Chapter 40: Colorless, Ice-Type, Fully Genuine

Since Murong Xue insisted on having the stones cut on the spot, Jiang Cheng had no choice but to comply. However, he was still reluctant to draw too much attention to himself.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Cheng leaned into Murong Xue’s ear and suggested, "Let's just cut one for now! We can deal with the others after we get back to Qingzhou."

Murong Xue blinked, feeling a bit nervous. She pouted and whispered, "Jiang Cheng? Don't tell me... you're going to lose money too? If you lose, won't I be a laughingstock to that little wench Chu Yanran?"

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, speechless. He put on a stern face and pretended to be annoyed. "Just one! I bought all five of these stones. If you hadn't insisted on competing with Chu Yanran, I wouldn't have cut a single one! If you’re so capable, why don't you buy and cut them yourself?"

"You!" Murong Xue’s chest heaved with anger. She snorted and threatened, "Fine! One it is! But if you make me lose face in front of Chu Yanran, I... I’ll kill you!"

Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Kill me? How exactly?"

At these words, a thought instantly crossed Murong Xue’s mind, and her face turned crimson down to her earlobes. The image of Jiang Cheng pinning her down the previous night flashed through her brain.

"You... you lecher! Don't you dare think about it!" Murong Xue’s face was burning as if it were about to boil. She gritted her teeth, cursing the pervert Jiang Cheng a thousand times over in her heart.

"Think about what?" Jiang Cheng tilted his head, completely bewildered. He had no idea why she was suddenly calling him a pervert and telling him not to "think" about something. Looking at her shy and flustered expression, he was utterly confused.

"Ms. Chu, would you like to go first, or should I?" Jiang Cheng ignored Murong Xue’s strange behavior and smiled at Chu Yanran.

In truth, few people cared whether he cut his stones or not. The five raw stones he had purchased were not particularly expensive—mostly under five million, with the most expensive one, number 14, costing only 16 million. The total for all five was a mere 25.05 million, not even a fraction of the cost of one of Chu Yanran’s stones. Everyone’s focus was on the "King of Stones," worth 180 million. That was the main event.

Chu Yanran was nervous, too. The previous three stones were only worth a few million; losing on those wouldn't matter much. But the King of Stones had cost a staggering 180 million. If that one turned out to be a dud, not only would she lose over a hundred million, but she would also have to endure the mockery of that little wench, Murong Xue. The mere thought made her furious. But what if it was a success? It was from the old pits of Hpakant, transferred directly from the government auction of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar—certainly not some cheap rock dug out of a random mountain ditch. Besides, her master had inspected it and confirmed there was something inside. Perhaps it would be a huge profit! Thinking of this, Chu Yanran calmed down slightly.

Seeing that Chu Yanran was lost in thought and had no intention of answering, Jiang Cheng didn't get annoyed. He turned and called out to the veteran cutter, "Master, I’ll just cut one. Could you please handle stone number six?"

The veteran hesitated. All the previous stones he had cut were waste, and he had developed a psychological trauma. If this one was also junk, he might end up getting beaten up by the crowd, or worse, blamed for being a jinx.

Jiang Cheng waved his hand with a smile and said calmly, "Just one cut right down the middle!" He had already used his vision to peer inside stone number six. It was a pure, colorless ice-variety jadeite, with the jade core occupying the entire stone, wrapped only in a thin layer of waxy crust. Apart from having a bit too much cotton inside, which wasn't perfectly even, it was a near-perfect piece of jadeite. No matter where it was cut, it was full of jade. His vision estimated its value at 12 million. Among all his stones, this was actually the worst one. He had spent 1.05 million on it, so he would only make a profit of around 10 million.

The master cutter said nothing more. Too lazy to even draw a line, he followed Jiang Cheng's instruction and made a cut straight down the middle.

Everyone was on edge, including Chu Yanran. She knew Jiang Cheng’s stone had something inside, but she didn't know its true value. She could only hope it would turn out to be a failure. But if she recalled correctly, Jiang Cheng had only spent 1.05 million on this stone, right? How much of a "failure" could a million-yuan stone really be?

*Zzzzzzt...*

The blade of the stone-cutting machine spun rapidly. After a good while, the stone was split in two. The master skillfully rinsed the cut surface and wiped it with a towel. As he turned the face over, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

The master held a high-powered lamp to the surface, and many in the crowd could roughly gauge the interior quality from the light transmission.

"It... it hit! It’s a win!"
"Holy crap! Colorless jadeite, ice-variety!"
"Is this solid through and through? The whole face is filled with jade? This luck is insane!"
"Look at that luster, that quality—it's so clear!"

