She Lives without Regret in This Life

”Alright, stop getting teary-eyed, come on in!” Wenyin, familiar with the place, pulled Qiu Bai inside. Sheng Ning was busy serving tea and water. For the New Year, the family still had fruit, sunflower seeds, candied fruit, and peanuts, which she brought out on a big plate and placed on the coffee table in the living room.

This still wasn’t enough. When she came back, she had deliberately bought gifts for the two of them—each got a Valentino watch—which she hurriedly ran upstairs to retrieve.

She presented them in front of the two like treasures.

Wenyin and Qiu Bai watched her bustling around. Everything was still so familiar, and Sheng Ning hadn’t changed at all since before they parted ways. The sense of strangeness from not seeing each other for so long finally faded, and they couldn’t help but smile.

”Alright, stop being so busy; we’ve come to talk to you about something.”

”Wait a second...” Sheng Ning pulled out two brooches; the diamonds shimmered under the light, almost blinding the two when opened.

Sheng Ning said happily, ”Yang, Teacher Qiu Bai, these are gifts I got for you two—a small token of appreciation, you must accept.”

Wenyin looked at the diamond brooch without saying a word for a while; Sheng Ning stared expectantly at her. Finally, unable to refuse, she said, ”The diamonds are too precious; the watch is nice, so I’ll keep it!”

”Cough, cough, cough...” Teacher Qiu Bai was choked, her face turning red from drinking water. She looked at the jewelry box in Sheng Ning’s hand and said, ”Um... this... this thing is worth more than diamonds.”

Wenyin didn’t recognize it, but how could Sheng Ning, who studied abroad, not recognize it? Valentino’s products are sky-high priced; a watch like this would take ten years of his salary to afford.

”What?” Wenyin’s hand shook, almost throwing the watch away, ”How expensive can it be? Is it actually worth more than diamonds?” A Titoni watch on the market now, costing US$ 100, is already considered excellent.

”This watch is worth at least ten thousand yuan.”

”Ten thousand?”

”Yes, not RMB—US dollars,” Qiu Bai stated firmly.

The exchange rate of US dollars to RMB is frighteningly high; ten thousand dollars equals one hundred thousand RMB. Oh my! Trying to scare her to death? This watch in Wenyin’s eyes wasn’t a watch anymore; it was a mountain of gold, equivalent to dozens of houses.

In the eighties, having ten thousand yuan could make someone enviable enough. A watch worth tens of thousands was simply terrifying.

Suddenly, Wenyin felt holding this watch was unbearably hot, so she quickly stuffed it into Sheng Ning’s arms, admonishing, ”You mischievous girl! Coming back, you want to get me into trouble. I see you need a spanking.”

”No, Yang, listen to my explanation.” Sheng Ning felt she had been naive before; she had banked on Wenyin not knowing the watch’s value. Presenting both a watch and diamonds, Wenyin was sure to choose the inconspicuous watch.

This way, her gift would be successfully given out, but she forgot about Teacher Qiu Bai and totally miscalculated.

Actually, this watch was not considered expensive among Valentino items; it was one of the most ordinary ones without much price discrepancy from Qiu Bai’s guess. At the time, she thought it was economical and practical, perfect for giving as a present.

Mary recommended it, and she agreed immediately, requesting every style and color.

”This watch isn’t really expensive, honestly!” Sheng Ning looked sincerely at Wenyin, ”Really, it’s not expensive at all, and if you don’t accept my token of appreciation, do you despise me or are you mad at me?”