A Magical Artifact’s Owner
"Mom."
Looking at her son, who rarely comes to talk to her, Fang JunRong had a good idea about the purpose of his visit. Perhaps because it had already been a while since her rebirth, she could suppress her seeping hatred and spoke 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 who had no
But Fang JunRong wouldn't get deceived again. Li ShiZe had been nice to both her and her daughter before Jiang YaGe's arrival. But once he was in love with Jiang YaGe, the only thing 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 sister became the plaything of someone and finally ended up committing suicide?
Li ShiZe spent about 15 minutes or so chit-chatting before he moved on to his real purpose. "Did Mom used to have a 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 wore it, it must not have much significance. She most likely wouldn't object if he were 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 and kept the suspense for as long as possible before she continued, "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 jewelry. 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 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 reason. "I like it and thought it'd go with an outfit."
All he could think of was Jiang YaGe's crying face once she heard the bracelet was gone. He felt very frustrated. Once she found out about it, she would hide under the blanket and cry.
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? Now he'd have to go and see if there was a similar one elsewhere.
As he felt irritated, he didn't stay to chat anymore but quickly looked for an excuse and left. He was still thinking about where and how he might 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 having someone duplicate it so she could set up Jiang YaGe and Li ShiZe.
But could you set up a slab of BBQ pork?
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When Jiang YaGe heard the bracelet was gone, her disappointment was immense.
She had the same dream repeatedly. In her dreams, there was a bright green bracelet around Fang JunRong's slender and white wrist. Generally, her dreams would only be in black and white, but the bracelet sparkled with a luster that she couldn't ignore.
Once she touched the bracelet, she would travel to a whole different world. She could only see a large stone tablet and a fairyland-looking mountain, but Jiang YaGe could tell it was no regular place. She felt at a 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 first. But after having the same dream for the entire week nonstop, she finally asked the servants at the Li's in private. Jiang YaGe had been very nice to these servants. She took pity on them. Even when she found out they had stolen a bit here and there, she would just look the other way. She was well-liked among the servants. Thanks to them, Jiang YaGe discovered Fang JunRong had that exact bracelet. She used to wear it a lot but had put it 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 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 just a regular piece of jewelry in Fang JunRong's hands. If she could utilize the bracelet for any gains, she could also be helpful to Fang JunRong in return.
That's why 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 gone.
The news made her turn pale with disbelief. Her teary eyes looked like lakes. "Are you certain of that?"
Her look made Li ShiZe feel 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 arrived. 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 beaten up by the rain: pitiful and helpless.
Li ShiZe's heart ached. He wanted to be even nicer to Jiang YaGe. He suspected that Zhong Yi had something to do with it going missing and felt even more contempt for her.
Jiang YaGe looked up and met his eyes. Then, as though she had come across something 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.
As she had lost track of the bracelet, even with Li ShiZe comforting her and taking her out to shop, Jiang YaGe's mood never recovered.
Li WangJin had always wished that Jiang YaGe was his daughter. Seeing her like that filled him with grief. He thought her sadness stemmed from 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 before. Wang SiXian looked the same as her mother Wang SiEr. Seeing her was like seeing her mother, Jiang YaGe couldn't help but start to cry.
After she stopped crying and the two of them had spent some time together, they 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. 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 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 more amicable to Zhong Yi than she was to her. Thinking about her 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 day, 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 admirable 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," said Wang SiXian.
Since they ran into Li WangJin's friend last time, he hasn't been taking her out until today, when he brought Jiang YaGe with him.
Jiang YaGe couldn't help but babble on, "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 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."