Chapter 13: Touching! A Robber?
As Du Xin felt the softness of the figure in his arms, his initial surprise gave way to sheer awkwardness. After a split-second internal debate, he decided to—for lack of a better word—show off a little. He conjured the necklace from his "Small World," thinking it was merely a beautiful piece—worth a few million, at least. He certainly hadn't expected it to cause such a sensation.
The audience finally got a clear look at the necklace, and a collective uproar ensued. Two distinct types of voices rose from the crowd: voices of sheer astonishment, and voices of skepticism.
"Is this... is this real? That necklace must be worth tens of millions!"
"It's a fake! It has to be! There's no way it could feature that many colored diamonds!"
The hall buzzed with commotion. Most of the seasoned businessmen in the crowd were admiring the necklace with ceaseless praise—so eager to examine it up close that they practically wanted to rush the stage to snatch it. The few dissenting voices, however, came almost exclusively from the clique of wealthy young playboys.
"Enough! Everyone, quiet down!"
Finally, it was Tan Chengjun who raised his voice, quelling the clamor across the hall.
"Uncle Tan, don't let this kid fool you! His background is completely shady; who knows what tricks he used to win over Xiaoxiao? That necklace is definitely a fake—he's clearly just after your family's money!"
The ringleader of the young playboys' clique ignored Tan Chengjun's command and continued to shout his accusations. Tan Chengjun's expression darkened; he spoke with evident displeasure:
"Elder Chen is the Chief Jewelry Designer for the Shenghua Jewelry Group. Whether the piece is genuine or fake—let Elder Chen take a look, and we shall know the truth."
At that moment, the elderly gentleman who had been standing beside Tan Chengjun stepped forward and walked onto the stage.
"This old man happens to be a humble jewelry appraiser. Young brother, your jewelry is undoubtedly authentic. However, I have never before had the privilege of personally appraising a piece of such immense value. My hands are itching to examine it—would you be so kind as to let me take a closer look? It would also serve as a definitive answer to those who harbor doubts about you."
Standing on the stage, the old man addressed Du Xin with his request—though his eyes remained fixed unblinkingly upon the necklace. Yet, Du Xin did not perceive his behavior as rude; for in Elder Chen's gaze, he saw only genuine excitement—not a shred of greed or covetousness. Such a man, Du Xin realized, was a truly simple and honest soul—and one most worthy of respect. "You're too kind, Elder Chen; of course, that's no problem at all."
Having agreed to Elder Chen's request, Du Xin handed the necklace—still inside its case—over to him. Elder Chen accepted it with great care, then pulled a jeweler's loupe from his pocket and began to examine the piece meticulously. He would occasionally furrow his brows in deep concentration, only to let out a sound of wonder and admiration moments later.
Five minutes passed before Elder Chen finally lowered his loupe; the flush of excitement on his face had yet to subside. He took a deep breath and spoke slowly:
"I have never in my life beheld a necklace of such perfection. The central purple diamond weighs approximately five carats, while the blue, yellow, and pink diamonds flanking it each weigh around three carats. Their colors are of absolute purity—indeed, they even reach the rare 'Fancy Vivid' grade. The craftsmanship is exquisitely intricate; even the dozens of smaller diamonds surrounding the central stones have been cut and polished with meticulous precision. Before stepping onto this stage, I estimated this necklace to be worth upwards of twelve million. Now, however, I would say its value is at least four times that amount—and that figure doesn't even account for its extreme rarity."
A collective gasp swept through the audience. A gift valued in the fifty-million range—truth be told, almost anyone in that room could afford such a sum. But who among them would actually choose to spend fifty million on a single gift? Not even Tan Chengjun's daughter could command such extravagance; for while Tan Chengjun might be the wealthiest man within his own local domain, he would scarcely rank among the top thousand tycoons nationwide. *That* was the true source of the crowd's astonishment.
"Impossible! It's a fake! You're all trying to trick me—and you," the young playboy shouted, pointing a finger first at Elder Chen, then at Du Xin, "you're in league with him!"
"Lin Hua! Shut your mouth!"
Standing beside Tan Chengjun, another middle-aged man—incensed by the young playboy's outburst—bellowed out a furious rebuke. "Dad! They're pulling my leg—and you've been duped, too! How is that even possible? Who would be foolish enough to spend fifty million just on a single gift? Not even for Tan Xiaoxiao's birthday would that make any sense!"
