Chapter 160: Move aside!

Wu Sisi’s eyes also widened in utter disbelief. "How is that possible?"

However, the stone-cutting machine continued its piercing shriek. Having cut open such a magnificent piece of jade, the burly cutter was extremely excited. He carefully rubbed away the debris, and slowly, the precious material revealed itself entirely to the crowd.

After brushing away the remaining stone skin and splashing a basin of clean water over it, a massive chunk of Emperor Green jade was presented before everyone. Vibrant and lush with green, it looked like a gigantic, glowing gemstone.

The surrounding crowd fell silent. Such a large piece of Emperor Green was a rare sight indeed.

After a long while, a middle-aged man shouted, "I'll offer fifty million! Can you sell this piece to me?"

Prompted by his voice, many others began shouting bids, with the price rapidly approaching one hundred million.

Tang Miaoyi, however, shook her head. "I won't sell this raw material. My family is in the jewelry business ourselves."

She then turned her gaze to Wu Sisi. "Wu Sisi, it's your turn to cut now."

Hearing this, the eager bidders fell silent once more, turning their attention toward the impeccably textured raw stone Wu Sisi had chosen, their hearts equally filled with anticipation.

Wu Sisi’s eyes were practically spitting fire. Even a supreme treasure like the Emperor Green had been successfully extracted by Tang Miaoyi; it seemed her luck was truly extraordinary.

For some reason, she felt deeply that Tang Miaoyi could never possess such incredible luck by herself. A vague intuition told her this must be related to the man standing beside Tang Miaoyi, though she had no idea if he was actually her boyfriend.

Even so, making her call Tang Miaoyi a great-aunt was not going to happen easily. The raw stone she had personally bid on had such a fine appearance; it was bound to yield a top-tier green as well.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, she picked up a piece of chalk, drew a line across the stone, and told the cutter, "Cut along this line. There will be a reward for you later."

Her haughty and arrogant demeanor made it seem as though she was already certain this raw stone would yield a massive profit.

The burly stone cutter nodded, called over a partner, and with great effort aligned the cutting blade with the chalk line, starting the machine.

"Screech... screech..." Amidst the deafening roar, a plume of white mist erupted from the cutting line, billowing into a thick cloud.

Everyone held their breath, especially Wu Sisi, who was extremely nervous. This stone had cost her thirty million. Although its appearance was exceptionally fine, if it turned out to be a dud, she would suffer a devastating loss. Losing money was a minor issue; losing face was a major one.

As the saw blade cut deeper, with a crisp snap, the giant stone split into two halves, revealing two grayish-white cut faces.

"It's a dud... a dud..." A commotion instantly rippled through the crowd, some looking slightly disappointed, others gloating in delight.

Wu Sisi’s face shifted, and she immediately barked, "Cut it again..."

This stone was simply too large, so a final conclusion could not be drawn just yet. The two burly men nodded, found a new entry point, and restarted the motor.

In another round of ear-piercing screeches, the two halves of the boulder were quartered.

Yet the result remained identical, and by this point, the onlookers had lost interest.

"With it cut down to this extent, it's definitely a total loss."

"Indeed, who would have thought a raw stone with such a promising exterior would turn out to be a complete dud..."

"Thirty million down the drain! Aside from a thin layer of green on the surface, this is a massive catastrophe."

"Experience can kill you; you really have to be careful when gambling on stones from now on."

Looking at the grayish-white raw stone, Wu Sisi’s complexion turned ghastly. One of the men cautiously asked, "Miss Wu, shall we still continue cutting?"

"Cut!" Wu Sisi gritted her teeth.

In truth, there was no longer any need to continue cutting this raw stone; anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was impossible for any green to emerge from the inside. It was purely out of unwillingness to accept defeat that Wu Sisi persisted. She had spent thirty million on a stone—while she wasn't necessarily short of cash, where was she supposed to put her face?

Already, some experienced veterans were shaking their heads and walking away, having lost all interest.

As the sound of stone-cutting rang out once more, the quartered boulders were sliced open yet again...

"Keep cutting..."

Not until the raw stone was hacked into tiny, shattered pieces scattered all over the ground did Wu Sisi finally fall silent, her face as dark as ink.

At this moment, Tang Miaoyi was laughing with unrestrained delight. "Ha! Eldest Miss Wu, you are truly generous, spending thirty million on a broken rock and treating it like a treasure. Look, if any family in the countryside is building a house and short on bricks, using these as a foundation wouldn't be half bad."

