I love you, but I can't say it.

I bought the necklace on February 4th.

Before meeting Xu Qin that evening, Jiang Songhe thought that with the Spring Festival just over and Xu's wife about to give birth, it was only right and proper for him, as the boss, to show his appreciation.

Sending a red envelope directly like last time would be too perfunctory for the joy of a newborn, so he decided to choose some high-quality and practical maternity and baby products as a congratulatory gift.

The brand that Jiang Songyun used when she was a child was the one that Jiang Songhe chose to continue using after years of trial and error, and it naturally became the first choice for congratulatory gifts.

The brand has stores all over the world, and there are chain stores with a full range of products in major shopping malls in Jingting, but Jiang Songhe went the long way and drove to the Wangfujing Department Store on the East Second Ring Road.

Jiang Songhe has been out of the childcare stage for more than ten years. The range of maternal and infant products has now developed to be all kinds. He was worried for a while in front of the rows of products with unclear uses. He asked the store clerk to help him choose. After paying, he asked to pack them all and put them in a gift box.

Carrying large and small bags, Jiang Songhe went down to the underground parking lot, put the gift boxes in the trunk, sat in the driver's seat and did not start the car for a long time. After sitting quietly for a while, he looked at the time on the central control screen, got out of the car, locked the car, and took the elevator to the first floor of Wangfujing Department Store.

The flagship store of the century-old Dingcui Gold Shop is located here. It was the first shop to introduce platinum jewelry to China. Jiang Songyun bought her longevity lock here.

Jiang Songhe went inside and looked around at each counter, but couldn't find anything she liked. Finally, she asked the sales clerk, "A snake bone necklace, platinum, a style from many years ago. Do you have anything else besides these?"

The clerk was a young woman, and Jiang Songhe's questions were vague, so she had no idea what style "many years ago" meant.

The two gestured and guessed for a while before the clerk gave up and asked Jiang Songhe to wait. She then brought out an experienced craftsman from the inner workshop.

The shop's interior has been modernized with a mix of old and new styles, but the master craftsman still wears neck-hanging reading glasses and an old-fashioned navy blue apron and sleeves, indicating that he has been working here for a long time.

The experienced craftsman solved the mystery after hearing the sales clerk's explanation: "The style you're looking for must have been from around 2007. It was only available overseas. We saw it at an exhibition where people from country A came here. A batch was imported in 2008..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Songhe's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Are they still selling them here now?"

"Don't even mention it, those styles were so ahead of their time." The old craftsman pushed up his glasses temples, pursed his lips, and continued, "I remember it perfectly well, this shop only sold one pair in total. We thought, we've already stocked them, we can't let them sit unsold, so we melted down the rest and combined them with traditional styles to remake a batch. And let me tell you, that remade batch sold like hotcakes..."

Jiang Songhe's brain suddenly felt a little itchy, and he vaguely felt that the great bastard who bought the one-of-a-kind one back then seemed to have some overlap with his own experience.

When he learned that he was expecting a younger brother, he wanted to find a platinum longevity lock as a birth gift for his brother before his mother returned to Jingting to give birth. At that time, longevity locks were sold separately, and necklaces had to be purchased separately.

Under the teller's enthusiastic and persuasive recommendation, he reluctantly bought a platinum necklace with an antique style that clashed drastically with the "Eternal Happiness and Peace" longevity lock he had chosen. The heavy necklace almost emptied his savings account, which was used to withdraw living expenses.

So much time had passed that he could no longer remember what the necklace looked like, only that it was incredibly heavy and expensive.

Unfortunately, when his younger brother grew a bit older, he remembered to look for the necklace on his birthday one year, but it was nowhere to be found, only the lock remained. So he took his brother out for a trip and stopped by here to get a new one that matched the style.

The endless stream of boastful talk brought Jiang Songhe back to his senses. Through his thick glasses, he imagined what the old master would have looked like a decade or two ago.

Jiang Songhe raised an eyebrow, feeling that the old man behind the counter looked somewhat familiar.

Seeing Jiang Songhe's doubtful expression, the master craftsman took out paper and pen from his apron pocket, quickly drew a design sketch, and pointed at it, saying, "Don't believe me? Open your eyes and take a look. Isn't this what you're looking for?"

“You drew it so meticulously, how could I not believe you?” Encouraged by the familiar appearance, Jiang Songhe persisted in asking, “With your skills, you must be able to replicate one, right?”

