll immediately arrange for a guestroom for you to rest in!” replied Heidi rather awkwardly.

“A servant? I remember you mentioning something about a son-in-law, however…” said Meiko as she fiddled with her hair.

 

Chapter 972

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 972 “You must’ve heard wrong then! It’s impossible that he could be my son-in-law!” replied Heidi instantaneously as she peeked at the six young Japanese men who were standing silently behind Meiko. All of them had indifferent expressions etched on their faces.

Gerald himself was already looking at the six subordinates Meiko had brought along with her. Sensing their powerful auras, Gerald could tell that all six of them were masters at their craft. This Japanese woman certainly wasn’t an ordinary person to be able to have such powerful guards by her side!

Meanwhile, a large group of people began heading up from below the mountain villa. While several other forces had also been making their way up the mountain road, as soon as they noticed the ascending group behind them, the other forces immediately stood on both sides of the road to make way for them.

“Madam! Those from the Royal Dragon Group are here!” exclaimed Heidi’s butler who had been standing by her side this entire time.

Hearing that, Heidi instantly prepared her most respectful attitude before announcing, “Welcome, Royal Dragon Group!”

By then, even Juliet and Tulip were already looking at the swiftly approaching group. After all, they both wanted to see what the young boss of the Royal Dragon Group looked like.

Even Meiko—who was initially already walking away with her guards—stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“What is it, Miss Meiko?” asked one of her guards.

“I’ve heard plenty about the Royal Dragon Group of Heavenly City… They’re so powerful that they managed to conquer half of Heavenly City in less than a month! I believe that getting acquainted with their boss will definitely be beneficial to me in the future!” replied Meiko with a smile as she looked at the group of people who had just stopped in front of Heidi.

“Greetings, Madam Sachs! I go by Drake and this here is Whistler! Both of us have been sent to be representatives of the Royal Dragon Group!”

With Gerald’s help, over thirty percent of Drake’s injuries had already been healed. Though fighting was definitely not possible yet, Drake could already resume doing normal activities.

“The Yowell family is already very grateful that the Royal Dragon Group took the time to even attend our event! Your attendance is very much appreciated. I’ll get someone to arrange a guest room for you immediately! Speaking of which, about the Royal Dragon Group’s…?” said Heidi as she smiled before looking around. It was evident that she wanted to ask about their boss.

“Chairman Crawford is currently busy. However, he will definitely come albeit a bit late!” replied Drake.

“I see! So his last name is Crawford… Well, it would definitely be for the best if he came!” said Heidi.

The moment her gaze fell upon Gerald, however, her expression immediately changed as she yelled, “What are you still standing there in a daze for? Hurry up and arrange the guestrooms for the VIPs from the Royal Dragon Group and the Takena family already!”

“Roger!” replied Gerald with a subtle nod.

After looking at both Drake and Whistler, he began leading both groups to their respective guestrooms.

“Seriously! The more I look at him the more anxious I get! How is someone like him even still alive when there are so many other outstanding people on this planet! What more, his last name is Crawford as well so why’s there such a massive difference between him and the other party?” scoffed Heidi.

Juliet herself didn’t say anything to that. After all, she had deliberately chosen to marry a man who was as useless as Gerald.

Speaking of Gerald, once he had arranged the accommodations for Drake and his men, he quickly gave them new instructions.

A change of plans was definitely needed since he could never have anticipated the participation of so many powerful forces and masters due to Heidi’s actions. With how chaotic things were getting, Gerald simply told his men to stand down for the moment until he gave further instructions.

After relaying that, Gerald immediately arranged for Meiko’s accommodation next.

“This will be your guest room, Miss Meiko. Service staff will always be present as soon as you step out of your room, so do seek them out if you have any particular requests!” explained Gerald with a smile.

Just as he was about to leave, however, Meiko suddenly called out, “Hold on a moment, sir!”

“IS there anything else I could help you with?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you could do me a favor…” said Meiko as she bowed slightly before Gerald.

“A favor?”

