I discreetly rolled my eyes as a cunning scheme was coming together in my brain. I turned towards Richard, a shocked expression on my face, as I looked at the necklace and said, “My old boy Chard, it seems to me like the diamond in your necklace is fake.”
“That"s not possible! I have a certificate for it!”
“Oh really?” I chuckled as I said, “I invested in a precious gems business with my uncle when I was younger so I can tell whether a diamond is real or fake with a single glance. Just take a look at this horizontal line on the bottom of the box. It"s actually straight even though the light is refracted through the diamond. Just based on the principles of the refraction of light, you can tell that this diamond is fake. What did you major in when you were studying abroad? It can"t have been physics, right? If not, your common sense wouldn"t be so poor.”
Richard"s body shook and he looked rather embarra.s.sed as he replied, “That"s not possible. If the refracted light is straight, then this…”
I grinned before I took the diamond out of the box. After that, I pointed inside the box and laughed as I said, “Oh, it really is real. It"s just that this line wasn"t straight in the first place.”
Richard wiped the sweat off his brow, “Thank G.o.d…”
But the fun had just started. I touched the stone and my brows knit together as I spoke up yet again, “Oh drat! It looks like it"s still a fake after all.”
“Ah!?” Richard very nearly fell off his chair. “How is that possible!? It"s still a fake?”
“Just touch it. This diamond actually feels a little warm to the touch, right? But real diamonds don"t conduct any heat. No matter whether it"s thrust into a burning fire or steamed, it will still be cold to the touch. So, the only conclusion I can come to is that this diamond is fake.”
“Ah?” Richard"s eyes widened into saucers as panic began to seize his heart.
I laughed before I put the diamond back into the box. After that, I simply picked up the menu and started to order dishes without a single care in the world. I acted as if our little episode hadn"t even happened.
Sigh, only one fate awaited a turtle who lacked common sense, and that was to be instantly killed!
……
He Yi covered her mouth and clenched her stomach as she tried her best to hold back her laughter. She had already gotten used to my antics by now, so she knew exactly what I was up to. The diamond really was genuine, but Richard had been completely taken in by my act.
But little did he know that the only thing that my uncle dug up from the ground were watermelons!
Once we finished ordering food, He Yi"s mother asked Richard about being nominated for an outstanding youth award after he returned home from his studies. Richard immediately started grinning from ear to ear but his eyes remained fixed on He Yi"s face, neck, and chest. He continued to stare at her even as he talked about his experience overseas and bragged about all of the things he had accomplished in America.
I was howling with laughter on the inside as I heard him make his silly boasts. This fool definitely hadn"t done his homework on He Yi before he came for this matchmaking interview. He was entirely unaware of just how high-powered this beautiful lady was.
So I asked, “Hey Chard, what exactly did you study in Harvard?””
“Hmmm? I majored in biology, with a focus in DNA sequencing and genetic a.n.a.lysis. But I chose to study many majors while I was in America, this was just one of them.” He shot me a contemptuous grin as he looked towards me. “But I don"t expect you to be familiar with this subject, yes?”
I chuckled and replied, “Oh? Genetic a.n.a.lysis? So that means your studies also touched on genetically modified crops like GM rice, wheat, and soybeans, correct?”
“Hmmm, yes. What of it?” Richard was rather confused by my question.
I simply ignored his question and continued, “Most of the countries outside of China have already stopped eating genetically modified food. No one can tell just what sort of side effects eating these crops will have on the human body. But considering how much their DNA has been messed with, it definitely can"t be good for us. Thus, consuming these genetically modified foods is far too risky. However, a huge amount of these foods can still be found in China. In fact, I daresay that they"re flooding the domestic market. So I do sincerely hope that you have had no part in this vile affair, one which threatens the roots of our present and future populace.”
“No… Of course not…” Richard was more than a little fl.u.s.tered by my words.
“Oh really?” I didn"t let him off the hook. “Your eyes wavered when you said those words, so it looks like you"re suffering from a guilty conscience there, my friend. I"ve heard this about many sea turtles who returned home after studying abroad. They style themselves the elite of society, but in actual fact, they"ve transformed into nothing more than puppets who conspire with the foreigner to drain the lifeblood of our motherland. I"ve heard that they"ve even used things like genetic modification as weapons to harm the motherland. Surely, you aren"t one of those people, are you?”
