Chapter 180: Chapter 180: I Trust You

Mr. Sterling gazed at the solid block of blood-red stone, clicking his tongue repeatedly in admiration. The quality of this stone was simply outstanding—the best of the best. He adored it, so he turned to Vera Xavier and asked, “Vera, are you selling this stone?”

“It’s not for sale,” Vera Xavier said with a smile. “This is my birthday gift for Master Nathan. He just offered me a hundred yuan for it, and I didn’t sell!”

Mr. Sterling paused for a moment, then instantly understood. He realized Vera Xavier was indirectly warning him to be wary of the shop owner, but she’d done it in such a playful way. He burst out laughing.

He and the shop owner had known each other for some time. The owner wouldn’t dare pull any tricks in front of him, but he wasn’t an entirely honest man, either.

The shop owner said sheepishly, “I was just teasing you. You actually took it seriously!”

Vera Xavier now felt her decision not to have the raw stone cut at this shop had been incredibly wise. Otherwise, given the owner’s character, who knew what sort of trouble he might have stirred up.

Then she suddenly remembered something. In her past life, the person who had discovered the Emperor Green jade had the surname Zhuang… ’Could that have been Mr. Sterling?’

A strange feeling bloomed within her. Mr. Sterling, however, just smiled and asked, “You said you wanted to give Master Nathan a seal, right? This stone is more than enough. How about I carve it for you?”

Vera Xavier was instantly overjoyed. “Yes, please!” she said quickly. “Thank you so much, Mr. Sterling!”

After they confirmed the characters to be carved on the seal, Vera Xavier said, a little sheepishly, “I’m not actually sure what your usual rates are for carving seals, Mr. Sterling. If it’s too expensive, I might not be able to afford it.”

Mr. Sterling winked at her. “If you can’t afford it, there’s always Nathaniel, isn’t there? Just have him pay.”

Vera Xavier couldn’t help but blush. Mr. Sterling laughed. “I’m just teasing. This Chicken Blood Stone of yours is of the highest quality. It’s rare for me to come across such fine material, so I can carve it for you for free. There’s just one condition: can you give me the leftover material?”

Vera Xavier knew that in her past life, Mr. Sterling had become a master carver not just because of his skill, but also because of his outstanding character. Therefore, she wasn’t worried that he would compromise the main piece just to keep more material for himself.

Besides, she still had a piece of Emperor Green jade and would need Mr. Sterling’s help in the future. Befriending him had countless benefits and no drawbacks.

So she smiled and said, “Of course!”

Her quick agreement made Mr. Sterling pause. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll skimp on your material?”

Vera Xavier’s reply was remarkably frank. “You’re the expert. Even if you wanted to skimp, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. After all, when jade is carved, there’s always some material loss. A layperson like me would never be able to tell the difference. The fact that you’re asking me this proves you’re an upstanding person who would never stoop to such a thing. So, I trust you.”

An unusual glint appeared in Mr. Sterling’s eyes. Before, he had only remembered Vera Xavier as Nathaniel Nathan’s girlfriend. But now, he truly remembered her for who she was.

She wasn’t the least bit petty; she was intelligent and magnanimous.

This was, after all, only their second meeting, yet she dared to entrust him with a piece of Chicken Blood Stone worth over a hundred thousand yuan.

He smiled. “No wonder Nathaniel likes you. You really are different.”

Vera Xavier simply smiled back.

The two then agreed on a time. Upon encountering such rare material, Mr. Sterling’s original wish had been to spend ten days to half a month meticulously carving it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep