Chapter 144: Lucky Cat, Do You Dare!

Elder Tang explained the situation to Sui Yi for a moment, then paused and sneered, "Did you see that Qian family and old Quan? Both of them have turned traitor!"

Sui Yi had already noticed this just now. It wasn't too difficult to understand that two jewelry merchants would collude with a jewelry company from the provincial capital.

However, this undoubtedly put Elder Tang and the others, who specialized in cultural relics and antiques, at a disadvantage. Moreover, by Li Yuan's side, there seemed to be an arrogant and condescending elder.

Yu Quan noticed Sui Yi's gaze and said indifferently, "That is a jade-gambling consultant. Generally, jewelry companies of a certain scale all have one. Otherwise, how could these bosses feel at ease investing large sums of money to buy raw jade stones and cut them?"

A jade-gambling consultant? Sui Yi thought to herself that this must be the group of people Zhang Guobiao had mentioned earlier—those who were extremely familiar with raw jade stones and much more professional than ordinary people.

Although it still relied on luck, there were no lack of people among them with extraordinary experience, and the probability of them cutting out jadeite was far greater than that of ordinary people.

—Of course, exceptions were those who didn't understand a damn thing yet stumbled into blind luck and flipped their fortunes overnight.

Since Elder Tang and the others had no choice but to accept the challenge, they naturally had to win. Yu Quan and the others all had to earnestly pick out raw stones. Fortunately, this kind of thing was mostly based on luck. Even if the opponent had a jade-gambling consultant, Elder Tang and the others at least felt there was still some hope.

—Relying on blind luck, that is.

Such hope was somewhat pessimistic. When the few of them spoke to Sui Yi, they didn't harbor any intention of making her share the responsibility; they just felt that this girl had extraordinary discernment and explosive fortune. Perhaps if she came over just to stand with them, they could also rub off on her luck.

Therefore...

"Let's go, Li Yuan and the others have already picked quite a few... Elder Han and the others have also picked some, and now they are all being cut. Only the two of us haven't finished picking yet... At the very least, we need to contribute a share of luck." As Elder Tang said this, Elder Lin, who was walking over from not far away, curled his lips.

"Luck? Do you even have that kind of thing? You're a guy who doesn't even wash his hands after taking a dump..."

Elder Tang: "...."

Elder Lin couldn't be said to be here to provide support; on the contrary, he was here to watch the show.

This old man had a rather eccentric aura, and Yu Quan and the others naturally kept some distance from him.

However, the moment Sui Yi saw him, her gaze directly bypassed him and landed on the two people behind him.

Ah A was, of course, a person she knew.

But as for the other pretty, short-haired girl...

"Ah! Sui Yi!!!" The girl's hand immediately snapped up, and with extreme disdain, she released the wrist of Elder Lin that she had been holding, leaping directly toward Sui Yi's side, stopping just short of giving her a French kiss.

Elder Lin twisted his mouth. "Old man Tang, how come I feel like this disciple of yours not only hooked away Ah A, but is also going to hook away my granddaughter..."

Hearing this, Sui Yi cast a slow, unhurried glance at Lin Chuxiao. Recently, due to frantic celebrations over a slight improvement in exam scores, Lin Chuxiao had put on a round layer of fat. "Can't hook her."

Lin Chuxiao: Damn it!

——————

Sui Yi hadn't expected Lin Chuxiao to be Elder Lin's granddaughter, but she didn't pay it much mind either.

On the other hand, Ah A privately told her that Elder Lin was a man of the underworld with various hidden enemies. Fearing that it would implicate his family, he had always protected them with the utmost secrecy, especially his only granddaughter. Recently, because Elder Lin had established ties with the Chamber of Commerce, and following the Cultural and Antiquities Convention and the purging of some previous enemies, he finally felt secure enough to bring his granddaughter out into the public eye.

Sui Yi smiled faintly. No wonder Elder Lin looked to be in such high spirits.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they quickly got down to business.

Before Elder Tang set off to select raw stones, he reached out and patted Sui Yi on the shoulder.

Yu Quan patted her too!

Then Elder Lin thought about it and gave her a pat as well.

Ah A and Li Jingyang raised their eyebrows: "...."

Were these three old men deliberately taking advantage of her?

Elder Tang: "Absorbing some good fortune."

Yu Quan: "Same as above."

Elder Lin: "Seeing them do it, how could I fall behind!"

Heh~~~ The reasons given by the three old men made Sui Yi raise an eyebrow. She said, "Actually, you didn't need to pat me."

"I'll just follow along behind you guys."

Which meant... I'll just act as a beckoning lucky cat.

————————

And so, the three old men who knew nothing about jade gambling began putting on an act and wandering around the raw stone section. It wasn't far from the cutting area, so they could hear the waves of cheers and sighs echoing from behind.

Meanwhile, following Elder Tang's instructions, Li Jingyang acted as a scout over there, reporting back whenever there was any significant news.

Li Jingyang glanced at Ah A, frowned slightly, nodded, and went off.

In the raw stone section, the number of raw stones at this moment was countless times greater than those Zhang Guobiao had earlier, with several hundred blocks visible at a glance.

People were coming and going densely, just like a bustling market.

This was a grand event.

The three old men squatted down to inspect the stones. Since it was Lin Chuxiao's first time encountering such things and she had just learned from Elder Lin's mouth that Sui Yi and Elder Tang had a master-disciple relationship, she felt even closer to Sui Yi. (Elder Lin was depressed: Is there any logic to this? Granddaughter, I am Elder Tang's mortal enemy!).

