To completely cover his face, John decided to wear a mask that hid half of his face and a pair of dark sunglasses that didn't reveal his eyes. In addition, although the clothes he picked looked decent, his outfit were obviously cheap as compared to ones he owned and usually wore.
He really made an effort to be inconspicuous, as if he didn't want anyone to notice and know about his return.
On the other hand, when James mentioned about picking up a friend from business, he was just saying that as a pretext. Actually, he was here to pick up John, whose whereabouts had been unknown for a year.
He recognized John despite his face completely masked, and he would never mistake him for someone else.
The only person he knew to have such straight long legs was his uncle. Moreover, he also knew only one person to be able to make any clothes, even the cheap and unbranded clothes, look really expensive and luxurious, and that one person he knew was also his uncle. If there was a person he knew that looked like an emperor despite how he dressed, it was his uncle.
Only John's presence could James' heart beat rapidly and his legs tremble.
As John walked over, James could not help but feel emotional inside. His eyes became redder, and with a sniff, he took a deep breath in attempt to regain his composure and raised his head to look at his uncle once more.
'Damn! I am already the CEO of J Entertainment Company, so how can I cry in public?
If I'm photographed crying in public and with my red face all over the media, how will I be able to hold my head up in confidence in front of my employees in the future? Where is my dignity? I need to keep myself up or else I have to face the consequences!
Therefore, I must not cry!'
James thought, trying to stop himself from shedding tears. Besides, he was an adult man, and an adult man must not be a crybaby.
While James finally got around to raise his head without tears flowing down his cheeks, John had already reached his side.
"What are you doing? What are you standing in a daze for?" John asked without stopping in front of him and walked past him.
Hearing John's voice was a trigger for James. Both his resolution and dignity immediately went down the drain, and the tears he forced not to be released suddenly betrayed him as they rolled down his red cheeks, flowing uncontrollably.
"Ugh! This is really shameful!" James cursed under his breath.
He then followed John and got into the car. He noticed that John had already taken his mask and sunglasses off.
Seeing John's face after a year made James feel awestruck.
He expected this of his uncle, but he was still surprised. It had been a year already since they last met, but time seemed to have not passed or even left a trace on him at all. As a matter of fact, he looked even more handsome and younger than he did last year as if age was just a social construct.
"Behave or leave." Even though John wasn't looking at him, James could tell how stern his look was and even noticed the deep frown on his eyebrows.
Despite the warning, James still felt exhilarated being with his uncle.
He was missing this feeling so much that he pounced on John and hugged him tightly, finally letting go of the rest of his tears without shame.
"Wah! Uncle John! I miss you so much! Why haven't you contacted us? I really, really miss you! You haven't aged at all!"
James pounced on him like a mad bull. John felt lucky that he was already comfortably seated. Otherwise, James would've knocked him off the car.
'When did he become so strong?' John thought.
Based on how his body had improved and had become much sturdier and firmer, John concluded that James that most likely exercised more often than before.
He was pleased that James had at least finally gotten on the right track and was no longer as cynical as before.
This thought made John happy. Then again, there was an adult man hugging him tight and crying like a baby on his shoulder, which made him slightly uncomfortable. With this, he gave out a sigh and patted his nephew's back. "All right, all right. That's enough. I'm back now, okay? So, let me go now."
"No! You might leave again and never come back!" Instead of letting him go, James held John even tighter. At this moment, he looked like a spoiled child.
With full of resent, he asked, "Uncle John, you have gone too far this time! How could you lie to us? You better believe me that we searched for you through all the rivers in the city. It came to a point where I almost asked people to drain every fucking river in the city!"
"Hey! Mind your tongue!" John reprimanded. James was starting to get more and more impolite to the point that he seemed to even forget that John was still his elder.
"I'm sorry, Uncle! I just got so carried away. Henry said that you might have escaped from the wedding, and that it was all a trick. Grandpa stopped me from looking for you and asked Richard and his men to keep looking for you."
At this point, James was hugging him so tight that John felt like he was strangling him. He was about to complain how he could not breathe anymore, but the moment he heard of James' cries and complaints, his gaze began to soften, and a smile made its way on his face.
Sighing, he felt deeply gratified. All those years of efforts in raising and taking care of James had not been in vain. James still had the conscience and concern for him.
"Wow, I'm surprised that you started to care about me. It seems that your wife has taught and tamed you well. Anyway, let go of me now. I can't breathe anymore," John said and patted James' arm.
"What other things?" John asked in bewilderment.
James held his chin up and looked away in anger. "Stop playing dumb. You all treated me as a fool and didn't tell me anything. Our whole family knew except me, and none of you even bothered to tell me! Hell if I knew, you all purposely kept me from the dark!"
John frowned and finally understood what James was talking about. The deep gaze he had behind the sunglasses was immediately fixated on James.
He was about to open his mouth, but before he could say anything, James interrupted him, "No! Your apology is useless now! I won't accept it!"
John's mouth closed, and the corners of his lips twitched once again. Despite what James had said, John had no intention of saying sorry.
Except for his little girl, whom he didn't mind apologizing over and over as necessary, it was already a great honor for others to hear the word "sorry" come from his mouth once.
'This brat is pushing his luck!'
John gnashed his teeth but still tried to rein and tame his temper. In the end, he didn't say anything, afraid that he might lose his temper completely once he opened his mouth.
Meanwhile, Richard could not help but sneak a few glances that them through the rearview mirror. He was shocked about James' shout a while ago, and he was even more surprised now that after disappearing for a year, John would let James blame him like this.
When John decided to stay silent, James said furiously, "I won't let Vivian go. She used so many dirty tricks to hurt Grandpa, and she even schemed so that you would divorce Aunt Nina and marry her instead. Although she’s now returned to the Ye family and gotten herself a backer, I’ll definitely seize every opportunity I get to kill her!"
John narrowed his eyes after hearing some new and interesting information from James' remorse.
"What backer?" As a matter of fact, John wasn't surprised that Vivian returned to her family. After all, Howard would never let his daughter fend for herself.
Moreover, John had been missing for the past year. Therefore, it was easy for Howard to do anything he wanted while John was gone.
What caught his attention then was this so-called backer that James mentioned.
James frowned and pursed his lips. "Well, I don't know the details..."
Richard cut in, "Excuse me, Mr. Shi, but if you don't mind, that matter is the reason that Henry asked you to come back. For the past year, a new force has been rising in Lexingport City. Along with that force, the Ye family has doubtfully acquired a lot more businesses, which are now ran by Vivian herself. As for the specifics, Henry is the only one who can explain everything to you."
John's expression turned solemn in an instant.
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