Younger brother-in-law, with a good personality, good temperament, and even better martial arts talent, and most importantly, a true martial artist—he is simply an unpolished gem. Such a person, with no worries about loyalty, no entanglements with any family history, and a future where even his lowest achievement would be that of a quasi-inner strength expert, is an enormous asset to The Thompson Family. It’s almost certain that he will become an external retainer of The Thompson Family in the future. In fact, it’s even said that The Thompson Family is dominated by females, and Paul Thompson started out with several younger sisters. As long as Henry Harper agrees to be recruited, it’s entirely possible that he could even become a true member of The Thompson Family in the future...

Sarah Sutton felt that she had already guessed Henry Harper’s dilemma. He would probably have to respond to The Thompson Family’s invitation on his nineteenth birthday, and this was indeed a huge turning point in his life.

Henry Harper heard the question and nodded, saying, “Mm, about the changes on my nineteenth birthday... To be honest, I’m very worried.”

“Worried about what?” Sarah Sutton asked, seemingly casually. “Is it about the path you’re going to choose for your future?”

“No, it’s not that.” Henry Harper shook his head and denied it. “I have my own chosen future, my own chosen path. I’ve never been confused about this. I dream of it so much, but... you know, reality is reality. It won’t change just because your ideals are noble or your dreams are carefree. I’m just an ordinary person. If, in my nineteenth year, my path, my ideas, my chosen future don’t work out, then I’ll have no choice but to bow to reality and keep my feet on the ground from then on.”

Although Sarah Sutton didn’t quite understand, such as what path Henry Harper had chosen for himself, she generally got the idea. She felt a bit regretful in her heart. After all, with such talent as Henry Harper, she was also tempted to recruit him. If he could return to The Sutton Family with her, she believed The Sutton Family wouldn’t treat him poorly. Perhaps, just like The Thompson Family’s offer, The Sutton Family also had legitimate daughters...

Not sure what she thought of, Sarah Sutton’s face flushed slightly, and she quickly turned her head away. After a moment, she said, “It’s a pity, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend your birthday. Due to certain circumstances, I’ll probably have to leave for about a week around your birthday. So, when I come back, tell me about the future you’ve chosen.”

Henry Harper was a bit surprised, but also somewhat understanding. He knew that Sarah Sutton was the legitimate daughter of a noble family, and this was probably the trouble of such family heirs. Although they started out with much more than ordinary people, they also lost certain freedoms. So he said knowingly, “Then go take care of your business. No matter what choice I make on my birthday, I probably won’t be leaving the capital area anytime soon, so when you come back, you should still be able to see me on campus.”

After that, neither of them felt like talking anymore. They parted ways in front of their respective dorms. Just like that, the following days passed uneventfully. The two of them continued as before—one guiding, one practicing—living ordinary days on campus.

With less than a month left before Henry Harper’s birthday, Henry Harper once again went to that fast food restaurant at his usual time, waiting for Brian Lincoln to bring him money. Although he had extra meals from Sarah Sutton, he had recently increased his training intensity and would be able to reach the highest level of Arhat Fist a day or two before his birthday. So he was spending much more money, but there were only about twenty days left. After that, no matter which path he chose, Brian Lincoln would be able to benefit from his success, and he could finally start giving back to his own brother.

But today was strange. He waited the whole afternoon, several hours longer than usual, but Brian Lincoln never showed up. This made him alert and worried, afraid that something had happened to Brian Lincoln while he was involved in shady business. Even though he was just a low-level thug, if something really happened, no one could say for sure.

Just as Henry Harper was about to go to the chaotic neighborhoods where Brian Lincoln usually hung out to look for him, another thug came to the fast food restaurant, handed Henry Harper an envelope and a few words. The envelope contained about half the usual amount of money, and the message was that Brian Lincoln was not available recently and that they shouldn’t meet for the time being.

Henry Harper was shocked. He was at a loss and kept questioning the little thug, but all he got was confirmation that this was what Brian Lincoln had said himself—no other information at all. This made Henry Harper even more worried and confused.

What kind of relationship did he have with Brian Lincoln? How could he be dismissed with just a few simple words?

Besides, Brian Lincoln had supported him for so many years. If he had resented him for being a freeloader, he would have done so long ago. There’s no way he would suddenly turn his back on him just twenty days before he was to make his choice about the future. It just didn’t make sense!

Henry Harper had a simple dinner at the fast food restaurant, his doubts growing. He was worried that maybe Brian Lincoln had gotten into some serious trouble and was afraid of implicating him, so he pretended not to be close to protect him.

No matter what, Henry Harper couldn’t rest easy. So instead of returning to school, he took a bus to those chaotic neighborhoods to look for Brian Lincoln. After all, he had come here to find Brian Lincoln before and knew a few of his underlings. After searching for several hours, he finally found one of Brian Lincoln’s men, followed him, and then found another of Brian Lincoln’s men...