Soon, everyone hopped into multiple cars and went to Glorious Club.Mr. Lee was hesitant to go, but since it was rare for them to get together and his students had invited him to join them enthusiastically, he agreed.Charlie and Jacob hopped into a taxi together. Jacob whined angrily, “That Aaron Philips is too much! Why can’t he just leave me alone? Argh, d*mn, I’m pissed!”Charlie chuckled at his whining and said, “Dad, if you’re so upset, let’s just go home then.”“No!” Jacob muttered, “I haven’t been to the clubhouse, I want to go and see!”Charlie shrugged and nodded.When they arrived at the clubhouse, everyone gathered in the lobby. They were mesmerized and amazed at the luxurious decorations of the clubhouse.The extremely expensive and sophisticated interior design of the clubhouse had exceeded these elderly people’s imagination and their memories about a recreation center. Jacob was equally amazed. He pointed his phone around the lobby and took multiple pictures, ev
The receptionist said with an apologetic expression, “Sir, I’m so sorry, all our suites on the seventh floor are fully booked. We’ve checked, but the only available suites for your membership level are on the third floor and below. Would you like us to prepare a suite for you on the third floor?”Jake hissed irritably, “What? Are you serious? You want me to go to the third floor? This is a disgrace to my status and my membership! How will others think of me if I go to the third floor?”“I’m very sorry, sir, but there’s nothing I can do. All the suites on the fourth to the seventh floors have been reserved in advance. You did not make any reservation, so, our hands are tied…”“If so, just give me a free upgrade and let me go to the eighth floor or above!”“I’m sorry, sir,” the receptionist said in a polite yet firm tone, “At the Glorious Club, we only allow downgrade service for the membership tier, but not upgrade. That is to say, if the ceiling of your Silver card membership only
Albert was at The Heaven Springs at this time.Donald, the wealthiest and most powerful man in the South Region had reserved the Diamond Box in The Heaven Springs tonight as he prepared to entertain the head of some of the most prestigious families in Aurous Hill.Albert knew that the Webb family was even wealthier and more powerful than the Moore family. Therefore, he did not dare to neglect Donald’s orders and personally supervised the chef who was preparing the dishes in The Heaven Springs.As he was arranging for the food preparations, he suddenly received a phone call from Jake. At this time, he asked impatiently, “Yes, what do you want? Hurry up and speak! I am busy over here.”In Albert’s eyes, Jake was nothing more than his lapdog. He did not care about Jake the slightest bit because he had so many lap dogs around him anyway.Jake knew that he could not afford to offend Albert. Therefore, he said humbly, “Don Albert, I am at the Glorious Club at the moment. I would like to
He was asking Albert to come here? Wasn’t he seeking death for himself?He had initially wanted him to bask in his joy and sorrows, but it seemed that he wanted to continue pretending that he was very cool. Now, it seemed as though this son-in-law had indeed cut off his own chances of living because he was pretending to be very cool himself.Jake did not know that he had already dug his own grave. Moreover, he was even being complimented by so many people. At this time, Jake walked up to Charlie before he smiled and said arrogantly, “Charlie, you’ve offended me just now. Therefore, the opportunity to go to the eighth floor of the Glorious Club has nothing to do with you anymore. You can leave with your father-in-law now.”Jacob glared at Jake with an ugly expression on his face as he said, “Hey, Jake! Don’t you think that you are being a little too much? Did you actually think that I came here to eat and drink with you for free? I am here to meet up with my old classmates!”Jake cu
Aaron was furious when he heard Charlie’s words.He glared at Charlie contemptuously before he said, “You are hilarious. My son-in-law is so filial toward me. Why would he ever hit me?”After he was done talking, Aaron pointed at Jake before he said arrogantly, “Let me tell you something. My son-in-law is so many times better than your trashy son-in-law! Do you know how much pocket money my filial son-in-law gives to me every month? He gives me pocket money of one hundred thousand dollars every month! I am not despising or looking down on you, but can you even make one hundred thousand dollars a year?”Jake sneered before he said, “Charlie, you are truly very brave! Don Albert will be here soon. If you don’t leave now, do you believe that I will get Don Albert to tear your mouth apart later?”“Are you really going to make Albert tear my mouth apart?” Charlie asked as he stared at Jake with a look of disbelief on his face.Jake sneered before he said, “What? You don’t believe it? D
He had no idea what was going on now.He did not know why Albert was giving Charlie so much face. Wasn’t Charlie just the useless son-in-law of his father-in-law’s old classmate?His father-in-law’s old classmate was just a pathetic and useless person. So, his son-in-law would also naturally be just another pathetic piece of trash!Why was Albert attaching so much importance to this useless piece of trash?Before he could figure out the reason, Albert had already given him a tight slap across his face!Slap!Jake felt a little dizzy, and his cheek swelled up immediately.“Don Albert, what are you…”Jake trembled in shock as he asked, “Don Albert, did I do something wrong?”Albert gritted his teeth before he cursed and said, “You are nothing more than a lapdog, but you actually dared to offend Mr. Wade? You must already be tired of living, aren’t you? Okay, then! I will drag you to my dog farm, chop you up, and feed you to the dogs today!”Jake felt as though his head was goin
”You…you…”Aaron was so mad and furious at his son-in-law, Jake, that his chest was rising and falling violently at this time.He never would have dreamt that the son-in-law he had always loved and admired would suddenly become a vicious jackass who wanted him dead!He shuddered as he cursed out loud, “Jake! I must have been blind to allow my daughter to marry an ungrateful brat like you!”Why would Jake care about the fact that Aaron was his father-in-law now?He was even more afraid that Charlie and Albert were truly going to kill him! He would really lose everything then!If someone had to pay the price and die today, Jake would rather the victim be his father-in-law than himself!After all, today’s events had all been caused by that old man. If he had not asked him to cause trouble for Jacob and his son-in-law, Charlie, why would he have even ended up in this situation now?Therefore, Jake pointed his finger at Aaron before saying, “Aaron, you old dog! The only reason why I
At the same time, Jake continued punching and hitting Aaron until he knocked him unconscious. After that, he woke him up with two tight slaps across his face before he continued to hit him again…Aaron’s old classmates could only watch in amazement, but none of them dared to step forward to stop him at all. Meanwhile, Jacob was so excited because he could finally get his revenge on Aaron.When he saw that Aaron was almost beaten to death by Jake, Charlie stopped him immediately as he said, “Stop it! If you continue beating him up, he is going to die. I still want him to spend the rest of his life in prison!”Jake hurriedly stopped. After tearing himself away from Aaron, he spat on him before cursing at him in disgust. “Old dog, you are still trying to harm me and push the responsibility to me? If it weren’t because of Mr. Wade’s graciousness, I would have already killed you! D*mn it!”After he was done speaking, Jake knelt to the ground before he crawled to Charlie as he begged, “M
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