The waiter's implication was clear to anyone with eyes to see. Chen Xu was somewhat amused and exasperated. Was he really that petty? But then again, another man giving "his woman" a gift was definitely not an easy thing to resolve.
The box was opened, and a chorus of exclamations immediately filled the room.
Each of the three boxes contained a magnificent necklace. The sparkling crystals on the necklaces clearly indicated they were not glass but gemstones. One necklace featured a sky-blue aquamarine, another a ruby, and the third a lustrous colorless diamond. All three necklaces were undoubtedly masterpieces, the work of renowned artists. They appeared opulent without being gaudy, possessing a beautiful and elegant aesthetic.
"This... This gift is too heavy, we can't accept it." Guan Yi was the first to come to her senses and said. She had seen a lot of jewelry when she was a child, and there were many better ones, so she didn't think much of it. However, it wasn't that she looked down on it, because after all, the things that the Dubai prince gave her were not ordinary goods, worth at least several million. Look at Gao Xiaojie, she was practically sticking her head to the necklace.
Zhan Jing smiled slightly, said nothing, and pushed the necklace box forward, indicating that she didn't want it either.
Gao Xiaojie saw that neither of them wanted it, and even though she really wanted it, she felt embarrassed, so she pouted and said, "Um, well, I don't want it either."
Chen Xu couldn't help but laugh at Gao Xiaojie's appearance; she was just too adorable. At this moment, the waiter also smiled and said, "Ladies, please don't refuse. This is, after all, a token of our prince's goodwill, and there's nothing else to it. As for its value, we believe that the 'Translator of Babel' is far more valuable than these jewels, so please don't refuse."
“But ‘The Translator of Babel’ doesn’t seem to have anything to do with us. If you want to thank SMMH, you should give him a gift. He’s the disciple of the God of the Internet.” Zhan Jing smiled and pointed at Chen Xu.
The waiter glanced at Chen Xu and smiled, "Our prince naturally has a gift for this Mr. Chen Xu as well."
"Oh?" Chen Xu perked up: "What gift?"
The waiter smiled, leaned down and whispered in Chen Xu's ear, "The prince's gift to you is these three gemstone necklaces for these three beautiful ladies."
Chen Xu was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and smiled wryly. He had to admit that this Dubai prince was truly a remarkable person.
Seeing the waiter's smiling yet somewhat pleading look, Chen Xu waved his hand and said with a smile, "Since it's His Highness Maktoum's kind offer, the three of you should accept it. Each of you choose one, but don't fight over it, okay?"
Hearing Chen Xu say that, Guan Yi glared at him, but then acquiesced. Gao Xiaojie looked at Guan Yi, then at Zhan Jing, and whispered, "So, should we accept it or not?"
Zhan Jing looked at Chen Xu and nodded slightly to him, then smiled faintly and said, "If you like it, keep it. You can choose first. Which one do you like?"
Now Gao Xiaojie was in a bit of a dilemma. She looked at the blue sea diamond, which she really liked. Then she looked at the ruby, which she still liked very much. Then she looked at the diamond… ahhh, she still liked it very much!
She looked at Zhan Jing pitifully and said, "Jingjing, why don't you choose? Just give me any one, I can't choose. I... um. You guys choose first." Gao Xiaojie subconsciously wanted to say, "I want this one, and I want that one too." But she suddenly remembered that, given Zhan Jing's personality, if she really said that, she would probably say, "Well then, you can have mine too."
So she shut her mouth in time.
Guan Yi looked over and smiled, "You guys choose first. I also think all three are quite pretty. It's hard to make up my mind."
The commotion had already attracted the attention of everyone in the banquet hall. Many women were envious of the three gemstone necklaces, wondering why the prince didn't give them to them.
Just then, a bearded man walked over, glanced at the gift, and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this gift is quite heavy!"
Seeing the bearded man, Huang Anping clapped and laughed, "So it's Boss Li! Perfect timing! Boss Li is an expert, why don't you give your evaluation, and perhaps help these three ladies choose something?"
Yi Shuihan turned his head and whispered in Chen Xu's ear, "This Mr. Li is called Li Shigang. He is a very famous jewelry merchant in Shanghai."
Li Shigang smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Huang Anping: "I'm not some kind of boss. Just a businessman."
Then he looked at the three necklaces on the table, and suddenly laughed as he looked at them.
