Ethan Brooks forcibly suppressed his excitement and quickly said to the somewhat puzzled aunt who was looking at him, “Auntie, I saw that there’s a room for rent here, and I’d like to rent it.”

Upon hearing Ethan Brooks’s words, the aunt finally understood—so he was here to rent a room. She hurriedly let Ethan Brooks inside.

After some negotiation, Ethan Brooks learned that this courtyard had two rooms, one to the east and one to the west, as well as a living room. The landlord didn’t want to rent out the living room. The west room had already been rented out to another tenant, while the east room was originally where the landlord lived. But now the landlord was going to stay with her son in Ningbei District, so she wanted to rent out the east room as well, and just happened to meet Ethan Brooks.

What surprised the aunt was that when she quoted a price of 1,100 yuan per month, this young man who didn’t look particularly well-off didn’t say a word and directly paid a full year’s rent.

Chapter 6: The Spirit-Clearing Talisman

“Dad, why are you back?” When Emily Foster returned to her family’s private sanatorium, the first person she saw was actually her father. Ever since her mother became a vegetable, her father had poured almost all his energy into his official career. Even her mother’s company was being managed by Emily Foster, but because of her mother’s situation, she was handling the company’s affairs in a rather chaotic way.

Even so, her father never intervened, and rarely came to the family’s private sanatorium to visit her mother. But Emily Foster didn’t know why her father had come to the sanatorium today.

“Hmph, if I didn’t come, you’d still be up to your nonsense. The house is full of all sorts of random things you’ve bought, and now you even believe in talismans? What’s next, are you going to invite a shaman to perform rituals?” John Foster’s face was dark, clearly very dissatisfied with his daughter.

As soon as Emily Foster heard this, she knew that David Turner had tattled. In her heart, she despised that guy who looked good on the outside but was useless inside even more. But she was also very dissatisfied with her father, who just stayed silent and didn’t want to respond.

“What, nothing to say? Right now, throw out all the random junk in the house…” John Foster said forcefully.

“Dad, after Mom got sick, what have you done? You only came to see her once when she was in a coma. All these years, where have you been? Ask yourself, have you done right by Mom? I know what I’m doing, I don’t need you to interfere. Mom never blamed you for keeping another woman outside, but what about you? Have you ever considered Mom, even a little?” After a long silence, Emily Foster suddenly exploded.

“You…” John Foster’s face turned red, then white. He raised his hand to slap his daughter, but seeing her stubborn and haggard expression, he slowly lowered his hand again.

He knew in his heart that he really had no right to say anything to his daughter; he had indeed let down his wife and daughter. His wife’s company was now being managed by his daughter, and he hadn’t helped at all.

“All right, I know I can’t control you anymore. I just hope this is the last time you indulge in superstition. Don’t do this again. You’re an educated person—don’t you understand even this? Don’t let a street charlatan drive a wedge between you and David Turner. Remember, honest advice is hard to take.” John Foster said helplessly.

Emily Foster sneered inwardly. Of course she knew why her father wanted her to get close to David Turner. If her father wanted to move up, he needed help from David Turner’s father. Although her father, John Foster, was already the mayor of a prefecture-level city, the Su family’s key cultivation candidates didn’t include him. Without the Su family’s support, if John Foster didn’t find connections himself, he might spend the rest of his life stuck as mayor.

In fact, that was exactly what John Foster was thinking. The Wang family’s influence was no less than the Su family’s, and the Su family wasn’t one of those super clans in the capital—their chosen candidates were only those with real potential. Becoming mayor was already the limit for him. And he was almost fifty; if he didn’t leverage outside help, he might gradually fade from the Su family’s attention. If he could use the Wang family’s power to take another step up, maybe the old man would reassess his potential.

Although she knew her father’s intentions, Emily Foster didn’t say anything. David Turner might be handsome, but in her eyes, he was just a pretty face with nothing inside. Saying he was all show and no substance was no exaggeration at all.

Seeing her turn and enter her mother’s room, John Foster opened his mouth to say something, but held back. He knew his own plans were indeed unfair to his daughter. After a moment’s thought, he followed her in, but only stood at the doorway, lacking the courage to face his wife, who had been in a coma for three years and still hadn’t woken up.

Lying on the bed was a beautiful woman who looked only in her thirties, bearing some resemblance to Emily Foster, but her eyes were tightly closed and her brows seemed slightly furrowed.

When Emily Foster came in, the nurse who had been sitting by the bedside quickly stood up, greeted Emily Foster, and left the room.

Looking at her still-comatose mother, Emily Foster’s eyes reddened. It had been years, and though she had never given up, the pain she felt was something she couldn’t confide in anyone. Only in the dead of night, when all was quiet, would she throw herself on her mother’s bedside and cry her heart out.