Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Excluding the pendants, the necklaces were nearly choker-length. He tried on three different styles.

The first was a choker-length necklace adorned with a pendant crafted in the shape of the Chinese character "無," meticulously set with pavé diamonds.

The second was a slightly thicker choker-style necklace, adorned with two delicate intertwined floral branches set with small colored gemstones.

The third featured a large black jadeite pendant—understated, elegant, yet opulent. The deep green stone looked stunning under sunlight.

After taking the photos, he sent all three to Pei Siyue.

Seeing his own designs brought to life for the first time, he felt an overwhelming excitement and joy—so much that he couldn’t stay seated in the office.

Right after sending the pictures, he had the sudden urge to skip work and go for a walk.

Although Pei Siyue had told him he could go out alone when needed, Ruan Shuyang had never done so before, believing that if he was at work, he should remain focused.

Even though he often sketched designs during downtime, he always stayed within the office. This was the first time he considered leaving during working hours.

He packed his belongings, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and as he left, deliberately passed by the secretary’s office to tell Jiang Wu, who was working inside, “Secretary Jiang, I’m heading out now.”

Jiang Wu was momentarily surprised but quickly replied, “Alright. Should I call Ji Huai to drive you?”

“No need,” Ruan Shuyang smiled and shook his head. “I’ll take the subway.”

He still wasn’t used to inconveniencing others.

After Ruan Shuyang left, Jiang Wu immediately messaged Pei Siyue: President Pei, Ruan Shuyang has left the company.

Pei Siyue had just finished a business meeting and was in the car en route to his next appointment. He glanced at his messages and saw the three photos Ruan Shuyang had sent.

In the pictures, the young omega’s smile was bright and radiant, clearly thrilled—a stark contrast to his nervous and reserved expression during their first photo session.

Each necklace looked exquisite on him.

Ruan Shuyang had a natural talent for design and wore the pieces flawlessly.

Pei Siyue gently traced Ruan Shuyang’s face on the screen with his fingertip.

He missed Ruan Shuyang deeply.

As the mating mark deepened, not only would the omega grow attached to his enigma, but the enigma would also yearn intensely for his omega.

If this trip hadn’t been such an urgent matter, with inconvenient flight times, he would have truly wanted to bring Ruan Shuyang along.

Yet the young omega didn’t seem to miss him much—especially since Jiang Wu had informed him that Ruan Shuyang had left the company without requesting Ji Huai’s accompaniment.

Shortly afterward, Ruan Shuyang sent him a message, casually mentioning that he wanted to go out and enjoy himself.

Pei Siyue closed his eyes, composed himself, and replied: Okay.

He checked in with the R&D department and learned the project would be completed by month’s end.

That meant Ruan Shuyang would definitely receive the GPS-enabled scent-blocking necklace before starting university.

And next week, the semester would begin.

**

Ruan Shuyang took the subway to the downtown shopping district, wanting to browse the latest collections from other jewelry brands, as well as examine store layouts and interior designs.

He hadn’t been walking through the commercial area long when he spotted a Ruan's Jewelry boutique.

Even in one of the busiest districts, the store had few customers, with only one or two staff members idly standing by.

Out of customers’ sight, the employees wore bitter smiles.

Over the past year or two, Ruan's Jewelry had seen declining sales. Many stores had already shut down, and if the parent company failed to turn things around soon, even this central location might close.

Regardless of internal executive conflicts, most of it didn’t directly affect the regular staff.

But if Ruan's Jewelry went bankrupt, many employees would likely lose their jobs.

Ruan Shuyang felt a pang of sorrow.

Still, helping Ruan's Jewelry was completely out of the question.

He hesitated briefly at the entrance but eventually stepped inside. Immediately, a staff member warmly greeted him, showing no sign of dismissing him due to his youth, and began introducing various pieces.

Ruan Shuyang offered a shy, polite smile and pointed to a popular 18K gold necklace on display. “I’d like to buy this one,” he said.

The staff member, unaccustomed to such decisive customers, smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

It was an 18K gold necklace accented with diamonds, featuring a pendant of two hearts pierced by arrows—a unique and elegant design.

It was a classic karat gold piece designed by Yu Xianpo.

