Charlie had already read all of Shawn’s information before his plane had landed.This old man was very flirtatious, and out of his three marriages, he had five children.The eldest of his five children was his eldest daughter, Marianne. Shawn’s first wife had given birth to Marianne. Marianne was twenty-four years old this year, and she was studying for a doctorate in the Literature Department at Hong Kong University. Marianne’s mother had died of cervical cancer when she was five years old, and a year after her mother’s death, her father, Shawn, had married an actress from the Hong Kong entertainment industry who was ten years younger than him.A few years later, Jenna had come back from the United States. Shawn had then divorced his second wife and married Jenna instead.Shawn’s first wife had given him two daughters, and Marianne was the eldest daughter. Her sister was three years younger than her and was currently studying in England. The actress had given birth to two c
After the convoy came in, the bodyguards got out of the car first and opened the door for Charlie, Shawn, and Jenna, who was in the other car.The maids greeted Shawn and Jenna with a “Sir, Madam” in unison, but Shawn then pointed directly at Charlie and said to everyone, “Come, greet Mr. Wade!”So, the crowd hurriedly bowed to Charlie and greeted him again.Shawn then continued saying to the crowd, “Mr. Wade will be staying at our house for the next few days. You have to serve Mr. Wade well and not let him feel any dissatisfaction. Do you understand me?” The crowd naturally agreed in succession, and they did not dare to be negligent. After that, Shawn said to Charlie, “Mr. Wade, I already got the maids to clean up the guest room before you came. You will stay here with me as long as you’re in Hong Kong. You don’t have to be courteous with me!”Charlie was also very happy to oblige and so, he smiled and said, “I’ll accept willingly if that’s the case!”“Okay!” Shawn patted Cha
As Charlie looked at Marianne for the first time, he felt that this girl was much more beautiful compared to how she looked in her photos.What Charlie saw on the documents were all the girl’s ID photos. Marianne was wearing glasses in her ID photos, and she was not smiling. She looked a little more delicate and beautiful, but she was far from being stunning.At this moment, however, Marianne, who was in front of him, was slender and tall with fair and rosy skin. Her facial features without makeup had the charm of a classical Oskian beauty. She had a long ponytail, and it seemed as though she was an angel that had fallen into this neighborhood and was the top version of the girl-next-door.Marianne’s dressing was very simple. She was wearing an ordinary dress with a simple pair of black sandals coupled with an unbranded shoulder bag. Such casual dressing actually brought out her extraordinary temperament to an even greater height. Charlie really did not expect that a fat man like
The person whom Marianne hated the most in her life was Jenna.For as long as she could remember, her mother had always been in tears every day at home. Her father rarely came home, and at that time, her mother had told her that her father was hooking up with a vixen outside. So, that was the reason why he did not care about them.The vixen that her mother spoke of was Jenna, whom Shawn had been hiding in this mansion on Steerlain Island. At that time, Marianne’s mother was still pregnant with her sister, and it was precisely because she had been pregnant with her sister that she had ignored her regular medical checkups and failed to detect and intervene in the initial stage of cancer in time. After being pregnant for ten months, her mother then breastfed her sister for half a year after she had given birth. During that time, her mother had been unwilling to take a single pill even if she had a cold in order to ensure that her breast milk was healthy. Thus, her condition had bee
Both Shawn and Jenna’s expressions changed the moment Charlie mentioned roast goose.As a local resident of Hong Kong, Shawn used to love eating roast goose.However, ever since he had learned that Janus, who was a talented businessman, had been selling roast goose for twenty years in Oskiatown in the United States, he had begun to hate roast goose to the core.This was because he would think of Janus whenever he thought of roast goose.As long as he thought of Janus, he would think of how Jenna had eloped with Janus and how everyone in Hong Kong knew about this matter. Moreover, what made him feel even more depressed was the fact that a woman like Jenna, who was so pampered and spoiled, would actually willingly follow Janus to sell roast goose in Oskiatown for several years. This made him feel even deeper pain in his heart. However, for anyone who had been wounded, no matter how strong they appeared on the surface, they would always be vulnerable in their hearts or have a part
When Shawn heard Charlie’s words, he really felt like slapping himself on the spot, and he could not help but curse to himself, ‘Wow! I’m really asking for it! Why did I have to ask him for the name of the restaurant?!’Jenna had an even more embarrassed expression, and she was also panicking a little at this time.It was already bad enough that Charlie was mentioning roast goose, but he just had to mention Campbell Roast directly! Wasn’t this a direct slap in the face for both Shawn and herself?!When Marianne, who was sitting opposite Charlie, saw the stunned expressions on Shawn and Jenna’s faces, she suddenly could not hold back her laughter, and she laughed out loud.Shawn turned around to glare at Marianne immediately and asked angrily, “What’s so funny?!”Marianne shrugged and said, “It wasn’t funny at first, but both of your reactions are simply too hilarious. Mr. Wade simply wanted to eat roast goose, so why are you both reacting so strongly to it?”Shawn said angrily, “
