Charlie rejected Jasmine’s offer. “I’m sorry, Miss Moore, but my mood today had been ruined by those two irritating flies, so I won’t go back to the auction. Let’s keep a rain check on it.”Jasmine said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wade.”Then, she returned to her car to retrieve a wooden box and put it in Charlie’s hand. “Mr. Wade, this is a little token of my affection as an apology…”The moment the box was on Charlie’s hands, he could sense traces of Reiki from it, so he accepted it wholeheartedly.Jasmine was very glad that Charlie accepted her gift, so she continued, “Well, I’ll suspend today’s auction and ask Finn to regroup and observe his team of staff in the Treasure Pavilion. When he is ready, we’ll hold another auction sale, and I hope Mr. Wade and Mr. Wilson will be willing to join us then.”Jacob was astounded since he stumbled upon the woman. She was Miss Moore who appeared at the Vintage Deluxe when he smashed the antique vase, wasn’t she?She was so polite t
Neither of the women were at home when they returned. Elaine was still out playing cards, and Claire had not gotten off work yet.Charlie went back to his bedroom and carefully took the lightning-struck wood out of the box.He could sense a dense Reiki radiating from the wood.Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Charlie put the wood in his palm, closed his eyes, executed the mental strength written in the Apocalyptic Book, and slowly inhaled the Reiki into his body.When he opened his eyes, he felt that his eyes were sparkling and rejuvenated. The aura in his body had a dramatic change.On the other hand, the Lightning Strike Dragon Blood Wood in his hand became a little dim.Although it lost its Reiki, there was still some strong thunderous breath remaining, which proved that the wood was a treasure.If he had other magical things with him right now, he could use it to refine some simple magical artifacts.It was already dark when he came out of the room.As soon as he arrived
Claire opened the door in a careful manner before she asked in a vigilant manner, “How can I help you?”Charlie frowned before he walked towards the door immediately. At this time, he pushed Claire behind him before he asked in a calm and cold manner, “Are you looking for me?”At this time, a middle-aged man dressed in a suit stood outside the door. As soon as he saw Charlie, he smiled before he greeted him in a respectful manner. “Hello, Mr. Wade. I am the new manager of Treasure Pavilion. I just started working this afternoon. My boss feels very sorry about the way you left Treasure Pavilion earlier today and he sent me here with a gift to specifically apologize to you.”Charlie looked at the man with a shocked expression on his face. “You’re from Treasure Pavilion?”“Treasure Pavilion?”At this time, Claire, who was standing behind Charlie, was also very surprised.The middle-aged man hurriedly explained, “Our boss felt very bad about the way you were forced to leave Treasure
Elaine was extremely excited.All of those gifts were money to her!She did not know how much those antique vases cost but she knew that each bottle of Moutai Flying Fairy liquor was worth at least thirty to forty thousand dollars! Moreover, there were twenty bottles of liquor in this box. This meant that this box of liquor was worth a few hundred thousand dollars!There was also a box of Yellow Crane Tower cigars. The cigars cost five thousand dollars each and there were fifty cigars in the box! That would mean that the box of cigars was worth more than two hundred thousand dollars! Just the liquor and cigars were already worth at least one million dollars!Why shouldn’t she accept it?Moreover, if she had the VIP card from Treasure Pavilion, she would be able to show off in front of her friends!When Claire saw how obsessive and materialistic her mother was, she called out in a reluctant manner, “Mom…”Elaine glared at her before she replied, “What’s wrong? Are you going to sa
Graham’s face was pale and his body trembled slightly, as though he was really in fear.Charlie frowned before he asked in a faint manner, “Did the jade plug crack?”“Mr. Wade, you really are a master! I can’t believe that you’ve actually guessed it right.”Graham’s voice was very soft as he sighed, “Initially, we followed all of your instructions without fail. After sealing the jade plug off in the yellow bag, our entire family ate vegetarian food for seven days without seeing any blood at all.”“However, one day, my stupid nephew Adam secretly ate some stewed pigeon soup. Moreover, he accidentally stained pigeon blood on the yellow paper bag that the jade plug was sealed in. As soon as the blood fell on the yellow paper bag, the jade plug cracked immediately. I’ve already beat Adam up and locked him up at home but strange things are still happening!”Charlie frowned before he asked, “What kind of strange things have you encountered?”Graham hurriedly replied, “Last night, there
Graham arrived at Charlie’s house early the next morning.He waited outside Charlie’s house until Charlie finally stepped out of the house as he headed to the market to buy some vegetables. After that, Graham greeted him before he handed his black card over to Charlie.At this time, Graham told Charlie that there were more than a few hundred million dollars in the black card. It seemed as though Graham was really willing to spend all of his fortune to save the Quinton family.Aurora had accompanied Graham but this time, she was not as arrogant and haughty as she had previously been.In fact, she was very respectful towards Charlie.Ever since Adam got into trouble, the Quinton family had encountered a lot of strange and unpredictable events. Her grandfather had also fallen ill and his body was deteriorating for no reason at all. Aurora knew that Charlie was the only one who would be able to save her family!After handing the black card over to Charlie, Graham knelt down in front
