The Master's Mask Unveiled Again

Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Wondering What Twenty Million Looks Like

Fu Man carefully held the snuff bottle in her hands.

The base of the bottle even bore the imprint of its era, marking it as an antique. She had secretly had it appraised; it was worth three million.

After Lu Mian handed it to her initially, she kept it hidden until now.

At that time, Lu Mian was only four years old. Although he was inherently quiet and not very talkative, he was still a lovely little angel.

The little angel secretly stuffed his treasure into her hands.

“Mom, I’m giving you a present! I won it playing chess!”

At the time, she didn’t think much about it. Seeing it was an old object, she panicked. Their family was struggling financially; if it turned out that Lu Mian had stolen it accidentally, they wouldn’t be able to afford to compensate for it.

Even though Lu Mian repeated several times that he had won it, she dared not believe him. After all, it seemed impossible that someone would lose such a valuable item to a child in a game of Go.

She quickly took Lu Mian back to look for the elderly man at the entrance to their complex.

However, that person, perhaps just a passerby, might not have realized he had lost a valuable item, and they didn’t find him.

She had severely scolded Lu Mian and hid the snuff bottle away, not even daring to sell it during the kidnapping incident two years ago.

Once the unknown origin of the item came to light, the reputation of the Lu Family and Xinnuan would be destroyed. They would never be able to hold their heads up high again in their lives!

She vaguely remembered that it was around that time that Lu Mian became even colder and quieter, and his actions grew weirder and weirder.

Weird as they may be.

But it was still better than allowing others to point fingers at their spine, saying that the Lu Family had raised a liar! A thief!

She had painstakingly covered for Lu Mian all these years, and yet that girl was still so heartless, ah…

—

The weekend arrived quickly.

Xinnuan and Fu Man arrived earlier than scheduled at the competition venue, Wucheng Chess Institute, according to the address.

Banners hung inside and outside the chess institute, and in the main hall, there were neat rows of tables and boards set up for the players.

Xinnuan linked arms with Fu Man and found Su Jue.

Su Jue had seemed weighed down with heavy thoughts these past few days, and she couldn’t coax out what was bothering him despite asking several times.

Expecting his mood to improve when they met, she was disappointed to find him still aloof and preoccupied.

“Mom, Su Jue sponsored the Go competition with twenty million this time, all earned from his own stock trading!” Xinnuan said with vicarious pride, as if the honor reflected on her as well.

Fu Man nodded with difficulty, not knowing what proper compliment to offer.

“I followed Su Jue’s lead and invested three thousand, and I’m sure I’ll turn a tidy profit too!”

Xinnuan was confident in Su Jue, but his expression had turned quite ugly, clearly not wanting to say more, “Your seats are over there. Just go and sit down when you arrive.”

“Then Grandpa Su…”

“Grandpa is busy, probably won’t have time to entertain you.”

“Oh.”

Xinnuan felt quite disappointed; she had come mainly for Old Master Su, but she couldn’t even exchange a word with him. With no other option, she sat down arm in arm with Fu Man, quietly waiting to see Lu Mian make a fool of himself.

Su Jue, upset and disarrayed, headed towards Old Master Su.

A middle-aged man was chatting up Old Master Su. Upon seeing Su Jue approach, he smiled and flattered, “Old Master Su, your grandson is also a hero among the young, isn’t he? I heard he’s very good at stock trading, and the prize money for this competition was sponsored by him, right?”

Twenty million is no small sum.

Many players, attracted by the news, came over to join in on the buzz.

Winning or losing the championship wasn’t important; they just wanted to see what twenty million looked like.

Old Master Su waved his hand dismissively, “Just kids making a fuss, it’s not worth mentioning.”

Seeing how his grandson was impulsive and craved for glory, he as a grandfather noticed all along and had been deliberately admonishing him, lest he get too carried away.

Su Jue, feeling chastened, nodded unnaturally, “Yes, it’s nothing to speak of. Uncle Liu, you’re the real star of today’s competition, a Go professional with a sixth dan ranking, having scared off many competitors!”

This middle-aged man was Liu Baiyu, one of the invited players for the competition and somewhat renowned in the Wucheng Chess Institute.

Liu Baiyu responded humbly, “I wouldn’t say so! I’ve heard there’s another special invitee? Old Master Su, who might that be?”