Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 165: Chapter 162: The Unlucky Zhou Zhen

“No–how could–how could this happen–”

Zhou Zhen’s face turned crimson, as blood rushed to his head in an instant. He yanked Liang Jinhong to his feet, who had fallen to the ground, and stared incredulously at the fragments scattered before him, his mind blank.

Standing below the stage, Ouyang Jun and Qin Tian were also stunned, instinctively stepping back as cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Su Jinyuan too stared intently at the shattered jade, a flash of relief passing through his eyes like one who had narrowly escaped disaster.

Off to the side, Liu Meiling had also witnessed the scene and shakily took out her phone to call Jin Youtai.

Jin Youtai had already boarded a bus back to Guangcheng. Upon receiving the news from Liu Meiling, his face immediately turned ashen, and his arms trembled uncontrollably, barely able to hold onto his phone.

“Understood. Come back now, I’m already on my way back to Guangcheng,” he instructed before hanging up.

His gaze out of the window, his thoughts drifted to somewhere distant.

If he hadn’t come to his senses in that final moment, or if Liang Jinhong hadn’t appeared just in time, would that wretched piece of jadeite have shattered right before his eyes? Just the thought of that scenario made Jin Youtai shudder with fear, his legs turning to jelly.

The Ice-type jadeite had been a sure bet, yet no one could have anticipated such a catastrophe. As the crowd looked upon the disarray of fragments, a sudden uproar ensued, and exclamations and chatter quickly overtook the entire venue.

Zhou Zhen had already collapsed on the ground, unable to bear the immense blow delivered by the jadeite, while Liang Jinhong managed to recover from the shock within minutes. Thinking of Jin Pangzi, who had sold him the raw stone, Liang Jinhong’s face darkened, and he pulled out his phone to make a call to someone.

“I bet he’s trying to find that seller to vent his anger,” Su Qingqing speculated.

Find him? Huo Sining’s lips curled in a sarcastic smile. That Jin Pangzi was a smart man; surely, he already knew the jadeite had broken and would have fled by now, not waiting around in Pingzhou for Liang Jinhong to settle scores afterward.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Liang Jinhong received a phone call. Whatever was said on the other end, his fists clenched tightly, a flash of ferocity in his eyes. After glancing at the worthless fragments on the ground, he choked with rage but eventually, he could only give up, throwing the sleeves of his robe and leaving without taking a cloud with him.

Once Liang Jinhong had left, the crowd finally began to discuss unreservedly, all of them expressing regret for that enormous piece of Ice-type jadeite.

Such a large piece of peerless jadeite, even at the annual Yangon, Myanmar stone gambling festival, might not be found. Who could have imagined it would break to pieces before their eyes!

“Experts always say it’s better to gamble on color than on fissures, and the reason lies right here! With cracks, even the best materials can’t withstand the strain!”

“Seventeen million gone, with just a few cuts, millions vanished in an instant. Today I really witnessed what it means to throw away a fortune!”

“Speaking of which, that fat guy was really shrewd. The moment he sensed something was off, he pulled back immediately, scamming Young Master Liang out of seventeen million. That Liang probably wanted to grab the fat guy for revenge but came up empty-handed!”

“That fat guy surely took the money and ran by now; there’s no way to find him. He’s not foolish!”

The excitement had dissipated from the venue, and naturally, everyone went their separate ways, each returning to their own homes. The crowd that had gathered for the spectacle was now leaving amidst a buzz of discussion. Only a few media reporters remained busy taking photos on scene. They hit the jackpot today, initially coming to see if the breaking of the “King Biao” stone would yield any big news, but they never expected to catch such dramatic material.

–Forty million “King Biao” stone cut into pieces on site, overnight riches dream shattered on the street.

By evening, news of the Zhou’s Jewelry scion’s disastrous forty-million-worth jadeite gamble had made headlines in all major newspapers. Early in the morning, Father Zhou received the news. When he saw the newspaper article, his blood pressure soared, his vision darkened, and he nearly fainted.

He had said that Master Zhao had been loyal and diligent in the company for many years and never once had the thought of leaving the Zhou Family; how could he suddenly submit his resignation? It turned out the trouble was caused by his “good son”!

“Look at the ‘good son’ you’ve raised! A real curse, he’s about to ruin all of the Zhou family’s fortunes!”

Father Zhou couldn’t help but explode with anger as he clutched the newspaper—he was on the verge of going mad with rage and had thoughts of devouring Zhou Zhen alive.

Since he had taken over the Zhou Family business, bad debts had been piling up. He was busy negotiating with banks and had only just managed to stabilize the company’s finances when his son carelessly created a huge mess.

Now, Father Zhou didn’t even dare to tell the old master about the incident, fearful that the old man wouldn’t be able to handle the shock and might faint.

Zhou Mei was also going crazy—when she heard Zhou Zhen say that bidding on “King Biao” would make a lot of money, she unhesitatingly pulled out her entire savings without a second thought. Five million was thrown in, only to be greeted by such disastrous news.

The moment Zhou Mei heard, her head felt like it had exploded, and she was on the verge of collapse.

She didn’t know whom to turn to for an explanation. Initially, Zhou Zhen had only mentioned borrowing two million, but she, driven by greed, insisted on investing five million in hopes of a slice of the pie. Little did she expect not to see any jadeite and for the five million to be gone in the blink of an eye!

Zhou Zhen had been listless ever since the stone gambling failed. He locked himself in a hotel room for an entire day, sitting on the bed with a pale, wooden expression, unwilling to utter a single word.

“A Zhen, don’t be like this. At least eat something, huh. If the stone’s broken, it’s broken; money is just an external possession, your health is what’s most important!”

Ye Zixin stared at Zhou Zhen with her big round eyes, her watery gaze filled with worry.

Zhou Zhen felt aggrieved and turned around angrily to look at Ye Zixin, “Who let you in? Why haven’t you left yet? I have nothing now, why would you still stick with me?”

Ye Zixin was also very disappointed; with the shattering of that piece of jadeite, her dreams of high-end jewelry vanished as well.

She knew all too well that with things having reached this point, Zhou Zhen would surely face scolding from the Zhou Family, and it was very possible that they would cut off his financial resources.

The thought that Zhou Zhen would no longer be able to take her to various high-end places or gift her enviable beautiful clothes and shoes made Ye Zixin’s heart feel suffocated.

She was beautiful with a great figure, gentle in persona, and highly educated—how could she be less than Su Qingqing?

Why should Su Qingqing be born with so much—luxurious residences, exquisite jewelry, and even never-ending money—while she, Ye Zixin, had nothing, and even the man she pursued required scheming and competing against Su Qingqing to obtain?

The more Ye Zixin thought about it, the more she felt resentful. Being scolded by Zhou Zhen like this, the pent-up anger and frustration inside her suddenly surged, and a twisted and venomous look flashed in her eyes.