Lu Shizhen remembered that in the original text, Xu Shouxian's wife and daughter divided up a lot of the jewelry left to Xu Shiyue by her mother. Among them, there was a particularly expensive set, which was a coming-of-age gift that Xu Shiyue's parents had made for her.
A wealthy person like Xu Shouxian must have a lot of expensive jewelry at home.
But Lu Shizhen can say with certainty that the set of jewelry left to her by Xu Shiyue's mother is irreplaceable by any gemstone.
These gemstones were originally mined by Xu Shiyue's father in a mine in South Africa. They are rare and precious, with exceptional luster and color purity, and their value cannot be measured by price alone.
Xu Shiyue's father brought the gemstone home, and Xu Shiyue's mother, a jewelry designer, personally designed a set of jewelry for her.
They originally intended to give it to Xu Shiyue on her coming-of-age day, but because of the special design of the gemstone and the extremely strict requirements for craftsmanship, even after two years of preparation, they were unable to finish it on Xu Shiyue's coming-of-age day.
Later, Xu Shiyue's mother planned to give it to her on her first birthday after she came of age, but missing it for a year meant she would never be able to give it to Xu Shiyue herself.
The darkness of the night blended with the light shining through the hall, casting a dim and ambiguous glow over the porch.
The wind carried a chill that seemed to freeze in the low temperature, yet the separated gems shimmered with a clean and clear light under the night sky.
Lu Shizhen had imagined this set of jewelry countless times, but she still couldn't help but feel that her imagination was still too limited.
The preciousness and specialness of gemstones lies in this: those who have never seen them cannot imagine how beautiful they can be. This dazzling beauty is indescribable; even if it were painted, it would seem dull if it were a little less so, or too fake if it were a little more.
The pale yellow gemstone perfectly complements the shape of the full moon, with an abstract, pointed sun surrounding it, flamboyant yet not overly exaggerated.
The original text described this set of gemstone jewelry with a "sacred flavor of Greek mythology," which Lu Shizhen felt was extremely apt.
The premise is that the person wearing this set of jewelry is Xu Shiyue.
Instead of this family of robbers and bandits.
Lu Shizhen grew angrier the more she thought about it, and the resentment she felt when she first read it resurfaced and surged within her.
She really wanted to go up and give each member of the family a good whack, but then Xu Shiyue's voice interrupted her: "Second Uncle, Second Aunt."
Xu Shiyue's voice was unusually calm, and you couldn't tell at all what emotions she had towards Xu Shouxian's family.
But then again, she probably didn't even know that the gift her mother had prepared for her was being carried by this family.
The anger burning in Lu Shizhen's eyes was clouded by a layer of obscurity. She just looked at Xu Shiyue's hand holding her wrist, not knowing whether this was a stroke of luck amidst her misfortune.
As Lu Shizhen was thinking this, an arrogant voice rang out: "Hey, what about me? You didn't even say hello to your older sister?"
She is Xu Shouxian's daughter, Xu Minjun.
The person asked this, then seemed to remember something and said apologetically, "Oh, sorry, I forgot. I had to make a sound, otherwise how would you know I was here?"
The winter wind blew through the porch, its sharp sound filled with mockery.
Lu Shizhen frowned as she looked at the intricate gemstone bracelet on Xu Minjun's wrist.
Aside from the original owner of this body, the person she hated most in this book was Xu Minjun.
Not only did he seize Xu Shiyue's things, but he also tried to seduce Shen Yanxing to ruin the relationship between the two female leads. In the end, he discovered that he had cancer and died in the hospital.
Damn it, their ending is even slightly better than mine.
Lu Shizhen's anger burned even brighter, and she sneered as she retorted, "It seems Miss Xu doesn't frequent these kinds of occasions often?"
Xu Minjun was taken aback when Lu Shizhen spoke up, and when she asked such a question. "What did you say?"
