#How much does a 12-carat HW diamond ring cost#
#HW pear-shaped diamond ring#
#Recommended home safes#
#Which brand of home safe is best#
#How to rent a bank safe deposit box#
When Song Yumian called, Meng Chu was solemnly searching for bank safe deposit box services on her phone, her search history clearly documenting her thought process.
“Something up?”
Meng Chu answered.
Song Yumian was startled by her tone.
“What are you doing? Why so serious this late at night?”
Meng Chu realized her voice had been too stiff.
She rubbed her forehead and softened her tone.
“Nothing, just got startled when your call came through.”
Song Yumian chuckled.
“Are you implying I don’t call you enough? I knew I was the only one in your heart.”
Hearing Song Yumian’s teasing voice, Meng Chu relaxed a little, leaning back on the sofa.
She laughed lightly.
“Speak properly.”
The two were so close that Song Yumian could say anything to her without hesitation.
Their mothers worked at the same state-owned enterprise, so Meng Chu and Song Yumian had grown up together-genuine childhood friends.
Later, they both ended up studying in Shanghai, though at different universities, and looked out for each other there.
After graduation, they even lived together for a while.
It wasn’t until Song Yumian’s company relocated that they moved apart.
Even so, Song Yumian would come to Meng Chu’s place whenever she had time off.
Meng Chu suddenly asked, “Do you know how much a 12-carat diamond ring costs?”
“What? What did you say?”
Song Yumian thought she must have misheard.
“You’re asking me about a 12-carat diamond ring? I’ve never even seen a 12-carat piece of rock sugar, let alone know the price of a diamond that size.”
Meng Chu held the ring box in her other hand.
Under the living room’s main light, the pear-shaped diamond sparkled brilliantly from every facet, its dazzling radiance so beautiful it was impossible to look away.
She’d never seen anything like it before.
But now she had.
Song Yumian found it odd.
“Why are you suddenly asking about this? You’ve never cared about stuff like that.”
Having grown up with Meng Chu, she knew her preferences all too well.
While other girls in middle school were into idols, comics, and novels, Meng Chu preferred tinkering with little inventions.
Her grades in math and science were always top-notch.
Meng Chu brushed it off.
“Just curious.”
“Really? Just curious? If you were just curious, asking about a 2-carat ring would’ve been plenty. But 12 carats?”
Song Yumian grew more suspicious the more she thought about it.
Suddenly, the line went silent.
Meng Chu was still staring at the ring and didn’t notice.
“Ahhh!”
A sudden scream from the other end nearly made Meng Chu drop the ring box.
Even with her strong nerves, Meng Chu winced.
“My ears.”
She pulled the phone slightly away from her ear.
Sure enough.
Song Yumian’s voice came rapid-firing again:
“Don’t tell me some admirer gave you a 12-carat diamond ring?!”
Meng Chu: ??
How did she guess that?
“No denial means confirmation!”
Song Yumian was beyond excited.
Meng Chu had no choice but to say, “No.”
“Doesn’t count now-you didn’t say anything earlier!”
Song Yumian knew her too well.
Soon, rustling sounds came from the other end. Meng Chu asked, “What are you doing?”
Song Yumian replied, “Wait for me. I’m changing clothes and coming over right away.”
Meng Chu hadn’t expected her to be so impulsive.
“Don’t be so hasty.”
Song Yumian chuckled.
“This is called strong execution.”
Afraid Song Yumian might actually drop everything and rush over, Meng Chu coaxed her, “I was just asking casually.”
“I really thought someone had given it to you,” Song Yumian said, her tone dripping with disappointment.
“But then again, men these days are so pragmatic-they won’t act without guaranteed returns. Who would give a twelve-carat diamond ring to someone they’re pursuing? They’d save that for their wife.”
Meng Chu: “…”
Her mouth must have been blessed today.
Meng Chu rubbed her temples, feeling this phone call was more exhausting than facing investors.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn’t help but ask,
“What if someone really gave you a twelve-carat ring?”
Without hesitation, Song Yumian declared, “Then what are we waiting for? I’d be at the civil affairs bureau lining up overnight to marry him.”
Then she added, “Delaying even a second would be disrespectful to twelve carats.”
Meng Chu pressed her lips together. Well, she was already married.
Song Yumian said earnestly, “I can’t count on twelve carats for myself, but Meng Chu, you should aim high. With your looks, it should be effortless.”
“Thanks for the flattery,” Meng Chu laughed.
Song Yumian believed her assessment of Meng Chu was entirely objective— completely free of any bias.
Meng Chu had been a beauty since childhood. Even before the term “goddess” became overused, she was the school’s undisputed fairy maiden in the hearts of boys and girls alike.
