Chapter 92

There had never been a more piercingly painful sentence.

Though she knew he’d been tired over the past two years, there must have been some joyful moments, bright moments. Looking back, it felt like a cage.

The night fell quickly, highlighting the brightness of the lights. Shang Mingbao’s face turned pale. “Brother Feiran, do you think breaking up was the right decision?”

Xiang Feiran turned around, his demeanor casual. Seeing Fang Suining coming through the lobby, he first nodded in greeting, then answered Shang Mingbao: “Very right, and—” He paused, “Call me Xiang Feiran, not Brother.”

Fang Suining arrived and glanced back and forth, offering an awkward explanation: “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen these people. We talked for a while. How are you two?”

“Not great.” Xiang Feiran waved his hand. “What do you need me to wait for?”

“Uh…” Fang Suining quickly came up with an excuse, “I just—just now, had a drink of sake. Could you take babe home?”

Shang Mingbao wanted to say she had driven her own sports car, but swallowed the words.

Xiang Feiran’s expression was cold. “I’m not available. Take a taxi. The mainland is very safe; it’s not late.”

After finishing, he nodded briefly to both of them and said, “I have things to do. I’m leaving first.”

Watching his figure disappear into the dim light of the Japanese restaurant, Fang Suining didn’t know whether to hit him or herself first, forcing a smile: “Don’t take it to heart. He’s always been like this…”

Shang Mingbao also forced a smile: “I know. He used to be special to me.”

Now, that special treatment was just withdrawn.

Seeing Fang Suining’s awkwardness, Shang Mingbao calmly said, “Suining, thank you, but there’s no chance of us getting back together in the short term. I don’t want him to have someone who doesn’t love him wholeheartedly. I need time.”

Fang Suining had always avoided thinking of her as not loving Xiang Feiran, but she unexpectedly revealed her own vulnerability, exposing the straw-like interior.

She suddenly felt cold to her bones. Having broken up and gotten back together with exes numerous times, having fought, thrown things, changed locks, dated new people, and argued late into the night, she had done every dramatic, bloody, and childish thing. Yet, no one ever admitted to themselves that their love had diminished. It wasn’t that they loved less, but rather cowardice, knowing that admitting to loving less would make them morally guilty and leave scars for future reconciliations, becoming evidence for accusations during the next argument.

“Shang Mingbao, you suddenly saying this makes me feel like a fool today,” Suining scratched his head, thinking, damn it.

“Sorry.”

Fang Suining said urgently, “Aren’t you afraid that over time, he might fall in love with someone else, or someone else might appear around him, or that he might simply stop loving you? People have critical points, and once that point is passed, it’s like an endless sea, and no amount of pulling will bring it back!”

“I’m afraid.” Shang Mingbao replied without blinking, “But I can’t be selfish again. I can’t keep him waiting in vain just because I’m afraid he’ll look elsewhere. What’s the difference between that and how I’ve been for the past two years?”

Fang Suining shook his head, his expression and gaze turning unpleasant. “Fine, that’s your choice.”

---

The underground parking lot was dim and empty. Xiang Feiran lowered the car window and quietly smoked another cigarette before starting the engine.

As he drove out of the cold underground shelter, the city lights reflected off the windshield. He merged into the line waiting at a red light. The silver Porsche 911 in front of him had plates from two cities; he recognized it as one of Shang Mingbao’s sports cars.

Xiang Feiran steered to let another car merge into the lane between them, blocking his view.

That was the closest distance he would have to Shang Mingbao for the next year, and the only glimpse he would get.

He didn’t see her again. Though he hadn’t unfollowed her on Instagram, he was too lazy to use a VPN to log in, and eventually, he stopped opening the app. His Moments had also reverted to being private.

No one mentioned Shang Mingbao to him anymore. When reviewing a journal article, he saw that one of the submissions cited his doctoral thesis. He clicked in after a long time, but seeing the dedication, “The Only Love,” his expression remained unchanged.

The closest he came to her again was at a charity gala in Hong Kong, where he gave two lectures at a hotel in Spring Kan Corner.

On the corridor facing the garden and the sea on the first floor, there was a jewelry store occupying a spacious corner, with the simple name “Ming” and a small line of text saying “Art Jewelry.”

For some reason, Xiang Feiran walked into the store.

Every piece in the store wasn’t neatly arranged in glass cases but placed in embedded glass compartments made from whole raw stones.

Xiang Feiran didn’t know this was Shang Mingbao’s store but noticed that every piece of jewelry seemed to reflect a plant’s shadow.

