Chapter 67

"This is absolutely wrong!" The clerk watched her hand the necklace to Yu Lanfei, his voice changing with anxiety. "This is a customer's personal property. You can't do this."

Yu Lanfei glanced at it for a few times, his lips curled up, and his face couldn't hide the disappointment: "I thought it was some high-end product, but it's just a broken necklace."

After saying that, she threw the necklace back at the clerk.

The clerk hurriedly tried to catch it, but missed, and the necklace fell to the ground with a "bang".

The pearls suddenly burst out like water droplets that had broken off their strings, crackling and rolling all over the smooth floor.

The air in the store suddenly froze, and everyone's eyes turned over here.

"It's over... This is Miss Wen's necklace."

The clerk's voice trembled as he squatted down to pick up the scattered beads. "They're all broken. What should I do..."

Yu Lanfei watched her pick up the broken beads with a cold look and snorted disdainfully, "They were broken to begin with, what's so sad about that?"

As she finished speaking, she heard a voice: "Who fell?"

At some point, Wen Zhenni stood there, staring at the mess on the ground.

Seeing no one come forward to explain, Wen Zhenni looked normal, but her tone was frighteningly cold. "I'll ask you one last time, who fell?"

Xi Miao had never seen Wen Zhenni so angry before. But she looked more and more like Ci Heng when she was angry.

She glanced at everyone present and asked, "What's wrong with your store clerk? Can't he even hold something steady?"

The store manager who rushed over after hearing the news asked, "What's going on?"

The other shop assistants briefly explained what had happened, and the one who had caused the trouble apologized profusely: "I'm sorry, Miss Wen, I lost my grip and dropped the necklace."

Those who can come here to consume are either rich or noble, and no one can afford to offend them, so she can only accept it herself.

Xi Miao glared at Yu Lanfei, "I told you it's personal property, but you insisted on looking at it. Which guest is as unreasonable as you?"

Meeting Wen Zhenni's eyes, Yu Lanfei felt uneasy, but refused to give in. "I, I just thought it was pretty and took a look. Sister, I didn't mean it."

Yu Lanfei's female companion chimed in: "We returned it after we looked at it. The clerk didn't catch the necklace. What does it have to do with us?"

Wen Zhenni's gaze pierced Yu Lanfei as she approached him. Although her arm was in a cast, her imposing presence made Yu Lanfei's heart pound.

"Pick up the pearl!" Her voice was not loud, and her arm was still in a cast, but her aura scared Yu Lanfei so much that his heart started beating fast.

But having lost face in front of so many people, Yu Lanfei's face turned pale and blue, and he was extremely embarrassed. He forced himself to say, "I'll just compensate my sister with another one..."

"I told you to pick it up!" Wen Zhenni interrupted her, "I just want my necklace, pick it up!"

Yu Lanfei bit her lip, her face burning. Even though she was extremely reluctant, she still bent down in front of everyone to pick up the scattered pearls.

The clerk also helped her pick up the items and put them into a velvet jewelry box.

The store manager held the box in both hands and handed it to Wen Zhenni with an apologetic look in his eyes. "Ms. Wen, I'm truly sorry. This was a serious mistake on our part. We are willing to take full responsibility and compensate you for your losses at the original price."

"No need." Wen Zhenni glanced at Yu Lanfei, took the box, turned and walked out.

The store manager quickly followed and escorted the two outside the store: "Ms. Xi, look at this matter... could you please help plead for us and give us a chance to apologize to Miss Wen?"

"The main responsibility does not lie with you. She won't make things difficult for you." Xi Miao assured this, "Don't worry."

After getting in the car, Xi Miao tilted his head to look at Wen Zhenni, who was rarely in a low mood, and comforted her: "Don't be upset, I'll find someone to help you restore it to its original state."

Wen Zhenni looked down at the pearls in the box, her tone dejected: "Even if it is repaired, the replacement beads will not be the same as before..."

Encountering this kind of situation, Xi Miao was really at his wit's end, so he tentatively suggested, "How about we go to Jinhuang Night Banquet to sing and relax?"

Wen Zhenni still shook her head: "I'm not in the mood, I just want to go home."

"Okay." Xi Miao helped her fasten her seatbelt. "I'll take you home now. Find your dear husband and ask him to buy you a better and more expensive one."

Wen Zhenni's smile curled up at her, and her mood improved a little. But when her eyes fell back to the pearls in the box, and she thought about never being able to wear this necklace again, the depression in her heart weighed down, and she didn't feel like laughing anymore.

Wen Zhenni was in a bad mood and couldn't move her hands, so she felt listless. She only ate a few bites of dinner and then hid in the treasure room.

Ciheng came back a little late, and when she heard the servant talk about it, she went straight upstairs to look for her.

The lights in the room were off and it was pitch black. A person was sitting quietly on the sofa by the window.

He pressed the light button and the ceiling light came on. The sudden brightness made Wen Zhenni subconsciously raise her hand to block it. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the figure slowly approaching.

"The servant said you didn't have dinner." Ciheng took off his glasses and slowly rolled up his shirt sleeves as he walked. He walked closer, leaned in front of her, and his eyes fell on her face. "What's wrong? Is your wound uncomfortable?"

Wen Zhenni muttered softly: "No way, I ate it well."

Ci Heng raised the corner of his lips and said, "What's the difference between eating two bites of cat food and not eating at all?"

Wen Zhenni pursed her lips and reached out to him: "I'm in a bad mood, I want a hug."

Ci Heng sat down beside her, stretched out his arms to hold her on his lap, rubbed her face, and massaged her with his fingers. "Tell me, why are you unhappy? Didn't you have fun playing out?"

Wen Zhenni pressed her cheek against his shirt and said sullenly, "Don't mention it. My favorite pearl necklace is broken."

