In the early morning, sunlight streamed in.
When Ning Yuan woke up, there was no one beside her, only an elegant velvet box placed next to her.
She paused for a moment, then picked it up and opened it.
Inside is an Edwardian-style antique gold ring.
The ring's center stone is a Colombian emerald of at least three carats, resembling a pool of turquoise water, with such high clarity that it even exhibits a butterfly effect.
It is surrounded by rose-cut Burmese pigeon blood rubies and diamonds.
It's so beautiful and gorgeous, like an antique... no, this should be a collector's item antique ring.
Ning Yuan took it out and tried it on; it fit both her middle and ring fingers.
She sighed softly, took off the ring, put it back in the box, put it on the bedside table, and took a comb to the window to comb her hair.
Last night, she woke up feeling annoyed when she felt someone touching her hair, only to find that it was Rong Zhaonan drying her hair.
For a while afterward, she was actually half asleep and half awake, but she didn't want to see him, and even less did she want to hear him mention Ye Dong, Ye Qiu, Ye Yuan, or anything like that again.
She accidentally drank an alcoholic beverage yesterday, and every time she closes her eyes, she keeps thinking about that day at the Shanghai airport, when Xiang San was being escorted back to Beijing, he said, "I wish your love will be stronger than gold."
Although I don't want Xiang San to get his way, I have to admit that... it's really not easy to have a relationship that's as strong as gold.
Ning Yuan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to wash up.
When she finished getting ready and went downstairs, she happened to see Ah Heng eating breakfast.
"Xiao Ning, are you alright?" Aheng saw her come down and got up to pour her a cup of hot water.
Ning Yuan smiled faintly, took the water, and shook her head: "I'm fine, thank you."
Seeing that she didn't mention her captain brother, Ah Heng secretly glanced at her wrist and noticed that she wasn't wearing the watch from yesterday, nor was she wearing a ring.
Ah Heng frowned slightly and said calmly, "Xiao Ning, the big white goose said yesterday that we should go out and play together. Aren't you going to dress up?"
For example, wearing a watch or a ring.
Back when the team leader was demoted, my aunt secretly managed all of my things. She knew exactly what the team leader had taken.
The team leader had previously talked to her about taking all the things out at the end of summer vacation and letting Ning Yuan take them back to Shanghai as a betrothal gift from her aunt.
Yesterday, Xiao Ning wore her cousin's watch and went out to eat happily, which led to the Dongdong incident.
Today, Xiao Ning not only didn't wear her brother's ring, but she didn't even wear her watch.
Ah Heng thought to himself, "This is not a good omen!"
Ning Yuan sat down to drink her soy milk and said nonchalantly, "It's not like we're a couple going out together. I'm just going out with my white goose, why should I dress up?"
Besides, Ou Minglang has already seen how she chops people, so there's no need for her to pretend to be a lady.
Ah Heng said dryly, "What... your boyfriend? Of course you two aren't boyfriends. You're my brother's boyfriend. My brother went out with some buddies to take care of some business these past few days!"
Ning Yuan smiled faintly: "Well, so, when is Minglang coming?"
Seeing that Ning Yuan didn't respond, Aheng could only glance at his watch and say, "Why don't you leave after you finish eating? We arranged to meet at the gate of the compound at nine o'clock, and it's eight-thirty now."
Ning Yuan nodded: "Okay."
After the two finished tidying up, they told Aunt Qian and went out.
Aunt Qian watched as the handsome and stylish young man peeked out of the car at the gate of the courtyard and smiled brightly at Ning Yuan.
Holding a basket of groceries, she asked the nanny beside her with some trepidation—
"Whose kid is that? He's so stylish. He's completely different from the simple-minded boys in our compound."
The nanny next to her glanced over and whispered, "Sister Qian, someone who can drive a car and enter our compound is no ordinary person. You can tell just by looking at the license plate."
Aunt Qian couldn't help but worry: "Sigh, you said that young man was smiling at Aheng, right? Xiao Ning doesn't have any friends in Beijing either?"