From elementary school all the way through the most stressful years of high school, love letters always filled her desk.
Her suitors had always been as numerous as fish in a river.
“Sure, people say diamonds are a scam, but at least they’re real gold and silver-worth way more than some men’s empty sweet talk.”
Meng Chu hummed in agreement, her gaze drifting back to the box in front of her.
Song Yumian concluded emphatically, “Anyway, I only believe one thing: where the money is, the love is.”
For some reason, the box in Meng Chu’s hand suddenly felt much heavier.
*
Over the next few days, Meng Chu debated whether to buy a home safe or just rent a bank deposit box for good.
Though public security in the country was excellent, there was always the off chance of something going wrong.
But if a thief did break in and found a safe, wouldn’t that be like announcing, “Hey, there’s treasure here”?
In the end, she decided on a home safe.
After all, thieves might not even know how to crack it.
The safe arrived quickly.
Once she had it, she placed the diamond ring she’d been carrying around inside.
After securing it, she returned to her room to work.
Her phone buzzed—a message from a subordinate.
She replied, then scrolled through her WeChat.
Rows of work group chats, all marked with red dots for unread messages.
She swiped down until she finally saw Cheng Jinyu’s name.
After their last meeting, they hadn’t spoken again.
So his chat had been buried once more.
That day, he had probably just come to deliver the ring-like the bouquet on Qixi Festival, nothing more than a gesture of courtesy.
It didn’t mean anything.
Meng Chu didn’t dwell on it, though she did marvel at how extravagant his courtesy had been this time.
She wasn’t the type to take advantage of others, so receiving such an expensive gift naturally made her uneasy.
She wondered if she should reciprocate with a gift in return.
But what to give and how to return the gesture became a dilemma.
After thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Meng Chu simply stopped dwelling on it.
In truth, she wasn’t the type to avoid problems, but for the first time, she found that avoidance actually worked.
The next day at work, Meng Chu felt lighter than she had in days.
Not having to carry a diamond ring worth millions in her bag certainly made a difference.
In the late afternoon, as work was winding down, Jiang Xinya gently knocked on her office door.
After entering, she carefully said, “Director Meng, President Gu has informed you to attend a business dinner with a partner tonight.”
Meng Chu frowned.
Jiang Xinya kept her head down, not daring to speak further.
After a long pause, Meng Chu finally replied, “Alright, I understand.”
Jiang Xinya exhaled in relief and quickly said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
About ten minutes later, Meng Chu got up and left her office.
This time, she headed to Gu Ting’s office.
She knew he was in today.
When she knocked and entered, she found Gu Ting with another company co-founder, Wang Luoran.
Clearly, they were discussing the upcoming launch of the company’s “Tiangou B2” product—a quadrupedal industrial robot designed for patrol and maintenance tasks.
Wang Luoran had been leading the team in training its obstacle-crossing capabilities.
“Meng Chu, come take a look,” Wang Luoran greeted her enthusiastically.
Meng Chu walked over.
Wang Luoran was a tech enthusiast with little interest in anything else, so he immediately launched into a discussion with her.
After observing for a while, Meng Chu naturally offered her input.
The two of them ended up sidelining Gu Ting, chatting for over twenty minutes.
Wang Luoran finally stopped, though reluctantly.
With a regretful sigh, he said, “You really do understand me best. Ever since you stepped away from the technical side, I’ve felt a void.”
Gu Ting coughed pointedly beside them.
Only then did Wang Luoran realize he might have said too much.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he muttered, “I’ll head back now. You two talk.”
With that, he grabbed his laptop and left.
Gu Ting’s office wasn’t particularly large.
Though the company was thriving, it was still a startup, and Meng Chu had been meticulous about
budgeting during the office renovations.
She hadn’t allocated excessive funds to decor.
Now alone with Gu Ting, Meng Chu didn’t beat around the bush.
She got straight to the point: “Have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”
Gu Ting, who had been sitting in his chair, abruptly pushed back and stood up.
But then he chuckled.
“The moment Wang opened his mouth earlier, I knew this was coming. And sure enough, here you are.”
Meng Chu met his gaze. “Well? What’s your decision?”
Gu Ting took a deep breath and softened his tone.
“Meng Chu, what’s wrong with being the Operations Director? Wang handles technology, you handle operations-every company project has to go through you. Why insist on returning to a technical role? Everyone in tech eventually moves into management. You’ve just made the transition earlier than most.”
“Besides, as Operations Director, you’re on equal footing with Wang as the Technical Director.”
Meng Chu replied, “I’ve told you—I don’t care about titles.”
