Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 25

Bernano, of course, desired Rong Jingtang’s… Forget it. He couldn’t imagine what his dear Rong would look like when smiling… But this little beauty’s smile was also lovely! It made his heart stir a little.

Bernano waved enthusiastically and foolishly at Jiang Rui, giving him a thumbs-up and praising him with a clumsy Chinese phrase: “Gān de piàoliang” (Well done/Nice job).

The smile on Jiang Rui’s face broadened. If he hadn’t confirmed it with Rong Jingtang, he would definitely not believe that this silly-looking foreigner was the eldest young master of the Bernano family, the bona fide heir to the Mafia.

Following Jiang Rui’s gaze, Rong Jingtang met Bernano’s idiotic grin, frowning slightly. He planned to have Uncle Cheng contact New City as soon as Jiang Rui was about to go on stage. Old Vic’s only son died young, leaving only one biological grandson, and he was likely missing him greatly these days.

Jiang Rui didn’t pay too much attention to Bernano, turning his attention to the person beside him. He said, “You didn’t seem anxious at all just now.”

Rong Jingtang was not sitting upright now; instead, he was leaning lazily against the seat back, one arm resting on the back of Jiang Rui’s chair. This posture was somewhat intimate, giving Jiang Rui the illusion that he was being held in his embrace.

Jiang Rui’s hands, resting on his knees, clenched subconsciously. He remembered when Rong Jingtang had also draped his arm over his shoulder during the match against Xie Yuqian. He hadn’t felt anything then, but why did he feel utterly ill-at-ease now?

There was only a half-arm’s distance between Rong Jingtang and Jiang Rui, and even less when he turned his head sideways. Jiang Rui could distinctly smell a unique cold fragrance on Rong Jingtang, like the scent of medicine, though Jiang Rui couldn’t identify the herb. It could also be some other fragrance, but it smelled surprisingly comfortable and pleasant.

“I said I believe in you,” Rong Jingtang stated calmly.

Jiang Rui’s heart warmed slightly. In his previous life, he gave Wang Chenghui his unconditional trust, and as for Wang Chenghui’s trust in him… Before his death, he might have believed Wang Chenghui trusted him a little, but now that he thought about it, Wang Chenghui had zero trust in him. Not preventing and guarding against him was the best he could hope for.

Rong Jingtang, facing him, never seemed to show any signs of suspicion or wariness.

Jiang Rui knew that a large part of this was probably due to the other man’s powerful self-confidence. Rather than saying Rong Jingtang trusted Jiang Rui, it was more accurate to say he trusted himself.

Precisely because of this, it proved that Rong Jingtang was different from Wang Chenghui. There was simply no comparison. In every aspect, the latter could not compete with the former.

When the rest period ended, Jiang Rui got up, preparing to head down to the arena, but his wrist felt a sudden coolness. He looked down and saw his wrist being held by Rong Jingtang. His already slender wrist looked especially fragile in the other man’s hand.

Jiang Rui felt the coolness on his wrist permeate and seep into his heart.

Rong Jingtang’s gaze lingered on that section of the wrist for a long time before he released it. He frowned and said, “After this match, we’ll go back. I’ll have Sui Ming prepare you some late-night snack.”

He then added, “You’re too thin. Your bones dig into my hand.”

Jiang Rui: “…” He hadn’t complained about Rong Jingtang’s low body temperature, yet he was complaining about him being thin? Jiang Rui wasn’t actually skinny, he only looked that way.

Since it was the other man’s good intention, Jiang Rui didn’t argue. He nodded in agreement and then went down to the arena.

Rong Jingtang watched his departing back for a moment and then sent a text message to Uncle Cheng: [Inform the Bernano family to take him away as soon as possible.] Uncle Cheng immediately understood and replied: [Yes, Sir. I will notify Mr. Bernano now and have him send someone to take Young Master Jarvis away immediately.]

Mu Yan was a naturally amiable person, and coupled with the close relationship between the Mu family and Rong Jingtang, he was also very polite to Jiang Rui. Mu Yan was very interested in Jiang Rui’s skill of selecting a hundred pieces of raw jade within two minutes just now, but due to their opposing positions at the moment, it was not appropriate to say too much. He merely complimented Jiang Rui a few times, planning to ask him for advice after the competition was over.

It was truly difficult to appraise a hundred pieces of raw jade. With the time limit added, it was mentally taxing.

This time, Jiang Rui didn’t attempt a dramatic comeback, honestly keeping pace with Mu Yan’s appraisal.

When he selected the rough stones, he seemed to deliberately avoid the ones Mu Yan had chosen. In reality, he had scanned all of them with his spiritual sense. Mu Yan had a decent eye, and several pieces he chose were high-grade Fu Rong-type and Ice-type jade. However, the time was too short. Four out of ten of the stones he picked could not produce jade, or were only surface-green, or the quality of the jade produced was poor.

Jiang Rui didn’t plan to keep a low profile in this competition. He had also told Rong Jingtang that he would give his all, so every piece of stone he held contained jade. Excluding those in Mu Yan’s hands, almost all the remaining good stones were in his possession.

Mu Yan’s appraisal speed was fast, not exceeding two minutes per piece; he only hesitated when estimating the value. Jiang Rui maintained a pace comparable to his.