A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd. Losing thirty million on a worthless rock was humiliating no matter who it happened to.

Wu Sisi was furious, yet she had no retort. Glaring resentfully at Tang Miaoyi, she turned on her heel and prepared to leave.

Tang Miaoyi, however, couldn't resist twisting the knife further. She called out, "Eldest Miss Wu, didn't you say there would be a reward money? These two masters worked so hard, give them a tip. And what about those three kowtows calling me great-aunt?"

Wu Sisi stumbled slightly under her feet, shooting another furious glare at Tang Miaoyi.

She then pulled out her wallet, extracted ten thousand in cash, threw it onto the ground, and strode away in a huff.

Once the crowd had dispersed, Tang Miaoyi excitedly hooked her arm around Chen Yuyi’s elbow. "Chen—Mr. Chen, thank you so much! You actually helped me uncover an Emperor Green, and it only cost a little over one hundred thousand. My father is definitely going to praise me to the skies, and we totally infuriated that Wu Sisi."

Chen Yuyi smiled faintly. "Consider this your reward for keeping me company these past two days."

As he spoke, he glanced down at his arm, which Tang Miaoyi was tightly clutching.

Tang Miaoyi hurriedly let go, her cheeks turning rosy. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, I got too carried away and lost my manners."

Chen Yuyi didn't mind. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he caught sight of a silvery stone nearby.

"Mr. Chen, I'll go make arrangements to have the jade transported back first. Wait for me here, I'll be right back!" Having acquired such an Emperor Green, Tang Miaoyi was impatient to call her family, and they had already dispatched people to pick up the precious material.

Chen Yuyi simply gave a slight nod, his attention already completely captivated by that single stone.

Tang Miaoyi darted off like the wind to handle her affairs.

Just as Chen Yuyi was about to walk over toward that stone, a figure suddenly blocked his path.

It was Wu Sisi, who had returned. It seemed she had deliberately waited for Tang Miaoyi to leave before approaching.

"Handsome, can we have a chat?" She looked at Chen Yuyi with a bright, enchanting smile, radiating a hint of allure.

Chen Yuyi frowned. "Step aside."

Wu Sisi was taken aback, and her expression darkened slightly. "You're telling me to step aside?" She found it hard to believe that this man could completely ignore her existence and order her to move. She was supremely confident in her own looks and charm; never had a man spoken to her in such a manner.

Instead of turning her away, this only managed to arouse her haughty competitive streak.

"What is so great about that little girl Tang Miaoyi? I know for a fact that the Emperor Green stone she picked just now was chosen by you. Whatever Tang Miaoyi has, I, Wu Sisi, possess as well, and I am superior to her in every way. Can't you even consider who among us is more attractive?"

As she spoke, she puffed out her remarkably proud chest, wearing an expression of absolute self-assurance.

Chen Yuyi’s gaze, however, did not linger on her at all; his eyes remained fixed in the direction of the silver stone.

Just then, he saw someone pick up that very stone. Because the stone was small—only about the size of a palm—the person picking it up clearly showed some interest in it.

By ordinary gambling standards, this particular stone held no intrinsic value, yet the fact that someone walked right up and picked it up indicated that the person was definitely no ordinary individual.

"How much for this stone?" asked a man wearing a cap, already inquiring about the price.

"One hundred thousand!" the nearby clerk replied offhandedly. Perhaps never expecting anyone to actually ask about this particular rock, she threw out a random figure.

Without the slightest hesitation, the man began pulling out his money.

Chen Yuyi’s eyes darkened.

"So, what do you think? You should think about it. With me, you can experience things you could never possibly enjoy with Tang Miaoyi..."

Before Wu Sisi could finish her sentence, she suddenly stumbled and fell heavily to the side. She was left momentarily stunned, instinctively feeling that her fall had something to do with that man.

Then she watched in disbelief as Chen Yuyi walked right past her without casting a single glance in her direction. A complex wave of emotions surged in her heart, leaving her sitting dazed on the ground, completely forgetting to get back up.

At that moment, a young man hurried to her side. "Sisi, how did you fall?" He reached down and helped her up.

After a brief, stiff pause, Wu Sisi glared with bitter resentment at Chen Yuyi’s retreating back. "That man bullied me."

Following the direction of her gaze, the young man looked at Chen Yuyi. "Outrageous! That is simply too much! Bullying a woman, knocking someone down and not even bothering to help them up—damn it, he's no man at all!"