Rebirth: CEO's Sweetheart Reaches the Life Pinnacle!-Chapter 39 - 37: The Strange Young Master Leng

"Ah, it’s dogshit again!"

"I told you! How could it be so easy to win on a gamble!"

Those around sighed or gloated, and Li Si started doubting her own judgment.

Could it really be worthless? The stonecutter picked up the last piece and placed it in front of the cutting machine.

Li Si held her breath. If this one didn’t yield anything either, she’d need to hurry and rent out the store to get some money back!

"Ah, green, there’s green! Quick, be careful! Stop cutting! Polish the stone instead!"

The green in this piece got the retired old man more excited than Li Si herself. His booming voice drew the surrounding crowd over in an instant.

"This looks like glassy jade! Polish it and let us see!"

The stonecutter carefully polished the stone. Li Si anxiously watched as the jade revealed its bright green sheen, while listening to the surrounding chatter.

"Oh my god, it’s Emperor Green, but it’s a bit small!"

"Small or not, this will sell for a fortune! Is it that pretty girl’s? She’s made it big!"

The envious and admiring stares from the crowd were all directed at Li Si, as though she was a walking mountain of gold.

Li Si felt her emotions surge as well. None of the previous pieces had yielded any green, so she had completely resigned herself. She had even mentally prepared to accept the losses, knowing these pieces were freebies that came bundled with the main deal—it wasn’t surprising if they turned out to be worthless.

"Oh my god! This is top-grade Emperor Green! Little girl, it’s you, isn’t it?"

The middle-aged man she had encountered last time, none other than the shop owner, rushed over with two others, his expression gleaming with excitement.

Li Si felt slightly embarrassed and responded with a smile. One of the men was a strikingly handsome guy wearing dark sunglasses, someone she recognized at a glance. Upon closer inspection, she stuck her tongue out discreetly—wasn’t this the buyer of last time’s red jade? How come he’s here again? As for the other man, he was so thin his clothes hung off him, pallid with an unhealthy, sickly white complexion, giving off the air of a frail young master.

The shop owner introduced them politely, "Young Master Leng may not know, but Young Master Long might recall the red jade from last time?"

"I do. Oh, so it was you, little miss! What sort of amazing luck do you have?"

The handsome man addressed as Young Master Long looked Li Si up and down in astonishment as if trying to uncover what made her so special.

"Little miss, are you planning to sell this or keep it for yourself?"

"Uh, I’ll sell it!"

Li Si decided it was better to turn it into cash.

"In that case, little miss, if you trust me, let’s head to the office upstairs for a detailed discussion. There are too many people here, and it’s not convenient to talk."

The middle-aged man couldn’t hide his delight as he spoke.

Li Si nodded, grabbed the lustrous green jade, and followed the three men upstairs to the office, leaving the curious crowd outside the door.

Inside the shop owner’s office were tables and chairs with an antique charm. On both sides, display shelves held various antiques, though Li Si couldn’t tell if they were genuine or fake. The room carried a faint sandalwood aroma, soothing anyone inside.

Once seated, with tea served by the clerk who then exited, the shop owner glanced at everyone and took the lead in speaking.

"Little miss, my surname is Wang, given name Yi. Would you allow me to take a closer look and examine the jade?"

"Of course!"

Li Si handed the jade over generously, while Wang Yi, unlike her casual attitude, accepted it with meticulous care.

His eyes lit up brighter with admiration as he studied it, showering praise, "Excellent, excellent—this quality is only a notch below top-grade Emperor Green!"

Young Master Long was also thrilled, inspecting the piece for quite a while.

"Little miss, does your family have any connection to the jade gambling trade?"

"No, maybe Boss Wang just has good merchandise—I bought this along with the bundle last time." Li Si carefully observed their expressions, noting the peculiar intensity in Young Master Leng’s gaze as he studied her. Could it be that he knew her? Li Si shook her head—it was impossible!

