Nevertheless, her real intention was to talk to Kathleen about Charlie. On one hand, she wanted to get to know Charlie as a person, and on the other hand, she wanted to seize the opportunity to buffer her own mentality. She was planning to take the initiative to look for Charlie to have a chat with him after she had calmed down. However, when she suddenly saw that Charlie was there, she suddenly became restrained again, and she did not know how to break the awkward atmosphere with Charlie. In the end, it was Kathleen, the smart woman, who had to solve the problem. She did not bother explaining to them the reason for the other party’s appearance here. Instead, she casually smiled and said, “Miss Long and Mr. Wade, both of you should have a good heart-to-heart talk. You both actually chose the same location. You couldn’t have discussed this in advance, right?”Her sentence not only put aside the fact that she had acted as the middle-man to bring them together, but it also eased th
Marianne did not know why, but the moment she saw Charlie, all the complaints and blame that she had had in her heart disappeared instantly.She even felt a little ashamed when Charlie apologized to her. She felt ashamed because Charlie had come from so far to save Janus, but her father had wanted to take Janus’s life merely because he had wanted to preserve his own image and reputation. What was right and wrong was clear at a glance here.Charlie had never liked to owe anyone anything. So, when he saw that they were finally speaking up, he felt a lot more relaxed. He then said to Marianne, “Miss Marianne, since this matter has already passed, let’s just start anew from now on.”“Okay.” Marianne nodded gently. She then remembered that Charlie had spoken to her father about the food street in the afternoon. So, she asked curiously, “Mr. Wade, why did you suddenly mention the food street to my father in the afternoon? Could it be that he had some other plans related to it?”“Yes.
Marianne was surprised. She knew that Charlie was twenty-eight years old, so she could not help but ask with her eyes wide open in shock, “You were still working on a construction site six years ago?!”“Yes.” Charlie explained, “Six years ago, the engineering team that I was working in took over a new construction site. I happened to be appreciated by Party A by chance. He insisted on arranging for me to study at a university for more than a year. After that, he married his most beloved granddaughter to me...”Marianne stared at Charlie and blurted out, “You’re not joking with me, are you? Why would the boss treat you so well and marry his granddaughter to you?” Charlie smiled lightly and said, “It was actually a coincidence. His ancestors had always been loyal family servants of the Wade family, so he recognized my identity. Although I did not have anything at that time, he still wanted to give me a home in the real sense.”When Marianne saw Charlie’s heartfelt smile, she suddenl
Charlie was not very bright when it came to relationships.Even though he had been married to Claire for four years now, he had not really been in a relationship in the true sense.He had never had any conflicts with Claire, nor had he gotten angry or quarreled with Claire. His relationship had always been very calm.He naturally did not have any sensational love experience with the big ups and downs in his emotional experience.However, for masters of love, which one would not have experienced countless storms and battles? For those who were experienced, they could instantly tell that Marianne had fallen for Charlie at a glance. However, Charlie was an inexperienced man. In other words, he wouldn’t get the point even if the other party were to cry in front of him.So, when he saw Marianne crying, he quickly said, “Oh, isn’t it just because your cell phone is broken? It’s just a small matter. I will send you another one. Why are you crying because of that?” Marianne was a little
When Kathleen heard this, she instantly understood that Marianne was not crying because her cell phone had fallen. So, she said to Charlie, “Oh, Mr. Wade, you still don’t understand women. We are not as tough as boys, so you cannot simply come up with solutions. You have to help us solve the problem directly. I saw someone setting up a stall at the entrance of the mall opposite which is selling some cell phone accessories. Why don’t you hurry up and buy a cell phone case for Miss Marianne according to the model of her cell phone, then?”As soon as Charlie heard this, he then said without any hesitation, “Okay, you can accompany Miss Marianne first. I’ll go and buy it.”Upon saying that, Charlie got up and ran out.Once Charlie was far away, Kathleen held Marianne’s hand and smiled as she asked, “Did you just find out about Mr. Wade’s marriage? It’s okay. I already knew.”Marianne trembled and then looked up at Kathleen as she nodded lightly and said aggrievedly, “He never told me
Kathleen’s words really shocked Marianne deeply.She never expected that Kathleen, who was the head of the Fox family, could fall in love with a married man so calmly and emotionally.Moreover, it was not difficult to even hear a hint of humble feeling in her words at all.She suddenly admired Kathleen’s calmness. She felt that she was truly a thousand miles behind compared to Kathleen.However, she was still puzzled, so she asked Kathleen, “Miss Fox, since Charlie is already married, aren’t you worried that there will be no results in the future if you still continue loving him so much?”Kathleen smiled and said indifferently, “Emotions cannot be stopped. It’s just like some things where you can control yourself not to eat, but you cannot control the feeling of you wanting to eat.”After saying that, Kathleen stared at Marianne and joked, “By the way, you also know that he is married, so can you manage not to have any good feelings for him from now on, then? Please teach me how
“That’s fair. That’s fair indeed.” Marianne could not help but repeat herself.Then, she suddenly seemed to figure something out as she said, “Miss Fox, you’re right. It’s not wrong to fall in love with someone else, but it is most important to be open and honest...”Kathleen nodded and smiled as she asked, “So, how are you feeling now? Do you still feel that you’re wrong now?”Marianne pursed his lips and said softly, “I still feel that I’m wrong, but I feel much better now...”Kathleen sighed softly and smiled as she said, “Oh, if you feel that you’re wrong and cannot control how much you like Charlie, you will just have to adjust your mentality because you have too many competitors, and each of them are all incredibly powerful. I can’t even rank here as a member of the Fox family.”With that being said, Kathleen asked her, “Do you know why Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group seems to be a joint venture between the Ito family from Japan and the Schulz family from Oskia but Charlie i
Kathleen’s joke frightened Marianne, and she became flustered as she quickly waved her hand and said, “I-I dare not... My sister is still studying...”Kathleen smiled and said, “Can’t she fall in love if she’s still studying? Aren’t you also a doctoral student? You have not graduated, right?”Marianne hurriedly said, “That’s... That’s not what I meant...”When Kathleen saw Marianne’s flustered appearance, she smiled and said, “We’ll put the matter related to your younger sister aside first, but let me ask you something else. Do you know Quinn Golding?”“The celebrity, Quinn Golding?!” Marianne subconsciously blurted out, “She’s my idol!”Having said that, she suddenly thought of something and asked in horror, “Does Quinn also like Charlie?!”Kathleen raised her brows and smiled as she said, “Quinn is different compared to us. She has a marriage contract with Charlie. Their family had already betrothed them when they were still young. Quinn searched hard for Charlie for so many ye
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