Chapter 36 - The Bracelet Possessed The Ability To Pick Its Rightful Owner (1)
"Mom."
Looking at her son who rarely comes to talk to her, Fang JunRong had a pretty good idea about the purpose of his visit. Perhaps, because it had already been a while since her rebirth, she could now suppress her seeping hatred much better now and was able to talk to him in a mild and tender tone.
"What is it? I heard you have been interning at work. Is it tiring? If it's too tiring, then take some time off. Your health is the most important." She put up the perfect loving mother front, appearing just like she used to be.
Li ShiZe immediately let out a sigh of relief from the way she looked. He wasn't someone that had no EQ. He did not jump straight into the topic of the bracelet. Rather, he started talking about Li XinYun's birthday banquet that was upcoming in a few weeks. He looked like a brother who was distant in appearance but actually cared a lot about his sister.
Nevertheless, Fang JunRong wouldn't be fooled again. Li ShiZe had been very nice to both her and her daughter before Jiang YaGe's arrival. But once he was in love with Jiang YaGe, the only thing that was left inside of him was his love for her, he had no more affection left for his family. How else would he be able to send his mother to the mental institution and watch coldly when his own sister became the plaything of someone else and finally ended up committing suicide?
Li ShiZe spent about 15 minutes or so chitchatting before he moved onto his real purpose.
"Did Mom used to have a very pretty jade bracelet? How come I haven't seen you wearing it for a while?"
Fang JunRong, who had been anticipating this, wasn't surprised by it at all. She casually said, "I have quite a few jade bracelets. Which one are you talking about?" She had no shortage of jewelry.
Li ShiZe said, "The bright green one with a pattern that resembles a mountain." If his mother barely ever worn it, it must not be something very important. She most likely wouldn't object too much if he was to ask her for it.
Fang JunRong gave a pondering look for a while before she seemingly suddenly realized which one he was referring to. "Oh, that bracelet..." She paused for a while and kept the suspense for as long as possible before she slowly said, "I took it with me when I went on a trip with some friends and lost it. I wasn't able to find it again."
"I have a few more bracelets, some even better than that one. Why don't you pick a different one?"
As the heir of the Li's, Li ShiZe was in no shortage of money and never cared too much about jewellery. He wouldn't have come to ask his mother for it if it wasn't for Jiang YaGe. Hearing her words, he couldn't help but frown and his volume went up. "You lost it? How did that happen?"
Fang JunRong sighed and said, "I am not sure. I only realized it when I was unpacking after the trip. Why do you ask about it all of a sudden?"
Li ShiZe tightened his lips a bit and made up some random reasons. "I like it a lot and thought it'd go with an outfit."
All he could think of was Jiang YaGe's crying face once she found out that the bracelet was lost. He felt very frustrated. Once she found out about it, she would for sure hide under the blanket and cry again.
As the formidable heir of the Li's, he couldn't so much as protect the smile of a girl.
He felt a budding disgruntledness inside of him. Why did his mom need to take the bracelet with her on a trip? Now he'd have to go and see if he'd be able to find a similar one elsewhere.
As he was feeling irritated, he didn't stay to chat more but quickly looked for an excuse and left. He was still thinking about where and how he could find a suitable bracelet.
Fang JunRong grumbled to herself. It was lucky that she no longer had any feelings toward her BBQ-Pork son; otherwise, how hurt would she be seeing him being so BBQ-pork like?
She also started pondering about maybe having someone make a duplicate of it, so she could set up Jiang YaGe and Li ShiZe.
But could you really set up a slab of BBQ pork?
Chapter 37 - The Bracelet Possessed The Ability To Pick Its Rightful Owner (2)
When Jiang YaGe found out that the bracelet was lost, her disappointment was visible to the naked eyes.
She had the same dream repeatedly. In her dreams, there was a bright green bracelet around Fang JunRong's slender and white wrist. Normally speaking, dreams would only be in black and white, but the bracelet sparkled a brightness that could not be overlooked.
Once she touched the bracelet, she would go inside a whole different world. She was only able to see a large stone tablet and fairyland-looking mountain, but Jiang YaGe could tell that it was no regular place. She still felt very at loss after she had woken up. There was a strong feeling within her that was telling her that she must get her hands on that bracelet.
She assumed it was nothing more than just a dream at the beginning. But after having the same dream for the entire week on end, she finally asked the servants at the Li's in private. Jiang YaGe had been very nice to these servants normally. She took pity on them, even when she found out that they had pilfered a bit here and there, she would just look the other way. She was very well liked among the servants. Thanks to them, Jiang YaGe was able to find out that Fang JunRong had that exact bracelet. She used to wear it a lot but had it put away in recent years.
In Jiang YaGe's mind, her dreams were heaven's way of telling her to seize her opportunity. She felt this burning desire inside of her that she must have that bracelet.