Richard was now thoroughly fl.u.s.tered. He shot up from his seat, his blush reaching even his ears. “I… I"m not!”
I stood up as well and pressed gently down on his shoulder to guide him back to his seat. After that, I smiled and said, “Oh, don"t be so worried. I believe that you"re not that sort of sc.u.m. Because there"s no way that Aunty would introduce you to Eve if that was the case.”
I suddenly switched the topic by saying, “Oh but I must say, that diamond necklace of yours is really beautiful. Hmmm, I"ve actually been wanting to buy a proper necklace for Eve as well. Would you be the better man and allow me the honor of helping Eve put on this necklace? I can"t afford it, but I can at least live vicariously through you…”
Richard had barely survived the "great battle" of the genetically modified foods, so he wasn"t quite all there. He ended up nodding his head in a dazed and confused manner.
I took the chance to present Buddha with borrowed flowers as I took the necklace out of the box. It had a significant weight to it and this further confirmed its quality. Even He Yi"s mother was a bit confused right now. She had been under the mistaken impression that Richard and I had hit it off very quickly, so she was entirely unaware of the secret war that we had been waging against each other from the very start of this meal.
He Yi was a little shocked by my actions too, but once she saw me give the diamond pendant a light kiss, her eyes started dancing with excitement and a little bit of hope. She even started feeling a little shy and a light blush soon colored her cheeks. But she simply sat there quietly, looking like the most elegant and exquisite statue in the world.
I stood behind He Yi and gently lifted up her hair before I looped the necklace around her neck and carefully fastened the clasp. He Yi"s blush deepened as her mother and Richard both stared at her. She suddenly pulled my arms around her before she turned around to peck me on the cheek. She laughed as she said, “Thank you, Lu Chen!”
I felt a little embarra.s.sed by her sudden move. I was really only trying to tease that arrogant sea turtle, and I never expected He Yi to make such an intimate gesture in front of both Richard and her mother.
Ah, I"m dead. There was no way that He Yi"s mother and Richard wouldn"t realise that there was something going on between He Yi and I. As for what this “something” was exactly, even He Yi and I couldn"t quite pin it down.
……
I turned around and returned to my seat. I suddenly gave an awkward laugh and said, “Richard, this necklace is truly beautiful. Since you"ve managed to pick such an excellent necklace and it also seems like Eve really likes it as well, how about I buy it off of you? I"ll make this my birthday present to Eve. How about it?”
Richard"s face went deathly pale, “Can.. you actually afford it?”
“What"s your bank card number?”
“6220,4590, ***********”
Richard immediately gave me his bank card number and I could see the undisguised contempt in his eyes, “This is an ICBC card number. Don"t tell me that a glib punk like you can actually afford it!?”
I merely smiled back at him before I called my bank. After that, I gave them Richard"s bank card number and said, “ICBC, help me transfer one hundred and twenty-seven thousand RMB into this account, thank you.”
The female customer service officer"s att.i.tude was good! She let out a sweet laugh as she replied, “We"ve finished the transfer! Thank you for supporting and believing in ICBC!”
“Thank you!”
At this moment, Richard heard a “beep” from his phone. He looked at it and saw that he had received a fund transfer message from ICBC. His face immediately grew even paler as he stared at me in a dumbfounded manner. “Who… Who the heck are you?”
I grinned as I said, “I"m a member of the Frost Cloud Workshop in a game called Heavenblessed. That"s one hat I wear. I"m also working as the a.s.sistant to the HR manager of the GSS Suzhou branch. Is that good enough for you…”
Richard, “...”
He Yi was desperately trying to hold in her laughter. She looked down and discreetly sent me a message: “Omigosh, please don"t make him die of an apoplexy hahaha! He came all the way back home just for this. This child doesn"t have an easy life…”
I couldn"t help but chuckle as I sent a message back to her: “Hmph, if he didn"t try to act in such an arrogant manner, I wouldn"t have bothered tormenting him. What"s more, I really came here today to eat! It isn"t even worthwhile for me to match wits or courage with a man like Richard. He simply isn"t worthy! But I just have one question. Eve, do you really like that necklace?”
