Chapter 81

Liu Xiong and Su Zhe quickly forgot about Zheng Yan; to them, it was just a minor episode, not worth too much attention.

Just now, Zheng Yan's arrival had interrupted Su Zhe and Liu Xiong's appraisal of the jade rough stones. Not long after Zheng Yan left, they continued to observe the five pieces of jade rough stones.

For each piece of jade rough stone, Su Zhe would touch the surface with his hands. After going through them once, Su Zhe had a bit of a grasp in his mind. Among the five pieces of jade rough stones, four actually reacted to the divine power in Su Zhe's body, meaning that four pieces contained jade, though their values varied. This was a rare occurrence for jade rough stones.

After a while, Liu Xiong also found a satisfactory piece of jade rough stone, so he and Su Zhe went to place their bets.

The five pieces of jade rough stones were priced from low to high, numbered from 1 to 5.

Su Zhe chose the No. 1 jade rough stone, valued at 1.5 million, with odds of 1 to 8. This piece of jade rough stone was the cheapest among all, but it gave Su Zhe the strongest reaction, which was the reason for buying this piece.

Many people placed bets, but few would bet on the jade rough stones. Only the No. 4 jade rough stone, valued at 4.8 million, was bought by someone. The other jade rough stones were still unclaimed. This gave Su Zhe a lot of convenience, so in addition to placing 2 million on the No. 1 jade rough stone, he also took another 1.5 million to buy the No. 1 jade rough stone.

Liu Xiong chose the No. 3 jade rough stone, valued at 3 million, with odds of 1 to 3. Like Su Zhe, Liu Xiong also bought the piece he chose, showing that he was very confident in his judgment.

The reaction of the No. 3 jade rough stone, though not as strong as the No. 1 chosen by Su Zhe, was still quite significant. Su Zhe couldn't be sure that a strong reaction meant a higher value, so he didn't interfere with Liu Xiong's choice.

After Su Zhe and Liu Xiong placed their bets, they quietly waited for the stone cutting to begin.

At this moment, Zheng Yan came over again and said, "It seems that Mr. Liu and Mr. Su have both chosen satisfactory rough stones. Mr. Su, since we have nothing to do, how about we play a little game?"

Su Zhe raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, what kind of game?"

Liu Xiong also sensed that Zheng Yan was not coming with good intentions and was deliberately targeting Su Zhe.

"We can bet on the jade rough stones you chose. I'm sure Mr. Su is very confident in the rough stone he chose. I'll pick one too, and we'll see whose jade has the highest value after it's cut. How about that?" Zheng Yan smiled.

"Oh, which piece of rough stone will Mr. Zheng choose?" Su Zhe asked with interest.

"I'll choose the No. 5 rough stone; it looks quite promising." Zheng Yan said casually, as if he had just randomly picked a piece of jade rough stone.

Liu Xiong couldn't stand it anymore. Zheng Yan was clearly bullying Su Zhe. The jade rough stone chosen by Su Zhe was valued at 1.5 million, while the No. 5 chosen by Zheng Yan was priced at 5 million. If Zheng Yan and Su Zhe were betting on the profit, it wouldn't be a big deal, but Zheng Yan was betting on the value of the jade after it was cut.

This meant that even if the No. 5 jade rough stone was cut and the jade was only worth 4 million, and the No. 1 jade rough stone chosen by Su Zhe was worth 3 million, the profit would be doubled. Even if Su Zhe's jade rough stone increased in value and Zheng Yan's decreased, Zheng Yan would still win, which was very unfair to Su Zhe.

Moreover, Su Zhe was with Liu Xiong, and Liu Xiong had already told Zheng Yan that Su Zhe was his friend. Now, Zheng Yan was still openly targeting Su Zhe in front of Liu Xiong, clearly not taking Liu Xiong seriously.

However, before Liu Xiong could speak, Su Zhe said, "Oh, what will Mr. Zheng bet?"

"A bet always needs a stake. How about we bet 10 million? Since the rough stone I chose is more expensive, if I lose, I'll pay 15 million."

Zheng Yan seemed generous, but in reality, it was still very unfair to Su Zhe, because the odds for the No. 1 jade rough stone were 1 to 8, while the odds for the No. 5 were only 1 to 1.5. Now, Zheng Yan was using the odds of the No. 5 to bet on the No. 1, which was a clever move.

"This isn't exciting enough. How about we double the bet, Mr. Zheng, what do you think?" Su Zhe gave Liu Xiong a look, signaling him to relax and not to stop him, as Su Zhe already had a plan in mind.

"Alright, Mr. Su is indeed bold. No wonder you are friends with Mr. Liu. I'll go with your suggestion. We can decide the winner soon. Of course, this is just a game, and I hope that no matter who wins, Mr. Su and I won't have any hard feelings." Zheng Yan said, secretly pleased that Su Zhe had foolishly agreed without him having to provoke him.

Finally, Zheng Yan was still a bit uneasy, to prevent Su Zhe from reneging if he lost, he added, "Well, I believe with Mr. Liu here as a witness, no one will back out."

After saying that, Zheng Yan left, not giving Su Zhe a chance to change his mind.

As for Su Zhe's quick agreement, Zheng Yan was somewhat suspicious, wondering if Su Zhe had some ulterior motive, but he wasn't worried about what Su Zhe's plan might be. At most, Su Zhe might have a jade expert guiding him. However, before the jade rough stone was cut, even the best expert couldn't guarantee whether there was jade inside, let alone determine its value. Jade experts are human, and they just have a higher chance of making a correct judgment compared to ordinary people.

But Zheng Yan still believed his chances of winning were high, because from any perspective, the No. 5 jade rough stone had a higher chance of winning. Otherwise, the price of the No. 5 jade rough stone wouldn't be so much higher than the No. 1. The price of the jade rough stone wasn't set arbitrarily; it was determined after many people appraised it.

"Su Zhe, do you have a plan?" Liu Xiong asked after Zheng Yan left.

Zheng Yan was clearly trying to trick Su Zhe, and Liu Xiong didn't believe Su Zhe couldn't see through it. Su Zhe must have had a plan in mind.

"My intuition tells me that I will win this time." Su Zhe smiled lightly and said casually.

If Zheng Yan had chosen any other piece of jade rough stone, Su Zhe wouldn't have dared to bet with him, but Zheng Yan chose the No. 5, which was the reason Su Zhe agreed to the bet. However, Su Zhe couldn't explain his reasoning to Liu Xiong, so he used the unreliable reason of intuition.

Liu Xiong smiled bitterly. He naturally didn't believe in Su Zhe's intuition, but since Su Zhe didn't want to reveal his plan, Liu Xiong wouldn't force him. Liu Xiong was at least certain that Su Zhe had a plan and wasn't really falling for Zheng Yan's trick.