Nanako hurriedly said, “Please don’t say that, Otou-san…”Yahiko looked at Nanako and sobbed as he said, “Nanako, it’s difficult for you to understand a parent’s emotion. If only one person between a parent and a child can survive, most parents will choose to sacrifice themselves. You will be able to understand my feelings when you become a mother one day.”When Charlie saw the sad atmosphere, Charlie said, “Mr. Ito, there is no need for you to make the topic so serious. Nanako has a long way to go in the future, but your future will not be short either.”After that, he picked up the wine glass and said loudly, “Why don’t we come to an agreement between us? What do you think?”Yahiko asked curiously, “What agreement do you want to make with me, Mr. Wade?”Charlie did not answer his question but asked with a smile, “I like your house in Kyoto. It seems to have a long history, right?”Yahiko nodded and said, “It should be nearly three hundred years old.”Charlie smiled faintly and
This simple dinner prepared by the Itos changed the Itos’ future course of development.Nanako decided to go all out to climb to the peak of martial arts from now on, whereas Yahiko decided to start looking for suitable professional managers so he could hand over Ito Holdings to the team of professional managers to take charge of the operations and management of Ito Holdings. As for Yahiko himself, he would take charge behind the scenes and control the development direction of Ito Holdings to ensure that Ito Holdings would not go downhill in the hands of those professional managers.Nanako would no longer be distracted by Ito Holdings, then.The father and daughter duo were filled with longing for the future. Nanako also began to understand a truth. It did not matter whether she would end up together with Charlie in the future, but what was most important was that she would be able to stay with Charlie for a long, long time in the future as long as she practiced martial arts hard.
Holly was so excited that her speech was a little incoherent, and she kept murmuring, “That’s great! That’s great! Your condition has not continued worsening! In fact, it has actually improved greatly. Your memory of yesterday is much clearer than mine. As for your previous memories, I believe that you will be able to slowly retrieve those memories. It doesn’t matter even if you can’t retrieve your memories, we can help you review them slowly. Since your current memory has improved greatly, you will definitely be able to retrieve and remember your past memories as long as we continue helping you review them!”With that said, Holly hurriedly said, “Let’s go downstairs and tell Christian and Merlin the good news!”Meanwhile, in the dining room on the first floor, Christian said to Merline as he ate, “Merlin, yesterday’s video has been edited and synthesized according to normal time. How many things do you think my father will be able to remember today?”Merlin said with a smile, “I th
Although there were many students who came to report for university today, Claudia’s appearance still caused a huge commotion and sensation.Claudia was not only beautiful, but she had a great figure and an exotic appearance as she was of mixed-race. Many people paid attention to her wherever she went. When a beauty of this level appeared, she was basically equivalent to a divine existence to the new students who came to register as well as the existing students who were responsible for welcoming the new students. Many boys even thought that this girl, who was a freshman, might become a candidate as the new campus belle of Aurous University. Claudia did not expect that she would attract so much attention when she arrived at Aurous University. However, Claudia was not interested in the boys around her who kept peeping at her, and she did not feel any special pressure because of them. Her experiences were much richer and more tragic compared to her peers. The pain she had experien
Charlie accompanied Claudia to her dormitory with Mrs. Lewis and Stephanie. Since it was the first day of the freshmen’s enrollment, the management of the dormitory did not stop men from entering the girl’s dormitory. The four of them walked all the way to Room 301 on the third floor. As soon as they opened the door, Stephanie could not help but exclaim, “My goodness, the environment in this dormitory is quite amazing, isn’t it?”The actual area of this dormitory was more than fifty square meters, but it only had two double-decker desk beds in it. The upper layer was a bed, and the lower layer was a desk. In addition, the dormitory also had two sets of combination wardrobes with password locks and a separate bathroom with a shower. This environment was indeed much better compared to the other student dormitories at Aurous University.Claudia was a little surprised when faced with Stephanie’s exclamation. She looked around the room and asked curiously, “Stephanie, don’t all univer
Charlie recognized Vera at a glance! Charlie could still recognize Vera at a glance even though he had only seen her once and she had changed her clothes and style. This was because Vera had been lingering in Charlie’s mind for a long time.Charlie had never had such a strong memory of a woman whom he had only met once. Vera was the first. Although Vera had an extremely stunning appearance, this was not the reason why Charlie could still remember her. Charlie could remember her because he regretted it very much. He regretted not asking Vera about her origins and connection to the Qing Eliminating Society as well as what she knew about the Qing Eliminating Society when he was in Northern Europe.In addition, the other reason why Charlie had always been obsessed with Vera was because of the ring that was vibrating wildly in his pocket!Whenever the ring tricked a large amount of Reiki from him, Charlie could not help but think of Vera. Whenever the deceptive ring vibrated in h
