Chapter 434 The Ne


    As soon as her mother handed her the card, Vivian asked her friend to contact the designer.


    As luck would have it, the designer was about tounch a new line of jewelry. Before the day of its


    release, Vivian bought a ne at twice its price without even blinking.


    On the day after she got the ne, she met up with Jessica for afternoon tea.


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    Jessica appeared in front of Vivian in a fetching spring-colored dress, but the expression on her


    face was not pleasant at all. After all, Julie ckmailed John into marrying Vivian before she agreed


    to save Sam. Jessica was both grateful and angry at her.


    "Is there something wrong? It''s too cold to go out in this kind of weather."


    Jessica''s lukewarm attitude made Vivian feel ufortable, but she still greeted Jessica with a


    smile.


    "Jessica, the designer you like is releasing a new collection. It''s not on sale yet." Vivian took out a


    square box from her bag and pushed it in front of Jessica. "However, I bought one of the pieces in


    advance. I want to give it to you."


    "Really?" Jessica reached out to pull the box toward her. As soon as she saw the sparkling


    ne nestled inside, she couldn''t help but love it, and her attitude toward Vivianpletely


    thawed. "It''s really his design! Vivi, you''re so considerate."


    "I saw it, and I thought how well this ne would suit you. Here, let me put it on for you." Vivian


    stood up, intending to unsp the ne that Jessica usually wore and put the new one on for


    her.


    Jessica gave her back the ne with a smile. "Thank you, Vivi."


    "It was nothing!" Vivian walked behind Jessica and reached out to lift her hair.


    "Chester loosened the sp of my ne by ident. He told me that he would find a master


    jeweler to have it fixed and then give it back to me. It has been several days, but I haven''t received


    an update from him yet." Jessica raised a hand to help Vivian fix her own hair, unaware that she


    had just dropped a bomb on herpanion.


    There was no ne around Jessica''s snow-white neck.


    Vivian stared at Jessica''s nape, stunned. "You mean the ne was taken away?"


    "It was taken to be repaired." Jessica gathered up her hair in the circle made by her thumb and


    index finger and then twisted it up off her neck so that Vivian could ce the ne around her


    neck.


    "Now, it doesn''t really matter if I have it fixed or not because I already have a new one. I can finally


    retire the old ne."


    Vivian''s hand hovered unmoving for a long time.


    ''Chester took the ne away?


    Did he find out about the bug?


    Chester is not an ordinary child. Some say that he will be the next John, while others say he


    will achieve more.


    He''s mature for his age, and has a bearing that is more elegant and sedate than that of most adults.


    How would break Jessica''s ne?


    He and Jessica are not particrly close that he could just y with her, right?''


    Vivian began to worry.


    "Vivi, what are you thinking about?" Jessica turned to look at her.


    "Huh? Ah, nothing." Vivian put the ne on Jessica''s neck. "Jessica, do you think the size is


    okay?"


    "Well, it''s neither too long nor too short—it just falls right on my corbones. It''s beautiful." Jessica


    sped Vivian''s hands into her own, a smile on her face as she warmly thanked her for the gift.


    "Thank you, Vivi."


    Vivian smiled back. "You''re wee. A beauty deserves nothing less than beautiful things." Then,


    she sat down opposite Jessica again.


    Jessica fiddled with the ne, which emphasized the milky-white skin of her throat and framed


    her delicate corbones charmingly.


    The sight was both dazzling and painful for Vivian. After all, she had spent a lot of money only to fail


    at achieving her goal.


    For now, the most important thing was to find that ne.


    "Jessica, where did Chester get the ne fixed?" Vivian asked casually. "Were they able to fix


    it? You really should let me take it back and show it to the designer. No other person would know


    how to repair it without damaging the masterpiece."


    "Chester said he could handle it, so I let him take care of it." Jessica''s belongings were usually off-


    limits to anyone, or else she would throw a fit.


    Now, she didn''t seem mad when she mentioned it. Instead, the smile on her face as she mentioned


    the child was positively indulgent.


    Vivian could understand Jessica''s longing for a child at her age.


    Jessica had divorced Jason. Therefore, she couldn''t get pregnant and have a baby.


    The three juniors of the Shi family didn''t like her very much. It was rare for Chester to willinglye


    to her before school started. Then he identally broke a ne.


