"Yeah. This morning."
"This morning?" He frowned, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
He had spent the morning outside Serena's apartment complex, trying to talk to her. Could it be...?
"Grandpa!" he probed, "Are you talking about the stone auction in Vernon this morning?"
The old man looked up, surprised. "How do you know about the stone auction? You're so busy you barely come home, but you're keeping up with stone auctions now?"
"I... I just happened to overhear someone mention it. Since I know you're into gemstone, I paid a little extra attention."
"Hmm." Grandpa nodded, not thinking much of it. "Yeah, it was at the auction."
Knowing Serena had also attended that auction, Christan's curiosity spiked.
Trying to contain his excitement, he asked, "Grandpa, can you tell me what happened?"
He stared eagerly at the old man's face, waiting for an answer.
Without looking up, the old man said, "You're that interested in hearing your grandpa's embarrassing stories?"
"Heh, well..." Christan grinned. "To me, you've always been like Superman. Growing up, I've never seen you slip up. So yeah, I'm pretty curious."
"At least you're honest," Grandpa muttered, glancing at him before lowering his eyes to the stone in front of him. "The whole thing was honestly pretty strange."
Christan leaned in, hanging onto every word.
"The outer shell of that gemstone looked almost perfect. Even with my decades of experience, I was convinced it would reveal a vivid, high-quality Paraíba core inside. And judging by everyone else's reactions, they agreed with me. Most people at the auction were blown away by it."
Christan pointed at the stone on the shelf. "Was it this one? Did you win the bid?"
"No," the old man shook his head. "I was planning to. But right at the last minute, a young girl stopped me."
He couldn't help but smile a little, recalling Serena's confident gaze.
"She told me not to go for it. Said the inside of the stone wasn't as good as it looked-only the outer layer was high-quality, and the deeper you went, the worse it got."
"A young girl?!" Christan exclaimed. "You've got decades of experience and couldn't see that-but she could?!"
"Exactly. I was skeptical at first. Thought maybe she wanted the stone for herself and was trying to throw me off."
"And? Did you listen to her?"
"After thinking it over, I decided to take a chance and trust her. I backed off at the last second."
Christan looked shocked. "Grandpa, you're usually so firm in your decisions-nothing ever changes your mind. Why believe a random girl this time?"
"Maybe it was the way she spoke. So confident... like she was the stone itself," the old man said with admiration. "Besides, I've already got plenty of top-grade stones. Missing one isn't the end of the world."
"Right..." Christan recalled his grandpa saying he'd been wrong today. "So that stone really was as bad as she said?"
"It was," Grandpa said as he set the flashlight down. "The guy who won the bid was so excited, he had it cut open on the spot. Turns out, the girl was right. Most of it was low-grade, cloudy material with visible fractures. Only the outer layer had any decent Paraíba color."
"No way!" Christan was fascinated, listening like it was a story from a movie.
"She's got real talent. I've never seen anyone like her in all my years in this field," the old man said wistfully. "If only I had a granddaughter like that!"
Christan felt a sudden twinge in his chest. He thought of his sister, Celia, her tear-streaked face still fresh in his memory.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "No one's perfect! Maybe she's good with gemstone, but she probably isn't much to look at. At least Celia is cute and charming. People like her. She's your real granddaughter, Grandpa!"
His tone sharpened subtly on the last sentence, a deliberate reminder: No matter what Celia had done or how mad Grandpa was, she was still family-his only granddaughter.
The old man paused, then sighed deeply. "So you are here to play peacemaker after all."
Christan hesitated, then said, "Grandpa, I know what Celia did wasn't right. But it's her first time falling for someone. First love makes people act out. She just wasn't thinking straight. She's still young. Don't be too hard on her."
"You think I'm mad because she embarrassed the family by confessing in public?" the old man asked quietly.
Christan blinked. "Isn't that it?"
"You kids still don't get it." The old man's tone was heavy. "Yes, the Ryder family's reputation matters-but my family matters more."
"Celia expressing her feelings so bravely-sure, it wasn't the best way, but it took courage. What really upsets me is how she's been moping around the house ever since. Hiding, avoiding the world, like she's given up on everything."
He straightened, hands clasped behind his back, and sighed. "What's done is done. The right thing now is to own up to it and face the consequences. But she's just curled up at home, ignoring work, shutting herself off from the world. That's what truly brings shame to the Ryder family."
"She's my granddaughter. Of course I care about her. Seeing her so heartbroken-that's what hurts the most."
His words hit Christan like a wave.
Clenching his fists, he silently vowed: I'll take care of this. I won't let Celia keep suffering. If making her happy means getting Xavier to accept her... then Serena has to go.
***