It was a pity that despite being its designer, he could never own one himself—Ruan Jianchuan and Pan Lan never allowed him luxuries, and an 18K gold necklace clearly fell into that category.

Priced at several thousand yuan, it was something he could never afford before. Now, finally, he could.

He had left Ruiji excitedly to go shopping, but now he felt inexplicably sad.

After leaving the Ruan's Jewelry store, he entered a nearby jewelry shop to check out the seasonal new arrivals, when he suddenly heard a vaguely familiar voice.

“Hey, you’re from the Ruan family, aren’t you? That one…”

Ruan Shuyang looked up and saw Yu Ling at the entrance, accompanied by a staff member, seemingly about to leave.

Though Yu Ling had once hired omegas to seduce Chi Ye, Ruan Shuyang held no particular resentment toward him—perhaps because Yu Ling had openly declared the Ruan family’s genes to be inferior.

“Here to buy jewelry?” Yu Ling lifted his chin proudly. “What a coincidence. I like your taste. Use my VIP card—the craftsmanship fee will be half off.”

Ruan Shuyang was somewhat amused. Though he knew he shouldn’t be, he always thought of Young Master Yu as a comic figure at social events.

“No need,” he replied politely but distantly. “I’m not sure what I want yet.”

“You…” Yu Ling started to speak, then suddenly noticed a glimpse of silvery metal beneath Ruan Shuyang’s collar. The material shimmered strikingly, almost liquid-like in the sunlight.

“What kind of material is that necklace made of?” Yu Ling asked immediately. “Where did you get it?”

Ruan Shuyang: “…?”

He instinctively touched the necklace around his neck—the one Pei Siyue had given him, crafted from special scent-suppressing material. It was functional, yet unexpectedly beautiful.

And quite expensive.

When Pei Siyue told him the price, he had fallen silent for a long while, doubting whether such a piece could ever sell. But he couldn’t give up so early in his career, so he firmly said, “I’ll work hard to make it succeed.”

Jewelry worth hundreds of millions sells—he refuses to believe a necklace priced in the millions wouldn’t sell.

He is now an omega who has a career and should focus on his own business.

Having lived with the Ruan family for years, he’s naturally picked up some jewelry marketing tactics and strategies. Building good relationships with affluent clients is always beneficial—them buying and wearing his jewelry is, by itself, a form of promotion.

The Ruan family has always invested significant effort into maintaining client relationships over the years.

With this in mind, he decides to take the first step in his career and says to Yu Ling, "It’s made of a special material."

"What material?"

Yu Ling finds it beautiful. If it’s made of this material, Wen Yusheng might like it and not return it.

He’s been struggling with what to gift Wen Yusheng—everything he sends gets sent back. He often visits the VIP room at the store to pick out designs when he has time, and today he happened to be free, but unfortunately, he didn’t find anything he liked.

Unexpectedly, he finds an unexpected delight with Ruan Shuyang.

Ruan Shuyang looks at Yu Ling hesitantly, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

Yu Ling is quick on the uptake and immediately suggests, "Let’s talk somewhere else."

At a café next to the boutique, Ruan Shuyang fully reveals the necklace. The ruby on it, larger than a pigeon egg, nearly blinds Yu Ling.

He gasps, "Where did this necklace come from? Does the Ruan family really have such a beautiful necklace with such a large ruby?"

To buy jewelry for the Wen family’s second daughter, Wen Yusheng, he’s crammed a lot of jewelry knowledge. A ruby of this size and quality is probably worth over a hundred million yuan—would the Ruan family really let Ruan Shuyang wear it?

It’s not that he looks down on Ruan Shuyang, but he genuinely doubts the Ruan family would be kind enough to give something so valuable to an illegitimate child.

"Not from the Ruan family," Ruan Shuyang denies immediately. "I’ve left the Ruan family."

"Leaving is probably for the best," Yu Ling says. "Just look at Ruan Qi—you can tell the Ruan family isn’t a good environment."

Ruan Shuyang smiles. "I plan to start my own jewelry brand. I haven’t decided on a name yet—it’s still in the early stages. For now, I only plan to sell necklaces made of this shielding material."

Yu Ling asks curiously, "What exactly is this shielding material? Tell me more."

Ruan Shuyang explains the material’s properties as Pei Siyue described them to him. Yu Ling’s eyes widen in disbelief.