Early the next morning, Charlie prepared to attend the auction.Jacob could not sleep well the previous night because he was so worried about the matter related to the Quinton family. Therefore, he continued nagging at Charlie in the living room.At this time, Charlie asked Jacob, “Dad, I heard about the special treasure that will be up for auction at the Treasure Pavilion today. Am I right?”“Yes,” Jacob replied immediately. “I’ve heard that it’s a valuable treasure that is unparalleled in this world.”After he was done speaking, Jacob suddenly thought of something. After that, he quickly pulled Charlie aside before he said, “My dear son-in-law, please don’t get any ideas about this treasure. The starting price for this treasure is ten million dollars! We should just take a look at the treasure from afar.”Charlie knew that his father-in-law was simply worried that he would be using the Quinton family’s money for his own purposes. Therefore, he smiled before he replied, “Dad, don
Shortly after, they finally arrived at the exhibition center.The exhibition center was a building with a circular dome. The outer circle was filled with shops selling all sorts of different goods from flowers to birds and the auction house was located at the center.The exhibition center was built last year and it looked absolutely magnificent.Charlie followed Jasmine into the glass elevator as they headed to the sixth floor.As soon as the elevator door opened, an artistic exhibition hall with various antique calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls suddenly appeared in front of them. This was the auction house.The auction table was placed right in front atop a red carpet. There were numerous sofas below the stage and the tables were filled with wines and fresh fruits for the enjoyment of the guests.As compared to the last auction, it seemed as though Treasure Pavilion had put in a lot of effort to the auction this time. It had probably cost them more than one million dol
Hearing what Jacob had said, Elaine became anxious and pressed him as he hung up, "What's going on? You're leaving? But we just got here! My shoes have just caught Dubai dirt, so why are we leaving so soon—"However, Jacob was wiping the sweat off his brow as he mumbled quietly, "Well, at this point, I have to leave or I won't be vice president anymore."Elaine immediately fumed. "We've been married for half our lives, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon, yet we're just leaving? I've posted about this on social media too—there are plenty of people who're waiting for more posts on our trip!"And don't forget—we spent a lot on our flight tickets and our hotels! The hotel bookings can't be refunded either!"Jacob scowled dolefully. "Well, what can we do? Why don't you stay? I'll go home and get this sorted out first….""Well, how long would that take?" Elaine asked."How should I know?" Jacob sighed, uneasy and annoyed. "Don Albert is saying I have to go back and donate the 300
"But I spent 98 thousand on that bronze sculpture!" Jacob exclaimed in agitation before he knew it. "I made 300 thousand from it, and that means my profit was 200 thousand at best, but I'm supposed to return that to him as well?! That means I'd have lost my own capital too!""I can't help you if you can't bear to part with that money, Mr. Wilson," Don Albert said quietly. "In that case, you'll just have to handle it yourself.""Wait, wait, wait!" Jacob immediately became antsy and cried out right then, "Please, Don Albert! I'll return the money! I'll return it, alright?! The entirety of my profits—202 thousand, okay? At least let me keep the money I spent, okay?""By that reasoning, Mr. Wilson, when a phone scammer is told by the cops to return the money they've made from defrauding, should he be allowed to keep the money he spent on telco charges? ""Oh, I…" Jacob was left stumped and could not come up with an answer.Don Albert then pressed on, "Mr. Wilson, I've offered a prom
"Mr. Wilson, what you boys did was truly heinous!" Don Arnold growled. "I scolded Zachary myself when I found out, and I was the one who told him to post that statement!"Jacob was shocked. "But why, Don Arnold? Are you friends with Raymond Cole?""Never met the guy," Don Arnold replied.That left Jacob even more confused. "Then why are you taking his side?""I've been doing my best to clean up my image over the past couple of years," Don Albert replied coolly. "I rarely get involved in mob business or anything illicit, and everyone in Aurous Hill knows that Zachary is my right-hand man, yet he confessed to committing such a heinous crime behind my back. What is that if not sullying my reputation?"Jacob was left reeling as he didn't expect Don Albert to be so serious, but he quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to affect you so terribly… It's all Zachary's fault! I wouldn't have been aware that Raymond had returned at all, but he just had to tell me and come up with
