Willow Hale had heard from someone that Seraphina Sterling struck it rich gambling on stones the day before. Apparently, she cut open a piece of cucumber green jade, which had bosses scrambling to buy it. The Hale Family was currently facing a major crisis; their business was paralyzed, and the wealth they had accumulated over the years had been paid out as compensation to the various merchants suing them. The family was on the brink of collapse. They had paid out one sum after another, but Philip Hale was still stuck in a detention center.

The moment Willow Hale heard that even Seraphina Sterling could win big, she figured she could do the same. Grabbing her personal savings, she rushed over, full of excitement. The second she arrived, she ran right into Seraphina Sterling.

At that moment, Seraphina Sterling was browsing the stalls one by one. Finding a hidden gem wasn’t so easy. After what had happened yesterday, the stall owners on the first floor were already wary of her. Seraphina Sterling searched for a long time before finally zeroing in on a target.

She had already agreed on a price with the owner—five thousand—but just before she could complete the transaction, Willow Hale swooped in. "Mister, I’ll pay six thousand! Sell this raw stone to me!"

The stall owner glanced at Seraphina Sterling. "My apologies, but this young lady’s offer is higher than yours."

"I can offer seven thousand!" Seraphina Sterling said, steeling herself and raising her bid.

"Eight thousand!" The moment Willow Hale heard Seraphina Sterling up the price, she grew even more certain that this stone was a guaranteed win!

"Nine thousand!"

"Ten thousand!" Willow Hale shot Seraphina Sterling a mocking look. "Trying to compete with me on money? Do you really think you stand a chance?"

Seraphina Sterling glared at her. "Fine, you win! Since you want it so badly, I’ll let you have it! I just hope you don’t regret it!"

The happiest person of all was the stall owner. A stone that was originally going for five thousand had now sold for double that. "This way, Miss Hale. You can have the stone cut right over here!"

"Mister, that’s a shady way to do business," Seraphina Sterling said, deliberately raising her voice to attract the attention of the other customers at the small stall. "We had already agreed on a price, yet you went back on your word and sold it to someone else for a quick profit! You owe me some compensation for that, don’t you think?"

The owner could see that Seraphina Sterling wasn’t a pushover, and he knew he was in the wrong. Worried that the commotion would drive away other customers, he quickly forced a smile. "How about this? You can have any other stone you want for half price!"

"Forget half price. Just this little one. A thousand," Seraphina Sterling said, as if venting, and casually kicked a very unremarkable-looking stone in front of her.

The stall owner barely glanced at it before agreeing. It was the smallest one he had, and not a single customer had even asked its price. A thousand it was!

While they were talking, the stone Willow Hale had bought for ten thousand was already halfway cut. Willow Hale’s eyes were glued to the stone in the cutter’s hands, unblinking, as she waited in anticipation for a high-quality piece of jade to be revealed.

Willow Hale felt her own heartbeat sync up with the movements of the cutter’s hands. ’Show green, show green, show green...’ she chanted silently in her mind. She could already picture the scene after her big win, with merchants fighting over each other to buy the stone!

With the next slice, all that was revealed was a dark, murky mass. There was none of the brilliant green she had imagined—at best, there was just a faint, greenish shimmer.

Willow Hale’s heart, which had been lodged in her throat, plummeted into her stomach. "The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment"—no phrase could have described her better in that moment. All her hopes were shattered. Ten thousand yuan, gone, just like that.

Willow Hale glared venomously at Seraphina Sterling, her furious shriek attracting everyone nearby. "This is all your fault! If you hadn’t kept bidding, why would I have lost so much money?! No! You have to pay me back! Weren’t you willing to pay five thousand for this? Give me five thousand, and I’ll sell it to you!"

Seraphina Sterling rolled her eyes, shedding her usual calm composure. "Are you nuts? I didn’t force you to buy it. What does you losing money have to do with me? Why should I have to pay for your mistake?"

Willow Hale was so furious she could have spat blood, her voice growing even shriller. "If I hadn’t seen how desperate you were to buy it, why would I have offered such a high price for this piece of junk! I don’t care! You have to give me five thousand! If I hadn’t bought it just now, you’d be the one who lost money!"

Seraphina Sterling gave a slight smile and held up one finger. "One thousand. The most I’ll give you is one thousand, and that’s only because we’re classmates. I hope you learn to be a bit smarter in the future. Don’t go dabbling in fields you know nothing about! Otherwise, you’ll only end up in a worse situation than you’re in now."

Willow Hale ground her teeth. "Fine, one thousand!" ’It’s better than losing everything,’ she thought.

The corners of Seraphina Sterling’s mouth lifted in a small smirk. She glanced at the half-cut stone on the ground. ’An amateur will always be an amateur. Does she really think all jade is green?’