NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: Don't Let Me Down
Appraised at four hundred million?
Everyone present was shocked upon hearing this. A seemingly inconspicuous piece of rough stone could actually be valued at four hundred million after being processed, which was astonishing.
"Incredible, this person is truly impressive."
"No doubt, extremely powerful. And what's most amazing is not his ability to appraise, but to cut. Did you see that? If the cut on that rough stone had been even slightly off, the Imperial Green inside would have been damaged, and then it wouldn't be worth much."
"Exactly, I saw it too. Between the two pieces of Imperial Green, there was only a gap less than two millimeters wide, and he cut right through it. It's as if he saw what was inside before he made the cut."
"It's unbelievable, could he have a pair of golden eyes? Able to see through everything?"
"Who knows!"
"In my opinion, these two pieces of Imperial Green will eventually be made into a pair of jade ornaments. By then, their value might even double."
While the crowd was buzzing with discussion, Wang Ye had already stepped down from the stage. With those two pieces of Imperial Green, Wang Ye was guaranteed to enter the final round without any suspense.
Furthermore, he was going to be the favorite to win this appraisal event.
The interest in the following appraisals noticeably declined. With such treasures revealed already, the remaining rough stones, no matter how good, could not possibly contain better jade than the Imperial Green.
Of course, the judges and the three appraisers had originally thought that the rough stone chosen by Wang Ye was the least promising, which is why they started with his stone. Who could have imagined that once Wang Ye made his move, he would be invincible.
When all the rough stones had been appraised, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon. The final result was that, aside from the stone chosen by Wang Ye which was quite extraordinary, the ones selected by others were not too great.
The highest valuation was just over ten million, while the lowest was worth just a few thousand, not even reaching its cost price.
As for the rough stone chosen by Su Wanqing, it was appraised at six million, considered a moderate level. She ranked sixth, barely making it into the final round.
After the results were announced, Su Wanqing approached Wang Ye.
"Unexpectedly, you have some skill," Su Wanqing remarked indifferently.
"Just luck," Wang Ye replied modestly.
"As long as you know it's luck, that's fine. The final round is the real contest. Don't disappoint me too much by then."
After finishing her words, Su Wanqing's mouth curved up slightly, and she left with an air of pride.
In Su Wanqing's view, this time Wang Ye was just lucky. Even finding a top-grade rough stone didn't prove much.
Because the final round would be a competition of comprehensive strength. Even if Wang Ye was quite skilled at stone gambling, he might not be at an advantage in the final, especially since there was no stone gambling in the final event.
"Junior Brother, why do I feel like that girl has something against you?" Chen Li whispered to Wang Ye after Su Wanqing left.
In fact, Chen Li already knew the girl was named Su Wanqing, but she never considered that Su Wanqing would be the female lead in Wang Ye's engagement contract. It had been so many years; Chen Li had long forgotten what was written on it. After all, that engagement had nothing to do with her.
"Against me? Perhaps!" Wang Ye responded indifferently.
He was very clear that Su Wanqing was extremely unwilling to fulfill the engagement, so she definitely did not want to see Wang Ye win the final championship.
"Then you two really are a pair of avowed antagonists!" Chen Li sighed. "Alright, Junior Brother, isn't Miss Fang inviting you to dinner? I'll leave first then, not to get in the way of your good fortune."
"Senior Sister, why do I feel like there's something odd about what you said? Miss Fang's invitation should be because of Patriarch Fang's matter, how is it my good fortune?"
"Really? I don't think it's that simple, the way Miss Fang looks at you. As a junior brother blessed with romantic luck, that seems normal enough! Anyway, I have to go, senior sister is on her way."
Chen Li had also squeezed time from her busy schedule to accompany Wang Ye during the competition, and now that Wang Ye had successfully advanced to the finals, she needed to attend to her own hospital business.
"Senior sister..."
Wang Ye shouted after Chen Li's retreating figure, but she didn't respond.
Just then, Fang Feifei walked over.
"Divine Doctor Wang, what are you doing? You're acting like a child, all clingy and such!" Fang Feifei said with a slight smile.
Fang Feifei had seen the interaction between Wang Ye and Chen Li.
"Not at all! Miss Fang, you misunderstand," Wang Ye awkwardly explained.
Fang Feifei didn't press further, "Mm, Divine Doctor Wang, let's go! I've already arranged for the restaurant."
Wang Ye nodded in agreement, "Sure. But Miss Fang, could you please not call me Divine Doctor Wang? It feels a bit awkward. Just call me by my name, Wang Ye, that's fine."
"Sure, Wang Ye. And you don't have to call me Miss Fang, just call me Feifei," Fang Feifei said readily.
Feifei?
Wang Ye found it difficult to call her that because it seemed somewhat intimate.
Back on the mountain, his senior sisters often taught Wang Ye not to easily trust beautiful women, and not to flirt indiscriminately, or he could easily get caught up in it all.
Although Fang Feifei looked gentle and approachable, Wang Ye knew he had to stay guarded.
Because beautiful women are dangerous, and a woman like Fang Feifei is a hundred times more dangerous than the average beauty.
After leaving the competition venue, Wang Ye and Fang Feifei headed to the parking lot together. Fang Feifei drove herself, behind the wheel of a black Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography SUV.
Such a large vehicle isn't generally suited for a girl to drive, but Fang Feifei's personality is very assertive. Thus, driving such a car actually fits her personality well.
On the road, Wang Ye, who sat in the passenger seat, didn't initiate conversation with Fang Feifei, but just looked ahead.
In the end, it was Fang Feifei who broke the silence first, "Wang Ye, is this your first time down the mountain? You've never left in eighteen years?"
During the competition, Fang Feifei had already sent people to investigate Wang Ye.
However, the information they could gather was limited. Aside from the fact that Wang Ye had come down from the mountain only a few days ago, they found no other useful information.
Of course, Fang Feifei was already aware of the marital arrangement mentioned by Wang Ye at Su Yuanqiao's banquet.
"No, never left the mountain in eighteen years," Wang Ye replied.
"A sage who knows the world without venturing out. Wang Ye, you must be a hermit of the secular world! Coming down the mountain this time, you surely have some lofty ambitions, right?" Fang Feifei continued to ask.
Wang Ye smiled gently, unreservedly stating, "Not really, I have no lofty ambitions. I simply want to fulfill the marriage arrangement and then discover my origins. Beyond that, I desire nothing else."
"How can that be? With your abilities, you're certainly capable of achieving great things."