It would put a designer's skills to the test indeed to create a jewellery out of diamonds with huge carats. The conventional practice was to use large diamonds as pendants for necklaces, since molding or reshaping them proved impossible. Usually the designer had two choices in this regard. They either added in small diamond shards to the back of the large diamond to form a supporting structure, or they integrated the whole diamond into the necklace itself.
Xin Qing broke the convention. She crafted a black fixture using 99 tiny black gems. The entire necklace was constructed of 999 diamond shards and took the form of double, entwining tree trunks. The chain of the necklace extended all the way to the back of the pink diamond and connected the black fixture with the pink diamond together. The focal point of the design would be the two birds sitting on top of the black fixture, gazing lovingly at each other. The birds were constructed out of diamond shards and gemstones of various colors.
"These are Mandarin ducks!" Xin Qing said. Her eyes gleamed a hopeful look, as if she said a prayer with them. "In Chinese tradition, it's a long-established wish to be more like Mandarin ducks rather than gods and goddesses when it comes to love."
The design was simple, and yet it carried with it an unprecedented boldness. Looks of shock formed on the faces of Daniel and the old lady. For the very first time, the old lady regarded Xin Qing with satisfaction in her eyes. "I have to admit that you're a very talented designer," she said. "Your boldness and revolutionary thinking never fail to amaze us."
"Indeed!" Daniel exclaimed. His grin extended wide enough to fully obscure his eyes. "You've incorporated Chinese elements into the design flawlessly. This is great!" he praised. "We look forward to seeing the final product!"
Xin Qing was not surprised at their reactions at all, since Shi Qianqian told her the exact same thing when Xin Qing showed her the design.
"If you could just apply the intelligence you have for your profession to your daily life, you would no doubt be the death of Ying Qingcang!" Shi Qianqian said.
Xin Qing felt strange about that, too, when Shi Qianqian pointed it out to her. It was as if Xin Qing transformed into another person entirely whenever she designed something. She would not be weak or cry. She felt especially courageous, like the strongest person in the entire world! She overflowed with confidence from head to toe.
That night, Shi Qianqian and Xin Qing went to a popular dessert shop to get celebratory ice cream. As they entered the shop, they ran into Dianne, who made her way out of the same store.
"What a coincidence, Xin Qing!" Dianne greeted Xin Qing voluntarily.
Xin Qing said affably, "Yeah, I didn't even know you ate this type of thing!"
"Hey, I'm a young girl too!" Dianne joked. "Oh, yeah, by the way. I'll be accompanying you to the competition."
Xin Qing was a little surprised at that. Dianne explained, "This is CK's tradition. Any student selected to participate in the competition will be accompanied by the student who participated the previous year."
"They're probably worried about our unfamiliarity with the rules and that we'd get nervous!" Xin Qing realized, after some thought, that it was understandable to have this type of tradition in place. After all, it would be the first time for a student to be a part of such a huge competition. Considering the lack of experience, who knew what kind of situation would arise.
Before taking her leave, Dianne told her with a smile, "According to the rules, I'm not allowed to look at your design beforehand. When the time comes, I hope your final product will set the world on fire."
After they sat down in a booth, Xin Qing noticed a persistent frown on Shi Qianqian's face.
"What's wrong?" Xin Qing stared at her friend's distracted look. "If you don't like that flavor, I can swap with you!"
Shi Qianqian rolled her eyes. "Eating is all you know, I swear. Look, it's best if you stay away from that woman."
"You mean Dianne?" Xin Qing asked, a little puzzled. "You don't like her?"
"Haven't you noticed that she's very weird?" Shi Qianqian tilted her head in contemplation. "But I can't tell what's weird about her though."
"I don't even consider her a friend, so you don't have to worry," Xin Qing said, looking at Shi Qianqian.
Shi Qianqian was the type to take her own observations seriously. But more than anything else, she trusted her gut. That night, during her video call with Ding Lei, she asked Ding Lei to relay a message to Ying Qingcang. She wanted Ying Qingcang to do a background check on Dianne. Xin Qing had no idea about any of this. She spent her whole day holed up in CK's design studio, working together with a master craftsman in order to complete her design. Christmas came in a blink of an eye, and the competition would be held in one week's time. Xin Qing already submitted the final product of her design to CK. On the day of the competition, her design would be sent to the venue by the security crew.
The day before Christmas Eve was the day of Shi Qianqian's return to China. Ding Lei's mother called for Shi Qianqian and pleaded her to return. In the end, Ding Lei's mother learned that her family did not have full ownership of Ding Enterprises after all. Even though she hated her son for not listening to her back then, right now she had no other choice but to agree to a marriage between Ding Lei and Shi Qianqian. In fact, she even asked them to speed up their wedding. That was the only way to safeguard Ding Enterprises.
On the day of Shi Qianqian's departure, Xin Qing dragged a Christmas tree into the house when she saw Ah Che's adorable face.
"Young Miss! Merry Christmas!" Ah Che said as he got out of the car to help her carry the tree. In the split second that followed, yet another car door opened. A childlike voice rang out. "Ah, uh... Meh... Ma!" Ah Sha, dressed in a pink rabbit fur coat, sat in Ying Qingcang's arms and extended her hands towards Xin Qing.
"Baby!" Xin Qing was so happy that she literally pounced on the newcomers. Xin Qing embraced Ah Sha into her arms and rained down kisses on the child. Ah Sha reciprocated Xin Qing's affections happily through endless laughter and her attempts to cover Xin Qing's face with drool.
