Chapter 4: Blue Diamond Ring

Yuan Xi sighed helplessly: "My biological brother, Chu Lin, and Gu Hanchen are best friends who grew up thick as thieves. If I take you to meet my parents, it’s equivalent to letting Gu Hanchen know that we’re married."

Huo Shiyan was slightly surprised by Yuan Xi’s background. "Then how long do you intend to keep it from Gu Hanchen?"

"Until after Michen goes public, I suppose."

Yuan Xi said, "I’m leaving now."

Huo Shiyan stopped her: "Wait."

Huo Shiyan took a velvet box from inside the car. He opened it to reveal a pear-shaped, deep-colored blue diamond of about twelve carats. It was a deep blue, like the vast ocean, with a circle of small, brilliant-cut diamonds accentuating the main stone.

Huo Shiyan placed the blue diamond ring on Yuan Xi’s ring finger; it fit perfectly.

Yuan Xi looked up at Huo Shiyan and said, "You..."

Huo Shiyan smiled faintly. "When I saw this diamond, I felt it suited you perfectly."

Yuan Xi looked at the deep blue on her hand. She remembered this blue diamond; it was called the Charlotte Blue, and it had even trended on social media. It had been auctioned off just a month ago for 339 million.

The reason Yuan Xi knew so much about it was that Gu Hanchen’s friend, Bo Fan, had intended to buy it as an engagement ring for Chu Yan. Unfortunately, once the bidding reached 300 million, it exceeded Bo Fan’s budget.

At the time, in the secretary’s office, the junior secretaries had even chatted about whose hand could possibly wear a blue diamond worth an old A-City mansion.

Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyan. Did he buy this blue diamond a month ago to make up for that night of drunken confusion?

Huo Shiyan walked Yuan Xi to the car and fastened her seatbelt.

Looking at Huo Shiyan, who was so close, Yuan Xi felt her cheeks flush.

Huo Shiyan said softly, "Give me a call after you leave the Chu residence later. I’ll have the driver come pick you up."

"I can drive myself."

Huo Shiyan replied, "It’s a forty-minute drive from the Chu residence to Ruohu Mansion via the elevated highway. It’s better to let the driver pick you up."

Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyan. He was determined to have her move into Ruohu Mansion...

Since they had already registered their marriage and had a child, Yuan Xi couldn't find a reason not to go to Ruohu Mansion. She smiled at Huo Shiyan: "Alright, I’ll call you when I leave the Chu residence."

Yuan Xi drove toward the Chu residence. Having been Gu Hanchen’s secretary for five years, this wasn't her first time here; she had visited the Chu residence many times as Gu Hanchen’s companion over the past five years.

Not long ago, Chu Yan and Bo Fan’s engagement ceremony was held at the Chu residence, and Yuan Xi had even attended as Gu Hanchen’s companion.

At the engagement party, Chu Yan had been dazzling, the envy of every socialite in Jiangcheng. At the time, Yuan Xi never would have imagined that she was the true daughter of the Chu family.

As the car drove into the Chu estate, the main manor was a building full of European-style architecture, with a fountain in front.

When Yuan Xi’s car drove past, the water from the fountain seemed to scatter rainbow light under the sun.

As soon as Yuan Xi got out of the car, she saw Chu Lin at the entrance.

He walked over: "What wind blew Secretary Yuan here? Did Hanchen send you to find me?"

Yuan Xi looked at Chu Lin. "Didn't Mom and Dad tell you?"

Chu Lin was puzzled. "What?"

Yang Ying came out from the house and smiled when she saw Yuan Xi: "Xin'er, you're back."

Chu Lin was stunned by Yang Ying’s address. "Xin'er? What Xin'er? Mom, this is Yuan Xi, the secretary by Gu Hanchen’s side."

Yang Ying said, "It’s hot out here. Let’s go inside and talk."

Yuan Xi followed Yang Ying into the Chu family’s living room, where the European decor exuded luxury.

Yang Ying asked Zhang Ma, the housekeeper, to call Chu Yan downstairs.

When Chu Yan came down and saw Yuan Xi sitting beside Yang Ying, she frowned slightly. "Yuan Xi, why are you at my house?"

Chu Yan looked down on Yuan Xi. Even knowing that Gu Hanchen had a fiancée, Yuan Xi had repeatedly acted as his companion at banquets. There were too many women in their circle who wanted to climb the social ladder in one leap.

Yang Ying spoke up: "Yan Yan, this is also Xin'er’s home. Xin'er—that is, Yuan Xi—is my daughter."

