The stunned silence lasted for quite some time. Only when Zhao Yuan pulled open the curtains, letting sunlight banish the darkness, did everyone finally snap back to reality.
Belated gasps and cries of admiration erupted, so loud they nearly blew the roof off the house.
"This necklace is absolutely gorgeous!"
"Gorgeous? That doesn't even begin to cover it! How could a single word describe this necklace? It's dreamlike, etherealânot something you'd find in the mortal world!"
"When I heard that kid say he'd plucked the moon from the sky and put it in a box, I thought he was just spouting nonsense. But after seeing this necklace, I realize he wasn't lyingâI was just ignorant!"
"I never imagined the necklace could actually shine with moonlight and starlight in the dark! That moment was just breathtaking. I'll probably never forget what I saw today for the rest of my life!"
Some of the girls stared at the Moonlit Stars Necklace in Lin Xue's hands, practically drooling with envy. "I'm so jealous of Lin Xue," one sighed, "getting a necklace that's beautiful beyond words. If anyone ever gave me a necklace like this, I'd marry him on the spot!"
Zhao Yuan walked up to Lin Xue and asked with a smile, "So, do you like it?"
Lin Xue nodded emphatically.
The Moonlit Stars Necklace was just so gorgeous and magical. Any woman would be completely captivated by it, and Lin Xue was no exception.
"Xiaozhao, where did you buy this necklace?" Xue Wanyun asked.
Everyone nearby pricked up their ears, especially the women, whose faces were filled with anticipation.
Like Xue Wanyun, they all wanted to buy a necklace as beautiful as that one, even if it wasn't quite as stunning as the Moonlit Stars Necklace.
Zhao Yuan replied, "I made this Moonlit Stars Necklace myself."
Xue Wanyun nodded in approval. "The necklace is called the Moonlit Stars Necklace? How fitting!" She then froze, her eyes wide. "Wait, what did you just say? You made this yourself?"
"Yes!" Zhao Yuan nodded, looking at Lin Xue with a doting smile. "I made it with my own hands. It's the only one in the world!"
Lin Xue's cheeks flushed crimson with surprise and excitement. She looked like a freshly ripened red apple, dewy and utterly beautiful.
At that moment, her heart was overflowing with happiness.
She had never imagined that Zhao Yuan could be so romantic, making a necklace for her with his own hands, and a necklace that was so gorgeous, so beautiful!
Lin Xue felt like the happiest person in the entire world! She looked at Zhao Yuan, her eyes filled with profound love.
Xue Wanyun, completely missing her daughter's reaction, could only gape and exclaim, "You really made it yourself?"
It wasn't just her. Everyone else was also stunned by Zhao Yuan's nonchalant remark.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call a necklace like this a priceless treasure. Even a Grandmaster Level designer probably couldn't create something like this, could they?
"I really did make it myself," Zhao Yuan said. "This is a birthday gift for Lin Xue, so of course I had to make it by hand to show my sincerity. If you don't believe me, you can go to Shufang Studio on Antique Street and ask the owner, Cheng Yunlong. I made the Moonlit Stars Necklace in their workshop."
Since he'd explained it so clearly, Xue Wanyun no longer had any doubts. She clicked her tongue in wonder, "I never knew you had this kind of talent."
At the same time, she was thinking to herself, 'Since Zhao Yuan has this kind of talent, maybe I can get him to make an exquisitely beautiful piece of jewelry for me in the future, too.'
Several others had the same idea as Xue Wanyun. One was even thinking, 'Worst case, I can just give this Zhao kid a fee for his trouble. Judging by his looks, it won't cost much. Maybe a few tens of thousands of yuan will be enough to make him bow in gratitude.'
By now, Ye Feng had picked himself up off the floor.
He had clearly heard what Zhao Yuan said. At first, he'd been humiliated and furious, but now, a new thought took root. 'Since Zhao Yuan made the necklace himself, it can't be worth much! My diamond necklace might not be as pretty, but at least it's more valuable!'
Ye Feng immediately felt much better.
Unable to stand Zhao Yuan hogging the spotlight, he snorted. "I never would've guessed you had this kind of craft, Zhao. Looks like if you ever run out of money, you could always set up a street stall and make a living crafting jewelry. I just wonder how much your pieces would sell for. If they're not worth anything, it doesn't matter how pretty they are. It's all meaningless."
At these words, Chang Yun and his three friends' eyes lit up.
Like Ye Feng, they didn't want to let Zhao Yuan hog the entire spotlight. Now that they had a chance to take him down a peg, they certainly weren't going to pass it up.
They immediately chimed in.
"That's right. With this skill, Little Brother Zhao could really set up a roadside stall."
"I mean, the necklace is pretty. It's probably worth, what, a hundred bucks?"
"Maybe it's worth a few thousand? But it still can't compare to the Cartier Ballon Bleu watch I gave!"
Lin Xue was instantly displeased. The one thing she couldn't stand was hearing people talk bad about Zhao Yuan.
But before she could refute them, someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, "No, you're all wrong! This Moonlit Stars Necklace is priceless!"
Everyone's heads turned toward the voice. They saw a well-dressed woman looking down at her phone as she spoke. "If you don't believe me, look it up online! This Moonlit Stars Necklace has already gone viral! Tons of jewelry Appraisers are raving about it, calling it a gift from a Divine Spirit, the most beautiful sprite in the world. And collectors are already making offersâthe price has been driven up to this amount!"
The woman looked up and held up four fingers.
"What's that mean? Forty thousand?"
"It's a gift from a Divine Spirit, how could it only be forty thousand? Could it be four hundred thousand?"
"It can't be four million, can it?"
People began to guess wildly.
The woman shook her head and said excitedly, "Wrong, you're all wrong! It's forty million! Collectors are offering the sky-high price of forty million yuan to buy this necklace!"
"What?"
"Forty million?"
"My god, this necklace is that expensive?"
The crowd erupted into a clamor. As for Ye Feng, Chang Yun, and the three others who had just been spouting insults, their faces instantly turned beet red. The humiliation had come far too quickly.
"And that's not all," the woman continued. "Lots of jewelry companies want to hire Xiaozhao to design and create pieces for them. They're even willing to pay design fees in the millions, even tens of millions!"
Design fees in the millions, even tens of millions?
The few people who had just been thinking that a few tens of thousands of yuan would be enough to make Zhao Yuan grateful hurriedly lowered their heads, secretly relieved they hadn't spoken their thoughts aloud. Otherwise, the embarrassment would have been immense.
Lin Xue was stunned. She hurriedly tried to return the Moonlit Stars Necklace to Zhao Yuan. "This necklace is too valuable! I can't accept it. You should take it back."
Zhao Yuan shook his head and said with a smile, "In my heart, you are the most precious one. Forget about a necklace. Even if you really wanted the stars and the moon, I would do everything in my power to get them for you."
These sweet nothings almost made Lin Xue pass out from happiness.
Wu Yan watched from the sidelines, secretly impressed. 'I never knew Third Brother was such a smooth talker,' he thought. 'He's got a whole routine down. No wonder he managed to win Lin Xue overâŠ'
As for everyone else, they were simply stunned by Zhao Yuan's extravagance.
'A priceless treasure worth tens of millions, and he's using it to woo a girl?'
'Does he have to be this extravagant?!'