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Shen Yao let out a heavy sigh.
“Qiao Qiao, it looks like you don’t pay any attention to celebrity gossip at all. No wonder you’re working in such an old-fashioned field.”
Song Qiao widened her eyes and retorted indignantly,
“Shen Yao, I’m preserving an intangible cultural heritage, okay? It’s not old-fashioned — it’s meaningful work.”
Shen Yao immediately conceded,
“Okay, okay, I was blind to your talent. I don’t really understand that luodian craft of yours. Let’s get back to today’s gossip.”
She perked up and eagerly added,
“This news broke out just recently and already shot to the front page of the entertainment headlines. Within just two hours, there were over ten thousand trending posts discussing it, and the comments broke a million. Xie Yanli really lives up to his title as the crown prince of Beijing’s elite circles — his influence rivals that of top celebrities.”
Song Qiao instantly thought of last night’s gathering. Biting her lip, she said with a complicated expression,
“This news is probably fake, right? Maybe someone just blurted something out, and someone else took it seriously.”
But Shen Yao looked completely convinced,
“Who would dare spread baseless rumors about Xie Yanli? This definitely isn’t groundless — maybe it’s even true.”
Just as Song Qiao was about to explain, Shen Yao barreled on,
“Qiao Qiao, Xie Yanli has both money and looks. He’s so outstanding and never had a single scandal come out about him. When you think about it, it’s suspicious. Maybe he really isn’t capable in that department.”
Song Qiao pressed her lips together and countered,
“He’s been abroad all these years. Even if he dated someone, who would know? He just got back to the country.”
After a brief silence, Shen Yao suddenly asked,
“Qiao Qiao, back when you two were dating, did he ever make any moves on you?”
Song Qiao involuntarily raised her voice, blurting out,
“Yao Yao, how could that be possible? We were so young back then — nothing but pure innocence between us.”
Seeing how agitated Song Qiao was, Shen Yao tactfully changed the subject.
“Alright, alright, I was talking nonsense. By the way, how did it go yesterday when you talked with Chen Yang and his difficult mother?”
Song Qiao’s gaze darkened, and she recounted what had happened the night before.
This time, Shen Yao got worked up. Hands on her hips and eyes blazing with indignation, she exclaimed,
“Qiao Qiao, you could have anyone — why are you hanging yourself from this one tree? I’m telling you, even if Xie Yanli is impotent, he’s ten thousand times better than Chen Yang. Can you please stop being so stubborn? Otherwise, you’ll have nowhere to cry after you get married!”
Song Qiao explained patiently,
“Chen Yang’s mom might not be great, but Chen Yang treats me well. I think it’s not easy for him to be caught between the two of us. Besides, I’m not marrying his mother — I’m going to live with Chen Yang.”
Shen Yao sighed deeply, wearing an expression of exasperation.
She patiently tried to reason with her,
“Qiao Qiao, you two aren’t even married yet. Of course he treats you well now — how else would he lure you home? You can marry someone for money or looks, but you can’t just marry someone because he treats you well. That stuff is fake — it changes. A man’s sweet words are lies, and beautiful women always end up unlucky because they start out feeling sorry for men. You need to break up with him as soon as possible.”
Song Qiao knew Shen Yao was biased against Chen Yang. To avoid provoking her further, she chose to remain silent.
Shen Yao could tell Song Qiao had made up her mind. Helplessly, she said,
“Since you won’t listen to me, forget it. I have to get back to work. Let’s talk later.”
After Shen Yao hung up, Song Qiao picked up her phone and soon scrolled to the news about Xie Yanli. The internet had indeed exploded over the story, with netizens posting an endless stream of comments of all kinds.
Overall, the netizens were split into two camps:
— The majority believed this was a smear campaign by business rivals deliberately spreading rumors to damage Xie Yanli’s reputation.
— A smaller group thought someone was using Xie Yanli’s name to attract attention and make a profit.
After reading through everything, Song Qiao found that the netizens were still being pretty rational, which eased her uneasiness a lot. She put down her phone and got back to working on an order for a mysterious client.
This time, the mysterious client had commissioned a luodian jewelry box made from white qinan wood from Nha Trang, Vietnam.
Qinan is a premium variety of agarwood and the most expensive type of wood. Its growth process is complex and lengthy, making it extremely precious. It is known as “the king of fragrances.”