I hope Nan boy doesn't really have trouble at home. That kid is pitiful; he saved Chen Chen so many times on the battlefield.
Old Chen treats Nan Xiaozi like his own son, and she treats him like her own child.
Xiao Ning is a good girl, and she treats her like her own wife. I hope she won't be stolen away by someone else because of some messy things.
The nanny continued to sigh softly as she began to pick vegetables: "It's hard to say..."
Aunt Qian silently comforted herself, thinking that everything should be alright. These days, if it's not a matter of life and death, how could she possibly get a divorce?
...
Ning Yuan looked at the car and asked in surprise, "Where did you get this car?"
This was in 1980; cars were a rare sight back then.
Ou Minglang chuckled: "I borrowed it from my grandpa! Get in the car, didn't you say you wanted to visit the entire Forbidden City? I've bought the tickets!"
Ah Heng was quite happy that she didn't have to drive herself: "Xiao Ning can only explore the rest of the Forbidden City until midnight at most. Where else do we plan to go?"
Ning Yuan thought for a moment: "I've been to a lot of places these past few days, but they're all just so-so. Since you drove all the way here, I'd like to go shopping at the various malls..."
"Ah! No way!" "Sister, you're on vacation, and you're still thinking about selecting goods and researching the market?!"
Ah Heng and Ou Minglang both yelled as if they had been stepped on.
Ning Yuan quickly covered her ears: "What are you yelling about? We're just killing time anyway, it's so hot, let's go shopping and enjoy the breeze from the fan..."
"Come on, we know you too well. Other women go shopping to buy things, but you're definitely there to research the market, or even to negotiate deals, sell or buy goods!" Ou Minglang said, propping his forehead up with his hand, feeling frustrated.
Did Ning Yuan's time with him and Aheng trigger some kind of "start your own business" function?
He finally had a vacation, but he just wanted to waste his life and didn't want to be a self-employed individual or a street vendor at all!
Ah Heng immediately nodded vigorously: "Unless you swear that you won't do business or visit more than three... no, two shopping malls!"
Ning Yuan knows firsthand how much shopping she does in Guangzhou in order to get the goods!
They walked around, compared prices, haggled, and even went back and forth, shamelessly pestering customers.
I'd rather carry Ah Hei and Ah Bai for ten kilometers of cross-country running!
Ning Yuan said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I swear I'll only visit two shopping malls today, just wander around a bit, and I'll only go to state-owned malls, what kind of goods can they sell or stock?"
As she spoke, she took out a map from her bag and unfolded it.
Looking at the markings and location analysis diagrams above, Aheng and Ou Minglang exchanged a glance. This guy clearly had a plan in mind!
Ning Yuan coughed lightly and coaxed them with a smile, "Come on, come on, I'll treat you to a meal. I even exchanged some national food coupons!"
What could Ou Minglang say? He and Aheng exchanged a glance, sighed, and drove away.
Ning Yuan watched the scenery flash by outside the window, and her mood calmed down.
Her main purpose in coming to Beijing was to investigate the market. She had been dealing with too many boring and draining things for too long. Only something meaningful like making money could energize her.
Ou Minglang and Aheng thought that it wouldn't be a big deal for Ning Yuan to go to two shopping malls.
She was in a bad mood, so they stayed with her.
Ning Yuan did indeed visit two shopping malls.
but……
They didn't expect that Ning Yuan's activities for the next few days would consist of going to the mall early in the morning and returning late at night.
She even went to the black market and the antique stalls in Liulichang!
...
Meanwhile, Ye Yuan discovered that he could no longer contact Rong Zhaonan.
"What's the situation in Zhaonan? It's been three days, and all he's done is send people over with gifts and things. Where is he?" Ye Yuan asked on the phone with a grim face.
The person on the other end of the phone said something, and Ye Yuan's expression turned sour: "He went to run some errands, and you don't even know where he went?"
In the end, he could only hang up the phone.
Ye Dong looked at Ye Yuan with a disappointed expression: "Brother Zhao Nan isn't coming to see me today? Brother, I don't need those gifts. Didn't you say he would come and take care of me personally?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
