Charlie stretched out his right hand to cover half of his face because he truly did not know how to respond to his stupid father-in-law anymore.At this time, Jacob answered the call, and he said casually, “Hello, Claire. I am already with Charlie, and we are on our way home now.”Suddenly, he heard Claire’s angry voice sounding from the backseat, “Dad! You truly disappoint me!”Jacob yelped in shock. As he was not holding his cell phone firmly, it slipped from his hand and fell into the gap.He did not even bother picking up his cell phone. Instead, he simply turned around as he stared at Claire in horror. “Cla… Claire?! You… why are you in the car too?!”Claire asked in a huff, “Why can’t I be in the car? If I was not in the car, I would never have known that you were cheating on Mom behind her back!”Jacob felt very aggrieved, and he blurted out, “Oh! Claire, don’t talk nonsense. When did I ever cheat on your mom?!”Claire replied, “You and Aunt Hall are already at the point
Claire was dumbfounded, and she did not know how she should respond.Jacob, who was sitting in the co-driver seat, was so aggrieved that he burst into tears and choked up as he said, “Back then, your mother and I had no emotional connection nor affection for one another whatsoever. If I were to speak conscientiously, before I got drunk that night, I have never even exchanged more than a few words with your mother before. You should also be able to see clearly that your Aunt Hall is much better than your mom in all aspects. It is completely impossible for a normal man to give up your Aunt Hall and choose your mother instead. I was completely helpless, and I was forced into a dead-end back then!”As he spoke, Jacob looked out the window with a sad and aggrieved look on his face as he said depressedly, “In the beginning, your Aunt Hall and I had already planned our lives after graduation. We were going to go and further our studies in the United States together. You should also know tha
”I understand! I understand!” Jacob nodded excitedly as he said repeatedly, “I will never wear this watch at home in the future.”Although Charlie had been sitting at the side without saying anything all this while, he was also a little relieved when he heard this.It had really not been easy for his father-in-law all this while. In fact, the main reason why he had tolerated Elaine for so many years was mainly because of Claire.If it weren’t for his daughter, he would not have tolerated this for such a long time. So, it could be seen that his father-in-law was actually not useless. At the very least, his paternal love for Claire was indeed very great.Moreover, even when Claire was questioning him about this matter, Jacob had never once mentioned that the reason why he had suffered so many grievances for the past two decades was because of Claire. He was indeed worthy of the saying that stated that a father’s love was great and selfless.***When they arrived back at Thompson Fi
When Charlie came out of the villa community, he could not see Nanako anywhere anymore.He looked around a few times, but Nanako was nowhere to be found.Charlie could not help but feel a little puzzled and bewildered. He knew that his observations were not wrong. Although that girl had been wearing a mask over her face, he was certain that it was Nanako.Since she had come all the way to the villa at Thompson First, she must have come here to look for him. So, why did she suddenly disappear, then?As he thought about this, Charlie could not help but sigh. He really could not figure out what was going on in this Japanese girl’s mind.Meanwhile, Nanako was hiding in a milk tea shop as she looked at Charlie from a distance.When she saw the lost and despondent look on Charlie’s face, she felt a strange and peculiar feeling somewhere deep within her heart.She had indeed come here to look for Charlie tonight. The final match was about to happen, and she knew very well that it would
So, Nanako hurriedly told the boss, “Boss, please give me another cup of milk tea.”The boss replied, “Miss, we are about to close our shop now. Our employee has also gotten off work. I am so sorry but we cannot make another cup of milk tea for you now.”“Okay.” Nanako nodded helplessly.At this time, she saw Charlie walking toward the right side of the gate of the first-grade Thompson First villa community. So, she hurriedly held her cup of milk tea in her hand as she ran after him.Charlie thought that Nanako had already left. So, he planned to head toward the pharmacy to buy a box of liver supplement tablets for his father-in-law.When he arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy, he discovered a huge poster hanging at the entrance of the pharmacy. It was a poster of Quinn, who was beautiful and unparalleled, as she held the Apothecary Stomach Pill in her hand. There was also a slogan which Quinn had personally written herself: “New Oskian medication, new domestic product. I trus
In fact, Nanako did not know what she should say at this moment. Therefore, she suddenly thought of giving the milk tea to Charlie.Although Charlie felt a little surprised, he had not drunk even a sip of water ever since he had gone out to pick up his father-in-law, and he felt a little thirsty at this time.So, he subconsciously took the cup of milk tea in his hand before he smiled and said, “Thank you. I just so happen to feel a little thirsty too.”After saying that, Charlie lowered his head before he sipped on the straw and drank a big mouthful of the milk tea.At this time, Nanako came to a sudden realization, and she exclaimed in her heart, ‘Oops! I took a few small sips of the cup of milk tea just now… Although I only drank a few sips of the milk tea, I still drank it anyway! Wouldn’t that mean that I’ve kissed Charlie indirectly, then?’Charlie did not know that Nanako had already drunk the milk tea before him. As he continued drinking the milk tea, Charlie said, “Ito-san
“Our Oskian ancestors would always think of how we can better ourselves. Even if we fight, we will only fight with ourselves—we fight with our past and present selves!”“The reason why we fight with our past selves is so that we can surpass our present and past selves. We want to improve ourselves in the medical field so that we can live longer. We want to improve our farming techniques so that we can feed more people. We want to improve our combat and fighting skills so that we can make ourselves better and stronger.”Having said that, Charlie looked at Nanako before he asked her, “If you are no longer allowed to participate in any more competitions from now on, will you give up on upgrading yourself or even practicing combat and fighting in the future?”Nanako blurted out, “Of course not! Even if I can no longer participate in any more competitions, I will never give up on combat and fighting!”Charlie smiled before he said, “That’s it. You love combat and fighting for itself, an
Charlie did not know what kind of look he had given Nanako.After all, he did not have a mirror at that time to look at the expression on his own face.However, he could remember his mood at that time.At that time, he had really felt distressed when he saw her constantly getting attacked and hit by her opponent.So, what Nanako had seen at that time should have been the distressed look in his eyes?As he thought about this, Charlie also felt a little embarrassed. He sighed as he said seriously, “Don’t be so silly in the future. You can go all out in the match, but don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation just for the sake of your own obsession.”When Nanako heard Charlie showing her some concern, she felt very excited, like a dainty and delicate woman. She nodded before she said, “I understand, Mr. Wade!”Charlie looked at her, and he could still see the bruises and scars on the corners of her eyes. At this time, he could not help but caution, “During the next match between
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,