Under The Veil of Night

"Oro from Fiore Group?" one of the elders asked. He glanced at Jason with disbelief all over his face. "Are you saying that Jason is that famous group’s member?"

Ivan felt satisfied when he saw the elder’s reaction. Jason’s reaction bore him, so the elder’s reaction caused him to be very satisfied. He had worked extremely hard to dig into Jason’s background and activity for the past few years. Finding out that this young man participated in Black Street activity caused him to feel elated.

He felt that he had grabbed on Jason’s Achilles heel.

"Yes, that’s true," Ivan replied. He took out several photos from the map. It showed the footage of Jason leaving the house, wearing a different outfit than usual. "After a long time searching, I find out that Jason actually has a relation with Black Street. He has been staying with them for a long time and has a rather close relationship with them."

The perfect successor has a relationship with the underworld was surely an interesting headline. Ivan smirked internally as he thought that the media will blow up the matter.

"Jason, is this true?" the elder turned his head towards Jason.

However, Jason didn’t answer anything. He merely picked up the glass in front of him in a nonchalant manner. His silence caused the elder to feel rather enraged. How come this brat didn’t answer anything in the face of something this big?

Ivan smirked. He thought that Jason was stunned silence because of his accusation.

"As someone who participates in Black Street’s activity, don’t you think he’s unsuited to be the perfect successor? What right do you have to tell us that the government is not good? Is it just your baseless assumption after being part of Black Street for a long time?"

Every question Ivan threw was hitting harder and harder to Jason. Even the elders were riled up when they saw this scene. Only a few of them stayed quiet and decided not to participate in this discussion.

Whatever they said, they would surely offend one party.

These two, Ivan and Jason, had been rivals ever since their youth. If not because of Jason’s bloodline, which was because he was the direct descendant of Wells Family Head, he might not be the future successor. Still, in regards to their capability, Jason has more capabilities compared with Ivan, so the selection was not truly unfair.

"You’re right, Young Master Ivan. As someone who participates in Black Street, he has more of a mind of a criminal than a young master. There’s no way he can possibly think for us."

"He has been brainwashed that the government is evil because of his participation. Young Master, we should think more about your opinion rather than him."

"Yes..."

"He’s..."

As the discussion turned into a one-sided attack towards Jason, Ivan was trying his best to hold his laugh. He had waited for this scene ever since a long time ago. Now that the chance has come, he would never let Jason off. This annoying cousin of his has to be dragged down from his firm throne as the successor of Wells Family.

On the other hand, Jason paid no heed to the direct insult directed towards him. His gaze landed on his father, who has been watching calmly from the back. The two pairs of eyes met with each other. Jason could clearly see the emotion from his father’s eyes.

It was filled with disappointment.

It was fully disappointment, not anger, not happiness, and not surprise.

’Father, you know, don’t you?’

Jason has always followed his father’s request ever since he was young. Every single request and tasks that his father gave him has always been finished extremely early and well done. It was to the point that he became nothing but a robot.

’Jason, redo this report!’

’Do you think this is a game? Do it again!’

’What? Don’t come out if you have not finished!’

Under the harsh training of his father, he learned that he had to do everything perfectly if he wanted to gain his recognition. Days and night passed as he spent them memorizing everything that his father gave him. Because of them, he looked like a panda ever since he was young.

However, he knew that whatever he did, the elders would never be satisfied with him. They wanted Ivan to be the successor. Older than him by a few years, Ivan has been trained to be the successor even before his birth. Because of his appearance, his father wanted him to be the successor, thus began the competition of the two youngsters.

In every field, he dominated his cousin. Not even once he allowed his cousin to defeat him. However, life was nothing but a continuous repeat of the day before.

His life has become nothing but a grey picture, without any color whatsoever around it. There was nothing that particularly made him excited him nor saddened him. He acted as the perfect gentlemen outside, displaying his full knowledge of etiquettes and did his work spectacularly, bringing the Wells Family into greater heights.

Only once did he feel emptiness: on the day his mother died.

He rarely met with his mother because of his father’s strict rule and everything. However, his mother always treated him gently and her loss caused him to feel lost. It took him days to fully accept that his mother had left him, leaving him with nothing warm.

One particular day when he reminisced about his mother’s death anniversary, he slipped away from the mansion. He was tired of staying around his people as their mind was only filled with profit and cost. Relationship with only trade in mind was something that he faced every single day. It was nauseating that he no longer has any feeling every day. His days were extremely dull. Even the praise from his father no longer entered his ears. There were like words of the passing wind, entering his ear on one side and out on the other side.

During his time slipping away from the mansion, he met with a young girl. The girl was not any different with any other kid on the street, but the way she cheerfully did her work with a young boy beside him attracted him.

’How come someone smiles so much in this dangerous street?’

He followed after them, and then learned so much more about the girl. Ever since that day, she became part of his life that he could never forget as she showed him a completely different life than what he ever knew.

For him, she was the light that showed the color that he never knew existed in his dull life where only the perfect existed.

As Jason brought his attention back to the hall, he noticed that they were looking at him with anger. However, he didn’t say anything, not even a word in his defense. All his attention was poured on his father’s face, which remained stoic all the time.

It was as if the news regarding Jason’s involvement in Black Street couldn’t faze him. He didn’t feel any surprise, though.

His father is the leader of a large family, the Wells Family. His capability was surely top notch, something far above the current him. Before he was termed as the perfect successor, his father has been known as the ’perfect family head’. He was only the continuation of the line.

After an unknown amount of time, Jason broke his gaze from his father, yet he still didn’t answer anything. His silence caused some elders to feel uncomfortable, but they didn’t understand what this young man wanted to do.

It was at this moment that the Wells Family Head spoke out, "Meeting adjourned."