Three o’clock in the afternoon.A direct flight to Hong Kong took off at Aurous Airport. Marianne, who was deep in thought, was sitting on the plane, looking out of the window at Aurous Hill which was getting farther and farther. She could not help but think of the details of her acquaintance with Charlie in Hong Kong.Although she felt inferior when she happened to see Charlie and Nanako walking together today, it did not affect her deep love for Charlie in the slightest. All she could think of was for time to pass faster in the future. She could not wait for the day when classes would start at Aurous University. She even decided to call Charlie after school had started to tell him that she had come to Aurous Hill on a business trip and then tell him that she had already been employed at Aurous University when they met up. Marianne was also prepared for the worst. She did not care even if Charlie was not happy after knowing it and wanted her to leave Aurous Hill. This was her
After all, the old man had traveled thousands of miles to come all the way, so the two of them attached great importance to it. Therefore, they had come to the airport half an hour in advance to wait to receive him.As the plane slowly slid into the hangar, Yashita’s hands were trembling out of nervousness. This was mainly because she was unsure as to whether Cadfan, who had a strong temper and was arrogant, would approve of her as his future daughter-in-law.She wondered what to do if Cadfan was dissatisfied with her and pointed at her to scold her for not being worthy of his son as soon as he came down.Sheldon noticed Yashita’s nervousness, so he whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry. My father did not express any dissatisfaction when I called to tell him about this matter.” Yashita said apprehensively, “I know Lord Schulz’s character very well. He likes to hide his emotions and is fond of very sudden outbursts, so I’m afraid that he is just holding back his anger.”“It won’t be
Cadfan, who had been a landlord in Madagascar for a period of time, had no idea what Yashita had gone through during this time.He only remembered that Yashita had had an arm amputated in order to save his son, and the shoulder-length wound cut off her entire right arm almost completely. However, Yashita, who was in front of him, was wearing a long short-sleeved dress, and her two arms looked intact and flexible. Cadfan was also an experienced person who had seen the world, and he knew very well that it would be impossible for even the best prosthetic limb to be so realistic and flexible. When Yashita saw his surprised expression, she was about to explain it to him when Sheldon, who was aside, quickly said, “Dad, it’s a long story. Let’s talk about it in the car!” Cadfan knew that there must be something hidden about this matter, so he nodded and got into the car first. Yashita immediately got into the passenger seat while Sheldon drove the car himself.After the car started,
After saying that, he looked at Yashita, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and looked very ashamed as he said, “Yashita, I feel very ashamed for giving up Rosalie for the sake of the Schulz family. I hope that the two of you will not hold a grudge against me...”Yashita turned her head and said seriously, “Uncle Schulz, I know that you also have your difficulties in regard to Rosalie’s matter. Besides, you cannot be blamed entirely for this matter. Sheldon is also responsible. If he hadn’t asked Rosalie to go on a killing spree to wipe out the entire Matsumoto family, you wouldn’t have forced Rosalie into such a passive situation...”Cadfan sighed and asked her, “Yashita, where is Rosalie now? I must apologize to her in person now that I’m back this time!”Sheldon replied ahead of Yashita, “Rosalie is preparing the wedding at the hotel. You will be able to see her when you go over later.”“Okay...” Cadfan nodded and asked again, “Did Charlie let Jaime come back for your weddin
Cadfan’s change was indeed something that many people did not expect.He was a firm and arrogant person in the eyes of many of the Schulz family members, and no one had ever dared to challenge his authority in the Schulz family. Cadfan himself had never bowed to anyone in the Schulz family either. Still, he had the consciousness to change his ways this time. After he arrived at Shangri-La, he was accompanied by Sheldon and Yashita as he came to Rosalie immediately and sincerely apologized to her to beg for her forgiveness. He bowed slightly and said to Rosalie, “Rosalie, I treated you badly in the past and even betrayed you repeatedly for the sake of the Schulz family’s interest. I dare not ask for your forgiveness now but I only hope that you can accept my sincere apology...”Rosalie did not expect that Cadfan would take the initiative to apologize to her. She thought that Cadfan had never acknowledged her because she was an illegitimate child. Although she knew that he was he
If Reiki was compared to electrical energy and this ring was compared to a battery, one would be able to spot the unusual aspects at a glance. A battery of the same size was usually just an ordinary battery, and the amount of power it could store could be said to be minimal. The pinnacle of the current stage of battery technology would have already been reached with just a few hundred milliampere-hours. However, the current condition of this ring was like a battery that had been charged with thousands or even tens of thousands of kilowatt-hours of electrical energy!So, it begs the question.According to the law of energy conservation, such a huge amount of energy could never disappear in vain, so it must be stored or transformed by the ring in some way.But how did it do it? Where was it storing all the energy?Although Charlie could not figure these two questions out, he was sure of one thing, and that was that the ring definitely was not a mortal object since it could devour
