A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

Joel Xavier was dressed very formally. It was his first time visiting his boss’s home, so he had to look the part. He couldn’t be too casual.

Kimberly Jennings looked at the dapper, elite-looking Joel Xavier, her eyes filled with confusion. "You are..."

"Mom, he’s here for me! This is Mr. Xavier. I sold him Philip Hale’s antique shop," Seraphina Sterling said. Seeing Joel in his sharp suit, the corner of her mouth twitched. ’Has he lost his mind? He’s dressed so flamboyantly, anyone would think he was here for a blind date!’

Seeing the disdain in Seraphina’s eyes, Joel was on the verge of tears. ’God knows how much time I spent on this outfit! And I’m still getting looked down on!’

Joel chatted with Kimberly Jennings in the living room, and it was only then that she understood the purpose of his visit. But she didn’t let her guard down. ’Seraphina is young. She’s brilliant, but she lacks real-world experience. As her mother, I have to stay vigilant at all times!’

Seraphina brought out the items she had prepared, one by one.

"There must be over a hundred pieces here, right?" Joel’s mouth twitched as he stared at the antiques of all shapes and sizes filling the living room. ’When did antiques become as common as cabbage? Other people struggle to find a single authentic piece, and she has this many!’

"About that," Seraphina replied casually. "They should all be authentic. Take them back and look them over one by one. If there are any you’re not sure about, contact me." She didn’t think it was a big deal. ’It took me the better part of a year to find all these; it’s not like I got them in a day!’

Joel was at a loss for words. He had personally witnessed the level of Seraphina’s appraisal skills. For any antique she had already confirmed, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it was genuine.

"Where did you get so many treasures?" Joel couldn’t resist asking after he had packed everything up.

"Bargain hunting at street stalls."

Ugh—

Bargain hunting... Joel suddenly felt a sense of despair. ’Just what kind of discerning eye does it take to pick out authentic pieces from a sea of fakes!’ He was once again in awe of Seraphina’s appraisal skills. It was like she had X-ray vision! Even the old masters at the research institutes weren’t this good—she was spot-on every single time.

"Your business strategy is sound. Change the shop’s name to Apex Collections, and after that, you can run it according to your plan. You absolutely have to be ready for the grand appraisal convention next March. There’s less than half a year left. I’ve provided you with so many good items, it should be more than enough for you to work with. I trust your abilities; I know you won’t disappoint me."

Seraphina seized the opportunity while Kimberly was out of the room to quickly go over the important matters.

"Don’t worry, Boss! Just wait and see the results!" Joel was one hundred percent confident in his plan.

Seraphina frowned, not quite satisfied with that form of address. "You can call me Miss Sterling from now on."

"No problem, Boss." Joel was already eager to get started and show what he could do.

Seraphina: ...

At the same time Joel Xavier was leaving, two men stood respectfully before Terrence Grant at Grant Manor.

Silly Monkey: "Besides the Jennings family and a young man named Joel Xavier, there were no other suspicious individuals at Miss Sterling’s home."

The throwing knife spinning nimbly in Terrence Grant’s hand came to a sudden halt. His voice rose slightly at the end, laced with a faint hint of danger. "A young man?"

Silly Monkey: "I looked into it. His name is Joel Xavier, an antiques dealer. He was at Miss Sterling’s home for a long time and moved a lot of boxes when he left. He’s not a threat."

"Not a threat?" The sharp throwing knife in Terrence Grant’s hand suddenly flew out, making the two men tremble.

Hughes immediately and dutifully handed another throwing knife to Terrence Grant.

Silly Monkey still hadn’t noticed Terrence Grant’s strange mood. "Sir, I did a detailed background check on this Joel Xavier. He’s just an antiques appraiser, a businessman with no combat ability whatsoever. There’s no way he’s connected to any mercenaries, so you can rest easy, Sir! Besides, with a man by Miss Sterling’s side, he can protect her if an unexpected situation arises!"

"I ordered you to protect her, and you expect someone else to do it? Are you all asking to be sent back for retraining? You need to rely on others for such a trivial matter!" As he spoke, the knife in Terrence Grant’s hand flew out again, this time grazing past Silly Monkey’s ear and embedding itself in the tree trunk behind him.

"Rest assured, Sir, we will protect Miss Sterling!" the other man, who had been silent until now, quickly interjected before Silly Monkey could speak.

Terrence Grant turned away. "In three days, have all the instructors from the base report here."

"Perverted Doctor, was the boss angry just now? I don’t think I said anything wrong!"

"A silly monkey is a silly monkey! You don’t even know why the boss is angry! How in the world did you pass the selection process? People are usually either high IQ, low EQ, or high EQ, low IQ. But you don’t seem to have either! How did I get so unlucky to be partnered with you!"

The man called Perverted Doctor shook his head, feeling an urge to bang it against a wall.

"Hughes, what’s the boss so angry about?" Silly Monkey still hadn’t figured out what he did wrong.

Hughes shook his head. ’Can’t speak carelessly about this. One wrong word and my life is forfeit!’

"Hughes, has your IQ degraded too?!" Perverted Doctor shook his head. "Who are we? We’re the elite who passed through countless trials and selections! And you actually suggested letting that guy, Xavier, protect Miss Sterling? Isn’t that basically saying we’re not good enough? And if we’re not good enough, isn’t that an indirect admission that the boss isn’t good enough? Of course he’s angry!"

Ugh— ’Is that really why the boss is angry?’ Hughes frowned. ’I used to think this Perverted Doctor was smart, but now it seems he has low EQ too.’

’But... the boss is calling all the instructors from the base. Could it be for *that* matter? But with Seraphina Sterling’s current abilities, is she ready?’