"There’s such a material? How have I never heard of it?!"

If this material had been developed, it should have caused an immediate sensation in the market.

"It was just recently developed," Ruan Shuyang explains. "There are issues like high production costs and long lead times, so it hasn’t been put on sale yet. But you don’t need to worry about quality—the material has medical certification."

Yu Ling still can’t believe it. "Really? Show me the certification. If I confirm it’s valid, I’ll buy it no matter the cost."

Now it’s Ruan Shuyang’s turn to be skeptical. "Really?"

Yu Ling nods. "Of course, really. Where’s the certification?"

Ruan Shuyang shows Yu Ling the images of the medical certification and patent grant.

Now Yu Ling is completely convinced and says immediately, "How many do you have? I’ll buy them all."

With such a unique and effective material, he’s sure Wen Yusheng would never refuse.

Ruan Shuyang: "..."

He never expected wealthy people’s enthusiasm for shopping to be so overwhelming. Hesitantly, he replies, "I’m sorry, but there’s only this one available right now. The others are still being designed and processed."

Yu Ling: "..."

He looks at the enormous ruby on the necklace and feels its price might exceed all his savings combined. He decides, tearfully, to ask his father for a loan to buy it and asks, "Then how much for this one?"

Ruan Shuyang grows more uncomfortable looking at Yu Ling’s expression and says with his head down, "Well, this one isn’t for sale."

This necklace was originally made by Pei Siyue for someone very important. He’s only wearing it temporarily and can’t sell it.

After saying this, he reluctantly adds, "Due to the special material, we’re currently only accepting pre-orders and purchases from omegas."

"You—"

Yu Ling’s eyebrows shoot up, ready to get angry, but then he remembers something and breaks into a smile.

It doesn’t matter if only omegas can pre-order—he’ll just call Wen Yusheng over right now. Wen Yusheng definitely wouldn’t refuse such a unique necklace.

This way, he’ll get to see Wen Yusheng.

"Wait here, I’ll make a call."

Ruan Shuyang nods, sipping his coffee while watching Yu Ling make a call to summon someone.

Once the call connects, Yu Ling’s smile becomes ingratiating and fawning.

"Yusheng, don’t hang up just yet—I’ve come across a newly developed material..."

Ruan Shuyang listens as Yu Ling gently explains the shielding material to the person on the other end of the line, assuring them it’s all true.

Finally, he hangs up and asks Ruan Shuyang to send over the images of the medical certification and patent grant.

After Ruan Shuyang sends them, Yu Ling soon says, "She should be here in about half an hour. Wait a moment."

Ruan Shuyang has nothing else to do, so he waits patiently.

While waiting, he receives a message from Pei Siyue asking, "What are you up to?"

Ruan Shuyang: "Doing business, trying to sell the designed necklace."

Ruan Shuyang: "Someone saw me wearing it and wants to buy it."

Ruan Shuyang: "Overjoyed spinning.gif"

Ruan Shuyang: "What about you?"

Pei Siyue sends a photo of a conference room: "Just finished a meeting."

Ruan Shuyang: "You work so hard. Pat pat."

Pei Siyue: "The one you’re wearing now isn’t for sale."

Pei Siyue: "It’s only for you to wear."

Reading the message, he feels it’s perfectly normal, yet his heart inexplicably races.

Ruan Shuyang: "I know, I won’t sell it."

Not long after, Ruan Shuyang sees a short-haired, androgynously beautiful female omega carrying Gloaming’s latest small leather bag for the season walk into the café and take a seat near them.

Yu Ling beamed upon seeing her, "Yusheng, you’re here?"

Wen Yusheng glanced at him and then asked, "Where is it?"

Yu Ling pointed at the necklace around Ruan Shuyang's neck, "That one right there."

Wen Yusheng looked curiously at Ruan Shuyang's necklace and politely inquired, "May I take a closer look?"

Ruan Shuyang nodded, then felt Wen Yusheng lean in, using one hand to examine his necklace.

"It really is a unique material," Wen Yusheng remarked as she looked. "And very beautiful. Are there other styles besides the one you're wearing?"

Ruan Shuyang immediately replied, "Yes, there are."

He took out three sample necklaces he had brought with him: "So far, I've only designed these three styles. Since the material is expensive and the production cycle is long, I plan to custom-design each piece."

