He moved the bamboo stool first and then came to sit down in front of Vera as he said respectfully, “Miss, it’s like this. I... I have a granddaughter who happens to be coming to Aurous Hill to attend a job interview, so I invited her to be a guest at the manor so that she can enjoy a meal with us here. I only learned about it this morning, so I didn’t report it to you in advance. Please don’t hold it against me.”Vera took a new teacup, rinsed it with water, then said with a smile, “This is your manor, and you’re the host. Why would you need to report anything to me if you want to host a banquet? I’m just one of your guests.”Logan said without hesitation, “Miss, this is the second matter that I would like to discuss with you. It’s rare that you like this place, and I’m also getting older, so I’m afraid that I will not be able to come here again after this visit. So, I want to give Scarlet Pinnacle Manor to you, and I hope that you’ll accept it!”Vera was slightly taken aback. She
Logan was overjoyed when he heard that Vera was willing to meet Marianne.He hurriedly said to Vera, “Miss, they will be arriving in another twenty minutes, so you can come down when they arrive.”Vera nodded and said with a smile, “Don’t forget my new identity in front of outsiders.”Logan said without hesitation, “Of course! Don’t worry, Miss.”After that, he got up slowly and said, “Miss, please continue enjoying your tea. I will not disturb you anymore.”Vera said, “Find a servant to help you down, lest you get tired.”Logan was flattered and said, “Thank you for your concern, Miss. I’ll have no problem going down on my own. It’s much easier to go down, after all.”When Vera saw his insistence, she did not say anything else, nodded, and spoke up, “You can go ahead, then. I’ll go down when the car arrives.”“Okay, Miss. I’ll take my leave, then.”After Logan was done speaking, he cupped his fists together, bowed slightly to Vera, then slowly retreated. Vera had never been
Marianne had just arrived at the main entrance of Scarlet Pinnacle Manor. She never expected that Logan would have such a magnificent manor in this kind of place.Although many wealthy people’s mansions were also built on the mountains in Hong Kong, no one could own a whole mountain by himself. The villas on Steerlain Island were nothing compared to his exclusive villa.The car drove into the manor and stopped outside the grand entrance of the main building of the one-story compound.This place was like a hotel, designed with a wide porch to park three cars side by side. Logan and his wife held hands as they walked out of the main hall to welcome her. As soon as Marianne got out of the car, she saw the elderly couple smiling brightly as they walked out. She hurried forward to greet them and said respectfully, “Grandpa, Grandma, it’s been a long time, but you two are still in such good health!”Logan smiled and said, “Marianne, we haven’t seen each other for so many years and yo
Vera walked over from the main hall with a light gait.Marianne only had one thought in her mind when she saw Vera. ‘How can there be such a beautiful girl?’It was not that Marianne was making a big fuss.In fact, Marianne had seen countless young beauties because of her father’s flirtatious nature. Hong Kong as well as more than half of Asia’s entertainment circle had been her father’s hunting ground back then. Which one of the female celebrities who were caught in the scandals and media reports were not beauties?What’s more, Hong Kong has always been the fashion and financial center of Asia over the past few decades. Many handsome men and beautiful women from all over the world were gathered in that narrow and cramped corner of the city, so Marianne’s aesthetics had long been tired and even a little numb. But even so, she was still shocked when she saw Vera for the first time.Vera was the type of beauty that she had almost never seen before.It was no longer perfect to t
Vera nodded in agreement after hearing this but she did not agree with Marianne at all.She felt that Marianne’s remarks seemed normal at first glance. Hong Kong was indeed a first-tier international city and was naturally fast-paced. It was also packed with a lot of people with a small amount of land. Many people worked hard all their lives but could never even afford to purchase a small house that was thirty to forty square meters, so many young people from Hong Kong began to head to Oskia for development, especially the special zone adjacent to Hong Kong which attracted many young people from Hong Kong.However, Vera knew very well that Hong Kong was a place where paradise and hell co-existed.It was not unusual for a poor family of six to seven members to be crammed in a room that was only ten square meters, and there were even some people who lived in places where a bed could not even fit. However, there were also top tycoons who could build super luxury mansions that looked
As soon as Vera thought of this, she looked at Marianne again, and she suddenly smiled as she teased, “Marianne, I don’t think you’re here to look for a job after coming to Aurous Hill all the way from Hong Kong!”Marianne asked in surprise, “Why do you say that?”Vera laughed and said, “It feels more like you’ve come to pursue your sweetheart despite all odds.”Vera’s seemingly teasing words touched the depths of Marianne’s heart. She was instantly flustered and hurriedly tried to cover up as she said, “How... How could that be? I’ve never been to Aurous Hill, and I don’t have any acquaintances here, let alone a sweetheart.”Although Marianne was in a hurry to hide her true feelings, Vera had already captured the panic in her expression.It was this slight change that made Vera even more certain that her judgment was definitely correct. Coupled with Marianne’s identity, who else aside from Charlie could make a rich young lady such as Marianne put everything aside to come all th
