As soon as the words of the old Mrs. Henley were uttered, Bruno couldn’t help but tease, “Grandma, just now, a certain useless son-in-law was proudly claiming that August invited him to attend Old Mr. Browne’s birthday banquet. Leo, do you think I’ll see you at Old Mr. Browne’s banquet?”
Observing Bruno’s smug expression, Leo sneered, “Rest assured, you’ll definitely see me. Don’t be frightened out of your wits then.”
“Leo, even if you’re acting cool, you need to have some limits. Who the hell do you think you are? I’ll leave it here today. If you can show up at Old Mr. Browne’s birthday banquet, I’ll bark like a dog in front of everyone!” Bruno angrily set a trap for himself.
Leo had never seen such a foolish person. This could be called trapping oneself.
Leo decided to play along, “Fine, if I don’t show up the day after tomorrow, at the next family meeting, in front of everyone, I’ll kneel and bark like a dog in front of you.”
Seeing Leo’s indifferent expression, Bruno felt a bit uneasy.
Could this useless son-in-law really attend Old Mr. Browne’s birthday banquet?
Absolutely impossible!
Leo, living at the lowest level in the Bloomer family, wouldn’t know August. Even if pigs could fly, he wouldn’t know August.
Time flew, and two days later, a grand event in Langstel’s upper-class society had begun.
This day marked the 80th birthday of August’s father, Old Mr. Browne.
The Sunshine Holiday Hotel, a super five-star luxury hotel, had issued a notice of closure three days ago.
For three days, the Sunshine Holiday Hotel had been busy preparing for Old Mr. Browne’s birthday banquet.
On this day, the hotel’s security measures reached their highest limit. Aside from the invited guests, no one else was allowed to enter the hotel.
The hotel staff had also been specially arranged for this occasion, with a uniform of handsome men and beautiful women.
It illustrated how grand Old Mr. Browne’s 80th birthday banquet was.
Before the banquet began, one luxury car after another drove into the hotel’s parking lot.
People in suits and leather shoes descended from the luxury cars, each one a powerful figure in Langstel’s upper echelons.
The ten members of the Bloomer family also arrived, led by the old Mrs. Henley, Teresa. Bruno, Fanny, Sophia, Sean, and other core members of the Bloomer family were present.
Outside the main entrance, the old Mrs. Henley handed an invitation to a welcoming staff member.
The staff member carefully examined the invitation and then arranged for another staff member to guide the Bloomer family’s ten members to a seat specially reserved for them in the banquet hall.
This seat was not too far from the guest of honor’s main seat. After taking their seats, the old Mrs. Henley couldn’t help but feel excited.
In such important occasions, the positions one occupied were crucial. The closer to the main seat, the more esteemed by the Browne family.
The current Bloomer family, from being ignored in the past to now having a specific table closer to the main seat, this tremendous improvement brought great joy to the old Mrs. Henley.
Before taking her seat, Bruno deliberately scanned the banquet hall. He knew many top-tier scions of prominent families were present, yet he didn’t see Leo.
“That useless Leo, during the family meeting, was swearing he received an invitation from August Browne to attend this banquet. Now it seems, you can’t trust the words of a useless person.” Bruno muttered under his breath.
It happened to be heard by the old Mrs. Henley: “Bruno, Mr. Browne’s name is not something you can casually address, be careful!”
The old Mrs. Henley’s reminder made Bruno’s heart skip a beat. He quickly glanced around, relieved that no one had heard.
Fanny also surveyed the banquet hall, disdainfully saying, “Bruno, you can’t trust the words of a useless person like Leo. Look at the people who are here today. A son-in-law, how could he possibly qualify to be here?”
Fanny looked at Sophia, teasing, “Sophia, you heard what Leo said at the family meeting. Since he’s going back on his word now, after the banquet, you must remind him to learn to bark like a dog at home, preparing for the next family meeting .”
Sophia glared coldly at Fanny, “Fanny, silence suits you. No one thinks you’re mute. Leo will come!”
This morning, when Sophia asked Leo if he wanted to leave together, Leo asked her to go ahead because he needed to go to the clinic first to bring a birthday gift for Old Mr. Browne.
Fanny snorted and looked at Bruno, “Bruno, I’m really looking forward to seeing that useless Leo kneel in front of you and bark like a dog.”
“Don’t worry, at the next family meeting, I’ll make sure Leo, this useless dog, barks in front of everyone.” Bruno confidently declared.
A relative of the Bloomer family couldn’t help but laugh, “Do you guys think Leo’s zodiac sign is a dog?”
“Not ruling out that possibility. Otherwise, why would we all call him a waste dog?” Another relative chimed in.
Amidst the relatives’ banter, Bruno checked the time. Leo hadn’t shown up until now, indicating that he definitely wouldn’t appear. This made Bruno even more pleased.
On the top floor of the hotel, in the presidential suite.
In the room were four people: Leo, August, Renee, and August’s father, Old Mr. Browne.
Although Old Mr. Browne and Leo were meeting for the first time, after a brief interaction, the two became acquainted and quickly showed signs of becoming close friends.
Old Mr. Browne first expressed gratitude to Leo for saving his granddaughter and curing his son’s illness. After learning about Leo’s excellent Go skills, he insisted on playing a couple of rounds with him.
After three rounds of playing Go, the old man was getting frustrated. His once self-proclaimed decent Go skills were utterly helpless in front of Leo.
“Leo, my boy, today, I’ll crush your arrogance no matter what!” Old Mr. Browne, with a childlike heart, unwilling to admit defeat, took out his phone and made a call.
Shortly after Old Mr. Browne hung up, an old man led two young people, a man and a woman, into the room.
The old man was named Andy Rossetti, a good friend of Old Mr. Browne. The young man and woman behind him were Andy Rossetti’s disciples, named Levi Charles and Lorraine Bell, respectively.
Old Browne stood up from his seat, smiling, “Old man, I’ve encountered a formidable opponent today. Now, I can only rely on you, this reinforcement.”
“Oh, who managed to beat you?” Andy Rossetti wondered.
Old Mr. Browne pointed to Leo, “It’s this young man with exceptional Go skills.”
Then, Old Mr. Browne introduced Leo to Andy Rossetti, “Leo, this is my good friend, Andy Rossetti, and these two are his closed-door disciples, Levi Charles and Lorraine Bell.”
Leo stood up from his seat and greeted Andy Rossetti, “Mr. Rossetti, hello.”