Chen Xu asked curiously, "Mr. Li, what are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Li Shigang smiled and shook his head, but in his heart he was thinking: This Prince Maktoum really knows how to play the game. Although the three necklaces are made of different materials and craftsmanship, in his opinion, the value of the three necklaces is almost the same... This necklace is obviously not an antique, so it is just put in a jewelry store to be sold... Of course, it is also quite valuable.
The reason why the price of antiques is difficult to determine is because their historical significance and personal significance are different. Therefore, even for the same item, people in different places will have different psychological values.
However, these three necklaces are quite ordinary finished products. They are considered ordinary because they don't have any special significance. Their value is around seven hundred thousand US dollars... and even with fluctuations, the price difference between them is no more than ten thousand US dollars.
This gift wasn't particularly extravagant, but it wasn't insignificant either. The significance of Prince Maktoum's actions was that all three necklaces were of equal value, showing no favoritism and thus offending none.
Therefore, it is often said that this generation of Prince Maktoum is more like a shrewd businessman, and it is indeed true.
After looking at it, Li Shigang didn't mention the specific price, because talking about money at this moment would be too vulgar. He simply introduced it as follows: "Judging from the color, this blue sea diamond necklace is most suitable for this lady with a few strands of blue hair. Ah, we are now on the sea, and as far as the eye can see, the sea and sky are all blue. Coupled with this lady's exquisite appearance and this blue sea diamond, it creates a more moving sense of tranquility."
After he finished speaking, everyone applauded and cheered. Zhan Jing smiled calmly, but she was also somewhat moved. Li Shigang looked at the ruby necklace and then at Guan Yi: "This young lady has a noble temperament and is passionate and unrestrained, which is most suitable for the ruby to complement her. It makes your beauty like a burning flame, and your enthusiasm will always infect the people around you."
Guan Yi was also pleased to hear this, and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your kind words."
"As for this young lady," Li Shigang looked at Gao Xiaojie, who quickly replied, "Then this is all I have left, I have no other choice!"
Li Shigang smiled and said, "This young lady is beautiful and charming, pure and lovely, just like the symbolism of this sparkling diamond. Your heart is like crystal, and those around you are unconsciously attracted and moved by you. So this necklace is a perfect match for you!"
"Well said!" Everyone couldn't help but applaud. The three necklaces were distributed so easily, and the distribution seemed to be very reasonable.
While clapping his hands, Chen Xu whispered to Yi Shuihan, "I suspect that the reason his jewelry sells so well is because of his smooth talk. He's such a conman!"
Yi Shuihan smiled. He knew Chen Xu's tendency to spout nonsense and didn't mind. However, he thought to himself, his girlfriend had been with him for many years, working tirelessly behind the scenes without complaint, no matter how hard or tiring it was. Should he buy her a necklace like this too?
Li Shigang cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "It's mainly because Prince Maktoum's gift was so good; I was just helping to find the most suitable owner for the gem."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu thought to himself, "That's right. The prince has sent such a valuable gift; I can't just leave without reciprocating." So he went out. Back in his bedroom, he took out the cat's-eye stone that Tian Fang had given him as an apology last time and handed it to the servant, saying, "Hmm. Thank you for your prince's gift, but I can't just take advantage of him for nothing. As the saying goes, 'It's impolite not to reciprocate,' so please give this cat's-eye stone to your prince, saying it's a small token of appreciation from a Chinese friend."
Although Chen Xu didn't receive any formal gifts, giving them to Guan Yi and the others was practically the same as giving them to himself. Keeping the cat's eye stone was pointless for Chen Xu; it was truly useless for a grown man like him. As for giving it away… who do you think he'd give it to?
So at this point, it's better to do a favor for Prince Maktoum... just consider it as exchanging three gemstone necklaces for something else.
The waiter naturally dared not accept it. He could tell that although the cat's eye stone was being held so casually by Chen Xu, without being placed in a nice box or protected at all, it was definitely a rare treasure. He quickly said, "We cannot accept this. The prince is only expressing his good wishes. We cannot accept gifts from our guests."
"Hey!" Chen Xu wasn't about to listen. "You can't make the decision on this matter. Just take this cat's eye stone to Prince Maktoum and have him take a look. Just say it's a Chinese tradition of reciprocity. You know what reciprocity means, right? It means if you give me a gift, I have to give you one in return."
