“Un-Uncle Ross… That, that’s so heartless of you! ”
Baz trembled in infuriation.
“I might have been eating and living under your roof all these years, but it wasn’t for naught. I worked in your shop even when you didn’t pay me any wage. How can you ask me for money now?
“Do you have no shame?”
Embarrassment flickered across Ross’ expression when he heard Baz, but it vanished right after.
“Hmph. I told you, you didn’t know anything, Baz. Do you even know how expensive things are outside?”
“Go ask around how much it costs to rent a house in Legends District. Go ask how much people spend on daily living expenses.”
“Even if I counted the hours you worked for me, the salary that I’m supposed to pay you would never amount to what you owe me.”
“So, you can leave if you want. But I want at least 10 thousand, no, 20 thousand Somer Dollars!”
Ross had completely discarded the last bit of shame he had.
He refused to back down before squeezing Baz dry of every penny he was worth.
Baz trembled in anger and replied, “Uncle Ross, you didn’t even pay me all these years and you know how much money I have. How am I supposed to get you 20 thousand when all I have are the few dozen bucks you give me for living expenses every week?”
“I’m your nephew! Does it not hurt your conscience to treat me like this?”
Ross scoffed. The man spoke even more matter-of-factly now that there was no saving his relationship with Baz.
He pursed his lips in Jasper’s direction and said, “You might now have money, but what about Mr. Laine? He must be rich if he can offer you a job.”
Jasper looked at Ross coldly. Under normal circumstances, Jasper would not spare Ross even a cent. Jasper would rather throw money on the ground than give it to Ross freely.
However, Jasper turned to look at Baz before deciding. If Ross refused to respect Baz, then Jasper would.
“You decide.”
Jasper’s words caused an indescribable rise of passion and emotion to fill Baz’s heart.
He would follow Jasper even if the man was blatantly scamming him to work in the mines.
Most importantly, he knew who Jasper was. He was the owner of Easy Media. There was no way such a formidable man would waste his time on scamming him.
As he thought of this, Baz did not waste any more time wondering about into why Jasper was giving him such a chance. He clenched his j aw and said, “Please lend me 20 thousand, Mr. Laine. I’ll give it to him, and from today onwards, we won’t be uncle and nephew anymore! He and I will be strangers!”
“Alright”
Jasper nodded and agreed without hesitation.
‘Was 20 thousand a lot of money?’
To ordinary people, 20 thousand was the net income they made in a year, but this was only because Waterhoof City paid a higher salary. Still, it was quite the fortune.
However, this sum was insignificant to Jasper.
Jasper had earned more than 20 thousand during the time wasted here.
“I don’t have that much cash on me right now, so come to the bank with me,” Jasper said.
This was a logical request since no one would carry ten thousand worth of cash on them for no reason.
Ross, however, felt secretly regretful when he saw how readily Jasper replied. He wondered if he had asked for too little money.
He should have asked for 30 thousand instead.
What Ross thought did not matter though, as the three soon arrived at a nearby bank. Jasper walked straight to the counter and passed the employee his card. “Withdraw 20 thousand.”
The employee was taken aback when they saw Jasper’s ICBS VIP Black card.
The ICBS would not issue this card unless the owner had more than a hundred million worth of assets.
The employee smiled enthusiastically and quickly put the card in its reader. A ten-figure account balance appeared on the screen as the employee lost their breath.
‘Holy sh*t, 2.1 billion…’
This man’s personal account balance was equal to the cumulative deposits of three of their outlets.
Ross, who followed Jasper’s side closely, saw the figure as well.
He was dazed.
When Ross first saw the number, he thought he had mistaken someone’s phone number for it.
However, he immediately realized that a Somer phone number could not start with 21, nor could it be 10 figures long.
Ross gulped and looked at Jasper, paling with fear.
If Jasper was just slightly rich, Ross would be thinking of how he could squeeze him of another paycheck. However, seeing how wealthy the man was now, Ross’ greed turned into terror.
Any idiot would be able to tell that a certain degree of wealth was synonymous with power.
Jasper handed Ross the 20 thousand Somer Dollars and said calmly, “Why, wasn’t this what you wanted?”
Ross gulped loudly and he replied with a shiver, “It’s just… I… Mr. Laine, I actually…”
“Forget it.” Jasper had no desire to listen to what Ross wanted to say.
Jasper was unwilling to listen to what a man who was willing to corner his own nephew to the point of desperation wanted to say.
“This is the money I lent Baz. What he wants to do with it has nothing to do with me. All I hope is that you uphold your end of the bargain.”
“From now on, do not disturb or harass Baz ever again for any reason. The two of you are no longer uncle and nephew. You two are mere strangers, understood?”
Jasper’s words were to prevent the tragic event in his past life from happening to Baz again.
“Yes, alright.”
Ross took the money and turned to flee without giving Jasper another glance.
After Ross left, Jasper clasped a despairing Baz on the shoulder and said, “Relatives might not treat you the best sometimes, while strangers could potentially become a confidant. It just depends on the person.”
Baz nodded, understanding Jasper’s intention of consoling him. He grinned to reveal a sour smile. “Come on, let’s go talk somewhere in private.”
Jasper and Baz arrived at a quiet and elegant restaurant and sat opposite each other, ordering a few dishes in the process.
“Mr. Laine, could I ask how you came to know of me?”
After mulling it over for a long while, Baz could not help but voice out his biggest concern.
“We didn’t know each other before this but you came straight for me. You even gave me the chance to work for you and lent me 20 thousand Somer Dollars…”
“I know that 20 thousand doesn’t mean much to you, but it’s a huge sum for me.”
Jasper chuckled and replied meaningfully, “This 20 thousand really isn’t anything compared to the help I got before this.”
Jasper thought back to how his phone had been blown up with calls demanding him to repay his debts to online loan sharks, and how he could not even return home because of that. It had been Baz, the same man that was sitting cautious and respectfully in front of him now, that helped him every single time. Jasper felt emotional now that he thought about it.
He admitted that he was not a saint, but the most important thing people needed was a conscience.
Considering Jasper’s situation in his past life, Baz was already considered a great man for not avoiding Jasper. However, this superior had even forked out his own money to help repay his debts time and time again.
Instead of alleviating Baz’s concerns, Jasper’s words only caused him to become even more confused.