    Besides, Jessica didn''t buy the ne herself. Even though it was broke, she didn''t get mad at


    the boy.


    "Chester is such a calm, well-behaved boy. How could he have broken your ne? He probably


    had fun time ying with it," Vivian prodded tentatively.


    Jessica didn''t understand what Vivian was implying. She just smiled and said, "No. He was


    fascinated by the design of the ne, so he wanted to take a closer look. The sp became


    loose identally. I never knew that kid could be so strong."


    By ident?


    Vivian doubted it.


    She stirred her coffee with total concentration. The whirlpool was hypnotic, as if staring at it for long


    would get her sucked into its depths.


    "Did Chester take the ne to study it? I mean, study its design or something like that?"


    Jessica shrugged her shoulders. "I don''t know. He''s always doing something unexpected." Jessica


    was lost in thought for a moment. "Actually, he sent me a WeChat message yesterday, saying that


    when hees back, he will tell me a secret—a secret rted to the ne."


    "A secret?" Vivian''s fingers froze mid-stir. Even though she had stopped moving, the dark liquid in


    the cup still rippled, just like her racing heart that couldn''t calm down for a long time.


    The moment that she and her mother had been dreading appeared to have finally arrived.


    Without noticing anything wrong with Vivian, Jessica said with a smile, "I''m guessing that he will told


    me that he fixed it himself. Chester is a very capable boy. "


    "Really?" Vivian absently replied.


    This time, Jessica finally noticed that something was wrong with Vivian. She asked in a concerned


    voice, "Why are you so pale? Do you catch a cold because you weren''t wearing enoughyers?"


    "Do I look pale?" Vivian dabbed at her face and dismissed the other woman''s concern. "Maybe it''s


    because I applied too much foundation, and the lipstick I''m wearing istte-colored. The


    combination does tend to make me look too pale."


    "Well, I thought you were sick. You and John will be married in a few days. Don''t fall ill." Jessica still


    cared about her. After all, they were good friends and soon to be family.


    Jessica took a sip of her drink. "You are going to marry John soon. Are you happy?"


    "What?" Vivian blinked at Jessica, unable to tell whether Jessica''s words were meant to be caring


    or mocking.


    Either way, Vivian wouldn''t allow herself to lose her pawn, Jessica. "I cannot exactly say that I am


    unhappy. You know that I have always liked John."


    "Did you know beforehand what your mother was going to make a bargain with John?" Jessica


    gave Vivian a searching look.


    Vivian sighed, her eyes wide and innocent. "I didn''t find out about it untilter. I know that other


    people say that my mother was despicable, but I could never think that of my own mother. After all,


    she did it for my sake. Now that it''s done, I..."


    Vivian''s voice trailed off, seemingly in anguish. "I also wanted to call off the wedding. On one hand,


    my mom didn''t agree; on the other hand, I could not ignore my own heart. I''ve liked John since I


    was a child.


    I really want to marry him. I know that he loves no one but Nina, but I am willing to stay with him and


    take good care of him for the rest of my life."


    Jessica had always known how much Vivian loved John, and her heart wasn''t immune to such


    heartfelt words.


    "Everyone has a selfish motive when in a rtionship. You have to remember what you told me


    today. Take good care of John. He has lost a lot of weight in thest six months. "


    "Yes, I saw that for myself when I went to try on the wedding dresses two days ago," Vivian agreed,


    concern inly written on her face. "These days, I''ve been learning how to cook for John."


    "You cook?" There was note of pleased incredulity in Jessica''s voice. Vivian could tell from her face


    how surprised and moved the other woman was by the gesture. "You use your hands almost


    exclusively to y the piano. How can you cook?"


    "It''s okay, I can wear gloves. Besides, it''s always a pleasure to cook for the person I love." Vivian''s


    face glowed with happiness.


    "Well, that''s true. You need to take care of your hands," Jessica reminded her.


    "Okay," Vivian replied with a nod.


    The two of them chatted for a while, and then Jessica stood up and left.


    Vivian watched her departing back with a smile. As soon as Jessica disappeared, the smile


    vanished, leaving a dark expression.


    Vivian took out her phone and dialed a number. "Get me the details of Chester Shi''s flight from B


    City to Lexingport City."