Chapter 101

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Ning Jiuwei was satisfied with it, so Su Jinglan naturally was too. Upon closer inspection, the beautiful texture revealed the shape of a phoenix, as if a real phoenix had been sealed inside, waiting to burst forth from the flames and return to the world.

“Is this precious gift a token of our commitment?” The worldly value lent depth to their emotions, and Su Jinglan felt an intense surge of love. Ning Jiuwei, who usually kept her feelings tightly reined in, unleashed her true heart like towering waves crashing through the soul, leaving it in thrilling tumult.

Ning Jiuwei didn’t answer directly. “I’ve sketched quite a few designs already—rings, necklaces, you name it. President Su, whatever piece of jewelry you’d like to turn it into, I’ll design it for you free of charge.”

“I like it just the way it is.”

The pinkish-orange conch pearl was the crown jewel among pearls. Any crafting would only obscure its natural beauty, and Su Jinglan’s preference matched Ning Jiuwei’s perfectly—which was precisely why the pearl had remained untouched until now.

Su Jinglan lifted her gaze, her smile brimming with warmth she couldn’t conceal in her eyes. “Jiuwei, I’ll cherish this token of your feelings.”

Su Jinglan’s thoughts stretched far into the future, even to the resting place of the conch pearl a century hence—right by her side until the end.

But for now, there was one issue: the wooden box holding the conch pearl was far too bulky to carry around for those wistful moments of remembrance. Ning Jiuwei, as a designer, had jewelry boxes of every size and style at home. Su Jinglan wanted something smaller, and Ning Jiuwei read her mind, her lips curving in amusement.

She catered fully to her client’s needs, heading to the walk-in closet to retrieve a small, exquisite velvet jewelry box.

Su Jinglan treated Ning Jiuwei’s home like her own and followed her right into the walk-in closet.

“This one was originally for drop earrings.” Ning Jiuwei opened the box. “Will it work?”

The shift from the Huanghuali Burred Wood Box to an ordinary jewelry case marked a steep drop in value, one that seemed to diminish the conch pearl itself. Su Jinglan glanced at the pearl in her hand, weighing the choice between easy portability and proper safekeeping—and chose the latter.

“I finally get why Teacher Ning stored it in such an extravagant Huanghuali wood box.” Su Jinglan slipped the conch pearl back into the wooden box. “This is its true home.”

Ning Jiuwei gazed deeply at it through the lid before handing over both box and pearl.

That afternoon, Su Jinglan headed to the company with the wooden box in tow. She placed it front and center on her desk, where it caught the eye of everyone who entered her office.

Assistant Lin eyed the out-of-place wooden box on the desk, tamped down her curiosity, and delivered her report on the day’s schedule.

Once the work update was done and Assistant Lin turned to leave, Su Jinglan opened the box, lifted out its contents, and asked, “Fengmian, do you know what this is?”

“A pearl.” Assistant Lin blurted out her admiration. “It’s huge!”

“This is a conch pearl.” Pearls came from oysters, but conch pearls hailed from sea snails. Su Jinglan’s mood was buoyant. “Designer Ning gave it to me.”

No surprise she was showing it off—it was from Ning Jiuwei. Lin Fengmian stepped closer for a better look at the gem in President Su’s palm.

Su Jinglan tucked the conch pearl away again, denying her assistant a lingering inspection. “All right, back to work.”

Assistant Lin: “…”

Emerging from the president’s office, Assistant Lin whipped out her phone and searched for conch pearls. The encyclopedia entry laid out all the details, and news articles revealed their worth: cheap ones ran tens of thousands per gram, prime specimens fetching hundreds of thousands. Assistant Lin was floored.

The one in President Su’s hand was flawless, impressively large—easily over ten grams by eye. Designer Ning had given her boss something this priceless?

As expected of the chief designer, casually handling treasures like this.

She was so absorbed she didn’t notice the newcomer sidling up. Lin Zhaoyue leaned over her shoulder to peer at the screen and spoke up. “What’re you looking at?”

Lin Fengmian locked her phone. “A designer’s romance.”

“Hm?” Lin Zhaoyue blinked in confusion.

