Shi Manwen went back to City A early to be with her girlfriend. Sheng Muxi and Qiu Jie had nothing to do, so they stayed there a little longer and spent most of the summer vacation there.
Upon returning to Cuiwan Residence in City A, Sheng Muxi found a set of keys while unpacking her luggage that day. Clearly, they weren't hers.
Upon seeing the black-necked swan pendant, Sheng Muxi immediately realized that it belonged to Chai Qianning.
She didn't know why Chai Qianning's key had ended up in her luggage. But she still messaged Chai Qianning to let her know, so the other wouldn't be worried about losing the key.
Actually, if Sheng Muxi hadn't sent that message, Chai Qianning wouldn't have even realized she'd lost her key while staying at the guesthouse.
That bunch of keys was for her apartment in Cuiwanju, plus the keys to several drawers in the room. At the time, she was staying at the guesthouse and didn't need the keys, so she didn't carry them with her.
When Chai Qianning vacated the room, she accidentally left the key behind, which was then taken away by Sheng Muxi, who moved in later.
Chai Qianning: [Please leave it here. I'll come back and get it from you.]
After seeing the message, Sheng Muxi put her key in the drawer for safekeeping.
She placed the wooden kitten that Chai Qianning had given her on her bedside table, occasionally tapping the kitten's head with her finger, finding it quite cute.
That evening, Sheng Muxi, as usual, read for a while before going to sleep. When she opened the drawer, she saw the bunch of keys. Looking up, she saw her own keys on the table. Both bunches of keys had one thing in common: they both had a black swan pendant hanging from them.
Looking at them from this angle, the two pendants are identical.
Sheng Muxi took out Chai Qianning's pendant, rubbed it with her fingertips, and then compared it with her own. She discovered that the two pendants were not exactly the same, but a pair.
The small characters carved on Sheng Muxi's own piece read: "Eternal Love".
But on Chai Qianning's page, the small print reads: "An unchanging promise."
She held two pendants and arranged them into a heart shape under the light.
".."
If Sheng Muxi still can't tell that these are matching necklaces and think they're just for best friends, she'd seriously suspect that Chai Qianning did it on purpose.
Moreover, did Chai Qianning really not know that this was a couple's necklace? Did she really not know that black swans symbolize faithful love in relationships?
A month ago, she might have thought that Chai Qianning really didn't know. But after spending so much time together, she realized that Chai Qianning actually knew a lot, especially when she thought about the strawberry incident, she felt that it was unlikely that the other party didn't know.
She looked at the two pendants and fell into deep thought.
Chapter 32 Green Plum
At the end of August, Chai Qianning had arranged with Sheng Muxi via WeChat to arrive in City A on a specific day. She needed Sheng Muxi's key to get in.
On the afternoon of the day Chai Qianning returned, Sheng Muxi was handling some matters at the school. Just as he finished and was about to go back, he was suddenly called away by his supervisor.
When Chai Qianning received Sheng Muxi's WeChat message that something came up, she had already arrived at Cuiwanju.
Considering that she didn't know when the other person would return, and not wanting them to be delayed in their work because of her, Chai Qianning simply called a locksmith to change the lock. The whole process only took about twenty minutes.
After finishing up at school, Sheng Muxi was called out by Shi Manwen to have a late-night snack.
After confirming via WeChat that Chai Qianning had entered the house and changed the locks, there was no rush to give her the key. So he agreed to go out for a late-night snack and didn't return until very late.
After showering and drying her hair that evening, Sheng Muxi noticed it was getting late. She decided to return the key later, worried about disturbing the other person's rest. After all, there was more than one key; even if Chai Qianning changed the lock and one key was broken, the others would still be useful to her.
September was a busy month for the start of the school year, and Sheng Muxi, as the homeroom teacher, had many things to handle, so he completely forgot about this matter afterward.
Chai Shuqing insisted on living at school, so He Xiaoying went with her.
On the first day of school, Chai Qianning drove Chai Shuqing to school, and also helped her bring all her things to the dormitory, bought her all her daily necessities, and settled her in before returning home from school.
As Chai Qianning passed by the teaching building, she saw Sheng Muxi chatting with a director. Seeing that the director seemed busy, she didn't go over to greet him.