"Illiterate!" Upon hearing Chen Xu's last sentence, Guan Yi and the others couldn't help but roll their eyes simultaneously. Was this what "reciprocity" meant? The "courtesy" here referred to etiquette and politeness, not gifts… This guy is truly uncultured!
But where did he get that cat's eye stone? Guan Yi and the others didn't know about the cat's eye stone. The only girl who knew was Er Ya, but Er Ya thought it was an ordinary stone and didn't want it. She left it with Chen Xu.
"Let me see, let me see." At this moment, Li Shigang stood up, picked up a handkerchief, wrapped the cat's eye stone, and examined it carefully over and over again, exclaiming, "Oh my, where did you get this?"
Chen Xu was taken aback and asked, "What's wrong? A friend gave it to me. You didn't lose it, did you?"
Li Shigang smiled and said, "Sorry, sorry, I startled you. Oh, I've actually seen this stone before, but I missed out on it!"
Li Shigang said, "This cat's eye stone has a very special history. It's called the Heart of Darkness. It was a token of love from Caliph Selim III of the Ottoman Empire to his wife, Sofia!"
Chen Xu was taken aback and immediately felt a deep respect for the old man!
When Tian Fang gave it to him, he said that the stone was a token from Ur Khan to his queen, but Xiao Min told him that it was not. It was a token from Caliph Selim III to his queen, and coincidentally, both queens were named Sofia.
So Chen Xu asked the question: "But my friend said that this was a token given by Ur Khan, the son of the Ottoman Emperor, to his queen Sofia."
“Ulhan?” Li Shigang was taken aback, then laughed, “No, no, well, I know Urhan too. He did have a queen named Sofia. But these two Sofia are different. Look, look at the inscription here. Well, I specialize in studying this place, and I've also studied this stone. Although Caliph Selim III isn't very famous in history, he had a very distinct characteristic… he loved carving. And all the treasures he gave to his queens and ministers that had his name on them, all the ones with inscriptions, he did himself. That's quite a story. And carving is like writing; everyone has their own habits. Look at this script, this hook, Selim liked to draw it like this, which is somewhat different from standard Arabic script. So by comparing them, you can tell that this was carved by Selim himself, and he did indeed have a queen named Sofia.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "An expert indeed! This is a true expert!"
"How do you know this stone? Oh, my friend said his father brought it from Dubai!"
"It's Dubai!" Li Shigang slapped his thigh, wincing in pain. "This stone... let me think... um, I saw it three years ago when I was traveling in Dubai. It was in a corner of a not-so-big, but very old, shop! I didn't know its historical significance then, but this stone was only worth about $300,000. The owner asked for $500,000, which scared me off. I did take pictures, though. Later, when I studied it, I discovered it had special meaning. Oh, what a rip-off! I should have just bought it then!"
"How much can this thing sell for now?" Gao Xiaojie asked curiously, because he saw that Li Shigang's face was all scrunched up with worry.
"This item would fetch at least two million dollars now. Because of its historical significance! It's not just a gemstone, it's an antique!"
Upon hearing the mention of two million US dollars, many people couldn't help but gasp. Some jealous women couldn't help but look at Chen Xu with smug expressions, thinking, "You idiot, don't you know the value of this thing? You just casually gave it away! Let's see how you handle this!"
But Chen Xu himself knew the value of this thing: two million seven hundred thousand US dollars! In the future!
Chen Xu smiled. He handed the cat's eye stone to the waiter and said, "That's good. I was really afraid my friend would just grab some random junk and try to fool me into thinking it was a treasure, and then I'd just unknowingly give it to Prince Maktoum. If it were fake, I'd be so embarrassed!"
His action immediately silenced the entire room!
Li Shigang just said it. At least two million US dollars!
That's 15 million RMB!
This guy just gave it away so casually?!
Is he an idiot?!
It wasn't that Chen Xu was wasteful. Rather, it was because he understood the principle of reciprocity. Although he had some misunderstandings about the meaning of "reciprocity," it didn't stop him from acting this way. To be honest, the three necklaces were no less valuable than this cat's-eye stone, and since they had been so generous, why should he hesitate to give them up?
Moreover, Chen Xu himself knew that even if he wasn't as rich as Prince Maktoum now, he would definitely be richer than him in the future!
It's only right to reciprocate; you can't just take someone's things for nothing, especially when they're not related to you...
