Chapter 374 - 307: Grandmother’s Necklace

How could something so coincidental happen in this world?

When everyone understood what was going on, their first reaction was disbelief.

Everyone had overheard Ni Bingyan’s phone call earlier, so they knew she had fished the necklace out of the water while filming a show in London.

Although the story was a bit bizarre, it wasn’t completely unbelievable.

After all, it’s perfectly reasonable for an angler to fish up just about anything.

But just as she was planning to issue a worldwide notice to find the owner, the owner herself appeared out of nowhere.

It was more dramatic than a movie.

"I wouldn’t even dare to write this into a script."

If you did, the audience would say you were insulting their intelligence, forcing a coincidence for dramatic effect without any regard for plausibility.

Wu Shinan’s cheeks flushed as she unconsciously blurted out her thoughts.

When she noticed everyone turn to look at her, she quickly turned her back and pretended to be engrossed in playing with her hedgehog.

"Um, well, are you sure?"

Ni Bingyan never imagined she would encounter such a coincidence.

"I mean, do you have any more proof, or perhaps some details about the necklace...?"

Ni Bingyan was stumbling over her words, finding it difficult to say what she needed to.

But she had to say it. After all, the necklace seemed to have a rich history, and no one could say for sure how many were made in the same batch...

Returning a lost item wasn’t such a simple matter.

If she let someone claim it too easily, and the real owner showed up later with proof, where would she find an identical one to give them?

Yu Danqing could be a bit erratic, but compared to the others, her emotional intelligence was still sharp. Hearing Ni Bingyan’s hesitation, she immediately understood her concerns.

"Years ago, my grandfather went abroad to study jewelry design. This was the very first piece of jewelry he designed and handcrafted himself after completing his studies. Because it had such special meaning, he used it to propose to my grandmother.

"By the way, they were classmates, kindred spirits, and their families were a good match, so both sides were happy to see them together. It wasn’t long before they got married and had my father, haha!"

Yu Danqing was getting excited. "So now you see why I’m so certain, don’t you? It’s a one-of-a-kind piece. Even during my family’s most difficult years, we never mass-produced it."

Ni Bingyan had done some research on her future collaborators beforehand. Aside from Wu Shinan, who was too low-profile to find much information on, she had a general idea about everyone else.

Yu Danqing was nearly sixty. For her to have been able to study art, her family must have been well-off.

Not just well-off, the Yu Family was a renowned family of jewelers.

What she said was certainly plausible.

Seeing that Ni Bingyan still wasn’t convinced, Yu Danqing grew a little displeased and pulled up a photo from her cloud drive.

"You can say I’m just telling a story, but you can’t say I faked this, can you? After all, I didn’t know I’d run into you today, and I never dreamed this necklace would ever be found. Look, this is a photo I took when my grandmother was sorting through my grandfather’s belongings after he passed away."

Ni Bingyan pretended not to hear her tone and shamelessly leaned in for a closer look.

It was a colored design sketch. Although the drawing was a bit abstract, you could still make out the overall shape.

Below the sketch were several lines of text, detailing the design concept, manufacturing process, and materials used.

With this, there was more than enough proof of the necklace’s ownership.

Before Ni Bingyan could speak, she huffed again. "Besides, my grandmother is still alive! We can just show it to her, and she’ll know in an instant. My family isn’t so desperate that we’d try to claim a necklace that isn’t ours."

At her age and with her social standing, she was used to getting by on her reputation alone. She was naturally displeased that it wasn’t working today.

Ni Bingyan sighed helplessly. "Teacher Yu, this necklace isn’t mine. To find its true owner, I have to be meticulous. If I gave it to you too easily, it means I might give it to someone else just as easily. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?"

Seeing Yu Danqing fall silent, she smiled.

"I never thought I’d find the owner so quickly. It looks like I won’t need to post a lost-and-found notice after all. I’ll contact my friend later and have her deliver the necklace to your grandmother."

’Song Fuling is a jewelry designer. I’m sure she’d be thrilled to make the trip to deliver this necklace to the matriarch of the Yu Family.’

"I suppose that’s fine!"

Yu Danqing sat down between her and Mou Sanyang. She raised her chin slightly, offered her thanks, and then added in a low voice, "My whole family will be grateful to you!"

’First a sullen recluse and a socially anxious girl, and now a tsundere.’

’This is exhausting.’

’But I have to keep going.’

Ni Bingyan breathed a sigh of relief, but she couldn’t help her curiosity. "How did such an important necklace end up in a lake?"

This was what everyone was wondering.

Yu Danqing always got animated when talking about her grandparents’ past.

"Well, not long after they got married, they had my father. One time, after an argument, my grandmother was in a bad mood and went rowing in a nearby park. But her skills were so poor that she accidentally crashed into another boat and capsized. By the time she was rescued, the necklace was gone.

"They did try to find it afterward. They sent people to dredge the lake for over half a year, but they never found it, so they eventually had to give up.

"Haha, for all these years, my grandmother has always regretted it. Whenever she thought of the necklace, she’d remind herself not to throw spoiled little tantrums. Because of that, she and my grandfather lived happily together until old age. My father and the others always say it was a wonderful thing that the necklace was lost."

The woman who had just been angry was now chuckling to herself as she spoke.

’She has a rather straightforward personality.’

"Is she in good health? Won’t she get overly excited if she suddenly sees this necklace?"

"Oh, she’s in great health! Here, let’s add each other as friends. You can have your friend contact me later."

"Okay."

Ni Bingyan added her as a friend, asked for the design sketch, and sent a message to Song Fuling right in front of her.

Song Fuling was astonished to learn that the necklace’s owner had been found!

Once she understood the situation, she immediately contacted Sister Wei and told her not to post the lost-and-found notice for now.

A story this incredible was worth following up on. They’d have to find the grandmother, get her permission, and film a segment. It might even be possible to edit it into the show.

Yu Danqing was also very happy, but she decided not to tell her grandmother ahead of time. Instead, she planned to go home, make the proper preparations, and then break the news.

Life has no script; no one ever knows what will happen next.

It was a delightful, surprise-filled event just to hear about, but being a part of it felt completely different.

Six of the seven participants had arrived. Producer Zhao put down his teacup and gave Yuan Sian a call.

A loud voice boomed from the other end of the line: "I’m at the door, I’m at the door! Don’t rush me!"

The moment he finished speaking, heavy footsteps, accompanied by heavy HUFFING and PUFFING, grew closer.

Ni Bingyan looked up and—holy cow! In the middle of winter, the man had shown up in a white tank top and baggy shorts.

"Hehe, I hadn’t done my ten-kilometer run for the day, so I just ran here. Hehe, I’m not late, am I?"

"Master, Master, wait for me!"

Just as he finished speaking, a young man hurried up from behind him.

Compared to his master, who was traveling light, the young man had a large bag on his back, so overstuffed that the zipper wouldn’t close.

The master and apprentice duo were both powerfully built with buzz cuts. Their arms, when extended, were probably thicker than Ni Bingyan’s legs.

You could tell they were martial artists at a glance.

After all that commotion, everyone was finally present.

However, while the others had brought pets, Yuan Sian had brought his favorite apprentice.

It seemed there wasn’t much of a difference, though. Like the pets, he had to stay to one side, watch quietly, and not interrupt.