“This ring has a frame made of electroplated white titanium metal, with petals inlaid with over 10 carats of transparent round diamonds. The base of the petals is connected by a hinge structure, allowing the wearer to choose to close or open it according to their mood. The central stone is a 1-carat yellow sapphire,” the sales associate explained casually, “The inspiration comes from ‘Pearl Flower’.”

Xiang Feiran smirked.

Pearl Flower sounded high-end but was actually a wild flower commonly found in southern highland forests and grasslands. When Shang Mingbao first saw it, she exclaimed in excitement, finding the cluster of flowers cute and round-headed.

“Our principal likes it because it blooms for a long time, from midsummer to the snowy season. In the West, it’s known as ‘Pearl Eternal’ or ‘Summer Snow,’ and it’s our most popular item.”

Xiang Feiran glanced at the price: over 30,000, roughly the cost of five nights in a standard room at this hotel, a remarkably high price.

The sales associate moved to another display: “You might also like this black opal flower cluster brooch. It’s outlined with multicolored titanium metal, depicting twelve floral designs, with the main stone being top-quality black opal from Australia. The overall design is graceful and can be worn as both a brooch and a pendant.”

It was an oil-painting-like piece, with classical realistic details. The designer had intricately outlined each plant’s most typical morphological features, making them come to life.

“These twelve flowers include Elephant Flower, Yellow Bellflower, Clover Flower, Small Golden Light, Seven-petal Lotus…”

Uh, seemed like she mixed up the names. The sales associate hesitated, wanting to ignore the mistake, but the man opposite her took over.

“There’s no Seven-petal Lotus here. The remaining ones are Highland Bayberry, Highland Snow Lotus, Rose Crown, Columbine, Large Rose, Highland Yellow Flower, Bellflower, and…” Xiang Feiran listed them, pausing on the last flower and naming it: “Arctic Gentian.”

The sales associate’s eyes and mouth widened: “Wow, sir, you’re… amazing.”

She said it sincerely.

God knows, her boss often drew inspiration from plants and required them to explain the design sources in detail to customers, so they had to memorize many obscure plant names.

Aside from the Summer Snow ring, every piece here was handcrafted, with intricate designs and bold materials. Such complex and exquisite art jewelry had typically only existed in high-end jewelry lines of luxury brands, belonging to a small group of wealthy individuals. Since the brand settled in the hotel, it quickly built a loyal customer base. The sales associate remembered a wealthy woman from Shanghai who would always take a piece with her every time she stayed.

An anecdote she heard was that their boss had a bit of elitist pride. The original preferred location was Macau’s high-end district, where customers lost or won millions at the casino daily and were insensitive to the price of jewelry ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. But the boss declined, stating she didn’t want customers to impulsively take pieces home and feel sorry for the flowers made of stone.

Returning to the topic of the black opal brooch, the sales associate said, “This piece is called ‘Arctic Kingdom.’”

The man before her remained calm, showing no apparent reaction to whether he liked the piece, only asking lighty：“Why is it called Arctic Kingdom?”

“Because…” the sales associate smiled and said, “This represents the flowers blooming in the Arctic climate’s alpine tundra during July and August, resembling a fairy-tale kingdom.”

It was indeed her.

Xiang Feiran understood, looking at the brand name once more.

Ming, it turned out, was the Ming from “Mingbao.”

Her ideals and career had finally taken their first step.

The sales service was very attentive. Perhaps because the store was located here, it had already gone through basic purchasing power screening. Everyone who entered had purchasing power, so their service became crucial.

“Our brand’s muse this season is this,” she said as she gracefully guided him, “You seem to know a lot about plants. Do you recognize it?”

Xiang Feiran stopped and looked at the ring with petals layered and spread out, set with olive-shaped gemstones, showing a gradient from deep to light blue.

It was a common material used in floral settings and not difficult to recognize.

“Love-in-a-Mist.”

The sales representative conveyed the emotional value, smiling sincerely, “Yes, this is a flower with a history of three thousand years. Its English name is Love-in-a-Mist, and its language of flowers is ‘Endless longing.'”

The sales representative said seriously, “This is my favorite piece. It tells the story of a love hidden in mist, thus lost. Time passes, and only the owner of the ring remains, looking at the piece and reminiscing about distant affection.”

Xiang Feiran paused, smiled slightly, and looked at the price tag.

Ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand?

He squinted. Seriously? Is this from Mars or the Moon?