Before we knew it, it was mid-September. The temperature remained high, but after a few light rains, it was less humid.
Teahouse No. 12.
Several executives greeted each other and led them to the private room. Amidst laughter and polite conversation, a strong smell of tobacco wafted through the air.
When Chai Qianning saw that they were some friends her father knew, she greeted them with a smile. After exchanging a few words, she asked He Fan to make tea for the guests.
The tea leaves unfurl and swirl in the boiling water, rising and falling, releasing a delicate aroma that fills the air.
Beside the cashier's counter was a locked antique brown cabinet. Chai Qianning's fingertips traced the dark wood grain before finally settling on the small silver lock.
She tapped the lock lightly with her fingertips, but there were so many things inside that she couldn't remember what they were. She then spent about ten minutes searching for the key, but couldn't open the lock.
"He Fan." Chai Qianning straightened up and called to the girl outside, "Where is the key to this cabinet?"
"Boss, you locked this cabinet yourself, so you should have the key with you. Did you leave it at home?"
Chai Qianning touched her neck, frowned, and racked her brains for several minutes before finally remembering: the key to her cabinet was on the old set of keys. She had forgotten about the old keys after changing the locks on her door, and they were still with Sheng Muxi.
She picked up her phone from the table and sent a message to Sheng Muxi: "Do you still have my old set of keys?"
Sheng Muxi: [Oh right, I've been forgetting to return it to you.]
Chai Qianning hadn't expected such a quick reply. She opened her phone's keyboard, ready to type, when another message arrived: "Are you home tonight? I'll bring you dinner after I finish eating."
Chai Qianning: [I'm home tonight.]
After replying to the message, she put her phone on the table, turned on her computer, and checked the accounting data. As she clicked the mouse, the sound of high heels clattering came from outside the teahouse.
Immediately afterwards, a scent of perfume wafted into Chai Qianning's nose, as strong and conspicuous as the sound of high heels. So conspicuous was it that Chai Qianning couldn't help but raise her eyes.
The first thing that catches the eye is a slender woman wearing sunglasses and a sun hat, with rouge and powder on her lips, a necklace of small diamonds around her neck, and a short, thin gauze sun-protective shirt over a tight-fitting base layer. From her dress to her bag to her high heels, every part of her exudes luxury.
The woman slowly took off her sunglasses, her manicured fingers resting on the counter, less than a meter away from Chai Qianning. The strong, cloying fragrance wafted into Chai Qianning's nose, almost making her sneeze.
Chai Qianning lowered her eyes without any emotion. Although the probability of young women coming to teahouses was relatively small, it didn't mean it was impossible, so she didn't suspect anything and asked first, "What would you like to drink, a private room or the main hall?"
The woman seemed not to hear her words, staring at her intently, her fingernails tapping softly on the edge of the cash register.
Seeing that the other person didn't speak, Chai Qianning raised her head. The woman looked at her with a slight frown, and Chai Qianning frowned in return: "Are you here for tea?"
The woman laughed, leaning casually against the counter, her sun-protective jacket slipping down one shoulder as she lightly tapped the table: "You don't recognize me anymore?"
Upon hearing this, Chai Qianning scrutinized her for a moment. Through the exquisite makeup, she stared at the other person's features for a long time before slowly raising her finger and slightly opening her mouth: "You are..."
The woman raised an eyebrow.
"Fang Jiaqin!"
"Ah, it is indeed Your Highness. It took you so long to recognize me," Fang Jiaqin exclaimed.
Chai Qianning sat down again: "Why are you suddenly here? Weren't you supposed to be abroad?"
"Can't you come back if you stay abroad?" Fang Jiaqin pulled up a stool and sat down gracefully, resting her elbows on the table and her palms supporting her chin.
Chai Qianning and Fang Jiaqin are the same age. They met in kindergarten because of He Xiaoying's friendship with her mother.
Because we attended the same school, were in the same grade, and were even assigned to the same class in elementary school, we had a lot of contact.
Fang Jiaqin was spoiled from a young age, and her domineering and unreasonable personality was evident from childhood. She always tried to outdo Chai Qianning, but was instead outshone by Chai Qianning.
So at first, Fang Jiaqin disliked Chai Qianning, and similarly, Chai Qianning disliked her at first.
So many times that the two of them had conflicts that you couldn't count them on one hand. But miraculously, they eventually became friends.
From kindergarten to junior high school, until she graduated from junior high school, Fang Jiaqin was sent abroad by her family, and the two never saw each other again.
If you count from that, it's been about eight or nine years since she last saw Fang Jiaqin, so it's normal that she didn't recognize her at first.
He Fan brewed tea for the two of them and they drank it in the private room. After taking a sip, Chai Qianning put down her teacup and asked directly, "What do you want to see me about?"
She didn't believe it. Fang Jiaqin had thought of her as soon as she returned to China and came to see her immediately. It must be because she needed her help with something.
Fang Jiaqin was straightforward and didn't beat around the bush; she simply said, "I lost my ID card."
Chai Qianning raised her eyes and glanced at her: "So?"
"That's why I'm asking you to let me stay for one night. I don't have an ID card, so I can't stay in a hotel."
Have you reported the loss?
"They've already gone home from get off work."
Even after so many years apart, Fang Jiaqin was still completely at ease in front of her, often clinging to her arm and saying in a pitiful voice, "If you don't let me stay at your place, I'll be homeless. Can you bear to do that?"
"Heartless." Chai Qianning uttered two words coldly.
Without saying a word, Fang Jiaqin took her car keys and "threatened" her: "Then I'll live in your car, and you can forget about getting the keys back."
Chai Qianning rubbed her forehead. This person really was exactly the same as before. Eight or nine years had passed, and although he had matured a lot in appearance, his personality had not changed.
"How old are you? Why do you still like to steal other people's things? Isn't that childish?"
"I don't care, I'm staying here with you tonight."
"Alright, alright, I'll reluctantly let you stay for one night. But let me make it clear, it's just one night. You need to go and get a temporary ID card tomorrow."
Hearing this, Fang Jiaqin breathed a sigh of relief at her accommodation for the night, and her eyebrows visibly relaxed: "Tomorrow is the weekend, I don't have to work, is it okay to stay for three nights? Hmm, I agree on your behalf, then I'll stay at your place for at least three nights."
Chai Qianning was too lazy to argue with her. It just so happened that Chai Shuqing wasn't coming back this weekend, so the spare room could be given to Fang Jiaqin.
Fang Jiaqin is very generous to her friends and spends money lavishly. Whenever she's around, unless there are special circumstances, she'll always be the one to insist on paying the bill.
In the evening, Fang Jiaqin treated Chai Qianning to a dinner costing over 100,000 yuan per table, featuring the finest abalone and seafood, with only the best dishes selected.
Chai Qianning and Fang Jiaqin came from similar backgrounds, but she generally didn't spend money so extravagantly.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Chai Qianning almost suffered from indigestion after this meal.
After returning home, she tidied up the room that Chai Shuqing had originally lived in and made room for Fang Jiaqin.
After taking a shower, Chai Qianning smelled an unpleasant odor that almost made her vomit her dinner. She then noticed Fang Jiaqin eating durian in the living room.
Fang Jiaqin knew that Chai Qianning didn't like durian. When they were little, she couldn't argue with Chai Qianning, so she often used durian to fumigate her.
"Fang Jiaqin!" Chai Qianning pinched her nose, each breath almost suffocating her.
Fang Jiaqin was still happily munching on durian flesh when she awkwardly looked up at her and smiled, "I just wanted some durian, so I ordered some. I really didn't mean to make you feel the smell."
Chai Qianning took a deep breath, her stomach churning with nausea. She tried to endure it, but couldn't. A few minutes later, with a snap, Fang Jiaqin was shut out of the door.
This wasn't the first time the two of them had experienced such a situation.
Fang Jiaqin herself was used to it, and even when she was kicked out, she still made sure to finish the durian in her hand.
After finishing the last bite, she realized she wouldn't have any snacks for dinner, so she went downstairs to buy a bag and brought it up. Then she stood at the door, knocked, but no one answered. So she started to unleash her dramatic and affected language skills.
"Oh dear, I was wrong. I won't eat durian in front of you next time," Fang Jiaqin said, standing at the doorway.