The Northern European royal family sped along the highway late at night.The Concorde was already ready for take-off and could take off as soon as Charlie arrived at the airport.At this moment, it was one o’clock in the morning in Northern Europe time and seven o’clock in the morning in Eastcliff timing. If things went smoothly, Charlie would arrive in Eastcliff at noon Eastcliff timing. After landing, he would head right up to Mount Wintry first to deal with those members of the Wade family’s collateral family who had fled. Helena was sitting beside Charlie in the car.At this time, Helena was feeling entangled. She would look at Charlie from time to time, then look out the window at the Northern Europe night outside. She would occasionally purse her lips slightly, and from time to time, she could not help but bite her lower lip with her white teeth.She hesitated again and again before she finally spoke up, “Mr. Wade, in truth, compared to Oskia, Northern Europe is really to
Helena nodded gently and said softly, “I’ve heard Felix talk about this before. He would get very angry every time he mentioned it...”“Yes...” Charlie smiled indifferently. “He must be very angry. Otherwise, it would not be possible for him to be so hostile to me.”Helena looked at Charlie and asked, “Mr. Wade, how did you convince yourself to accept the gifts from the Wade family, then?”Charlie then said in a self-deprecating manner, “I was penniless at that time, and my life-saving benefactor needed money to treat her illness. My wife was bullied in the family, and even if I had some of my own poor boy’s ambition, reality simply did not allow me to refuse.”After saying that, Charlie sighed slightly and said emotionally, “At that time, I thought that even if it was not for myself, I would still have to accept the gifts from the Wade family even if it’s just for my life-saving benefactor and my wife. So, I took over the company, and I paid for my life-saving benefactor’s medical
Charlie was dismayed by Helena’s sudden question.He did not understand why Helena would suddenly make this ridiculous request when he was sincerely talking to her about fate.He subconsciously asked, “This... doesn’t seem to be related to the topic that we are talking about, right?”Helena winked wryly and smiled. After that, this was followed by her body suddenly leaning forward as she then kissed Charlie tightly on his mouth with her red lips. Immediately after that, Helena bit her lower lip slightly with her teeth as she said bashfully, “Mr. Wade, if there was no BMW car and that antique vase, we would not have met at all. You would not have saved me, and I would not have fallen in love with you in such a short time. We would not have had that kiss just now, and you would not have taken my first kiss away, then. So, Mr. Wade, you’re right. Destiny is really amazing. I understand! I totally understand!” Charlie was speechless for a moment.Charlie did not expect that Helena
After saying that, Helena then asked Charlie again, “Mr. Wade, so many of your confidantes came up to Mount Wintry to help you yesterday despite the danger to their lives. Did all of them only fall in love with you after a long time? Is it possible that none of them fell in love with you in just a few days as I did?”Charlie was speechless for a moment.Among his confidants, aside from Quinn, whom he had known since his childhood, the one whom he had known for the longest amongst the others, was Jasmine, whom he had only known for just over a year. The time that he had known Nanako, Sophie, and Rosalie was actually even shorter.When Helena saw that Charlie was remaining silent, she said emotionally, “Mr. Wade, the reason why I’m backing out is not because I’m really afraid of becoming the queen. It’s just that I am afraid that I will not have the chance to meet with you again after I become the queen... instead of that, I would rather not become the queen, and I would rather take
“The matter where you said you like me?”Charlie was taken aback for a moment before saying casually, “We will put aside the matter where you like me for the time being. It’s not too late to talk about it after you have secured the throne first.”Helena could not help but ask, “Mr. Wade, is the matter where I like you directly related to the throne itself?” Charlie nodded and said indifferently, “Of course it’s related. I’m the kind of person who does not like weak people. Even those confidants of mine whom you have mentioned just now are mostly the head of several major families. All of them hold a certain degree of resources and connections and so, there is still a lot of collaboration that we can have between each other.”Upon hearing this, Helena understood the meaning behind Charlie’s words immediately, and she secretly thought to herself, ‘Mr. Wade is so strong, and he has just become the head of the Wade family. If I do not sit firmly on the throne, I’m afraid that I will n