Charlie rushed to Aurous University as quickly as he could.This time, instead of driving in, he parked his car in a parking lot near Aurous University and walked into the campus.He clearly remembered that the ring had vibrated at Aurous University the last time he was driving here. So, Charlie put the ring on and slowly walked all the way to the Academic Affairs Building at Aurous University. He felt the movement of the ring very carefully with each step that he took along the way. But to his great disappointment, the ring did not respond in any way. Charlie wondered, ‘The ring reacted when I was on the way out the last time. Could it be that this ring recognizes direction?’As Charlie thought of this, he turned around again and walked out the same way he had come in in reverse. However, the ring still did not give any response even until he walked to the school gate.Charlie could not help but feel a little annoyed. He thought to himself, ‘Didn’t you vibrate here last
“We’re still at the clinic...” Xyla sobbed and said, “Grandpa intends to pack everything up tonight.”“Okay!” Charlie said immediately, “Wait for me at the clinic. I’ll go there now!”When Charlie drove and arrived at Anthony’s Serene World Clinic, the signboard of the clinic had been taken off and had been casually discarded to the side. There was also a signboard wrapped in red satin silk at the door, but it was impossible to see what was written on the signboard at the moment.When Charlie arrived at the Serene World Clinic, Anthony was packing up all kinds of medicinal herbs and materials from the medicine cabinet with Xyla and his worker’s help.Xyla saw Charlie coming in and shouted excitedly, “Master Wade!” After saying that, she ran toward Charlie, threw herself into Charlie’s arms, and started crying. Charlie quickly asked her, “Xyla, what exactly happened? Tell me everything.”Anthony also saw Charlie’s expression at this time. He was shocked and staggered over wit
While Jacob was feeling delighted after pulling off his con, Raymond had posted details of the bronze sculpture online.The website he was using was the biggest platform for antique collectors and the antique trade where each user could set a favorite tag in the antique category and era. If a user who preferred canvas art pieces of the Tudor dynasty set that label as their favorite, they would immediately be notified with text or desktop notifications in regards to any item with the same label.As medieval bronze sculptures were rare in the first place, most who were interested had already set that label on their favorites and were immediately notified soon after Raymond posted pictures of the bronze sculpture online.The collectors were naturally eager to check it out as gilded sculptures of the medieval era were really rare, and most collectors would go a lifetime without picking one up for their collection.On top of that, the seller had even listed a major flaw and was only ask
"Nope," Jacob chuckled. "We were both working separately and just happened to get back in at the same time."Then, he immediately became smug and excited, "Guess what, dear? I made 200 thousand out of the deal! In net profits!""For real?!" Elaine gaped. "200 thousand in just one night?! That's amazing! How did you do that?"Claire was surprised to hear that too, and she came over to ask, "What deal was it, Dad?"Jacob grinned, "Oh, it's nothing to brag about. It's just that I managed to pick up a nice antique item thanks to my wisdom and then sold it for 200 thousand."Pausing, he then sighed in dismay, "However, the buyer wasn't too rich—I would have squeezed him for 400 thousand, but he couldn't afford more, so I had to settle for less."Elaine quickly exclaimed, "Shit, we're talking about a loss of 200 thousand! People would work a year and still never earn that much…"She trailed off for a moment before asking, "By the way, dear—are we still flying out first thing tomorrow?
Jacob laughed. "Put that issue behind us? Sure, but we're not becoming friends. Hell, I can't even hold a grudge now that you're shit out of luck."Then, his tone changed sharply and suddenly became icy, "But you see, Aurous Hill is not a place you can stay just because you want to. No… After this, you're not going to be able to make a living in the antique trade.""If I were you, I'd be running a thousand miles away, far away from Aurous Hill where no one would know my face to start over. That way, you just might be able to make a living."Raymond simply kept smiling, "You need not be concerned about how I'm going to survive here, Mr. Wilson. I'd be very grateful if you'd cease any form of harassment once you leave my premises."Jacob pursed his lips, staring at Raymond in disappointment. "I'm plenty magnanimous, so I won't stoop to such pettiness. Just do whatever you like!"Clicking his tongue, he huffed, "Tut, tut… And here I'd thought you're tough, but you're just yet another
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