Charlie nodded. “Just get some rest. Once you’ve recovered, you can then run the restaurant. If I need anything, I’ll be sure to find you.”Douglas exclaimed, “Whenever you need me!”Charlie then added, “Oh, by the way, don’t tell anyone about what happened today. I don’t want people to know who I am, understood?”Douglas nodded. “Understood. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take this secret with me to the grave!”Charlie smiled. “I’ll have two caretakers to take care of you, just get some rest. I’ll be off.”Upon reaching home, Charlie didn’t plan on telling Claire about what had happened since he didn’t want her to know too much. It was safer if she didn’t know anything about his identity.The next day, as he was buying groceries, Charlie received a call. When he picked up the phone, he realized it was the daughter of the boss of Vintage Deluxe, Jasmine Moore.Confused, Charlie couldn’t help but wonder what Jasmine wanted from him.As the call went through, Jasmine spoke, “Mr. Wa
Jasmine had only told the truth. She really did think that the new chairman of Emgrand Group was a mysterious man.After all, he had been able to acquire a group that was worth over a hundred billion just because he wanted to. Moreover, he hadn’t shown his face at all throughout this process. It would seem that his net worth was much grander than that of Emgrand Group.In comparison, the Moore family would seem quite insignificant.However, she had not realized that the chairman of Emgrand Group was currently sitting in her passenger’s seat. Charlie, on the other hand, was a man who liked to keep things as low-profile as possible. Although he would dismissively respond to Jasmine, he never once revealed any information about his identity to her.In a fast but steady speed, they had arrived at a small garden near the river in just a few minutes. The garden was elegant and tranquil. On the outside, it seemed quite worn and crude, however, it was extremely grand on the inside. Fro
The fat man glanced at Travis before placing a simple wooden box onto the round table. Inside the box was a crimson red jade, seemingly an ancient treasure. As soon as the box was opened, everyone present felt as though the lobby had been filled with a hint of warm energy.Everyone’s eyes lit up.Jasmine turned to Quilt. “Uncle Quilt, what do you think?”Quilt stared at it and nodded. “I think it’s the real thing. It seems to be the Bloody Jade from the Zhou dynasty. It also appears to have been blessed by a very powerful monk!”Jasmine nodded and then turned to Charlie. “What do you think, Mr. Wade?”Charlie, on the other hand, scowled in disgust. “It’s a fake……” Quilt glowered at him. “You’re just a youngster, who gave you the right to lie through your teeth in front of this many people?” Matthew Gibson, the elderly man who was sitting next to Travis, opened his eyes and stared at the piece of jade. “May I hold it?”The fat man let out a cold laugh. “Mr. Gibson, are you kid
“Of course! Just speak your mind!” Quilt chuckled. “I would also like to see how you con artists lie to others!”Charlie shrugged. “I didn’t want to expose you guys, but if you insist, it would be rude for me to ignore you.”“Expose? So you’re saying that we have overlooked something?” The calm and collected Matthew Gibson laughed.Charlie took a glance at him and laughed. “He is the most idiotic one out of all of you…”“Do you have a death wish, you brat?” Matthew was infuriated.“The jade is real, don’t get me wrong.” Charlie then added, “But it’s not some bloody jade from the Zhou dynasty, nor was it blessed by a powerful monk. This is just a high-quality nephrite, but it is worth around fifty thousand maximum.”“Bullsh*t. Can’t you see that the jade is red in color!?” Quilt scowled.Charlie continued as if he had never been interrupted. “The red color of the jade is due to it being corrupted by potassium permanganate minerals. Did you really think that it was doused in the
Charlie was now furious. “Do you think you can get out of this by not talking, fatso? I’ll have you know, this is Aurous! Don’t you know that the people in this room are all just as powerful within this area? They can have you die in a ditch as long as they say so! I’d advise you to tell us the truth this instant, otherwise, you won’t even be able to save yourself!”Jasmine knew that Charlie was trying to manipulate him, hence, she put on a stern expression and played along. “The Moore family is fairly powerful. If anyone intends to scam any of us, we will surely teach him a good lesson. After all, if we were to spare them, our reputation in the public’s eyes would certainly be damaged!”The fat man was shocked to his core. He knew that the Moore’s indeed held extreme power in this area. If he were to piss Jasmine Moore off, he would surely die in Aurous!Panicking, he turned to Quilt in desperation. “Quilt, help me out! This isn’t what we agreed on!”Quilt’s facial expression chan
Jasmine had a very indifferent expression on her face as they sat in the car. For her, the fact that there was such a useless scumbag in her family was extremely frustrating. Moreover, what was even more vexing was the fact that Uncle Quilt had tried to set her up in front of so many outsiders.If he had fooled her into giving him the money today, Uncle Quilt would have escaped with all that money. Jasmine would have been really embarrassed if she had discovered the fact that she had been cheated only after losing a vast fortune that belonged to the Moore family!Fortunately, Charlie was present at that time and had saved her, helping her avoid losing her family fortune.Jasmine took out a bank card from the glove box in her car before she handed it over to Charlie. “Mr. Wade, there is about one million dollars in this card. The passcode is six ‘eights’. Please accept this as a form of my gratitude.”Jasmine could not help but sigh as she spoke. Why had Charlie chosen to join suc
Charlie felt completely helpless at this time. Jacob had just broken the Yuhuchun vase in the morning, and yet, as soon as he had stepped out of the house, the old man had actually taken advantage of his absence to sneak out and explore Antique Street again.That was just so typical of him. He would never learn from his mistakes.Jacob laughed as he asked them in a mysterious manner, “I meant that these celadon cups are worth more than half a million dollars! Why don’t you guess how much I bought them for?”Claire hesitated for a moment before replying, “Three hundred thousand dollars?”“No! Guess again!” Jacob replied as he waved his hand.“Two hundred thousand dollars?”“That’s not right either!”Charlie glanced at the pair of celadon cups in his father-in-law’s hand and he instantly knew that the cups were fake and only worth a few hundred dollars.Just then, Jacob smiled as he exclaimed excitedly, “Haha! I bought it for only three hundred dollars! Isn’t that amazing?”Clai
The next day was already the weekend.Jacob dragged Charlie out of the house and they drove to Antique Street early in the morning.The old man looked very refreshed and energetic, and upon stepping out of the car, Jacob waved his hand at Charlie as he said, “Come! Let me show you how you can pick up a good product!”After that, both of them started walking down Antique Street.Charlie had to walk quickly to keep up with Jacob. Regardless, he continued to look around him as he walked along the street.Since it was the weekend, there were a lot more people on Antique Street as compared to usual.Antique Street was very dense on both sides of the street as there were many vendors who came out to set up their stalls during the weekend, and so, the whole street was very packed.Many vendors simply placed a plastic sheet on the ground as they welcomed guests and customers to check out all the various kinds of antiques and jades placed on the ground.Charlie looked around casually an
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he