Therefore, even though Charlie was staring at her, she remained calm and composed and constantly had a polite and reserved smile on her face. Claudia asked her in surprise, “You’re from the Archeology Department as well?”Vera nodded and asked curiously, “That’s right! Are you from the Archeology Department too?”Claudia nodded and said, “Yes, I am…”Vera smiled and said, “What a coincidence! We are both international students, we speak Oskian dialect, and we major in Archeology!”Claudia found it very unbelievable as well and said seriously, “They told me that not many people, especially girls, signed up to major in Archeology. I was prepared to be the only girl among the freshman this year, but I didn’t expect to meet a female classmate in the same major!”Stephanie, who was aside, said with a smile, “Most importantly, the two of you are assigned to the same room in the dormitory. The two of you are really fated!”Mrs. Lewis said with a smile, “That’s right! The two of you ar
Vera expected that Charlie would certainly come back from the moment he left. Therefore, she could not relax for a moment and pretended to be calm as she unpacked her personal belongings. When Charlie returned to the dormitory, the door was still open. He opened the door directly and said coldly, “Vera Lavor, what is your purpose in coming to Aurous Hill?”Charlie’s sudden question startled Vera, who was unpacking her things, but this startled action was something she had practiced countless times. Vera exclaimed at the right time, then turned around and looked at Charlie nervously as she asked with extreme vigilance, “Who… Who are you?!”Charlie sneered and asked her, “You chased me all the way here but you’re still asking who I am? Aren’t you being too fake?”Vera showed even more fear, and she could not help but take a step back as she said nervously, “Who… Who are you? How did you know about the name Vera Lavor?!”Charlie sneered and said, “What? You’re still pretending?
The other antique traders who were keeping tabs on the situation were left confused by Trippy's message.[Maybe even those out-of-towners know that Raymond is a sucker? So they traveled overnight just to see what happens?][I know Raymond is in trouble, but is it really worth traveling hundreds of miles just to watch?][Maybe they know he's a sucker, so they came to sell him more counterfeits?][Shit, that must be it! Suckers are rare these days, after all!][Damn straight! Just knowing that there's one in Aurous Hill, you'd be eager to come over.]Even Mick Crane who had just woken up and saw the message immediately sent a voice message: "Those conmen are just like flies flocking around shit as soon as they smell it.""Oh, but what they don't know is that Raymond has no more money! I heard he only had a few hundred thousand for the startup, and the bronze sculpture must have cost most of it. I'm afraid those people won't even get their gas money and toll costs back after travel
Trippy rolled his eyes as he texted back: [Hell no. I need to start my business instead of wasting my time. You morons can come get a number yourself if you like. Haha!]Still, Trippy had just sent his text when a trio arrived in a hurry outside Treasure Measure.Seeing that the doors were closed, the leader asked Trippy, "Excuse me, can I ask if this is Treasure Measure? Owned by a man named Mr. Cole?"Trippy was at once surprised. "You mean Raymond Cole?"The leader quickly said, "We don't know his first name, only that his last name is Cole, and his handle name was Treasure Measure's Mr. Cole."Trippy chuckled. "That'd be him. Has to be, since he hand wrote that shop sign."Pausing, he then asked in curiosity, "So, you've come to see him being a sucker?"The leader was naturally curious as to what Trippy was talking about. However, he was also reluctant to reveal why he had come since there was a killer bargain at stake. In fact, every other collector who was coming was k
Raymond also added that the 20 million price tag wouldn't be cut or increased. To put it simply, the bronze sculpture was right there in Aurous Hill and waiting—it was a race.Hence, many reputable collectors contacted expert appraisers throughout the night, some even booking night flights straight to Aurous Hill.The best amongst them was a fanatic collector of bronze items in Eastcliff.Following a brief exchange with Raymond online, he immediately called an expert who was also a close friend. As soon as his call was answered, he asked the other man if he had time to travel to Aurous Hill so that no one else would beat them to it—and they would drive out in the night if at all possible.After all, the earliest flight was at six in the morning, and it'd be eight by the time they made it to Aurous Hill Airport and nine by the time they got to Antique Street in a cab.Therefore, the ideal way to get there was by driving over six hundred miles at top speed, and that meant reaching A
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