Chapter 356 Openly Robbing
Olivia was amused.
Selling things so half-heartedly—could they really sell anything?
She walked up and knocked on the counter.
The young man dozing with his eyes closed heard the noise but didn't even open his eyes. As if annoyed by the disturbance, he turned to face another direction and continued sleeping.
Olivia found it funny and knocked on the table again.
He frowned but still showed no intention of getting up.
Olivia simply cleared her throat and said, "Excuse me, someone's emptying out your stall."
Hearing this, he suddenly opened his eyes, sat up straight, and looked at the counter.
Seeing everything was still there and realizing he'd been tricked, his eyelids drooped into an unfriendly expression. He looked at Olivia and asked, "Are you looking for trouble?"
Olivia wasn't intimidated by this little threat.
She crossed her arms and said, "Not at all. I just have something to ask."
Her gaze fell on the medical book on the counter. "What do these characters in this medical book mean? If you're selling it, there should be annotations, right?"
She thought that no matter what, he would at least introduce it or explain something.
Instead, she heard him reply without hesitation, "No annotations. I can't read it either, that's why I'm selling it. If I could understand it, why would I sell it?"
Olivia raised an eyebrow at this. "In that case, how can you confirm whether this medical book is authentic or not?"
She picked up the medical book and examined it carefully. "What if these characters are just random scribbles?"
Seeing her questioning its authenticity, the young man said somewhat unhappily, "The medical book is definitely real. It's been passed down through generations in my family.
It's just that no one has studied it, so the knowledge has been lost."
Olivia looked at the worn edges and could confirm that the book had been read many times.
Someone must have tried to decipher the contents of this medical book but failed.
Seeing her studying the book, the young man yawned and asked, "Are you buying it or not? If not, put it down and don't disturb my sleep."
Normally, no one would buy a book they couldn't understand.
But Olivia was very interested in it.
She immediately decided, "I'll buy it. How much?"
Even though she couldn't read it, this stall seemed mysterious, and she felt buying it wouldn't be a loss.
If she could decipher the contents, it might serve as research material.
Besides, if she didn't have time, she could give the book to Rodolfo.
Rodolfo was also into these things, so it would be good to keep him occupied.
Hearing that she wanted it, the young man looked somewhat surprised, as if he couldn't believe she really wanted to buy it. "Since you want it, I'll give you a fair price."
Before he could finish speaking, a domineering voice suddenly interrupted, "How much is this book? Name your price—whatever it is, I'll take it!"
Olivia looked toward the source of the voice.
Walking toward them was a girl about Anna's age.
She was quite pretty, dressed elegantly and luxuriously.
But the arrogance and domineering attitude in her expression made it clear she wasn't easy to get along with.
Now, her gaze shifted from the incomprehensible medical book to Olivia's face.
Her eyes looked her up and down for a few seconds, full of disdain.
Olivia frowned, about to speak.
But the young man beside her frowned first and spoke up, "Charlotte, do you have any manners? Can't you see she was here first?"
Charlotte Ross, hearing his words, arrogantly raised her chin and replied, "So what if she was here first? Has she paid yet?
Since she hasn't paid, I certainly still have the right to compete for it."
Having said that, she didn't care whether the young man was happy or not.
She looked down at Olivia condescendingly and said, "Miss, this medical book is a unique ancient text passed down from old times, only useful to professionals, not something an amateur can understand.
Since you'd just be using it as decoration anyway, why not give up early and let me have it?
If you agree, I can give you some compensation right now."
Her attitude was extremely arrogant, especially that last sentence, which sounded more like charity.
As if she thought Olivia could be easily dismissed with money.
Olivia rarely felt disgust toward someone she'd just met.
Sophia and her son counted as two, and this person in front of her was the third.
She darkened her expression, treated her like thin air, ignored her completely, and prepared to pay, asking the young man, "How much did you say just now?"
The young man had thought she would give up, but she remained unmoved and still wanted to pay.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're really buying it?"
Olivia answered, "Of course?"
Seeing this, the young man didn't waste words and said directly, "This unique text is worth five million dollars. You can pay by card."
"Five million?" Hearing this price, Olivia's expression showed slight surprise.
Logically, this ancient medical book that couldn't be deciphered wasn't worth that much money.
Was this guy taking advantage of the competition to jack up the price?
She looked at him suspiciously. Though she didn't ask anything, the young man seemed to read her mind and immediately declared, "We agreed on fixed prices, no bargaining.
