Very soon, a young man wearing bright clothes walked into the banquet hall followed by the Moore family.Reuben and his father, Tyler, were both following closely beside the young man’s side, and both of them seemed very attentive toward the other party.Lord Moore and Jasmine also followed behind them, but Jasmine had a rather cold expression on her face.Charlie looked at the young man, and he realized that he was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and he had a very arrogant look on his face.Isaac replied indifferently, “I see that the third young master of the Koch family seems to be like a dragon who had come to a fish pond. However, he certainly would not have thought that Young Master, you are truly The True Dragon living in this small fish pond in Aurous Hill.”Charlie smiled slightly without commenting on his words.Quite frankly, Charlie did not care if other people wanted to put on airs in front of him.No matter how much a person wanted to act haughtily an
A so-called Master Wade who actually dared to think that he could be on par with him? What rights did he have?As he thought about this, he could not be bothered to talk to Charlie anymore. He looked at Isaac before he smiled and said, “I really did not expect you to be here today, Mr. Cameron. In fact, I was planning to visit Shangri-La tomorrow.”Isaac replied lightly, “Mr. Koch, you are being too polite. I wonder, what brings you all the way here to Aurous Hill, Mr. Koch?”The third young master of the Koch family glanced at Jasmine before he smiled and said, “My sister and Miss Jasmine were classmates when they were studying abroad back then. The reason why I came to Aurous Hill is because I wanted to talk to Lord Moore about a partnership with the Moore family. I was originally planning to come here in two days’ time, but I heard that it was Miss Jasmine’s birthday today. Therefore, I decided to come here earlier instead.”With that, he took out a very exquisite gift box from
The third young master of the Koch family suddenly spoke up, and Lord Moore was placed in a very difficult position.He knew that the Moore family was inferior to the Koch family from Eastcliff. So, he was very careful and polite. However, he was only being polite out of common courtesy. This did not necessarily mean that he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to establish or build up a relationship with the Koch family.After all, he had already experienced so much in life, thus, he could identify at a single glance the main reason why the third young master of the Koch family had come here today.Regardless of how the Koch family intended to cooperate and work together with the Moore family, Lord Moore knew that the third young master of the Koch family would definitely have some thoughts about his granddaughter, Jasmine.If this situation had happened back then, and if the Koch family was interested in forming an intermarriage relationship with the Moore family, Lord Mo
However, since the table was already full, she could only sit with Xyla.Lord Moore stood up to say a word of thanks before the birthday banquet started.As he was thanking the guests in his thank you speech, Lord Moore immediately said, “I would like to thank Master Wade for taking the time to come and attend my granddaughter, Jasmine’s birthday banquet today!”As soon as Lord Moore said this, the face of the third young master of the Koch family who was sitting at the main guest table turned black immediately.What the hell?!Did Lord Moore really not know how to act at all? He had especially driven all the way here to attend his granddaughter’s birthday banquet, but he could not even be bothered to put him in the first place when he was thanking his guests?As he thought about this, he could not help but glance at Charlie who was also seated at the main guest table.The kid looked so plain and unremarkable. So, he had no idea why Lord Moore seemed to favor him a lot.After L
Dylan wanted to compete directly with Charlie in public. Therefore, he spoke up at the main table as he said, “Master Wade, right? I heard that you have a nickname called The True Dragon. Is that true?”Charlie smiled indifferently before he replied, “The so-called ‘True Dragon’ is just a nickname given to me by some of my close friends here.”Dylan sneered before he replied sarcastically, “Master Wade, I am a little curious to know what birthday gift you prepared for Miss Jasmine today? A True Dragon like you will definitely not give her a cheap or ordinary gift, right?”Charlie laughed before he said, “To be honest, I didn't even know that Miss Jasmine would be celebrating her birthday today. After finding out about it, I hurriedly prepared a very simple gift for her as a token of my appreciation. Of course, my gift could never be compared to your gift, Mr. Koch.”The more modest or humble Charlie was, the more Dylan felt like slapping him in public.Hence, he refused to let Cha
Charlie smiled as he said, “Mr. Koch, to tell you the truth, the gift that I prepared for Miss Jasmine not only exceeds ten thousand dollars, but it is definitely worth even more than your necklace.”When Dylan heard this, he was furious and said, “Where the hell did you come from? You actually dare to be so pretentious in front of me?”Charlie smiled before he asked, “What are you going to do if the gift that I gave is indeed more expensive compared to your necklace?”Dylan snorted coldly before he said, “There are so many people present here today and they can all be our witness then. If the gift that you’ve given to Miss Jasmine is truly more expensive than the necklace I gave her, I will eat that necklace on the spot.”Charlie clapped his hands and smiled as he said, “Very well, then. It’s a deal.”Dylan frowned before he said, “Master Wade, what are you going to do if the gift that you gave to Miss Jasmine is not more expensive as mine?”Charlie smiled before he said, “If my
