The Origin of the Necklace

On Ji Chen's side, the scene was completely different. Ji Chen was frowning at the dishes laid out on the large table in front of her. She had been craving hot pot, and Li Xuan had brought her to this place. As soon as they arrived, he ordered every single dish on the menu from the waiter.

One hundred and twenty-one different items were presented before Ji Chen, not a single one missing. "Where on earth did you get so much money? I haven't even paid you your salary yet!"

"Oh, right. Then you can pay," Li Xuan said nonchalantly. Ji Chen's eyes widened in anger, and she huffed, "You ordered so many dishes, and it's my money that's being spent!"

"Well, it's not my money, is it?"

"You're so annoying!"

Ji Chen banged her chopsticks on the table twice and started gobbling up the food, worried that she'd spend the money but not get enough to eat.

"Ah, ouch! It's scalding hot!" Ji Chen stuffed piece after piece of meat into her mouth.

"Can't you eat a bit slower? Are you crazy?" Li Xuan looked at Ji Chen, who was acting like a little hamster, shoving more food in before she'd even swallowed what was in her mouth. His tone was a mix of concern and a bit of haughtiness.

"You wouldn't understand. This is what happiness tastes like!" Ji Chen retorted, looking at Li Xuan with a satisfied and proud expression.

"Slow down. No one's going to snatch it from you. You look like you've just been released from a place where you were starved!"

"Neener neener!" Ji Chen stuck out her tongue and made a face at Li Xuan, pulling down her lower eyelid with her index finger.

Li Xuan shook his head in resignation. "I'm going to the restroom. Take your time eating."

Li Xuan reached into his pocket and used his demonic magic to conjure up a stack of RMB. Then he walked over to the counter and settled the bill for the hot pot.

When he returned to the table, Li Xuan was taken aback. He thought to himself, just how much of a glutton is this girl? In such a short time, nearly half of the dishes on the table were already gone.

"Oh, you're back so soon. Eat slowly. There's no rush!"

Even though she'd probably already eaten forty or fifty servings of food, she showed no signs of being full and was still stuffing food into her mouth.

An ordinary person would probably be shocked by this sight, but Li Xuan wasn't your average guy. Instead of being put off, he thought it was a blessing that this girl had such a big appetite. After all, her way of eating and her voracious appetite were enough to keep most of his romantic rivals at bay.

He looked at Ji Chen with that doting gaze again, but this time Ji Chen ignored him. Clearly, when it came to a foodie, good looks didn't mean a thing.

Li Xuan stood up, bent slightly, and reached out to wipe the oil from the corner of Ji Chen's mouth.

Unlike most girls, Ji Chen wasn't the least bit moved by this romantic moment straight out of a TV drama. Instead, she looked at Li Xuan with a hint of disgust. "Ugh, don't get oil on my clothes!"

Li Xuan let out a long sigh. This wasn't how it happened in the TV shows he'd watched. Muttering to himself, he then deliberately smeared the oil from his thumb, which had just wiped the oil off her mouth, onto her clothes.

"Li Xuan, you're really asking for it!"

"Who told you to eat so messily? It's ruining my appetite!"

"Then why don't you just look away?"

"You take up so much space that you're all I can see out of the corner of my eye!" The second half of this sentence was supposed to be a sweet nothing, but with the first half, it had the opposite effect.

"Li Xuan, wait a sec!" Ji Chen grinned wickedly, reached into her bag, and took out a notebook. She carefully wrote down this "debt". Whenever Ji Chen lost an argument, she'd write it down, saying she wanted to keep a record so she could settle the score later, as if that would intimidate the other person. But in reality, she'd just write it down and never even glance at it again.

Li Xuan looked at the childish girl in front of him and thought to himself that his girl was really adorable.

"Perfect!" Ji Chen put the notebook back into her bag.

"By the way, where's Yimeng? Why isn't she here?"

"You're almost done eating, and you're just thinking about her now?"

"Uh, don't change the subject!" Ji Chen felt a twinge of guilt.

"She said she went to buy you some fried dough sticks, but then on the way, she said she had a stomachache and didn't feel like coming."

"Oh! Is she okay?"

"She's fine."

With that, Ji Chen went back to her battle with the food in front of her.

In fact, Ji Chen had no idea that Tian Yimeng didn't really have a stomachache. She was just being sensible and didn't want to be a third wheel. Tian Yimeng was as shrewd as a fox. The moment she saw the way Li Xuan looked at Ji Chen in the hospital, she knew he had feelings for this silly girl. It was just a shame about all that delicious hot pot going to waste.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you. You ran out of the house at night just to look for a necklace. What's so special about that necklace to you?" Li Xuan asked the question that had been on his mind since they were in the hospital.

Ji Chen paused when she heard this, put down her chopsticks, and her voice dropped a bit. But in an instant, she put on a smile. "What else could it be? It's expensive! If someone else picked up such an expensive necklace, I'd be at a huge loss! It's a custom-made one, you know!"

There was a hint of sadness in that smile that was hard to detect, but Li Xuan caught it. This girl seemed carefree on the surface, but his gut told him that she was hiding something.

"Are you still eating? I'm full." Ji Chen put down her chopsticks.

"Then let's go."

"Wait. Ask the waiter for a takeout box. We can't waste all this food!"

"Okay."

After packing up all the remaining dishes, Ji Chen went to pay the bill, but the cashier said it had already been taken care of.

Ji Chen looked at Li Xuan, said thank you, and then walked out of the restaurant.

On the way home, Ji Chen didn't try to play any tricks on Li Xuan, nor was she as lively and boisterous as usual. She just kept walking forward in silence. Seeing that she wasn't talking, Li Xuan just followed behind her. He knew her mood had changed after he'd brought up the necklace, and his curiosity about that necklace grew even stronger.

Li Xuan accompanied Ji Chen back home. Without lingering, he turned around and headed straight for Tian Yimeng's place.

Tian Yimeng and Ji Chen lived in the same neighborhood, so Li Xuan found Tian Yimeng's place quickly.

"What are you doing here? I finally gave you two some alone time, and here you are, back so soon. So, what's the deal?" Tian Yimeng asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Do you know that Ji Chen has a silver necklace?" Li Xuan asked bluntly.

The moment Tian Yimeng heard the word "necklace", her expression changed. She asked Li Xuan, somewhat reluctantly, "Why did Ji Chen tell you about the necklace?"

Seeing her reaction, Li Xuan was certain he was right. As Ji Chen's best friend since childhood, Tian Yimeng must know something about the necklace. "She didn't tell me. Do you remember the day Ji Chen was attacked in that residential building?"

Tian Yimeng's interest was immediately piqued. "You mean that rapist? Of course I remember. Now that I think about it, why on earth did Ji Chen go to that residential building you mentioned? Which residential building was it?"

"Before, Ji Chen dropped that necklace in an old residential building. It was nighttime, and when she realized it was gone, she went to the building alone to look for it. And then, well, you know what happened next."

Tian Yimeng suddenly stood up, looking stunned. "Are you saying that Ji Chen was attacked because of that necklace?"