The experienced craftsman put away his paper and pen, put his hands behind his back, and said with a determined air, "Of course I can, but I'm extremely busy with work, and you'll have to wait in line! Let me put it this way, it won't be ready in less than a month or two!"

Hearing this rhetoric and seeing this demeanor, Jiang Songhe felt that the old master looked increasingly familiar. Normally, if someone had put things this far, he would probably not force them to do something against their will. But in this situation, he decided to persevere and not give up, and he had a strong feeling that doing so would definitely succeed.

So he went along with his master's manner of speaking, adding a Beijing accent and flattering him.

Jiang Songhe: "I remember Dingcui offers expedited service. Could you please answer my question first?"

Experienced craftsman: "When would you like to get it?"

Jiang Songhe: "Tomorrow."

The master craftsman said, "Tomorrow won't do. Just look at this discount; it's outdated! If you want the same thing, I'll have to re-select all the materials from start to finish and do it all by hand!"

Jiang Songhe: "I can pay more, but only you. I don't trust anyone else."

Master craftsman: "Oh, it has to be me?"

Jiang Songhe: "Yes, it has to be you."

The experienced worker said, "Alright, leave your address."

"Okay, thank you." Jiang Songhe reached out and took the order form and pen from the clerk, writing as she spoke, "Once it's done, I'll have to trouble you again. Just send it out via international express courier, no need to sign it."

Being fawned over by a cold-faced junior in a suit and tie can roughly double the emotional value one receives.

The experienced mailman was overjoyed. He glanced at the address and sender/recipient names written in gibberish, and jokingly asked Jiang Songhe, "Oh, sending it abroad? A surprise for your girlfriend? You're quite thoughtful, young man!"

Not wanting to offend the old man, Jiang Songhe explained succinctly, "...No. It's more like compensation."

The old craftsman said, "Oh, I remember you could stamp those on the top. Back then, it was popular to stamp the first letter of the surname's pinyin. What's that person's surname?"

Jiang Songhe: "His surname is Qiao."

Master craftsman: "Okay, that's it then... I'll beat up his wife (Q) then."

Jiang Songhe: "No, I mean, gay."

The old master: "Huh? Gay (J)? Isn't 'gay' your surname? Ah~~ I get it~~ a token of love! You love me but can't say it out loud, didn't I hit the nail on the head? Using this kind of hint, and you still say you don't care?! You're quite the clever one..."

Jiang Songhe was given an approving elbow strike by the old master, who winked at him. Seeing the old man pretending to be confused, Jiang Songhe suspected that he was deliberately making fun of him.

Jiang Songhe panicked: "What are you talking about? He's a man!!! His English name starts with J!!!"

The experienced craftsman: "Oh dear! It's a misunderstanding, a beautiful misunderstanding~~~"

I know you've misunderstood, but please don't.

Jiang Songhe didn't want the old master to keep guessing, so he shut his mouth and stopped talking.

After filling out the form, he spent more money to pick out a jewelry box that looked similar in color and material to Jonathan's red velvet nightgown.

With all payments made, this unresolved matter has finally been put to rest.

Jiang Songhe sat in the car empty-handed, took a long breath in the driver's seat, then braked, started the car, stepped on the gas, and drove out of the underground parking lot to meet ACCRO.

...

On February 6th, the usually punctual boss of Yunhe Entertainment, unusually, did not set an example by arriving at the company at noon.

Before setting off at nine o'clock, he ran into the courier at his doorstep. The courier handed him a sturdy little cardboard box with the Dingcui Gold Store logo on it and asked him to sign for it.

The courier had completed the one-on-one delivery process and had been driving away for ten minutes when he was still standing at the door with the cardboard box.

After a while, he took out a paper cutter from the corner cabinet in the entryway, cut open the seal, took out the jewelry box that he had personally selected two days ago from the cardboard box, opened the lid, and saw what was inside. He suddenly burst out laughing.

"Seventeen years have passed. How can a person remain so unreliable?" He tossed the empty cardboard box aside, closed the jewelry box, and turned to go upstairs. "Never mind, some things are probably destined to end in a hasty manner."

A card, billowing with air currents, swirled slowly through the air before landing in the empty cardboard box lying on the ground.

The card was written in an old-fashioned handwriting with flowing strokes—

"The token of love should still be stated and given in person."

Uncle has been through it all.

I can see something in the eyes of someone as young as you.

They intended to facilitate a marriage between the two parties.

Other,

The difference in shipping costs has been converted into a Dingcui membership card.

"Welcome to visit us often..."