Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Mom, what do you think about me being my brother’s assistant? Charlotte Young used to do it, and she just went to some art school. If she could do it, why can’t I? I’m no worse than her.”

Mrs. Grant glanced at her. ”That was your brother’s decision. What’s the use of telling me? If you want the job, call your brother directly. And Jean, I don’t mean to criticize you, but how can you be so thoughtless? It’s been so many days since the incident with your two nephews, and Nora just woke up. You and Nicholas haven’t even gone to see them. How can you be so inconsiderate?”

”My brother doesn’t really want to see me right now, I think. What would be the point of me going? I’m not that close with Nora Ainsworth anyway.”

”Even if you’re not close, you’re still her sister-in-law.”

”What sister-in-law? They aren’t even married.”

”What’s the difference? Is your brother going to fall in love with some other woman? I don’t think so. Later, get Nicholas, buy a few things, and go over to your brother’s place to see her.”

Jean Grant nodded. ”Fine.”

Although she said she would go later, Nicholas Ainsworth wasn’t free at the moment. So, it wasn’t until evening that they bought some gifts and went to Quentin Grant’s house.

As soon as they walked in, they saw Ethan Ellsworth and Chloe Marshall sitting in the living room with Dorothy, talking with Nora.

Jean Grant put the gifts on the table, sat on the sofa, and looked at Nora Ainsworth. ”Are you doing okay?”

’She didn’t know what to call her. ’Sister-in-law’ felt awkward, but using her first name didn’t seem quite right either.’

In the end, she didn’t call her anything at all.

”I’m fine,” Nora Ainsworth replied.

”You look fine to me. My mom was the one who insisted I come see you.”

Nora Ainsworth didn’t know how to respond.

Nicholas Ainsworth looked at Nora Ainsworth and said, ”My condolences, Nora.”

”Mm.”

They had almost nothing in common to talk about.

Dorothy Ellsworth was nestled in Nora Ainsworth’s arms, very well-behaved.

Jean Grant looked at the child and suddenly laughed. ”She’s just like Chloe Marshall, practically cast from the same mold. A little silly.”

Dorothy Ellsworth didn’t like hearing that. ”I’m not silly! You’re the silly one, Auntie! Can’t you see my auntie and uncle are very sad? And you’re laughing.”

Jean Grant was embarrassed. ”You little kid.”

Ethan Ellsworth called out, ”Dorothy, come to Daddy.”

Dorothy Ellsworth went over, and suddenly, she pointed at Jean Grant. ”Daddy, this auntie isn’t nice at all. I hate her.”

”Mm.”

Jean Grant looked as if she’d been slapped. She stood up, shot Nicholas Ainsworth a look, and left in extreme embarrassment.

Once they were out the door and sitting in the car, Jean Grant fumed, on the verge of a breakdown. ”Nicholas, did you see Ethan Ellsworth’s daughter back there? She’s exactly like Chloe Marshall. And she said she hated me!”

”Why are you getting worked up over a child?”

”I’m just upset.”

”From what I can see, your brother has no patience for you right now, and Nora wants nothing to do with you. It would be best if you came around less often from now on.”

Jean Grant was a little dejected. ”Tell me, why is there such a huge difference between sons and daughters?”

Nicholas Ainsworth paused for a moment, then said four words: ”It’s all about effort.”

「On Death Island, the higher-ups from Valeria had ordered the bombed-out areas to be rebuilt.」

All sorts of chaotic noises could be heard constantly. The two boys used to make a daily trip to the bamboo forest, but now they just spent their days sharpening stones.

They didn’t dare go near the construction sites. After all, if they were caught, death would come swiftly. This way, at least, they were safe.

The weather here was always unpredictable. One moment, the sun would be shining brightly; the next, a torrential downpour would begin.

And so it was now.

They sat at the edge of their stone cave, watching the heavy rain outside, feeling a bit cold.

But what the two boys hadn’t expected was that some of the construction workers would use the rain as cover to come this way, looking for water and a chance to fish. And that wasn’t all—a few of them also spotted the cave where the two boys were hiding.

As they headed over, Monty was the first to notice them.

He alerted the two boys, who quickly hid in the innermost corner of the cave, peeking out cautiously.

Soon, the voices of several large men echoed from the mouth of the cave.

”Huh? There’s a python in here!” one man was the first to exclaim.

To the two boys’ surprise, these construction workers from Valeria weren’t scared off at all. Instead, one of them said, ”If we catch this python, we can sell it for a lot of money. By the looks of it, this snake is still young.”

”Yeah, we could make a small fortune. But it won’t be easy to catch.”

”What are snakes most afraid of? Sulfur, of course. We’ll go get some to sprinkle around, and then get a syringe with anesthetic. You think we won’t be able to get it then? It’ll definitely sell for a good price. Some people love to eat this stuff.”

”Alright, you three stay here and keep watch. The two of us will go back and get the sulfur and the syringe.”

”Deal.”

The three men stood at the mouth of the cave, taking shelter from the rain. Inside, the two boys overheard their plan and became frantic.

”Brother, they want to capture and kill Monty.”

Dylan Grant thought for a moment. ”In that case, we can’t just wait for them to come and capture him.”

”Brother, you’re thinking...”

Dylan Grant waved at the python. It slithered over quickly, seeming to understand him completely.

Dylan Grant said in a low voice, ”They want to kill you. You... handle it as you see fit. I won’t stop you.”

Monty seemed to half-understand. He let out a hiss, then turned and lunged toward the three men at the cave entrance. He bit one of them on the neck and, as the other two watched in horror, killed him. Monty didn’t eat the body; doing so would make him too sluggish to move, let alone protect the two boys and himself.

The other two men were terrified and tried to run, but how could they outrun a python?

Their deaths were quick and painless.

Monty dragged the three bodies into a nearby ditch.

Then it waited for the other two to arrive.

What neither the boys nor Monty expected was that it wasn’t just two people who came back—it was a whole group.

There looked to be eight or nine of them.

It seemed to be the entire construction crew.

They could be seen from a distance.

”Monty, you can’t handle all of them.”

But he just nuzzled the two boys’ faces as if to say it was okay.

Then he grabbed their clothes with his mouth and dragged them deeper into the cave.

He himself then quickly exited the cave, coiled around a tree, and climbed up.

A clamor of hurried footsteps appeared at the mouth of the cave.

”There’s nothing here! Where are the other three guys?”

”Don’t tell me those three sent us away just so they could subdue the prize and take off with it themselves!”

”Hey, look over there!” one of them shouted in a panic.

The eight or nine men quickly looked over. Lying in a small ditch were three bodies.

They hadn’t been dead for long.

”Killed by a snake bite.”

”Let’s get out of here. We shouldn’t mess with this thing,” one of the men said.

”We’re already here, what’s there to be afraid of? The two of us just looked it up. This type of python is extremely rare and valuable. It’s not often you see one, and the price is very high. We brought the sulfur and the anesthetic. As long as it dares to show itself, we’ll subdue it immediately.”