No matter how unwilling Wei Jin was, her lovely vacation had officially come to an end.

Who would’ve thought it? Meng Yue Sheng actually left her behind to go to work. Just thinking about how early in the morning, Meng Yue Sheng had carefully moved her arm off him, tiptoed out of bed so as not to wake her, and quietly got ready for work… made her heart ache.

When Wei Jin opened her eyes, it was already close to ten o’clock, and the spot where Meng Yue Sheng had slept was long cold.

Sigh… She had no choice but to order some fast food and prepare to head to the office.

Upon entering the garage, she felt another wave of sadness seeing her car parked there all alone. Boohoo, Meng Yue Sheng had even driven off in the car that hadn’t been used for ages.

Sitting in her office chair, Wei Jin looked tired and out of sorts. She couldn’t quite get into work mode just yet and was lazily scrolling through videos on her phone.

Qi Zhu had passed by her desk for the fourth time with a sigh before finally catching her attention.

“Wei Zong, if you haven’t fully rested, you can come in a few days later.”

Wei Jin sat there, legs crossed, tossing a pen back and forth. “Ah… forget it. What’s the point of staying home alone…”

Then a thought suddenly popped into her head. “Hey, Qi Zhu, do you have a partner?”

“Xiao Wei Zong, you don’t know? I’ve been married for a while now.”

“Oh~” Wei Jin blinked. “Now I know.”

“So, how did you and your partner meet and get married?”

Qi Zhu sat across from Wei Jin, a look of “If you’re going to ask this, you better get comfy because it’s a long story” on his face. “It’s really something to reminisce about. Back in the day, we went to the same high school. He was always top of the class, always a step ahead of me in everything. As the eternal second place, I was often the subject of post-class gossip among our classmates…”

Qi Zhu’s gaze drifted out of the window as he recalled. “In our final year, the last exam, I thought, this time, I’ll surely surpass him. But after the exam, he turned in his paper and dragged me straight to the storage room. Then, he kissed and bit me, confessing that he had liked me for a long time and asking me not to be afraid of him. Ah, the recklessness of youth… Later, I found out it was his sensitivity period, but I couldn’t smell pheromones, so I thought it was just a regular confession. Then the dean showed up, and he got sent to the infirmary for inhibitors.”

“He took four days off and came back just as the class rankings were released.” Qi Zhu gritted his teeth. “That little punk was still number one!”

“After school, he waited for me and told me that what happened in the storage room wasn’t intentional, but that he truly liked me and hoped I’d consider him during college.”

“Sigh, back then, all I could think about was how I was finally getting to see Mr. Number One lower his head and talk to me. It was such a thrill, so I said if we ended up in the same college, I’d say yes.”

Wei Jin listened intently, thoroughly entertained.

As it turned out, they both aimed for the same university. It was an unspoken conclusion.

“As for marriage, once we got together, we realized we were pretty compatible in life. So, it just naturally led to getting our marriage certificate.”

“Was there a surprise proposal?”

Qi Zhu answered honestly, “It wasn’t exactly a surprise. It happened to be my birthday, and out of nowhere, he took out a ring and asked if I’d marry him. Looking back, I wonder if he proposed on my birthday just to save the trouble…”

“Oh, I see…” Wei Jin nodded. “Hey, Qi Zhu, can you check if there are any upcoming auctions with diamonds up for sale? I’m thinking of buying one.”

Qi Zhu: “?”

“What’s making your thought process jump around like this?”

“I’m not telling you.” Wei Jin waved her hand after finishing her gossip session, urging Qi Zhu to go check for her.

Ever since that day when she met Meng Yue Sheng’s father and Little Dad, Wei Jin had been thinking about moving up her proposal plans. After all, she had already met the parents, and it would feel awkward not to make a move soon.

Sure, you can buy a ring anytime, but a custom-made one… well, that was much more Wei Jin’s style.

That night, Wei Jin waited until Meng Yue Sheng was fast asleep. She quietly took a thin string and carefully measured the circumference of Meng Yue Sheng’s middle finger and ring finger. In the dark, the beam from Wei Jin’s flashlight peeked through the gaps in the blanket.

Holding a marker, she marked the string and scratched her head. Wait, is this measurement even accurate?

Qi Zhu was indeed efficient. By the next day, he had already sent her a digital copy of the upcoming auctions happening over the next month.

There were plenty of diamond auctions. Wei Jin flipped through most of them, her eyes starting to blur from the dazzling selection. Though diamonds weren’t as practical as gold, they were certainly beautiful. Wei Jin was used to seeing the typical clear diamonds, but now she was blown away by the variety: red diamonds, green diamonds, pink diamonds, blue diamonds, black diamonds, and even raw, unpolished stones straight from the mine.

After browsing all evening, Wei Jin finally settled on a freshly mined 43-carat blue diamond. The auction was across half the country.

Wei Jin checked the prices from previous blue diamond auctions, pulled out her wallet, and… felt the pinch. With a little embarrassment, she called Wei Nüshi (her mother), asking if she could borrow two credit cards.

“Limit?” Wei Nüshi was applying a face mask and kept her mouth barely open.

“If it’s one of those fancy black ones, that’d be perfect~”

“…” Wei Nüshi ripped off her face mask. “What trouble are you getting into?”

“Oh, come on, I just want to buy something at an auction. I’m worried I might not have enough money~”

“Are you proposing?”

Wei Jin pinched her cheek, trying to stay calm. “Why would you think that~? It’s a secret!”

Wei Nüshi, not wanting to play word games with her daughter, generously agreed. “Alright, I’ll send them over.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Wei Jin pressed her fingers together and mockingly bowed at her desk.

