Madam Li saw no crack where Chen Qinqin had said.
Chen Qinqin impatiently tugged at her, pulling her to her side.
Mr. Li reached out and steadied Madam Li, then cast a displeased glance at Chen Qinqin.
Standing beside Chen Qinqin, Madam Li could see the marks inside the bracelet from her angle.
“It really has a crack! What a pity,” Madam Li said with regret.
The last time she had seen a glass-type jadeite bangle like this was at a brand’s collection exhibition. That bangle didn't have this green color, but its market valuation had already reached 110 million, with no market.
She thought she had seen a better one today, only to find it had a crack!
Huo Rou looked at the bangle on her wrist. She hadn't noticed anything in the two days she had worn it.
The gift Qiao Yushan had sent her to apologize was not intensely colored. It looked lively and translucent, so she had put it on.
She hadn't really considered its specific value or flaws.
Hearing them, An An also tried to shake Huo Rou's wrist. The bangle shimmered with a lively light under the lamp. Finally, at a specific angle, An An saw the faintly visible "crack" inside the bangle.
Chen Qinqin swayed the sapphire bracelet on her hand, the sapphires refracting the colors of the sea and sky.
“Qin Ningyi doesn’t even buy you good jewelry, forcing you to wear a broken piece from a friend to embarrass yourself at the party,” Chen Qinqin sneered at Huo Rou, twirling the pigeon-egg-sized diamond ring on her finger.
Indeed, Chen Qinqin had always been vain, and jewelry was her favorite, followed by her face.
She had started working on her face before she was even an adult, undergoing countless procedures over the years to achieve its current appearance.
Every time she attended a party, her expensive jewelry and haute couture gowns, coupled with her costly face, always made her stand out, becoming the first focus of everyone's attention.
This time, Qin Ningyi, who usually disliked attending parties, not only attended but also brought Huo Rou, a naturally beautiful woman.
From the moment Huo Rou entered, everyone’s gaze was drawn to her. With Madam Li’s exclamation, the bangle on Huo Rou’s wrist also gained attention.
She could not tolerate having her spotlight stolen like this.
The contempt and smugness in Chen Qinqin’s words were unconcealed, causing An An to frown.
Qin Ningyi’s expression also soured. It wasn't that he hadn't given Huo Rou anything, but she had rarely accepted them. Only the mountain carving was forcefully moved to Huo Rou’s home by him.
At this moment, the bracelet from a friend appeared on her wrist.
“No! This isn’t a crack,” An An said after carefully examining it for a long time.
“It looks like a pattern, carved inside! And there are words!” An An exclaimed as she saw the patterns clearly.
“A pattern?” Chen Qinqin turned her gaze to An An. “If there's really carving inside the bangle, why would it only be visible at a specific angle?”
Chen Qinqin didn't believe this. The jewelry she bought was mostly from well-known international luxury brands, and she was adept at various inlay techniques.
Take the ring she was wearing, for example. It combined multiple inlay techniques to arrange the main diamond and the surrounding smaller diamonds beautifully.
How could such complex inlay craftsmanship be comparable to these so-called carvings from China?
“There is! It looks like a orchid, Mom, look,” An An insisted. She had seen it clearly, and the annoying aunt standing so far away couldn't easily deny it.
Prompted by An An, Huo Rou turned the bangle in the light and finally saw the pattern hidden on the inner ring of the bangle.
Qin Ningyi also saw it. It was an orchid, and next to the flower was a line of small characters.
He pulled Huo Rou’s hand over to examine it, reading, “A solitary person in the valley, trailing ice and wearing mist, with ancient colors blooming in spring.”
He looked closely at the orchid again. Its form seemed to resemble a character. He had encountered small seal script when he practiced calligraphy as a child. The shape of this orchid subtly revealed the character "Rou."
As he read, Chen Qinqin also came closer. Madam Li was the most excited, but she didn’t dare to snatch Huo Rou from Qin Ningyi, so she stretched her neck to look carefully.
“There are really words! There’s really a painting!” she exclaimed in surprise, having never seen anyone put so much effort into such fine carving inside a jadeite bangle.
The carving technique was also peculiar. Without a specific angle and specific light, it was truly impossible to discern anything.
The lines were clear and smooth, yet light. The subtle marks suggested that Huo Rou hadn't noticed them while wearing it.
The onlookers also crowded around, eager to see the exquisite craftsmanship inside the bangle.
Unfortunately, most people, upon closer inspection, still only saw a perfect bangle without any marks. Only a few individuals exclaimed in the background, "There are really words and a painting!"
Among the attendees at the party were several entrepreneurs who studied art. Someone recognized the character "Rou" from the orchid's form.
This further solidified the fact that the bangle was specifically made for Huo Rou.
“The craftsmanship seems to have improved significantly,” Huo Rou commented with interest after clearly seeing the pattern.
Qin Ningyi increased the pressure, tightly grasping Huo Rou’s hand as she tried to pull away. “Who gave this to you?”
“A friend,” Huo Rou replied evasively.
“An An, you tell me,” Qin Ningyi asked An An, who spent all her days with Huo Rou.
An An thought carefully about when Huo Rou had started wearing the bangle. “It came in the mail.”
“Mom, is the carving inside this bangle really difficult?” An An asked curiously.
“Jadeite is a hard gemstone, and such fine carving requires great patience. Moreover…” Huo Rou paused here, looking at the bangle on her hand.
“Moreover, bangles emphasize integrity. No one would carve into a perfect piece of material for no reason.” Huo Rou then looked at the poem on the bangle, clearly very pleased.
“But this craftsmanship perfectly balances both,” Madam Li said with a smile, stepping forward. “The carving is only visible at a certain angle. Most of the time, it looks like perfect material.”
Saying this, Madam Li still expressed some regret. “Although the craftsmanship is excellent and the idea is ingenious, the value of the bangle would have been even higher without this carving. Alas, what a pity.”
Chen Qinqin had already been deeply shocked by the marvelous carving technique.
She looked back at the ring on her finger, which was set with pave diamonds, pave diamonds, and more pave diamonds, and inlaid with channel setting, channel setting, and more channel setting, and suddenly found it too rigid.
“Yes, Madam Li is right, little sister, your friend has done you a disservice with good intentions,” someone in the crowd began to murmur.
“Nothing special then…” someone said acidly.
“Who says this carving reduces the value of the bangle?” a robust elderly voice boomed from the speakers.