Chapter 53: Black Gem

Xie Bo booked a ticket for Lin Yiwei that didn’t require a layover, a direct 11-hour flight to London Heathrow Airport.

In the first-class cabin, with incredibly comfortable and spacious surroundings, she could even adjust the seat to lie down and use wifi to go online.

Lin Yiwei enjoyed all of this without any reservation, as she didn’t need to be polite to Xie Bo, especially since he had never been polite to her either.

However, there probably wouldn’t be any more of this in the future.

Since they had broken up, she had no reason to accept Xie Bo’s support. Everything would be up to her once she arrived in London.

Lin Yiwei connected to the wifi, and the only message in her WeChat was a farewell text from Ye Anning, asking her to check in after landing. Reflecting on her life journey of the past twenty years, Lin Yiwei felt like a lone star in the sky, with no friends, no family, and her only brother gone. After finally making a close friend, they would soon part ways.

Xie Bo didn’t send any more messages to her, leaving Lin Yiwei with a sense of loss. It was she who had initiated the breakup, and Xie Bo agreed not to entangle further.

In fact, he might have wanted to part ways long ago, as it was the most beneficial course of action for him. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, so Lin Yiwei did it, which was quite dignified.

Her emotions, which had already calmed down, now fluctuated again at the thought of him, bringing waves of bitterness to her nostrils.

She even felt like crying. It was unbelievable, she shouldn’t be crying for someone who didn’t belong to her. Hadn’t she already understood the clarity of this relationship in her heart?

But seeing him kiss Chi Xiyu, she still felt a faint ache deep inside, a pain she was unwilling to admit.

She forced herself to think more about Lin Xie, as the immediate priority was to rescue him. Besides this young man she had cared for as he grew up, there was no one in the world worth her unconditional dedication or total admiration.

She repeatedly reminded herself of this fact.

The plane took off, and the sudden sensation of weightlessness made Lin Yiwei’s eardrums feel swollen, and her heart felt empty.

“Goodbye, Xie Bo.”

…

Lin Yiwei forcefully closed her eyes, holding back the surging tears and suddenly plunged into a heavy dream.

In the chaotic dream, it was filled with his kisses, and she seemed to dream of turning into Chi Xiyu, being kissed by him… She had never envied that vain girl, but in the dream, Lin Yiwei crazily envied her, envied her good family background… being able to have things she didn’t deserve.

She hadn’t slept for long when Lin Yiwei was awakened by a child’s crying.

In her side front, there was a lady holding a child, trying to soothe the crying baby in her arms. Despite her gentle cooing, the child kept crying incessantly.

A young man in the backseat, wearing trendy fashion with a large LV logo and gray dyed hair, couldn’t stand it anymore.

He took off his iPods and shouted at the young lady, “Can’t you control your child? Seriously, even in first class, we have to deal with a crying baby. So annoying! Can’t you let people rest?”

The lady, around thirty, was very beautiful, elegantly dressed, and had a calm and gentle demeanor.

She had no experience in arguing, so she could only apologize repeatedly while trying to soothe the child in her arms.

“I’m sorry, truly sorry. The air pressure might be making her uncomfortable. I’ll try to keep her voice down.”

“Is sorry enough? Can’t you make this child shut up? Can’t you cover her mouth with something? If you can’t handle her, let me help you!”

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately became assertive, “If you dare, I’ll call the police!”

“Please, miss, this is an airplane. I just want to get some sleep. I stayed up all night playing games, I’m very tired. I have only one request, make your brat shut up, otherwise, you go to the economy class.”

The woman looked at her crying child in distress, unfastened her seatbelt, preparing to go to the economy class.

The flight attendant quickly said, “Ms. Leng, you can’t unfasten your seatbelt. The plane…”

Before the words were finished, a gust of air swept through, causing the aircraft to shake violently. Ms. Leng almost fell by the aisle but luckily, Lin Yiwei, quick to react, caught the baby that slipped from her hands.

Ms. Leng’s face turned pale with fear, “Zhenzhu! My Zhenzhu!”

The baby miraculously stopped crying in Lin Yiwei’s arms. She looked at Lin Yiwei with big curious eyes, calling out “sister” and “hug” in a garbled manner.

Lin Yiwei had never held a child and didn’t like children, but as she looked at the mixed-race little girl with snowball-like cheeks in front of her, she instantly liked her.

“So cute.”

“Thank you, thank you! Really, thank you.” Ms. Leng, still shocked, was on the verge of tears.

Lin Yiwei handed the girl back to her mother. Ms. Leng sat down next to Lin Yiwei, fastened her seatbelt, and was surprised when the child started crying again as soon as she held her.