“This price was set by the owner,” the sales representative explained with a smile, “because she doesn’t intend to sell it, only to exhibit it. However, there have been so many inquiries that to avoid disappointing customers by refusing them, a sky-high price was set.”

Indeed, it was like her capricious style—to discourage people by setting a price that made them hesitate.

The store, with its sizable space and gallery-like ambiance, subtly immersed visitors. After a complete round, the sales representative provided detailed explanations like an art curator, with no sense of urgency, making the experience comfortable. At the end, she clasped her hands and said, “Is there a piece you are interested in? We can take it out for a closer look.”

“No need,” Xiang Feiran politely declined and left the store, leaving no contact information.

Expressing “endless longing” could be done directly via WeChat; there was no need to entrust it to a piece of jewelry priced at one hundred million. He only saw their story as an annotation to her art.

He wished her well.

For the next two days at the Chunkan Corner Qilu, Xiang Feiran did not walk through this must-pass corridor. At the dinner party, he also heard senior clients of the watch brand talking about this store, and one blonde woman was even wearing the “Arctic Kingdom” brooch on her evening gown.

After the lecture, Xiang Feiran returned to the city and was blocked by his childhood friend under the botanical garden dormitory.

The lead singer was more passionate about the band than he was. The ragtag band had changed drummers and bassists since university, but the main stage and his cousin, the guitarist, had never disbanded. Both families were financially well-off, so why not play? They finally made a name for themselves, gaining loyal fans at live houses, receiving invitations and rewards at music festivals, and releasing a record with a breakout hit. When they received a variety show offer, the cousins cried together, and the first episode was forced upon Xiang Feiran, making him watch two hours of TV.

Xiang Feiran hadn’t performed in a long time, only occasionally tapping on an electronic drum to massage his brain when stuck on research ideas.

Seeing the curly-haired lead singer always looking like he hadn’t slept, Xiang Feiran didn’t think much of it and asked what was up.

The lead singer was prepared and stepped forward, hugging his legs: “Oh, great lord!”

His cousin, who had ambushed from some corner, hugged him from behind: “Brother!”

Xiang Feiran: “Tsk.”

“Listen to me—”

Xiang Feiran: “No time.”

The lead singer, skilled in ignoring his indifference, persistently continued, “Our great drummer has broken his leg.”

“Got drunk, fell into a ditch on an electric scooter, and is now in the hospital with a cast.”

Xiang Feiran: “…”

A mix of sympathy and a sense of foreboding.

He replied calmly, “Find someone else to fill in. I’m busy.”

“You have time to give lectures and drink champagne in Hong Kong but no time to help your brothers?” The lead singer said tearfully, “You’ve changed; the water of Hong Kong has corrupted your once pure mind.”

“…”

“Hey, brother, how can you morally kidnap Xiang Bo!” The cousin scolded, adding sorrowfully, “Though Xiang Bo grew up watching me, I know he’s a loyal and skilled kid, but now he’s a top scientist admired by all. How can you make him play this childish game with us again!”

Xiang Feiran: “…”

“Cousin!” The lead singer took a deep breath and said with heartfelt distress, “Fei isn’t an outsider; he would never do something to cut off ties with his brothers. By saying this, you’re not only looking down on him but also on our thirty-year friendship!”

Xiang Feiran: “Twenty-seven years.”

The lead singer corrected: “Twenty-seven years!”

The cousin clenched his fist, pained: “Ah! Brother! Don’t make it hard for your brother!”

Xiang Feiran: “Indeed.”

The lead singer: “Fei, are you really so heartless?”

Researcher He from the adjacent lab passed by, took out his phone, and hesitantly asked, “Need to call security?”

Xiang Feiran calmly replied, “No need, just enjoying the view. Celebrities are on the show recently.”

Upon hearing “celebrities,” the lead singer and cousin immediately let go, coughed, and adjusted their (nonexistent) ties.

Researcher He: “Do you know him?”

Xiang Feiran: “Knew him before.”

“Damn it.” The lead singer’s composure cracked, and he gritted his teeth, “Just two episodes, only two episodes. Bro, you have to give me time to get used to the new drummer!”

The label indeed had drummers available for emergency gigs, but most were committed to rehearsals for another band. Their songs’ drumbeats were crucial, and since Xiang Feiran had played with them since childhood and supported their commercial performances after forming the band in university, there was no one more suitable than him.

It would be unreasonable not to help.

Two weeks later, during the recording of the new episode, Xiang Feiran donned a fisherman’s hat and adjusted his black mask, standing on the variety show’s performance stage.