Chu Yan stood frozen in place upon hearing this. "Mom, what are you saying?"

Yang Ying reached out and took Chu Yan’s hand, pulling her to sit beside her. "Yan Yan, you are actually a child we adopted."

"Back then, our Xin'er went missing. We searched for her for a long, long time but couldn't find her, so we went to an orphanage and adopted a baby girl about the same age as Xin'er. That was you."

"Yan Yan, all these years, your father and I have always treated you as our own. You will still be a daughter of the Chu family; that will never change."

Yuan Xi sat on the sofa to the side. Hearing Yang Ying say this, she maintained the faint, fake smile she had grown accustomed to in the workplace.

Chu Yan, however, was too shocked to speak. She clenched her hands, her diamond-encrusted nails digging into her palms, causing sharp pain.

It wasn't a dream!

Chu Lin said in disbelief, "Mom, you mean Yuan Xi is my biological sister?"

"Yes, Yuan Xi is Xin'er, Chu Xinyan."

Chu Lin began to look closely at Yuan Xi’s face. "So Secretary Yuan is my biological sister!"

Chu Yan looked at Yuan Xi as if struck by lightning. Yuan Xi’s long, straight black hair was tied in a ponytail. Without makeup, she wasn't the type to be considered a stunning beauty at first glance, but she was very pleasant to look at, and her light blue suit dress gave her a professional air.

Chu Yan looked again at the blue diamond on Yuan Xi’s hand. It was shimmering brilliantly. Compared to that blue diamond, which looked to be over ten carats, the five-carat engagement ring on her own hand seemed much more modest.

Chu Yan recalled the warning she had given Yuan Xi in the underground garage today, saying that the ugly duckling turning into a swan was only because the ugly duckling was a swan to begin with...

Chu Yan felt like the biggest joke right now. She had lived twenty-six years as the daughter of the richest man, only to be told today that it was all a lie!

She was just an adopted child?

Yang Ying patted Yuan Xi’s hand. "Xiao Lin, now that Xin'er is back, don't call her Yuan Xi anymore."

Yuan Xi touched the blue diamond that Chu Yan was staring at and smiled faintly: "Mom, just call me Yuan Xi. I’ve already gotten used to that name."

Yang Ying frowned slightly. "Now that you’re back, how can you still use the surname of the buyers? Your father and I have investigated; your foster parents didn't treat you well at all. You should go back to your original name, Chu Xinyan."

Yuan Xi said, "All my documents are under the name Yuan Xi. It’s too much trouble to change them."

Yang Ying was not a socialite who relied solely on her husband; as the Vice President of the Chu Group, she was used to having the final say. "Xin'er, you are called Yuan Xi because you were bought by your foster parents. If they hadn't bought you, perhaps your father and I would have found you sooner. Are you sure you want to keep the name given to you by the buyers and break our hearts?"

Yuan Xi said, "Mom, if I said I wanted Chu Yan to leave the Chu family, would you be willing?"

Chu Yan gripped her white skirt tightly.

Yang Ying said, "We adopted Chu Yan, and she has been with us for twenty-five years since she was one. We have deep feelings for her."

"My foster parents raised me for eighteen years. They gave me all their love, and even lost their lives working to provide me with a better life." Yuan Xi said in a low voice, "So, I’m sorry... I can’t change the name Yuan Xi."

Chu Lin tried to smooth things over from the side: "Mom, Yuan Xi is fine too. Everyone is used to it, and it would be a hassle for Xin'er to change her name."

Yang Ying frowned, but since Yuan Xi had just returned, she didn't force her to change it.

Chu Yan stared intently at the blue diamond ring on Yuan Xi’s hand. "Yuan Xi, wearing fake diamonds isn't good for your health. Dyed stones can easily cause skin ulcers. Besides, wearing fake rings in our house is... quite inappropriate."

Yang Ying looked at the ring on Yuan Xi’s hand. "It looks quite real."

Chu Lin also took a look. "Isn't this the Charlotte Blue? I wonder who bought it. I was at that auction too; the person on the other end of the phone didn't hesitate for a second when bidding 338 million."

Chu Yan pursed her lips: "Brother, the 338 million blue diamond was only auctioned off recently. How could it have been made into a ring so quickly?"

Chu Yan looked at Yuan Xi with feigned kindness: "If you like diamonds, just go to my walk-in closet and pick whatever you want. The circle of wealthy people in Jiangcheng is very small; it’s really not good for you to wear fake diamonds..."