“Otherwise, why would Miss Xu specifically emphasize that you are here as well? Is it because you are afraid we won’t know that you are Mr. Xu’s daughter?” Lu Shizhen tilted her head slightly, looking as if she was very familiar with this kind of occasion. “Miss Xu looks older than our Shiyue, so why don’t you come to this kind of occasion often and do you need to introduce yourself?”
"you!"
Xu Minjun only wanted to satirize what Xu Shiyue couldn't see, but she was outmaneuvered after only one sentence of her prepared remarks. Frustrated, she pointed directly at Lu Shizhen.
And it was this one action that Lu Shizhen grasped with exceptional speed.
The gemstones on the bracelet clinked together, making a soft sound.
As if continuing her widely known persona of being unconventional and eccentric, Lu Shizhen examined the gemstone bracelet on Xu Minjun's wrist right in front of Xu Shouxian and Lu Shize, asking in an admiring and envious voice, "What a beautiful bracelet! This gemstone must be very rare."
Hearing this, Xu Minjun thought she had gained the upper hand and didn't rush to pull her hand away from Lu Shizhen's. Instead, she looked down at Lu Shizhen, who was admiring her jewelry, and said with her head held high, "Of course, this is from Switzerland, brought back by my father..."
Xu Minjun hadn't finished boasting when Lu Shizhen interrupted her, asking, "But why is the design a moon?"
Having read the original text long ago, Lu Shizhen followed her memory and pointed the jewelry at the light in the hall on one side, saying as she looked at it, "It's also engraved inside, fr October."
"Why is your younger sister's nickname engraved on Miss Xu's jewelry? Do you have any improper thoughts about your sister?"
Lu Shizhen's voice was full of doubt, but it was actually more like a statement.
She held up the beautiful gemstone and looked up at Xu Minjun beside her.
Everyone knows that the eldest daughter of the Lu family is a lunatic, but this is the first time Xu Minjun has encountered such a morbidly amused look in her eyes.
Perhaps it was because the night was too dark, but the man's eyes, backlit by the light, had a certain oppressive quality, and his playful expression made one's hands feel cold.
Xu Minjun certainly didn't have any improper thoughts about Xu Shiyue, but she knew perfectly well whose jewelry it was.
Even though Lu Shizhen hadn't mentioned it, she couldn't help but feel guilty and forced a rebuttal: "Don't talk nonsense here! My gemstone has words engraved on it, how come I didn't know?"
"Of course you don't know," Xu Shiyue's voice rang out coldly.
"In order to ensure that the words would not obscure the brilliance of the gemstones, my mother specially asked her senior sister to work with her, and it took six months to carve the blessing for me onto each of the main gemstones."
As she spoke, she slightly raised her eyes, looking at Xu Minjun, or rather, at Xu Shouxian behind her: "I just wonder, if the blessing I gave you falls on someone else, will it become a curse?"
The air seemed frozen, momentarily still.
Xu Minjun had no idea how to handle this kind of situation. Xu Shouxian chuckled and said, "Why is Shiyue starting to believe in these things now? Humans can't overcome fate, so she's starting to seek solutions from heaven?"
“We still need to learn from Second Uncle.” Xu Shiyue also kept the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and her slightly raised eyes completely moved from Xu Minjun to Xu Shouxian.
Their eyes met, their nearly identical black pupils clashing together, yet it was as if there was no confrontation at all.
The footsteps and conversations of the people around her seemed to be silenced, and for the first time, Lu Shizhen felt what it meant to feel an undercurrent of tension.
Just then, a deep voice suddenly interrupted: "It's so cold outside, why doesn't Shouxian go inside?"
He was a man wearing a Chinese-style black woolen coat, with a gray and black scarf draped over his shoulders.
An invisible force suddenly broke the standoff between the two, forming a stable triangle.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shouxian immediately withdrew his gaze and said to the man with a smile, "Mr. Wang, this young lady from the Lu family is chatting with my daughter. Perhaps it's because they're young and hit it off immediately, and they don't care about the cold anymore."
"Oh..." Mr. Wang nodded, looking at Lu Shizhen who was still holding hands with Xu Minjun, and reminded her: "Even if you feel like old friends again, you should still go inside and chat. You may be young, but you can still catch a cold in this kind of weather."