The spectators in the stands were excited by this seemingly neck-and-neck competition, and the crowd grew larger and larger.

Xie Yuqian was originally quite confident in Mu Yan’s abilities, but his expression grew darker as he watched.

Xie Yuqian could tell how much effort Mu Yan was exerting from his sweat-soaked clothes, while the young man he hadn’t taken seriously looked relaxed, appearing completely at ease.

It was clear who was stronger and who was weaker.

Did that Jiang Rui truly possess skill, or was he just putting on a show? But would Rong Jingtang be so mistaken as to find someone without real ability to compete?

The Xie family, entrenched in Yi Dian for many years, only achieved their current power and status recently. This challenge against Rong Jingtang was his own reckless decision, one that several elders in his family disagreed with. If he really lost, the consequences awaiting him were obvious.

If he were betting against someone else, he could simply deny the debt afterward, but the opponent was no pushover; they were people from the Rong family. Even if those elders in his family loved him, and even if other younger generations in the Xie family were disappointing, they would not dare to welch on a debt to the Rong family.

The former consequence would only mean Xie Yuqian leaving Yi Dian with his people and capital to start over; the latter would involve dragging the entire Xie family down.

Xie Yuqian wondered why he had been so blind, risking his future just to get the batch of goods in Rong Jingtang’s hands.

He had always believed in “no risk, no reward,” but he wasn’t sure if he would have his usual good luck this time.

However, this was only the first round of the competition, and the result hadn’t even been announced yet. Even if he lost this round, there was still the second one. As long as he could win the second round, he still had a chance.

Jiang Rui was confident he could outperform Mu Yan in score, so he didn’t rush to finish the competition. Firstly, he was afraid of overdoing it and arousing suspicion, and secondly, Mu Yan was ultimately a member of the Rong family, so he couldn’t let him lose too disgracefully.

Five hours later, both men finished at the same time.

The hundred-plus stone cutters specially arranged by the association’s head began to cut the rough stones chosen by the two men.

As one piece of raw jade after another was cut open, everyone present, with the exception of Jiang Rui himself and the perpetually stoic-faced Rong Jingtang, was astonished, even incredulous.

Of Mu Yan’s hundred pieces of rough jade, only over sixty produced jade. Less than ten were high-grade, over thirty were medium-grade, and a dozen were poor-grade.

Given such a tight time limit, this result would have earned praise even from the few judges. However, the unfortunate truth was that Mu Yan was up against Jiang Rui today.

The probability of jade being cut was one hundred percent. At a glance, the worst was medium-grade, and most were Ice-type, Fu Rong-type, and even several pieces of Old Pit Glass-type!

In recent years, Old Pit Glass-type jade had been practically nonexistent in the market. Once it appeared, it would be instantly snatched up, making it priceless. While Old Pit Glass-type jade would occasionally appear at the underground association, there had never been a situation where seven or eight pieces appeared at once!

How good was Jiang Rui’s luck? If not luck, how did he manage to select a hundred pieces of rough jade that would all produce jade within an hour?

This was simply too bizarre!

Mu Yan looked at the pile of jade, most of which were of superior texture, color, and clarity, and was too shocked to speak.

Xie Yuqian was even more dumbfounded. If the entire process of this competition hadn’t been controlled by the association’s organizing committee, completely ruling out the possibility of cheating, he would certainly have suspected that Rong Jingtang had rigged the match.

In the underground association, it was common for people to cheat in minor, small-scale matches, but once the association’s organizing committee got involved, there was absolutely no possibility of cheating.

No one wanted to clash with the organizers of the underground association.

Who knew what colossal power stood behind the association?

Having operated for so many years, the association’s relationship with various powers was deeply rooted and complex. Offending the association was tantamount to self-destruction.

The scores of the two men were quickly tallied.

Jiang Rui scored dozens of points higher than Mu Yan, achieving an overwhelming victory.

Xie Yuqian’s face was dark and extremely ugly, while Mu Yan apologized awkwardly beside him.

However, everyone could tell that Mu Yan had given his best effort. No one could blame him.

Xie Yuqian was an eccentric person, but he didn’t lash out at Mu Yan, especially since he still needed him to win back the advantage in the upcoming second round.

After the referee announced the result, today’s competition concluded.

It was already the early hours of the morning, as the association was busiest when people were plentiful at night. It was normal for many people to have reversed routines. However, Jiang Rui was constantly worried that Rong Jingtang’s health couldn’t hold up, so he urged Rong Jingtang to go back as soon as he stepped out of the arena.

Some spectators who had witnessed Jiang Rui’s skill wanted to approach him for a conversation, but seeing Rong Jingtang, who wore a cold expression, beside him, they all backed off one by one.

Jiang Rui had won his first battle with great success. The person who should have been happiest was Rong Jingtang, yet externally, he appeared less pleased than Jiang Rui himself.

Rong Jingtang himself seemed to be devoid of emotions like joy or anger. He ignored Xie Yuqian’s sour remarks and left with Jiang Rui.

As the three of them passed Bernano’s seat, they saw that it was empty. They didn’t know when he had left.

He asked the man beside him, “Rong Jingtang, do you know when Mr. Bernano left?”

Rong Jingtang replied without changing his expression, “I don’t know.”

Jiang Rui didn’t dwell on it, assuming they had left early due to prior arrangements.