Chapter 310: Lost Everything
Xu Youyou stared at the golden nanmu wood box in front of her and the three jade artifacts inside.
If it weren’t for the system’s guidance, she would never have bought these items.
Even now, Xu Youyou still didn’t understand why these things were considered valuable.
[Keep the jade pendant inside. You can deal with the rest however you like.]
Hearing the system’s words, Xu Youyou strangely felt a sense of relief and said, “Good thing you want the jade pendant. If you had wanted the golden nanmu box instead, I would have suspected this was just a case of buying the case instead of the pearl.”
But even as Xu Youyou held the jade pendant, she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She looked at the pendant: one side was carved with a red spider lily, and the other side had the character “Xin” (信), meaning “faith” or “trust.”
“Could this pendant also be a token, like the Qilin pendant?” Xu Youyou asked.
Back when she was still under the newbie protection period, she had, under the system’s guidance, bought a Qilin pendant at an auction. In the end, she sold it at an astronomical price to He Zhilian. With that pendant, He Zhilian became the head of the He family and one of Xu Youyou’s most steadfast allies, secretly helping her out a lot.
[Indeed, it is a token.]
Xu Youyou’s eyes lit up. This pendant was of good quality. Although not made of the highest-grade material, selling it alone could still easily fetch over a million.
Tokens were like keys to treasures. Using a pendant of this quality as a key clearly indicated that the treasure it unlocked was extremely valuable.
“What should I do next?” Xu Youyou asked.
[Wait.]
After saying this, the system fell silent. No matter how Xu Youyou called for it, there was no response.
Using the training hours she got from the system as a reward, Xu Youyou bought a few more courses in the training space. However, since there were no discounts now, paying full price for classes was quite expensive.
She stayed in Hong Kong for another three days, having basically explored every place there was. Then, Lu Jingyao suggested they visit Macau.
Xu Youyou had no business matters to worry about—Xie Ran, the ultimate workaholic, took care of everything—so her most important job as a “jobless wanderer” was to find ways to entertain herself.
Places she hadn’t been to always held a special appeal. But after wandering around Macau for a bit, Xu Youyou suddenly found herself feeling bored.
“It doesn’t feel much different from other places. I’ve seen similar sights in Europe too,” she said softly.
Lu Jingyao chuckled at her comment. “Scenery is pretty much the same everywhere. You’ve just seen too much of it. Like the Fisherman’s Wharf—after seeing the Colosseum in Rome, this miniature version isn’t exactly impressive.”
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but feel a little troubled. “If I eventually see everything, will life start to feel meaningless?”
After saying this, she thought about Lu Jingyao, who had seen far more than she had, yet he never complained about boredom.
Lu Jingyao said, “Many wealthy people find life too easy. Once they’ve seen and experienced everything, they start to feel empty. So they seek out things that are hard to obtain, chasing after excitement.”
Xu Youyou asked softly, “Like what?”
“Extreme sports, for example… or some less wholesome things. Like this city in front of us—it welcomes the world’s rich to seek their pleasures here,” Lu Jingyao said, without going into detail.
Xu Youyou naturally understood. On the path of chasing thrills, “extreme sports” might still be seen as positive. As for the “less wholesome” things, well, that could cover a wide range.
Since they were in a city famous for gambling, they naturally passed by a casino. Assistant Liu had already thoughtfully prepared chips, just in case the bosses wanted to have some fun.
Neither Xu Youyou nor Lu Jingyao stepped onto the casino floor. Instead, Xu Youyou casually handed the chips to Liu Xiangyi.
“Go play,” Xu Youyou said.
Liu Xiangyi, who suddenly held 200,000 yuan worth of chips, panicked. “Boss, you should play yourself. What if I lose everything? I can’t afford to pay it back.”
Xu Youyou laughed. “Don’t worry. If you win, it’s yours. If you lose, it’s mine. We came all this way, you should have some fun.”
Liu Xiangyi hugged the chips and went into the casino. Xu Youyou thought she would at least stay for half a day.
Unexpectedly, just half an hour later, Liu Xiangyi returned—having lost everything.
The young woman’s face was full of regret. “Boss, I think my luck’s bad today. Whatever I played, I lost. Even the dealer told me to stop.”
Xu Youyou had thought that given Liu Xiangyi’s luck, she would dominate the tables. She never imagined things would turn out this way.
“It’s fine, just treat it like a dream,” Xu Youyou comforted her.
Liu Xiangyi sighed. “I wish it was a dream. That was 200,000! Before I joined our company, I only made 50,000 yuan a year. I’d have to save for four years, without eating or drinking, to have 200,000!”
She brought up her old job because 200,000 yuan, relative to her current salary, was now less than four months’ pay—not as shocking as it once was.
Although Liu Xiangyi’s salary was high now, losing 200,000 still pained her deeply, even though it was Xu Youyou’s money.
“Did you really not win even once?” Xu Youyou asked curiously.
Liu Xiangyi pulled a long face. “Yeah, no matter what I did, I couldn’t win. It was too weird!”
Xu Youyou also found it strange. She couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with Liu Xiangyi’s fate—maybe she was destined to have good luck with proper business but none with gambling?
Liu Xiangyi brought prosperity to the company, and her own career rose accordingly. But gambling, being a “side door,” probably wasn’t permitted by her fate, which subtly prevented her from straying down the wrong path.
Even though Xu Youyou had no intention of blaming her for losing the 200,000, Liu Xiangyi still felt guilty. She ran to a nearby convenience store and came back carrying a pile of snacks.
“Boss, let me treat you to some snacks.”
Hearing this, Assistant Liu started winking frantically at her.
“Brother Liu, are you feeling unwell? Want something to eat?” Liu Xiangyi completely missed the hint and even pushed the bag of snacks toward him.
Assistant Liu, at a loss for how to handle this sweet but clueless girl, lowered his voice and said, “Miss Xu and Mr. Lu don’t usually eat these packaged snacks. They’re unhealthy.”
Realizing this, Liu Xiangyi quickly said, “Ah, I forgot… sorry… Maybe, just forget it then. Pretend I didn’t offer.”
She had never thought there was anything wrong with packaged snacks. But only now, after Assistant Liu pointed it out, did she realize that she was different from the pampered bosses—she usually only thought about practicality when eating.
Before she could withdraw her hand, Xu Youyou grabbed the bag and pulled out a pack of lime-flavored chips.
“Perfect, I was craving lime-flavored chips. Thanks, Xiangyi,” Xu Youyou said with a smile.