"Embarrassing, embarrassing indeed. To think that my two top jade finds this year were uncovered by this little miss! Truly, the younger generation is remarkable! Back then, I must have underestimated you, little miss!"

Wang Yi couldn’t suppress his feeling that Li Si had been hiding her true capabilities, pretending to be a rookie. He felt conflicted, his envy quietly gnawing at him—if he had been the one to uncover this top-grade Emperor Green, how incredible would it have been? A pang of unfairness settled in his heart.

Li Si caught the subtext in his words but didn’t bother responding. After selling the jade, she didn’t plan on interacting with them again in the future, so why should she care what they thought?

"Old Wang, don’t start whining about this. Wasn’t your profit from recently shipping out those batches enough for you? Watch out for greed—the snake that swallows an elephant!"

Young Master Long teased him, chiding him for stooping to petty jealousy with someone much younger—a grown man acting so childish!

"Haha, well then, let’s talk price, shall we?"

Wang Yi stroked his beard and dropped the topic.

"Little miss, I won’t cheat you. If it were anyone else, maybe this jade could fetch 20 million at most, but I’ll offer you 30 million—how does that sound?"

Even though Li Si had mentally prepared herself, the price shocked her into dropping her jaw.

Thirty million, good heavens! Why did it sound so easy coming out of these people’s mouths? She suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded. Forgive her ignorance; she hadn’t seen much of the world!

"Deal, cash or transfer?"

Li Si agreed without hesitation. Young Master Long gave her an approving look—this girl seemed grounded, not overly greedy. He’d originally thought he might need to negotiate further!

Young Master Long pulled out his phone, made a call, then handed it to Li Si for her to provide her account number and name.

Li Si recited the details with a trembling voice, only realizing afterward how sweaty her palms had become, with beads of sweat forming on her nose.

At this moment, Young Master Leng, who had been silent until now, locked his bright-eyed gaze on her.

"Your name is Li Si? Where are you from?"

His voice was captivating—low, magnetic, pleasant enough to make Li Si’s body feel tingly. If not for his sickly appearance, one could easily associate his voice with an impossibly charming man.

"North City."

Li Si didn’t intend to lie; her slight accent would give her away anyway.

"Do you have any family left? What do your parents do?"

Leng Er’s tone betrayed a sudden intensity as he asked.

Even Young Master Long, who had been quietly savoring his jade purchase, was startled. This guy wasn’t acting like himself today. Ever since his car accident six months ago, his demeanor had undergone a drastic change—so distant it was like he’d become someone else entirely. If Long hadn’t grown up with him and recognized subtle physical traits, he’d almost suspect the man before him was an impostor.

Long had thought Leng would remain this way forever, yet his behavior now was utterly unexpected. Could it be that he was flirting? But if so, why ask about someone’s parents? The tone didn’t fit!

"Uh..."

Li Si was equally confused. Though Leng Er’s eyes were sincere and devoid of malice, wasn’t it a bit intrusive for a stranger to interrogate her like this? It really felt like he was conducting an investigation!

"If it’s inconvenient to answer, forget it,"

Leng Er said calmly after a long silence, as though he had never been eager for an answer earlier.

A text notification sounded, interrupting the moment. Li Si checked the amount—it was a massive number with too many zeros at the end. Double-checking for accuracy, her excitement nearly exploded—this was more than winning five million in the lottery!

No, scratch that. If it were the lottery, she’d have to buy six tickets and pay taxes—this was far better than thirty million tax-free!

Having money in her hands made her mood skyrocket—Li Si no longer minded odd questions.

"My father passed away; I’ve never met my mother since childhood."

Leng Er stared at Li Si with complicated emotions, as though searching her face for traces of someone important from his past.

Li Si sensed confusion and guilt in his gaze—what was going on? Could she resemble someone significant to him? Or was she his long-lost sister?

Forgive her overactive imagination; the rush of receiving an enormous sum had her oscillating between normalcy and delirium.