Emi took Yahiko’s side and advised Nanako, “Nanako, listen to your father. You should represent your father at the frontline, and your father will stay behind the scenes to guide you and be the mastermind.”Nanako nodded her head gently as she said, “Alright, I will work hard for it!”Yahiko and Emi were relieved after Nanako made her promise without much hesitation.All the while, Yahiko had had high expectations for his daughter. It was just that Nanako had been indulged in martial arts before this and had shown little interest in the family’s business operation and management.Back then, Yahiko had had to crack his head to shift his daughter’s focus back on the family's business instead of her own interest.Initially, he had thought that with his physical condition, he would be able to endure for at least a decade or more so as to prolong Nanako’s freedom.Nevertheless, who would have thought that such drastic changes had taken place so swiftly and changed everything.Despite
Knowing that Yahiko wanted to have some private time with Charlie, Emi and Nanako rose up without hesitation and left the ward.After the two had left, Yahiko looked at Charlie and said in a serious tone, “Mr. Wade, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for all the offences that I’ve committed against you. Thank you for your gracious kindness, for saving my daughter, as well as salvaging the Ito family. If it wasn’t for you, I’m afraid the Schulz family would’ve mistakenly thought that our family was the one who had killed their offspring, and that could have been the end of our family.”Charlie smiled faintly and said, “You’re welcome, Yahiko. I saved Nanako purely out of platonic relationships. As for the helping hand lent regarding your family’s issue, you don’t have to mention it either. After all, I’ve taken your money. There is a saying in Oskia, ‘If one gives you money, you will avert the disaster for him.’. Since I have received the money from you, I must do my part, wou
“I am aware of that.” Yahiko smiled, then continued indifferently, “So what? Even if you’re married, Nanako still fell for you, didn’t she? Both myself and Nanako are willing to forgive and forget about your past and present, but what matters the most to us is your future!”Having said this, Yahiko said solemnly, “Mr. Wade, since the incident, I have gained new insight in regards to human life. When one is alive, everything becomes meaningful. Being rich has its own purpose; Being poor has its own purpose. However, when one is dead, life is nothing regardless if one is rich or poor.”“Before this incident, I would never have allowed my daughter to marry a foreigner. Nevertheless, after the incident, all these things were no longer of vital importance to me. What matters most is to make my daughter happy and give her the best in life!”“Mr. Wade, you’re strong, capable, and charismatic. Nanako is cultivated, has a good family background, as well as inner and outer beauty. Also, she l
Charlie was startled by what Yahiko had just said.Firstly, he had never expected Yahiko to know so much about Oskian culture.Secondly, he had never thought that Yahiko would mention the cycle of fate.He might not know if the Japanese believed in luck and fortune. But now, he knew that the Japanese at least believed in fate.What Yahiko had mentioned might have seemed like a normal conversation. However, there were hidden meanings in between.Whatever he had said was not entirely nonsense. After all, no one could be certain about fate.He recalled Chandler Lennard, an elderly master of luck and fortune whom he had met at Mount Wintry in Eastcliff.Chandler had been dependent on the cycle of fate in order to meet him at Mount Wintry.Also, it was he who had solved Charlie’s fate-related problem to enable him to rise like a phoenix from the ashes.The elder must have had a better understanding and insight regarding the cycle of fate.Unfortunately, the elder was far away. The
Therefore, Charlie knew very well that if he were to challenge the Schulz family in the future, he had to gather sufficient power and not depend on himself alone.Furthermore, he hadn’t confirmed if the Wade family were related to his parents’ death.If the Wade family was related to his parents’ death, he might have to face the Schulz and Wade family all by himself in the future.As such, Charlie had made up his mind that after his return to Aurous, he would keep a low profile and develop the Apothecary Pharmaceutical.Since the beginning of the Apothecary Pharmaceutical, he had built up his own empire of business.Only then would he stand a chance to fight with the Schulz family and Wade family and even defeat them!Yahiko had no idea about Charlie’s true identity, neither would he know what was in Charlie’s mind. He only knew that Charlie looked unambitious, thus, he advised him.“Mr. Wade, you have Apothecary Pharmaceutical as your foundation as well as an abundance of cash
Yahiko sighed after Charlie rejected his suggestion.He really hoped Charlie could be involved in the shipping industry.That was because, at the moment, Oskia would be the most profitable customer in the Asia shipping industry.Oskia had occupied more than half of the world’s top ten most bustling ports. Only a business empire with a massive amount of import and export trading could support a huge shipping industry.This was beyond the reach of Japan.As such, despite the Ito family having the intention to do the business, it would be a fruitless attempt due to lack of demand from the local market.He faced Charlie and said, “Mr. Wade, the Ito family business will be passed on to Nanako in the future. Should you change your mind, you may contact her at any time. I believe you both will form a great partnership.”Charlie nodded his head gently, then answered thoughtfully, “If I change my mind, I’ll surely contact Ms. Nanako.”Yahiko smiled and said, “Nanako is a good girl. I dare
Very soon, Emi had arranged a team to go with Charlie, who was in his own car.Nanako sat in Charlie’s car without hesitation.Charlie drove his car to the Ito family’s mansion in Tokyo under the escort of the team.Tokyo was one of the world’s cities with the highest housing and land market price as each acre of land was very costly. Nonetheless, the Ito family had a private manor located in a quiet environment.The design of the manor was in a Japanese vintage style—quaint but elegant.Charlie could see that the wooden materials used in each room were distinctive.Apparently, the filthy-rich ones had too much wealth and had nowhere to spend. Thus, they would spend as extravagantly as they could during their house construction and renovation. They would spend lavishly on all the exported high-end stuff over the local and lower-end stuff. In other words, they would only spend on luxurious goods.All of the servants in the Ito Family’s mansion were dressed neatly and stood resp
Without a moment of hesitation, Charlie answered, “Say it. I promise I’ll give it my all.”Nanako hesitated for a while, then she looked at him expectantly and said in a serious tone, “I hope you can depart a while later….”“Later?” Charlie was slightly stunned, then he asked subconsciously, “How long do you mean by a while? To be frank with you, I plan to return to my home country tonight. My airplane is on standby in Osaka.”Nanako felt the heat around her eyelids, then her eyelids drooped slightly, and she said in a faint voice, “That… will depend on Charlie-kun’s time arrangement. It doesn’t matter even if you manage to delay it for a few more hours…..”Nanako then added hurriedly, “Please don’t misunderstand. The main reason is because my father and Tanaka were seriously injured. Then, my aunt is fully occupied. Not only does she have to settle our family’s affairs, but she also has to take care of them…..”“Moreover, I am confused myself and don’t know how I should begin. Th
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
Jacob laughed. "Put that issue behind us? Sure, but we're not becoming friends. Hell, I can't even hold a grudge now that you're shit out of luck."Then, his tone changed sharply and suddenly became icy, "But you see, Aurous Hill is not a place you can stay just because you want to. No… After this, you're not going to be able to make a living in the antique trade.""If I were you, I'd be running a thousand miles away, far away from Aurous Hill where no one would know my face to start over. That way, you just might be able to make a living."Raymond simply kept smiling, "You need not be concerned about how I'm going to survive here, Mr. Wilson. I'd be very grateful if you'd cease any form of harassment once you leave my premises."Jacob pursed his lips, staring at Raymond in disappointment. "I'm plenty magnanimous, so I won't stoop to such pettiness. Just do whatever you like!"Clicking his tongue, he huffed, "Tut, tut… And here I'd thought you're tough, but you're just yet another
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!