Ouyang Jun couldn’t help but laugh, thinking to himself that this woman was indeed shrewd, unwilling to lose out even in a verbal exchange.
"Alright, you’re right," he conceded.
Huo Sining watched the two with amusement. "What are your plans next?" she asked.
"My mom’s birthday is coming up, and I’m planning to buy her a diamond necklace. I just don’t get it," Ouyang Jun said. "Why are women so obsessed with diamonds and jadeite? I really can’t figure out what you’re thinking. These expensive, luxurious items that aren’t even practical, how come they’re so attractive to women? Oh, by the way, do you know much about this stuff?"
Ouyang Jun looked at Huo Sining expectantly.
"Not really," Huo Sining admitted honestly. "I’ve flipped through a few books and know just a little."
Ouyang Jun nodded and said with a smile, "Well, knowing a little is still better than us who know nothing at all. How about you come and help me take a look and give me some advice?"
Huo Sining shook her head. "It’s no problem for me to take a look, but I’ll pass on giving advice. I really haven’t studied this deeply. As far as I know, you’re both members of the Jade Association, aren’t you? If you don’t understand it, how could I?"
"Being a member is just for show, it doesn’t actually do anything. Besides, we aren’t like you, who studied appraisal professionally. We have regular jobs; this is just a hobby for us," Ouyang Jun explained.
At this point, Ouyang Jun couldn’t help but glance at Qin Tian and shook his head with a laugh. "I never imagined there was something this girl didn’t know. I thought she knew everything. Now I believe it; although some are God’s favorites, they aren’t omnipotent."
Huo Sining was somewhat speechless. God’s favorite? She didn’t believe in any god and wasn’t a Christian! She only believed in herself!
Qin Tian smiled at Ouyang Jun. "Let Huo Sining accompany you. I won’t join in the fun. I’ll go look around elsewhere and see if there’s anything else interesting," she said.
Ouyang Jun nodded without objection, and he headed to the diamond section with Huo Sining.
The jewelry exhibition wasn’t just about jadeite; there was also a special area for diamond jewelry displays.
This place gathered top jewelry companies from both China and abroad. Famous diamond brands had their booths here, including domestic names like Zhou Dasheng, Lao Feng Xiang, and international top brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Harry Winston, Boucheron, and more.
For many ordinary female visitors, compared to the expensive yet common jadeite jewelry, the luxurious diamonds displayed at these booths were far more captivating to their eyes.
Thus, there were always quite a few visitors lingering and comparing at these booths, hoping to find the perfect piece of jewelry for themselves.
Huo Sining followed Ouyang Jun to several stores, but they were mostly left unattended.
There were just too many visitors, and the sales assistants simply couldn’t attend to everyone. They’d have to find something they liked first.
After a while, the two turned into a booth called "Jinyu Liangyuan," just as a few visitors left, freeing up some space.
"Hello, welcome to Jinyu Liangyuan. Sir, our company is currently promoting many of our leading products. Would you like us to recommend something for your girlfriend?"
A sales lady in a pretty uniform came up to them, assuming Huo Sining was there to buy jewelry. She smiled warmly at Ouyang Jun over the counter and inquired.
Huo Sining was somewhat frustrated. What was with this woman’s perception—how did she come to the conclusion that they were a couple:
"No need, we are just normal friends. You just need to introduce him to the items meant for ladies in their fifties to wear."
The sales associate paused, realizing her mistake, and her face turned somewhat unnatural as she said awkwardly:
"If it is for your mother, sir, these platinum diamond-set jewelry pieces all have a vintage charm, and are quite suitable for the elderly. Sir, you might want to take a look at this one—it features seven 1.6-carat diamonds from Namibia. This vintage necklace was designed by our head office’s Italian designers and is a unique piece. The price is approximately two hundred and twenty-eight thousand."
These sales associates were like one woman armies; she started by showing Ouyang Jun a mid-range set of jewelry and then surreptitiously observed his expression.
If Ouyang Jun thought the prices were high, she would take him to see the lower-end jewelry. If Ouyang Jun didn’t like those, that’s when her big sale would come in—she would lead the customer to the luxury counters.
Huo Sining glanced at the jewelry and asked with some curiosity, "Is your company headquartered in Italy?"
No wonder Huo Sining asked—she had never heard of "Jinyu Liangyuan" before, much like her own "Jade Beauty" which seemed to have popped up out of nowhere.
The sales associate couldn’t help laughing upon hearing this, "My apologies, miss, for not explaining clearly. Actually, our ’Jinyu Liangyuan’ is a branch under the Tianyuan Jewelry Store."
Tianyuan Jewelry Store? The name sounded familiar. If she wasn’t mistaken, wasn’t that the property of Liu Chongren?
"Is your big boss Gambling King Liu Chongren?" Huo Sining couldn’t help but ask.
The sales associate looked at Huo Sining with surprise, probably not expecting her to know the name of their big boss:
"Yes, Tianyuan Jewelry Store was indeed established by Gambling King Liu, and Jinyu Liangyuan has only recently split from the main company. That’s probably why you haven’t heard of us. But our company is still affiliated with the head office, only now the subsidiary is managed by President Liu’s granddaughter."
So, Jinyu Liangyuan was Liu Yuxuan’s business? Huo Sining was somewhat surprised and exchanged a glance with Ouyang Jun.
Two months prior at the Ruili Gambling Plaza, Huo Sining had snatched a Mogang Rock from Liu Yuxuan’s hands, and had extracted seven Emerald Jadeite Heavenly Beads from it, which made Liu Yuxuan hold a grudge, seeking an opportunity to even the score.
That’s why the Liu family grandparent and grandchild had purposely invited her to a gamble and used words to provoke Huo Sining into accepting the challenge.
However, this time around, Liu Yuxuan lost the bet again, and in front of so many at the Ruili gambling scene, it not only cost Gambling King Liu Chongren his face but also forced him to comply with the bet he made with Huo Sining, promising never to participate in any jadeite public auctions in the country again.
Since she couldn’t participate in public jade auctions, it wasn’t strange for Liu Yuxuan to branch out on her own.
Since Liu Yuxuan switched to running a diamond company, that meant she no longer intersected with her own line of work. Huo Sining was not the type to completely destroy her opponents, so she didn’t really have any opinion about Liu Yuxuan going out on her own.
However, having been bested by her twice in a row, Huo Sining speculated Liu Yuxuan must be seething with rage.
According to Huo Sining’s understanding of Liu Yuxuan, the granddaughter of the Gambling King was a person of high pride. Such people were not magnanimous and were likely harboring resentment, definitely not the kind to let things go easily.