"How long has it been since you last opened this?" Hu Moli picked up the sapphire ring, wiping the dust off its surface with her fingertips, her tone full of regret. "So many good things, and I've known you for so long, yet I've never seen you wear a single one. Tell me, isn't it a terrible waste to let them gather dust?"
Xu Zhuohua sat to the side and smiled, casually tossing her hair: "I'm used to going out without makeup, so wearing these feels cumbersome. Besides, there aren't many banquets throughout the year that require me to wear formal attire, so I might as well keep them."
Xu Zhuohua also thought the jewelry was beautiful and must be very valuable, comparable to the price of the shawl.
Xu Zhuohua rummaged through the jewelry box, her fingertips finally landing on a necklace.
She lifted the chain, and the several emeralds, each the size of a pigeon's egg, suddenly lit up under the light, like leaves dipped in morning dew, radiating a vibrant and luxurious luster.
"This is it, you can have it." She said lightly, as if she were handing over an ordinary handkerchief.
Hu Moli's eyes widened instantly, her mouth agape, and it took her a long time to find her voice: "Miss Xu, are you out of your mind? This is a Colombian emerald! It's so clear, it's rarer than a diamond, and you... you're just giving it to me like this?"
Xu Zhuohua didn't give her another chance to refuse. He went around behind her, placed the cool chain around her neck, and gently fastened the clasp.
The emeralds clung to Hu Moli's slender neck, their vibrant green making her skin appear even whiter, like a few jade beads after the rain adorning the finest mutton fat jade—a beauty so captivating that one couldn't look away.
“Look, how well they match.” Xu Zhuohua stepped back half a step to examine it, her eyes filled with genuine laughter. “No matter how good something is, it’s just sitting there unused. If you don’t wear it and I don’t wear it, even if it’s a rare emerald, what difference is there between it and a stone in the corner?”
Hu Moli raised her hand and gently stroked the facets of the gemstone, the cool touch spreading from her fingertips.
The facets are cut so precisely that they refract light like sunlight, and the patterns inside the gemstone resemble flowing streams, warm and translucent, a natural texture that is extremely difficult for artificial imitations to replicate.
Looking at the green necklace around her neck in the mirror, she felt a surge of warmth and tenderness in her heart, and for a moment she was speechless.
"Is this necklace part of your dowry?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
