Chapter 38: Chapter 38: All Cunning Old Foxes

The color drained from Jason Sterling’s face. His fingertips curled inward, nails digging deep into his palm.

"I’ll go over and say hello."

Jason Sterling had barely lifted his foot when Jayden Sterling’s unconcealed sneer came from behind, his voice laced with biting sarcasm. "Brother, can you really stomach that? Are you seriously planning to be a stepfather to that bastard?"

The word "bastard" pierced Jason Sterling’s ears like a needle. He went rigid, his forward step freezing in mid-air.

He instinctively glanced toward Sue Lawrence, who was by the bay window. She had her head lowered, listening to something Elliot Lawrence was saying, her profile soft. It was as if she hadn’t heard the commotion at all, yet for some reason, Jason Sterling felt a silent taunt hidden in her posture.

The atmosphere plunged to a freezing point. Wyatt Sterling let out a sharp snort, his piercing gaze sweeping over his two sons. "If you can’t even stomach a little humiliation, how do you expect to accomplish anything great? Have you forgotten? Vincent Lawrence has a logistics line in his grasp!"

A logistics line?!

Jason Sterling and Jayden Sterling’s eyes lit up. The earlier tension and displeasure were instantly replaced by greed, their gazes glinting with calculation under the lights.

The snow on the ground was twenty centimeters deep, and traffic was at a standstill. Normal logistics were completely non-operational—the very Achilles’ heel preventing them from stockpiling massive quantities of supplies.

But Vincent Lawrence had a logistics line. Even an idiot knew what that meant.

The three of them exchanged a look almost simultaneously. Their previous rifts and arguments vanished into thin air, leaving only a single, shared goal.

Wyatt Sterling was the first to move. Plastering a warm smile on his face, he strode quickly toward Vincent Lawrence. "Lawrence! It’s been too long!"

He extended his hand, his tone as familiar as if they were dear friends who hadn’t met in years. "It’s been ages since we had a proper chat, my friend. I still remember, back in the day, if you hadn’t been so generous as to lend me those thirty thousand to get by, the Sterling Group would never have reached the scale it has today. That’s a debt I, Wyatt Sterling, will never forget!"

The three members of the Lawrence family turned at the sound of his voice.

Vincent Lawrence wore his usual stern, aloof expression. But as his gaze fell on Wyatt Sterling, its cold edge seemed to soften, replaced by an unreadable depth.

Elliot Lawrence, on the other hand, made no effort to hide his frown. His lip curled, and the disgust in his eyes was practically overflowing, as if he had just laid eyes on something filthy.

"Sue, come here."

Without another word, Elliot Lawrence reached out and pulled Sue behind him, intercepting the hand Jason Sterling had extended toward her. He stood in front of Sue like a solid wall, his stance a clear message of rejection.

Jason Sterling’s hand froze in mid-air, the smile on his face faltering.

He could clearly feel the hostility coming from Elliot Lawrence. ’But why? His brother-in-law used to be so friendly, practically begging to take him out for drinks every day. How could his attitude become so cold and cruel in just a few days? Had Sue gone home and said something bad about him to her family?’

"Elliot," he said, suppressing his unease and carefully probing, "is there some kind of misunderstanding between us?"

Elliot Lawrence scoffed, his tone dripping with unconcealed sarcasm. "A misunderstanding? No, I don’t think so."

There was no misunderstanding, but every word was steeped in the blunt message that he simply found Jason disagreeable.

Having been the older brother for many years, Elliot Lawrence was used to putting on airs; he was proud and awkward. But toward people he disliked, he showed zero courtesy. His skill at being passive-aggressive was truly an art form, capable of leaving someone utterly speechless.

Jason Sterling naturally caught the sting in Elliot’s words. ’He was now even more certain that Sue had been spreading gossip behind his back.’

’It was just some angry stuff said during a breakup, right? What was the big deal? Did she really have to be so petty and go tattling to everyone?’

He complained to himself. ’Sue is wonderful, but she has such a spoiled-rich-girl temper. She’s so petty, you say one harsh thing and she’ll hold a grudge forever. That’s exactly why she had that huge fight with her family and stormed out in the first place. Now she’s back, telling them everything, and I can’t even make a good impression on her brother.’

He frowned slightly, his gaze toward Sue now tinged with impatience.

Sue: ?

’Whatever, that’s not important. Activate, Eye of Barrier Breaking. All right, let me see if I missed anyone in the Sterling Family.’

And then she saw the row of Skills above Wyatt Sterling’s head.

[A Level Fraud Marketing], [B Level Borderline Arbitrage], [A Level Substitution], [C Level Chain Tricks], Luck Value: 90

Sue: ?????

’What a crooked businessman!’

’Ugh, never mind. So sleazy. I’ll look at someone else.’

She aimed her focus on Jason Sterling’s brother, Jayden Sterling.

’The brother’s Skills are actually pretty decent.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

[A Level Aircraft Driving], [A Fencing Skill], [B Level Persuasion], [A Level Elite Physique], [B Level Business Management], Luck Value: 100

’Last time at the beach, all my attention was on Maeve Walsh, so I never bothered to check Jason Sterling. Okay, time to see what Abilities Jason has.’

[A Level Equestrianism], [A Level Skiing], [A Level Currency Ability], [C Level Fitness Strength], Luck Value: 10.

Sue: ???

’How did Jason Sterling’s Luck Value go up? Why?’

’Whatever, it’s not much of an increase. A single plunder and it’s gone. I’ll just treat Jason Sterling as a leek to be harvested from now on. For now, let me see what this A Level Currency Ability is.’

Sue was lost in thought, her eyes scanning back and forth over the heads of the two Sterling brothers. But no one was paying attention to her right now; they had come for the Lawrence Group, not for Sue.

Seeing how awkward the situation had become, Wyatt Sterling quickly stepped in to smooth things over, his face fixed in a fawning smile. "Young people can be tactless. They don’t think before they speak. Please, my friend, don’t take it to heart."

Vincent Lawrence gave a faint nod, his tone betraying no emotion. "I won’t."

Those two simple words, delivered lightly, were like a soft fist that cleverly deflected a thousand-pound force.

That’s right. They weren’t anyone important, so why would he take it to heart? Since they weren’t close, there was no point in holding a grudge.

Wyatt Sterling opened his mouth, but for a moment, he was at a loss for words. He cursed Jason a thousand times over in his head. ’Idiot! Why did you have to break up with her when things were going so well? You made the relationship between our families so tense, and now, even talking about a logistics line is this difficult!’

He composed himself, changed the subject, and got straight to the point, his tone probing. "Lawrence, everyone is frantically stockpiling right now, and market supplies are getting tighter by the day. Do you happen to have any connections? As long as we can get our hands on supplies, the price is negotiable. We can even settle in gold!"

The Sterling Family had a sizable reserve of gold. This was thanks to the family patriarch; as someone who had lived through wartime, he was a firm believer in the value of gold, a view that had also deeply influenced Wyatt Sterling.

Vincent Lawrence had intended to refuse outright, but when he heard the word "gold," he instinctively glanced at Sue.

His daughter was still spacing out, but Vincent remembered what she had said: no matter the circumstances, gold was always hard currency.

’But he had to play his part. He couldn’t seem too eager.’

He feigned a thoughtful expression, his tone sincere. "What special connections would we have? We came today to hear the leadership’s thoughts as well, to see if we can figure out a way to solve the people’s most pressing needs."

"Yes, yes, of course," Wyatt Sterling quickly agreed, his gaze locked on Vincent Lawrence. "But I have heard... that you have an exclusive logistics line?"

They were both sly old foxes; neither could hope to talk circles around the other.