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Chapter 56
Many guests gave Douglas their gifts. With the painting in tow, Charlie walked towards Douglas and said, “Congratulations, buddy. This is a little gift from us to celebrate your opening ceremony.”Claire said with a smile, “Douglas, congratulations and best wishes on your grand opening. May your business be prosperous with many years to come!”“Thank you, thank you!” Douglas said hurriedly. Then, he leaned to Charlie’s ear and whispered with a mischievous smirk, “Hey, I see that you and our belle have a pretty close relationship, unlike what the rumors say! When do you plan to have a baby?”Claire blushed timidly when she heard the whisper. Charlie answered, “Stop it. If we are pregnant, you’ll be the first to know and I expect a gift from you!”“Of course!” Douglas laughed and nodded. “I’ll give the kid a big present!”At this moment, an average-looking woman with heavy makeup came up to Douglas and asked, “Douglas, who are they?”“This is my college buddy, Charlie! This is Clai
Chapter 57
Charlie, Claire, and Loreen sat together at the same table. Clinton joined them and sat beside Loreen.He asked Loreen with a wide smile as soon as he sat down, “Loreen, I heard that you’ve come to Aurous Hill to work for Emgrand Group, is that true?”Loreen nodded. “Yes, I just started.”Clinton smiled even wider. “What a coincidence! My dad is the deputy general manager of a department in Emgrand! I’ll ask him to look after you at work.”Many people exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, Clinton, your dad is the deputy general manager of Emgrand Group?”“Yup!” Clinton nodded proudly. “He was promoted last year.”Someone quickly said in a flattering tone, “The annual salary of a deputy general manager must be several million dollars, right? That’s amazing! It’s no wonder your family is so rich!”Clinton laughed and said, “That’s just the wages. My dad has quite a vast authority and a lot of side incomes. You guys must have heard about the luxurious hotel project from Emgrand Group, right
Chapter 58
Douglas had no intention to do such a thing, but Lily was overpowering his decision and he had no choice but to compromise to her shenanigans.However, the attendees were not surprised at all. When she announced how much each gift was worth, they could judge how well or bad their old classmates were doing after graduation. After all, comparison and jealousy were human nature.Then, Lily started the announcement.“Thank you, Jack Brown, for your one thousand dollars!”“Thank you, Bella Walsh, for the pair of gold ingots!”“Thank you, Ola Rivers, for the beautiful vase!”“Thank you, Clinton Tucker, for your ten thousand dollars!”The first few gifts, whether money or physical items, were mostly worth around one thousand dollars. Suddenly, when it came to Clinton, his ten thousand dollar monetary gift sent a shock wave across the restaurant.Ten thousand dollars were a big amount for the opening ceremony!Many people looked at Clinton with amazement and praised his generosity.C
Chapter 59
When everyone heard that Lily’s father was a cultural relic appraiser, they immediately cast a contemptuous and sympathetic gaze at Charlie.All of them shared the same thought—Charlie was so unlucky!His show-off moment was interrupted by the presence of an expert! It was like a slap right across his own face!It would be so humiliating if Lawson Lewis, Lily’s father, came downstairs!Claire blushed timidly. She leaned closer to Charlie and whispered, “So many people are watching you. You’d better not be stubborn, it would be so embarrassing otherwise!”On their way here, Charlie did tell her about the painting he bought but he said that it didn’t cost him a lot of money. Right now, however, he changed his attitude and claimed that it was very expensive. His sudden change of reaction made Claire a little doubtful and skeptical, figuring that Charlie might have lied for the sake of his reputation.On the contrary, Charlie was indifferent. He blurted, “If you don’t believe me, let
Chapter 60
“Yes,” Lily answered. “They’ve been buddies since college!”As she was saying this, in her mind, she was thinking, ‘Charlie, you and Douglas are good buddies but you have the nerve to give him a worthless piece of sh*t, let my dad expose and humiliate you in front of everyone!’However, beyond everyone’s expectation, Lawson said with a grateful sigh, “Indeed, it seems that he is a good friend! Why would one give such a precious gift otherwise?”Everyone was dumbfounded upon the statement!What did he mean by ‘precious’? Was he saying that the yellowish drawing was expensive?Exasperated, Clinton cursed inside his head, ‘F*ck you! I can go to Antique Street, buy a fake painting, pee on it to make it look old and yellowish, and it will still look more authentic than that piece of sh*t!’Lawson cleared his throat and said in an earnest tone, “This is the authentic work of Rachel Ruysch, a painter from the Dutch Golden Age. Although she is not as famous nowadays, she was one of the m
Chapter 61
At this moment, Clinton felt like he wanted to die right there and then!D*mn it!What was going on!He couldn’t catch a break, could he?How did he get repeatedly humiliated by Charlie the loser?Never did he expect that the painting would turn out to be authentic and worth two hundred thousand dollars!He had already given his word, what should he do now? Did he really have to eat the table?That was absolutely impossible!He could buy a new car after his car perished in the fire, but how could he eat a table?He would really die if he did!The crowd teased him, “Hey, Clinton, you said it yourself that you will eat the table if you lose. Do you want to break your promise again this time?”“That’s right! Everyone is still waiting for your freak show!”Someone slapped on the table hard. “Hey, please start your act now!”Clinton’s face turned into an ugly shade of red and green. He blurted sheepishly, “We’re all friends, do you guys really have to kick me when I’m already d
Chapter 62
More importantly, he had to find a way to clean up his reputation among his former collegemates. Otherwise, how could he show off in front of his friends in the future after being humiliated by Charlie twice?Just when he was pondering about how to restore his dignity, there was a sudden commotion at the main entrance of the restaurant.The noise attracted everyone’s attention and they looked towards the door.A group of youngsters with malicious looks barged into the restaurant. They had tattoos all over their limbs and body, holding baseball bats, galvanized water pipes, and the like in their hands. They didn’t look like they were here for a meal at all.Everyone was extremely shocked upon the horrid sight, especially Douglas and Lily, their eyes full of fear.A man with the visible scar on his face was obviously the head of the group. He stepped forward, scanned the hall, then pointed at Douglas with an evil grin. “Boss, why didn’t you come and say hi before the opening ceremon
Chapter 63
Clinton was extremely dumbfounded by the abrupt reaction from Mr. Lee and was very annoyed, but as his friends were still watching him, he gritted his teeth and searched for another contact.This time, he called the director of the district police branch.He remembered that this person also had a close relationship with his father.When his call was answered, he immediately started, “Hi, Mr. Kent, it’s me, Clinton, Clinton Tucker. I have some problems in the redevelopment zone…”He illustrated the matter all over again.The man at the other end of the line cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “Clinton, he is Bill’s guy, and Bill is Don Albert’s guy, I think you’d better not get involved in this matter.”Clinton asked in confusion, “Don’t you want to do something about it?”“You should know Don Albert’s status in this city, it’s not within my control.”Clinton was a little flustered by the response that he said, sounding panicked, “Can’t you do me a favor and talk to him for a