Chapter 185
Chapter 185:
The crowd’s reaction to the two-hundred-thousand-dollar price tag was a mixture of surprise and excitement, though some remained optimistic. “That stone looks like it might reveal some green. If it does, two hundred grand isn’t too bad p>
“Yeah, looks like this guy knows what he’s doing. Picked a good one right off the bat p>
Roger basked in the praise, already feeling like the winner.
Sonya couldn’t resist taking a jab. “Yelena, why don’t you just throw in the towel now? Don’t waste everyone’s time. You won’t find anything as good as this, let alone a better one p>
Besides, even if Yelena managed to find a decent stone, how could she afford it? Roger’s choice alone was worth a small fortune. Yelena was out of her league.
Sonya was already picturing the victory in her mind.
Yelena shot her a look that could only be described as “are you serious p>
Was Sonya really this delusional?
“Sonya, you’re jumping the gun,” Yelena said, her voice calm but cutting. “The winner hasn’t been decided yet. So, why don’t you take a breath? I can’t wait to see you on your knees, apologizing. It’s going to be a real treat p>
“You—!” Sonya’s face flushed with anger. “Fine, we’ll see who’s laughing then p>
Without another glance at Sonya, Yelena walked over to the display and chose her stone. In truth, she had already decided. Right in front of her, there was a small, unremarkable rock.
It wasn’t big, nor was it striking in any way.
It looked like something one might casually find on the riverbank.
To the crowd, it was just another plain stone.
And when Yelena selected it, the crowd gasped in unison. “Are you serious? That’s your pick p>
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 ⧼gⱥ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧽𝖼𝗈𝗺
“Yeah, it’s obvious. No way anything valuable’s inside that one p>
“Honestly, you might as well grab any old rock off the street. It’s bound to be better than that p>
“Right? I see stones like that in parks all the time. The shop owner probably just picked it up off the ground to mess with people p>
The shop owner’s face turned bright red as the crowd’s murmurs reached his ears. “Hey, stop talking nonsense!” he protested, his voice defensive. “I actually paid for this stone! It’s not like I just picked it up off the street.” True, he hadn’t spent much on it—it was a throw-in from a larger deal—but it was far from the worthless stone people were making it out to be.
He couldn’t let their baseless chatter ruin a potential sale. He quickly stepped in to defend the stone’s value.
Yelena remained unfazed, her expression calm and neutral as she turned to the shop owner. “How much for this one p>
The shop owner hesitated for a moment, eyeing the small, dark stone. He hadn’t expected anyone to pick it, but when she did, he felt the need to warn her. “Are you sure about this choice, miss? There are plenty of other stones here that are much better. I could even offer you a little discount p>
He wasn’t sure this rock had anything valuable inside, and seeing how young and seemingly clueless Yelena was, he figured she didn’t really know what she was doing.
Feeling somewhat sorry for her, he decided to throw her a bone.
“Alright, how about this—I’ll sell it to you for five thousand dollars.” The shop owner offered generously.