*Smack!*
"Shut your mouth!"
acutely aware of the eyes watching them—especially the displeased expressions on Tan Chengjun and Elder Chen's faces—Lin Jin rushed over and delivered a sharp slap across Lin Hua's face. Under Lin Hua's stunned gaze, he dragged his son away. Lin Jin feared that if Lin Hua kept running his mouth, things would only get worse. It went without saying that Tan Chengjun was the undisputed helmsman of the Tan Corporation; but even more terrifying was Elder Chen—who, despite appearing to be merely a Chief Designer, represented the pinnacle of the industry. To question his judgment was, in essence, to question Shenghua, the nation's leading jewelry firm.
With the Lin father-and-son duo gone, that pack of wealthy playboys also slunk away in disgrace. The venue was left filled only with murmurs of admiration and eyes fixed upon Du Xin. The ball officially commenced shortly thereafter, and a crowd of people immediately began thrusting their business cards into Du Xin's hands. Among them was a familiar face—Zhao Yang—who came over to offer his greetings. Before long, Du Xin had collected dozens of cards. Naturally ill-suited for such social mingling, Du Xin finally managed to spot a brief opening and squeezed his way out of the throng.
Retreating once again to a quiet corner on the second floor with Tan Xiaoxiao, Du Xin let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew—that was exhausting. I really am not cut out for these kinds of events."
Tan Xiaoxiao, however, simply gazed at Du Xin's face, wearing a goofy, blissful smile.
"Hey! Snap out of it. What are you doing? Why are you smiling like such a goofball?"
"Huh?"
Snapping back to reality as Du Xin waved his hand right in front of her face, Tan Xiaoxiao felt her cheeks flush crimson and hurriedly turned her head away.
"Um... well... thank you for today!"
Her voice was barely a whisper—as faint as the buzz of a mosquito.
"What did you say?"
With his acute hearing, Du Xin had naturally caught every word Tan Xiaoxiao said; yet, seizing the opportunity to tease her, he feigned ignorance and asked anyway.
"I said, *thank you!*"
Seeming to see right through Du Xin's playful ruse, Tan Xiaoxiao shot him a mock-scolding glare.
"Heh... *Hahaha!*"
Seeing her adorable, flustered reaction, Du Xin couldn't help but burst into laughter. Tan Xiaoxiao kept up her act of indignation for a moment longer, but before long, she too began to laugh. "Du Xin, how much did this necklace cost? We've only known each other for a few days, yet you're giving me such a valuable gift!"
Tan Xiaoxiao suddenly looked down at the necklace resting against her neck and spoke with deep emotion.
"It's not actually worth much. In my eyes, you are so beautiful that only something equally beautiful could possibly be worthy of you."
To Du Xin, the necklace truly wasn't expensive; the energy he had expended to create it amounted to less than a tenth of the value of the gold he had used. He had indeed crafted it with the intention of making something beautiful; the only reason he had chosen a diamond was simply to one-up that guy, Lin Hua.
In Tan Xiaoxiao's eyes, however, it appeared as though Du Xin had unhesitatingly spent fifty million just to buy her a gift—a realization that instantly brought tears to her eyes.
Amidst this romantic exchange—fraught with mutual misunderstanding—a large group of people suddenly stormed into the lobby downstairs. Some of them shed their waiter uniforms, others had previously posed as security guards, and a few had even been among those who had presented gifts to Tan Xiaoxiao earlier. Yet, every one of them wore a mask; most wielded long blades, while only two carried handguns.
"Everyone freeze, or I'll blow your fucking heads off!"
A thunderous roar echoed through the lobby, causing everyone inside to turn and stare. Unnoticed until that very moment, the lobby's security guards had all been neutralized. Upon seeing the dozen or so robbers, the lobby instantly erupted into chaos.
The commotion in the lobby naturally caught Du Xin's attention. He hurriedly led Tan Xiaoxiao to a guest room on the fourth floor.
"Xiaoxiao, a group of robbers has broken in downstairs. You stay here; I'm going to go take a look."
Tan Xiaoxiao had certainly heard the commotion, though she hadn't distinctly heard the robbers' voices. However, as a young lady of a prominent family, she immediately grasped the situation the moment she heard Du Xin's first sentence. She instantly grabbed his arm, shaking her head in protest.
"No! Don't go! Let's just call the police!"
"It's fine. I'm just going to take a quick look—they won't be able to spot me! Don't you worry."
With those words, Du Xin gently disengaged his arm from Tan Xiaoxiao's grasp, stepped out of the suite, and locked the door behind him.
The moment he stepped out into the hallway, Du Xin's demeanor underwent an immediate transformation; a look of sheer excitement spread across his face...
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