Agarwood is hailed in the medical world as a “natural medicinal pouch.” It calms the mind, relieves stress, and improves sleep quality.
Luodian is a traditional handicraft. It involves grinding, polishing, and cutting shells and then embedding the exquisitely shaped pieces into artworks. Luodian is listed as a Chinese intangible cultural heritage.
Her teacher, Master Zhou, had told her that luodian craftsmanship originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties and flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties. Despite its long history and rich cultural significance, it began to decline in the late Qing dynasty and was nearly lost.
Whenever she saw Master Zhou’s pained expression over the possibility of this craft disappearing, she felt deeply moved.
She noticed that very few people around her were interested in luodian, and even fewer knew about it. Every time she saw luodian works made by designers from other countries in magazines, she became even more determined to master the craft — she wanted Chinese luodian to shine just as brightly.
Song Qiao had started learning luodian in college. Outside of classes, she spent all her time in Master Zhou’s studio, even during winter and summer breaks. Because of this, she barely had time to go on dates with Chen Yang — thankfully, he was supportive and tolerant of her.
When she first became an apprentice, the old master was both happy and worried. He feared she wouldn’t persevere, as luodian requires many complex steps, and most young people today are impatient and unwilling to endure hardship.
After a year of dedicated learning, Master Zhou finally considered her to have passed his test and began teaching her all his most prized techniques.
In fact, the reason Song Qiao became interested in luodian was because, as a child, she had once received a luodian jewelry box from Bai Shuyu. She found it stunningly beautiful and loved it dearly. That’s when the seed of wanting to learn luodian was planted in her heart.
Song Qiao spent five or six hours straight in the workshop. It wasn’t until her stomach growled with hunger that she stopped, cleaned up, and left.
She picked up her phone and was about to go grab something to eat when she saw five or six missed calls from Chen Yang.
She called him back immediately and learned that he had been busy with work and couldn’t accompany Xu Qin. He wanted her to take Xu Qin around and help strengthen their relationship.
Song Qiao originally didn’t want to do it, but after Chen Yang pestered her sweetly, she didn’t want to ruin his mood and reluctantly agreed.
After hanging up, Song Qiao checked the time — it was already past 1 PM. Bracing herself, she called Xu Qin.
She suspected Chen Yang had already talked to Xu Qin beforehand because Xu Qin’s attitude was fairly agreeable. Xu Qin asked to meet for lunch on World Trade Avenue.
Song Qiao agreed, gave instructions to her employees, and took a taxi straight there. When she rushed to the agreed location, she saw that Xu Qin had brought along Lin Shiyu.
The two of them were linking arms affectionately — anyone who didn’t know better might have mistaken them for mother and daughter.
She hadn’t known Lin Shiyu would be there and froze for a moment. Lin Shiyu smiled at her and said,
“Song Qiao, I just happened to have some free time today. You don’t mind if I join you and Aunt Xu for some shopping, right?”
Before Song Qiao could respond, Xu Qin patted Lin Shiyu’s hand and said gently,
“Shiyu, what are you saying? Clearly, it’s me who’s bothering you to come shopping with me. Why are you feeling shy? You must be hungry. Come on, let’s go eat.”
After speaking, Xu Qin didn’t even look at Song Qiao and walked straight ahead.
Song Qiao was used to it. Unbothered, she followed behind the two of them.
After walking for a short while, Xu Qin suddenly stopped, turned to Song Qiao, and instructed,
“Song Qiao, I heard this restaurant is really popular. Let’s eat here. I’ve been waiting for you for ages, and I’m tired. Shiyu and I will sit and rest — you go line up.”
Song Qiao looked up at the restaurant, Qinghe Banquet, with a line stretching nearly a whole block. She frowned and explained,
“Auntie, this restaurant is indeed popular, but it’s really hard to get a seat. I might have to wait two hours and still not get in. Why don’t we go somewhere else and I’ll bring you back here another time?”
Xu Qin’s face instantly darkened.
“Song Qiao, I rarely come to Beijing, and this is how you brush me off? What if I say I insist on eating here today — will you or won’t you?”
Song Qiao immediately understood — Xu Qin was deliberately making things difficult for her. Unflustered, she replied,
“Auntie, I’ve also been working all morning. I’m not only hungry but also exhausted. If you insist on eating here, then you’ll have to line up yourself.