Matilda’s appearance was even more impeccable. She was really very beautiful and she looked very elegant and classy. She had the smart and intelligent look that could only be seen in previous generations of intellectuals.There was a very famous television celebrity in this age group and she was an actress named Catherine Zeta-Jones. She could easily be considered as one of the most charming and beautiful woman amongst all the other women in her age group. However, Matilda was even more beautiful compared to Catherine Zeta-Jones!Catherine Zeta-Jones was in her early fifties and she was still extremely charming and beautiful. Matilda was three years younger than her but she looked like she was six or seven years younger than her!How could this possibly be an aunt who was nearly fifty years old?She was simply an older sister who looked like she was in her thirties or early forties!Charlie was stunned. He really did not expect Jacob’s first love to be such an impeccable and super
Paul’s Oskian language was indeed very good. If anyone closed their eyes and listened to them speak, no one would be able to tell that he was actually an American. Charlie was also very surprised and he shook Paul’s head before he said in admiration, “Mr. Paul, your Oskian language is indeed really very impressive.”Paul smiled humbly before he said, “Mr. Wade, you are thinking too highly of me!”Jacob hurriedly said, “By the way, Matilda, I have already booked a room at Shangri-La hotel for lunch today. Why don’t we head over there to have a welcome meal for you and Paul now?”Matilda smiled before she said, “Thank you, Jacob. I really appreciate the fact that you came all the way here with Charlie to pick us up and treat us to lunch today…”“It is only right for me to do so!” Jacob smiled awkwardly before he said, “Well, we happened to drive here today so we can go together in one car!”“Okay.” Matilda nodded before she said to Paul, “Son, tell your driver that we will not be ta
The foreign driver nodded hurriedly before he said, “Okay, chairman. I will go right now!”After that, he opened the trunk of the Rolls-Royce Phantom before he took all the suitcases from Paul’s hand and placed them in the trunk.After he was done, he asked Matilda, “Chairman, aren’t you and the general manager going to the Shangri-La hotel in this car?”Matilda nodded before he said, “I will be going there in my old classmate’s car. You can leave first.”Jacob looked at the new and luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom in front of him and he could not help but feel particularly uneasy at this time.He could clearly tell the value of this car.An ordinary car like this would have cost at least eight or nine million dollars. Furthermore, this car was equipped with a golden man logo which was made out of pure gold. This would cost them an extra two hundred thousand dollars!Jacob could not help but feel a little more inferior at this time.Therefore, he hurriedly said, “Oh, Matilda, perh
After the driver drove the Rolls-Royce Phantom away, Charlie drove Jacob’s BMW 5 Series over to the entrance of the airport.As soon as the car stopped directly in front of the three of them, the old man hurriedly opened the rear car door before he said in a gentlemanly manner, “Matilda, after you!”Matilda nodded slightly before she smiled and bent her body to get into the car.Immediately afterward, Paul walked over to the other side of the car as he prepared to get into the back seat with his mother. At this time, Jacob hurriedly said, “Oh, Paul! Since you and Charlie are both young people, you should have a lot of topics in common. You should have a good chat with him along the way to the hotel!”After that, Jacob quickly got into the back seat before Paul could even reply to his request.Paul had no choice but to get into the co-driver seat.Charlie drove toward the city and Jacob, who was sitting in the back seat with Matilda, could not help but feel a little embarrassed as
At that time, a young American boy was madly pursuing her. Out of anger and because she simply wanted to forget her past as soon as possible, she decided to accept the other party’s pursuit.Both of them got married quickly, started a family, and had children together very soon.That American boy was very kind to her and he cared for her throughout all his life. However, Matilda had always been unable to forget her ex-boyfriend even after more than twenty years had already passed by.When she looked back on their history, she realized that she had been too arrogant in the past and that was the reason why she was fooled by others. She realized that her roommate did not come to her just because she wanted to confess her mistake and ask for her forgiveness. In fact, although her roommate told her that she hoped that she would not mind this matter at all, she was secretly hoping that Matilda would mind it and take the initiative to back out of her relationship so that she would willin
Jacob’s mind drifted in the ocean of thoughts, reminiscing his past. His eyes turned red, and two lines of tears flowed down his cheeks.Matilda was perfect. Even in Charlie’s eyes, she was completely incomparable to Elaine. She was a million times better than Elaine, and Jacob had spent more than 2 decades with a shrew who was nowhere near the quality of his ex. It was undeniable that Jacob would feel uncomfortable and upset when he saw Matilda again.Matilda was sorrowful as well when she saw Jacob’s tears.She regretted her decision too.She regretted that she left him on the impulse.None of them were happy for the past 20 years.Both of them suffered the same torment, mentally and emotionally.If so, why did she choose to break up with him in the first place?She knew that he didn’t like Elaine.She knew that he must have completely lost consciousness, otherwise, Elaine wouldn’t be able to take advantage of him.She even knew subconsciously that it was Elaine’s plan all
Jacob prayed to God, hoping that Elaine would never come back again. She had tormented him for more than 2 decades, he had accomplished the unthinkable because of this, it was time to set him free.If Elaine never came back, he was certain that he could be with Matilda again and resumed their previous relationship.He even thought that Matilda’s son was a quite nice person who was open-minded enough to accept him as his stepfather.As for Claire, she was a sensible and filial daughter. If her mother was indeed missing, she wouldn’t object to him pursuing his true love. After all, he could not live alone for the rest of his life after Elaine disappeared.His only concern right now was whether Elaine would return.So he could only pray to God for his wish to come true.However, he didn’t know that it was not up to God to decide on this, but his son-in-law, Charlie.***When Charlie arrived at the entrance of Shangri-La, the hotel staff immediately marched forward and opened the d
Jacob’s concern was straightforward and simple, he was worried that Elaine would return home suddenly in the next two days. His precious chance to invite Matilda over to his house would be thrown out the window if she did return.He wouldn’t dare, even if anyone pointed a gun at him, to invite Matilda to his house when Elaine was at home. Elaine would kill him there and then!Hence, he should grab the chance when it comes his way as soon as possible.Matilda stumbled into the reminisce of her past too.Since she was from Sudbury, she had to live in a dormitory when she was studying in Aurous Hill.Moreover, back in those days, people were not open-minded enough to brag about them being in a relationship, they were rather shy and low-key, they didn’t even dare to let their family know. She always wanted to cook a meal for Jacob but they never found a suitable time and venue to do so.In fact, it was not as convenient as it was now.Nowadays, couples could simply rent a hotel apar
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
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!