"Rest assured, I won't drop it," the long-braided beauty said indignantly.
With every step she took forward, her foot would tremble slightly. Li Yang watched, amused.
Just as she was about to reach the stone-cutting area, Li Yang suddenly turned back in surprise. "Oh, right, beautiful lady, I haven't seen the back of this stone yet. You..."
"Ah!"
Before Li Yang could finish, the long-braided beauty tripped. The stone slipped from her grasp and fell.
*Thump!*
The stone hit the ground heavily, its edges and corners immediately chipped, and a good amount of stone powder fell off.
This scene directly drew the attention of the surrounding customers.
The long-braided beauty sat on the ground, clutching her foot tightly, sweat beading on her forehead.
When she dropped the stone earlier, one of its sharp edges had accidentally struck her foot.
"Useless!"
Xu Tianlong, who was watching the scene from the second-floor viewing platform, frowned and slammed his fist against the railing.
"Uncle, what is this kid up to? I think he did that on purpose," Kang Shuai chimed in.
"Anyone with eyes can see he did it intentionally, but do you have any proof?"
Xu Tianlong stared intently at Li Yang, unable to fathom his next move. However, he felt an ominous premonition.
"Oh dear, beautiful lady, look at you. I already warned you to be careful, yet you still dropped my stone."
Li Yang walked up to the beauty. Without showing any concern for her, he picked up the stone from the ground and feigned distress.
The beauty glared at Li Yang, her face flushed with anger. "This stone fell because of you, it has nothing to do with me."
"What did you say? With so many people here, don't lie with your eyes open. I didn't touch the stone at all, how could it have fallen because of me?"
"Your gambling stone venue is so large, surely you can't afford to compensate for one stone? If that's the case, who would dare to buy anything from your shop in the future?" Li Yang deliberately raised his voice so everyone in the hall could hear.
"That's right. This Golden Heavenly Eye is a renowned figure in the provincial capital. Their own employee broke the stone, they can't possibly make the customer bear the responsibility, can they? Where is the logic in that?"
"Exactly. If your shop can't afford to compensate, then you should just close down. This Mr. Li is a famous Treasure Appraisal Grandmaster in Jiangcheng, he wouldn't cheat you."
Many of the onlookers recognized Li Yang. As a familiar face in Jiangcheng, he didn't need to defend himself; others would speak up for him.
Li Yang shrugged and looked at the beauty. "You heard them. This is not my responsibility. Are you still going to make me responsible?"
"You..."
The beauty had nowhere to turn. She knew perfectly well this was a trap Li Yang had set for her, yet she had fallen for it.
According to the shop's rules, any loss caused by an employee's mistake should be compensated by the employee.
This stone was worth over a million, and with her salary, she couldn't afford to pay it back in ten years.
"What? Such a large shop, and you really can't afford to take responsibility?" Li Yang saw her defiant expression and asked with a cold smile.
"Young man, our shop operates on integrity. How could we possibly not afford it?"
Just then, a deep, cold voice echoed from the second floor.
Everyone turned to see Xu Tianlong, the Golden Heavenly Eye, arriving with his nephew Kang Shuai.
Upon seeing Kang Shuai, Li Yang feigned surprise. "Oh, I didn't expect Young Master Kang to be here too. What a coincidence, meeting an old acquaintance. How do you feel about that incident where you harassed Boss Shui last time?"
"Li Yang, you little punk, stop slandering me. When did I ever harass a woman?" Kang Shuai immediately retorted as all eyes in the surroundings turned to him.
If this matter were to spread, it would ruin not only his reputation but also his uncle's.
Therefore, he would never admit to such a thing.
Li Yang smiled faintly. "I didn't expect Young Master Kang to deny it. But I can understand. After all, with so many people here, you, Young Master Kang, need to save face."
"You..."
Kang Shuai, unable to contain his anger, clenched his fist and was about to teach Li Yang a lesson, but Xu Tianlong stopped him in time.
"Enough. There's no need to argue with him here."
Xu Tianlong's expression was serious. He then looked at Li Yang and said, "Young man, do not speak without evidence. Regarding the matter of this stone today, I admit it is our shop's responsibility. You do not need to pay a single cent."
"If you feel my apology is not sincere enough, you can choose another stone, and it will be on my account."
"Is that so? Boss Xu, do you truly mean that?"
Li Yang had been waiting for him to say this. He had deliberately caused the beauty to fall, partly to draw Xu Tianlong out, and partly to get something for free.
"Of course. My word is my bond, and I never go back on my promises," Xu Tianlong replied readily.
"Very well, since Boss Xu has said so, I will give Boss Xu an opportunity."
Li Yang nodded and said, "However, if this stone is obtained for free, will the usual benefits still apply? For example, a tenfold compensation for fakes?"
"Naturally. If you discover any fake stones in our shop, I will take responsibility!" Xu Tianlong agreed readily.
"With Boss Xu's assurance, I am relieved. I have already chosen the stone, it's the one that fell on the ground. I'll take it." Li Yang said with a smile.
"What? Didn't you just say that if I dropped the stone, even if a little powder fell, you didn't want it anymore?" the long-braided beauty asked coldly.
"Can't I change my mind now? Besides, I'm doing this to save your boss money, so he doesn't have to compensate for another one. As an employee, are you going to stop me?" Li Yang retorted.
"I..."
The beauty was speechless.
Li Yang smiled slightly and turned back to Xu Tianlong. "Boss Xu, it's just this one stone. Please help me cut it open. I'll accept whatever the result is, whether there's jade inside or not."
"Alright, Mr. Li, please wait a moment."
Xu Tianlong waved his hand and instructed a male subordinate to help Li Yang move the stone to the cutting area.
In just three minutes, the stone was cut in half, but the result was not as expected.
The male employee walked over with one half of the stone and said, "Boss, the stone has been cut. There's no jade inside."
"Oh? It seems the young man's luck is not so good today."
Xu Tianlong smiled calmly and turned to Li Yang. "Young man, nothing was cut out of this stone. You can't blame me for that. Can this matter be considered concluded for today?"
"Wait!"
Li Yang picked at his ear and said with a relaxed smile, "Who said we're done? I asked your man to cut the stone not to prove whether there was jade inside, but to prove that there was something wrong with this stone."