Chen Gang had encountered Fan Xiwen twice. Once, he had been so frightened that he slapped himself, and the other time, he had lost all dignity and slunk away in disgrace.
Coincidentally, both incidents had taken place in front of Tang Qingrou—and each time, he had embarrassed himself more thoroughly than before.
Chen Gang’s hatred for Fan Xiwen had reached its absolute limit.
However, after suffering twice in succession, Chen Gang had also come to understand one thing: dealing with Fan Xiwen was not easy.
Still, when Chen Gang saw Fan Xiwen for the third time, he was actually delighted.
From his two defeats, Chen Gang had drawn one conclusion: Dragon City was not his territory. There, his own impressive abilities could not be displayed.
“Since you’ve come to Shao City, I’ll have to make sure you receive a proper welcome.”
Chen Gang thought darkly to himself.
Fan Xiwen had no time to bother with the thoughts of a petty brat like Chen Gang. Instead, he smiled at Tang Qingrou and said, “Are you out shopping? Or are you acting as someone’s protector?”
The plan had changed. The moment Fan Xiwen sensed Tang Qingrou’s presence, he withdrew the divine-sense disguise from his face. Otherwise, Tang Qingrou would only have found his back vaguely familiar and would not have come over to greet him. In front of Tang Qingrou, Fan Xiwen had no intention of acting under the identity of Fan Haotian, Master Fan. Thus, Fan Xiwen, who had originally planned to go inside and sweep up some goods, changed his mind and decided to accompany Tang Qingrou on her shopping trip.
Since his Rebirth, Fan Xiwen had been constantly busy and had not found many opportunities to spend time with Tang Qingrou. Although his first-place speech at the track and field stadium had left a deep impression on her, that impression needed to be constantly reinforced, or it would easily fade. Moreover, turning Tang Qingrou’s deep impression of him into fondness and then into a hazy form of love would also require time to build.
“You can forget about being a protector.”
Tang Qingrou smiled. After meeting him two or three times, she had learned that this was simply how Fan Xiwen was, so she did not take it to heart. Instead, she continued, “My grandfather came to my house last night, and I plan to buy him a gift. I heard that jade can nourish a person’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit, as well as ward off evil. So I thought I’d come take a look.”
Fan Xiwen could not help laughing. “That’s quite a novel theory. Still, I think the value of the gift is secondary. Filial devotion is what matters most.”
“Don’t underestimate me.”
Tang Qingrou glared at Fan Xiwen. “This time, I borrowed money from my mother—fifty thousand dollars in total. I can definitely choose a good gift.”
“Mm, I think so too.”
Fan Xiwen nodded along. “Let’s go. I came to look at jade as well. We can go in together and take a look. Perhaps I can even help you assess it later.”
There was nothing wrong with those words as far as Fan Xiwen was concerned. However, to Chen Gang and the girl who had come with Tang Qingrou, they sounded rather amusing.
“Young classmate, you know how to appraise jade too? Can you even tell good jade from bad?”
The girl looked at Fan Xiwen with some amusement. Fan Xiwen immediately frowned and turned toward her.
“Classmate Fan Xiwen, this is one of my older sisters. Her name is Hao Li. These three jewelry stores can practically be considered businesses owned by her family.”
Tang Qingrou hurriedly introduced Hao Li to Fan Xiwen.
“Mm.”
Fan Xiwen glanced at Hao Li before saying flatly, “I’m not young.”
He was being sincere. With three thousand years of age behind him, even a tiny fraction of it would be enough to make Hao Li call him her ancestor.
That was why Fan Xiwen disliked the word “young” so much.
However, in Hao Li’s ears, Fan Xiwen’s words seemed to take on a different meaning. She secretly spat, “Little lecher.”
Since ancient times, the culture of the Dragon Nation had been profound and extensive. The word “young” could refer to many things; everything depended on what the listener chose to think.
“Sister Li, you don’t know this, but Tang Qingrou’s classmate is truly extraordinary. With a single phone call, he can make the owner of Shuimu Nianhua in Dragon City personally come out to receive him. Since he says he knows how to appraise jade, he must really know what he’s doing.”
Chen Gang enthusiastically introduced Fan Xiwen to Hao Li from the side. Naturally, he had no good intentions.
Although he did not know whom Fan Xiwen had called last time to make Yue Liancheng of Shuimu Nianhua show him such respect, Chen Gang had kept a little mental notebook since childhood. It contained the names of everyone in Shao City whom he could not afford to provoke. Over the years, as his father had continued to rise through the ranks, the number of people in that notebook had dwindled. In Shao City, aside from the descendants of families such as the Mo Family and the Song Family, Chen Gang’s notebook did not contain anyone named Fan Xiwen. In fact, it did not even contain a single person with the surname Fan.
Since he was not in the notebook, and they were now in Shao City, why should he admit defeat?
And so Chen Gang started again.
After hearing Chen Gang say this, Hao Li’s eyes immediately gleamed with interest. She asked with a smile, “Really?”
“Absolutely. My classmate loves putting on airs. He keeps a straight face whenever he meets anyone, as if nobody is qualified to speak with him.”
Chen Gang continued, but Tang Qingrou frowned and said unhappily, “Chen Gang, why don’t you go back first? Sister Li and I can go inside.”
Last time, outside Shuimu Nianhua, Chen Gang had relentlessly pressured Fan Xiwen and had even tried to make him lose face in public. His unreasonable, bullying manner had already made Tang Qingrou deeply dislike him. Now, seeing him again and hearing his sarcastic remarks naturally made her uncomfortable.
Moreover, Tang Qingrou had not actually asked Chen Gang to come with her this time. He had shamelessly insisted on tagging along.
“Fine, I won’t say anything else. Let’s go inside and choose some jade.”
Chen Gang raised both hands with a grin, making a gesture of surrender. Tang Qingrou was so angry that she nearly choked, but she said nothing.
When the three of them entered the shop, they could no longer see Fan Xiwen. Hao Li asked a sales clerk and learned that he had already gone into the Old Warehouse.
The Old Warehouse of a jewelry store was different from the warehouses of businesses such as Pawnshops; anyone could enter. That was because the Old Warehouse contained nothing but piles of stones. Every year, the jewelry store imported these stones from overseas. They were called rough stones. A rough stone was a stone that had not yet been cut open, and it might contain jade. Many people enjoyed gambling on this. Whether the first cut would reveal heaven or hell—only the gods knew. Thus, this was also called stone gambling.
When Hao Li heard that Fan Xiwen had gone to the Old Warehouse, she immediately chuckled and said to Tang Qingrou, “Your classmate isn’t very old, but who would have thought he really can’t be judged by appearances?”
Hao Li’s entire family operated jewelry stores, so she naturally understood the cruelty of stone gambling. It relied entirely on luck. Some people became wealthy through it, but even more people plunged straight into hell with a single cut. Even seasoned masters who had spent decades in the industry could not guarantee success, because there were simply too many variables.
In Hao Li’s view, Fan Xiwen was Tang Qingrou’s classmate, so his age was obvious.
At such a young age, he was already dabbling in stone gambling?
Unfortunately, Hao Li had not yet heard the saying that would suddenly become popular several years later. Otherwise, she would have blurted out, “Does his family own a mine or something?”
“Let’s go inside and take a look. I want to see what your classmate is capable of.”
Hao Li said this to Tang Qingrou, while Chen Gang wore an expectant expression nearby.
What was he looking forward to?
Naturally, he was looking forward to Fan Xiwen buying several stones inside, then losing everything.
As long as Chen Gang saw Fan Xiwen suffer, he would be so happy that he could hardly close his mouth.
Hao Li led the two of them to the Old Warehouse. It was enormous, essentially a simple shed with a metal roof. Rows of rough stones were laid out on the ground, each with its price clearly marked. Once someone chose a stone, they only needed to call over a clerk to pay.
There were also several customers selecting stones in the Old Warehouse. They held magnifying glasses or flashlights over individual stones, studying them with the fascination one might show toward rare treasures.
Hao Li was just about to look for someone when Fan Xiwen’s calm voice came from the Finance Office.
“Have Hao Li personally deliver these things to me later.”
Although rough stones might not yield jadeite, their prices were naturally not as high as those of jade.
Even so, they were not cheap, and they were sold by weight.
A rough stone might weigh only one or two pounds, or it might weigh dozens or even hundreds of pounds. Naturally, that made them quite valuable.
That was why there was a dedicated Finance Office for payment, as well as an area for cutting.
Fan Xiwen’s voice had come from the Finance Office. Hao Li could not help staring blankly. “That guy wants me to personally deliver them to him?”
“Sister Li, I never thought you’d be treated like a delivery person.”
Chen Gang snickered from the side.
Fan Xiwen emerged from the Finance Office, carrying a stone roughly the size of a basketball. It probably weighed around ten pounds, yet it seemed as light as nothing in his hands, which astonished Hao Li.
“Classmate Tang Qingrou, this stone is passable. Take it home and give it to your grandfather as a gift for meeting him.”
After placing the stone in front of Tang Qingrou, Fan Xiwen said to Hao Li, “Once the jade inside has been cut out, have a jade craftsman carefully polish it. We’ll settle the labor cost together when you deliver the items.”
Faced with such an utterly matter-of-fact attitude, Hao Li was left speechless.
As for Chen Gang, he had just been about to sneer when Fan Xiwen turned his gaze toward him. “Chen Gang, this is the third time—and the last. If I see you together with Tang Qingrou again, I’ll break your legs.”
His aura suddenly surged. Fan Xiwen seemed like a supreme ruler looking down from on high, while Chen Gang’s head slowly lowered beneath that terrifying pressure.
Of course, the aura around Fan Xiwen was directed only at Chen Gang. He did not release any of it toward Tang Qingrou or Hao Li.
Chen Gang clenched both fists and gritted his teeth. He wanted to say something, but discovered that he could not open his mouth at all.
“If you don’t believe me, you can try.”
Fan Xiwen looked at Chen Gang with a mocking smile. A mortal as insignificant as an ant dared to compete with him for a woman?
Was he worthy?
“Get lost.”
The words were like an imperial decree. Chen Gang’s face turned livid, yet he still left the Old Warehouse against his own will.
As for whether Chen Gang was willing or not, that was not something Fan Xiwen would consider.