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墨書 Inktalez
A simple phrase was etched in Ladidia's memory throughout her life, never forgotten and often reminisced about, always accompanied by a smile, like the warm spring of March, refreshing to the soul.
"Could I ask you to help me appraise some jewelry? They're some of my trinkets, and I don't know much about them. It would be great to have your expertise," Zheng Yifan said with a faint smile.
"Of course, this will be compensated. I can treat you to dinner."
"And considering my request, you can take my picture and post it on your Facebook. If anything happens, you can hold me accountable at any time."
Zheng Yifan's demands were quite excessive—truly excessive. Ladidia had over a dozen pieces of jewelry in her bag, each one a carefully designed masterpiece. While the gems might not have been the finest, they were still the most exquisite jewelry she could present.
The value of the jewelry alone was worth over a hundred thousand, not to mention the priceless designs and the fleeting inspiration captured in that moment.
To Ladidia, these were invaluable.
Yet today, for some reason, she suddenly felt enlightened.
A mere hundred thousand; in the past, that amount wouldn't even be enough for her to buy a single handbag. Now, the value of this jewelry was hardly enough to inject even a drop of blood into Lopez Company.
In front of that astronomical loan figure, even millions of Francs—an amount most people could only dream of in their lifetime—wouldn't cover a week's interest.
"Alright then, but I need to keep some evidence," Ladidia playfully walked up beside Zheng Yifan, pressing her face against his as she pouted. She snapped over ten photos before selecting the one he seemed most satisfied with and posted it on her Facebook.
It was all second nature; this had become part of their lives.
Then Ladidia happily looked at Zheng Yifan, eagerly anticipating the dinner that evening and curious about how luxurious Huaguo's mansion truly was.
Although she hadn't seen his car, his outfit was undoubtedly expensive. Someone who could wear such costly clothing should have the means to buy a villa.
However, as they traveled along the road, Ladidia began to sense something was off.
It seemed, perhaps, maybe. She would be quite surprised!
This was the inexplicable premonition that arose in her heart.
It was like the moment she lost her first tooth, the first time a boy confessed his feelings, or the unexpected arrival of her first period—each of these had come with a sense of forewarning, a kind of extraordinary sixth sense.
Today, that feeling returned, not a sense of danger, but rather a feeling that she might be disappointed. Or perhaps, reality would be at odds with her beautiful expectations.
A candlelit dinner, black truffles, caviar, Kobe beef… these delicacies flashed through Ladidia's mind, only to seem to collapse in an instant.
Yes, his premonition was accurate; when the two of them walked from the pedestrian street to the main road and stood by the side of the street, she had already confirmed this.
She watched as Zheng Yifan reached out and hailed a taxi.
From the imagined supercar to the gradually descending SUV, or perhaps one of the popular German brands in Huaguo?
In the end, she even fantasized about an ordinary economy sedan, but what surprised her was that they were getting into a taxi.
It should be noted that in her understanding, in Huaguo, a car could almost be considered a person's face; people would even go so far as to take out loans to buy luxury cars whose prices seemed inexplicably inflated several times over in her eyes.
Yet now, the man before her had hailed a taxi.
This had nothing to do with taste or status; she had often taken taxis during her university days. However, with her knowledge, she could easily calculate that the stains Zheng Yifan would accumulate in the taxi would result in cleaning fees that were tenfold or even dozens of times more than the fare itself.
"Hope you don't mind; I'm genuinely part of the car-less crowd. Just a month ago, I was still unemployed," Zheng Yifan said with a sincere and pure smile.
He had not been tainted by society's mercenary ways.
"Of course I don't mind. You know, I rarely drove myself during college; I always took a taxi," Ladidia said as she settled into the back seat of the cab, feeling no discomfort from the surroundings.
For her, this trip to Huaguo felt like a grand adventure starring herself in the 'Princess Ladidia's Adventure,' everything was so fresh and exciting.
As Ladidia got into the taxi, the middle-aged driver secretly gave a thumbs-up to Zheng Yifan and waved vigorously before speeding off to the address provided by Zheng Yifan.
Zheng Yifan didn’t explain anything, allowing the driver to indulge in his imagination, conjuring countless versions of stories where a Chinese Chad triumphs over wealthy foreign beauties.
Even when they arrived at Zheng Yifan's incredibly ordinary neighborhood, the driver still waved his thumb in approval.
"This! This is where you live! Wow! It's unbelievable," Ladidia exclaimed. Looking at Zheng Yifan's attire and then at the old neighborhood ahead, she could hardly believe he actually lived here.
"What do you think? Surprised? Every word I say is true. Even our dinner tonight might just be fast food from downstairs. Of course, you can decide whether we order Western or Chinese. After all, we're here to look at jewelry, not my apartment. If you want something nice to eat, we can go anywhere for late-night snacks after we're done shopping, as long as I can afford it," Zheng Yifan said with a smile as he led Ladidia into his neighborhood.
To be honest, it was quite a letdown; the shabby hallway felt like an old tractor in a rural area, shaking continuously from top to bottom. Ladidia held onto Zheng Yifan's arm tightly, fearing that the elevator might suddenly drop.
In that moment, she felt a twinge of fear—jewelry? It could just be fake stuff written off as genuine.
She was treating this visit like an expedition, almost viewing Zheng Yifan's neighborhood as a haunted house from tales of old.
Indeed, it would be quite fitting for a horror film; the cold wind blowing through the hallway and the occasional fluttering of old newspapers combined with the eerie howls of stray cats created an atmosphere reminiscent of a real-life thriller or horror movie.
At that moment, she felt that Hollywood blockbusters paled in comparison. This sensation was something no film could replicate.
Unfortunately, she encountered no ghosts along the way. After exiting the elevator and turning a corner, Zheng Yifan reached his front door and opened it.
In that instant, Ladidia believed. She truly believed that there were indeed jewels inside Zheng Yifan's home—genuine jewelry—and it was definitely high quality!
She couldn't believe her eyes as she spotted a black plastic bag carelessly strewn across the floor of Zheng Yifan's house, an ordinary trash bag.
Inside that bag, a pair of earrings had fallen out through a crack, lying quietly on the floor.
Just one glance made Ladidia's heart, which had been racing from the terrifying environment, beat even faster.
Oh my God!
What had she just seen?
A pair of million-dollar diamond earrings lay on the ground like mere trash. When Zheng Yifan turned on the living room light, a dazzling beam of light flashed into Ladidia's eyes.
Gold always shines, but these were diamonds.
Yet something that could drive all women crazy was buried in... a pile of trash.
???
!!!
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