2.26.65 - They are back (5) - Mr. and Mrs. Jelly

Bing Shi watched the man who was rolling on the bed on the other side of the room with teary eyes. He was trying to fall asleep, but couldn't.

"Still can't fall asleep?"

Xuan Mu turned around to see a worried face with dark circles under her eyes. "Mm...," he mumbled tiredly.

Bing Shi came near his bed, opening the drawer she put an eye patch under his eyes and cleaned up his sweaty body. "This can't do. You'll die without sleeping," she hugged him as tears fell down her eyes.

He hugged her back. "Death would be my relief. Anything is better than this torture," he said through closed eyes, "Sorry for saying such words."

"This is nothing compared to you screaming into a pillow. I should raise a red flag for myself," responded Bing Shi with a forced grin.

"There are red flags all around you, and you still choose to stay?" asked Xuan Mu, his eyes began to sting painfully, "You really have a Stockholm syndrome."

"Nah, It's just our kind of messed up love. And even if I had, my captor is such a funny guy that he deserves a candy," said Bing Shi as she tried not to fall asleep.

Xuan Mu caressed her hair, "I'm giving you the last chance for you to leave me."

"I take it back, no candy for you," Bing Shi yawned, snuggling herself into his palm, she closed her eyes.

He smiled helplessly, "Hmpf, who wants a candy. That's too few. I want at least three candies."

"Mm, anything for you," answered Bing Shi softly; she fell asleep right after.

Seeing her falling asleep, Xuan Mu pecked her hair, carrying her into her bed. He wouldn't let her sleep on his bed which was stained with his sweat and tears. Looking down, she had to be too tired. Usually, she would wake up from such movements. After placing her down, instead of his bed, he walked towards the office.

· · ─── · ⊱❈⊰· ─── · ·

The next day...

A tall man in a black winter coat appeared in a high-end jewelry shop.

The well-groomed manager greeted him with utmost respect, "Mr. Xuan Mu, welcome." He showed Xuan Mu throughout the locked display cases, which were protecting the precious pieces of jewelry, towards the private room. Opening the door, he seated Xuan Mu in an armchair. After placing a cup of water before him, he left the room.

Soon after, a male sales associate with two guards behind him appeared with a metal briefcase. After a polite greeting and a handshake, he placed the briefcase on the table and unlocked it with a fingerprint sensor.

Raising the top lid, he showed Xuan Mu ten small boxes, which were placed neatly in between the cushioned briefcase. The associate put on white gloves, saying, "These are the most exquisite engagement rings we could find. They were sized according to Miss Bing Shi's finger."

Carefully, the sales associate took out a box. With white gloves, he brought out a ring worth fortunes and placed it on Xuan Mu's palm.

While Xuan Mu studied the intricate design of the ring nervously, the manager described a story behind it.

"The diamond on this ring is one of a kind. A 33.19-carat IIa certified diamond with high clarity...," continued the sales manager.

Xuan Mu bought ten engagement ring for Bing Shi to choose from. The problem was, he had to choose one to propose with. The biggest problem was, Bing Shi knew nothing about it. If he chose a wrong design, it would be the end of him.

Xuan Mu, who held a small ring with a large square diamond on top, stoped the manager in a desolate tone, saying, "I never saw her wearing a ring before, so I don't know what designs she likes. The high probability is..." With tired eyes, he blinked at the sales associate, asking for help, "What ring would a woman, who dislikes wearing rings...like?"

"..." The manager looked at him with wide eyes. Did his client splurge on ten rings for a woman who never wore rings? The manager tried to reassure Xuan Mu, saying, "I don't think Mr. Xuan Mu should worry, every woman likes diamonds."

The manager revealed the box with a ring, one of the priciest, "A pink diamond 23.9-carat of luxury and elegance. During the auction, it reached astronomical twelve million."

Xuan Mu looked at the massive diamond in the size of a coin. "I didn't ask for the most expensive ring. Do you want my girlfriend to break up with me?" he spoke with a frown, his nervosity increased.

"She is a little bit different," Xuan Mu pinched his thumb and pointer together, showing the manager how 'little bit' he meant. "I can imagine her reaction; she would run away, roaring with her silent voice how she doesn't want to wear an expensive chunky piece of rock on her beautiful finger, not at all caring that her boyfriend just proposed to her."

A chunky piece of rock? A little bit? The manager's face cracked, changing his tactics, he went for the most intricate ring design that contained the smallest gemstone, "A solitaire, dark blue alexandrite, perched on a platinum gold band. As the color is rare, only a small, round could be purchased at such a short amount of time."

Xuan Mu took the ring out of the box, feeling the cold smoothness of a gold ring sliding over his fingers, he studied the color of the glittering diamond.

Under the bright light, the color changed between black and light blue; his mind wandered to the time when they exchanged the roses.

This ring reminded him of the roses with different meanings.

"This one."