Charlie’s sudden laughter caused both Shawn and Jenna to look shocked and angry at the same time.Only then did they understand that the reason why Charlie kept mentioning roast goose was not because he missed the taste of roast goose as he had said, but it was because he was deliberately teasing them the whole time!However, Marianne was not surprised at all. Instead, she was amused by Charlie’s sudden change, and the both of them laughed heartily as they faced each other. The expression on Shawn’s face also became uglier with their laughter. A moment later, he slammed the table violently, looked at Charlie, and shouted angrily, “Mr. Wade! I’ve been treating you with courtesy, and I’ve regarded you as our distinguished guest from the moment we met, but why are you deliberately humiliating me?!”Charlie was not nervous at all, and he laughed lightly as he said, “Humiliate you? What do you mean by that, Mr. Long? You cannot possibly stop me from laughing even though this is your
Therefore, he did not dare to continue arguing with Charlie on this issue.After all, he still intended to catch Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group, which was a big fish to him. So, it would be best for him not to turn against Charlie. He would have to pretend that he did not know about this matter as long as Charlie did not make it clear that he was laughing at him for being cuckolded.So, he quickly changed his expression and laughed as he said, “So, that’s the case, Mr. Wade. It seems as though I’ve misunderstood you. I’ll drink a cup of wine as punishment, then!”Having said that, he picked up the wine glass and drank the wine in the glass in one go.Charlie nodded with a smile on his face as he said, “I really did not expect that a mere roast goose would make Mr. Long so unhappy. If that’s the case, we don’t need to eat roast goose tonight.” Shawn did not expect that Charlie would still be mentioning roast goose at this time. So, he could only force a smile and say, “Okay, then
The cabbie chuckled. "You're a local yet you're heading to Antique Street right away as soon as you land instead of going home? And you're still saying you're not trying to pick up a killer bargain deal?"Come on, man—it's not just you, I want that too. We cabbies work ourselves to death only for ten thousand per month at best while our friend over there made twenty million in one night. I could keep driving cabs for the rest of my life and still not make that much money."Jacob knew that the cabbie must be talking about Raymond and became even more miserable then, grumbling unhappily, "I'm going to Antique Street for business—I'm not trying to pick up some missed bargain.""No? Then you didn't hear what happened yesterday?"The cabbie was immediately curious, and without waiting for Jacob's answer, he exclaimed happily, "Look, man—it was so ridiculous not even Hollywood would put it in their script. There were these fools who were trying to sell an antique trader a replica, but th
It was nighttime in Dubai as Jacob dragged his weary body from the hotel back to the airport.As he was flying economy this time, he was left sitting at the hard bench near the boarding terminal, waiting for it to open.While he waited, his heart was torn as he tapped into the website of the Aurous Hill Charity Fund, found their donation account, and wired the entire 300 thousand he had made over to them.He had picked the Aurous Hill Charity Fund because the circles of antique collectors in Aurous Hill were all discussing how Raymond had donated half of the 20 million he had made to that same charity fund.After Raymond skyrocketed to prominence in Antique Street and became a star, it could not be denied that people admired his profound ability.However, there were also people who envied his skill in turning the tables just as there were those who were jealous he had made twenty million in a single night.Still, Raymond moved fast—soon after word spread that he had made twenty m
Elaine quickly asked, "Well, what if you can't get it done?"Jacob was apprehensive even as he sighed. "If they really pressed the issue, guess I can't even stay at the Calligraphy and Painting Association now… We will see. If things get bad, I'll just resign. I won't ask for much right now, just as long as I don't have to go to jail."Elaine nodded. "Then you should try to reason things out with Raymond Cole or ask for Charlie's help if push comes to shove. Being humiliated is still better than prison.""Okay!"-It was nighttime at Aurous Hill by the time Elaine and Jacob arrived at their hotel.Charlie and Claire had just had dinner, and Claire pulled out her phone, saying, "I just checked my flight app, and it says my parents should have landed two hours ago. They are probably at the hotel, so I'll check in on them with a video call."She had yet to open her WhatsApp when Elaine called her on a video call.Jacob was planning to check in with Claire and Charlie to put their
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