Lina saw William holding onto Tina and quickly said, "Alright, do you think I'm blind? You're flirting right in front of me. William, how many times have I told you, Tina is still young. You can't be messing with her, or else you'll have to deal with Aunt Mary chasing after you."
At the mention of Aunt Mary, William immediately let go of Tina. Tina, upset, twisted his waist hard. She couldn't understand why William was so afraid of her mother. Wasn't her mom always so kind and gentle?
However, Tina didn't dare show any defiance towards Lina. In front of Lina, she was always very well-behaved, constantly trying to please and be cute. Over the past few months, her efforts had softened Lina's initial wariness of her from their time in London.
William put Tina down and walked over to his mother, Lina. Embracing her warmly, he said, "Mom, how have you been these past few months?"
Lina, not one to be easily appeased, replied, "Not well at all. You only stay in Switzerland, ignoring everything about the castle. If it weren't for Tina keeping me company, I would have gone to Switzerland myself to drag you back." After her complaint, she hugged William and kissed his forehead.
"William, you seem to have grown taller again. I can hardly kiss you now. How did you grow up so fast? Poor mom is getting old."
In these few months, William had indeed grown another five centimeters, now reaching 1.89 meters. "No way, Mom. You still look like you're in your twenties. You and Tina look more like sisters. You'll always be beautiful. Just ask Tina if you don't believe me."
Tina, ever the quick thinker, seized the chance to flatter, nodding eagerly. "Exactly, Aunt Lina! No one would ever think you're old. People even say you look like my sister."
Lina poked Tina's forehead with her finger. "Always saying nice things. Even if you flatter me, I won't agree to let you be William's girlfriend."
Tina pouted, rubbing her arm against Lina's, and whined, "Why not, Aunt Lina? When William was little, he promised to marry me when I grew up. Aunt Lina, you wouldn't go back on your word like William, would you? I don't care, I want to marry William."
"You're only 16 and already thinking about marriage? That's not happening. Your mother wouldn't agree either. If anyone's marrying William, it would be your older sister," Lina said.
Hearing that her older sister might marry William, Tina shouted, "No way, absolutely not! I won't let that big-breasted cow marry William. She's three years older than William; she doesn't suit him at all. William is mine. He promised me," she cried, hugging William with tears in her eyes. "William, you will marry me, won't you?"
William, looking helplessly at his mother, asked, "Mom, isn't it a bit too much to tease Tina like this?"
"Alright, alright, Tina. You're still young. William can't marry you now. We'll talk about it in a few years if you two still get along well," Lina reassured her.
William found his mother's sudden change of heart curious. In London, she had strongly opposed his relationship with Tina, but now she seemed to have softened.
Giving his mother a puzzled look, Lina ignored it and said, "There's no point in standing around at the airport. Let's get in the car."
Lina got into the car first. Outside, Tina was still clinging tightly to William. He had to coax her for a while before they finally got into the car and sat in the back seat with his mother. William then joined Barney and Christmas in their car as they drove out of the airport.
In the car, Barney reported to William, "Boss, there hasn't been much trouble these past three months, except that many people are asking about your whereabouts. A lot of paparazzi are hovering around the castle 24/7. Fortunately, the 10-acre field around the castle is private property. We've hired a good number of locals to patrol with guns, so the paparazzi don't dare to come in. And the townspeople all work for the Earl of Oxford and know you'll inherit the title. So, they haven't let any outsiders into the town. Everything's been pretty peaceful. Boss, do we still need to stay here now that you're back?"
William smiled and asked, "Why, missing home already?"
Barney chuckled, "Yes, boss. We've been away for three months. We're all homesick. My three daughters call me all the time, and Yingyang's two daughters are the same. If there's no immediate danger here, we'd love to head back to the USA. But, of course, we're ready if you have any tasks for us."
William thought for a moment and said, "It seems safer than I expected. You probably know who I tangled with three months ago."
Barney and Christmas exchanged a look and nodded. "We've heard about what happened in the Black Mountains, boss. I had Thor dig up some info from mercenary circles. Word is that Albania is having a tough time. The Zhetfrobi Tribe's situation seems dire. They don't have the manpower or the focus to come after you right now."
Barney continued, "Boss, you should also be careful about Tina's safety. I've heard a lot of the defeated Albanian forces are looking for a living in Europe. Recently, there have been many Romanian, Bulgarian, and Albanian streetwalkers around. Rumor has it that the Zhetfrobi Tribe and some opposition groups are trafficking women from Eastern Europe. There have also been cases in France and England where young women, fresh off the plane, have been kidnapped and sold elsewhere in Europe. This suggests that the Zhetfrobi Tribe's situation is really bad, or they wouldn't be so brazen in kidnapping tourists in France and England and selling them at high prices in European underground markets."
Hearing this, William grinned, "So, if I give the Zhetfrobi general's opponents some funds and weapons, it could significantly increase the pressure on him, and he might even get taken out?"
"Yes, boss," Barney replied. "Doing so won't expose you. Even if the general gets eliminated, no one will know it was you. And," he added with a mischievous grin, "the English government isn't very happy with the Zhetfrobi general right now either."
Barney chipped in, "And the church seems to want to deal with the general too. I heard he's cooperating with a leader on a small island in the Caribbean, where they're growing those illegal, addictive substances. The church offered us $2 million to take care of it, boss. If we take this job, we might get paid by both the English and the Americans."
"Hah, only $2 million?" William laughed. "Barney, you guys don't need money that badly, do you? It's not worth risking your lives to go after drug lords. These guys are real death-dealers. Let's pass on this one. The price is too low to be worth it. Let the church test the waters first. We can watch from the sidelines and see how things go."
William instantly recognized that Barney was referring to the plot of the first "Expendables" movie, where their mission involved a drug lord on a Caribbean island. The film was hugely popular in China and led to the sequels, despite the first movie's underperformance in the U.S.
Barney nodded, agreeing, "You're right, boss. We'll let the church try first. It's too risky, and $2 million is too little for that kind of danger."
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