Ying Qingcang stood there in his black coat, watching her. Xin Qing's eyes reddened around their rims. She sniffed and said, "Let's... Let's go inside!"
"Are happy to see us?" Ying Qingcang commented as they walked towards the house.
Xin Qing ignored him. This was a happy surprise indeed. Initially, she had little to no plans for Christmas. She was no foreigner after all. But the streets were filled with so much family togetherness vibes these days. Everywhere she went, she saw people rushing home. That afternoon, she found even the supermarket closed early. To a foreigner, today was their equivalent to the Chinese New Year's eve. She did not desire spending Christmas all alone, so she chopped down a small pine tree outside her door, hoping to decorate the house a little. She figured at least that would count as some kind of Christmas celebration.
Xin Qing noticed Ah Che bustling about to set up the Christmas tree. She went over to help. "Ah Che, stay with us tonight. Let's celebrate Christmas together!" she said.
Ah Che glanced at Ying Qingcang, who nodded.
Good thing Xin Qing bought a lot of food that day. There was even roast chicken, which she bought for a special price due to Christmas discount. Three adults and a child sat around the Christmas tree and ate their dinner. Ah Sha was the most excited among all of them. She could already stand and walked a few steps. She ran around the Christmas tree relentlessly. Out of fear of Ah Sha falling down and hurting herself, Ah Che followed her around like a mother hen. Xin Qing looked at the dancing flames in the fireplace, and then glanced at the man sitting on the couch drinking red wine. Right then, she felt so happy!
She knew that the happiness was temporary, just like Cinderella's crystal shoe, which would return to its dull form when the clock struck twelve. Nonetheless, it was still a good night for her, one that would undoubtedly give her a beautiful dream.
Ying Qingcang did not stay for long. Three days later, he brought Ah Sha back to the country. Before he left, he told Xin Qing something.
"I'd be very busy lately. I'm afraid I won't be able to visit until Chinese New Year. Give me a heads up if you're returning for Chinese New Year. I'll have Ah Che fetch you at the airport." Ying Qingcang saw that Xin Qing was about to say something, so he quickly cut her off. "It's better for you to stay at the house. You can spend more time with Ah Sha and Le Le that way."
When he stepped into the car, Ying Qingcang said to her, "Good luck in the competition!"
"Thank you!" Xin Qing kissed Ah Sha and waved to them.
One day before the competition, CK sent over her flight tickets. Xin Qing packed her bags, and deliberately filled them with Chinese style clothes. When she arrived at the airport the following morning, Dianne patiently awaited her. Much to her surprise, she saw William at the departure gates.
"Miss Xin! I knew I'd run into you here." They had not seen each other for a few months, and William still had that same appearance of a wealthy prince. He made his way towards Xin Qing with a seemly smile on his face. Dianne whispered to her, "I'm boarding first." She left before William reached them.
"So this is what a woman from the nobility is like. They don't spare a single glance, not even at a man like William," Xin Qing thought.
"Mr. William, don't tell me you're participating in the competition, too?" Xin Qing joked.
"Hehe. I wish I had that kind of talent," William said, pulling out a paddle from inside his pocket. Xin Qing took the card. "You're one of the special judges?" she asked, surprised.
William nodded enigmatically, which she was sure he did on purpose. "Hm... Do you want to bribe me?"
"Fine. If you give me first place, then I'll make chinese dumplings for you!" Xin Qing joked.
The two of them could not help but laugh at the joke. Then William glanced at the time. "Let's board the plane. We can chat after we land!"
"Okay!" Xin Qing nodded. She was sure that William would not be sitting in the same cabin as her. Indeed, when they boarded, she entered the business class cabin whereas William headed to the first class cabin. The two of them waved at each other before settling in their seats.
At the same time, Young Master Shen opened the door to Ying Qingcang's office.
"Nothing," he said. He looked so much worse than before, as if he had not slept for days.
Ying Qingcang frowned. "You mean you found the same thing as we did?"
"Yes," Young Master Shen said, pouring himself a glass of red wine before sitting down on the couch. "The man's squeaky clean. I even dug into stuff during his time in university. I'm telling you man, that William is the most brilliant successor of his family. He was a legend even in his schooling years. But he's very humble and low-key. Accordingly, he has an IQ of 180 and was the top student in his school every year."
"Could it be that we're looking at this from the wrong angle..." Ying Qingcang thought for a moment. "What about Dianne?"
Young Master Shen yawned. "That woman is even cleaner." He tossed a bag containing a bunch of folders at Ying Qingcang. "Everything's in there. See for yourself."
Ying Qingcang opened the folder. Once again, there was only a single sheet of paper. The daughter of a fallen nobility. She lived and attended school and behaved herself throughout. Her family expected her to marry another wealthy member of the nobility. From a young age, she possessed the upbringing of a lady.
"Are you suspecting William to be the person behind Xin Qing's abduction?"
Ying Qingcang shook his head. "It wasn't him. I already looked into his immigration records. There are none."
"What if he entered illegally?" Young Master Shen suggested. "With a bit of cash, it's totally possible to get in."
"That would be awkward," Ying Qingcang said, raising his brows. "Have you seen the guy? You think a man like him would stoop to such lows?"
"Surely not," Young Master Shen said, instantly reminded of William's comportment. "So, now we're back to the drawing board."
Ying Qingcang looked at Young Master Shen all of a sudden. "Do you think we've been looking at this from the wrong angle from the start? If I'm the one Xin Qing's kidnapper targeted, then isn't it likely that he isn't someone around Xin Qing at all?"
"You mean he's someone around you?"
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