Chapter 265: [265] Tang, do you have a girlfriend?_1

Seeing Ma Qizhi’s dispirited appearance,

now some of the onlookers felt sympathy, while others took pleasure in his misfortune.

And many more were secretly tearing up the notes they had just taken.

What’s there to learn from the experience of a loser?

They certainly didn’t want to end up like him, losing so miserably.

Unlike the others who only dared to secretly gloat, Xu Xinling had no such scruples and exclaimed loudly, “Big young master, you won? Did you really win?”

Tang Feng looked at her indifferently, “What’s so surprising about that?”

Xu Xinling saw that he was still feigning calmness and slapped him unhappily, “Can’t you be less of a tease? Shouldn’t you be a little happier after winning the match?”

“I am very happy,” he said.

“Are you? Then why don’t you have a smiling face?”

“Who said you have to smile when you are happy?”

“How can you prove you’re happy without smiling?”

The two bantered like a couple, seemingly forgetting where they were.

Xu Tianhua watched the two with a smile, a hint of something different flashing in his eyes.

“Alright, the outcome of the match is decided. Mr. Ma, fulfill the bet,” Xu Tianhua hadn’t forgotten the matter at hand and turned his head towards the distraught Ma Qizhi.

“Fulfill the bet?”

Ma Qizhi finally came back to his senses, jerked to his feet, and said, “Who says I lost? I haven’t lost. Let’s keep competing; I don’t believe I can’t beat you…”

He glared at Tang Feng with a fierce look in his bloodshot eyes.

Tang Feng looked back at him calmly, “Mr. Ma, are you trying to renege on your word?”

A vicious expression appeared on Ma Qizhi’s face as he clutched his chest, “So what if I am? I think you all ganged up to cheat me, trying to trick me out of my Dragon Stone jade? No way!”

He was on the verge of madness, and the surrounding crowd backed away, fearful he might take extreme measures.

“Ma Qizhi!”

Xu Tianhua suddenly shouted sharply, his eyes staring daggers at Ma Qizhi, “You better think carefully; are you sure you want to default on a debt under my watch?”

That shout, like a great bell tolling, woke Ma Qizhi from the edge of frenzy.

He looked at Xu Tianhua with a fearful and shivering gaze, “Mr. Xu, I… I can’t accept this…”

Xu Tianhua’s anger subsided as quickly as it flared, returning to a casual demeanor, “A bet’s a bet.”

“Since you agreed to the bet yourself and even signed a contract, you should keep your promise. If you dare default, I will let you know the consequences.”

Ma Qizhi was well aware of Xu Tianhua’s influence and knew his words were not an idle threat.

He slowly reached into his chest pocket but couldn’t bear to take out that piece of Dragon Stone material.

He had put a lot of effort into acquiring that piece and even risked life and limb for it.

It was also because of that piece that he became a target, which was why he abandoned everything to hide away in Zhonghai.

That piece of Dragon Stone material was as dear to him as life itself.

Now handing it over was more painful than death.

Of course, that was just a figure of speech.

No matter how valuable jade is, it cannot be worth more than one’s life.

If he didn’t hand over the piece now, he would completely offend Xu Tianhua.

Although the Xu family was only considered second-tier in Zhonghai, it would still be easy for them to deal with an outsider like him.

“Mr. Ma, do I have to take action myself?” Xu Tianhua saw his hesitation and his tone became more severe.

Ma Qizhi’s body shuddered, and he quickly took out the Dragon Stone material, handing it over to Tang Feng with reluctance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Tang Feng didn’t play coy and walked over to take the material.

Ma Qizhi clung to one end of the piece, unwilling to let go.

Tang Feng didn’t bother being polite, simply snatching it away.

Ma Qizhi slumped to the ground as if his soul had been extracted.

No one gave him another glance, just a loser in everyone’s eyes, not even worth as much as a dead dog.

Everyone bypassed him and quickly rushed towards Tang Feng, scrambling for those two… no, three pieces of jade material.

According to the rules of the competition, the winner would own all four pieces of material.

Although Ma Qizhi’s one piece was a loss, the previous Glutinous Ice Type piece was still worth quite a bit of money.

In the end, after a bit of a “scuffle” among the crowd, all three pieces were snatched up by a jeweler from out of town for the price of forty million.

That jeweler originally wanted to buy Tang Feng’s Imperial Green and the Dragon Stone material as well.

But Tang Feng declined.

After all, he wasn’t short on cash now, and it was better to keep such rare materials at hand; they might come in handy someday.

Though the jeweler was reluctant, he had no other choice but to settle the bill and left with the three materials.

With the commotion over, the onlooking crowd also began to disperse.

But it was foreseeable that the day’s events would spread throughout Zhonghai’s jade gambling circles and become a hot topic of conversation.

When the crowd had gone, Xu Tianhua looked at Tang Feng enviously, “To pocket forty million so effortlessly, you’re making money faster than a mint. It makes me want to try my hand at jade gambling.”

Tang Feng quickly, earnestly turned to him, “Uncle Xu, please take my advice. The waters of jade gambling are too deep; it’s better not to get involved.”

“Why do I feel like you’re just showing off? If it’s such a deep water industry, yet you thrive in it like a fish in water, doesn’t that mean you’re very capable?” Xu Tianhua said, smiling and arching an eyebrow.

Tang Feng touched his nose, “Am I not capable?”

Xu Tianhua was momentarily taken aback, then burst out laughing, “You little rascal, your skin is really thick.”

Xu Xinling saw Tang Feng and her father getting along so well and felt inexplicably happy.

Xu Tianhua glanced at his daughter and then asked Tang a very serious question.

“Tang, do you have a girlfriend?”