Chapter 42: Infection

Contrasting the Ruan siblings' resentment and fury, Arthur Vane was grinning from ear to ear seeing Seren Thorne's stones produce such high-quality jade.

He glanced at Silas Ruan out of the corner of his eye and said sarcastically, "I originally thought Seren might lose a little today, giving me a chance to show off the Vane family's financial power. I didn't expect that far from losing money, she actually made quite a profit.

"Sometimes, having a granddaughter-in-law who is too outstanding is a burden; she doesn't give this old man any chance to perform. Sigh."

Silas naturally heard the sarcasm in Arthur’s words. Looking at the pile of waste stone he had opened, his face turned livid.

Mabel Ruan was equally displeased, but she still comforted Silas with an understanding air: "Big Brother, it's fine. Losing at stone gambling is common. It’s only a million or so; we don't need to take it to heart. We can just buy ready-made jade jewelry later."

Silas did not relax because of Mabel's words. On the contrary, his expression became even uglier, looking as if he were severely constipated.

Actually, the reason he thought of stone gambling was that the money he had on hand wasn't enough to buy a set of high-quality jade jewelry. He came here hoping to save money and had spent several days doing his homework.

How could he have known he would not only lose everything but that his eye for quality would be inferior to Seren’s, who had picked two "broken" stones at random? How could he feel at ease?

Seren didn't care about the siblings' emotions. After opening two stones, she asked Danton Yang to pack up the remaining ones; she would take them back to the Vane house later.

A tall tree catches the wind. She had just opened two stones with excellent results, and Danton was already red-eyed with envy. If she opened more good stock, Danton might resort to some dirty tricks to get his hands on the jade.

Seren’s suspicions were correct; Danton was indeed beginning to plot a way to seize the two pieces of jade just revealed. Unfortunately, they were already out in the open. If he dared to forcibly detain them, Alaric Vane would likely never let him off.

There was no hope for the stones already cut, but he could swap the ones that remained unopened. Looking at Seren’s performance, she was likely "a pig eating a tiger"—even if the remaining stones weren't top-tier, they would definitely be profitable.

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Danton kept his face calm and said with a smile, "Mrs. Vane, the car you and Old Mr. Vane are using today isn't cheap. These raw stones are dirty; it’s better not to soil your car. Why don't I provide home delivery and have someone send the stones back for you?"

Seren saw right through him and replied coldly, "No need. We'll take them back ourselves."

Danton bit his teeth in secret, noticing Seren’s guard against him.

Little wretch, you think you're safe just because you don't use my car?

He would have someone pack several similar-looking stones and find an opportunity to swap them when they were being moved out. There was no money Danton Yang wanted that he couldn't get!

Just as he was about to call someone over to pack them, Seren spoke again: "By the way, Mr. Yang, I have something else to say today."

Danton was puzzled. "What is it?"

He had only just met this girl today; what business could she possibly have with him?

The corners of Seren’s lips curled up. "Actually, it’s nothing much. I just wanted to remind you: your favorite employee, Quinn, has contracted syphilis outside. Your backside and the private parts of the other employees in the shop are likely no longer clean.

"If you don't want your rear to rot off, you'd better go to the hospital for a check-up soon."

Seren had originally intended to extort some money from Danton with this information, but she felt it was somewhat immoral to know this and not tell the Yang family. Plus, since the old rogue was eyeing her stones, she decided to announce it publicly so he would be too preoccupied to plot against her.

As soon as she said this, the Ruan siblings forgot their anger and looked at Danton in shock.

Hunter Yang was even more stunned. After the initial shock, he felt Seren was slandering his father. His father and mother had lived in mutual respect and harmony for years; how could his father cheat?

And with men! Multiple men! It was simply sensationalism!

He was about to defend his father when Zack suddenly rushed over and punched Quinn in the face.

"Damn it! Why didn't you say you had syphilis earlier?! If I end up unable to perform, I'll definitely chop you up!"

Quinn’s eyes turned red, and he said aggrievedly, "I... I only found out about the disease two days ago. I didn't know before I was with you all..."

Quinn felt deathly wronged. He didn't mean to infect the others; he was a victim too!

Zack didn't care if it was intentional or not. He punched him again, knocking out one of Quinn's teeth, before issuing a threat and rushing off to the hospital.

Seeing Quinn admit to having syphilis, Danton Yang's face turned white instantly. At this moment, he no longer cared about Seren's stones and chased after Zack to get checked.

Damn it, no wonder my backside has been itchy lately. I thought it was hemorrhoids, but it’s syphilis! If this isn't handled well, more than just his rear would rot!

Seeing Danton leave in such a hurry, everyone understood the situation.

Silas Ruan hadn't expected Seren’s inner accusations against Danton to be true; his feelings became very complicated. He wanted to ask her if it was true that Mabel would kill the Ruan family, but she had already called the driver in to help. She left the shop, carrying the raw stones with the driver.

Silas wanted to chase after her, but remembering his previous insults toward Seren, he suddenly lost the courage. A few minutes ago, he was provoking her. Seren likely hated him, her "Big Brother," to death. Why would she answer him truthfully?

Mabel Ruan saw the strange expression on Silas’s face and took his hand, asking softly, "Big Brother, what's wrong?"

Remembering Seren’s inner thoughts, Silas instinctively pushed her hand away.

Mabel froze, then looked hurt: "Big Brother, why did you push me? Did I do something wrong to make you angry?"

Silas snapped out of it, realizing what he had just done to Mabel, and felt a surge of regret. Seren knew Danton's secret, but who's to say she hadn't just investigated it beforehand? Mabel clearly hadn't done anything bad yet; how could he distance himself from her based on a "future" that might not happen?

"It’s nothing, I was just spacing out." Silas took Mabel's hand again, adjusted his emotions, and said in a softened voice, "I wonder how Hunter and his father are doing. Let's go check on them."

Mabel nodded obediently, clinging to his arm as they went to follow the Yangs.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Seren and Arthur Vane got into the car. Thinking that Danton’s disease might spread to Mrs. Yang, Arthur felt it wasn't fair for her and asked Seren, "Seren, Danton Yang is 'unclean.' Will he infect his wife too?"