“Of course I like it! I"ll like any gift that you give me!”
“That"s good then!”
I kept my phone in my pocket and looked up to see He Yi lean towards her mother. Her hair cascaded down one of her shoulders like a beautiful waterfall and when her gaze met mine, her lips curved up in a smile that was as beautiful and mesmerizing as a drowsy autumn evening.
I was lost in that smile and even Richard had to resist the urge to wipe drool from the corner of his lips. After that, he shot me a look of enmity.
However, I had no inclination or desire to even acknowledge this fellow. The dishes started arriving one by one and our table was soon filled with delicious food. I poured out some beer for He Yi"s mother before very respectfully toasting her. He Yi"s mother didn"t seem to have a very bad impression of me either, so she smiled and nodded her head as she accepted my toast.
Finally it was time to eat. I swept the two plates nearest to me clean of food as I ravenously gulped them down like a hungry wolf. I even ate eight maize cakes all by myself.
Helping Lin Yixin defend that territory of hers had made all of us ravenously hungry. We definitely had to have a few more meals on Beauty Lin"s tab after this!
……
While He Yi and I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, it had quickly become a torturous experience for Richard. As an “outstanding youth” who had just returned from studying at a prestigious university in America, his self-esteem was very high. Yet he had been stymied by me time and again. It was as if he kept slamming in a wall that he simply could not hurdle.
When he suddenly started talking about genetics again, I simply kept quiet. After all, I didn"t know a thing about genes and DNA. As a master strategist, I wasn"t going to meet my enemy"s strength with my weakness. I waited for Richard to wear himself out before I pa.s.sed him a cup of tea and asked “Do Americans like to eat Mala Soup?” and that was enough to instantly KO him.
After that, Richard decided to cut his losses and quit while he was ahead. He suddenly excused himself even though he didn"t look like he had eaten his fill. But he still tried to exchange numbers with He Yi so he could contact her in the future, it looked like he couldn"t bring himself to give up on a super beauty like her! He Yi"s smile was like a refres.h.i.+ng spring breeze, her eyes sparkling like limpid pools of water, as she cheerfully pa.s.sed him my number. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l!
……
On the road back home.
“Ah, that really hit the spot…” I said as I patted my stomach happily.
I turned around to look at He Yi, who was driving, and said, “Eve, what were you whispering to Aunty just now?”
“We were gossipping about you.”
“Oh, what did you say about me?”
“Heehee…” He Yi giggled before she replied, “Mom said that you"re a very naughty fellow!”
I, “...”
Forget it, I"m okay with being a little bad. It"s not a bad thing, after all.
“What are you going to do when we get back?” I asked.
“I"ll go online to sell some items before going to sleep. I picked up quite a few good items when we were fighting G.o.ds of Destruction…”
“b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l. I thought we agreed that we wouldn"t swallow these items for ourselves! Can you still call yourself our guild leader?”
He Yi giggled before she proudly thrust her 34Ds into the air and said, “So what if I"m the guild leader? One can"t be silly when opportunity comes calling! Besides, you picked up way more items than me! To think that you still have the cheek to criticize me…”
I grinned as I stared at the seatbelt strapped across He Yi"s chest. That pitiful seatbelt was nestled in between my beautiful guild leader"s “twin towers”, and it looked so stretched that it was about to snap.
Worry flashed through my mind before I remembered that a Lamborghini should have very st.u.r.dy seatbelts. At the very least, it was way st.u.r.dier than the seatbelts of a Toyota Camry.
It was already nine in the evening by the time we returned to the workshop. Murong Mingyue and Beiming Xue were still online and they seemed to be busy hawking their ill-gotten gains. We could earn tens of thousands of dollars by selling the equipment dropped by the experts in G.o.ds of Destruction and Mad Dragon to normal players. This money was our precious living expenses.
……
There was still a fair amount of time before midnight, so I decided to go online. Let"s take a look at Lin Yixin"s new territory!