“Little Zhenzhu, please don’t cry. Mommy doesn’t know how to soothe you. Do you not like mommy?”

Lin Yiwei saw that the woman was clearly a new mother, and when the baby cried, she felt like crying too.

“Shall I try?” Lin Yiwei said softly.

Ms. Leng handed the child to her, and from her bag, Lin Yiwei took out a small bell that made a crisp sound.

“Look at this.”

The little girl curiously widened her eyes and reached out to touch the small pink bell, instantly breaking into an angelic smile. Lin Yiwei found it amusing in her heart; this pink bell was originally from Xie Bao and her “toys,” of which they had many similar ones… Yet she thought this bell was cute and wanted to keep it as a memento, so she put it in her bag and took it with her. She hadn’t expected it to be liked by the little girl.

Lin Yiwei lightly hummed the melody of “The Bell Rings Ding Ding” as the little girl obediently lay in her arms, looking up at her with wide eyes—

“Sister.”

Lin Yiwei looked at Leng Zhiyun who seemed very young, beautiful, and intelligent, only a few years older than her, so she said, “Little Pearl, you should call me Aunt.”

“I’ll still call you sister. You’re much younger than me!” Leng Zhiyun smiled and said, “I’m thirty-five already, and you still look like a student.”

“But you look very young.”

“Are you studying in London?”

“Yes, as an exchange student.”

“That’s good. My daddy is sick. I brought the children across the sea to London to visit him. I hope he can hold on. If not, I want him to see Little Pearl one last time.”

“It’ll be alright.”

“Yeah, I’ll take your word for it.”

Lin Yiwei looked up and smiled at her, and Leng Zhiyun was momentarily stunned by the bright red mole on her forehead.

There was a time when that child also had one…

“By the way, how should I address you?” she asked.

“I’m Lin Yiwei, known for my knowledge and expertise.”

“That’s a nice name. I’m Leng Zhiyun.”

“Leng… Zhiyun.”

Lin Yiwei suddenly remembered—the second young lady of the jewelry family in Hong Kong, from the Leng family, was named Leng Zhiyun!

She usually didn’t pay attention to gossip about these wealthy families and conglomerates, mainly because her cousin Su Andi liked to watch these types of dramatic stories about family rivalries and scandals.

Whether it was the story of the Leng family’s second young lady eloping with someone years ago, returning pregnant and being killed in a family feud, or the jewelry tycoon rumored to have a terminal heart condition… and then there was Leng Zhiyun, known in the jewelry world for many years as an independent and intelligent woman, now allegedly pregnant with unknown father…

In short, similar gossip, even if Lin Yiwei didn’t care, had been educated by Su Andi for several years, so upon hearing Leng Zhiyun’s name, she almost immediately understood the woman’s identity.

Leng Zhiyun saw through Lin Yiwei’s thoughts and teased, “You guessed right. I am indeed that Leng Zhiyun. Unexpected, right? Even a strong woman like me from the Leng family can have such a difficult time raising a child alone.”

“No, I’m sorry, I…” Lin Yiwei’s shyness broke out a bit; she didn’t know how to respond.

She never imagined she’d be talking to a heiress who often appeared in the news.

Suddenly, the baby’s hand pulled out a cross necklace from Lin Yiwei’s collar.

“You like this!” Lin Yiwei took off the necklace and handed it to the baby’s hand. “Take it to play with.”

Leng Zhiyun saw the cross necklace and immediately changed her expression, grabbing it and examining it…

The copper-yellow cross was made of a very special material, neither gold nor silver, with a grand and ancient design. The cross was intricately carved with rose motifs, the details exquisite and refined.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have given her things so casually.” Lin Yiwei felt a little flustered. “It’s not sharp. I’ve been wearing it for many years. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt her.”

Leng Zhiyun ignored her words and asked excitedly, “Where did this cross come from?”

“Huh?”

“Where did you get this? Who gave it to you?”

“No one gave it to me, I’ve had it since I was young,” Lin Yiwei explained, puzzled. “The caregivers at the orphanage said I had it when I arrived.”

“Orphanage, did you grow up in an orphanage? Aren’t you surnamed Lin?”

“I was later adopted.”

“Are you an orphan?”

Lin Yiwei didn’t want to disclose her background to this stranger, although… she wasn’t exactly a stranger; Leng Zhiyun was the famous second daughter of the jewelry dynasty.

Lin Yiwei wasn’t close to her, she had her own pride and didn’t want to say too much.

“Can you return it to me?” Lin Yiwei asked for the cross necklace.

