Chapter 578: A Priceless Gift

It really wasn't that Lady Qi was putting on airs.

It was just that when in L Country, this kind of formation was the standard for the outings of upper-class gentlemen and ladies!

Having grown accustomed to it domestically, she had simply followed domestic habits upon arriving in Jiangzhou.

The motorcade stopped at the entrance of Shi Youxuan's home; the bodyguards were the first to get out and respectfully opened the door of the second car, but the person who stepped out was not Lady Qi.

Instead, it was a young girl who looked like a servant.

After getting out, the girl first bowed to Shi Youxuan, then went to the third car and tapped lightly on the window twice.

The door opened, a bodyguard placed his hand above the door frame, and the imposing and elegant Lady Qi finally emerged from the car!

"Xuanxuan, I've missed you so much." After getting out, Lady Qi lifted her skirt with both hands and rushed toward Shi Youxuan, hugging her tightly, acting incredibly affectionate.

In truth, when the two were in L Country, their relationship wasn't necessarily that close.

They only knew each other because their children were in the same kindergarten, had gone shopping together a few times, and had shared some hardships during a kindergarten summer camp.

After Shi Youxuan left L Country, Lady Qi had not called her even once.

Yet now, she was putting on a show as if they were long-lost relatives; it was too fake.

"Lady Qi, it's windy outside, let's go inside to talk." Shi Youxuan politely kept her distance.

She had the housekeeper arrange a place for the people Lady Qi brought to rest, then took Lady Qi to the living room, personally brewing tea and getting snacks for her.

Lady Qi looked around the living room and praised, "Xuanxuan, your home is decorated so warmly."

She really couldn't find any other words, so she had no choice but to use the word "warm."

L Country valued luxury as beauty; homes in the upper class basically wouldn't have this style, as everyone decorated their homes with diamonds, gold, and world-famous paintings.

They would even go so far as to use banknotes as wallpaper if they could.

There was basically nothing like Shi Youxuan's home, decorated in such a fresh and elegant way.

The ceiling was plain and simple, and while there were famous paintings on the walls, there were even more photos of the family and the children.

Although it wasn't very luxurious, it was indeed very warm, so her assessment wasn't wrong.

"Please have some tea; this is this year's West Lake Longjing, have a taste." Shi Youxuan didn't pick up on her topic, but instead poured her a cup of tea herself.

"Okay."

Lady Qi felt a bit awkward; her original intention was to close the distance with Shi Youxuan, so she had taken the liberty of changing how she addressed her, calling her by her name affectionately.

But Shi Youxuan kept calling her "Lady Qi"; the forms of address were not equal, and the distance between them was immediately apparent.

Lady Qi thought Shi Youxuan was deliberately keeping her at a distance, but in reality, she was overthinking it.

Shi Youxuan didn't mind such a form of address.

Back in L Country, she had always called her "Lady Zhu," and now, suddenly changing to "Mrs. Sheng" or "Madam Sheng"—not to mention others, even Shi Youxuan herself felt it was a bit unnatural.

She didn't know what Shi Youxuan was thinking, but she had a purpose for coming today; it wasn't just to reminisce.

She couldn't just leave if she wasn't happy.

Lady Qi's personality was actually quite straightforward, but now, because she had concerns, she had to be like those people she used to look down upon, learning to fawn and be hypocritical.

"Um, I brought you a gift. It's nothing precious, I hope... Mrs. Sheng won't mind." In the end, she bit the bullet and changed her form of address.

"Just call me Xuanxuan; my friends all call me that." Shi Youxuan smiled brightly and even handed over a tissue box, letting Lady Qi wipe her sweat.

The weather wasn't hot, yet she was covered in sweat—she was nervous.

"No need, I have one."

Lady Qi took out a high-quality embroidered silk handkerchief to wipe her sweat, only realizing after a few wipes that it might not be good to ignore the tissue Shi Youxuan had offered.

Fortunately, Shi Youxuan's focus wasn't on that; she was looking at the gifts she had brought with great interest.

A box of diamonds, in various colors.

Famous paintings.

Cured meats.

Bird's nest.

To choose the gift for Shi Youxuan, she and her husband had racked their brains for two whole days before deciding on these.

If they were giving them to someone else, they wouldn't have been so troubled.

But these gifts were meant to open the door to interacting with the Sheng Family, so they were of great significance and had to be chosen carefully.

Lady Qi knew in her heart that the little friendship she had with Shi Youxuan in the past was not enough to make her agree to help her family with such a big favor.

Since the friendship wasn't enough, she could only make up for it with gifts.

As for giving something precious, not to mention whether they could even produce it, Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan's businesses were spread across the world; how precious would something have to be to catch their eyes?

If the gift was too light, it would seem insincere.

This box of diamonds was part of Lady Qi's dowry.

They weren't the largest, but they were unique in shape and rare in color; they looked especially beautiful when set in jewelry, and every single one was a dazzling existence!

She had taken out this box of her dowry, and her heart ached so much she nearly fainted.

But for the sake of her family being able to return to their homeland, she had to take them out no matter how much it pained her.

The few famous paintings she brought were her husband's prized collection.

They were all one-of-a-kind, the kind that money couldn't buy.

As for the cured meats and bird's nest, although they were also the best, they were just there to make up the numbers, to make it four gifts.

Shi Youxuan opened the box containing the diamonds.

"Wow—"

"What beautiful diamonds. How can there be such beautiful diamonds in the world? Lady Qi, do you know, even my diamond mines can't produce such beautiful diamonds, and yet you have..."

She began to count: "One, two, three, four..." Every time she read out a number, Lady Qi's heart would twitch.

Lady Qi really wanted to stop her and tell her not to count anymore; there were seventeen in total, she had counted them thousands of times, and she even knew exactly how many carats each diamond had, how many facets, and what kind of light they would reflect when placed in the sun from any angle.

But she could not stop it.

Originally there were eighteen in total, before she gave birth to Qi Heng.

She used one very ordinary blue diamond among them, asked a jewelry master to make a pendant, strung it on a platinum necklace, and it became the most dazzling presence at the cocktail party!

The remaining seventeen diamonds, each one taken out, could make countless women go crazy and scream for it.

She had wanted to give these as heirlooms, to be passed down from generation to generation.

But now she could not; escaping from her home country with her life hanging by a thread made Lady Qi realize—having one's life is the most important thing.

Shi Youxuan finally finished counting; wouldn't it be fine to just close the box and put it away after counting?

But she did not.

She was like a child who had discovered a Treasure, taking each one out and placing it in the sunlight to shine.

She even had a servant bring a mirror, and as if unable to wait, she held them up to her ears, fingers, and neck to compare.

Shi Youxuan did not just compare them by herself; every time she compared one, she had to ask Lady Qi: "Lady Qi, do you think this diamond suits me?"

"It suits you, very well suited; these diamonds were born specifically for you, only your beauty can handle them."

When Lady Qi said these words, her heart was bleeding.

But Shi Youxuan did not appreciate it.

She smiled charmingly as she put the diamonds back and said: "Lady Qi, you are not being honest; such brilliant and eye-catching diamonds would look good on anyone."

"Hehe."

These words left Lady Qi not knowing how to respond, so she could only laugh awkwardly.

Yet she complained inwardly—you have money, so whatever you say is right!