He had no idea about Ling Feng's background and assumed that Ling Feng didn't know much about raw stones and probably didn't have much money. Gambling is risky—most people lose nine out of ten times. And when you're up against an expert, your chances are even slimmer. It was better not to gamble at all to avoid losing face and money.
However, Ling Feng shook his head, rejecting her suggestion. "Let's set some rules first!"
Once they reached the premium section, a large crowd had gathered around Wang Cong, all there to support him. In contrast, Ling Feng had only Zhang Pengpeng by his side. The disparity only fueled Wang Cong's anger.
What good was having all these people around? They were just sycophants eager to curry favor. He only cared about Zhang Pengpeng, and now she was standing next to Ling Feng. The thought of defeating Ling Feng and winning her over became even more intense. It was as if Ling Feng was a dragon holding the princess captive, and he was the brave knight ready to slay the beast. If he could just beat Ling Feng, he could rescue Zhang Pengpeng.
"You go ahead," Ling Feng said, seemingly unfazed by Wang Cong's rules. He was confident enough to face whatever came his way, but to everyone else, it looked like Ling Feng didn't understand the rules of the game and had nothing to say.
"We'll do best of three. In the first round, no tools allowed. Each of us picks three raw stones, and we'll compare weights—heavier wins," Wang Cong explained in one breath, his eyes practically blazing with anger.
"Sounds good!" Ling Feng nodded and let Wang Cong choose first. The crowd burst into laughter, convinced that Ling Feng was clueless about raw stones.
Wang Cong scanned the pile of stones with sharp eyes, quickly picking out three that he was sure were high-quality.
"Your turn!" he said after making his selections.
"I'll just grab three at random," Ling Feng replied, mimicking Wang Cong's casual attitude as he picked up three stones. The onlookers erupted in laughter again.
"Is this guy serious?" one laughed.
"He's just trying to show off by copying Wang Shao!"
"He needs to learn the real skills instead of just playing around."
"It's hilarious—his stones are way smaller than Wang Shao's."
"This is about weight, and he picked those tiny rocks? He's definitely losing!"
As they laughed, Wang Cong secretly smirked, pleased that Ling Feng had chosen poorly. Although Ling Feng appeared to be picking randomly, Wang Cong had already chosen his stones based on quality, so he was confident about his chances.
Yet, as he watched Ling Feng casually select his stones, he thought, why not? After all, Ling Feng didn't really know anything about raw stones, and whether he took his time or picked at random, it would all come down to luck in the end. It was better to choose randomly; that way, if he ended up with junk, he could always blame it on bad luck.
"Alright, you guys don't know anything. Ling Feng is actually quite the expert!" Wang Cong said, feigning annoyance at the crowd's mockery. They laughed along, but their tone was still filled with sarcasm and disdain.
"Ling Feng, why don't you choose more carefully?" Zhang Pengpeng said, frowning at the tiny stones he had picked compared to Wang Cong's selections. She felt a mix of disappointment and frustration.
"It's fine; it's all about luck anyway!" Ling Feng replied with a smile, not wanting to explain further. It wasn't like he could say he had a magical ability to choose the best stones just by looking at them—that would just be ridiculous.
Plus, size didn't guarantee a good stone. Even a mountain of rocks could yield nothing but tiny specks of jade.
The two of them found two cutters to slice the stones simultaneously. After they were cut, the stones were rinsed and weighed side by side. Ling Feng's three stones weighed a total of three pounds more than Wang Cong's.
Ling Feng had won the first round!
"Did we win?" Zhang Pengpeng asked, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at Ling Feng.
He nodded, still wearing a calm smile.
Wang Cong, on the other hand, was visibly frustrated but held his anger in check. No matter what, he had to maintain his composure.
"Ling Feng, you've really got some hidden skills!" Wang Cong praised him, though internally he was cursing Ling Feng's luck for being so good.
"Just lucky, really," Ling Feng replied lightly.
Seeing Ling Feng's continued nonchalance only made Wang Cong want to punch him. How dare this luck-driven guy act so confident in front of him? Just wait—he would soon reveal that true skill beats luck any day.
"Alright, let's start the second round!" Wang Cong announced, outlining the rules again. In this round, no tools were allowed, and each person had to pick three stones. But this time, they would be judged on color and clarity—whoever produced stones with better color and transparency would win.
Ling Feng again let Wang Cong go first. This time, Wang Cong was determined not to underestimate Ling Feng and aimed to show his true skills. He had lost the first round because he hadn't taken Ling Feng seriously.
After thoroughly examining the stones for over ten minutes, Wang Cong finally picked out three raw stones he was confident about.
"Your turn!" he said, looking at Ling Feng again.
Ling Feng remained relaxed, picking three stones at random. "These three will do!"
The crowd erupted in laughter again, convinced that Ling Feng was just a lucky fool. Zhang Pengpeng frowned, feeling helpless but hoping Ling Feng's good luck would continue.
Wang Cong, meanwhile, was inwardly smirking, thinking, "There's no way your luck can hold out this time." After all, real skill would always triumph over luck. How many wealthy people had won big in the lottery?
But when the stones were cut open, Wang Cong couldn't believe his eyes.
"This can't be happening!" he exclaimed, shocked as he looked at the results.
In the second round, he had lost!
His three stones were decent—a couple of semi-transparent stones and one fully transparent one. But Ling Feng had produced three fully transparent stones.
The moment Ling Feng revealed his stones, gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd, drawing even more attention.
Zhang Pengpeng was so excited that she tightly hugged Ling Feng, cheering as if she had just won herself.
"Damn it!" Wang Cong seethed, watching as everyone shifted their attention away from him. Anger surged through him, making his eyes burn with fury. He had lost the best-of-three challenge.
But Wang Cong refused to accept defeat. He still thought of Ling Feng as just lucky. With a dark expression, he announced, "I'll cover the costs for these two rounds."
"But how about we have another match?"