When Xu Ye was in college, she loved dressing up and often bought beautiful jewelry. Matching different gemstones with various outfits always brightened her mood as she admired her reflection in the mirror.
After graduating, the grind of her lousy job gradually eroded her passion for beauty. At first, she would still apply a full face of makeup, but now she just slaps on some sunscreen before heading out.
All her jewelry was stashed away in a jewelry box, long untouched. She couldn’t even remember if she owned a single loose bead like the one in her hand.
Xu Ye dug through her memories desperately, finally concluding that she had never purchased such a pink gemstone. Judging by its quality, it didn’t seem like a cheap plastic imitation. The sunlight streaming through the window made the already lustrous bead even more radiant.
She stared at the bead, and the bead seemed to stare back at her, until her focus crossed, making her go slightly cross-eyed.
“Did you just buy this?” A head suddenly popped up beside her, leaning on her arm to peer at the bead.
The speaker was Yu Qianqian, from the team next door, the only person Xu Ye could hold a conversation with in this trashy company.
“Uh…” Xu Ye blinked, unsure how to respond.
Yu Qianqian leaned in even closer. After studying the bead carefully for a moment, she remarked, “This pink quartz is exceptional—no inclusions, no white streaks. I’ve never managed to buy such a flawless pink quartz.”
Her gaze was so captivated by the bead that she didn’t notice the flash of surprise in Xu Ye’s eyes. How could she casually pull such a high-quality pink quartz out of her pocket?
The sweater she was wearing today was the same one from last weekend. She had checked its pockets thoroughly before tossing it into the washing machine.
Xu Ye never kept anything in such shallow sweater pockets, so there was no way she had put it there herself.
Yet this morning, from leaving home to arriving at the office, the only person she had been near was Liu Hao, who had driven her to work. The girl sharing the carpool had sat as far away from her as possible, practically clinging to the window. It was impossible for anyone to have slipped something into her pocket.
Xu Ye couldn’t make sense of it. Seeing her distracted, Yu Qianqian began chatting about the benefits of pink quartz—improving health, enhancing romantic luck, and so on.
“You should get some pink quartz bracelet too!” Yu Qianqian said enthusiastically. “I have a friend whose love life became super vibrant after wearing a pink quartz jewelry. It’s really effective!”
She lightly stroked Xu Ye’s pale, slender wrist, reluctantly letting go. “Plus, with your fair skin, light-colored jewelry really suits your vibe.”
Just as she finished speaking, Liu Hao appeared out of nowhere again. His beady eyes squinted, and his entire face looked as if it had sprouted four eyebrows.
“A woman should be frugal and manage her household wisely. Don’t waste money on useless things,” Liu Hao interjected in his usual patronizing tone, his features twisted as if Xu Ye owed him fifty thousand yuan.
Yu Qianqian shot him a glare, retorting irritably, “It’s not your money—why do you feel the need to butt in?”
Liu Hao had only shown up hoping to exchange a few words with Xu Ye, but his attempt at conversation was thoroughly thwarted by Yu Qianqian’s sharp response. Since he barely knew Yu Qianqian, he left grudgingly, muttering something like, “Not listening to a man’s advice will only lead to regret.”
Yu Qianqian furrowed her brows, watching Liu Hao walk away. “High-quality pink quartz attracts true love and wards off bad matches. That guy, for instance, is the epitome of a bad match. If you’re looking for a partner, you definitely shouldn’t go for someone like him.”
She paused, then asked curiously, “Who is that guy anyway? Someone from your team? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”
Liu Hao had always had a low presence, so people from other departments, like Yu Qianqian, rarely interacted with him.
Xu Ye thought for a moment and recounted how Liu Hao had started pestering her after she lent him an umbrella.
Yu Qianqian nodded in sudden understanding, her gaze full of sympathy. “There’s a certain kind of man—average or even insecure in normal circumstances—but the moment you show them kindness, they think you’re interested in them. They’ll start acting all confident and radiant.”
Xu Ye recalled her polite actions when lending Liu Hao the umbrella: smiling, nodding, and speaking in a gentle tone. She always treated others with such courtesy. How far had Liu Hao twisted her intentions in his mind?
She muttered reluctantly, “This is really giving me a headache…”
After Yu Qianqian left, Xu Ye seriously considered whether she should buy a pink quartz bracelet.
Even though the purported benefits were more superstition than science, in an era where even animals could surf the internet, shouldn’t repelling bad matches be a breeze for pink quartz?
She opened her browser to search for information on high quality pink quartz. Just as she began reading the first search result, an unexpected Fly Message call notification blocked her view.
The caller ID read “Mom.” Slightly surprised, Xu Ye plugged in her earphones and answered.
“Mom?”
Half a month ago, Wei Lin had joined a group tour abroad. She seemed to be having such a great time that she rarely messaged Xu Ye directly, only posting scenic photos in their family group chat.
Wei Lin’s background noise was a bit chaotic, and her voice had the robotic quality of auto-tuned pop songs. “It’s nothing major. I’m about to return home. While checking the souvenirs, I realized I didn’t buy you anything. What do you want?”
Wei Lin’s melodious voice scratched at Xu Ye’s eardrums. Adjusting her Bluetooth earphones, Xu Ye thought it was so like her mother to forget her daughter while souvenir shopping. Truly, she was her mother’s child.
“Where are you right now?”