"Ah, this lousy stone is actually selling for seventy thousand!!!" With her facial features locked in extreme shock, Lin Chuxiao used her greasy fingers—still holding a grilled fish skewer—to point at a piece of raw stone.

Before the stall owner could speak, she immediately switched to a firm tone, radiant with smugness: "Korean Won?"

Korean your sister!

The stall owner's face darkened, and he curled his lips. "Young lady, if it were seventy thousand Korean Won, you couldn't even afford the plane fare to go to South Korea and pick up a rock!"

"Bullshit, seventy thousand Korean Won is worth about seven thousand yuan, okay! My lady could afford a trip to Seoul and Hokkaido in South Korea!"

Sui Yi, the stall owner, and several people nearby fell silent...

Japanese Yen and Korean Won, Seoul and Hokkaido.

To be stuck with a poor academic underachiever whose historical knowledge was infinitely failing.

Especially an underachiever holding a corn cob in her left hand and a charcoal-grilled Pacific saury in her right hand.

They could only silently hold their tongues.

After finally pestering the stall owner into explaining and supplementing some knowledge about jade gambling, Lin Chuxiao squatted down beside Sui Yi, continuing to eat her grilled fish and corn cob while poking at the stones.

She certainly knew how to ask questions, and Sui Yi didn't show any impatience. Although every sentence consisted of very few words, she could essentially give clear and precise answers to Lin Chuxiao's inquiries.

With a gentle, cold, and captivatingly pleasant voice, Lin Chuxiao looked at Sui Yi's exquisite side profile, listening and listening, until she suddenly blurted out, "Sui Yi, I finally know why the Yenching University goddess likes to hang out with you so much."

"You smell so good..."

Sui Yi lowered her eyes to look at the girl's greasy mouth and the heavy smell of barbecue wafting over...

Are you sure you aren't smelling the fish and the corn cob?

Lin Chuxiao didn't notice Sui Yi's obscure and peculiar gaze. As a girl with a rather strong gambling streak, she immediately started selecting stones with high spirits.

As for Sui Yi, while keeping an eye on the situation of Elder Tang and the others, she spread out her magnetic perception to select the raw stones in front of her.

However... before long.

The peaceful atmosphere among them was shattered.

"Oh, oh, isn't this Sui Yi? Why aren't you sticking with your Han family young master?"

Qian Shuangyu's voice was extremely grating and had a very unique tone, causing Sui Yi to recognize her instantly.

With a turn of their heads, everyone saw Qian Shuangyu and her companions.

As a group of people who had hooked up together, Li Run, Han Yuanzhong, and the others easily integrated with them. Moreover, they learned about the friction between Qian Shuangyu's family and Sui Yi, as well as the matter concerning Zhou Ran...

Zhou Ran and Qian Shuangyu spared no effort in front of Li Run to disparage and smear Sui Yi, especially targeting her relationship with Elder Tang and the others, painting it in extremely filthy terms.

Fuelled by the resentment and humiliation of having been defeated by Sui Yi once, coupled with the other party's disdain, someone as narrow-minded as Li Run immediately swallowed these smears hook, line, and sinker, telling himself that such a woman wasn't even worth him playing with!

However, trouble still needed to be made.

Therefore, they came!

Elder Tang and the others also saw this situation. However, juniors were juniors, and it wasn't appropriate for them to step in. Besides, they figured someone like Sui Yi wouldn't be easily bullied, and with the ultra-martial Ah A around, she definitely wouldn't suffer a loss, so none of the three paid them any more attention.

"Heh, Sui Yi, it seems we have some fate... But I suppose you've also made quite a bit of money from those old men... Why not buy a few raw stones to play with? Coincidentally, I happen to have some pocket money on hand and can play a round with you..."

Li Run's tone was flippant, dismissive, and extremely arrogant.

His voice wasn't low at all.

The stall owners nearby and the people looking at the raw stones easily swept their gazes over Sui Yi.

Ah, such a pretty and clean girl, turns out she's in that kind of business?

Though girls of this type were indeed very easy to...

Sui Yi was naturally well aware of the other party's malice. For people like this, verbal sparring was the most boring thing in the world.

So she chose to ignore them.

However...

"Hey, I must say you people are really interesting. A little while ago you came to our school trying to show off your might, then later you fled like chased mice, and now you're back! Do you think Nanxun is your backyard? And without a back door at that? Furthermore... even if the two of you lost a basketball game to Sui Yi, you don't need to use words like that to smear her. Are you even men?"

Since Lin Chuxiao was Elder Lin's granddaughter and was used to lording it over Second High, her big-sister aura was undeniable. She pointed her corn cob straight at Li Run and the others.

Grease was dripping down drop by drop.

She even added with crisp and clear articulation: "No need to answer, I already know you aren't!"

Puff!

Many people nearby burst out laughing.

Lost a basketball game to this girl? Ah, these two guys were truly pathetic indeed!

Li Run's face darkened instantly.

However... Zhou Ran, who was the oldest, glanced at Lin Chuxiao, immediately shifted his target, and locked onto Sui Yi.

"Useless talk gets us nowhere. Sui Yi, I just want to know if you dare to gamble with us."

Zhou Ran considered himself to understand Sui Yi to some extent.

Dare or not....

To dare was recklessness; not to dare was cowardice.

That was probably how Ah A saw it.

However, from Sui Yi's perspective, while it might seem that way, when it came down to action...

It wasn't necessarily so.

Besides, someone reacted even faster than her!

"Damn it, like I'm afraid of you! I'll take this piece! Which piece are you picking? Anyway, it definitely can't be cheaper than this one!"