Yilin had tried to ask that as casually as possible, but Takamiya’s face immediately went expressionless for a second before regaining its usual jovial smile.
“No, I don’t have anything like that,” he said.
“I see...” Even Yilin could tell that Takamiya was hiding the fact that he possessed a rare jewel. She fell silent.
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, um...I’m interested in rare jewels.”
“Like what?”
Takamiya’s voice sounded deeper than usual. Feeling as if she were being tested, Yilin broke out in a cold sweat.
It’s probably best to be honest here. “For example, the Sun-Drop...”
Takamiya blinked in surprise. “The Sun-Drop? If I’m not mistaken, it’s owned by Ailee Yeung.”
“Yes.” Yilin nodded, then whispered, “I’d appreciate it if this stayed between us, but rumor has it that she’s let it go.”
“I see. That certainly shouldn’t be said too loudly. It could affect her company’s stock price.”
“I think so too.”
“So you thought I had the Sun-Drop?”
“Um, yes.”
“That gem is as beautiful as the shining sun, but I have no desire to own it, and it wouldn’t choose me anyway.”
“Choose?”
“A jewel chooses its owner. If the Sun-Drop truly left Ailee, then it must have sought a new owner. And perhaps a new jewel will come to her—one befitting her current self.”
Takamiya’s words carried weight. Unable to reply, Yilin merely nodded. Their dance came to an end, and as soon as it was over, the threads of tension snapped. Yilin resisted the urge to fall to her knees.
Kiyotaka had just finished his dance with Azusa too. The three of them returned to Aoi, who was waiting by the wall.
“Good work, Yilin,” Aoi said, clapping. “Your dance with Takamiya was lovely.”
“I worked hard too,” said Kiyotaka.
“What did you think of my dancing?” asked Azusa.
“You both did great too,” Aoi replied. “And thank you, Holmes.” She stroked Kiyotaka’s arm as if to placate him.
Kiyotaka gave Azusa a pleased, smug look before turning to Yilin. “I can say without a doubt that he owns a rare jewel. However, it is not the Sun-Drop.”
“I thought so.” Yilin nodded.
Aoi tilted her head. “Could it be that the rare jewel your father is interested in isn’t the Sun-Drop?”
“Um,” Azusa interrupted them awkwardly. “About that Sun-Drop... It actually belongs to me now.”
“What?!” Aoi and Yilin exclaimed.
“Shhh!” Azusa held her index finger to her lips. “Don’t tell anyone. I’ve always wanted the Sun-Drop, so I spent a long time persuading Ailee. She herself said, ‘The Sun-Drop doesn’t fit my image anymore, so I don’t personally mind letting go of it.’ But she couldn’t actually do it because it would cause a huge fuss. But now, my company is planning a collaboration with her cosmetics company. I was going to announce during the official reveal that ‘I begged Ailee to let me have the Sun-Drop, and she agreed.’”
“I had no idea,” said Yilin.
Takamiya had said that a jewel chooses its owner. Perhaps the Sun-Drop had chosen to move from Ailee to Azusa.
“Come to think of it, you do like jewelry,” said Aoi.
Azusa stuck out her chest in pride. “Yes, I love it. You can ask me anything about gems.”
Kiyotaka wasted no time. “In that case, since I’m not too knowledgeable about them, I’d like to ask: What qualifies as a rare jewel in the first place?”
“Well...” Azusa folded her arms. “Generally speaking, the three rarest gemstones in the world are alexandrite, paraiba tourmaline, and padparadscha sapphire.”
Aoi hummed. “I’ve never heard of any of those. What are they like?”
“Alexandrite is a blue-green gem that was discovered in a Russian emerald mine. Apparently it was mistaken for emerald at first. It was presented to the emperor and became highly popular in Russia.”
Azusa then explained that paraiba tourmaline was a recent discovery from Brazil, known for its fluorescent-blue coloring. “It comes in different types of blue, such as Windex blue, neon peacock blue, turquoise blue, and twilight blue. Windex blue is the most popular.”
Last was padparadscha sapphire, which was said to resemble a lotus flower. “It’s a beautiful and charming blend of pink and orange that evokes healing and affection. Personally, it reminds me of Aoi. You should consider it for her engagement ring, Kiyotaka.”
“I’d love to see it,” Kiyotaka replied immediately.
“Wait,” Aoi said, shaking her head. “He already gave me a ring.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, Aoi,” said Azusa. “You shouldn’t be so quick to decline.”
Aoi frowned and said nothing.
Noticing his fiancée’s discomfort, Kiyotaka quickly changed the subject. “Now then, what do you consider a rare jewel?”
Azusa hummed. “Well, there’s the famous Hope Diamond, Saraswati, and Orlov... Oh, let’s go with red diamonds. It’s said that there are only thirty of them in the world.”
As they were talking, there was a commotion in the hall. They looked toward the entrance and saw Ensho standing there. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans as if offending everyone was his goal.
Nevertheless, Takamiya smiled and walked up to him. “Why, thank you for coming, guest of honor.”
“Guest of honor?” Ensho repeated.
As if on cue, people came from all directions to surround him.
“Present City is incredible,” someone remarked.
“How did you create such a captivating piece?” another person asked.
Even the women who’d been fangirling over Kiyotaka rushed to see Ensho.
“No way! I can’t believe the painter of Present City is so handsome!” one of them squealed.
“Can you take a photo with me?” asked the other.
“Oh my.” Azusa placed a hand over her mouth. “You’ve been upstaged, Kiyotaka. Are you jealous that he’s getting all the attention now?”
“No. I couldn’t be happier,” said Kiyotaka. “The only person I want attention from is Aoi.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Ensho begrudgingly responded to his fans for a bit, but upon spotting Kiyotaka, he pushed through the crowd to get to him.
Yilin’s heart raced as he approached. However, the man’s eyes seemed solely fixed on Kiyotaka. He walked right past Yilin and stopped in front of the appraiser.
“We need to talk,” he said, gesturing with his chin that he wanted to take the conversation outside.
“All right,” replied Kiyotaka.
The two of them went out to the garden via the terrace. Yilin gulped as she watched them leave, the light of the mid-autumn harvest moon casting shadows behind them.