Chapter 759: Chapter 739: The Fallen Crystal Lamp
After entering, they discovered that it was a very large venue, not at all the auction setup Luo Qianqian had imagined, with five long tables arranged from one end to the other.
On the long tables were stones of varying sizes.
Luo Qianqian pursed her lips. "So many stones, even if we pick all of them, when will we ever finish processing them?"
"What do you think that over there is for?" Jimo Cheng pointed at the tightly closed doors and shook his head in disbelief. "You weigh and record at the entrance, and only past that can you start processing the stones, limited to one per person."
While he was still explaining, a voice was heard from the other side. "Yo, isn’t that Jimo Cheng?"
Noticing a darkening on Jimo Cheng’s face, Luo Qianqian looked up and saw a man whose features were strikingly similar to Jimo Cheng’s, accompanying an elderly man. He also lightly chuckled and greeted, "Uncle."
Jimo Kong’s expression wasn’t much better upon seeing the man. And when his eyes landed on the elderly man he was escorting, it grew even gloomier. "Hmm," he then turned to Jimo Cheng and the others. "Jin Nian, Jin Yuee, let’s go."
Jimo Cheng didn’t hesitate at all, grabbing Luo Qianqian’s hand and following Old Master Jimo as if they were faced with some flood beast that would devour them if they didn’t escape swiftly.
Luo Qianqian didn’t ask further, merely staying quietly by their side, observing the gambling stones without saying much.
To her surprise, Old Master Jimo directly grabbed Luo Qianqian. "Wait until they leave then talk, don’t look around now." His tone was full of seriousness, clearly a warning. Luo Qianqian was startled, then nodded in agreement.
The elderly man on the other side scoffed upon seeing this scene. "Old Jimo likes this sort of thing now?"
The younger man, his face full of flattery, responded, "Dad, that must be my inconsequential little cousin and his insignificant fiancée. Despite being young, they are nothing compared to our Jiabao."
"Hmph, of course," the old man snorted and continued walking forward without giving them another glance.
Luo Qianqian shivered slightly and furrowed her brows, filled with a deep sense of disgust for that old man.
"Who is that person?" Luo Qianqian tugged at Jimo Cheng, her face full of revulsion.
Seeing Luo Qianqian’s expression, Jimo Cheng was taken aback and then shook his head. "You should know, besides the Four Great Families and our openly known families, there are also some clans hidden behind the scenes, rarely known to others, whose power should not be underestimated." It wasn’t exactly a secret, so it was fine for Luo Qianqian to know.
Luo Qianqian frowned. A hidden noble clan? Could it be some ancient martial heritage or someone with abilities like hers, or perhaps guardians of some mystical treasure?
"The Jimo Family used to be one of them... but soon, we will be kicked out," Jimo Kong said with a smile, without going into further detail.
Luo Qianqian didn’t ask further; she only knew that she disliked that man.
"Can I know his name?"
"Gongyang Chou," Jimo Kong replied with a smile. "Stay far away from him in the future."
Luo Qianqian nodded, her eyes unabashedly filled with disdain.
"Why does Jin Yuee dislike him?" Jimo Cheng asked.
Her expression serious, Luo Qianqian responded, "I just really dislike his aura. It feels like a mix between a red spitting cobra and a snake, very off-putting."
Jimo Kong furrowed his brow and, after a moment, shook his head, "Shall we go then? Most of the time when he is here, his luck is at its best." He really didn’t want to show his cards in front of such a person, not to mention provoking him, but if he decided to harm these two children...
"Let’s wait and see, so many people have noticed Grandpa Kong’s arrival, it wouldn’t be good to leave now." Luo Qianqian shook her head, touched her Jade Token, looked around, and chose a mediocre stone, quietly informing Jimo Cheng, who examined it closely before casually telling Old Master Jimo.
There were surveillance cameras in this place, so they couldn’t expose themselves, hence they talked about other things while pretending to criticize casually.
It didn’t raise anyone’s suspicion, Luo Qianqian even looked regretfully at the stone in her hand as if it were a loss that Jimo Kong hadn’t chosen it.
Jimo Cheng felt like saying, the three of them really deserved an award, something like Best Actor.
Jimo Kong didn’t look nervous at all, even maintaining his usual excitement, "I spotted it at first glance, I definitely won’t lose to you old stinker this time!" He casually handed it over to a professional stone cutter, then stood aside to greet the old master who had approached him first.
Luo Qianqian, meanwhile, clung to Jimo Cheng’s arm, her smile gentle, "Jin Nian, do you think Grandpa will win?"
Feeling a sudden gaze fall upon her, Luo Qianqian pinched the inside of Jimo Cheng’s wrist.
Jimo Cheng sighed, "Every time Grandpa is just...oh..." His face showing helpless resignation, looking very much like a grandson who had his brain wracked because his grandpa wouldn’t take advice.
Luo Qianqian blinked, "Can we buy the best one for Grandpa? Would that make Grandpa happy?"
Jimo Cheng touched her head affectionately, "What you buy is the best. Let’s buy some top-notch midnight snacks for Grandpa later, that will make him happy."
Luo Qianqian blushed immediately, hey hey hey, must you flirt like this?
Just then, Luo Qianqian felt something was off, she grabbed Jimo Cheng’s hand and walked away to the side.
A few seconds later, they watched as a crystal lamp suddenly fell where they had been standing; if they hadn’t moved, one of them would’ve certainly been injured.
Luo Qianqian was startled at first, then immediately threw herself into Jimo Cheng’s arms, sobbing loudly, "Scared, so scared... waah..."
Jimo Cheng was startled too. Had Luo Qianqian just pulled him away from disaster?
But feeling the tears of Luo Qianqian against him, he hugged her tightly, "Don’t be scared, Jin Yue, don’t be scared..."
Jimo Kong was also startled by the sudden incident. He quickly hurried over to the two children, glanced at the shattered debris on the ground, and, without needing a word from them, understood what had happened, pursed his lips, puffing up with anger, "What kind of shoddy quality is this? It almost fell on my kids!!!"
Staff immediately came out to clean up and console, and Jimo Kong didn’t care about his stone anymore, "Let’s go, let’s go home, ah, Jin Yue, don’t cry, Grandpa will make a funny face for you." He then really made good on his word and pulled a silly face responsibly.
Luo Qianqian buried her face in Jimo Cheng’s chest, utterly speechless. Was this how you pacify a three-year-old?
A moment later, she looked sideways and just happened to catch Jimo Kong rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue in a ghostly fashion, and she burst out laughing.
A bubble of snot even appeared.
"Let’s go, let’s go, no more playing around, we’re going home..." Jimo Cheng told the old man from earlier, "Put my losses on my tab, I’m going home first, old age doesn’t handle scares well..."