The person's voice sounded very warm and even gentle, but it carried an invisible pressure.
The words spoken did not sound like suggestions, but rather like commands that had to be carried out.
It's a bit like a government agency...
Just as Lu Shizhen was thinking this, Qiuqiu's excited voice rang out: "Host, host, is this the important person at the banquet that you told me to keep an eye on! I was wondering why I couldn't find him after wandering around for a while, turns out he just arrived!"
Lu Shizhen suddenly realized.
On the surface, the banquet was about discussing artificial intelligence, but some of the attendees were actually connected to the East Suburbs New Community construction project, and the person connected to them was none other than Mr. Wang.
This person played a crucial role in bringing down Xu Shouxian later on.
Lu Shizhen was just lamenting that her efforts to help Xu Shiyue get her jewelry back had been interrupted, but now she could kill two birds with one stone.
She looked at Mr. Wang, who was about to enter the banquet hall at Xu Shouxian's invitation, and said, "It is precisely because we hit it off immediately that I cannot let Mr. Xu in."
Mr. Wang stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, showing some interest in Lu Shizhen's sudden question: "Oh, why?"
“Mr. Xu is wearing a women’s brooch. If he goes in like that, wouldn’t it be a laughing stock if others saw him? I can’t let that happen,” Lu Shizhen said, her voice tinged with excessive righteousness.
"Little girl, how did you figure that out? Don't mistake it for something else and make a fool of yourself." Mr. Wang said with a smile, but more so as a warning to Lu Shizhen to be careful with her words.
Lu Shizhen could certainly sense it too, but seeing the things that belonged to Xu Shiyue in the hands of this family of robbers made her feel disgusted, as if she had swallowed a hundred flies. Despite the warning, she continued, "I'm just a child. If I make a mistake, it's just a laughing stock. But if Mr. Xu really brings the wrong thing in, he'll lose face later."
Lu Shizhen was also smiling, but her eyes were full of threat.
However, he wasn't facing Mr. Wang, but Xu Shouxian.
Perhaps this is what it means to be fearless because you have something to rely on.
After all, Lu Shizhen is a notorious lunatic. Relying on Lu Shize's unwavering favoritism, she does whatever she wants without restraint. Who knows what kind of trouble she might cause when she goes in?
“Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu, and their daughter’s jewelry is a set. Indeed, the whole family looks very pleasing to the eye. But look, this diamond is engraved with ‘October’. Do you know whose name it is?” Lu Shizhen asked, holding up the gemstone on Xu Minjun’s wrist, which she still hadn’t let go of.
Mr. Wang glanced at Xu Shouxian beside him, his gaze seemingly passing over Xu Shiyue, but only for a fleeting moment.
No one interrupted to remind him, and he simply shook his head, looking as if he didn't know: "Isn't October just a date?"
“But for the Xu family, October is Xu Shiyue’s nickname.” Lu Shizhen explained, deliberately making a comparison: “Others may not know, but since they are blood relatives, how could they not know? Mr. Wang, don’t you think so?”
Mr. Wang looked at the young girl in front of him, his smile deepening. As if he had learned something interesting, he said meaningfully, "October, the tenth month, that's quite interesting. It's easy to overlook if you're not paying attention; it's all about the details."
Xu Shouxian, who had been listening to Lu Shizhen's conversation with Mr. Wang, finally changed his previously calm expression.
He glanced at his wife beside him with a sinister and ruthless look, and laughed, "It seems that there are too many gems and jewelry in the house, and they are all kept in the safe. The servants in the house did not distinguish them clearly and made a mistake."
As he said this, Xu Shouxian looked at Lu Shize, who had been silent all along, and said, "Shize, your younger sister really seems to have some of the qualities of a sister-in-law. She might be very useful in the future."
Lu Shize nodded slightly, his face expressionless: "Mr. Xu, you flatter me. It's all because my mother and I have spoiled her. She's bolder than most people and has a sharp eye for things."
