Chapter 187: Chapter 188: Planning a Surprise for Third Brother
In the evening, Silas Cheney took Thea Lynch and Melody to the auction.
While working, Melody was very polite to Silas, calling him "Mr. Cheney" and showing respect at every turn. But since it wasn’t work time now, Melody reverted to her usual self, and she began to playfully ask Silas for a sapphire necklace.
Silas was pestered by her for a while, and soon agreed.
Melody had liked shiny things since she was a child. She always had a hobby of collecting diamonds and gemstones.
It’s like that for all girls.
Err, actually there are exceptions, such as...
Turning his head, Silas looked at Thea on the other tier, "Is there anything you like? I’ll get it for you."
"No need." Thea glanced at the catalog, finding nothing of interest, "I don’t wear jewelry."
"Hey, pick one." Silas was very generous to the two of them.
Spending money without batting an eye.
"You’ve worked hard this week, consider it a bonus."
Calmly flipping a page, Thea wasn’t buying it, "Just transfer the money to my card directly."
Silas: "..." Is this even human speech?
"Which one does Aunt want?"
"This one." Thea pointed at a jade piece on one of the pages.
"Looks good. You should pick one for yourself too. Didn’t you mention going to a dinner with Third Brother when you get back?"
Silas enthusiastically marketed the idea.
"Thanks, Fourth Brother, but truly there’s nothing I like." Thea appreciated the gesture.
"Then what do you like, I’ll get it for you when you return to Coronet."
Thea was about to say nothing when she was reminded of something else.
She lifted her wrist slightly, her sleeve slipping down to reveal the bracelet, signaling Silas to look.
"What’s the matter?" Silas wasn’t seeing the bracelet for the first time.
He naturally knew this was the real "deal."
"Third Brother’s bracelet broke, if possible, Fourth Brother could help find a similar one?" She didn’t have anything else in mind, but if she had to say one thing, it’d be this bracelet.
After all, Ian Preston’s bracelet breaking had something to do with her.
"This isn’t simple." Silas held her arm, looking it over, "Might take some time, I’ll ask around later."
"Keep it low-key."
Hearing this, Silas raised an eyebrow, "Want to surprise Third Brother?"
Thea pursed her lips, tacitly agreeing.
"Oh wow, impressive."
"Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out within a few days." Silas promised.
Since he said it, he’d definitely do it.
The auction went smoothly, and Thea got the item her aunt wanted. Though the price was higher than her aunt anticipated, since the elder liked it, Thea didn’t mind the cost and raised the paddle.
Successfully secured.
——
Initially, Silas was thought to find the bracelet after returning to Coronet, but surprisingly, the next morning on the way to the exhibition, Silas received a call saying it was found.
"You’ll be back early, why don’t you go see it yourself when you get back?" Silas asked her opinion, "It’s in Coronet, I’ll have it delivered to you then."
Thea nodded, "Okay. Are there pictures? Let me see first."
Silas requested photos and videos from the other party, showing her the item from all angles, and sent them directly to Thea.
After watching, Thea gave a sidelong look.
"Not good enough?" Silas asked.
"It’s a bit off, I’ll check the real one, maybe the lighting isn’t right."
"Yes, yes, check the real thing. Make sure to take a closer look then."
"Mm." Thea asked him for the contact details.
Silas enlarged the photos and looked closely, "I think it looks quite similar. This bracelet isn’t in Coronet yet."
Thea responded, not being too picky, "Have them deliver it to Coronet as soon as possible. An exact match is unlikely, if this one is okay, I’ll choose it."
"Don’t worry, it’ll arrive before you do."
Pausing, Silas asked:
"Not joining the celebration dinner tonight?"
"Not joining. If you’re feeling generous, host one when you return, I won’t miss it then."
"Great idea."
Thea spoke casually, but Silas took it seriously.
After finishing the afternoon, Thea checked on her uncle. He hadn’t been home the past few days and only returned home by noon today.
The two had dinner at home, and finally, her uncle drove her to the airport.
"Uncle, when are you coming back to the country?"
"Next month, probably. Once I wrap things up here, I’ll return for a while."
"Will you stay for the New Year?"
"Of course." Her uncle patted her head, "By the end of next year, I’ll definitely go back."
"Not coming back here anymore?"
"Will occasionally come over, but don’t need to focus here anymore. No need to settle here."
Thea finally heard some good news.
She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a burden lifted.
"That’s great, grandparents miss you a lot."
"I know." Her uncle joked with her, "If I don’t go back, they might disown me."
Thea chuckled.
"Alright, head on in. Once I decide when to return, I’ll tell you. You can come and pick me up then."
"Okay!"
Before taking off, Thea sent a message to Ian Preston as she often slept on planes and worried that she might not respond promptly, so she addressed things with him in advance.
In her dreams, Thea felt a loss of gravity, her ears discomforted, but thankfully she soon dozed off again, feeling no major issue.
Thea landed earlier than Ian. As soon as she got off the plane, she went straight to the agreed location to first view the aloeswood beads.
The other person was a refined young man wearing glasses, who smiled and waved when he saw her.
"Hello, Miss Lynch." He introduced himself.
Thea shook his hand, "Sorry for the wait."
After sitting down, the young man didn’t chat idly, immediately taking out two boxes.
"This morning, I found another one for you, knowing you were on a flight, I didn’t disturb, just brought them over."
"You can look at them together." He gently placed the boxes on the table, opening them one by one.
Professionally, he picked up the bracelet with gloved hands and handed it over to Thea.
"This is the one you saw in the picture."
Thea nodded, taking it.
After lingering between the two bracelets for a while, Thea showed the young man the one on her wrist, "Which one do you think is the closest?"
"From my perspective, this morning’s one is quite similar." The young man picked up the second bracelet, holding it near her wrist but politely keeping half a fist distance.
"Look, from this angle, it is indeed more similar than the other one."
"And the price?"
"This one is slightly less expensive than the other one."
Hearing this, Thea raised an eyebrow, "I thought you’d promote the pricier one."
The young man chuckled, "It depends on what you need. If you want the best, naturally, I’d recommend the first one. But clearly, that’s not the case."
"Honestly, achieving sixty percent similarity is quite rare."
"The one you’re wearing now is extremely rare. Even the closest we can find is usually only this similar."
"If I’m not mistaken, the one on your wrist should belong to The Preston Family."