From her perspective, yes that was Fang JunRong's bracelet, but one couldn't possibly compare a magical artifact with a regular piece of jewelry. A magical artifact possessed the ability to pick its rightful owner. So, she didn't feel bad plotting after the bracelet. After all, the bracelet was nothing more than just a regular piece of jewelry in Fang JunRong's hands. If she could truly utilize the bracelet for any gains, she could also be helpful to Fang JunRong in return.
That was the reason that she had made up a reason and created a nonexistent fiancé to have Li ShiZe willingly help her get her hands on the bracelet. That was supposed to be cut and dry, but to her dismay, the bracelet was lost.
The news made her turn pale and filled with disbelief. Her teary eyes looked like lakes. "Are you certain of that?"
Her look made Li ShiZe felt awful. He nodded and said, "Yeah, but that's alright. Let me see how we can find another similar one." He frowned. If push came to shove, he could always threaten the fiance's family when they came. He figured her fiancé was not from any prestigious family and probably wouldn't dare offend the Li's.
That did not lighten Jiang YaGe's mood at all. Even if he found an identical bracelet, it still wouldn't be the one.
She lowered her head. "It was my fault. I never should have lost it."
She looked like a flower that was beaten up by the rain, looking pitiful and helpless.
He wanted to be even nicer to Jiang YaGe. Li ShiZe's heart ached for her and was even more upset at Zhong Yi. He even suspected that Zhong Yi had something to do with it being lost.
Jiang YaGe looked up and met his eyes. Then, as though she had come across something that was burning hot, she quickly looked away.
After the entire day of interaction between the two, even though their relationship did not move forward, they could feel the slight hint of romance had budded between them.
Chapter 38 - The Bracelet Possessed The Ability To Pick Its Rightful Owner (3)
As she had lost the track of the bracelet, even with Li ShiZe comforting her occasionally and even taking her out to shop, Jiang YaGe's mood never recovered. She was surrounded by a sense of gloominess.
Li WangJin had always wished that Jiang YaGe was his daughter. Seeing her like that made his heart ached. He thought her sadness was brought on by the proximity to her parents' death anniversary, so he took her to meet up with Wang SiXian.
Jiang YaGe had only met this aunty of hers a few times in the past. Wang SiXian looked exactly the same as her mother Wang SiEr. Seeing her was like seeing her mother who had passed away, Jiang YaGe couldn't help but started to cry.
After she was done crying and the two of them had spent some time together, the two of them had grown much closer to each other. Jiang YaGe looked at her aunt and then at the tender-looking Li WangJin and seemed to have formed an idea.
Wang SiXian felt a little uneasy under her gaze. Tugging at her niece's sleeve, she said kindly, "My sister had always objected to my marriage with your ex-uncle-in-law and that had driven a wedge between us, causing us to have fallen out of touch with each other.
"Had WangJin not told me, I didn't even know that my sister had passed away. I didn't even get to see her one last time." There was a slight hint of sadness and regret on her.
Li WangJin knew the reason why Wang SiXian insisted on marrying that scum and felt awkward all of a sudden. He looked for some excuse to take off early and left the two of them to spend more time with each other.
Jiang YaGe's look dimmed as well. "Mom missed you the entire time." The two of them thought about Wang SiEr, who had died in a tragic accident. After a while, Jiang YaGe asked softly, "Are you fond of my adopted father, Aunty?"
Wang SiXian blushed and said, "Such nonsense. He is married."
Jiang YaGe said softly to her, "My adopted dad and mom have been having issues. The two of them fight a lot at home, especially after I have joined them. My adopted mom didn't seem to like me much."
Jiang YaGe wasn't an idiot. Naturally, she could tell that Fang JunRong was nicer to Zhong Yi than she was to her. Thinking about her own mother and the way her adopted father treated her and the occasional words that he had said, she had a pretty good idea. If only her mom had picked her adopted father back in the days, then she'd be her adopted dad's real daughter and that would be her home. She wouldn't need to walk on thin ice all the time. She couldn't believe someone as nice as her adopted father would end up marrying someone like her adopted mother. What a bummer.
She looked up at her aunty – her aunty looked exactly like her mom, especially when she smiled. They could be the same person.
"Even if his relationship with Fang JunRong is rocky, they are still legally wedded to each other. I shouldn't spend too much time around him. We wouldn't want any misunderstandings if we were seen together," said Wang SiXian.
Ever since they ran into Li WangJin's friend last time, he hasn't been taking her out much, until today when he brought Jiang YaGe with him.
Jiang YaGe blurted out, "But Aunty can spend more time with me. Nobody would misunderstand anything if I am there as well."
More importantly, not even her adopted mother could say much if she found out. After all, wasn't it normal for her to visit her own aunt?
Wang SiXian thought about it for a while and affectionately brushed her niece's hair behind her ears. "I don't have a daughter, but now I have you. It is just as good as having a daughter of my own."