“Hey beauty, why aren’t you responding? Do you dare or not?” Chu Bai pressed on when Tang Bingyun didn’t answer.

Tang Bingyun snorted coldly. She initially didn’t want to argue with Chu Bai, but he was getting too full of himself. This guy isn’t even twenty yet; how could he possibly understand stone gambling? Once she wins, she definitely won’t let him off easily. She’ll make him sign a contract to work in the jade factory for life. Let’s see if he still acts so arrogantly then.

“You seem confident, well then…”

“Wait a minute.”

Before Tang Bingyun could finish her sentence, Wang Haoran interrupted.

“What does this have to do with you? Why are you butting in?” Chu Bai was very displeased to see Wang Haoran interfering.

“We’re classmates, right?” Wang Haoran asked.

“That’s right, but why are you bringing this up?” Chu Bai was a bit confused.

“Just answer the question,” Wang Haoran continued, “Your family background is average, and your academic performance is at the bottom of the class, correct?”

“Wang Haoran, what do you mean by that?!” Chu Bai felt insulted and was furious.

“Not denying it means I’m right,” Wang Haoran’s words became sharper, “We’re classmates, so we’re peers. This lady is a generation older than us, making her your elder. It’s rude for a junior to offend an elder.”

“Your family background is ordinary, your academic performance is poor, and your words are frivolous. Yet, you dare to aim for a wealthy heiress. It’s nothing but wishful thinking.”

“And the fairness of a bet lies in equal stakes. Your lifetime labor is limited and cheap, while Aunt Tang’s lifelong happiness is priceless. How can you propose such an unfair bet?”

“Wang Haoran, you…” Chu Bai was so angry he almost cursed, but he swallowed his words. He regretted not studying harder, as he couldn’t out-argue Wang Haoran. Cursing was also inappropriate in this setting. Chu Bai didn’t want to ruin the impression the old principal and this ice-cold beauty had of him.

“Haoran, you’re right. I don’t need to bother with this kid,” Tang Bingyun calmed down and decided to ignore Chu Bai.

[Ding, the host has prevented the protagonist Chu Bai from tricking one of the heroines, Tang Bingyun, gaining 200 villain points.]

Wang Haoran smiled secretly, feeling that his effort was worth it. He then looked at Chu Bai and pressed on, “If you’re really interested, I’ll gamble with you. As you said, you pick ten raw stones. If eight of them are profitable, you win; otherwise, I win. As for the stakes, it’s up to you. I’ll play along.”

“Are you serious?” Chu Bai’s expression improved.

“Serious. Everyone here can be a witness.”

“Deal!” Chu Bai exclaimed joyfully, “If I win, you must stay away from Xu Muyan from now on and not say a word to her. If you win, I’ll stay away from Xu Muyan and not say a word to her.”

Wang Haoran was amused by Chu Bai’s words. This guy has some nerve to propose such stakes. Xu Muyan already doesn’t pay much attention to Chu Bai and is closer to Wang Haoran. If Chu Bai wins, Wang Haoran loses big. If Chu Bai loses, Wang Haoran gains nothing. This shameless protagonist, have some decency, will you?

“Why are you laughing? Are you betting or not?” Chu Bai asked angrily.

“Bet.”

Even though Chu Bai proposed such shameless stakes, he wouldn’t win. Wang Haoran had nothing to fear.

“You’ll definitely lose!”

Wang Haoran said nonchalantly, “If I lose, so be it. But let me ask, how much money do you have? Is it enough to buy ten raw stones?”

“Oh, by the way, a friendly reminder: there are no raw stones here priced below five thousand.”

Chu Bai was taken aback. He had received a forty thousand yuan reward for reporting Sang Kun, paid thirty thousand for medical expenses, repaid Chen Zishi a thousand, and spent some himself. Now he only had a little over seven thousand left. That was only enough to buy one stone.

“Chu Bai, my young friend, just pick the stones. I’ll cover the cost for you,” the old principal offered to help Chu Bai.

“Thank you, Principal. I’ll repay you soon,” Chu Bai said gratefully, then smiled and walked towards the raw stones displayed in the tent. He used his X-ray vision to look at the stones on the ground.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes… ten minutes.

[Ding, the host successfully intercepted, preventing the protagonist Chu Bai from showing off through stone gambling, gaining 200 villain points.]

“Hey, how much longer are you going to look? Have you picked yet?” Wang Haoran urged.

Chu Bai’s confident smile had completely disappeared, replaced by confusion, shock, and embarrassment.

“Beauty, there’s something wrong with these raw stones. Judging by the marked prices, there are basically no profitable ones among these fifty or so stones,” Chu Bai said seriously to Tang Bingyun.

“I think you’re just a clown!” Tang Bingyun retorted angrily, “Several good pieces have been cut from these stones, including an imperial green glass type. How could there be a problem?”

“Someone cut out good pieces, even an imperial green glass type! Who did it?” Chu Bai asked in surprise.

“It was me. I cut 39 stones earlier, and about 33 were profitable. I made around 120 million,” Wang Haoran said casually.

“You?! You understand stone gambling?”

“I don’t. It’s my first time playing today, but I got lucky,” Wang Haoran explained briefly, then urged, “Stop stalling. If you can’t do it, just admit defeat.”

“I won’t admit defeat!”

“Then cut the stones.”

“I…” Chu Bai was at a loss for words. There were no good pieces left among these stones. What was the point of cutting them?

“How about this: according to the unwritten rule, surrender and lose half. I admit defeat, you win half, and I won’t ask Xu Muyan for tutoring anymore,” Chu Bai suddenly suggested.

“Surrender and lose half?” Wang Haoran was once again taken aback by Chu Bai’s shamelessness. This guy is simply a rascal. But for Chu Bai, this was completely normal behavior. He didn’t like studying and often mingled with street youths. It was common for him to cheat when he lost a bet.

Tang Bingyun was very disdainful upon hearing Chu Bai’s shameless words. He couldn’t even accept the outcome of a bet. Such a person was simply disgusting.

“Principal Ren, the student you brought is quite shameless,” Tang Bingyun couldn’t help but say.

“Hehe, is that so? I find it rather cute. Surrender and lose half, an interesting rule,” the old principal chuckled.

Tang Bingyun frowned, feeling that the old principal was too biased towards Chu Bai, but she didn’t say anything more.

Wang Haoran wasn’t surprised by the old principal’s words. Although Chu Bai’s behavior was unconventional, it wasn’t extremely evil. As a staunch supporter of the protagonist, the old principal naturally wouldn’t see anything wrong.

The old principal smiled at Wang Haoran, “You’re all classmates. You see each other every day. Don’t make things too tense. The suggestion to surrender and lose half is good. What do you think?”

“Since you’ve spoken, Principal, what else can I say?” Wang Haoran smiled slightly. The principal was clearly siding with Chu Bai, and arguing further wouldn’t change his stance. In that case, why bother arguing? Let’s see how long you can support Chu Bai.