Nanako hurriedly put her hands on the floor, bowed her head, and said, “Mr. Wade, I apologize to you and the Oskian people on behalf of all the Japanese who have hurt the Oskian people. I’m sorry! I will do my best to pay off Japan’s debt for the rest of my life!”Charlie waved his hand. “Never mind. This debt may never be settled, but I’m grateful for your effort.”Then, he reached out to help Nanako up to her feet and said, “You still have two upcoming matches, hurry back and prepare well. I, as Aurora’s coach, am looking forward to seeing the two of you meet in the finals. So, in the next semifinals match, you must perform well. Succeed to the finals to meet Aurora there.”Nanako said unwaveringly, “Please rest assured, Mr. Wade. I will do my best and meet Aurora in the finals!”“Good.” Charlie nodded. “See you in the final, then.”With that, Charlie got back into his BMW and drove it into his Thompson First villa.As the car sped off, Nanako locked her gaze on the car for a l
Nanako stayed up all night.Charlie’s words had been circulating in her mind all night long. Somehow, as she thought about it more, she suddenly felt that she must not give up on martial arts!In fact, she must double her efforts and work hard so that Charlie would look at her in a different light!Perhaps Charlie would never be willing to accept her as a disciple, but she must show him with her actions that she would become a qualified martial artist!Jiro, who had always wanted to pursue Nanako, had trouble sleeping as well.While he couldn’t wait to take Nanako’s hand, he was also looking forward to the next advertising campaign of Kobayashi Stomach Pill in Oskia.Since Kobayashi Stomach Pill was the title sponsor of the finals segment, it was the best time for the medicine to make a big promotion.Moreover, to Jiro’s surprise, Aurora, the Oskian athlete, had become the dark horse of the competition!This was very important to him. He wished to launch and promote his new sto
Claire couldn’t stay at the studio all day since she had work to do, so she went to her office halfway through the shoot, leaving Charlie and Liam there at the studio.After the advertisement shooting was finished, the staff of the advertising company immediately went back to their office with the material to do the post-production work while Charlie and Liam, once again, hosted a banquet in Shangri-La to entertain Quinn and Dorothy.Quinn’s work schedule was very hectic at the moment. After all, she was one of the top celebrities in the country. She was invited to the Spring Festival Gala this year and had a solo performance, so she had to rush back to Eastcliff for the first official rehearsal of the Gala.The celebrities who could be at the Spring Festival Gala were all top celebrities in the country. Because the Gala had the largest audience of any entertainment show in the world as well as the world’s most-watched television program, many big stars would do what it takes to get
The next day.Quinn’s flight was scheduled to take off at eight-thirty in the morning, whereas the semifinal of the combat and fighting competition would start at ten.Hence, Charlie decided to see Quinn off at the airport first and then head to the stadium to watch Aurora’s match.Early in the morning, Charlie went to Jacob and said, “Dad, will you use your car in the morning? Lend it to me if you don’t, I have something to do in the morning.”Jacob smiled sheepishly and said, “I’m going to give a talk on the antique and cultural appraisal in the morning at the Senior University on behalf of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.”With that, Jacob cast a glance at Charlie which indicated a “you know what I mean” hint.Charlie was instantly enlightened.Jacob must have met with Matilda during the activity collaboration between the university and his association, and he wanted to take this chance to meet Matilda more often before Elaine suspected anything.Thus, Charlie could
Hence, Jacob hastily conceded and said, “You! Can you please stop solving everything by making a scene?”Elaine chided in a cold voice, “Well, you said it yourself that you’re in charge of the family now, and I don’t have the right anymore. If I don’t make a scene, what can I do to establish my status in this family?”Jacob voluntarily backed down and said, “Okay, fine, I misspoke. You have the right to dominate the family. Are you happy now?”A triumphant grin appeared on Elaine’s face as she said, “Now that you say so, I must exercise my right and power. Jacob, tell me the truth. How much money do you have right now? Did you go behind my back and make some money by reselling the antiquities?”Jacob said with a grimace of exasperation, “I’m making sh*t! That’s what I’m making! Oh my goodness, frankly, I don’t have a f*cking penny in my pocket now! There’s no way to generate income from the Painting and Calligraphy Association! Previously, I was able to make some money by reselling
“You…”Jacob was so angry right now, and his eyes were filled with resentful red.His hands were tied when it came to counter-attacking the tactics of a shrew like Elaine. ‘A man with a pen can’t reason with a man with a gun’, that was what he felt like right now.At this moment, Charlie started, “Alright now, don’t quarrel so early in the morning.”Elaine immediately wilted as soon as Charlie’s voice sounded.If in the past, Charlie had dared to interrupt when she scolded Jacob, she would have bitten his head off for interjecting.But things were not like it used to be now. Fortune knocks once at every man’s door, and this time, it was Charlie’s door. Now that she didn’t have any money and had to live in a villa that was owned by Charlie, Charlie held the most significant status in the family.In order not to be kicked out by Charlie, she could only do whatever it took to please Charlie and not get on his bad side.Thus, she glared at Jacob viciously and said, “If it wasn’t fo
