"Hey, ogre. It''s be a while."


    Ss smiled and shook his head at Chloe''s words. If it had be someone else who called him an ogre, he would have definitely dismissed that person.


    He had moved past getting angry or upset about being called an ogre.


    It''s just that whever Chloe called him that name, it always made him smile.


    The reason for this was because whever she used that nickname, he could feel the yfulness in her voice.


    "Hi, Chloe. It''s really be a while," Ss chuckled.


    "Wow! You sound differt. You must have really changed since Ist saw you. For you to call me, you must have spok to my dad, and he passed my message to you."


    "Yeah, I did. I was actually surprised wh I got the message. I was curious, actually."


    "Well, the truth is that I saw the news… about Daniel''s father, and I was surprised. Wh I saw it, I thought of you, but I found it hard to believe that you could actually take down Lucas. That was until I asked my dad, and he cleared my doubts. I don''t mean to pry into your private life or anything, Ss, but I''m curious."


    Ss already knew where the conversation was going based on what Chloe said.


    "What are you curious about, Chloe?" Ss asked, his voice taking on a serious tone.


    He could already guess what she was curious about, but he wanted to hear her response.


    "...How did you do it? How did you achieve so much wealth in just two years? You already own cars worth millions of dors. It would have be differt if they were regr cars; one could say that you took them on loan or something. But one of them is a Bugatti, and it costs more than $0 million.


    Not just that—you also retained my father''spany for more than $0 million. All these changes..." She paused for a momt, and Ss heard her sigh.


    "Actually, it''s funny wh I think about it. The only person everyone believed would never amount to anything in life has achieved the most. Honestly, I didn''t have much hope for you, especially with how dumb and how much of a pushover you were in school.


    Ss, I want to say thank you for retaining my dad''spany. It may not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to me. Thepany was on the verge of going bankrupt before you retained it, and your action saved it.


    So, thank you. To show my appreciation, I was wondering if we could meet up and have dinner or something. I''ll be the one footing the bill."


    Chloe had said a lot, but the part about her father''spany being on the verge of bankruptcy left Ss feeling slightly speechless.


    He didn''t know how to respond to that information. He had no idea that Chloe''s father had aw firm, and it was ev more surprising to learn that it was on the verge of bankruptcy.


    Ss pushed his thoughts about that aside. He had already indirectly and uninttionally solved thew firm''s bankruptcy situation by retaining it, so there was no need to dwell on it.


    What interested him now was Chloe''sst stce.


    ''She''s inviting me out...'' Ss smiled at the thought of going out with Chloe.


    "Sure, let me know wh you''re ready," Ss said with a smile.


    "Okay, I''ll  you. Bye, ogre," she said and hung up.


    The smile on Ss'' face wided wh he heard her call him ogre before hanging up.


    If this had be before, due to his hatred for the opposite sex and people in geral, he would have refused Chloe''s invitation—but not anymore.


    After the night he confronted his dad, he let go of all the hatred and prejudice in his heart.


    Now that he thought about it, there was no reason for him to let what happed in high school define him as a person.


    ''That was a pretty dumb thing to do. It was no differt from how my dad used to behave,'' Ss sighed.


    He felt it was a good thing that he found himself before he got lostpletely in his baseless hatred.


    Ss was hopeful that something might happ betwe him and Chloe. Maybe something could ignite betwe the two of them… Okay, maybe he was being too hopeful, but a man''s got to dream, right?


    Honestly, he felt that it would be better if nothing happed betwe them since he didn''t know if he would actually be free for what might follow.


    "Ughhh... Why dwell on these thoughts? If I really want to get a girlfrid, I can get one. It''s not that hard," Ss said to himself as he pushed himself off his bed and made his way downstairs to the living area.


    Wh he got to the living area, he saw his father sitting on the sofa with Kim and Alex seated on either side of him.


    He smiled and joined them on the sofa.


    "Big brother!" Alex eximed wh he saw Ss sit down.


    He stood up from his seat and wt to sit beside him.


    "Hey, champ," Ss smiled as he ruffled his hair.


    He looked at his father, who was smiling at him, and shrugged.


    "Big brother, about the family vacation..." Alex asked, reminding Ss of their conversation the previous night.


    Ss hadn''t forgott about his n for a family vacation; he just hadn''t had the time to discuss it with everyone else.


    Ss looked at his father and Kim, who were both curiously waiting for him to exin more about what Alex had mtioned.


    "Dad, Kim, I was thinking of a family vacation. We choose a ce and go there for a week. Just to have a good time and bond. No work-rted stuff or anything serious—just all of us rxing," Ss said, and he saw his father''s eyes light up in approval.


    "That''s a great idea, son. I''ve actually be thinking about it for a while, but I wasn''t sure if it was feasible due to your schedule and Kim''s," Chris said, feeling excited.


    Ss smiled and looked at Kim, wanting to know her opinion.


    "The idea of a family vacation is a good one. I''ll arrange things at the office and make time. Just as you said, Ss, it would be a very good opportunity for everyone to bond. I''m in," Kim said, giving her opinion.


    "Okay, th. Since everyone''s in agreemt, why don''t we choose where to go?" Ss asked as his gaze fell on them.


    He saw the nk looks on their faces and knew they had no ideas for where they could go.


    Ss didn''t me them; it wasn''t their fault.


    Actually, it wasn''t that Chris and Kim didn''t have ideas for where to go on the family vacation. They had multiple options, but they wanted to hear from Ss first.


    As Chris, Kim, and Ss were still thinking of what to suggest, they heard Alex''s voice.


    "Let''s go to the beach! I heard from my frid that Virginia Beach is the best family vacation ce."


    "It''s settled th. Virginia Beach it is," Chris said in agreemt.