Wen Yusheng picked up the three samples and smiled, "These three look much more attractive."

Then she asked keenly, "The one you're wearing—it wasn’t designed by you, was it?"

Ruan Shuyang didn’t deny it and smiled sheepishly.

Wen Yusheng looked thoughtfully at Ruan Shuyang, "This material probably wasn’t developed by you, right? Which tech company or pharmaceutical company developed it?"

"It was developed by Ruiji Technology, and they supply it to me... well, exclusively."

He was upfront about it, feeling everyone would find out sooner or later.

Wen Yusheng studied the three necklaces carefully and then asked, "How much are each of these necklaces?"

Ruan Shuyang thought about the costs Pei Siyue had mentioned, considered other operational expenses, and reluctantly quoted, "The plain-inlaid and colored gemstone styles are one million each, and the black jadeite one is 1.1 million, because the black jadeite inlaid on it is very expensive."

Wen Yusheng didn’t bat an eye and said directly, "I’ll take all of them."

Ruan Shuyang was shocked, stunned, and couldn’t react for a long time.

Wen Yusheng waved her hand in front of his eyes, amused, "What’s wrong?"

Ruan Shuyang snapped back to reality, "You’re buying all of them? These three together are very expensive. Actually, just one would suffice."

"Money isn’t an issue for me," Wen Yusheng said without hesitation. "What matters is that the item is useful and beautiful. I have a feeling this material might become scarce, so I’ll buy them all first. I can keep them for myself or give them as gifts."

Yu Ling finally found a chance to speak and chimed in, "Yeah, money isn’t an issue. As long as Yusheng likes it, it’s fine."

"But my jewelry brand isn’t fully set up yet. It’s still in the early stages of preparation..."

Ruan Shuyang was selling something for the first time, especially something so expensive, and wasn’t sure what to do.

Wen Yusheng thought for a moment and asked, "Can you produce identical pieces of these three samples? How long would it take?"

"Yes, I can," Ruan Shuyang said with certainty. "The production time would be about two months."

"Okay," Wen Yusheng said with a smile. "Then I’ll wait two months. I’ll pay a deposit first and the full amount after the items are finished. Is that alright?"

Ruan Shuyang thought that was completely fine, as he had planned to make them anyway.

He agreed to Wen Yusheng’s proposal, and she immediately asked for his bank account and promptly transferred a deposit of 1 million RMB.

Ruan Shuyang saw the extra million in his account and felt like he was dreaming. Had he really earned a million?

He asked Wen Yusheng, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off?"

After receiving so much money in advance.

Wen Yusheng shook her head and said cheerfully, "Little junior, I trust you."

As she spoke, she extended her hand to Ruan Shuyang: "I’m Wen Yusheng, also from T University. I know both Chi Ye and Gu Jin, and Gu Jin has mentioned you."

Ruan Shuyang shook her hand and said earnestly, "Senior, I’ll definitely finish the necklaces as soon as possible."

"Give them to me once they’re done," Wen Yusheng winked at him. "I’ll wear them and help promote them."

They exchanged contact information, and Ruan Shuyang soon left. As he was leaving, he saw Yu Ling leaning in to talk to Wen Yusheng, who responded coolly, only answering occasionally.

He pushed open the café door and walked onto the commercial street, suddenly unable to resist sharing the good news with Pei Siyue: All three styles of necklaces have been ordered, and I received a deposit of one million.

Ruan Shuyang: Feels like I’ve earned a huge sum, so happy.

But since the designs he just finished were all bought, he had to start designing and sampling again, and the pressure of drawing new designs felt immense.

Pei Siyue seemed busy on the other end and replied after a while: That’s great.

Pei Siyue: Good job, I’ll take you out to celebrate when I’m back.

Ruan Shuyang felt like Pei Siyue was coaxing him again. His main goal wasn’t really to seek praise but to ask about the production timeline. Still, he decided to ask during their video call that night.

Pei Siyue would video call him every night during his business trip, mostly asking about his daily life, not for long, but occasionally chatting with him a bit.

Ruan Shuyang: All the designs I drew were sold, and now the pressure is huge. I’ve decided to hurry back and draw.

Pei Siyue: Head back early.

