Chapter 39: 1V5

Hearing Seren Thorne's inner thoughts, Silas Ruan's eyes were filled with horror.

Actually, after Xander Ruan went back yesterday, he had told them that he could hear Seren's inner thoughts. He had also claimed that Mabel Ruan never had any sincerity toward the Ruan family and that all she wanted was their fortune.

At the time, Silas didn't believe a word his third brother said; he even felt Xander was simply jealous because Mabel had accepted Silas's proposal, leading him to spread rumors to slander her.

He never expected that he would now hear Seren's voice just as Xander had.

However, despite this, Silas still did not doubt Mabel. He had watched Mabel grow up and believed he understood his younger sister’s kindness and purity better than anyone. His bond with Mabel over so many years wasn't something an outsider could provoke with a few words.

Even if he didn't understand how Seren made them hear her thoughts, he would never be bewitched into doubting his beloved Mabel!

"Seren Thorne, don't think you can use those dark arts to confuse me! You might have incited Xander, but you can't fool me!"

Seren: "?"

{What dark arts? This guy is talking absolute nonsense.}

{Actually, it feels like this isn't the first time. Others have said random, nonsensical things before, as if they knew exactly what I was thinking...}

Hearing Seren start to suspect the truth, Arthur Vane quickly spoke up to divert the topic: "Enough, enough. Seren hasn't even said much; as an older brother, don't keep picking on her. Since everyone is here for the stone gambling, let's head inside with Mr. Yang."

Arthur still held considerable prestige among the younger generation. Rebuked by him, Silas shut his mouth resentfully, though the gaze he directed at Seren remained full of loathing, as if she had committed some unpardonable crime.

Danton Yang stepped in at the right time, smiling. "Old Mr. Vane is right. Everyone is here to look at stones today, so let's not bicker over trifles. My batch of raw stones is kept in the back. Please, follow me."

The environment for raw stones was inevitably dirty and dusty. To avoid soiling the antiques in the shop, Danton had specially cleared out a back room for the materials.

As the group walked toward the back, Seren scanned the shop. She noticed that the employees were almost all male and quite good-looking, causing her to arch an eyebrow.

{No wonder Danton Yang soaks in this antique shop every day. The 'menu' here is quite impressive.}

Menu? Eat what?

Arthur Vane assumed Seren was talking about the antiques. Following her gaze, he realized she wasn't looking at the artifacts, but at the handsome, fit male employees.

Having lived so many years and seen many storms, Arthur realized in an instant what Seren meant by "the menu is impressive." His gaze toward Danton Yang immediately filled with even more disdain.

A man in his late forties—who knew he played so wildly in private? Behind his wife and children's backs, he was letting several men poke his backside.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Leading the way, Danton Yang suddenly felt a strong, contemptuous gaze on his back. Turning around, he caught Arthur’s disgusted look and was utterly confused.

What is this old man looking at him for?

Surely he hasn't taken a liking to me?

What a pity; he had no interest in old men. If Arthur Vane were thirty or forty years younger, Danton might have pursued him.

Fortunately, Arthur couldn't hear Danton’s inner thoughts. If he knew what this fat old man was thinking, he would probably vomit up last night’s dinner.

Walking beside them, Silas Ruan frowned. Seren Thorne was jealous of his sister, so it was one thing to malign her, but he didn't expect her to fabricate rumors in her head about someone like Mr. Yang, with whom she had no grudge. Truly, to the corrupt, all things are corrupt. In Seren's eyes, there probably wasn't a single good person in this world.

The group, each with their own hidden thoughts, soon arrived at the room filled with stones.

"Everyone, all our shop's stones are here. Feel free to choose. We're all friends, so I'll give you the lowest market prices."

Danton spoke beautifully, but everyone present knew these stones had no fixed price and were usually heavily marked up. It was lucky if a profiteer like Danton didn't double the price on them.

Having been in business for years, Danton knew talk wasn't enough to convince people, so he threw out some bait: "You probably saw the jade jewelry sets in my front shop. Any one of those is worth millions. Those pieces were all cut from this batch of stones; the probability of finding 'green' is quite high."

As soon as he finished, someone let out a laugh. Danton looked toward the source and saw the lingering smile on Seren Thorne's face. He frowned. "Mrs. Vane, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something funny," Seren replied with a faint, mocking smile. "I once saw a treasure-hunting show where a man brought a vase, claiming it was an antique worth tens of millions. He spoke with such conviction that many viewers believed him, but the appraisal revealed it was a fake not even worth a few thousand."

In any other context, Seren's words might have been fine, but saying this to an owner in an antique shop made the sarcasm unmistakable.

Danton had already guessed these two from the Vane family were here to cause trouble. Despite his annoyance, he maintained his friendly facade. "The story Mrs. Vane told is indeed funny. But what happens on a show is their business—it might just be a script to create buzz. My goods are all professionally inspected. They aren't like the inferior products on those shows; they are absolutely authentic and hold their value."

Hearing this, Arthur Vane couldn't help but snort. Shameless brat. He had tricked him into buying a fake vase years ago, and now he had the nerve to claim everything he held was real.

Seren kept that same mocking expression, neither confirming nor denying. Being watched by her like that, Danton felt a strange illusion that all his thoughts were being seen through. He quickly changed the subject: "Alright, I'll stop talking. I'll leave the rest of the time for you to pick your raw stones. I have an operation room next door. Once you've picked and paid, you can take them there to be cut."

Mabel Ruan clung to Silas's arm, looking apologetic. "Big Brother, I'm sorry to make you spend so much."

Silas patted her hand and smiled. "Spending money on my wife is only right."

Mabel gave a sweet smile, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. "Big Brother, you're so good to me."

Being kissed, Silas felt as light as air, dizzy with happiness. Watching the two be so mushy, Arthur Vane felt a layer of goosebumps rise.

Danton’s son, Hunter Yang, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected these two siblings to be together. When Silas asked him to bring him here today, Hunter thought Silas was preparing for the Ruan Matriarch's birthday in a month. He didn't expect it was for his younger sister.

If he remembered correctly, the third Ruan brother had also told him he liked Mabel. Both brothers liked their little sister; he had to say, the upper class was truly messy.

Seren: {What's so messy about that? Kid, you have no idea how wildly your own father plays. 1V5 is nothing to him.}

Arthur Vane: "?"

{1V5? Is this brat Danton having a royal rumble in bed?}