The Substitute Bride

Since his mother Nancy had been working for the Lu family for many years, Brent had it in mind that Charles and Autumn would at least give him a better position in the household staff. He was appalled at just being assigned as Autumn's driver, a job far below his expectation.

"Mom, is there no other job they can give me?" he complained to Nancy. Brent was far from pleased with what was being handed to him.

His mother was taken aback by his attitude. "What, you think it is not good enough?" Nancy was extremely grateful to Autumn for agreeing to give Brent a job, even if it was only to serve as her driver. She was aware that her son was hardly a responsible man and constantly worried whether he could perform well in this job.

Yet here he was complaining that the work being given to him was not decent enough. She was really getting annoyed with Brent now.

To express her frustration, she slapped Brent on the back and shouted,"I had to humble myself before Mr. Lu to give you a job, so you have no other choice. Will you look at yourself? You have no other skills except for driving so what can you expect!" Nancy was nearly huffing. "Don't tell me you're dreaming of Mr. Lu letting you become an executive in his company!" She was pacing back and forth now. "He works very hard to manage the business, but can you do the same thing? I doubt it!" she scoffed.

Brent refused to be discouraged. "How do you know I won't be able to run a company if I don't try?" he told his mother. "Mom, I'm your son. Why do you think so little of me?" he asked in despair.

But Nancy could not be pacified. She was really very annoyed with Brent. Suddenly she grabbed the feather duster nearby and started whacking him with it. While she was frustrated with Brent, Nancy was also furious with herself for not having taught him to become a responsible person. As a result, he grew up with such unrealistic ideas. She screamed at him,"Look at yourself in the mirror! Is that someone who deserves to be boss?" Nancy continued to beat her son. "The only thing you do each day is daydream. I am only a servant of the Lu family so I can't give you a job as the boss." She was running out of steam. "If you want to work as a driver, then you'd better get to it now. Otherwise, I will never do anything for you and you can just pack your bag and go back home to the countryside

ng,"I've brought my son with me."

"All right. Why don't you wait for me. I'll be downstairs shortly," Charles said. Nancy nodded and turned to leave.

Charles shut the door and went to change his clothes. As Nancy was going down, Brent could not resist picking up a jade piece, owned by Gary, and inspecting it closely. His mother saw him, annoyed, and marched up to him quickly. "Put that back! Didn't I just tell you not to touch anything?" Mad because Brent disobeyed her, she spat,"Didn't you understand what I said?"

She threw her arms in an angry gesture and said,"You freak me out!" Brent put the jade back on the shelf quickly, explaining his action,"I was just so bored being left alone so I took a closer look. Mom, is that jade worth several thousands of dollars?" he asked.

It was in fact worth several millions, but Nancy was not about to tell her son that. Instead, she glared at him without speaking.

She sat down and motioned for Brent to do the same. "Mr. Lu will be downstairs shortly. So sit and stay quiet."

He chose to remain standing, and waited for Charles' arrival in silence. Charles' first impression when he saw Brent was displeasure. He did not like the young man. He saw greed in his eyes and it was unsettling. Nancy pulled Brent, motioning him to walk towards Charles. She introduced him saying,"Mr. Lu, this is my son Brent." To the boy, she instructed,"Greet Mr. Lu, Brent."

She looked at him, saw Brent hesitate, and prodded him by touching his arm.

"Hello, Mr. Lu," Brent greeted politely. The two men looked at each other.