At this point, Don Albert could very well be Jacob's personal messiah.Even if he did threaten Zachary with calling Charlie persistently, he actually wouldn't dare call Charlie.After all, how would he start explaining that he was involved in a crime? And telling Charlie was basically telling his daughter—what would they think of him after this? Would he ever be able to hold his head high in the family again?As such, his only option now was to ask Don Albert and see if he would help.What he didn't know was that Don Albert was with Charlie, who had already anticipated Jacob's move.When Jacob realized he couldn't stop Zachary, Jacob would find someone who could, and Don Albert was the best man for the job!To no surprise, Don Albert's phone soon started ringing with a call from Jacob.Don Albert didn't answer right away, however, instead turning toward Charlie as he asked gingerly, "So, shall I stick to your script, Master Wade?"Seeing Charlie nod, he pressed on, "Should I
As soon as Jacob sent the voice message, Mr. Bay called.Jacob quickly answered, asking nervously, "How are things over there, Mr. Bay?""How, you ask…?" Mr. Bay sighed in exasperation. "The entire Calligraphy and Painting Association was demanding your dismissal as soon as Zachary Evans posted his statement, thinking that you have no business being the administrative vice president let alone have a place in the association."Even those officials came asking me questions, and you know how they are—gossipers, every last one of them, always finding out about the juicy stuff instantly even if it's really no big deal. The only excuse I have to stop them is that we don't have the facts, but this issue still needs to be taken care of."So, be straight with me. Were you a part of this? If you don't, do you have any definitive evidence that can refute Zachary's claims?""I… Uh…" Jacob stammered, unable to answer.He certainly wanted to say no, but he had no evidence to back himself up.
Jacob bellowed furiously, "Raymond Cole made over 19 million dollars! From my bronze sculpture! Yet you're telling me to refund that 300 thousand too?! You're just fucking with me, aren't you?!""Well, if you don't like it, just do what you like, then," Zachary replied calmly and quickly hung up before Jacob could answer.Jacob was left twitching and shaking endlessly, and there was no telling if it was from rage or fear.Beside him, Elaine quickly asked, "What did Zachary say, dear? Can he get that bronze sculpture back?"Caught by surprise at her question, Jacob flinched, and his phone slipped out of his grasp.As it seemed to hover in the air, he tried to catch it twice but failed, but Elaine managed to grab it.It was then that she noticed that he was sweating all over his face, and she promptly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"Coming to his senses, Jacob's eyes went wide with rage. "Zachary is trying to kill me! He leaked the whole thing to his Twitter page—it's like he's pulli
Jacob turned his phone's loudspeaker on before switching panels to Twitter.He was already shocked to find dozens of people directly messaging him, and he was naturally curious why so many of them were looking for him while he was on his trip to Dubai.However, he had no time to find out as he promptly tapped on his social feed, and it took much swiping to reach Zachary's apology post.He tapped on it, scanning through it just before he went dizzy, the world spinning around him while a dull hum rang in his ears.Never would he have expected Zachary to spill the beans, leaking every detail including Jacob's name and contact information. What was that if not mutual destruction?!Absolutely furious, he bellowed at Zachary again, "What the fuck is this?! Are you trying to kill me, posting this shit?!""I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I've come to understand how grave of a mistake I've made," Zachary calmly replied. "I've actually visited Treasure Measure earlier to apologize to Mr. Cole
Within hours, Jacob and Elaine's flight had landed at Dubai International Airport, and the first thing he did was turn off his phone's flight mode.Then, staring at the upper right corner, he waited for the phone to find a network signal.He had connected to international data roaming, and within a few dozen seconds, he was connected to the internet.Once he did, a ton of notifications popped up on his phone, but he didn't care to check any of them and instead opened his contacts and called Zachary.Zachary was in his office, ready to do his usual rounds inspecting Don Albert's premises.While he had indeed completely lost his reputation at Aurous Hill's Antique Street after pinning that post on top of his social page and was given plenty of weird looks by people around him, he didn't care because he knew how to prioritize.Right now, the most important thing that he had to do was put all his body and spirit into his work and not get distracted by anything else.Only then could
The man who had called out to him shrugged. "Zachary posted it on his account. Check it out yourself!"Mick promptly tapped out of his message editor, refreshed his social feed, and immediately saw Zachary's apology post.Once he tapped on it and read it, he almost had a stroke and was cursing before he knew it, "Fuck technology! It's like a self-exploding truck! Fuck you, Zachary Evans, blowing yourself up before I could end you! What a bitch!" Naturally, the post also made Jacob infamous.The Calligraphy and Painting Association more or less had a stake in the antique trade, and the members were shocked that Jacob was involved in such a scandal.Within minutes, word reached Mr. Bay, leaving him pacing around in his office anxiously.Mr. Bay was eager to suck up to Jacob too, which was why he had intended to let Jacob inherit his position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association after he was promoted.But while he thought it was as good as done, he didn't expec