Lucheng, Lunar New Year's Day, afternoon, on the beach.
"Let me look at it one more time, this is really, truly, truly the very last time," Ruan Tianxin pleaded with Yu He, clasping her hands together.
Yu He, exasperated, extended her left hand for the nth time, like an empress dowager, towards this diamond enthusiast.
Ruan Tianxin, like a lady-in-waiting, carefully took her hand and examined it from all angles, 360 degrees.
On her slender middle finger, a brilliant red diamond sparkled. Against the backdrop of the dragon tattoo on the back of her hand, its redness was luscious, vibrant, and dazzling.
"Little Sprout, do you know?"
Her gaze lingered greedily on the diamond on Yu He's hand, continuing affectionately, "This is a pigeon's blood red diamond. Among colored diamonds, red diamonds are the pinnacle. Red diamonds are not common in the market. Experienced diamond collectors and many in the diamond industry may not have even seen a red diamond, let alone such a rare 'pigeon's blood' red diamond. Even I have only heard of it in legends and this is the first time I'm seeing it in person.
Lord Qin spares no expense when he gives you gifts."
Yu He had heard Ruan Tianxin say these words several times today; she could recite them by heart. But one thing was true: Qin Beiting spared no expense with the gifts he gave her.
She had heard that this pigeon's blood red diamond was dug up by Chen Dong and the others from Africa just recently.
"Ask your man to get you one," Yu He teased.
"I wish! But there's only one Lord Qin in the world! I'm truly so envious of you. When will I also have my own Lord Qin propose to me? I want to get married too."
Ruan Tianxin cupped her face, recalling the romantic proposal Qin Beiting had made to Yu He last night, and felt immensely envious.
"Is there no follow-up with Shao Chen?" Yu He asked.
Speaking of which, Ruan Tianxin lost all desire to admire diamonds. "No, we broke up five years ago."
"Was it because of the issue of whose surname the child would take back then?" Yu He inquired.
She remembered that Shao Chen was Ruan Tianxin's longest-term boyfriend. They had reached the point of marriage and having children, but it fell apart over the issue of the child's surname.
One was royalty from a foreign country, and the other was the sole heir of a prominent national family for three generations. Both placed great importance on the succession of their descendants and both had immense fortunes to inherit.
Ruan Tianxin replied, "Yes!"
"Didn't we say back then that if you had two children, one would take your surname and the other his, the problem would be solved?" Yu He asked.
"I thought it would be that simple, but reality wasn't as naive as I imagined."
The memory of Ruan Tianxin shamelessly approaching Shao Chen to make up, only to overhear him telling his friends, "She's just a woman, how many more do I need? I just found her more obedient, good at serving, not like those superficial women who only crave my money. We just got along..."
So many years had passed, yet when she recalled Shao Chen's dismissive tone as he said those words, she still felt as hurt as she did back then.
She had decided to marry him and have children, yet in his eyes, she was merely an obedient, serving woman he got along with!
In his eyes, their relationship was no different from that of women in a bar!
Ruan Tianxin was furious. She had gone to reconcile, but ended up severing ties with him completely on the spot!
"Never mind him. Since breaking up with him, my relationships have been a mess! I've only encountered scumbags!" Ruan Tianxin irritably scratched her head.
Yu He chuckled, "How have they been a mess? Tell me, let me have a good laugh?"
"It's just that men these days are so pragmatic. They only covet my money. When they are with me, it's as if they have 'I don't want to work hard anymore' written all over their faces!" Ruan Tianxin said.
"Who told you to be so generous every time you go out? You need to break your habit of always paying the bill," Yu He advised.
Ruan Tianxin said, "But if I don't spend, my hands get itchy! Besides, when I think about how much money my family has given me, if I don't spend it now, who knows who will benefit from it after I'm gone."
Her mother was a renowned international dance star, and her father was of Danish royal blood and an internationally acclaimed director. After her mother retired, she opened several companies in her name out of leisure, making a fortune that would be enough for her to live extravagantly for several lifetimes.
Others might have to leave the entertainment industry if they didn't act well; she, on the other hand, would have to return to inherit the throne or billions in assets if she didn't act well.
Yu He said, "...You have money, you can be willful."
"Let me tell you, how excessive and how scummy my last boyfriend was! Before we got together, he said he wasn't after my money. But after we got together, he was even more obsessed with grooming than I was."
As she brought this up, Ruan Tianxin couldn't help but complain:
"He said he wanted to be an influencer, that it was a quick way to make money, and that he would support me after earning. I thought he was very motivated and was very touched, so I bought him all the cosmetics, bags, and clothes he wanted. Not only were they all designer brands, but they were also limited editions.
You know me, I love spending money. If he liked something, I would buy it for him, after all, it was to support his career."
Yu He listened to her complaints while sipping on a coconut.
"Finally, after all the items were ready and he could start streaming, the first location he chose was a five-star restaurant. A five-star restaurant wasn't a big deal, after all, I couldn't let him eat street food in designer clothes, right? Then he said the background of the restaurant had too many people, making it difficult to stream, and that I should book the entire place for him."
Ruan Tianxin continued, "So after booking the place, he invited a bunch of his cronies to create a lively atmosphere for the stream! He even asked me to find a stylist for his friends! I found top stylists for him, and fearing he would be too tired, I even hired two personal assistants for him."
"It's normal for someone to not want to work hard when they find a sugar mama like you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to work hard either," Yu He said.
"Oh, why are even you saying that to me!" Ruan Tianxin pouted.
Yu He asked, "Haven't you realized he was using you?"
"At the time, we were in the heat of romance, how could I have thought of those things? Besides, I thought that if I went through these difficult times with him now, our relationship would be even more stable in the future," Ruan Tianxin pouted.
Yu He said, "Silly."
Ruan Tianxin then continued, "Oh, don't change the subject. Don't you want to hear what happened next?"
Yu He followed her lead and asked, "And then?"
Ruan Tianxin continued, "Then, I thought that after I had done so much for him, he would be very touched. I didn't expect him to buy me diamonds or material gifts, but at least on my birthday, he would be good to me in bed?"
"So you two broke up because he couldn't satisfy you? Was he too short? Or too fast?" Yu He asked, suddenly curious.
"Neither," Ruan Tianxin shook her head. "Damn it, he's impotent!"
Yu He couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Impotent?"