Lin Fengmian set off for the Design Division on the sixth floor to check on Designer Ning for the president, keeping tabs on Ning Jiuwei’s whereabouts.

On her way to the Design Division President’s Office, she passed the Chief Designer’s Office where Ning Jiuwei worked and peeked inside. No sign of Designer Ning.

The door stood open, so Ning Jiuwei had to still be somewhere in the building.

Lin Fengmian dropped off the documents and texted the president: Designer Ning isn’t in her office.

Meanwhile, Ning Jiuwei was in the small meeting room, huddled with the Design Director and the Head of the Promotion Department.

The rollout for the quarterly new products was gaining traction through Shen Lanyan’s Weibo posts, but sustaining the buzz called for fresh topics. Li Yao remembered how chummy Ning Jiuwei and Shen Lanyan had been at that earlier dinner, and she schemed to leverage it for a round of romantic scandal hype.

A hot young celebrity and the chief jewelry designer? That combo was pure clickbait.

Li Yao had personally devised the hype strategy. Out of respect for the Chief Designer, she decided to consult Ning Jiuwei before putting it into action.

“I can’t do the hype with Miss Shen,” Ning Jiuwei refused Li Yao without hesitation. Sipping from a cup of steaming plain water, she continued, “The signing ceremony is bundled with the quarterly new products launch. Director Li, why not consider Designer Jiang or Designer Qi instead? Just pick one of them.”

Qi Mingqin would likely jump at the chance to cooperate.

Ning Jiuwei didn’t spell it out. She treated people with gentle warmth, but that didn’t make her a pushover. She had her own firm principles when it came to her actions.

Li Yao mulled over the situations of Jiang Shiyao and Qi Mingqin. Neither measured up to Ning Jiuwei, whether in terms of appearance or professional standing.

“Why can’t you do it with her, Designer Ning?” Li Yao pressed, determined to work on Ning Jiuwei and find a way to change her mind.

“Don’t push my baby if she doesn’t want to,” Zhang Xiaoyue interjected, prioritizing her own department’s interests. “Marketing and promotions are your job, Director Li—not ours in the Design Department. And if you scare off my designer, you and I will have words.”

Ning Jiuwei smiled faintly, set her water aside, and drew out a ring she’d been hiding beneath her clothes. “This is why.”

The two design directors stared in bewilderment. A ring worn on a necklace was typically a sign of a secret crush. Did Designer Ning have someone she was quietly pining for?

In an uncertain tone, Zhang Xiaoyue asked, “Do you have a partner?”

She’d never heard Ning Jiuwei mention anyone, and Ning didn’t strike her as the type to harbor a hidden affection. Zhang Xiaoyue prided herself on knowing her designer’s personal life inside out; otherwise, she wouldn’t toss around pet names like “baby” so freely.

Ning Jiuwei merely smiled and said nothing as she tucked the necklace away again.

Her ambiguous silence—neither confirming nor denying—sparked suspicion in Li Yao’s mind. “Designer Ning, it’s only a temporary promo gimmick about you and Shen Lanyan. On signing day, we’ll have a Q&A session where Shen Lanyan will set the record straight on your relationship. It won’t impact you at all.”

“Pick someone else, Director Li,” Ning Jiuwei replied firmly.

Even if she agreed, Su Jinglan would never sign off on the plan.

Ning Jiuwei checked the time. “Director Li, I have something to handle. You and Director Zhang can keep discussing—I’ll head out first.”

The two women in the small meeting room exchanged helpless glances. Once outside, Ning Jiuwei gave the ring a quick pinch through her clothes, a smile playing on her face as she returned to the office.

The sun dipped low in the west, and the veil of night began to settle. Ning Jiuwei powered down her computer and clocked out for the day.

Only a handful of people remained scattered at their workstations in the open-plan office. Assistant Tan finished packing her things and, seeing Ning Jiuwei leave, grabbed her bag and followed suit.

Her role as assistant was mainly to support Designer Ning. With the designer gone, there was no reason for her to linger at the company.

The elevator descended from upstairs. Ning Jiuwei caught sight of Assistant Tan out of the corner of her eye. When she spotted Su Jinglan inside, she betrayed no intimacy—just a polite greeting. “President Su.”