However, his action immediately made everyone in the cabin look at him differently.
Although these wealthy tycoons and playboys have been relatively polite to Chen Xu these past few days, that politeness is only out of consideration for SMMH and Yi Shuihan. They assume that Chen Xu was able to board this ship because of SMMH and Yi Shuihan, but no one knows that the hotel Chen Xu booked is the world's most expensive, the "Arab Tower," and specifically the most expensive presidential suite within the Arab Tower.
There are so many wealthy people here, but not many are willing to casually throw out $100,000 to book a hotel for a week!
At this moment, Prince Maktoum, having received a report from his subordinates, arrived. Upon learning the value of the cat's-eye stone, he was also astonished. However, unlike the Chinese, foreigners don't usually hesitate to accept gifts. Prince Maktoum accepted it without ceremony, though he couldn't say it was a free gift… even though he had just given three very expensive necklaces to three women. So, Maktoum instructed his subordinates: "Call the Burj Al Arab immediately and book the presidential suites. I want to treat these distinguished guests to a proper meal."
These distinguished guests naturally included Yi Shuihan. However, the servants were quite helpless after making the phone call, because it was peak tourist season, and even the expensive suites in the Burj Al Arab were booked, one of which was an order from China.
"Hmm." Chen Xu touched his nose and smiled sheepishly, "I booked that presidential suite."
This was quite surprising. In the end, Prince Maktoum reacted quickly and generously covered all the hotel expenses, saving Chen Xu a bit of the financial burden.
The banquet continued, and the three women, adorned with necklaces and matching evening gowns, immediately became the focus of attention… Of course, there was another focus as well, and that was Chen Xu. Chen Xu was currently having a lively conversation with Prince Maktoum using the translator app, and this was the first time Chen Xu had personally experienced the immense convenience it brought.
At this moment, Li Shigang also came over. He had mysteriously gone back to his bedroom earlier, only to bring back a few photos.
Li Shigang said with a smile, "Look, this is a photo I took in that store in Dubai back then, about this Heart of Darkness. I never expected it, life is truly unpredictable!"
Amidst a good-natured jerk of teasing, Chen Xu leaned over to look at the photo. Yes, it was indeed the cat's eye stone.
However, Chen Xu's expression immediately changed, turning deathly pale.
He stood up abruptly, grabbed Li Shigang by the collar without any regard for manners, and practically yelled, "Where is this shop you're talking about?!"
Chapter 265 Clues to the Imperial Seal
Chen Xu's sudden standing up and shouting startled everyone, including Li Shigang. They had been getting along so well just moments before, so why did they suddenly turn on each other?
At this moment, Yi Shuihan and Huang Anping quickly pulled Chen Xu back. Yi Shuihan said, "Junior Brother, don't get agitated, let's talk things out." Huang Anping also quickly said, "Mr. Chen Xu, has Mr. Li offended you in any way? If so, I'd like to apologize on his behalf."
Only after hearing their words did Chen Xu realize his rash behavior. He exhaled and tried to soften his expression: "I'm sorry, Mr. Li, I was too hasty. I apologize, but please be sure to tell me the location of this shop. I have something very important to discuss."
Li Shigang was quite frightened by Chen Xu and quickly said, "Okay, okay, I'll personally take you there after we get off the ship."
Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm sorry for my rudeness just now. Heh, I drank a bit too much. Please don't mind. I'm going out for some fresh air."
"Having drunk too much" was a plausible excuse, and the other eyes that had been focused on the table quickly looked away. However, at the table, whether it was Guan Yi, Zhan Jing, Yi Shuihan, or Huang Anping, a look of doubt appeared in their eyes.
"Let me see what's in this photo." Huang Anping took the photo. It was obvious that Chen Xu had suddenly lost his composure when he saw it, which meant that something in the photo might have caused Chen Xu's outburst. He looked at the photo and saw that, besides the cat's eye stone, there was also an exquisite box. This box also looked to be quite old. The box was inlaid with gold patterns, depicting a beautiful curved sword.
There is nothing else.
"Could it be related to this box?" they couldn't help but wonder.
Chen Xu walked onto the deck, the evening sea breeze gradually slowing his heartbeat. Yes, it was that box!
Chen Xu had seen that box before!
In the virtual world of "Dream Paradise"... he had seen Mivad take that box out before!
This is why Chen Xu was so excited.