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Chapter 734 What Should Xander’s Last Name Be?

Justin smiled. “No, I’ve never heard of it.”

His words seemed to make Philip choke, and even his choice of words became less harsh. He said, “How come you don’t know anything at all, young man? How exactly did you manage to expand the Hunts to their current size? The way I see it, the Smiths should have taken over as the number one family a long time ago!”

His words gave Justin the illusion that the man seemed to be mentoring him a little.

Philip continued to speak fiercely. “The Imperial League is the most mysterious business organization in the world. There are twelve members in it, and they each use a different animal as an alias. They can dominate world economy trends because they have the sharpest intuition and they are sensitive enough to discern world development trends and pick up improvements in technology. Some time ago, the Imperial League had said that the real estate market in America will undergo rapid development, so everyone went to America to take their share of the loot. Now, the Imperial League says that the real estate market will go into decline, whereas new energy and technology will usher in all-around development, so everyone is starting to invest in those.”

At this point, Philip said, “Don’t be mistaken and think that it’s the Imperial League members who are influencing the direction of the world; rather, this is the inevitable trend of social development. The Imperial League is just going along with the trend! But with such a group of forward-looking people in there, our twelve families will never meet with any trouble! We will always be in the leading positions in the world. The Hunts don’t even know about the Imperial League, you’ll be eliminated by society and become out of touch sooner or later!

“Heh, if you don’t find a way to join the Imperial League, then you can wait to be utterly crushed by me!”

Justin: “…”

If it had only been an illusion earlier, then he was now sure of it-Philip was pointing him to a way out.

From beginning to end, Philip had never wanted them dead!

Justin fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he spoke, his term of address for Philip also becoming a little more respectful.

“Uncle Philip, you actually don’t hate my mother at all, do you?”

His one-liner made Philip choke.

After a while, he sneered, “How can that be? I hate her with every fiber of my being. For the sake of a mere $80,000, she abandoned me. Ha, in the face of money, our relationship is not worth anything!”

Justin, however, said, “You could’ve killed me when you kidnapped me back then. Wouldn’t that have pained and saddened my mother even more than separating me from her? Why bother waiting to save me after twelve hours?”

Philip didn’t speak.

Justin spoke again. “You were just waiting for my mother to give in and approach you for help. Were you waiting for her to apologize and bow down to you?”

Philip sneered, “Boy, you talk too much!”

Justin let out a low laugh and said no more. However, he’d already understood.

Philip really did love his mother very much.

It was true that Philip also hated his mother, but in the face of love, most of his hatred had been offset. Even though he’d punished his mother like that, he had never wanted to kill her. This showed that he had never really thought of hurting her.

Perhaps…

Justin lowered his eyes. He couldn’t help but start wondering.

When Herman realized the truth back then, if he had protected and defended his wife aggressively instead of giving her away, perhaps Philip would not have been so persistent but chosen to let go instead.

Because sometimes, the best way of showing one’s love was to let go.

It must have been Herman’s choice that had made him even angrier and even more disappointed, right? Iris had abandoned him for a man like that!

When Justin put himself in the other man’s shoes and thought about it, he immediately understood Philip’s indignation and selfish motives back then. Even though he was the one who had caused his family tragedy, in this instant, Justin instead hated Herman even more, not Philip.

He lowered his head and suddenly asked, “Uncle Philip, do you know what led to your failure back then?”

Philip was silent for a while. Then, he sneered, “Is a kid like you planning to teach me how to behave?”

Justin ignored his sarcasm and spoke earnestly. “Love can withstand trials, but it cannot stand being constantly put to the test. You and Mom were in a relationship with each other for three years in college. When you were a poor boy, she had already chosen you. Doesn’t that already show that she isn’t someone who detests the poor and pursues the rich? Yet you still deceived her after that, putting her to the test again and again. That could have only ended in tragedy.”

There hadn’t been any misunderstanding between Philip and Iris.

What there was between the two of them was just a sense of resignation.

Back then, Iris’s father had forced her into marrying Herman by threatening to not pay for her mother’s medical treatment. At that time, Iris had tried approaching Philip for help. She had asked him if he had any money, and if he could pay for her mother’s medical expenses for her.