Gu Ting sighed helplessly,
“Why are you so stubborn? A three-way balance is what’s best for the company’s growth. Besides, asking me to recruit a new operations director-honestly, how could I entrust such an important role to an outsider?”
“But I’ve said it before-robotics R&D is my dream. When we co-founded Xingyuan, I truly believed it could help me achieve that,” Meng Chu said with a complicated expression.
“Yet now, you’re pushing me further away from what I want.”
Back during their university competition days, Meng Chu could confidently say her contributions to the team were no less than either of theirs.
But as Xingyuan flourished, she became the first sacrifice.
Perhaps because she was the only woman among the three.
So when daily operations piled up,
Gu Ting instinctively assigned them to her.
Over time, she drifted from core technical projects to handling external business affairs.
Gu Ting wasn’t wrong-her position wasn’t inferior to Wang Luoran’s.
But if she’d wanted titles and benefits, she wouldn’t have chosen entrepreneurship with them initially.
With her credentials, climbing the corporate ladder at an established firm would’ve been faster.
“Fine, I’ll seriously consider it,” Gu Ting finally conceded, sensing her resolve.
Meng Chu: “Thank you, President Gu.”
Rubbing his temples, Gu Ting remarked, “That ‘President Gu’ sounds like you’re cursing me.”
“Utterly sincere,” she replied earnestly.
Before she left, he reminded her, “Don’t forget tonight’s dinner engagement.”
*
That evening, outside an exclusive Chinese garden-style private club-currently a hotspot for power dinners—Meng Chu arrived, long accustomed to such events.
Gu Ting waited at the entrance, exasperated.
“I told you to ride with me.”
Meng Chu: “Apologies for the wait, President Gu.”
Her formality left no room for argument.
He led her toward their reserved room.
Unnoticed by them, a figure stood observing from a distance.
“See something interesting?”
The man turned as his companion emerged from the restroom.
Following his gaze to Meng Chu’s retreating figure, the friend chuckled, “That silhouette alone screams knockout beauty.”
Jiang Min’an agreed, “Can’t deny it. Finally seeing her in person.”
Liu Bozhou teased, “So you do know her.”
As they walked to their own room, Jiang pushed open the door.
“The guy’s Gu Ting from Xingyuan Tech.”
At the mention of Xingyuan Tech, a previously silent occupant inside slowly looked up.
Unaware, Jiang continued amusedly, “Don’t know the woman, but can guess who she is. There’s actually a hilarious story-remember Sun Bo?”
Liu shook his head until Jiang prompted, “Logistics family money, chases influencers nonstop. Somehow met this girl, got obsessed-swore to conquer her. She completely ghosted him.”
“In the end, he even drank a bit and went to her doorstep. The girl immediately called the police, and they arrested him for disorderly conduct. Their family lawyer came knocking, but she refused to back down or settle. In the end, he really got locked up for seven days.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Bozhou laughed outright. “She’s got spirit. I like that.”
“Go ahead and like her. Next thing you know, she’ll have you cooling your heels in jail for a few days, letting you savor the taste of socialist iron-bar hospitality. Then we’ll see if you’re still so chatty.”
“I’m not about to go harass her, for fuck’s sake.”
Jiang Min’an scoffed.
“Sun Bo was just overestimating himself. She’s a young co-founder of a company with over a hundred employees— educated, capable, and ambitious. Men are just accessories in her life. How could someone like Sun Bo, a spoiled rich kid, ever catch her eye?”
“What’s her name again?”
“Meng Chu.”
Finally, when that name echoed through the private room, the man who had been lounging lazily on the sofa slowly lifted his head.
His phone screen happened to be on the WeChat homepage.
If one looked closely, the very first contact at the top had a note attached to it:
-Meng Chu.
Then, the screen went dark.
“Go get the restaurant manager,” Cheng Jinyu said, lifting his gaze to the two of them.
Jiang Min’an, who had been mid-conversation, thought he had some request.
“You want to order something or get more drinks? I already took care of the food, and Bozhou brought the booze. Feeling guilty about just showing up empty-handed?”
“No. I just think this place is missing something.”
Cheng Jinyu tilted his chin lazily, his tone indifferent.
Liu Bozhou raised an eyebrow. “Missing what?”
“They should set up a stage at the entrance so the two of you can perform to your heart’s content.”
Here, Cheng Jinyu let out a soft, mocking laugh before dragging out his words with deliberate slowness.
“This place could use a couple of accessories like you.”
Jiang Min’an: “…”
Liu Bozhou: “…”
Wait a minute why did the word “accessories” suddenly sound like an insult?
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.