The CEO's Wife Is a Medical Master-Chapter 35: Dream On

Vera Xavier casually picked up a rock weighing around ten pounds and focused her gaze on it. It was a murky gray inside, with nothing at all. She then looked at several more in a row, but they were also empty, and her eyes began to ache.

Seeing her staring blankly for a long time, the shopkeeper tried to shoo her away. "What does a little girl like you know? Stop fooling around and go home to your studies!"

Vera ignored him and casually picked up a rock near her foot that was barely bigger than her fist. When she focused her gaze, her vision flashed. Inside was a dazzling, brilliant green with superb clarity.

She picked up the rock and asked the shopkeeper, "How much for this one?"

She looked for all the world like she was asking the price out of spite. The shopkeeper didn’t take her as a serious customer and tried to talk her out of it again. "Little lady, stone gambling isn’t for you. Be careful not to waste your money, or your parents will give you a spanking when you get home." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Vera looked at the shopkeeper and said, "I’m using my own New Year’s money to buy a rock for fun. Can’t I do that?"

"Of course you can," the shopkeeper said with a laugh. "I’m just afraid you’ll be crying when it’s cut open and there’s nothing inside."

Vera snorted. "Even if I do end up crying, it won’t be here. How much is it? Just say it!"

The rock was tiny, and the shopkeeper could tell just by looking at her that she was an amateur. He couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he just gave her the standard price. "Everything in that pile is one hundred a piece. The one in your hand is the smallest, but the price is the same. Buy it if you want, or take your money and go home."

Vera Xavier pulled a hundred-yuan bill directly from her schoolbag and handed it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper hadn’t expected her to actually buy it. His business wasn’t doing well; in Crestfall, the people who came to buy stones were a relatively fixed group of regulars. So, seeing her hand over the cash, he asked, "Want to have it cut open?"

Vera knew Crestfall was a small city. If she had the rock cut open here, news would spread like wildfire, which would only lead to a heap of trouble. So she refused outright. "No need. I bought it to prop up a table leg."

As she walked out the door, she heard the shopkeeper mutter disdainfully behind her, "Kids these days are getting more and more wasteful. Spending a hundred bucks on a rock to prop up a table... she’s nuts."

Vera: "..."

Annoyed by the shopkeeper’s words, she started walking away so quickly that she didn’t notice someone approaching. They collided, and the rock nearly slipped from her grasp, but the other person deftly caught it before it hit the ground.

She looked up and was surprised to see it was Shane Caldwell.

They were standing so close that Shane Caldwell could smell a faint, fresh fragrance on her. He heard his own heart begin to pound.

"What are you doing here?" Shane Caldwell asked, handing the rock back to Vera.

To hide the sudden flutter in his chest, he said deliberately, "You’re not stalking me, are you? Waiting here for me on purpose?"

Vera had to admire his imagination. Looking up, however, she saw his somewhat disdainful expression. She chuckled. "Wow, Class President, you’re so smart! You figured it out!"

Shane Caldwell’s face actually flushed. ’He felt a little flicker of happiness.’ But just as he was about to lecture her, she added, "The Class President is quite pretty."

Shane Caldwell’s face grew even redder. Vera added, "You’re already pretty. Don’t go having pretty daydreams, too."

With that, she clutched her rock and strode away without giving him a second glance.

It took Shane a long moment to understand what she meant. He gritted his teeth and turned to the shopkeeper. "I’ll take all of these rocks. And cut every single one of them open for me!"