Everyone returned to their seats while Lady Wilson walked on stage hand-in-hand with Claire.She gave a gentle and sweet smile as she said, “I’m really sorry for what happened earlier, I made a mistake. Actually, Claire is the outstanding descendant of our Wilson family. Thanks to her, we are able to score such a lucrative contract with Emgrand Group. She has made great efforts for such an amazing achievement.”Standing next to them, Doris glanced at the old lady contemptuously. She waved her hand, gesturing at her to stop talking, and said, “Allow me to correct something. Miss Claire has not only made great efforts for this project but she has accomplished it by her own efforts entirely. It has nothing to do with anyone.”She sounded very impolite and rude, but everyone was accustomed to it. With Emgrand Group’s status in the city, even if Doris slapped Lady Wilson right there and then, she dared not say anything.Lady Wilson nodded quickly. “Yes, Miss Young is absolutely right. C
Charlie was totally clueless. He could only imitate the elders around him and protest. As they were chanting, he asked the uncle beside him to understand what was going on.It turned out that this Axel Insurance company was offering some insurance packages with extremely high returns. This group of elders had been attracted by the high returns that they became the company’s clients by buying a lot of insurance products under the name of the company.According to their agreement, today was supposed to be the day they received their dividends, but when these people came to claim their money, they found out that the door was locked tight and only a few employees were left at the door to block them using lame excuses.Eventually, they realized that they were victims of a fraudulent investing scam.No wonder Elaine had urged him to come and help her to protest.Charlie massaged his forehead in agitation. He asked Elaine, “Mom, how much did you buy?”Elaine said frantically, “They said
The call was answered quickly.Elaine hurriedly said, “Hello, is it, Kevin? Hi, I’m Claire’s mother…”Ever since meeting Claire at the banquet, her beauty knocked him off his feet. He couldn’t get her out of his mind.He was frustrated as to how he was supposed to approach Claire when coincidentally, her mother called him. He figured that Elaine must be in some kind of trouble and of course, he would not miss the chance to woo her.Thus, he put up a sincere tone and said, “Auntie, are you in any trouble?”“Well, there is something I need you to help me with,” Elaine hurriedly said, “Kevin, some old friends and I have bought some participating policies from an insurance company called Axel and we literally used all our money to buy it. However, the company isn’t paying us our dividends now and they don’t even want to return us our money! Could you find a way to help me get the money back, please?”Kevin was delighted upon hearing it, figuring that it was time for him to perform. H
“Yes! If my daughter can marry him, I can die in peace!”“Phew, stop dreaming! Even if you are dead, he will not like your daughter!”As soon as Elaine saw him, she rushed to his side and said earnestly, “Hey, Kevin, you’re here finally! I was so anxious waiting for you!”Indeed, it was Kevin.Kevin said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m very sorry to have kept you waiting!”“Oh no, Kevin, you’re too kind. I think it had taken you only ten minutes to get here, you came so fast!”“As soon as I heard that you’re in trouble, I drove over quickly. I even ran some red lights on the way here.”Elaine looked very smug, but asked with concern, “Will it get you into trouble for running the red lights?”“No,” Kevin said indifferently, “The guys in the traffic department are all my acquaintances. A phone call is all I need to settle the traffic tickets.”Kevin cleared his throat and started again, “Anyway, back to your business. How much have you been scammed out of in total?”Elaine sighed de
Just as Elaine was extremely thrilled, Kevin announced loudly, “Uncles and aunties, relax, I’ll go speak to them now. Please wait for my good news!”Elaine felt that with Kevin’s presence here, they were the most invincible of them all, so she blurted excitedly, “Kevin, I’ll go with you!”Charlie quickly interjected, “Mom, I think you’d better stay away from it. If Kevin can’t solve the problem, you might get into trouble!”“Bah!” Elaine growled angrily. “How dare you doubt Kevin’s abilities, you loser?!”The other seniors expected that Kevin could help them get back their money. Now that Charlie was singing a different tune, they were irked and irritated by him.Facing the resentful glare and murmur, Charlie said flatly, “Mom, it’s better for you to wait here. It’s best to be a bystander.”Elaine found his voice disgusting and she immediately cursed, “Shut your stinky mouth! This is not a place for you to speak!”Pompousness and arrogance were written all over Kevin’s face. He