Everything here has been appraised by professionals and is definitely authentic.
Of course, there's also an element of gambling involved.
Don't look at how the book can't be deciphered now.
In the future, if it is deciphered, the value of this book will be immeasurable.
At that time, no amount of money could buy this book!"
That made some sense.
But Olivia wasn't stupid either. She flipped through the book in her hand and asked leisurely, "But there's also the possibility of getting nothing, right?"
If it couldn't be deciphered, it would be no different from waste paper, and five million dollars would go down the drain.
The young man's eyes flickered, but he still said confidently, "Of course, everything has two sides. Now it's a free transaction; I've given you the price, whether you want it or not is up to you.
If you don't want it, I won't force you!"
Buying and selling depended on both parties—Olivia thought that made sense.
After considering for a few seconds, she still decided to buy it.
It wasn't like she didn't have the money—she could afford five million dollars.
Whether this book could be deciphered or not, taking it back to make Rodolfo happy would be worth it!
Without another word, Olivia took out her card, ready to pay.
Charlotte beside her had thought she was going to give up and was ready to take over.
But seeing that she was actually going to swipe the card, her eyes widened, and she immediately grabbed the medical book.
"I want this book!" She had never failed to get something she wanted!
Olivia hadn't expected this person to actually try to snatch it when she couldn't compete fairly!
She immediately dodged to the side with the medical book, avoiding her reaching hand.
Then, looking at her angrily, she demanded, "What are you doing?"
Charlotte, having failed to grab the medical book, was also annoyed.
She still said domineeringly, "I already told you, for an amateur, this medical book is just decoration, waste paper!
Why can't you understand? This is what I want—put it down now!"
By the end, her tone carried a warning.
If it were someone else, they might have made peace and let her have the medical book.
But she was dealing with Olivia.
Olivia wasn't afraid of her intimidation at all.
She looked at her coldly and said, "How do you know I'm an amateur? Since I came here, naturally, I'm here to find things too.
As for this medical book, I saw it first, so of course, I get it first.
Didn't your family teach you about first-come, first-served?
Even if they didn't, surely your school teachers taught you that?"
Charlotte was already annoyed about not getting the item, and hearing Olivia's words, she immediately became furious. "You dare lecture me? Who do you think you are?"
"Charlotte! Have you made enough trouble!"
The young man who had been uninvolved now spoke up, reprimanding Charlotte unhappily, "Can you stop interfering with my business?"
Being scolded like this by him, Charlotte was even more furious; her breathing quickened, and she said through gritted teeth, "Liam, our families have been friends for generations, and you're not helping me but helping her?"
Her angry expression looked more like disbelief.
Liam Blake rolled his eyes at her and said, "I help whoever's right.
It's one thing for you to be arrogant at home, but why are you like this outside too?"
He waved at her like shooing away a fly. "Get lost, don't cause trouble for me here!"
His attitude was quite rude.
Charlotte was furious but didn't dare do anything to Liam.
She could only stare at Olivia with sinister eyes and say, "Do you know who I am? If you dare offend me, believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't survive in the medical field!"
Olivia, having heard their conversation, vaguely guessed their identities.
Among the few surviving reclusive medical families in the country, there seemed to be the Ross family and the Blake family.
Could she be so unlucky as to meet descendants of these two families?
Having figured this out, Olivia said bluntly, "I've heard that the Ross family's ancestors once held the high position of royal physician, with a family tradition of modesty and courtesy. Seeing you now, I guess rumors can't be trusted.
Ms. Ross, your behavior is truly ugly."
Charlotte didn't have time to be shocked by her guess before hearing her lecture again, making her furious.
The Ross family's ancestors were indeed royal physicians, the kind highly valued by the king.
Later they left the royal court, and their medical skills were passed down through generations.
Even though the family had declined, their medical skills remained their pride.
Among the elite families, they still had considerable prestige.
And she, as the heiress of the Ross family, had been the center of attention since childhood.
Except for Liam's sharp tongue, when had she ever been scolded like this!
Charlotte was enraged. "Who do you think you are? How dare you lecture me? If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll really think too highly of yourself!"
Charlotte had really been spoiled rotten by her family.
Now, in a fit of anger, she actually raised her hand and was about to slap Olivia.
Liam hadn't expected this crazy woman to actually get physical and gasped in shock. "Stop! Don't go crazy here!"