She recounted what happened in the jewelry store, her tone very downcast, "...I've already dropped it once before, and I can't put all the blame on Yu Lanfei alone."

Ciheng then noticed the velvet box on the table. He reached out and took it, only to find that most of the pearls inside had cracked, but the blue morpho butterfly main stone was still intact.

But it is impossible to restore it to its original state.

"I've saved you from disaster." He put the box back on the table and consoled her, "It's broken, so just buy another one."

"It's different." Wen Zhenni was silent for a while, then thought of a good solution. "There are still some undamaged beads. Find someone to help me turn them into a bracelet."

"Yeah." Ciheng lowered her head, her warm breath passing through her eyes, "Are you feeling better now?"

Wen Zhenni finally smiled, raised her face and moved her lips closer to his, "Give me another comforting kiss, and I'll be completely happy."

Ciheng chuckled, held her face in his palms, and kissed her on the lips, then lingered on her eyes and forehead. The delicate and long kiss made Wen Zhenni's hands and feet numb.

"Is this enough?" I can't do any more.

Wen Zhenni nodded, put her arms around his neck, and took the opportunity to whisper in his ear: "Then I want to go out tomorrow..."

Ci Heng thought for a moment and said, "You can go out, but you can't drink. I'll take you to the hospital for a follow-up checkup tomorrow afternoon. The day after tomorrow, there's the birthday party for the old lady of the Wen family. You have to stay home and don't move around."

"I know." Wen Zhenni nodded obediently.

"Then go take a shower and go to bed." He said, putting his arms around her legs and holding her up steadily.

Due to a tight schedule, Ciheng left early in the morning. He did not go to the office that morning. Instead, he went to Genting Resorts to inspect the project progress and then had lunch with important partners.

I heard that the resort was investing heavily in AI and restoring some of the ancient buildings. The woman in the suit smiled and asked, "This kind of scenery is perfect for filming. Does President Ci have any plans to invest in entertainment and film and television?"

"It's just..." She analyzed rationally, "The film and television industry is in a tough spot right now. The return on investment isn't optimistic, and loss-making projects abound. Producing a drama involves significant risk."

"Yeah." Ci Heng replied, placed his phone face down on the table, and leaned back in his chair. "It's just a personal interest, just a try."

Someone at the table laughed and echoed, "Mr. Ci has a unique vision. He's sure to be successful if he starts a drama. He won't have to worry about not making back his investment."

This statement is meant to be exaggerated and flattering.

But Ciheng just smiled faintly and did not refute.

After lunch, they had almost finished discussing business. He glanced at his watch.

It’s getting late, and I have to go back to pick up Wen Zhenni to go to the hospital.

So he stood up and said goodbye to everyone.

When he arrived at the company lobby and was about to get into the elevator, he suddenly remembered what Wen Zhenni had told him that morning.

He turned to Lin Nuo, who was accompanying him, and instructed, "I left a black velvet jewelry box in the car. It's my wife's necklace. Go take it back to the jewelry company and ask them to pick out the intact pearls and turn it into a bracelet."

"Okay." Lin Nuo took the task and turned around to make arrangements.

Lu Fangyang, who had just entered the company lobby, heard the conversation from afar. He caught up with Ci Heng and walked side by side with him to the elevator. He jokingly said, "It's rare. President Ci Heng actually wants to repair jewelry. Is he trying to be frugal?"

"I don't understand it either." Ci Heng took a deep breath, his tone helpless. "The jewelry I gave her is enough to fill a wall, but she just likes that pearl necklace of ordinary value and wears it almost every day."

Entering the elevator, Lu Fangyang pressed the button and analyzed based on his limited experience, "My wife likes this necklace so much that she can't bear to throw it away even though it's broken. There are only two possibilities: either she's used to wearing it, or it means something special to her, and the person who gave it to her is very special to her."

"Is it special?" Ciheng asked him to point it out.

That pearl necklace was the coming-of-age gift he gave her when she was eighteen... Could it be that she had developed feelings for him from that time on?

His eyes flickered slightly, and he took a deep breath, suppressing the thoughts that were stirring in his heart, and looked at Lu Fangyang, "Can you help me keep an eye out for any new jewelry products recently?"

As an excellent and competent assistant to the president, Lu Fangyang must of course do his duty and solve problems for his boss. "There are many new products worth paying attention to recently, one of which is a conch bead brooch with a very unique design."

"Buy it." Ciheng didn't even ask the price and directly made the order.

Lu Fangyang gave a thumbs up: "Boss is so generous!"

Ciheng returned to the office and picked up his phone to text Wen Zhenni: [Where are you? Are you home? I'll pick you up now.]

Wen Zhenni had just finished talking about work with Qin Qing, and came out of the company with Chengzi and walked into a high-end cake shop.

She sat down in the window booth and replied to the message: [Near the company. Do you want to come pick me up?]

Seeing her scrolling through her phone, her eyes never left the screen. Chengzi asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"

"I'm going to the hospital for a follow-up checkup later," Wen Zhenni raised her head, her eyes curved, "My husband said he's coming to pick me up."

The waiter brought the dessert. Wen Zhenni sniffed it carefully, put down her phone, picked up the spoon, carefully scooped a spoonful and put it into her mouth.

The rich sweet aroma melted on her tongue, so sweet and delicious that she squinted her eyes. "You don't know how I managed to survive those nutritious meals every day..."

Although Orange felt sympathetic, health was the most important thing. "I'm already making an exception by letting you have this portion. Don't sneakily eat it again when you get home."

"Now it's time to enjoy the food, don't spoil the fun."

Wen Zhenni glared at her in mock anger. When she lowered her head to dig another spoonful of dessert, she suddenly heard someone calling her: "——Zhenni!"

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Author's note: It will be finished at the end of the month.