After freely gathering all the herbs needed to brew Ninghun Anshen Powder, Shumai Tongxue Decoction, and several doses of Jiucao Zhuanggu Gel from the hospital’s traditional medicine pharmacy, James Bolton left the hospital. As soon as he climbed into the taxi he hailed, he immediately tore off the bandages from his head with both hands. Instead of heading straight home, he made a detour to the supermarket first, buying a huge pile of meat, vegetables, fish, and eggs to take back.

James Bolton is a foodie with a big appetite—his friends all know this about him. In just a few years, this guy has eaten his way through the entire city of Shenzhen, and has even started venturing into the neighboring cities of Yangshi, Huishi, and Guanshi. For someone who loves food this much, how could he possibly resist trying out his own cooking after suddenly acquiring master-level culinary skills?

James Bolton’s home is a penthouse duplex in an upscale residential complex, with five bedrooms, two living rooms, and three bathrooms—nearly 300 square meters! The interior is also tastefully decorated. While it’s not ostentatiously gilded like a nouveau riche’s palace, it’s elegant and distinctive, with a refined style. Coming from an ordinary family, it would have been impossible for James Bolton to own a house and a car, and amass such a fortune within just six or seven years of graduating, if it were all from his own savings—after all, he’s just a doctor, not one of those financiers who can get rich overnight.

So whenever Frank Shelton and his other close buddies come over as guests, they always joke with a hint of envy: “You guys in the pharmacy department have it good, raking in kickbacks until your hands are sore. Just a few years after graduation and you’re making hundreds of thousands a year like it’s nothing. It’s not fair, really not fair!”

At times like this, James Bolton always retorts with righteous indignation, “Pfft, what’s that amount to? We just get a little of the leftovers! Think about it—those drugs that cost just a few cents at the factory can sell for hundreds or thousands here. There’s thousands or even tens of thousands of percent profit in between, and how much can we really get? Most of it goes to the big bosses up top! Why don’t you talk about them? And our risk is even higher than theirs—if something goes wrong, aren’t we the ones who take the fall? We’re just the small fry!” He always feels a bit wronged.

Chapter 005: The Sister-in-law Who Stepped Down

With two big bags of groceries in hand, James Bolton was just about to insert his key into the lock when the heavy mahogany door clicked open with the sound of the latch. “A thief!” was James Bolton’s first reaction.

Just as James Bolton was still debating whether to follow the principle of “a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall” and turn to run and call the police, a girl with a sly, fox-like smile poked her head out from the crack in the door, greeting him in a sweet, syrupy voice: “It’s only four in the afternoon, brother-in-law, how come you’re home so early? Don’t tell me you skipped work?”

James Bolton had been married once before. His ex-wife’s name was Helen York, a marketing planner in the marketing department of a multinational company. When James Bolton had just graduated a year earlier, he met Helen York, who was then a junior in college, by chance. From that day on, James Bolton began to pursue her—beautiful, smart, and independent. Maybe it was fate, but Helen York also seemed to fall for James Bolton at first sight. With a little help from their friends, the two quickly became close, and on the first anniversary of their meeting, just as Helen York graduated from college, they walked down the aisle together.

Friends who attended their wedding all said that the groom was tall, strong, and rather handsome, while the bride was tall, beautiful, and exceptionally elegant—just by looks alone, they were a perfect match. Plus, one was a doctor, a noble profession, and the other was a rising star who landed a job at a multinational company right after graduation. Everyone thought they would be the model of a successful couple.

But no one expected that things often aren’t as utopian as they seem. The independence and strength that James Bolton admired in Helen York during their passionate courtship became a source of conflict after marriage, when she remained just as independent.

Born and raised in the Northeast, James Bolton was very “manly” and “macho,” believing that after a woman gets married, “home” should be her main focus, and everything else is just trivial. But Helen York thought, “When you, Zhang, pursued me, you already knew what kind of person I was. Now you want me to change after marriage? No way!”

Although they argued constantly, their deep affection for each other meant that, despite the bickering, life was still sweet—until four years into their marriage, when Helen York, who was being groomed by her company, was assigned to Southeast Asia as a regional marketing director. That’s when their differences intensified and eventually became irreconcilable.

James Bolton naturally didn’t want Helen York to leave his side, especially not for several years—how was that any way for a married couple to live? But the ambitious Helen York saw the overseas assignment as a necessary step for her career advancement, and felt that they were still young and a few years apart wouldn’t matter—she insisted on going. With neither willing to compromise, the conflict escalated, and four years after their marriage—just a year ago—they ended up divorcing.

The pretty, lively girl who suddenly appeared in James Bolton’s home is named Megan York, the younger sister of his ex-wife Helen York—in other words, she used to be James Bolton’s sister-in-law. She’s now a second-year student at a high school in Shenzhen.