 

Chapter 973

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 973 “Yes… If possible, I’d like you to pass on this message—along with my business card—on my behalf to those from the Royal Dragon Group… ‘The Takena family would love to have the opportunity to meet up and have a meal with Crawford-san from the Royal Dragon Group. Do you accept?’ I do hope that you’ll convey this message to them for me!” explained Meiko as she bowed once more while holding out her business card.

After taking it from her, Gerald looked at her card while thinking about how remarkable and well- educated this demure lady was.

However, Gerald was well aware that this probably had to do with how strict Japanese culture was. Regardless, he still believed that as an individual, Meiko was no simple person.

The fact that he didn’t know what kind of family the Takenas were only served to increase his suspicions.

After thinking about it for a moment, Gerald nodded before replying, “Alright, I’ll pass the message to them for you, Miss Meiko. Enjoy your stay!”

With that, Gerald nodded at her before leaving.

Once he was back outside, he saw that Heidi was still waiting in front of the mountains. This struck him as odd since the representatives for all eighteen of the powerful forces had already arrived earlier. Gerald would know since he was the one who had helped all of them settle down.

Who was she still waiting for then?

“Everyone’s already here, mom… Shouldn’t we leave now?” asked Tulip.

“And who was it that said that? There’s one more mysterious guest who has yet to make their appearance! I have to personally receive this guest, you know?” replied Heidi with a smile as she continued looking down the mountain.

“Oh? We still have one more guest? And here I thought that the most luxurious villa within the mountain villa was reserved for us! Could that be for the mysterious guest instead?” asked Tulip again.

“Bingo! I’m thankful to have such a smart daughter!” replied Heidi with a triumphant smile on her face.

“From what we’ve seen, the guests who are already here are all extremely wealthy and distinguished! Not only that, many of the famous foreigners present are known for their power! Is there truly someone else who is even more powerful compared to the people we’ve seen today?” questioned Juliet next.

“But of course! There will always be more famous and powerful people out there! Speaking of our current guests, quite frankly, none of them are even close to comparing to how strong this noble family is!”

“I was only able to meet this person by chance when I was still in M Country. She was both elegant and gentle, the perfect oriental woman one could say! While she’s only about your age, Juliet, I can safely say that your temperance can’t even compare to hers, even after a billion years! If it wasn’t for her distinguished identity, I would’ve already asked her to become my sworn sister!” explained Heidi.

“Is that so?” replied Juliet slightly enviously.

“There’s no need for you to feel so dissatisfied… Regardless, I happened to mention the Ginseng King to her… Who would’ve thought that she would immediately express interest in buying it! She should be here any moment now!” said Heidi.

While waiting, Heidi continued telling her daughters more about the mysterious guest. In short, while she didn’t know where the mysterious guest came from, she did know that the young woman was exceptionally rich.

She was honestly the main reason why Heidi was able to gather so much confidence to host such a major event in the first place.

Gerald, on the other hand, simply listened in to their conversation. The more he listened to her talking, however, the more Gerald felt that Heidi was an extremely snobbish and arrogant woman.

Shortly after, several luxury cars came to a stop at the foot of the mountain. After a group of solemn and respectful-looking bodyguards cleared the way, two women stepped out of a car.

The woman taking the lead seemed to have an excellent temperament and she looked to be around the age of twenty-five. The younger woman, on the other hand, looked to be around twenty-two.

Locking arms, both of them slowly began ascending the mountain as Heidi laughed excitedly before saying, “She’s here!”

Seeing Heidi so excited, Gerald and the two sisters turned to look at the young women who were slowly getting closer.

Squinting her eyes slightly, Juliet was instantly filled with awe the moment she saw how beautiful and elegant the woman walking toward them was.

Gerald himself found his eyelids twitching the second he realized who those two women were.

“…Lyra? Bea?” muttered Gerald to himself as he suppressed his urge to shout in shock.

There was no doubt about it. The two women were none other than his fiancée, Lyra, and Bea, his cousin sister!

The men surrounding them were naturally from the Crawford family as well.

