A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

"Selling raw stones? That’s the girl?"

"Not a raw stone, I think it’s a rock she picked up off the side of the road!"

"I heard she’s short on cash, so she figured she’d come here and try to scam some money!"

...

"You can’t just scam people, even if you’re desperate for money! Scamming people at her age... what will she be like when she’s older?"

"I wonder whose kid that is. Don’t her parents teach her anything?"

"Trying to sell some random rock she picked up... Does she think we’re all blind?!"

The Stone Fair was already packed, and with business at this stall booming, a crowd quickly gathered to watch the commotion. The gossip flew, growing nastier by the second. Summer and Mindy Linton desperately wanted to explain things on Seraphina Sterling’s behalf, but she stopped them.

"Seraphina Sterling, stop making a spectacle of yourself! You should just get lost! Don’t bring shame on our Tollan Town!" Seeing the crowd was on her side, Sylvia Jennings grew bolder, her attitude becoming more arrogant. She acted as if she were Lady Justice herself.

This time, Seraphina Sterling didn’t even spare her a glance. Clutching the raw stone she’d bought for three hundred, she walked up to the stone-cutter. A faint smile touched her lips, revealing two shallow dimples. "Excuse me, could you please cut this for me?"

Uh—

What was going on?

The same question popped into every onlooker’s mind as they turned in unison to look at Sylvia Jennings. ’Didn’t you say she was here to sell a raw stone?’

Sylvia Jennings never imagined that Seraphina Sterling was actually here to gamble on stones! As the crowd’s scrutinizing gazes fell upon her, her face stiffened, and for a moment, she had no idea how to explain the situation. She could only stand there awkwardly, feeling her face burn with embarrassment.

"You’re the one making a fool of yourself! You think everyone’s as money-grubbing as you, willing to sell anything? Seraphina bought this stone with her own money! She’s amazing—not only does she get good grades, but she even knows about something as complicated as stone gambling! Unlike a certain someone, who only knows how to stir up trouble!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Summer didn’t hold back. With Seraphina no longer stopping her, she unleashed a verbal tirade on Sylvia Jennings. Overt mockery and subtle digs were Summer’s specialty! In her fervor, she’d conveniently forgotten how vehemently she had just been arguing against Seraphina buying this "worthless rock."

Mindy Linton piled on, having held back a stomachful of angry words. Now that she had the chance, she let it all out.

"Well, what can you do? Some people aren’t as pretty as Seraphina, don’t study as well as Seraphina, and aren’t even nearly as popular as Seraphina. People will do anything when they get jealous! Look at her—the moment she saw Seraphina, she acted like a fighting cock. Didn’t even bother to ask, just insisted Seraphina was here to sell a stone! Only someone like you, Sylvia Jennings, would pull a stunt like that!"

"Sylvia Jennings, open your eyes and take a good look! Seraphina is here to *buy* a stone! It has nothing to do with the scam you were blabbering about! I think you’d better leave now. Otherwise, it’s not just us, your classmates, who will be embarrassed—you’ll make everyone in Tollan Town lose face!"

Summer rolled her eyes at Sylvia Jennings. Seeing her rival’s face grow paler and paler was immensely satisfying.

"So she was just making things up to slander someone! She’s so young, but so full of schemes!"

"Framing people at such a young age... What’s wrong with kids these days?"

"Jealousy is a truly terrible thing. To know how to use public opinion to attack someone at her age... I really wonder how her parents raised her!"

...

Seraphina Sterling hadn’t said a single word in her own defense, yet the situation had done a complete one-eighty.

Unable to stand the crowd’s accusing and disgusted stares, Sylvia Jennings shrieked at Seraphina Sterling, "You think cutting this worthless rock open in public will cover up the fact that you came here to sell it? I refuse to believe you bought this stone! I know exactly what your family’s financial situation is. How could you possibly have enough money to buy raw stones?"

The more Sylvia Jennings spoke, the more sense she made to herself. The embarrassment on her face vanished, replaced by righteous indignation. "I have to admit, you’re clever. You know how to get yourself out of a tight spot! But this little trick of yours won’t work on me! You simply can’t afford to buy raw stones!"

"It’s showing green! Look! It’s showing green!"

"Winter Melon Green!"

"It must be a fine-textured ground!"

"It’s about the size of the bottom of a bowl! A raw stone like this would go for about five thousand, and while Winter Melon Green is pretty common, this piece is a good size. On the market, it’d fetch fifty thousand, easy. The little lady made a huge profit!"

The seasoned stone gamblers in the crowd had calculated the cost and profit in a single glance.

This time, Sylvia Jennings was completely out of excuses. She never imagined Seraphina Sterling was actually here to gamble on stones! What shocked her even more was that in just a few moments, Seraphina had made a profit of over forty thousand!

’Oh my god! Their little family shop could work its tail off for half a year and maybe not even make that much money!’

"Here you go, little lady, hold on to it tight! This is the first piece of jade this old-timer has cut open today!" The stone-cutter was also thrilled; it was a great way to start the day.

"Thank you, sir!" Seraphina Sterling remained perfectly composed, her dimples faintly visible, looking utterly adorable. Her bright eyes flickered over to Sylvia Jennings, filled with mockery and disdain.

Watching from the second floor, Terrence Grant hadn’t missed a moment of the drama. ’Interesting!’