The landlord had previously seen Owen Sutton standing together with Auerbach and Samuel Thompson, but hadn’t thought much of it, since it was in the hallway—he just assumed those two were simply passing by with Owen Sutton.

Now, Auerbach came up and said a whole lot to him in English. Although he couldn’t understand, he could tell something was wrong.

The landlord didn’t understand, but someone did. Samuel Thompson stepped forward, handed over his judge’s ID, and introduced himself: “I am Judge Samuel Thompson from the Intermediate People’s Court. This Canadian gentleman is a lawyer, and he is now suing you for violating the rental agreement and infringing upon his client’s rights.”

Hearing this, the landlord was instantly scared out of his wits. He didn’t think Samuel Thompson and Auerbach were bluffing him. Not to mention Samuel Thompson’s judge’s ID with the bright red national emblem, just his appearance alone—hair meticulously styled, a sharp suit, briefcase in hand—he looked every bit the elite, a top-tier professional, not someone a regular person like him could afford to mess with.

Staring at the dumbfounded landlord, Owen Sutton felt as if he’d just drunk iced sour plum juice on a scorching summer day—satisfaction down to his very soul.

Auerbach then also took out a small booklet—his lawyer’s license. After showing it to the landlord, he turned to leave. Samuel Thompson followed, leaving one last sentence: “Sir, please wait for the court summons.”

Now the landlord was truly terrified. He hurriedly rushed forward to grab Auerbach, but the latter’s thick, graying brows furrowed, making the landlord shudder and quickly let go, his face twisted in a grimace: “No, no, no, please don’t sue me! It’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!”

Owen Sutton stood by with his arms crossed, watching coldly. He hadn’t said a word, but inside he was thoroughly delighted. The life of the wealthy really is good—so many things get handled without you lifting a finger; your people take care of it all.

The landlord was scared out of his mind by this foreign lawyer Auerbach and Judge Samuel Thompson. To avoid being sued, once Samuel Thompson explained the relationship between Auerbach and Owen Sutton, the landlord hurried over to Owen Sutton with a fawning smile: “Little Owen, please, don’t do this, cut your brother some slack—no, I mean, cut this fool some slack. You’re a bigger person, don’t stoop to my level. Talk to your lawyer, it’s just a small matter, we can settle it privately, no need to go to court, really, no need!”

Owen Sutton looked at the laptop lying smashed on the ground and asked, “How do you want to settle it privately?”

The landlord gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll refund your deposit, how about that…”

Owen Sutton glanced at the laptop on the floor and sneered.

The landlord forced a smile uglier than crying and said, “And, how about I give you another five thousand yuan, so you can buy a new laptop!”

Owen Sutton was never a saint—he wasn’t about to turn down that kind of money. Once the landlord paid up, he didn’t make things any harder, and had Auerbach delete the photos from his phone.

At noon, he used the money he’d just received to treat Samuel Thompson and Auerbach to a meal. Then Owen Sutton packed his things and took a coach bus straight home, back to his rural hometown, to prepare for his trip to Canada.

This time, he needed to prepare a lot of documents to claim the inheritance in Canada, including a certificate proving his direct kinship with his grand-uncle Henry Sutton. This required getting stamps all the way from the village up to the provincial capital, and he also needed to get a passport.

His sudden return home and announcement that he was going abroad shocked Mr. Sutton and Mrs. Sutton. Fortunately, Owen Sutton hadn’t mentioned being laid off from his company, so he used the excuse of going abroad for training and research.

It took him four whole days to get all the paperwork Auerbach required. Then, together, they took a car to the capital, ready to fly to Canada and start his new life as a wealthy young heir.

At the South Beijing Railway Station, as soon as Owen Sutton stepped out, he saw a thick-browed, big-eyed young man holding a huge sign at the very front of the welcoming crowd: Welcome, Beast, to wreak havoc in Beijing.

This thick-browed, big-eyed young man was Owen Sutton’s college bunkmate William Grant, who now worked at the Beijing National Tax Bureau. Owen Sutton had managed to get into CNOOC thanks to his help pulling some strings.

“Beast” was Owen Sutton’s nickname. In his hometown dialect, his name sounded normal, but in Mandarin, said quickly, it sounded exactly like “beast.” So, ever since school, this nickname had stuck with him.

At the parking lot, William Grant unlocked a big Grand Cherokee. Owen Sutton kicked the tall tire and said, “Nice ride.”

William Grant shook his head and sighed, “This belongs to a buddy of mine. My own car is a damn Changan, cost me 48,000 yuan! I had to beg and plead to squeeze that little bit of money out of my dad. At first, I said I wanted to buy a Camaro, and my dad went to the insect research institute and brought back an actual wasp! A real, flying wasp!”

At the hotel, after dropping off their luggage, William Grant said, “We’ve got quite a few classmates in Beijing. How about a get-together?”

But time was tight—the flight was that very night, so there was no time for a dinner party. Owen Sutton could only regretfully decline.

At eleven that night, William Grant saw them off at the airport, grumbling the whole way that this trip to Beijing was way too rushed and no fun at all.

However, William Grant did manage to get one important thing done: through his father’s secretary, he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to check up on Auerbach. What they found left both of them speechless: