I’m Someone Else

Chapter 369

“Mr. Clifford, I wonder, how are you going to participate in the competition?”

The question took Thomas aback. “What do you mean?”

He didn’t know much about the Ancient Martial Arts Family Ranking Competition aside from the information he got from some conversation. He knew nothing about the requirements and the rules.

“That’s right. Normally, you are unqualified to participate in the competition. After all, it’s a competition between families.”

Rochka then provided Thomas with another possibility. “However, Mr. Clifford, you have connections and you’re capable. You needn’t worry about such a trivial matter. From what I see, you can simply establish a league on your own. You have one year to prepare for the competition. It is more than enough to strengthen your family.”

Rochka wasn’t trying to flatter Thomas. After all, Thomas’ capability was clear to all. Not only did he wipe out the Six Greatest Families by himself, but he had connections too. Rochka was sure that as long as Thomas was willing to take the first step, the Travis Family of Capitalis, the Elliott Family of Irieson, the Mortons, the Peralta Family, and Quincy would definitely help him as best as they could. His family no doubt would thrive with their help.

Thomas shook his head. He wasn’t interested. Building a family was a troublesome task. For the time being, his priority was to improve himself. There wasn’t any energy left in him to tend to those trivial matters.

Besides, he was an orphan. He didn’t have a family. Even if he tried, he didn’t have a family to begin with.

Rochka continued, “If you aren’t interested in building a family, you can join one of the available families.”

Thomas sighed. He didn’t expect his wish to participate in the competition to settle personal scores would be that problematic. None of Rochka’s suggestions were ideal for him.

If I join any of the families, I’m bound to follow their orders. I’m a free spirit. Restrictions and orders don’t sit right with me.

“Forget about it. We’ll talk about it in the future.” Thomas shook his head in resignation as the whole situation was demotivating him.

Rochka chuckled, no longer pushing Thomas.

According to his intel, he learned that Thomas had been working on his own for a long time. Thomas endured everything on his own no matter the hardship. Even though he received help from John and others from time to time, their aid played only a supporting role in Thomas’ mission. If Rochka wasn’t seeing things with his own eyes, he could never imagine a young man at twenty-five able to uproot the Six Greatest Families, who had a long history in Irieson. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

He was told that Thomas only made enemies with the Six Greatest Families to protect Olivia.

Thomas literally went on a rampage for a woman. I wonder what Olivia has done in her past life to gain Thomas’ favor. He’s willing to protect her with his life.

Soon, the car stopped outside a five-star hotel. Thomas and Rochka got out of the car and walked toward the entrance.

A helper was tending to the guests at the entrance. As Rochka and Thomas approached him, he respectfully greeted them, “Good evening, sirs. May I see your invitation, please?”

It was the reason why Rochka insisted on Thomas coming to the banquet with him. Thomas could never make it into the hall in the first place if he wasn’t invited.

Rochka took out an invitation card and showed it to the helper at the door.

“This way, sirs.”

The whole place was reserved for the event tonight. Those who were present were those who were invited.

People gathered in the hall. Men wearing suits, elegant women, and gorgeous young women were scattered over the place.

The invited guests were nothing but influential big shots in their fields.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Nett.”

A group of men gathered around Rochka and greeted him upon catching sight of him in the hall.

The gestures indicated Rochka’s status in Irieson. He even stood as high as Quincy, an important figure in the medical field.

As for Thomas, the guests were ignoring him. It was understandable. After all, the guests today were fans of antiques. Thomas and them simply didn’t share a common ground. Besides, he was trailing behind Rochka. Therefore, the people around them saw him as an assistant.

Rochka found an empty seat and sat down with Thomas. Then, he handed over a glass of red wine to Thomas. “Mr. Clifford, they’ll be showing some oil paintings later. I heard that they’re auctioning two mysterious items after the meeting.”

Thomas nodded without saying a word. He was here for fun. Even though he had a basic knowledge of oil paintings, the idea just didn’t pique his interest.

The sound of glasses and trays crashing to the ground boomed in the hall.

“Are you blind? You ruined my gown!”

At that moment, a commotion broke out, drawing the guests’ attention to the direction of the voice.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Let me clean it for you!”

“And how are you going to do that? How are you supposed to get rid of red wine stains? Even if you somehow manage to remove the stain, washing it in water would stretch it out of shape. How is it supposed to fit me?”

“I—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuse! Pray tell, how are you going to make it up to me?”

A waitress who served the wine around accidentally bumped into one of the guests. The wine on the tray poured all over the woman’s gown, ruining the dress with a red wine stain.

The waitress admitted to her mistake right away. After a moment of pondering, she proposed, “I’ll pay you for your loss.”

“Will you?” The younger woman sneered. “Alright, then. I’ll let you pay for it. I bought it for 30 thousand. Give me the money.”

At that, the woman held out her palm toward the waitress.

At first, Thomas wasn’t paying attention to the commotion. He never liked to poke his nose into others’ businesses. Therefore, he only glanced in that direction for a moment before turning away.

However, a weird feeling grew inside him as the fight between the pair turned louder. Why does the voice of the waitress sound familiar?

He couldn’t help but stand up and turned in the direction. His discovery surprised him, causing him to watch with his mouth agape.

The change in his expression didn’t go unnoticed by Rochka. He rose and whispered, “Is something wrong, Mr. Clifford?”

“Veronica!”

The waitress was none other than Olivia’s aunt and the head of the Admissions Office who accepted him into Irieson’s University of Technology, Veronica Pearson.

What is she doing here? Since when did she become a waitress? Even though she has resigned, she’s a Pearson. Her family wouldn’t allow her to work as a waitress. Terrence and Norman are dead without a doubt, but Declan is alive. There’s no way he would allow his sister to work here. What’s going on?

“Veronica?”