At this time, most of the people present were feeling a little worried for Charlie. Although everyone knew that Charlie was very capable and had a lot of accomplishments in the metaphysics field, they really did not believe that Charlie would be able to compete with Dylan when it came to money. The strength of the Koch family was indeed even much stronger compared to that of any big families in the South Region. Based on the assets owned by the Koch family, Dylan was really very strong and powerful.This was because no one in Aurous Hill could possibly defeat Dylan.In fact, no one in the whole South Region might be able to compare to him at all.Moreover, the twenty million US dollars ruby necklace could already be considered the best amongst all other ruby necklaces.Even a diamond that was the size of an egg might not even be worth that much.Thus, everyone could not help but wonder what could possibly be in the small gift box that Charlie had given to Jasmine that made him
Even Travis, who was sitting at the same table, was shocked and speechless!He was the richest man in Lancaster, and he was not any worse off compared to the Moore family in terms of their net worth.Moreover, he had already reached old age this year, and he could obviously feel that his body and physical health was much worse compared to before.This was irreversible no matter how much money was spent.So, Travis also dreamed to have the opportunity to take a Rejuvenating Pill too. He would not regret it even if he had to give up one-tenth of his assets in exchange for a Rejuvenating Pill.This was because he knew that other than the Rejuvenating Pill, there was no way he would be able to gain back twenty years of his youth even if he was willing to spend several billion dollars for it.The Macau gambling tycoon, Stanley Ho, was very rich. He was extremely wealthy and powerful, but even if he had all that money, he had no way to buy back his youth when he was already over ninety
Charlie chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Hart. There are plenty of business folk who got so used to their comfort zone that they became caught in the illusion that they can be successful in anything they do. It's a mindset that leads to them blindly developing new projects and new competition, and then they end up losing big."If memory serves, there have been real estate businesses that started mineral water brands, search engines that tried the car industry, e-commerce sites attempting social media, and vice-versa. All of them are multi-billion-dollar companies venturing into new frontiers, but all to unimpressive outcomes."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "You've mentioned rising above the competition amidst the development of the new energy industry. That would get anyone's attention, and it is why I believe that you definitely will make a strong impression with your strategizing and knowledge of the basic principles."Yolden found it hard to refuse, seeing that Charli
Having lost it all, Jacob really looked like he wouldn't be getting back up.But fortunately, he had a pillar in the form of Elaine.In fact, Elaine would serve to be a container, whipping Jacob into shape if he got too full of himself.But on the other hand, now that Jacob was utterly despondent, she would be forcing him to smile and function in general.Elaine's attitude to the entire issue was clear as well. Even though Jacob had just lost his job, she would make him go shopping with her in Dubai even if he fell into a coma. Even if he was dead, she'd just cremate him and bring his ashes along.Hence, with Elaine's firm grip around Jacob's leash, he went on strolls, going shopping and taking selfies with Elaine everyday, eventually easing the toll on his mood and spirit.-Back at Aurous Hill, Charlie was preparing for Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall's wedding as it approached.Yolden was a schoolmate of his mother, Ashley Layna Acker, as well as Charlie's elder.And while Cha
"See you." As soon as Charlie hung up on Matilda, Don Albert's call came right after.He sounded nervous as Charlie answered the phone, saying, "Master Wade, I think I might have gone too far…""Wait, what's this about?" Charlie asked."Your father-in-law, of course…" Don Albert sighed. "You asked me to leave him hanging for a while, so I did. I even refused when he asked to book a room in Heaven Springs.""Well, that's not a problem, is it?" Charlie shrugged. "He and Zachary ganged up for some real mischief. As you are Zachary's boss, it's right that you refused him because you didn't appreciate what he did.""That's just it. I thought that approach was just right as well," Don Albert quickly said. "I wasn't playing nice when Mr. Bay of the Calligraphy and Painting Association called me either. That's when he said he'd try to save Jacob's position as vice-president, but I told him it's none of my business."I then hung up on him without much thought, only for Zachary to tell m
Meanwhile, Charlie was downstairs in Claire's office, waiting to pick her up and head home.That was when Matilda called him, asking as soon as he answered, "Charlie, do you know how Jacob is doing? He never answered any of my texts—is he going to be alright?""I wouldn't know," Charlie replied. "Both he and Elaine are in Dubai on a trip… What's wrong?""He resigned," Matilda sighed. "I only saw the public statement that the Calligraphy and Painting Association posted this afternoon. It says that he tendered the resignation himself, but it doesn't really feel that way. I wonder if he's at odds with other members of the association…"Charlie was actually surprised to hear that Jacob had resigned.He had told Zachary to expose the truth of the bronze sculpture fraud case to teach Jacob a lesson so that Jacob would understand the meaning of true pain.However, he anticipated that Mr. Bay would at least keep Jacob around with an unimportant job even if Jacob did lose some money and e
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid