Chapter 208: Chapter 207: The Good and Bad of a Scoundrel

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Atlanta International Airport, the film crew's chartered plane arrived smoothly.

Martin walked along the corridor and waited for Bruce to catch up. Pointing at the lights of Atlanta ahead, he said, "Old Cloth, I'm back again!"

Bruce, wearing an Atlanta Braves baseball cap, replied, "The scoundrel has jumped back into the mire!"

"That's you!" Martin declared with gusto, "My return is like the King back to where he raised his army."

Bruce held back a laugh, "The Sect Hierarch has returned to the headquarters."

At that moment, Martin caught sight of Robert's big head and immediately quickened his pace out of the corridor.

Robert was dressed in a suit, his hair neatly combed back showing off his large forehead, looking very imposing.

Over the past year, despite being thousands of miles apart, the two had stayed closely in touch through Coke.

Meeting now, there wasn't the slightest hint of unfamiliarity between them.

As Robert approached, ready to shake hands, Martin threw his arms open and hugged him tightly, "My friend, my great priest, we finally meet again."

Robert's hands hung in the air, and he finally hugged Martin back, "It's been only a year and a half, but you've become a well-known star across America."

Martin let go of him and laughed heartily, "Thanks to you."

Bruce came over and fist-bumped Robert, "Buddy, you look really dashing."

Robert smiled too, "Managed to scrape up some respectability."

A guy from the side came up, "Boss is now the director of performance at the Marietta Agency, a big shot in Atlanta's entertainment industry."

Not able to help it, Martin glanced at the person and nodded slightly, then asked Robert, "How's the captain?"

"Same old." Robert led the way outside, "He always seems so composed on the surface, but in fact, he wanted to come but couldn't quite get over the embarrassment…"

Martin understood the sentiment and said, "I'll go see him tomorrow."

The four didn't leave the terminal but went to the underground parking, where they got into a black Cadillac together.

Robert asked, "Which hotel?"

Martin had already decided where to go first upon arrival, "Marietta, Clayton Community."

…

The sun shifted toward the west, nearing the horizon. In the living room of the Carter family, Elena and her siblings sat in silence.

Holle stood up and went to the door to look out at the yard, which was very neat.

Lily sat in front of her computer, clicking on web pages with her mouse, "I've checked, the last flight in from Los Angeles has long arrived."

Harris twiddled a star in his hand and chimed in, "With so much on his plate, he might not come today."

Elena rose from the sofa and walked towards the open kitchen area, "Never mind him, let's get ready for dinner."

Lily muttered, "You specifically took time off work for this…"

Elena suddenly turned, fixing her gaze on Lily.

Lily quickly covered her mouth, "I didn't say anything."

A series of short car honks came from outside the door.

Holle shouted excitedly, "He's here! He's here!"

Lily abandoned her mouse and keyboard, scrambling to the door with Harris following behind.

Elena, her hands in the pockets of her jeans, moved leisurely away from the kitchen counter.

A black Cadillac pulled up to the curb.

Martin was the first to get out of the car.

The two closely adjacent houses, the one he used to live in, was still the same broken-down wreck.

The Carter family's side had a newly painted exterior, fresh barbed wire on the fence, and what surprised him the most was that the yard, once full of pits and overgrown with weeds, was now unusually flat.

Something was off!

Martin reached the gate in the fence and saw the four Carter siblings standing on the doorstep.

Holle at the front had grown quite a bit, his chubby face making him look like a tough character.

Next to him, Lily, nearly five centimeters taller than Elena, was smiling at him.

Harris was as he always had been.

Elena leaned against the door frame, appearing more confident than before.

"Idiot, you've reached the door, why don't you come in?" Elena called out in her usual tone, "Or do I need to come out and invite you personally?"

Martin laughed at them, "My dears, I'm back. Aren't you coming to welcome me?"

Lily tilted her head, "Please, you're not an outsider."

Martin glanced at Holle, and suddenly, Holle turned his head to look aside.

As the Cadillac drove away, Bruce, with his bag on his back, came from behind and asked Martin, "What are you standing around for?"

"Waiting for you!" Martin pulled on him, "Let's go."

Bruce led the way into the yard, but on the second step, he felt something was wrong and plunged down, luckily agile enough not to fall as there was no trap underneath.

Martin pointed at the siblings on the steps, "You four idiots, trying to set me up. Speak up, who's idea was this? I'll kick his ass for sure!"

Lily stepped forward, taking the blame, "It was my idea!"

Behind her, Elena raised her fist and thumped Lily on the head, "Do you really want to be kicked that much?"

"It depends on who's doing the kicking," Lily whispered so low only she could hear.

Bruce pulled his foot out and eyed the suspiciously flat terrain ahead grinning apprehensively, wondering if there were more traps.

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The Carter siblings truly aren't ordinary folks, welcoming people in such a way.

Elena, seeing that Martin hadn't fallen for the trap, said, "Old Cloth, come around from the left."

Bruce walked around the left side, and when Martin saw he didn't encounter any traps, he too made his way to the front door from the left.

Just as he stepped onto the porch, he raised his fist and thudded it down on Holle's head: "Idiot."

Holle didn't speak, only pondering where to dig a hole that could trap that bastard Martin.

Martin bumped fists with Harris, pulled Lily aside, and made his way to Elena.

But Elena stepped aside, welcoming him: "Come in."

Martin followed her into the living room, where many pieces of furniture and appliances had been replaced with new ones.

Elena noticed his gaze and said, "I won the Georgia bartending competition last year, and my income isn't bad now. Speaking of which, I should thank you, you taught me how to bartend."

Bruce handed the bag to Martin: "I'm planning to go back and take a look." He looked at Harris: "Buddy, can I borrow your car for a bit?"

Harris handed him the keys to a Ford.

Martin reminded him: "Old Cloth, be careful."

Bruce nodded: "I will. A year and a half has gone by, and the situation in Mexico has changed rapidly. Those guys might have been swallowed up by now."

As usual, Elena arranged a variety of dishes on the dining table.

Martin washed his hands and then sat down to dine with the four siblings.

"That's the taste!" Martin took a bite of a grilled rib and told Elena, "Your cooking is still as delicious as ever."

Elena asked, "You're not hurt?"

Martin knew what she meant: "I suffered some severe psychological trauma, so I came back specifically to seek your comfort."

"You're an idiot! Dumb and stupid!" Elena's habitual tone: "Those Californians are dead, why risk your neck for them?"

Lily chimed in: "Yeah, they're not me or Elena!"

Holle asked in surprise, "What does it have to do with you?"

Lily glared at her brother with wide eyes, already in violent suppression mode if her older sister hadn't been there.

Martin said, "You know me, it was for self-preservation."

After the meal, Martin helped Elena clean up the table, then picked up the bag Bruce had left behind and began handing out gifts.

He tossed a box to Elena: "This one's for you, see if you like it."

Lily came over with hopeful eyes, looking at Martin silently.

Martin said, "You have too many gifts. They went with the crew's freight and will be delivered to you tomorrow."

Lily's face lit up with delight: "That many?" She couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are they?"

Martin was heartless: "Dozens of Australian wild buffalo horns, I ordered them especially for you from Australia. Aren't you practicing carving? The Joker you carved based on me wasn't bad, quite popular with some."

It seemed Louise had once shared some experience with Kelly: "Once you're done carving them all, mail them to me."

The surprise on Lily's face turned to astonishment. It was like she was a child from Martin's previous life who was eagerly awaiting a gift, only to be given a set of exercise books. She stepped back several times and plopped down on the sofa, speechless for a long time.

Especially when she saw her sister open the gift box and pull out a beautiful women's watch, she felt an inexplicable urge to cry.

It's not fair to bully people like this!

Martin gave Harris and Holle a handheld gaming device each, then took out another gift box and threw it to Lily: "This is your carving fee."

Lily opened it to find a watch of the same brand but a different model from Elena's, laughed, and promised, "Not just dozens, but even hundreds of buffalo horns—no problem."

Martin nodded: "The Australian wild buffalo are an actual plague..."

Lily slapped her mouth with a smack: Oh, this mouth of mine!

Suddenly, noise came from outside.

Thump!

Ah ya—

"A thief!" Holle grabbed a baseball bat and ran out, stopping at the door only to find their old man Scott trapped in the hole he had dug, sprawling face-first.

Scott, with legs splayed, stood up and walked forward, cursing: "The ones who should go..."

He stepped forward and thump, fell again.

This time he wasn't lucky, landing right on his bottom. Scott leaped forward faster than he fell: "Ouch!"

His feet touched the ground, and with a bang, he fell into another pit, landing in front of the steps.

Scott looked up to see all four of his children.

Elena asked coldly, "Instead of being with your rich lady, what are you doing here?"

Struggling to his feet, Scott was scratched up on his arms and legs, pointing at Martin he said, "That bastard's rotten in Hollywood. I came to remind you not to be fooled by him!"

But Lily retorted, "Martin may be rotten outside, but he's truly good to us!"

Holle, having just received a gift, nodded in agreement.

"You should leave, Scott." In Harris's eyes, Martin had taught Elena bartending, changing the family's fortune for real, and the Atlantic Astronomy Association had relieved his worries about tuition and living expenses. Searᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

No matter what Martin was like outside, he was impeccable with the four siblings.

Elena nodded, "We got it, you can go now."

"I am your old man…" Scott roared feebly.

Lily said, "Go live your wealthy lifestyle."

Scott gave Martin a cold glance and turned to leave, legs split as he exited.

The five of them went back inside the house, and without Scott around, the atmosphere quickly improved.