Claire leaned in and whispered to Charlie, “What’s wrong with Mom? Why is she in the kitchen cooking?”Charlie laughed and said, “Mom said she wanted me to try her cooking. She said she’s making tomato and egg with noodles.”Claire exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, my mom actually took the initiative to cook. Wonders never cease! I guess she does learn her mistakes and try to correct them.”However, Charlie did not share the same opinion. Instead, he felt that this so-called free breakfast was not free. After all, Elaine had to be up to something that she needed his favor for, otherwise, based on her character, she would never have taken the initiative to cook.Sure enough, at the dining table, as Elaine personally served the noodles for Charlie, she smiled coyly and said, “My dear son-in-law, I have a favor to ask you. I wonder if you will be okay with it?”Charlie replied, “Mom, please say whatever you want. I won’t refuse if it is something reasonable and also within my ability.”El
Frankly speaking, Elaine didn’t want to be a lickspittle to Charlie, but she was currently in a very awkward position.She no longer had the financial power of the family. She was almost penniless. Even the luxurious Thompson First villa was under Charlie’s name, which had nothing to do with her.More importantly, since she had lost more than 2 million in the mahjong scam that Hannah had set up, she knew that her status in the family had dropped significantly. Even Jacob, who had always been shouted at and bullied by her, had turned against her and even beat her up. Under such circumstances, she knew that she did not have the luxury to be arrogant and cocky like she used to be.Thus, Elaine knew that, for now, she could only behave with her tail between her legs, and tried to get on Charlie’s good side. She would be doomed if even Charlie turned against her one day and kicked her out of the house.Moreover, Charlie was even willing to help her ask about the expensive cosmetics. Of
Mr. Cardensky's forgery syndicate had made the bronze sculpture—all Zachary had done was talk Jacob into buying it, and Jacob himself had made some money after Raymond bought it.That meant the entire plot had nothing to do with Zachary as he was just a mediator at best.In other words, if the bronze sculpture was worth nothing, he didn't lose anything… although he wouldn't make a cent even if it was worth a hundred million.However, he also knew all too well what Jacob Wilson was like.In fact, in this world, he was only second to Charlie when it came to knowing what type of man Jacob Wilson really was—not even Claire or Elaine would win against them.He was a dead man.That was Zachary's immediate thought on the matter, should Jacob ever find out.After all, Jacob was precisely one of those people who didn't play by any rules—no buyer's regret? No seller's remorse? None of that applied to him.Not even the Gods could make Jacob offer a refund if he scalped them. And vice vers
As Mick Crane had established a corrupted hierarchy in Vintage Deluxe, he had to make sure his position was never threatened by Raymond Cole.That was why he wanted Raymond gone, and it was obvious from that how important self-gain was to him.However, though he plotted to protect this job with a salary of several hundred grand per annum and incentives worth just as much, he didn't think that doing so meant he had missed out on 20 million.And to add insult to injury, that 20 million had ended up in Raymond's pocket.Mick wasn't just thunderstruck—he wished he was dead.Hanging up on Trippy right then, he called Zachary directly since Zachary had told him earlier that text notifications from his number would be silenced.Zachary was just about to fall asleep when his phone began buzzing.Already annoyed when he picked up his phone, he immediately snapped at Mick when he saw who the caller was. "I told you! Text me if you have any updates, and I'll check it when I wake up! Why ar
As Ian Cash's trio turned and left Treasure Measure, Trippy was still standing there, staring blankly as they headed off to the distance, utterly dispirited.Seeing that, Raymond returned his phone and said coolly, "We had agreed on some ground rules, but not only did you break them, you even tried to sabotage me.""Since you refuse to be honorable, you can't blame me for being cold—starting now, we shall have nothing to do with each other. We'll be strangers even if we bump into each other."Trippy was already choking, and he snatched his phone back before dashing out of Treasure Measure, calling Mick Crane as soon as he left.Mick had just arrived at Vintage Deluxe and hadn't even sat down when Trippy called, and he asked as soon as he answered, "How did it go? What did you find out?"However, Trippy was so exasperated he burst into tears right then, "M-Mr. Crane… My dear Mr. Crane…"Mick was left reeling from shock, and he promptly snapped, "Can't you fucking talk? Why are you