However, Leng Zhiyun held onto it tightly, scrutinizing Lin Yiwei’s beautiful face with a complex expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I find the craftsmanship of this cross very exquisite. You know, I work with jewelry, so I’m interested.” Leng Zhiyun immediately regained her polite smile and returned the cross necklace to Lin Yiwei.

“I see.” Lin Yiwei toyed with the cross necklace, joking, “Can you help me assess its value? Maybe one day I can’t afford to eat, or pay my tuition, and I can sell it for some money…”

Leng Zhiyun wasn’t concerned about the cross necklace; she was more interested in the person in front of her.

“Are you… in need of money?”

“Oh no, no, I was just joking,” Lin Yiwei didn’t want to be misunderstood or reveal too much to a stranger, “I’m not in need of money, I have savings.”

Leng Zhiyun still worried about her uncontrollably and instinctively. She existed alone in this world without the protection of family; it must be very difficult. She couldn’t bear to think about how much suffering she might endure or how many bad people she might encounter.

“Can I add you on WeChat?” Leng Zhiyun looked at her, cautiously asking, “You seem to have a special connection with our baby. I believe in this. She called you ‘sister’ as soon as she spoke, she likes you so much… you must have a connection. Can we exchange contact information?”

Lin Yiwei was cautious and reluctant to share contact information, but looking at Leng Zhiyun, a public figure and the daughter of a jewelry tycoon, she didn’t have any ulterior motives. Maybe it was just fate. This baby stopped crying as soon as she held her and called her ‘sister,’ it was quite miraculous.

Lin Yiwei took out her phone and added her on WeChat.

“By the way, Leng sister, you work with jewelry, I want to ask you something.”

“Don’t call me sister,” Leng Zhiyun said gently, “Call me Aunt Leng, I’m your elder.”

“Okay, Aunt Leng, I want to ask you about a piece of jewelry suitable for men, not too expensive, but not too cheap, something… how should I put it…”

“Um, not a necklace, not a ring either,” Lin Yiwei hesitated, “just something suitable for gifting to men…”

“For a boyfriend.”

“No, no, not for a boyfriend…”

It was no longer the case. Xie Bo had given her over a million in separation fees, which had been sitting in her account. Initially, she felt justified in keeping it as savings for her studies, but now… she wasn’t as comfortable with it. Something had changed, and she didn’t know what.

She didn’t want her relationship with Xie Bo to become solely about money. Every night with him was a happy memory in her mind and shouldn’t be tainted by money.

“You have a budget of about a million?”

“It can be made into a bracelet, using sapphire gemstones, also known as black sapphires, a type of sapphire that the Thai people call ‘Buddha stone.’ It can ward off disasters, bring good luck.”

“Yes, yes!” Lin Yiwei nodded repeatedly, “I want something that can bring good luck!”

Leng Zhiyun’s eyes showed a loving expression. “Not for a boyfriend anymore? A parting gift?”

“You could say that.”

“But you seem to love him a lot, why break up?”

“I… I don’t love him!” Lin Yiwei stuttered, “I don’t love him!”

“A million and you don’t love him?”

“You misunderstood, I just want to return what he gave me in a different way. He helped me a lot, and I have to repay him. But if I directly return the money, he will likely get angry.”

In a fit of anger, Lin Xie’s matters might become uncertain again. Lin Yiwei didn’t dare to easily provoke this person.

“Alright, I understand,” said Leng Zhiyun as she gently rubbed the little girl’s head. “Don’t worry, leave this matter to me. I will definitely create a unique Buddha stone bracelet for you as a parting gift.”

“Oh, I was just consulting with you, not asking for a custom order…”

How could she afford to commission someone as renowned as Leng Zhiyun for a bracelet? Just a million yuan… she probably couldn’t even afford a fraction of her design sketches.

“Since we have such a good connection, and you’ve helped me out, without you, baby might have fallen. This is a huge favor, beyond measure in money. So it’s settled, after I finish making it, I’ll definitely contact you again.”

She unilaterally settled the matter like this, and Lin Yiwei couldn’t bring herself to refuse anymore, repeatedly thanking her.

During the long journey, Leng Zhiyun sat beside Lin Yiwei the whole time, and they talked a lot.

She could sense Lin Yiwei’s guardedness towards strangers, and despite Leng Zhiyun’s efforts to understand her life, she didn’t get much information.

After disembarking, Leng Zhiyun offered Lin Yiwei a ride in her car to where she was staying, but Lin Yiwei politely declined, saying someone was coming to pick her up.

After bidding farewell at the airport, Leng Zhiyun trembli sent the secretly taken photo of the girl to her elder brother—

“Brother, I’ve found the treasure.”