Marianne hurriedly said, “No need, Lady Carrick. I think this kind of thing needs to be encountered slowly by oneself. If you can’t encounter it, it means that your fate is not here and there will always be someone for you if you wait a little longer.”When Lady Carrick noticed her firm attitude, she sighed faintly and nodded slightly. After lunch, Marianne rested in Scarlet Pinnacle Manor for a while before she was then accompanied by Madam Marilyn as she headed to Aurous University for the interview.Vera smiled brightly as she sent Marianne to the car. After the car had left Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, Vera’s innocent and pleasant smile instantly dissipated as she turned around, and it was replaced by her usual calm demeanor. Logan followed behind and said respectfully, “Miss, can I ask you a question?”Logan was puzzled because he could see that Vera was playing tricks on Marianne just now. He had some doubts and wondered why Vera was doing this.Vera knew what Logan wanted to
Vera was not surprised at all when Logan was full of doubts and reported the information to Vera.She simply smirked and said, “Charlie is obviously married, but he is still attracting women everywhere. He could make Marianne come all the way to Aurous Hill for him after just a trip to Hong Kong, so he will probably attract other women too if he goes to other places. If you dig out Charlie’s trajectory over the past few years, you will probably be able to find many women who are infatuated with him.”Logan smiled embarrassedly and sighed, “I can only say that this kid really has extraordinary charisma. However, I’m afraid that Marianne will not be able to achieve a positive result if she has fallen for a married man like him.”Vera smiled faintly, thought of something, and asked Logan, “Can you find out what identity Charlie used and why he went to Hong Kong to meet Shawn previously.”“This can be settled easily.” Logan nodded and said, “I’ll just call Shawn and ask him about it.”
Jacob zipped toward Raymond, his attitude immediately subservient, "I'm sure you've seen what Zachary Evans posted on his Twitter page, and to be honest, it's so terrible that my position in the Calligraphy and Painting Association has been affected too. I mean, you've made a lot of money, right?"Hell, even if you donated ten million, you'd still have another ten million and 970 thousand in net profits. So, all I'd like to ask is for you to post something to disclaim Zachary's post.Jacob's words left Raymond in thought.For Jacob, just being suspected of fraud would definitely be terrible. In fact, his position in the Calligraphy and Painting Association would definitely be threatened—if not dismissed altogether—if he wasn't cleared of suspicion.Since Jacob was Charlie Wade's father-in-law, Raymond had reason not to drive Jacob over the brink.But that also begged another question—it must be under Charlie's intention for Zachary to post his confession, and that meant Charlie in
Raymond couldn't help chuckling just as Jacob finished—he had honestly never heard of anyone who demanded a refund after donating to charity, but he was certainly seeing one now.Still, the receptionist was clearly experienced and slowly explained, "Sir, it's a legal clause of the country that all donations for philanthropy purposes can not be refunded under most circumstances—""It truly was a mistake," Jacob quickly said, cutting the receptionist off. "I was going to donate thirty thousand but pressed an extra zero by mistake. Please discuss this with your management—you just have to refund 27 thousand, see?""Sorry, sir," the receptionist apologized. "But it's a strict rule that we ourselves do not get to access the funds that have been donated into our accounts. Every donation will be screened extensively, and if you consider that there was a major oversight on your part, you may seek legal counsel to appeal for a refund. If the courts back your appeal, our organization will the
Nonetheless, Jacob darted into Treasure Measure and plucked off his mask, asking nervously, "Excuse me, Mr. Cole? It's me… Jacob Wilson…"Raymond looked up, pausing for a moment before acting as if he was actually curious, "Mr. Wilson! What brings you here? Don't tell me—you want that bronze sculpture back too?""No, no, no…" Jacob quickly shook his head. "I would never… I returned all the way from Dubai to apologize!""Apologize?" Raymond smiled faintly, and he did not play dumb this time as he asked bluntly, "Did you come back because of Zachary Evan's post?"Knowing he couldn't deny it any longer, Jacob nodded, "Yeah…"Raymond nodded and said calmly, "That's unnecessary. I was the one who benefited in the end."Jacob wasn't quite keeping up—thinking that Raymond was just trying to be nice by telling him he didn't have to apologize, he quickly pulled out his phone.Tapping on it and bringing up his transaction records, he handed it to Raymond reverently, "Mr. Cole, I understan
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