When Zero stayed silent for a long while, the bearded man understood.
He figured his client must have too many lovers, couldn't quite remember their ring sizes all at once.
So, being the considerate type, he said, "No problem, no rush. We can wait until after you win the bids. Just say the word, and I'll have someone adjust the ring sizes for you anytime."
Even if one ring was meant for different people at different times, they could modify it perfectly so that no one would ever notice.
Zero thought about it and agreed.
Would holding hands during the "ambiguous stage" be too forward?
He wasn't sure.
But if they did hold hands, he'd probably be able to figure out her ring size, right? And that would be the perfect chance to confess, wouldn't it?
If he really couldn't figure it out, he could just ask Baiheng.
Zero said, "Give me an estimate. I'll transfer the credits to you now."
Since he was already here, might as well settle the confession gift in one go.
The bearded man, "!!!"
He was utterly stunned.
What kind of storms hadn't a company executive like him seen before?
He'd met plenty of rich clients who threw money around like it was nothing, but a client this eager, willing to pay before the auction even started, was that even real?
He racked his brain, trying to recall past auction prices for all sorts of antique jewels, to help Zero with an estimate.
While waiting, Zero suddenly remembered a post he'd seen on a forum about ring prices.
How many months of salary was it supposed to be again?
He asked the bearded man.
Still focused on his calculations, the man replied, "Ring prices? I've heard there's a saying, using about three months of your salary to buy an engagement ring is considered appropriate."
Zero fell into deep thought.
A confession and a proposal were more or less the same thing, right?
Both involved buying a ring, same difference.
But that rule wouldn't really work for a long-lived species, would it? Maybe he should scale it up to three years? Or thirty?
He took out his jade terminal, used the calculator to add up the total profits from his dozen or so resort planets over the past three years, double-checked how many zeroes were in the number, and then reported it to the bearded man.
Zero frowned and asked, "Is that enough to win these jewels?"
The bearded man was silent for a while before he finally said, in a strained voice, "Forget buying jewels, with that amount, you could… you could buy the Amber King's miracle itself."
Zero, "…"
'Who would want to buy something from the Path of Preservation?!'
He was speechless for a moment, but after confirming that the amount was more than enough to cover his selected jewelry, he opened the chat with the bearded man to make the transfer.
At first, the bearded man didn't notice, but when he saw the transfer come through, he gasped sharply.
"Sir! You can't just transfer like this! There'll be a transaction fee! Let me handle it for you, I'll transfer it through our internal account, no fees that way."
He felt immensely relieved that the chat app had a transaction limit; otherwise, he'd be the one feeling the pain of that amount.
Zero quietly watched the executive operate his jade terminal, suddenly struck by a strange feeling,
The feeling that he was some old relic who couldn't keep up with the times…
He sighed inwardly.
All this over a simple money transfer, who knew there were so many rules to it?
Looked like those netizens were right. He really should take their advice more often.
The bearded man refunded the money Zero had just sent, then asked, "What's your budget, sir?"
"The amount I just told you."
The bearded man, "…"
His hands trembled as he held the client's jade terminal.
Looking at Zero's calm, indifferent face, he suddenly felt the vast, unbridgeable gap between them.
'So he really was using the price of an Amber King's miracle to buy jewelry…'
The bearded man switched the interface back to the transfer page and handed it over.
"The remaining credits, I'll refund whatever's left after the auction."
Zero entered his password and nodded absently.
The bearded man took a deep breath, unable to stop himself from asking, "The person who makes you go to such lengths… she must be very special, right?"
Zero didn't want to reveal much about Jingliu, so he picked the most ordinary, least revealing detail possible.
"She practices martial arts."
Just those words left the bearded man utterly baffled.
'Wait, she practices martial arts, and yet he's buying this many rings?'
Each gemstone was bigger than the last…
Even regular folks buying rock sugar wouldn't dare pick pieces that big.
But since he was dealing with the former marshal, who was being polite for now, but might kill him someday, he couldn't just say that out loud.
Instead, he cautiously asked, "If she practices martial arts, wouldn't rings get in the way? Maybe you should consider buying some other kinds of jewelry too?"
Zero, "…"
That… actually made a lot of sense.
He was left speechless.
The bearded man's mind spun fast, and in a flash, he came up with a solution for his client.
"No problem! We have top designers who can make the rings convertible, they can be worn as rings or pendants. She can wear them however she likes."
Zero thought for a moment and agreed.
Honestly, it didn't matter whether they modified them or not.
If she couldn't wear them while training, she could just save them for later.
'She could wear them during her time off, right?'
Zero glanced at the clock in the private room. The bearded man, always attuned to his client's every move, quickly sped up his pitch, "Are you interested in custom pieces? There's a planet where they just discovered a new diamond mine, lots of blue diamonds."
Zero stood up and gave a simple, affirmative reply. "Sure. No rush, take your time."
Seeing that he was about to leave, the bearded man hurried after him, showering him with flattery about his impeccable taste.
Zero listened half-heartedly, then suddenly asked, "Who's your superior?"
The bearded man froze for a moment, then mentioned the family his superior belonged to.
After all, to the former marshal, names probably didn't matter, only family names would ring a bell.
"Them, huh…"
Zero paused deliberately, then repeated what he'd said before, his tone meaningful.
"Just treat me as an ordinary client. Follow the normal procedures."
The bearded man mulled over those words as he escorted Zero to the restaurant door.
Only after saying goodbye did he fully process it.
Not reporting the client's identity was definitely the right choice.
After all, the company was overly wary of the former marshal. If they knew he'd been in contact, they'd drag him into endless meetings with upper management, pick his brain in interrogations, trying to infer the man's intentions.
And really, this was the former marshal! Whatever he wanted to do, a regular guy like him couldn't change a thing.
Better to stay a clueless salaryman, still earning credits, and keeping a direct line to a god-tier client.
Feeling quite pleased with himself, the bearded man cheerfully began scouting blue diamonds and designers for Zero.
Understand the Xianzhou people. Accept the Xianzhou people. Become the Xianzhou people.
He finally understood why they all worshipped this man so much.
A boss who actually cared about the working class, that was one in a billion. If he were in their place, he'd switch jobs too.
———
Back at his desk in the library, Zero thought for a bit and decided to find Yingxing.
He wanted to commission something truly special, jewelry sturdy enough to withstand a full-force blow from an Envoy and still survive, maybe even tank a planetary explosion.
He hadn't asked the company executive because he didn't want to make the man overthink.
The only one he could rely on was Baiye Yingxing.
[Zero: Yingxing, can I ask you to custom-make some jewelry?]
[Yingxing: But I've never made jewelry before.]
Expression perfectly calm, heart completely steady, Zero transferred eight figures to him.
Across from him, Yingxing slowly closed his jade terminal, then reopened it.
The eight-digit transfer was still sitting there in their chat.
Yingxing, "…"
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