The Charismatic Charlie Wade

Maria’s question sent a shockwave through Jagoan, leaving him deep in thought. Her words resonated with him, how could such a meticulously planned scheme spanning over two decades hinge on someone as unreliable as Jacob?

Jagoan knew Jacob better than anyone else. Though he was his father-in-law, Jagoan could attest to his irresponsible nature. Entrusting the success or failure of such a significant plan to Jacob was a recipe for disaster.

Without wasting any time, Jagoan dialed Jacob’s number. At that moment, Jacob lounged in Thompson First’s room, engrossed in his mobile phone. His life had lost its spark ever since Matilda and Mr. Riley had gotten together. Plus, the presence of Elaine at home was nothing but an irritant. His preferred escape was to seclude himself in his room, spending his days scrolling through his phone.

So when Jagoan’s call came in, Jacob felt a tinge of surprise. After all, Jagoan had been out, working with clients, as he had mentioned earlier. They hadn’t spoken in days. Why the sudden call now? He answered the phone, curiosity lacing his voice. “Hello there, dear son-in-law. What’s the occasion for calling me this late?”

Jagoan quickly replied, “Dad, I’ve been out of town for a while now and I might be away for a bit longer. I may not be able to come home, so I thought I’d check on how you and Mom are holding up at home.”

Jacob grumbled, “What’s there to say? She and I have little in common, so we mostly ignore each other’s quirks.”

Jagoan then asked, “By the way, Dad, do you remember Felix from Vintage Deluxe?”

“Felix?” Jacob’s surprise was evident. “I do. Why do you suddenly bring him up? Is he coming?”

Jagoan explained, “I’m currently working with a client who’s interested in antiques. During our conversation, Vintage Deluxe came up and it turns out he knows Felix as well. I wanted to hear from you how you met him.”

the manager at Vintage Deluxe, he was polite and attentive to me. Every time I went there, he’d personally assist me and even added me on WeChat. But soon enough, that guy turned against me quicker than

day when the jade spring vase broke, I never really asked for details. You mentioned it just slipped from your hand, but you’re not the type to be careless. You’ve always been

handle it all. So, whether I’m looking at antiques or not, I’m very cautious. I’m afraid of dropping, touching, or damaging anything. But that day, it was as if the jade spring vase had a mind of its own. As soon as I touched it, it slipped from my

seem oily to me and its surface wasn’t particularly smooth. Given that it’s a Tang Dynasty artifact,

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need to feel burdened by it. We’re just having a chat.

I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me if I told

Even if you tell me the bottle sprouted wings and flew

I suppose… I’ll tell you, Jagoan and you probably won’t believe me. At the time, it was entirely different from what I said before. That damn bottle, it felt like someone had installed a vibration motor inside it. The moment I picked it up, my hands were jolted and they went numb. I couldn’t hold onto it anymore and it fell. I tried to reason with Felix, saying there must be something wrong with it, that it had given me a shock. But he accused me of being reckless, making up excuses. At that point, I didn’t have much of an argument left, so I thought I’d better get out of there

I wanted you to help me out initially and then I’d

conversation flowing. “Dad, you mentioned that the jade spring vase vibrated in your

to take it out and have a look myself. I didn’t think much of it at the time, so I reached in and took it out. I was about to snap

added, “Now that I think about it, it was most likely a trap set

registered this information and said with a smile, “Alright, Dad, it’s been a while and we have nothing to lose by talking about this now. By the way, Dad, I have some other business to attend to right now, so I won’t keep you

good son-in-law?