Huo Sining instinctively glanced in the direction of Zhong Yuejin and Wang Zhongwei, and after seeing the flicker in their eyes and the subtle glow they revealed, she couldn’t help but slightly hook the corner of her mouth, showing a strange smile.
Seeing the odd expression on Huo Sining’s face, Zhong Zifan immediately became somewhat impatient and couldn’t help but ask anxiously in a low voice, "How is it?"
Huo Sining’s lips moved slightly, and although she didn’t make a sound, Zhong Zifan could easily understand what she was saying from the shape of her lips. It was only two words, but those words caused Zhong Zifan’s face to change color instantly.
Fraud, for jadeite gambling, it was almost deadly.
A chill flashed in Zhong Zifan’s eyes. He had said it before: how could Wang Zhongwei possibly have kept such a perfectly appearing rough jade at home for so many years without the desire to cut it open? Given Wang Zhongwei’s greedy nature, how could he stay so composed, keeping a raw stone that could potentially greatly increase in value as a collection? So, it turned out that Wang Zhongwei had deliberately set a trap, waiting for him to jump into it!
When he had previously examined the jadeite raw stone, Zhong Zifan hadn’t been without his suspicions. It was just that he had been too captivated by the stone, focused on buying it to become the treasure of his shop, blinded by its skin, unable to see the forest for the trees and thus failing to clear his mind about the trickery involved.
Now, with Huo Sining’s hint, it was like an enlightening moment for Zhong Zifan. The confusion and unease that had been in his mind all had explanations.
After ruling out all the impossibilities, there was only one answer left: there was a problem with this rough jade!
At that thought, the hairs on Zhong Zifan’s body all stood on end.
Even though the air conditioning in the Wang Family’s living room was fully on, Zhong Zifan still felt a chill down his spine, sweat running down his back almost forming a small stream.
Fortunately, he still retained a semblance of rationality. Perhaps feeling that something was not quite right with the whole situation, or perhaps the idea of spending so much money in one go made him feel insecure, so he didn’t go through with the transaction with Wang Zhongwei on impulse but decided to think it over once more.
Realizing he had nearly made a huge mistake over this jadeite raw stone, Zhong Zifan felt both relieved and frightened, and the anger in his chest rose rapidly.
Just when Zhong Zifan was about to confront Wang Zhongwei, Huo Sining quietly pulled at him, giving a subtle shake of her head without making a sound.
Zhong Zifan looked puzzled, but Huo Sining curved her mouth into a smile, lowering her voice and said, "Don’t rush, I’ll treat you to a good show in a moment."
Zhong Zifan was stunned, but seeing Huo Sining’s confident look, he could only suppress the anger inside him and force himself to remain calm.
"How is it, have both Boss Zhong made up your minds? If you’re ready, let’s get started, shall we?"
Although Huo Sining had whispered a few words to Zhong Zifan after inspecting the rough jade, Wang Zhongwei didn’t take her subtle actions to heart.
Firstly, he thought that Huo Sining, a young girl, definitely didn’t understand jade gambling. From the way Huo Sining had examined the rough stone, he knew she was a novice, who would handle the stone by turning it over and over without even using a magnifying glass or flashlight?
Secondly, Wang Zhongwei also had an inexplicable worship and confidence in Hu Youmin, believing that with Hu Youmin’s level of craftsmanship in fraud, this rough jade could deceive so many veterans, so cheating young newcomers like Zhong Zifan and Huo Sining would be a piece of cake, wouldn’t it?
Wang Zhongwei naturally couldn’t imagine that the jadeite raw stones, which were claimed to be impenetrable by any device in the world, were nothing but transparent in Huo Sining’s eyes. As soon as her Heavenly Eye opened, the characteristics of the raw stones became as clear as plain paper to her, and not even the slightest flaw could escape the scrutiny of her Heavenly Eye.Zhong Yuejin snorted through his nose, which was as good as an agreement, but Zhong Zifan remained silent. He was no fool—knowing this was a trap, if he still jumped in, then he would be an idiot!
Seeing Zhong Zifan’s demeanor, Huo Sining knew what he was thinking and couldn’t help but sigh internally. She tugged at Zhong Zifan’s sleeve and whispered, "Bid against him!"
Zhong Zifan had no idea what Huo Sining had up her sleeve, and hesitation flickered in his eyes.
"Let’s start then, with one million and five hundred thousand."
Seeing that Zhong Zifan didn’t speak up, Huo Sining simply spoke for him, taking the lead with the bid.
Wang Zhongwei, seeing Huo Sining speak up, showed a gleam of joy in his eyes but put on a reluctant and dissatisfied front, "Miss Huo, Xiao Zhong and I are conducting business here, your interference is rather inappropriate, isn’t it?"
Zhong Zifan couldn’t suppress his irritation at Wang Zhongwei’s pretense and replied with a dark expression and a disgruntled tone, "What Miss Huo means is what I mean. Rest assured, once the price is called out, we certainly won’t renege!"
Wang Zhongwei was waiting for this assurance from Zhong Zifan. Once he heard Zhong Zifan’s promise, of course, he had no more objections and quickly turned his gaze to Zhong Yuejin.
Zhong Yuejin took his time, casually taking out a cigarette and lighting it. After taking a puff, he said, "If I, the uncle, am too stingy, it would be too embarrassing given how generous my nephew is. As I said earlier, I am bidding two million. That’s still my offer, Boss Wang, isn’t that fair enough?"
Wang Zhongwei’s smile deepened as he quickly replied, "It’s more than enough! Boss Zhong is truly forthright!"
Hearing Zhong Yuejin bid two million, Zhong Zifan couldn’t help feeling a wave of satisfaction.
The raw stone material was fake, meaning this had to be a scheme cooked up by Wang Zhongwei. To have his uncle reluctantly part with two million for a fake piece, that was no small loss. Zhong Zifan felt that this was the retribution for all the bad deeds Zhong Yuejin had committed. Thus, he couldn’t help but secretly gloat.
Zhong Zifan thought he had seen through the essence of the matter, yet he was unaware that this was indeed a trap— but one crafted by Zhong Yuejin and Wang Zhongwei together. These two were in collusion, performing a double act, all to ensnare him alone.
The only one who saw through the real truth was Huo Sining alone.
To break this trap, one had to stir the waters and make them muddier.
Especially knowing there was a flaw in the trap that could be exploited, Huo Sining wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
It was clear at a glance that neither Wang Zhongwei nor Zhong Yuejin was a good sort. Since she was here to help Zhong Zifan, she had to stand up for him. The duo wanted to con others, so she was set to spoil their plan—let them end up with nothing for trying to trick others!
"Two million is nothing. For such a rare red-spotted raw stone, we’re willing to pay more! We bid 2.51 million!"
Huo Sining purposely emphasized the pronunciation of "two hundred fifty-one" as "two hundred fifty idiot," making the insult quite clear.