Rebirth: The Ascent of a Socialite-Chapter 678 - 277: Behind the Diamond

After declining the driver’s offer to accompany her for the entire day, Su Ziceng simply asked the overly enthusiastic driver to drop her off in the busiest area of the city center so she could quickly get Jim’s market research task out of the way. However, whether the driver misunderstood her or not, after leaving the hotel, he did indeed head toward the city center, but he didn’t stop at a place like a shopping center; instead, he stopped on an old-fashioned street lined with various historical buildings.

Su Ziceng wanted to explain things more clearly to the driver, but whether he understood her or not, after a lot of gesturing, neither of them had managed to explain themselves to the other. Even more absurdly, just when Su Ziceng was about to get out of the car to see exactly where she had ended up, the driver assumed she had chosen the spot, hit the gas, and then he was gone.

"Hey!" Su Ziceng stomped her foot in anger. The driver hadn’t told her when he would come back to pick her up. It was just past nine in the morning, and it looked like she would have to spend the entire day on the street, which wasn’t very crowded. Having the mindset to make the best of the situation, Su Ziceng started to observe the buildings nearby.

Upon closer inspection, Su Ziceng noticed some differences. This old-fashioned street might look unnoticeable, but the buildings on both sides were among the finest local architecture left by British and Dutch colonizers from earlier years, including towering church spires and rounded dome roofs. The buildings on both sides were not ordinary shops, but rather some very characteristic local exhibition centers.

Diamond processing was the most common among these; the street even featured some scattered diamond cutting shops. Su Ziceng had only walked a few steps when a local who looked crafty and sly stopped her. The man was white but spoke with a heavy African accent, and his English was very poor, as if it wasn’t his first language.

"Miss," the man, having pegged Su Ziceng as a tourist, started his pitch, "I have uncut diamond ores here, 1000 US dollars, ten pieces." Afraid that Su Ziceng wouldn’t understand, he gestured with his fingers.

"No, thank you," Su Ziceng always felt there was something off about this man, and besides, one hundred US dollars for ten diamonds, that’s practically the price of cabbage, it’s impossible to really believe. Su Ziceng had encountered locals with dubious motives who preyed on tourists during her travels. After being taken advantage of a few times, she became more wary, and whenever something seemed amiss, she knew to walk away early.

"Miss, those are real diamonds, smuggled in from Namibia. Even the top jewelry company in the world, Mussen Jewelry, uses diamonds from there," the man suddenly spoke more fluently, and when mentioning Mussen Jewelry, his cunning hazel eyes kept a close watch on Su Ziceng’s facial expressions.

The previously hesitant Eastern female tourist seemed to have changed her mind, as she repeated, "Mussen Jewelry?"

"Yes," the man answered hurriedly, seeing Su Ziceng’s interest.

When Su Ziceng heard about Mussen Jewelry, the first thing that came to her mind was a conversation with her father a few days ago, when she mentioned she would be going to South Africa. As soon as Su Qingzhang heard she was going to Africa over the phone, his tone immediately changed. Only after hearing that Ziceng was heading to South Africa did Su Qingzhang’s tone soften a bit, and he reminded her to pay attention to personal safety, without saying anything further.

The death of Qiao Chu had already been settled, so now the other matter, which had been lingering in Su Ziceng’s or rather Pello’s mind and keeping them apart, was the death of Ye Taina. If Ye Taina hadn’t eloped with Su Qingzhang all those years ago, their final destination was Africa. What special significance did Africa have for Ye Taina? Why was Su Qingzhang so panicked upon just hearing Africa? If not South Africa, then where might it be?

"Then please show me the diamonds, and if they are of good quality, I can offer a good price," Su Ziceng spoke to the man, and upon hearing that she was willing to pay a high price, the man who "made a living selling diamonds" did not show excessive excitement. Instead, he looked around and led Su Ziceng down a narrow alley.

Su Ziceng touched the can of pepper spray in her pocket, along with her mobile phone, and mustered the courage to walk deeper into the alley.

The man turned another corner, and Su Ziceng could no longer see him. She quickened her pace and hurried forward. Just as she rounded the corner, she saw before her a dead end with the man who had been leading the way standing at the far end, accompanied by two black men. Su Ziceng immediately stopped, wanting to head back, but then two more people emerged from behind her.