Chapter 84: Wedding Rings

It was the first time Gu Yan had seen Shen Yanhui driving himself.

She turned to the side, her elbow resting on the edge of the car window, propping up her face to watch him.

His hands were on the steering wheel, his fingers slender and clearly articulated, tapping lightly from time to time.

Gu Yan watched, a bit dazed; she had a thing for hands, and his were damnably good-looking. The veins on the back of his hands were even more incredibly sexy.

She also knew his fingers were extremely nimble; when they sparked fire on her body, she was always unable to fend them off.

Gu Yan's body suddenly stiffened.

Something was wrong; her mind was now filled with nothing but dirty thoughts.

It was all because of this damn man's corruption.

"Have you seen enough?" This damn man, of all people, was completely tactless and started spouting nonsense again.

Gu Yan learned from his thick-skinned ways and simply refused to admit it: "Who's looking at you? I'm looking at the scenery."

"Is the scenery good to look at?"

Still asking, still asking—who could have as many questions as him?

Gu Yan turned her head away: "It's ugly as hell!"

Shen Yanhui freed his right hand and pinched her cheek very lightly: "Ugly? Aren't Mrs. Shen's standards a bit too high?"

Gu Yan swatted his hand away and looked aside: "Just drive properly!"

But after only a few seconds, she couldn't help but turn back, this time finding a serious topic: "Where are we actually going?"

Shen Yanhui: "You'll know when we get there."

"So mysterious." She muttered in a low voice, "You aren't planning to sell me off, are you?"

Shen Yanhui laughed lowly: "What would I do if I sold you?"

"What do you mean, what would you do?" Gu Yan said deliberately, "You could just find another one."

"That won't do. Someone as delicate... and who perfectly fits me just right like Mrs. Shen... there is only one in the whole world."

Hearing this, Gu Yan felt something was off, but she couldn't say where it was wrong.

She simply stopped paying attention to him.

——

The car stopped at Paris Left Bank, in front of an old building by the river. The exterior walls were covered in ivy, and the bronze doorplate had only one simple French word: "L'Atelier".

Gu Yan didn't move; she reached out to Shen Yanhui with great pride: "Carry me."

Since he wasn't afraid of losing face, what did she have to be shy about?

Besides, her waist and legs were truly sore.

Of course, Shen Yanhui would not refuse his wife's offer to throw herself into his arms; he leaned over, carried her out of the car, and walked into the main entrance.

Inside was a completely different world.

The lobby had a seven-meter high ceiling, the walls were made of mellow oak, minimalist jewelry was displayed in glass cabinets, and there was a faint scent of sandalwood in the air.

A middle-aged lady wearing an off-white suit came up to greet them and said softly in French: "Mr. Shen, Mrs. Shen, please follow me."

The professional assistant wore a faint smile and didn't cast a single look of confusion at Gu Yan, who was being carried in.

She led them through the lobby and up a spiral staircase.

There were only three private rooms on the second floor.

They walked into the one at the very end; the room was not large, but every detail exuded low-key luxury.

"Please wait a moment." The lady bowed slightly and retreated.

Gu Yan was placed into a velvet sofa and curiously looked around: "Where is this?"

"A studio," Shen Yanhui sat down beside her, "They make handmade jewelry exclusively for royal families of various countries, and only take three orders a year."

Gu Yan blinked; that really was extravagant.

The door was pushed open again.

This time, two assistants entered, pushing a small cart filled with black velvet boxes.

Gu Yan was a bit curious and picked one up to open it.

It was a ring.

She remembered the design sketches she had seen while in the mountains and was somewhat surprised; she picked up another box and opened it—it was also a ring.

A full twenty-three of them.

"The previous designer made seventeen styles, but I felt it wasn't enough, so I found three other designers to add six more."

"They're all made? So many?"

"Mm, want to try them on?"

Gu Yan was stunned by this inhumanly wealthy behavior.

Who in their right mind has twenty-three wedding rings!

But twenty-three... that is her age, huh...

Shen Yanhui had already picked one up and lifted her left hand: "Reach out."

Gu Yan was full of interest and extended her left hand.

The moment the ring slid onto her ring finger, the size was exact to the millimeter.

It looked like a very simple platinum band, inlaid with a South Sea golden pearl. On both sides of the golden pearl were three trapezoid-cut emeralds, forming a design of leaf vines supporting it.

The assistant introduced from the side: "A natural-colored South Sea pearl; one with this size and luster doesn't appear even once in ten years."

Gu Yan turned her finger against the light, liking it immensely.

But she still deliberately acted coy: "... It's alright."

"So you don't like it." Shen Yanhui made a move to take it off.

"Who said I don't like it!" Gu Yan immediately put her hands behind her back to protect it.

She liked it to death, okay?

Shen Yanhui's smile deepened, and he signaled his assistant to hand over the next box, which contained a pink diamond.

The main diamond wasn't particularly large, but it was exquisitely cut, surrounded by a circle of tiny pink diamonds that looked like a starry sky under the lights.

"How about this one?"

Gu Yan reached out her right hand.

"... It's also alright," she said, though her eyes were sparkling.

"This is from the last batch of pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia before it closed; the mine owner originally intended to keep it as a dowry for his daughter, but I used some methods."

He didn't say what methods he had used.

But Gu Yan knew that to make a mine owner part with a treasured, sealed-off collection was definitely not just "some methods."

She reached out to wrap her arms around Shen Yanhui's neck, tilted her head back, and kissed his lips very lightly.

"Shen Yanhui~ Why are you so good~"

"That's all it takes to be good?"

Gu Yan nodded vigorously, her eyes curving into crescents: "Mm!"

Shen Yanhui stroked her waist and lowered his voice: "I can be even better."

"How even better?"

The man's gaze was somewhat meaningful, and just as he was about to speak—

Gu Yan miraculously shared a brainwave with him and reacted extremely quickly to cover his mouth: "Alright, don't say it."

Although the French people couldn't understand Chinese.

But she could understand, she didn't want to hear it, and she was afraid of getting styes in her eyes.

Shen Yanhui smiled and kissed her palm, not teasing her anymore, just holding her as he continued to try on the remaining rings.

Twenty-three rings, every single one unique.

"What should I do? I like every one of them."

"What do you mean what should you do? They are all yours anyway."

Gu Yan couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth: "Then I'll wear a different one every day."

Shen Yanhui laughed: "Then which one do you want to wear today?"

"This one."

Gu Yan pointed to the South Sea golden pearl; compared to those diamonds, she still liked pearls the most.

Shen Yanhui picked up the ring, the golden pearl casting a warm, gentle halo under the light. He slowly slid it onto her ring finger and planted a kiss there.

Gu Yan curved her eyes.

Shen Yanhui had the remaining twenty-two rings carefully packed up and air-freighted directly back to Jingzhou.

When leaving the studio, the middle-aged lady saw them to the door and said with a smile: "Mrs. Shen, your finger size data has been entered into our permanent files. From now on, every year on your birthday, we will design a new ring for you."

Gu Yan turned her head to look at Shen Yanhui: "You'll give me one every year?"

"Mm, until you're one hundred years old."