Wang Ma stepped aside, allowing Qi Lanzhou to enter.
Only one bedside lamp was turned on in the bedroom, making the room dim. He could only see the back of Wen Xiayue’s head.
Her breathing was still very light—so light that every time, Qi Lanzhou wanted to reach out and check whether she was still breathing.
Only after confirming that she was still alive would he withdraw his hand.
He stood up, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, Wen Xiayue moved and kicked off the blanket covering her.
Qi Lanzhou stopped and turned back to cover her again.
But the moment he finished covering her, she kicked it off once more.
He covered her again.
She kicked it away again.
After repeating this several times, Qi Lanzhou’s brows knitted tightly.
He stood beside the bed, staring at the sleeping person lying there.
He wondered if she was pretending to sleep on purpose, deliberately going against him.
He raised his eyes toward the air conditioner.
The temperature was very low—only 16 degrees Celsius.
So he adjusted it to 26 degrees.
That way, even if she kicked off the blanket, she wouldn’t catch a cold.
……
Over the next few days,
Wen Xiayue spent all her time studying jewelry design.
She searched online for many master designers’ works and would stare at her tablet for an entire afternoon.
Then she asked Ning Yao whether she had any contacts at a jewelry manufacturing factory because she wanted to try turning her own designs into actual pieces.
On the phone, Ning Yao laughed and asked,
“Why are you suddenly interested in jewelry design?”
Wen Xiayue told her,
“I’ve been bored lately, so I wanted to find something to do.”
“You know our family mainly works in fashion. We don’t really understand the jewelry industry. But during our fashion shows, we cooperate with many major jewelry brands. I can help you ask around.”
As Ning Yao spoke, she suddenly thought of something and added,
“Why don’t you ask your husband? Your husband owns a very large jewelry brand company.”
“I just thought of you first!”
Ning Yao was very pleased by those words and immediately replied,
“Alright! Wait for my news. I’ll help you ask.”
After hanging up the phone,
Wen Xiayue placed her phone aside and continued studying.
She came across a designer’s work on a video platform.
The designer’s style felt strangely familiar to her.
She clicked into the designer’s profile.
There weren’t many works posted—only ten pieces.
Among them was a design combining a pearl necklace with a purple tanzanite gemstone.
She remembered that when she was in college, she had also drawn a design using a similar combination, except the details were slightly different.
It was probably just a coincidence.
After all, this was not her original world.
Wen Xiayue followed the designer and exited the page.
Soon, Ning Yao sent her a message and forwarded a contact card.
Ning Yao said:
“Yueyue, add this person. She’s the craftsmanship director of Fanyali. Fanyali has worked with our family many times. I’ve already told her about you, so you can contact her directly.”
Wen Xiayue sent back an “OK” emoji.
Then she clicked to add the person.
The other person’s profile picture was Fanyali’s iconic jewelry logo.
Her nickname was “A Zhen.”
Not long after Wen Xiayue sent the verification request, the other side accepted.
“Hello, Miss Wen. Miss Ning already spoke with me. My name is A Zhen, and I’m the craftsmanship director of Fanyali. If you have any needs, feel free to tell me directly.”
Wen Xiayue politely exchanged a few words with her, then sent over two of her recent design drawings.
One of them was a ring embedded with sapphire and ruby.
“I want to use cornflower blue sapphire and pigeon blood ruby.”
“This…”
“Is there a problem?”
A Zhen carefully considered her words.
“Miss Wen, cornflower blue sapphires and pigeon blood rubies are both top-quality gemstones. The price of each individual stone is not cheap. Putting these two gemstones on the same ring creates a very strong color contrast. If not handled properly, it can easily look tacky. Also, both gemstones compete for attention, so when worn, the ring may lack a clear focus.”
After hearing this, Wen Xiayue did not immediately respond.
She stared at the design she had sent over for several seconds.
The ring’s shape was actually very simple.
Two curved lines intertwined. One line was set with sapphires, the other with rubies, and at their intersection was a colorless diamond.
When she drew it, she hadn’t thought too deeply about it. She only felt that the contrast between blue and red would be striking.
But after hearing A Zhen’s explanation, she looked at it again and realized the problem.
The two colors each occupied half of the design, with no clear hierarchy. Visually, they really did compete with each other.
“You’re right.”
Wen Xiayue accepted the criticism.
“Then I’ll revise it. I’ll replace the ruby with fire opal to lower the saturation, and make the sapphire the main stone.”
A Zhen was clearly stunned for a moment, then laughed.
“Miss Wen, your ability to accept suggestions is faster than many designers under me. Usually, when designers hear me say there’s a problem, their first reaction is to argue.”
“You’re more professional than me. I’ll listen to you.”
After all, after graduating, she had not continued down the path of jewelry design.
And between a design drawing and a finished product, there was an entire world of craftsmanship.
Good craftsmanship was worth more than ten inspirations.
“Alright, then I’ll help you make a rough prototype first and see the effect.”
A Zhen paused before adding,
“By the way, do you have a source for gemstones? If not, I can help you ask some suppliers I’m familiar with.”
“Not yet. I’ll trouble you then.”
“It’s no trouble. Miss Ning’s friend is my friend.”
After hanging up,
Wen Xiayue suddenly felt hungry.
But Wang Ma had taken leave that morning to go home and spend time with her grandson. The other servants were also busy with their own tasks.
She didn’t plan on ordering anyone around, so she walked into the kitchen herself.
There was a chef in the kitchen.
The moment he saw her enter, he immediately came over.
“Madam, are you hungry?”
Before Wen Xiayue could answer, the chef asked again,
“Madam, what would you like to eat? I’ll prepare it right away.”
“No need. I’ll make something myself.”
“How can that be? Mr. Qi instructed that every meal you have at home must be carefully prepared.”
“I’m just making a bowl of noodles.”
Wen Xiayue had already opened the refrigerator.
“You do your work.”
The chef stood there, looking extremely troubled.
Wen Xiayue sighed.
“Then do you have spicy fire chicken noodles? I suddenly want to eat some.”
The chef froze.
He never expected Madam to say the words “spicy fire chicken noodles.”
In this household, Mr. and Mrs. Qi’s meals had always focused on health.
Instant foods like spicy fire chicken noodles had never appeared on the shopping list.
“Spicy… spicy fire chicken noodles?”
The chef instinctively looked toward the storage cabinet.
“Madam, that… we probably don’t have any at home.”
Following his gaze, Wen Xiayue saw the corner of a red package sticking out from the top shelf of the cabinet.
“What’s that?”
She pointed at it.
The chef’s expression looked like an elementary school student caught red-handed.
“That… that’s something I personally bought and kept. I eat it as a midnight snack.”
“Can I eat it?”