Wei Lin paused for a moment before her tone rose dramatically. “You’re actually asking me where I am? You haven’t been looking at my WeChat Moments!”
Unbothered, Xu Ye replied, “You’re mistaken, Mom. I don’t look at anyone’s Moments.”
Except for skimming through Huo Shuyan’s blank Moments history—emptier than her own love life—she rarely opened anyone’s updates. Her feed was overrun by spammy advertisements from online sellers.
Wei Lin let out two derisive chuckles, sounding like a rooster crowing thanks to the autotune. “I’m in Brazil.”
Xu Ye glanced at the first line of the pink quartz article she had been reading and blurted out, “Buy me a pink quartz bracelet.”
The first sentence of the article read: “Brazil is the primary source of high-quality pink quartz, known for its exceptional clarity and beauty.”
Not long after hanging up, Wei Lin sent over another message on Feixin.
[Mom: Our little Coconut has finally wised up and wants to attract some romance?][mfn]Tl’s note: The Ye 椰 in Xu Ye 许椰 directly translates to Coconut 椰子.[/mfn]
It seemed Wei Lin had just looked up the benefits of rose quartz.
Xu Ye calmly replied:
[Xu Ye: No, I want to cut off a bad romance.]
[Xu Ye: (Men only slow down how quickly i draw my sword.jpg)]
[Mom: What???]
[Xu Ye: Make sure to pick one with high quality. Love you, dear mother.]
Finally, six o’clock came, and Xu Ye was ready to leave with her bag to meet David.
But plans never keep up with changes. The evil capitalist boss’s single declaration of “Let’s work overtime today” made the entire team, who were just about to escape, slump back into their desks in defeat.
Unsure of how long overtime would last, Xu Ye sighed and sadly typed a message to David:
[Good Ye: Sorry, I’ve got something tonight, so I can’t witness your showdown with the jungle king.]
As soon as she sent it, she regretted it. That excuse didn’t sound very convincing—what could pets possibly be doing so late at night?
The forum chat didn’t have a recall function, so Xu Ye could only stare at her message in frustration.
David, however, didn’t press for details and instantly replied:
[David: No worries. I’ll let the guy know; we’ll meet tomorrow night.]
[David: He’s gaming right now. I’m analyzing his ganking patterns—know your enemy and all that. Tomorrow I’m definitely pinning him to the ground.]
[Good Ye: …Honestly, we should just sign you up for the KPL.]
After an extra hour and a half of overtime, the team, already wilting like eggplants after a frost, finally dragged themselves from their desks.
Xu Ye packed her umbrella and power bank, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Liu Hao was hovering nearby, scanning the area. Once he confirmed she was alone, he sauntered over, leaning an arm on the partition of her desk in a posture that looked uncomfortably strenuous.
“Hey, Xu, want a ride? I’ll give you a 10% discount off the platform price since we’re old friends—what a deal, huh?”
Considering the platform’s 20% commission, Liu Hao’s suggestion seemed generous but was actually more profitable for him.
Xu Ye wasn’t keen to endure his erratic driving again, nor did she want to experience his toxic cologne-filled car.
Liu Hao’s clutch control was so bad that his car shook violently during startups. She was sure he’d fail the hill-start test if he retook his driving exam.
Liu Hao’s incessant chattering coupled with his poor driving skills made Xu Ye wonder how he even managed to keep his carpool side hustle.
“What a deal!” Xu Ye clutched her chest dramatically and covered her mouth with a tissue, expressing heartfelt gratitude, “You’re a lifesaver, truly. I’m feeling a bit unwell—thank you so much for your help. Ugh…”
She’d realized that neither soft nor hard tactics worked on Liu Hao. But the moment something threatened his wallet, he’d flee faster than a rabbit.
Sure enough, Liu Hao’s upper lip twitched in distaste. Pretending to check his phone, he suddenly looked regretful—so convincingly it almost seemed genuine.
“Someone just booked my carpool. Fully booked now. Next time, okay?”
Xu Ye feigned regret, tucking away the tissue. “Alright, then.”
As Liu Hao hurried off, she smirked and crumpled the tissue into a ball, tossing it into the nearby trash can.
Recently, getting a ride from her neighborhood to work had been difficult. Xu Ye opened her phone, hopping between ride-hailing apps in frustration.
Her company was located at the edge of a new district. Two nearby roads were under construction, and the detours were long and inconvenient, making drivers reluctant to take orders in the area.
The apps all displayed the same message: “No drivers available.” The system helpfully suggested she add a tip to attract drivers.
Reluctantly, Xu Ye added a five-yuan tip but then quickly canceled it.
The road construction wasn’t ending anytime soon, and tipping daily would cost as much as two orders of dumplings from her neighborhood stall.
Resolute, she continued trying to book a ride at the regular price while walking toward a bus stop a short distance away. It wasn’t ideal—taking the bus would add forty minutes to her commute—but if no drivers responded, it was her only option.
The sky was growing darker, and Xu Ye pulled her sweater tighter around her, shivering as the autumn wind cut into her face like a knife.
“Xu~ Lord Xu~~~”
A long, drawn-out call echoed from the nearby greenery, but Xu Ye kept her attention on her phone, uninterested in the peculiar voice.
“Lord—Xu—”
The voice called again, standing out starkly in the desolate street. Finally, Xu Ye glanced around and locked eyes with a man inside a car.
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