“It’s very poisonous.” Xu Shouxian smiled and glanced at Lu Shizhen. “This jewelry was my sister-in-law’s keepsake. It was originally supposed to be handed over to Shiyue, but unfortunately, some things happened later that delayed it.”
"Today is perfect; returning the item to its rightful owner also signifies a fresh start for the new year."
As he said this, Xu Shouxian calmly took off the brooch from his chest and pretended to put it in Xu Shiyue's hand.
However, his movements were already off-target from Xu Shiyue's direction, so when he put it in her hands, it was bound to fall to the ground and break.
The winter night was quiet, and a cold wind, carrying with it the warmth blowing from the hall, swirled around the porch.
Just a second before Xu Shouxian was about to let go, a cold sensation appeared on his wrist.
Xu Shiyue raised her hand at some point and grasped his wrist.
She still looked as if her vision was obstructed and she couldn't see anything clearly. She slightly raised her eyes and looked at Xu Shouxian. Without looking down, she took the brooch and said, "Second Uncle has taken very good care of it. He must cherish it very much."
Xu Shouxian's expression fell for a moment, then he smiled again: "We are connected by blood, and I'm taking good care of you."
Mr. Wang watched the whole thing unfold, and when it was over, he patted Xu Shouxian on the shoulder and said, "Alright, Shouxian, your chest looks really empty. I happen to have a brooch, I'll give it to you later."
Xu Shouxian was somewhat flattered. "Then thank you very much, Mr. Wang."
With that, he and Mr. Wang turned and walked toward the banquet hall.
Lu Shizhen couldn't quite understand this Mr. Wang. She and Qiuqiu thought to themselves, "Could this Mr. Wang be in cahoots with that bastard Xu?"
Qiuqiu scratched her head with her tail in confusion: "Logically, that shouldn't be the case..."
In the chilly winter wind, the one man was deeply troubled.
Lu Shizhen followed Lu Shize toward the banquet hall when suddenly a cool touch was slipped into her hand, which was hanging by her side.
Like yesterday's pure snow, it slowly melted in her palm.
Xu Shiyue abruptly reached out her hand, interrupting Lu Shizhen's worries: "Many things cannot be judged by appearances alone."
Lu Shizhen was taken aback, somewhat puzzled and even surprised by Xu Shiyue's sudden, insightful remark: "You..."
Xu Shiyue calmly reminded her, "When you're angry, your arms will tense up; when you're confused, your arms will tense up and loosen up."
Lu Shizhen didn't expect Xu Shiyue to say that, and immediately felt like she had been seen through: "Is it...is it that obvious?"
Xu Shiyue squeezed Lu Shizhen's really tense arm: "What do you think?"
"It can't be that bad..." Lu Shizhen muttered to herself, forgetting her earlier worries, and began to examine her arm.
Xu Shiyue didn't say anything more, but slightly raised her gaze to look at the obvious surprise on the face of the person next to her.
The bright lights of the banquet hall fell into her calm eyes, and a mischievous smile seemed to be hidden in the darkness.
Of course not.
Bright lights quietly guided the way to the restroom, while the sound of running water, disturbed by someone's anger, echoed from the quiet doorway.
Xu Minjun looked down at her now empty wrist, her voice filled with resentment: "That damned Lu Shizhen, who does Lu Shizhen think she is, to make our family lose face in front of Mr. Wang, she deserves to die!"
As if venting her anger on the water wasn't enough, Xu Minjun slammed the tap off, revealing her furious, wide-eyed reflection in the mirror: "Lu Shizhen, I'm going to show you what I'm capable of today!"
With that, Xu Minjun walked out, her high heels clicking loudly.
She had just stepped out of the restroom when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, and she almost slipped and fell.
Xu Shiyue had arrived here at some point and was leaning against the wall by the door.
Her eyes were sinister, and her voice was even colder than it had been in the porch: "Xu Minjun, I advise you to consider whether you can bear the consequences before you take action against Lu Shizhen."
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