Murong Xue stared at the smooth surface, completely dumbfounded. After a long moment, she snapped out of it, threw herself into Jiang Cheng’s arms, and squeezed him tight, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "You won! You won! Jiang Cheng, you’re amazing!"

Murong Shan watched Jiang Cheng being hugged by his daughter, his brows knitting together. *Why does this guy look more and more like a pig rooting at a white cabbage?* Although he was surprised that Jiang Cheng had hit a colorless ice-variety jadeite on his first try, he had seen plenty of high-quality stones in his time and wasn't as shocked as the onlookers. His focus was on the inappropriate closeness between his daughter and Jiang Cheng. "Ahem! Xiao Xue, that’s enough!"

Scolded by her father, Murong Xue finally realized she had gotten a bit too excited. She hurriedly let go of Jiang Cheng, lowered her head, and turned bright red, too embarrassed to speak.

Recalling the softness against his chest, Jiang Cheng felt his own face heat up. He really didn't understand why girls were like this—jumping into his arms whenever they were happy. Couldn't they consider the feelings of a man who had been a virgin for 22 years?

"Young man, are you selling this stone? I’ll offer 5 million!"
"I’ll offer 5.5 million!"
"5.7 million!"

The jade merchants at the scene were bidding frantically!

"Young man, I’m the boss of Tongyuan Jadeite. I’ll offer 6 million for this piece, what do you say?" A middle-aged man in a suit stepped forward and handed Jiang Cheng a business card. This stone was too special—ice-variety, no impurities, and solid through and through. Based on the cut surfaces alone, dozens of bracelets could be made, not to mention the rest of the stone. Adding in the scraps to make beads and pendants, making a few tens of millions would be no challenge at all.

Six million? Jiang Cheng gave a devilish smile and announced loudly, "Master, leave some room for bracelets, and give it another cut!"

Of course, with such a high-quality piece, grinding the crust away slowly would be best to get the whole thing out, but there was no need. He didn't need to auction it off to others; he had an agreement to sell this piece to Murong Xue. Another cut would be enough to confirm its quality!

"Is this young man being too confident? At this rate, it's worth 6 million, which is already incredible! Isn't he afraid of ruining it with a second cut?"
"Greed knows no bounds. If it were me, I’d sell it for 6 million! He only bought it for 1.05 million, why push his luck?"

People whispered among themselves, but Jiang Cheng remained unfazed.

Twenty minutes later, another commotion erupted. The boss of Tongyuan Jadeite bit his lip, filled with regret—why hadn't he offered more?

"Young man, I’ll offer 8 million!"
"I’ll offer 8.5 million!"

Good stones never lacked buyers. Jiang Cheng watched the frantic bidders and smiled faintly. "Master, another cut!"

The crowd was stunned. Another twenty minutes later, even Murong Shan was too shocked to speak. Three cuts, and every single surface was filled with high-quality jade!

"Holy hell! Is this a solid block of jade? Just a layer of skin on the outside? This is heaven-defying!"
"Where are the people who called the young man greedy? Come out and apologize!"
"Damn! That one cut just increased the value by at least another 4 million!"

The boss of Tongyuan Jadeite bit his teeth, a look of desperation in his eyes, and pleaded, "Young... young man, don't cut anymore, 13 million, I’ll take it!"

At this moment, Chu Yanran, who had been silent, finally spoke up. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Mr. Jiang, I’ll take this stone for 15 million! How about we make friends?"

Although Chu Yanran knew there was something inside, she hadn't expected it to be such top-tier jadeite! He only paid 1.05 million for it! The profit was astronomical! She didn't want to miss out on such a great opportunity to make money, so she made her offer immediately!

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to refuse, Murong Xue stepped in, looking triumphant. "I’m terribly sorry, Ms. Chu, but according to our agreement, Mr. Jiang has already sold this stone to me, Murong Xue!" She then looked at Jiang Cheng with burning eyes and whispered, "Jiang Cheng, I’ll pay 12 million for this stone, you don't have any objections, do you?"

Hearing Murong Xue’s offer, Chu Yanran laughed mockingly. "Ms. Murong? I offered 15 million, and you offer 12? Do you think Mr. Jiang doesn't know how to compare numbers? Mr. Jiang, friendship is one thing, but business is business. Don't let some black-hearted person cheat you!" After saying this, she didn't forget to cast a look of disdain at Murong Xue. In her mind, unless Jiang Cheng was a fool, he couldn't possibly sell it to Murong Xue for 3 million less.

But just as Chu Yanran was feeling confident that she would snatch the stone away from Murong Xue, Jiang Cheng spoke.

"Done! Ms. Murong, 12 million, it’s yours!"

Chu Yanran stood there, completely stunned.