Chapter 19: Fair Trade Deal

“Over two hundred thousand?” Dongfang Fei'er flashed a strange smile. “Oh my, oh my, you say there’s nothing between you two, but it’s only been half a day, and you’re already giving such precious gifts?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Lin Manxuan rolled her eyes and recounted the events from earlier at the company.

Of course, she didn’t skip the part about Hailan Celestial Melody, especially the incident where Zhou Xuebin wet his pants and shoes. Lin Manxuan emphasized that part with relish, though who knows what this girl was thinking. Anyway, Dongfang Fei'er was laughing so hard she nearly fell over.

Dongfang Fei'er’s gaze toward Yang Ning grew even more intrigued. She hopped off the sofa, not even bothering to put on shoes, and circled Yang Ning twice, clicking her tongue in amazement as if she were admiring some rare animal.

“Are you really that impressive?” Dongfang Fei'er’s eyes sparkled.

At that moment, Yang Ning instinctively touched his nose. He wondered, when a woman asks a man if he’s really that impressive, as a hot-blooded young man, should he reply with, ‘Want to try it now?’ Or maybe, ‘How about we try it in the room?’ Or even, ‘Why not try it tonight?’

“Come on, to my room.”

Holy shit, what’s going on here?

How is she even more eager than I am?

Yang Ning was still mulling over how to respond to such an ambiguous question when he found himself being dragged upstairs by Dongfang Fei'er.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up!”

Dongfang Fei'er was already sitting on the bed. Yang Ning looked over at the sound of her voice and instantly felt as if he’d been struck by lightning!

Yang Ning was so moved he could almost cry. After eighteen years of preserving his purity, could today be the day he finally bids farewell to his past?

Heavens! Isn’t this happiness coming a bit too fast?

Uh, darling, I’m not mentally prepared yet…

Rarely, a shy and bashful expression appeared on Yang Ning’s face.

But soon, he realized he’d been fooled once again by his damned overconfidence.

He saw Dongfang Fei'er take off a necklace from around her neck, on which hung a jade Buddha.

Damn it!

How disgraceful! Utterly disgraceful!

This is blasphemy, a defilement of the sacred!

Haven’t you heard of the Buddhist principle of purity, where form is emptiness, and emptiness is form?

Hey, let go of that jade Buddha and come at me instead!

Yang Ning’s eyes turned red with envy—and the object of his jealousy was a mere jade Buddha.

Just then, a notification from the System echoed in his mind:

Item Discovered: [Yellow-Patina Mutton-Fat White Jade Buddha]

Quality: Ordinary

Evaluation: A modern craftwork made from natural top-grade seed material from the Jade Dragon River. It features natural sprinkled gold patina with beautiful skin color and exquisite craftsmanship. Carved with a laughing hip-hop Buddha, it symbolizes blessings, longevity, family harmony, and prosperity. The jade’s luster is as smooth as mutton fat, warm and gentle, white as congealed cream, with a color like moonlight, texture fine as flowing sand, and sheen as soft as wax. Having been shaped by nature’s forces and imbued with the essence of heaven and earth, it holds some collectible value. Estimated value: 268,085 Huaxia currency.

Yang Ning’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. He was starting to understand the System’s quirks. For it to appraise something at nearly 270,000, if taken to an auction for consignment, it might fetch five or six hundred thousand, or even a million!

“By the way, I’ve got plenty more stuff. Help me take a look.” Dongfang Fei'er pulled out a large box from a drawer. When she opened the lid, Yang Ning completely lost his composure.

Item Discovered: [Supreme South Sea Golden Pearl Necklace]…

Item Discovered: [Natural Tahitian Black Pearl Necklace]…

Item Discovered: [Nanhong Agate Guanyin Pendant]…

Item Discovered: [Sugilite Necklace]…

Item Discovered: [Rubellite Ring]…

Item Discovered: [Tanzanite Ring]…

Looking at this dazzling array of jewelry and accessories, as Yang Ning activated his Eye of Appraisal and received a flood of data, he grew even more unsettled.

Who would have thought that a box no bigger than a drawer could contain luxury items worth no less than three million? Of course, that was just the System’s purchase price. The real value might even triple that.

“Little handsome, these accessories of mine are worth quite a bit, aren’t they?” Dongfang Fei'er’s seductive red lips parted slightly.

“Indeed, quite a lot.” Yang Ning snapped out of it and asked in surprise, “Fei'er sister, where did you get all these jewelry pieces from?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t swindle or steal them.” Dongfang Fei'er covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

That smile was enough to enchant anyone. Yang Ning couldn’t help but swallow hard. He couldn’t be blamed for lacking self-control. Tell me, which hot-blooded young man could resist a woman so sexy and alluring, yet fiery and passionate? Could anyone still call themselves a man if they did?

Alright, Yang Ning admitted that compared to those bold men who would forcefully take charge, he indeed fell short in manliness.

“Roughly how much?”

“If consigned to a professional auction house or sold through a company with such business channels, they could fetch around seven million. With the right buyer, it might even reach ten million. Of course, that would take time.” Yang Ning answered honestly.

“How long would that take?” Dongfang Fei'er frowned.

“Who can say for sure? If it’s quick, ten days to half a month. If slow, it might not all sell even in a year.” Yang Ning shrugged. “Goods are always available, but rich fools with too much money aren’t.”

“What if I lower the price?” Dongfang Fei'er pondered for a moment before asking.

“Fei'er, you’re not in urgent need of money, are you? You could borrow some from Miss Lin first.” Yang Ning smiled. “It depends on how much you’re willing to lower it. A few percentage points, or even ten or so, probably won’t make them sell immediately. But if the discount is too steep, they’ll sell fast, though you’d be taking a big loss.”

“I’ve tried every method I could think of. I’m still short about eight million. Manxuan has already lent me quite a bit, and at most, she can spare another three million or so now.” Dongfang Fei'er looked somewhat helpless.

Yang Ning’s heart stirred, and he probed, “Fei'er sister, how about we make a deal?”

“Oh? Let’s hear it.” Dongfang Fei'er seemed a bit surprised.

“I can take these jewels off your hands. Of course, my personal funds are limited, so I can only offer four and a half million. That’s all the money I have on me.”

Yang Ning planned to sell these jewels and jades directly to the System, which would immediately net him over three million six hundred thousand in cash. Adding the nine hundred thousand or so in his bank card, it would be enough to cover this transaction.

While he did intend to help, his main goal was to earn points for the Supreme System.

Points could be gained through specific tasks or by trading with the System. For every ten thousand Huaxia currency traded, he’d earn 10 points.

Note that this only required a transaction to be completed, regardless of profit margins. The only restriction was that the cost couldn’t exceed the selling price.

This was to prevent the Host from recklessly buying high and selling low to the System just to farm points.

The condition was strict—transactions could only be at fair market value, with no premium allowed.

Even without this restriction, Yang Ning wouldn’t be foolish enough to engage in loss-making deals. That would just be showing off how low he could stoop, right?

Previously, Yang Ning had considered buying luxury goods from major malls to trade at fair value for points. But which legitimate channel sold gold, silver, or jewelry below the System’s purchase price?

Dongfang Fei'er’s expression flickered between hesitation and resolve. After a long while, she finally nodded. “Deal!”