Seeing that the transaction was complete and that the bargain deal had been taken, the other collectors all excused themselves and left.As for Ian, once he had bagged the bronze sculpture, he nodded at Raymond. "I apologize for leaving early, Mr. Cole, but I must return to Eastcliff. However, you can contact me again should you pick up another treasure. I'm quite a spendthrift, and I pay up right away if the item is good and the price is right."Raymond smiled. "Very well. I shall contact you first the next time I get something good."Ian nodded and was ready to leave with his two friends when Trippy chased after them."Please, Mr. Cash!" He cried urgently, his anxiety overcoming him. "You shouldn't buy that! It's a forgery!"Ian frowned at him. "Are you trying to sabotage Mr. Cole? Aren't you supposed to be his friend?""Hell, no!" Trippy promptly replied. "I'm no friend of his—I'm just here to watch, but I didn't think he dared to trick you for 20 million! I can't bear to see
No one except Raymond expected that the terms would be agreed upon so quickly.He was utterly confident in his judgment and even more so in his value appraisal.He was convinced that once they had a good look, any one of these collectors who could afford twenty million wouldn't miss this bargain.After all, an opportunity to secure an item worth millions more than the price they paid was very rare.In fact, when the other nine collectors heard that the first collector was buying it, it was only to be expected even if it left them all gloomy. They had all held the bronze sculpture in their hands—they knew it was definitely worth that much.However, no one in the room was more shocked than Trippy.He looked utterly flabbergasted, his eyes wide and bulging as he stared at the bronze sculpture while asking himself the same question repeatedly.Was that crap really worth twenty million? How?!While Trippy was still stunned, Raymond had already sent his payment details to the first
Unable to nitpick on the air stewardess' response, Elaine pouted, "Well, try to ask management to improve on your first-class cabins anyway. Maybe even make a premium-class or something since it's not like we can't afford it."The air stewardess quickly said, "We will definitely relay your message to the management."Nodding in satisfaction, Elaine waved her off. "Alright. You can go back to work now."Clearly relieved, the air stewardess bowed her head respectfully. "Always happy to be of service."After the air stewardess left, Jacob asked Elaine in curiosity, "Was the private jet that good?"Elaine rolled her eyes. "Didn't you see the stuff I posted in the chat group?""Not really," Jacob blurted. Elaine was ready to snap at him for not caring, but considering that they had made up now and she shouldn't fuss too much over the little things, she snorted, "Just remember to like and comment on all my posts in the chat group, otherwise, I will make you regret it!""No problem!"
While the ten collectors were taking turns studying the bronze sculpture, Jacob and Elaine were boarding their flight.As they were flying first-class, they had priority over the other passengers and boarded from the separate plug door at the first-class section.The capacity of the Boeing 777 was huge, and the wide-body aircraft could be connected to a special double corridor bridge where first class and business class passengers boarded separately from the economy class passengers.As the terminals to economy class and business class were connected, Elaine and Jacob were able to get through the first-class terminal unimpeded, but the passengers in economy class had a queue of over two hundred passengers. Even as she walked, Elaine was looking over her shoulder and exclaiming at Jacob, "Must be nice being rich! We used to have to queue like the rest of them, waiting for over thirty minutes just to board our flight." "In first class, we may be in the same plane, but we don't hav
Meanwhile, once Raymond had briefed everyone about the rules, he opened the door and invited everyone into Treasure Measure.It was not that wide but appeared spacious since the interior was mostly empty—it was not really crowded even with thirty-ish people.Then, locking the door from the inside, Raymond told them, "I can tell from everyone's faces that we are all veterans here, so I'm sure you understand the rules while appraising: no photos or videos, thank you very much."Indeed, there were many rules that governed the hobby, the most important being respecting the seller's requests and privacy.As the collectors listened, they knew that Raymond was selling but did not want the public to know too much about him.They all nodded, and those who had their phones out slid them back into their pockets.With that, Raymond took out the bronze sculpture that he had brought, leaving Trippy a little surprised.He had never seen the bronze sculpture with his own eyes before, only from
"Alright!" Trippy was at once fawning, tagging along behind Raymond like a little child.Around thirty people were waiting in front of Treasure Measure by now. The collectors came in twos or threes, and all ten numbers had since been taken.Before Raymond arrived, he had a brief look at the collectors' faces through the security cameras before walking over, and he was really relieved to see no familiar faces.Having traded Oskian antiques for years abroad, it was only natural that he was acquainted with some of the elite collectors in the country.He also knew that they were especially demanding with the quality of their collection and wanted almost flawless items. As such, the bronze sculpture which had been completely lost wouldn't interest them.Still, he was also a little concerned that amongst the elite collectors he knew, there might be some who were losing money and losing purchasing power in turn. If they happened to take an interest in the bronze sculpture on top of that,