It had already been over half a year since they last met and Gerald couldn’t deny that he had frequently missed and thought about his family throughout that period.

He really hadn’t expected that he would be able to meet them out of the blue and here of all places!

Chapter 974

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 974 Though Gerald was considerably excited, he quickly calmed himself down.

While Gerald knew that his family had finally gained some respite after his disappearance so long ago, he was also well aware that he couldn’t just rush reconciling with the Crawfords just yet.

His thought process was that once news about the matter got out to the public, then all his effort and hard work in the past few months would go to waste. The foundation that he had so painstakingly established would easily be wiped out by the Moldells once that happened!

Understanding that, he knew that he absolutely couldn’t reconcile with his family yet!

After glancing at Bea and Lyra one final time, he turned around and instantly left the scene.

“You’ve finally arrived, Lyra! I’ve been waiting for you to arrive!” said Heidi excitedly.

“You must’ve waited for a long time!” replied Lyra with a subtle smile on her face.

Now that Lyra was standing before them, Juliet herself was starting to feel overshadowed upon getting a closer look at the girl who was currently exchanging conventional greetings with her mother.

As they were doing so, however, Lyra caught a glimpse of a figure entering another room. For some odd reason, her heart skipped a beat the moment she saw him!

“Is something the matter, sister-in-law?” asked Bea.

“…No… Nothing at all…” replied Lyra as she quickly shook her head.

Lyra was here today since she had heard about how important the Ginseng King was from Dylan. From what her father had told her, the herb was extremely valuable and difficult to obtain. Even the Crawfords had apparently sought out for it once, though they were never actually able to find it.

As for how Lyra got to know Heidi, she and Bea had met her while they were attending an economic management class in M Country. Since Lyra and Bea were also there to manage some of their assets in that country, they had bumped into Heidi sometime then, which resulted in Lyra eventually finding out that the Ginseng King was in her hands.

The moment she found out about it, Lyra immediately reported the matter to Dylan. Following that, Dylan barely hesitated as he ordered her to buy the Ginseng King off Heidi’s hands, no matter the costs.

All that eventually led to the events of today.

Soon after, night came, and excluding the most luxurious villa within Longstone Mountain Villa, all the other rooms were filled with joyous singing and dancing.

Almost everyone was drinking and celebrating the night away since the open auction had allowed people from all walks of life to gather in one place.

Meanwhile, Bea—who had just finished her bath—entered Lyra’s room before asking, “What on earth could that Heidi Sachs be thinking…? Why would she go this far when all she’s hosting is an open auction? If it’s money she yearns for, then I’ll just give her a blank cheque and tell her to fill in any amount she wants!”

Hearing Bea’s complaint, Lyra—who was wearing a pastel nightgown as she dried her hair—simply smiled before replying, “You should know that by doing so, you’re only going to scare her away! After all, anyone would immediately wonder if you were up to no good if you simply told them that so casually before handing them a blank cheque!”

“…That… makes sense…”

After that, both of them fell silent for a while as Lyra looked around while cupping a hand over her cheek.

Though neither of them noticed it, a figure was eavesdropping on them right outside their villa’s window.

“Speaking of which, Sister-in-law, I’ve seen you occasionally sighing ever since we got here… Are you sure nothing is troubling you?” asked Bea.

“…Well, earlier when we just arrived, I noticed a figure that looked very similar to your brother…” explained Lyra as she felt her eyes water slightly.

“Ah… You’re missing my cousin again, aren’t you…?” replied Bea with a saddened tone.

“It’s already been over half a year yet there’s still no news about Gerald at all… We don’t even know whether he’s dead or alive…” mumbled Lyra as she slowly covered her entire face, bursting into tears shortly after.

Also in tears now, Bea replied, “Not to worry, sister-in-law… My cousin is a good man so the heavens will always keep him out of harm’s way! He’ll definitely be fine! What more, if the Moldells have truly captured him, then their family would certainly not keep mum about it, right?”

After saying that, Bea pulled Lyra close to her and the two sisters hugged each other tightly.