Helena hesitated for a moment, but she still nodded. After that, her voice was a little choked up as she said, “Take care of yourself then, Mr. Wade!”Charlie smiled slightly and replied, “You too. You have my phone number, so you can call me directly if you need help.”Helena said with flushed red eyes, “I understand. Thank you, Mr. Wade!”“You’re welcome.” Charlie smiled and nodded. He then pushed the car door open and strode up to the Concorde with big steps.After boarding the plane, Charlie sat on the spacious sofa seat in the passenger cabin. He could see Helena, who was still sitting in the car as she looked up at him, through the porthole window.At this time, Helena’s eyes were already filled with tears, and there were several times when she could not help but cry.However, when she realized that Charlie was also looking at her, she then resisted the urge to cry, quietly wiped away her tears, smiled, and waved at Charlie. Charlie also nodded slightly at her in acknowle
As Charlie was returning to Oskia under the Northern Europe night, the members of the Wade family’s collateral family who had previously fled were all returning to Eastcliff one after the other with an apprehensive and worried heart. They faced the rising sun as they headed up Mount Wintry in order to face their sins in front of Ten Thousand Armies. This was because Ten Thousand Armies had made a public announcement that they had gotten the name list for the Wade family’s ancestor worship ceremony. Ten Thousand Armies also demanded that all the people on the list should come back. Therefore, these members from the Wade family’s collateral families could only desperately return to Eastcliff. When they had fled overnight earlier, they did not think that there would be anything wrong with them leaving overnight.This was because in their opinion, they were just members of the Wade family’s collateral families, and this should not be implicated in the grudge between Ten Thousand Armie
Tony was furious, and he cursed angrily, “You... You lackeys actually dare to hit me?!”Stephen said coldly, “Three seconds are up. Break his leg!”As soon as they heard these words, many of the members of the Wade family’s collateral families instantly had a stunned expression on their faces. No one would have expected Stephen to have such courage.At this time, Stephen’s subordinates had already pinned Tony down on the ground. One of the men then took a golf club and suddenly swung it hard so that the metal at the head of the club would hit Tony’s right knee directly, thus instantly smashing his knee into pieces!Tony wailed in despair and rolled on the ground in pain as he clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath, “Stephen Thompson! I... I will f*cking kill you!” Stephen said coldly, “If you say one more word from now on, I’ll get someone to smash your other knee as well!” As soon as Stephen’s words came out, Tony held back the pain and anger that he was feeling immedi
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!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade
In groups like these, any gossip would immediately spread like wildfire as people share everything here with their other circles.Within minutes of these people's good work, Antique Street was abuzz even as the skies darkened: one of the antique traders had been swindled for 300 thousand, and it was Raymond Cole—the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe at that!Some of them wondered when Raymond had actually returned while others were laughing.He was supposed to be the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe, but he had messed up as well? You had to be kidding!Many were dumbstruck too—how would Raymond survive in Antique Street after losing so much money? It had been so long since such a major scam had been pulled!As such, all the antique dealers were asking one question: how did Raymond Cole get fooled?Meanwhile, Mick didn't leak the security footage right away, instead sending his people out to spread the news in other channels, claiming that Raymond thought he had won big by
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man
Raymond had said everything he should and shouldn't and with complete sincerity exactly because Billy would never believe it.As Billy just wanted to swindle him, it didn't matter how sincere Raymond was—he wanted the 300 thousand whatever it took. The key here was that Billy had refused a better prospect when told it was possible, and there was evidence that would support Raymond if either he or Zachary realized the truth and came to start trouble.That meant Raymond had nothing to worry about—they could take this to the United Nations but he'd still win this case.Having been in the antique trade for so long, he had seen every form of oddity and was always cautious with people, considering every aspect of any issue.Hence, once he downloaded the security footage to his phone, Raymond decided that he needed to sell the bronze sculpture—not because he was in urgent need of money, but because he realized that there were those who wanted him out of Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Afte