Babel Novel
Chapter 9
“Oh? This young lady wants to join the betting game?”
Tyson’s eyes lit up when he saw a stunning young lady raising her paddle, and he immediately sent someone to invite her over.
The guests inside the venue were shocked to see Xanthea raise her paddle.
“The Nightshade heiress? What’s she doing getting involved in a betting game?”
“So young, what does she know about gem betting? Maybe she just wants to make an appearance in front of everyone!”
“And making an appearance isn’t cheap. Tyson’s gem starts at 500 grand. Not everyone can afford that.”
“Exactly. If she gets even a little gem out of it, consider it good luck. Bad luck means just a piece of worthless rock and a waste of hundreds of thousands.”
“I’ve heard about the Nightshade family’s precious gem, who’s treated as a treasure by her family. To see her here, even her reckless actions are indulged, escorted by her two brothers no less.”
The protective brothers at that moment were massaging their foreheads, inwardly exclaiming that they were dragged into this, but as long as she was having fun, money was a minor detail.
When Xanthea passed by Lockwood rock identification and spotted Orion, it was clear he hadn’t expected her to join the betting game. A flicker of light passed through his deep-set eyes.
She smiled at him gently, her grin seemingly provocative or teasing, which dazzled h eyes.
Xanthea’s participation was just a brief interlude, and soon the focus returned to the professional gem appraisal teams, with only Orion’s intense gaze still lingering on h
Due to the mystery and unpredictability of gem betting, after many years, the inner ci still hadn’t found a reliable way to appraise them, relying instead on the color, shape, tiny fissures of the stones, with luck playing a major part.
The assistant thought Xanthea might know a little about gem identification or was just guessing based on luck when choosing the stones. However, upon her entry, she requested the assistant to open a gem’s glass cover.
“Ms. Nightshade, sorry, but according to the rules, you can’t touch the gem directly.”
is th
Xanthea uttered, “I won’t touch it, just want to smell it; against the rules?”
To smell?
Chapter y
The assistant, having been in the gem business for years, had never heard such an odd request. It was just a stone, what could she possibly smell? But smelling wasn’t against the rules, so he opened the glass cover.
Xanthea closed her eyes, leaned forward, and gently sniffed.
Calcium carbonate, sodium silicate, and silicon dioxide mixture, just an ordinary stone.
Since she was young, she had discovered her unique sense of smell, able to detect scents that normal people could not, but hadn’t discovered a way to make use of it.
It wasn’t until she took a chemistry class in middle school that she realized she was detecting the chemical components of items.
She proudly shared her ability, only to be considered a freak or accused of making it up. She never expected it to come in handy at today’s gem betting event.
“All right, next one.”
Just a sniff, and she wanted the next one? The assistant, puzzled, opened the next one.
Xanthea sniffed dozens of stones, all ordinary, with at most one or two containing mediocre quality fragments of jade.
Just as she was doubting whether this was all a scam by Tyson, smallest, most ordinary-looking raw stone at the venue.
ar steps halted at the
Was this the pure scent of jadeite? The assistant was about to cover it again when she stopped him.
“Wait!”
She sniffed again, unsure, and the pure, rich scent of jade filled her nostrils.
Xanthea couldn’t believe her eyes as she stared at the raw stone, which was really. intricate to detect.
Who would have thought that such an ordinary-looking stone, one that could be overlooked on the street, contained an extremely rare type of jade, so rare she couldn’t even name it.
“This one!”
This one? The assistant looked at her as if she were a joke.
Across the venue, which stone didn’t look better and more like jade than this one? The professional teams had passed this stone without a second glance.
She was about to spend 500 grand on what looked like a worthless rock, truly a novice mistake! All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
“Ms. Nightshade, are you sure?”
“Very.”
As Xanthea hammered the deal, the Lockwood Group’s professional gem appraisal teams announced their chosen betting stones.
Tyson led a team of top-notch experts to the banquet hall’s center, commencing the grand gem-cutting ceremony.
The entire venue held its breath as the thrilling moment unfolded.
First was Orion’s team. The expert placed the betting stone on a precision cutting machine, and with one cut, a piece of exquisite, high-quality emerald appeared, eliciting a thunderous applause from the audience.
“An exceptional emerald! What luck, Mr. Orion Lockwood truly is G od’s favored one, a real gem among men, undoubtedly the future leader of Twin Towers!”
“Such an eye-opener. I used to think gem betting was a scam, but who knew such a priceless jade could actually be cut out!”
“With the emerald appearing, its symbolism and value are clear; there’s no need for further competition, right? Lucky I bet on Mr. Orion Lockwood, can’t lose now!”
The room buzzed with discussions, and Tyson also sent his congratulations to Orion, but Timothy seemed utterly unfazed, waving his hand to have his team’s stone brought forward.