Upon seeing this, the figure outside found himself clenching his fists tightly as well.

Chapter 975

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 975 Gerald himself was well aware of why Heidi hosted the open auction in the first place.

Putting it simply, she had made sure to invite as many large and powerful forces that she could in hopes that they would eventually fight each other to the death.

That way, once everyone else was battered at the end of the day, the Yowells would be the only ones left standing. In other words, not only would they get lots of money, but they would also be placed at an extremely advantageous position!

Of course, Lyra and Bea had no idea about all this and simply assumed that it was an over the top auction.

Surprisingly, they had become easy targets for Heidi to drag into this mess due to how mysterious both of them were.

“Just why the hell did both of you have to get involved in something so complicated…?” grumbled Gerald.

Naturally, he was the one who had been spying on them this entire time. As Gerald looked at the two fresh corpses at his feet, he couldn’t help but worry even more for the girls’ safety.

Gerald knew that Lyra had planned to be low-key this time around from the moment he saw how few men she had actually brought along with her. The fact that there were so few people guarding her only served to increase Gerald’s unease. It was the reason he was so actively protecting and keeping watch over the girls now.

As for the two dead bodies at his feet, Gerald still couldn’t guess who they worked for. Regardless, both of them had clearly been sent over to investigate the girls and Gerald just so happened to run into them while coming over to spy on Lyra and Bea himself.

After dealing with them, Gerald did consider ordering the Mighty Four Kingsmen to keep watch over the girls. After all, the black-robed old man had ordered them to follow everything Gerald instructed them to.

However, in the end, Gerald chose not to since he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest easy unless he was the one keeping an eye on them. Sitting outside their window, he knew all he could do for now was continue listening in to their conversations.

‘I’ve broken way too many hearts since my disappearance back then… However, it’s not like I have a choice since I can’t go home yet…. I feel like I’ve let Lyra down the most though, since she still considers me to be her fiancé after all this time…’

‘I’m sorry, but it really is impossible for me to be with you!’ Gerald thought to himself.

The hours then passed by and eventually, Bea returned to her own room to rest. Lyra herself slowly cried herself to sleep.

In the dead of night, once he knew Lyra was fast asleep, Gerald silently snuck into the room. Under the moonlight, Gerald could still see traces of tears on Lyra’s sleeping face.

Gently using a finger to wipe one final tear off the corner of her eye, he then blanketed her as he sat by her bedside.

“…Gerald… I’ve been… determined to be your wife ever since I was a child… Please… Just… please show yourself already… Please come home…” muttered Lyra in her sleep.

“…Home? I wonder when I’ll finally be able to return home myself…” replied Gerald in a soft tone, a bitter smile on his face.

‘I appreciate your love toward me Lyra… Though we can’t be together, I swear on my life that I’ll never allow harm to ever befall you!’ Gerald thought to himself as he gently caressed her forehead with the back of his hand.

It was at that moment when Gerald heard Lyra’s room’s door opening slowly.

As Gerald immediately turned to look at the door, Gerald realized that it was too late to even think about escaping now. After all, the girl who had just entered was now staring right at him.

Understandably shocked, the extremely startled girl was just about to scream when the dark figure sitting on Lyra’s bed instantly made a dash toward her, covering the girl’s mouth!

“There’s no need to scream, Bea! It’s me!” whispered Gerald as soon as he covered her mouth.

Bea recognized that voice anywhere and as soon as she heard it, her eyes immediately widened.

“Keep it down, we’ll talk outside…” added Gerald as he released his hand over her mouth and pulled the girl out of Lyra’s room.

“C-cousin!” cried out Bea as she leaped into his arms as soon as they were outside. She was currently experiencing a cocktail of positive emotions, so much so in fact, that she was even shaking slightly in her exhilaration.

“Is… Is this really you, cousin? Am I dreaming?” asked Bea as tears ran down her cheeks.

Gerald could feel how tightly Bea was hugging onto him. It was almost as if she was afraid to let go, thinking that the dream would end once she did.