That evening, while he was looking at pictures for inspiration, Pei Siyue asked if he was busy. Upon hearing he wasn’t, Pei Siyue quickly called him on video.

A little after 9 p.m., Pei Siyue’s background showed a hotel room. He appeared on the video wearing a shirt and suit pants, his expression calm, his eyes deep like the ocean.

Ruan Shuyang smiled as soon as he saw Pei Siyue, his smile sweet and exceptionally happy as he called out, "Brother."

Pei Siyue asked, "Did you have fun outside today?"

"Yes," Ruan Shuyang admitted immediately. "It’s just that all the designs I finished were bought, and the pressure to keep designing is really high."

Pei Siyue didn’t say anything like "if you’re tired, don’t design," but instead encouraged him, "Keep it up."

"By the way, brother," Ruan Shuyang asked, "I promised that senior I could finish them in a little over a month. Is that timeline okay?"

Pei Siyue nodded, "Yes, if the client confirms the design and samples are fine, I’ll have the R&D department start on them right away."

Ruan Shuyang breathed a sigh of relief and added, "Also, the senior paid me a deposit of one million. I’ll transfer it to you."

Pei Siyue was providing the manpower and resources, so it didn’t make sense for him to keep the money received.

"Keep the money from this sale for now," Pei Siyue said, looking at him. "You can use it later to buy gemstones you like for designs or settings."

"Next month, the company will open a business account. For future payments, you can have clients pay into that account."

Ruan Shuyang nodded, "Okay."

After discussing business, he looked at Pei Siyue on the screen, not sure what to say but reluctant to hang up.

Just as he was silent, he heard Pei Siyue ask, "Did you miss me?"

Pei Siyue's voice from the video call was cool and low, like a well-chilled, rich red wine, deeply intoxicating.

Ruan Shuyang blushed and didn't say anything.

Pei Siyue waited patiently.

After a moment, Ruan Shuyang whispered, "I did miss you."

So much.

"Good boy," Pei Siyue cooed softly. "I'll come back tomorrow to be with you."

Ruan Shuyang blushed, too embarrassed to look at the phone screen, but his expression was full of anticipation.

He really missed Pei Siyue so much—had he really grown this dependent on him?

Although Pei Siyue always prepared pheromone extract for him before leaving so his treatment wouldn’t be interrupted, it wasn’t the same as having Pei Siyue there in person.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. At first, he had been too shy to even think about those marks, but now he found himself missing them.

He missed Pei Siyue’s warmth, missed the feeling of being marked.

It was too embarrassing to say out loud.

But it felt so good.

**

The next afternoon, a little after two, Pei Siyue showed up at Ruiji. By then, several files were already waiting for him to review on Ruan Shuyang’s desk.

Carrying the files, Ruan Shuyang walked around the potted plants to Pei Siyue’s office and saw him standing by the floor-to-ceiling window on a phone call.

He placed the files on the desk and stood quietly waiting.

A moment later, the call ended. Pei Siyue walked to the desk, sat down, and waved him over to sit as well.

Ruan Shuyang sat down in the chair beside Pei Siyue and watched as the other took a necklace out of his briefcase—the very first design he had created, the thorned rose design.

The gemstone set on it was still larger than a pigeon’s egg. Looking at the finished piece, Ruan Shuyang said, "It’s so beautiful."

Pei Siyue stared at him and asked, "Do you like it?"

Ruan Shuyang didn’t notice Pei Siyue’s gaze, only looking at the completed necklace as he said, "I really like it."

"This one is for you."

Ruan Shuyang was stunned. "But wasn’t this meant for someone very important to you? Why give it to me?"

After saying this, for some reason, he felt a wave of disappointment.

He had known this all along, but now he couldn’t help feeling sad, an indescribable ache in his heart.

Someone very important to Pei Siyue—he wondered if it was someone Pei Siyue loved.

But for such a long time, he hadn’t seen anyone around Pei Siyue aside from people from work.

Pei Siyue didn’t explain this point, only saying, "Figure it out yourself."

Ruan Shuyang couldn’t make sense of it.

Pei Siyue soon took out another, nearly identical necklace and placed it in front of Ruan Shuyang. "This one I plan to give to my deceased mother."

Ruan Shuyang suddenly understood. "Brother, that very important person... is your deceased mother?"