A person who had been wealthy since he was a child wasn’t something that others could compare to. No matter how hard he pretended to be poor, there would always be traces of his true origin.

Iris must have suspected it before, right?

Yet, Philip had taken the opportunity to put her to one last test and made her choose between her mother and him.

If Iris could abandon even her seriously ill mother for their relationship, then he would never ever distrust her again.

Unfortunately, Iris did not dare to take any chances in the end. She had chosen her mother.

Philip suddenly became angry. “Love is the purest thing in this world, it should not be mixed with any kind of interests or impurities! Your mother is a person who shirks her responsibility in love, that’s why she met a man like your father! A man who can’t even withstand a single test!”

Philip was a very extreme man.

Justin snorted. “If Mom could only choose one between her mother and her lover, yet she chose you and decided to let my grandma die… How could someone like that even exist?”

“Why not?! Back then, I…”

Philip pulled the brakes in time at this point. He sneered, “Heh, you think I was in the wrong, right? In that case, what about you? Can your relationship withstand a test?”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “I never put such things to the test. Neither do I ever put human nature to the test.”

“Do you never put it to the test, or are you just afraid of putting it to the test?” Philip provoked him. “Isn’t your current situation exactly a trial? Now that you are in a pinch, how are the Smiths reacting? They must still be showing you full support, right? So, you’re moved? Is that it? Shall we make a bet?”

Justin smiled. “What kind of bet?”

“We’ll make a bet on the Smiths’ reaction after you lose! We’ll see if they will let their young lady marry you after you lose! And make a bet on whether your fiancée will still marry you or not!”

Justin lowered his eyes. “I won’t lose.”

Philip sneered, “Having confidence is good, but arrogance will only blind oneself. There is no lack of people who are stronger and more powerful than you in this world. Do you think you are already number one in the world just because you’ve flourished the Hunts? You are nothing in front of anyone from the Imperial League!”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“Who’s giving you advice?! Justin, I’ll wait for you and Iris to bow down to me. There will come a day when you’ll come begging to me!”

Philip was probably livid. After saying that, he hung up the phone at once.

Justin stared at the phone.

His anger towards Philip from before slowly dissipated.

At this moment, he heard voices from outside. A smile formed on his face and he walked out of the study. As soon as he exited the room, he saw Nora and Iris bringing the three children upstairs.

At the sight of him, Cherry ran over first. “Daddy!”

The two boys, Pete and Xander, were more reserved. They walked up to him docilely. Pete said, “Daddy.”

Xander pursed his lips and muttered unwillingly, “Daddy.”

Seeing his awkward behavior, Justin squatted down and looked at him at eye-level. He asked, “Xander, can we now change your name?”

Upon hearing this, Nora knew at once that Justin must have seen everything that happened just now. She curled her lips disdainfully.

That stinky man was such a sweet-talker. He must have asked her over so that she could help Iris out, ha.

Despite her thoughts, she looked at Xander with concern. Suddenly, she smiled and suggested, “How about adopting my last name and being a Smith too?”

Justin didn’t object. “Adopting Smith as your last name works too. Xander, I’ve thought of a few names for you. Would you like to test them out?”

Xander looked at the five faces around him. All of them had concern in their eyes, which made him a little uncomfortable.

But after he thought about it, he still said, “I don’t want to take Hunt as my last name, lest those people say that I came back to fight for family assets with Pete. Ha, I’m not interested in that bit of assets at all. I will make my own money when I grow up!”

Justin echoed him. “Uh-huh, so let’s change your last name to Smith?”

Xander glanced at Nora. Then, he lowered his head and said, “I… I don’t want to take Smith as my last name either.”

The few of them were surprised.

Xander rolled his eyes. “Does it really matter what my last name is?”

Nora thought for a while. “Not really, it seems?”

“Then that’s it, right?”

After saying that, Xander turned around and ran straight to his room. After entering, he locked the door from inside.

The little fellow sighed silently.

At this moment, his cell phone rang suddenly. When he answered, Trueman’s voice came from the other side: “Hello, Xander, it’s Daddy.”