Meanwhile, in Axel Insurance’s chairman’s office, the owner, Axel Jordan, was serving a man in his forties in a respectable manner.His face was radiant with a wide smile. He retrieved a bank card from the drawer and handed it to the man with respect and said, “Don Albert, there are thirty million dollars in this card and the pin number is your birthday. This is the bonus for you, please check.”The middle-aged man was dressed in a smart suit. His face was quite rough and haggard but his predator-like eyes were as sharp as a lion.If there were other people present, they would definitely recognize the man immediately.He was Don Albert Rhodes!Everyone in Aurous Hill knew that Albert was the mafia boss of the underworld and no one dared to mess with him!Albert looked at Axel and said with a satisfied smile, “Axie, not bad. You’re pretty tactful, I’m impressed!”Axel said in an anxious tone, “Don Albert, what do we do about the old folks who are protesting out there?”Albert sa
At this moment, Kevin was standing in front of Axel Insurance’s main door with a proud face.He knew that today was the best opportunity for him to show off himself in front of Claire’s mother. He must seize the moment to prove his worth!If he could win her mother’s heart, she would be his in no time!When the time came, he could finally be with Claire Wilson, the most beautiful woman in Aurous Hill. He was in jitters as he thought of it!Hence, he announced in a loud voice, “Uncles and aunties, don’t worry. The boss will refund everyone!”Everyone cheered with joy and excitement upon hearing his statement, wide smiles were plastered on their faces.Everyone but Charlie, who looked at Kevin with a sneer. That dude was too full of himself right now, he wouldn’t even know how he would end up being later.Just when Kevin held his chin high and enjoyed the cheers, someone suddenly pushed open Axel Insurance’s door from the inside.Later, Axel and a middle-aged man in a smart suit
Just as Kevin finished his so-called intimidating threat, a studly man behind Don Albert abruptly stepped forward, grabbed Kevin by his hair, and slapped him multiple times on his face!“God d*mn it! How dare you raise your voice at Don Albert! Do you wish to die?!”Then, he grabbed Elaine and slapped her across the face, and shouted, “D*mn you old coot, how dare you to insult Don Albert! I’ll tear that stinky mouth off your face!”Boom!It felt as if Kevin and Elaine were struck by lightning!What?The man in a suit in front of them was the fearsome Don Albert of Aurous Hill?Yet they had ridiculed him ignorantly just now…Soon, blood drained their face, looking as pale as two sheets of paper. Cold sweat covered their forehead and their bodies shook uncontrollably in fear.Kevin was quick to react. He threw himself on the floor, knelt in front of Don Albert, and cried as he pleaded, “Don, I’m sorry, it’s my bad! Sorry for not recognizing you, sorry for insulting you! I have n
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,
Trippy grinned. "I mean, just look at my stall—ain't no way I'm getting any business here. Why not let me check out this item of yours? And see how interested they are? I'm really interested in learning and upping my game."Then, as if worried that Raymond would refuse, he quickly added, "Don't worry—I promise to stay in a corner and just watch."Still, Raymond could guess right then that someone must have sent Trippy to spy on him.It didn't matter whether it was Mick, Jacob, or Zachary either—they were all in this plot together, and one knowing meant all three knowing.Trippy was a gossiper in nature. If he was allowed to witness the whole process, everyone down Antique Street would definitely know before long.In fact, he could use someone like that right now, and Trippy had come straight to his doorstep.With that in mind, Raymond smiled, "Come join me if you're interested. It's not like there's anything to hide…"Pausing, he then warned Trippy, "But since you're going in my
After watching Mick's video, Jasmine's opinion of the man improved considerably.She was actually well aware that the decline of Vintage Deluxe was mostly due to Mick's incompetence.However, as Jasmine was now managing a billion-dollar company, she couldn't spare any time to ask many questions about Vintage Deluxe's performance. In her opinion, as long as Vintage Deluxe didn't lose too much money or ruin the reputation they had worked so hard to build, she wasn't interested in a regime change.It was the same mindset as Marianne Long, who begged her father to keep that lane full of food stalls in Hong Kong over sentiment.As such, seeing that Mick actually had some skill pleased her considerably.She couldn't resist checking out the comments of the video too.She saw that many were praising the manager of Vintage Deluxe for taking a tough stand against the scammer as well as how Vintage Deluxe's reputation was long-standing and without comparison.She soon noticed Jacob's comme