Su Jinglan responded with cool detachment. “Mm.”

Ning Jiuwei preferred to keep their relationship under wraps at the office, and Su Jinglan honored that by maintaining a strictly professional demeanor.

Have Designer Ning and President Su fallen out again? A chill ran down Tan Yushu’s spine, urging her to bolt. She tamped down her unease, managed a greeting to President Su, and stepped inside with gritted teeth.

The elevator dinged at the first floor. Huddled in the corner, Assistant Tan offered a courteous farewell to her two superiors before hurrying out.

She had never been more relieved not to own a car; otherwise, she’d have been stuck walking with them for part of the way.

At last, they were alone. Su Jinglan shifted a step closer to Ning Jiuwei, the back of her hand brushing against Ning’s in what seemed like an accidental graze.

The fleeting contact left a subtle, teasing itch on their skin. Ning Jiuwei’s lips quirked upward, though she offered no further acknowledgment.

Their cars, once parked some distance apart, now sat side by side. Ning Jiuwei unlocked hers, and Su Jinglan slid effortlessly into the passenger seat.

“Where are we staying tonight, Designer Ning?” Their arrangement was cohabitation in name only—not quite, and yet more than that.

Ning Jiuwei turned the key in the ignition and deferred to Su Jinglan. “Where would President Su prefer?”

“My place,” Su Jinglan said, retrieving the Huanghuali wood box. “We’ll take this back to my house.”

From inside a nearby car, Zhang Xiaoyue watched in stunned disbelief as the Mercedes with standing emblem pulled away, her mind reeling.

President Su had her own car but chose to ride with Ning Jiuwei?

Two main rumors circulated around the company. The first held that Designer Ning and President Su clashed behind closed doors. Su elevated Ning publicly while undermining her privately; Ning maintained a facade of harmony without open confrontation but secretly despised her new boss. The second claimed President Su was smitten with Ning’s talent and beauty, leveraging her authority to coerce an illicit affair.

Zhang Xiaoyue had always bought the first version, and her observations seemed to back it up. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

Zhang Xiaoyue stuck to her judgment. The two of them had simply come down from the building at the same time and hitched a ride with Designer Ning because they both had business to attend to. She eased the car out of the parking spot.

Halfway there, Ning Jiuwei’s phone rang. It connected automatically through the car’s Bluetooth, and the caller ID read “Mom.”

Ning Jiuwei glanced at Su Jinglan, who met her gaze with a gentle, understanding smile. “Should I hang up for you, Designer Ning?”

Calls from family often involved private matters. Ning Jiuwei hesitated for a couple of seconds before disconnecting the car Bluetooth and switching to her wireless earbuds to take the call.

“I just got off work and I’m on my way home,” Ning Jiuwei said. She paused for two seconds, her expression shifting slightly. “Just whip up something simple. I’ll be home in about half an hour.”

After hanging up, she filled Su Jinglan in. “My mom’s at my place. I’ll drop you off first—looks like I won’t be able to stay over tonight.”

“Mm.” They drove the rest of the way in silence until they reached the base of Fenglinwu A Block. Su Jinglan unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, heading upstairs alone.

As she stepped into the lobby, she noticed the car was still there. Doubling back, she leaned toward the window. “Can’t bear to see me go, Designer Ning?”

Ning Jiuwei gave a small nod—refreshingly honest. Su Jinglan laughed. “Wait for me a few minutes. I’ll be right down.”

Ning Jiuwei understood perfectly and didn’t object. “Okay.”

Su Jinglan stowed the wooden box and climbed back into Ning Jiuwei’s car, heading home with her.

“You’re back, Ah Mu! Oh, and President Su’s here too—come on in.” Ning Jiuwei opened the door, and Wen Wanyuan greeted them with a beaming smile.

Ning Jiuwei and Su Jinglan exchanged a glance, sensing something off in the air. Ning Jiuwei asked, “What are you doing here?”

“How could I miss the drama of splitting up you lovebirds?” Wen Wanyuan said with gleeful schadenfreude.

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