While Charlie was deep in thought about the situation, ire broke the silence, asking with impatience, “What about you and Dad? Have you found any leads on Mom?”


    Charlie nced at the array of skewers and the beer in front of him before responding, “Um… We’re still checking out various mahjong halls in hopes of finding Mom. So far, there are no leads on her whereabouts.”


    With a sigh, ire said, “Then you can keep searching. Loreen and I will also continue our search for Mom.”


    “Okay,” Charlie replied quickly. “Don’t worry; Dad and I will definitely put in the effort to find her!”


    “Alright,” ire responded. “Let’s wrap this up for now. Please call me if you discover anything at all.”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    “Sure thing!”


    Once Charlie ended the call, he noticed Jacob already relishing his meat with enthusiasm.


    Jacob raised a ss of beer and then poured one for Charlie. As he savored the barbecue, he said, “My good son-inw, today we won’t be disturbed. Let’s enjoy a drink together. Here’s to a toast!”


    Charlie couldn’t help but chuckle. His father-inw seemed oddly rxed and carefree now that ine was missing. He nodded and said, “Dad, you really shouldn’t drink too much. Excessive drinking isn’t good for your health.”


    Jacobughed heartily, “I feel refreshed and happy right now. I’m just hoping your mother has joined some MLM organization. She won’t die from a little hardship; she might just be stuck for three to five years, and then we can finally enjoy a brief peace.”


    Charlie nodded but sighed, “That sounds ideal, but I worry that ire won’t ept it.”


    Jacob sighed in agreement, “True. ire is incredibly filial—perhaps too much so! But is your mother really deserving of that devotion? You don’t share any blood ties with ine at all. So, tell me honestly, if your mother were just like ine, would you still show her the same respect?”


    Charlie felt a bit embarrassed, his expression turning somber as he replied, “If my mother were alive, I would dly honor her, even if she had a worse temper than my mother-inw.”


    “That’s a fair point,” Jacob admitted, looking slightly sheepish. “I apologize for bringing that up. Let’s use myself as an example instead. You can clearly see that ire’s grandmother has a temperament simr to her mother’s. Both are shrewd women, just with a difference in age.”


    As he spoke, Jacob took a sip of his beer and continued, “You could say I’m not a very filial son. My mother lost everything she had, yet I wouldn’t let her move in with me, preferring instead that she live on the streets. Why? Because we all have our own views of right and wrong. You can’t defend your mother just because of your rtionship with her when she’s in the wrong, right?”


    Charlie nodded slightly, “You’re right.”


    Jacob sighed again, saying, “Actually, you’re living a better life than I did. At least you married a wonderful girl like ire. Even if you’re not wildly sessful, she would never leave you. If you ended up as unfortunate as I did, stuck with a difficult woman, your life would be miserable.”


    Seeing the mncholic look on Jacob’s face, Charlie felt a wave of sympathy for him. The old man had lived through so much. He had a sweet first love and was in a stable rtionship with her, but ine’s interference hadpletely derailed his life.<fn4ae6> Updates are released by fin?novel</fn4ae6>


    At that moment, Charlie deliberately inquired, “Dad, why don’t you share some stories about your first love? I heard some of the uncles discussing your rtionship during your ss reunion, and it sounded quite legendary!”


    “Legendary? How so?” Jacob sighed and exined, “Matilda and I were nning to marry right after our graduation. Back then, going abroad wasn’t easy, but because her family was influential, they intended to send us to the United States for further studies. We were set to marry before leaving for our studies together…”


    As he continued, Jacob’s frustration was apparent. “But who would’ve guessed that I would drink too much during our graduation party? When I woke up, your mother-inw and I had already…”


    “Well…” Jacob covered his face, then said, “ine is quite maniptive. She wasted no time telling Matilda about everything that happened between us, and Matilda got furious. Unlike ine, who relished causing chaos, Matilda simply wrote me a breakup letter, gathered her things, and left for the United States. I haven’t seen her since.”


    Curious, Charlie asked, “Did you not get a chance to exin yourself back then?”