Before hanging up, she asked, “By the way, your engagement and wedding rings, were they custom-made by Master Charlie? Could you introduce me to him, pretty please, dear mother~?”

Wei Nüshi let out a cold snort. After silently chanting to herself this is my child, this is my child, this is my child three times, she said, “Wait for it!”

And soon after, an email arrived on Wei Jin’s phone with Master Charlie’s information.

As she hung up, Wei Nüshi peeled off another face mask and explained to Su Yan, who looked confused from bed, “Our daughter is finally about to ‘marry’ out…”

Su Yan looked relieved. “That means we can finally arrange a nice meal and tea with the Meng family.”

Meng Yue Sheng had the feeling Wei Jin was hiding something from him these past few days, but he didn’t want to ask directly.

Finally, that night, he grabbed Wei Jin’s hand, his face full of confusion. “Why are you feeling up my hand in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Wei Jin almost jumped out of her skin in shock, grateful that the string was still in her other hand.

“I-I was just touching it…” Wei Jin quickly lay back down. “By the way, I’m flying to F Country for an auction in a few days. Want to come with me? We can also visit P Country while we’re there…”

Meng Yue Sheng snuggled into the pillow, still sleepy. “P Country? You’ve got work there?”

“Something like that…” Wei Jin responded vaguely. “Do you want to come?”

Meng Yue Sheng released her hand, eyes closing. “How long?”

“If everything goes well, we’ll be back in four days.” Wei Jin pulled his hand back to her.

“Forget it, I won’t go. I’ve been getting busier lately, so I better stay and keep an eye on things.” Meng Yue Sheng’s voice trailed off. “Why an auction all of a sudden…”

“Surprise. I won’t tell you yet,” Wei Jin whispered.

“Oh…”

And just like that, Meng Yue Sheng fell back asleep.

Wei Jin carefully hooked her phone back with her foot, turned off the flashlight, and tucked the string with the new measurements into her pajama pocket before drifting off to sleep.

The day she flew to F Country, the weather was perfect. Wei Jin boarded the plane with the black cards her mom had lent her, took a nap, and arrived at her destination.

In this unfamiliar place, Wei Jin grabbed a bite to eat and then headed straight to her hotel, not bothering to explore the city.

When the time was right, she set off for the auction house.

The staff handed out auction guidelines to the guests as they entered the venue one by one. Wei Jin’s seat was in the middle, a bit toward the back. The catalog of auction items lay on the armrest.

Wei Jin flipped through it, finding that the blue diamond she wanted was listed toward the end. The starting price was 50 million, with a 5-million increment for each bid. If all went well, she hoped to get it for 50 million, but she doubted things would go smoothly.

She noticed that the guests in front of her were also flipping to the same page, discussing their desire to bid for it with their companions.

The spotlight on the stage focused everyone’s attention as the auctioneer began his fluent and elegant opening in English, catching the audience’s eye, “Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to our esteemed auction event. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us today, as we gather to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into each and every item up for sale…”

“…Next, we have Lot 13, a blue diamond rough stone, weighing 43.2 carats, mined on [date] from [location]. The starting price is 50 million, with 5-million increments. Let’s begin the auction…”

On the large screen, the diamond’s origin and a 360-degree view of the stone were displayed.

One guest raised their paddle first.

“Fifty million, once.”

After the first bid, several other guests began raising their paddles.

“Fifty-five million.”

“Sixty million.”

“Sixty-five million.”

“…”

“Three hundred and seventy-five million.”

Wei Jin clenched her pants, her face expressionless as she played the role of a paddle-raising machine.

By the time the bids reached 900 million, her hand holding the paddle was trembling. To be honest, she’d never made such a big deal in her life.

In the end, only three bidders remained.

The auctioneer’s voice grew more excited, “One billion and five hundred thousand… One billion and five hundred thousand, going once!”

Another guest from a corner raised their paddle.

“One billion and one hundred million!”

Wei Jin didn’t want to lose out on this rough stone. This was her whole purpose for coming here. She raised her paddle again.

“One billion and one hundred fifty million! One billion and one hundred fifty million, going once! Any further bids?”

“One billion two hundred million…”

The two of them went back and forth with their bids. Wei Jin didn’t even look at her opponent, but the guest next to her let out a gasp, “It looks like you’re determined to win this one…”

Wei Jin flashed a smile and raised her paddle once more.

“One billion five hundred fifty-five million! One billion five hundred fifty-five million, going once!”

“One billion five hundred fifty-five million, going twice!”

“Number 63, one billion five hundred fifty-five million, sold!”

The auctioneer struck the gavel. “Congratulations!”

The guest who had been chatting with her offered their congratulations. “Congrats on getting what you wanted!”

With a single strike of the gavel, it was over.

Wei Jin finally let out the breath she had been holding. “Thanks. I hope you get what you’re looking for, too.”

After the auction ended, Wei Jin took her paddle to complete the transaction and collect her item. Compared to the auction itself, the payment and collection process was much more straightforward. By the time all the transfer procedures were done, over three hours had passed.

Wei Jin took a taxi back to her hotel, and after finally acquiring the diamond she had been dreaming about, she could relax and rest.

Next up was going to P Country to find Master Charlie and get the wedding ring designed. Hopefully, with the influence of Wei Feng, Master Charlie would agree to meet her.

In her hotel bed in a foreign land, Wei Jin hugged her blanket and thought to herself. I wonder if Meng Yue Sheng is missing me right now. Without me, he must be having a hard time sleeping comfortably.