The Jade Yard was nestled between two mountains, with a clear lake beside it—White Crane Lake.
A tall wall encircled the entire stone yard, and the closer you got to the center, the more rows of luxury cars you saw parked around.
At the very front stood a stone tablet, inscribed with four large characters: "White Crane Manor."
They called it a manor, but honestly, it was more like a resort—hotels and restaurants everywhere, all ready to milk the tourists for every dime.
Those restaurants came with full-on supermarkets and shops, and over by the lake, you’d see people already crowding around the self-serve BBQ grills, flipping skewers and having a blast.
"Yo, Young Master Wei’s in the house?"
Not far off, a middle-aged guy spotted Wade Wei and his crew rolling in. He let out a big laugh and strolled right over.
"Long time no see! Heard you got a fresh batch in your yard, so I just had to come check it out and show some support." Wade Wei grinned, but there was a chill in his eyes as he looked at the middle-aged man.
The Wei family was all about jade—always heading to Nanyun to gamble on stones, buy raw jade, and scoop up the best pieces from other gamblers to take home.
But in Capitalview, the Wei family wasn’t the only player in the jade game. Harold Zhou, the middle-aged dude in front of him, was all about stone gambling—no jade processing, just straight-up bets.
Normally, their two families minded their own business, but Harold Zhou swooped in and bought up every stone Wade Wei had ordered in Nanyun, outbidding him by ten percent and snatching the whole lot.
Now the Wei family was left with nothing from that batch, so they had no choice but to come crawling to Harold Zhou to do business.
"Young Master Wei, you’re quick on the uptake. This batch is prime stuff, so the price is way higher than usual. Regular stones go for three to five grand a jin, but these start at twenty thousand. Just putting it out there up front." Harold Zhou flashed a smile.
He’d scooped up the stones for five grand a jin, then jacked up the price fourfold to resell them. And since he’d bought out the whole batch, he wasn’t sweating whether Wade Wei would play ball or not.
"Twenty grand? Sure, whatever. I brought my master today—no way we’re walking out of here broke!"
After that, Wade Wei strode straight inside, Harold Zhou leading the way. Irene Xu stuck close, keeping her mouth shut.
Evan just nodded to Irene Xu, then peeled off to wander the stalls on his own. Everywhere he looked, people were hunched over gambling stones, but most of the rocks were tiny and not worth his time.
They called it a jade yard, but really, it was just a stone-gambling joint with a tiny workshop where a couple of guys would help polish whatever raw jade you cracked open.
The yard was split into circles—outer rings with the worst, tiniest, cheapest stones, mostly for tourists just messing around.
Go a little deeper, and you’d spot the real heavy hitters—rich guys dripping with swagger, crowding around to size up a few stones, trading banter and showing off their know-how.
Wade Wei’s crew headed straight for the innermost circle, but Evan Lin wasn’t in any rush to follow.
Nearby, a bunch of young guys and girls hung out, most of them tagging along with their families for a day out.
One girl in casual clothes totally stole the show—sweet face, killer figure, everyone was sneaking glances, but her chill vibe made her seem tough to approach.
"Xiao Qiang, not bad! No wonder you’ve been dodging us whenever we try to hook you up—turns out you’ve already got a crush, and she’s drop-dead gorgeous! Solid pick, man." The guy in the black shirt, arm around his girl, shot Ryan Ren a teasing grin.
"Yeah, Ryan, you gonna introduce this knockout or what?"
Never seen Ryan bring a girl out before. Looks like he’s finally caught feelings, huh?
The whole crew shot Ryan Ren and Lynn Chen teasing looks.
Ryan Ren grinned. "Her name’s Lynn Chen, Experimental Class 2, Capitalview First High—senior year, top of the class."
"Oh, experimental class at Capitalview First High? She’s gotta be a real brainiac." A girl giggled behind her hand.
"Xiao Qiang, you’ve got killer taste this time."
Everyone was all grins, and Ryan Ren was clearly riding high on bringing a beauty like Lynn Chen along.
Seeing Lynn Chen keeping quiet, Ryan Ren jumped in to introduce her: "This is my cousin, Ren Song—his dad’s the manager of White Crane Manor!"
White Crane Manor was a big deal in Capitalview—prime jade territory, and all the local bigwigs loved jade. As manager, Ren Song’s old man knew everyone who mattered, so their family had way more clout than most.
That’s why Ren Song always acted like the big boss among his crew.
"My cousin’s dad knows all kinds of people—if your family ever needs help, he can hook you up with some business." Ryan Ren said to Lynn Chen. Ren Song puffed up his chest, looking cocky as hell. "Right. Since Ryan’s into you, you’re basically my little sis now. If anyone gives you trouble, just come to me—problem solved!"
Ryan Ren and Ren Song’s tag-team act seriously turned Lynn Chen off. She wasn’t interested in Ryan, and she cared even less about his cousin’s dad. Even if Ren Song’s old man could help Charles Chen’s business, it wasn’t her problem.
Just then, Lynn Chen’s eyes drifted and locked onto Evan Lin, who was drifting from stall to stall like he owned the place. She froze, stunned.
Ryan Ren, who’d been glued to Lynn Chen’s every move, caught her staring and followed her gaze. When he saw Evan Lin, his face darkened. He sidled up to Ren Song and whispered a few words.
"Trying to steal my bro’s girl? Chasing us all the way to White Crane Manor? This kid must have mashed potatoes for brains!" Ren Song’s eyes went ice-cold. "Relax, Ryan. If this punk dares show up here and runs into me, your big bro’s gonna make sure he gets wrecked today!"