Zero had long been used to doing different things at the same time.
While reading, he also split part of his attention to think about his situation with Jingliu.
If he was going to propose… the ring had to have something special about it.
How many carats should the main stone of the ring be?
He might as well choose a gemstone based on Jingliu's birthday, it sounded meaningful just hearing it.
As for the type of main stone…
Zero sifted through the gemstone varieties he knew from memory and quickly came up with two different options.
One of them was alexandrite, a gemstone that shows different colors under different lighting.
A company executive had once bid on one for him at an auction and mentioned that this gemstone was extremely rare, and that it would be hard to encounter another loose stone of the same quality in a short period of time.
Zero had bought it because the color it showed under incandescent light and candlelight looked very much like Jingliu's eyes.
Considering that Jingliu had seen that gemstone before, and that this type of gem was extremely rare, he had no choice but to abandon this option.
The other option was ruby, safe and conventional, but with the advantage of being plentiful, making it easy to find a loose stone he liked in a short time.
Thinking this far, Zero happened to finish a chapter. He put the book down, used his jade communicator to search for information related to gemstone cutting, skimmed through it briefly, then turned off the communicator and went back to reading.
The proposal ring was settled. What remained was the issue between him and Jingliu.
Zero had a clear understanding of himself. He was self-directed, had a strong desire for control, and loved messing with people psychologically.
When he was with Jingliu, he tried very hard to restrain himself.
It was just that… he really couldn't help it.
That look Jingliu wore when she pretended to stay calm was simply too interesting.
Before she noticed something was wrong, she stubbornly held on, refusing to admit defeat, clearly determined to regain the upper hand. But once she straddled Zero, she immediately panicked.
Jingliu prided herself on being the older one, someone who should be in control of everything, she probably still hadn't fully recovered from it, had she?
Zero felt that Jingliu was very similar to him.
Zero pursued one hundred percent satisfaction.
Jingliu pursued the pinnacle of the sword path.
Both of them were perfectionists. Once they set their sights on something, they would definitely push it to the extreme.
Once Jingliu calmed down, she would probably start thinking about more intimate matters between lovers, right? Maybe she would even go out of her way to learn about them?
Just recalling her expression back then made Zero feel amused, and at the same time, curious.
He was very curious.
Curious about how far Jingliu would go for him.
Someone who was too shy to even confess, who didn't want him to see her expression when desire stirred after a kiss, would someone like that… one day take the initiative to voice her desires to him?
Zero was never swayed by emotions. He had always been patient.
No matter how he thought about it, he felt that waiting for Jingliu to speak up on her own would be much more interesting.
In a good mood, Zero made up his mind, reined in his thoughts, and focused on reading.
He timed it perfectly, closing the book fifteen minutes before work, changing his clothes, and arriving at the Divination Commission's library right on time.
As usual, he started slacking off and reading. Once the company executive's work hours began, he sent a message stating his requirements for the loose gemstone.
Very soon, the company executive replied.
[Alright, a large-carat pigeon blood red, are you customizing a necklace?]
[Zero: Ring]
The executive, very dedicated, pointed out that large-carat gemstones were more suitable for necklaces, then sent over files with different ring designs.
Zero browsed through them for a while and deliberately chose a design with an emerald cut main stone.
Only this kind of cut could make the gemstone look smaller.
After settling the proposal ring, Zero thought of Yingxing, who had crafted hairpins for him.
He had originally planned to have the company executive select the loose stone and then have Yingxing make the ring. But considering Yingxing's relationship with Jingliu… if Yingxing accidentally let something slip, wouldn't all his efforts be wasted?
On top of that, Yingxing was the most famous craftsman in Luofu. He was meant to work for the Xianzhou.
Asking someone like that to help Zero make a ring… better not.
Thinking of the hairpins that hadn't come in handy last time, Zero felt a brief moment of guilt. He immediately pulled up his chat with Yingxing and transferred a nine-digit sum.
Yingxing instantly sent the money back.
[Yingxing: …Not making rings, and not teaching people how to make rings]
The moment Zero saw the message, he understood.
Making that ring must not have been easy for Jingliu, and it probably left Yingxing with a serious aversion to rings as collateral damage.
Zero transferred the money again and sincerely tried to comfort him.
[Zero: It's fine, I was just bored]
Yingxing: "..."
He had just finished handling an order from the Vidyadhara, handing the restored broken sword to the personnel sent by the divine client.
Seeing this message, Yingxing didn't send the money back again. He only wanted to ask, who gets bored and transfers money like this?
'Damn rich people!'
The next second, he received a message from the Vidyadhara.
The divine client transferred him ten billion.
Yingxing proactively reminded them that the remaining payment was eight billion.
The divine client replied with just five words.
[No matter, round it up]
Yingxing: "..."
So the damn rich person was actually himself.
He didn't refuse again. He opened an online shopping app and, for the first time, didn't check prices or stack discounts, he directly placed an order for all the materials he wanted.
After buying the materials, Yingxing sent an invitation in the five-person group chat, saying he was treating everyone.
Unexpectedly, the only one who had time to show up was Dan Feng.
Working nonstop and oblivious to the outside world, Yingxing couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.
Jingliu was understandable, she was in the middle of something intense with Zero, so skipping the invitation made sense.
But what was going on with Jing Yuan and Baiheng?
Full of questions, Yingxing arrived on time at the restaurant where he was meeting Dan Feng.
After asking Dan Feng, he finally learned that Jing Yuan was highly valued by General Tengxiao. Forget Yingxing, even Jingliu, his own master, rarely got to see Jing Yuan.
As for Baiheng, she was busy preparing Jingliu's dowry.
Yingxing: "???"
The craftsman, who only vaguely understood Xianzhou customs, was instantly dumbfounded after hearing this.
Dan Feng sighed. "Ever since Baiheng learned from her friend that Zero bought three properties, she's been busy with the dowry…"
Yingxing felt completely lost.
'Logically speaking, shouldn't dowries be handled by parents… oh, right. Jingliu's parents had passed away long ago.'
Thinking of this, Yingxing didn't say much, only chuckled awkwardly and said, "I don't really understand Xianzhou customs. If they get married… what's the whole process like? What can we friends do?"
Dan Feng said, "Xianzhou customs aren't much different from elsewhere. The man provides the betrothal gifts, the woman provides the dowry. It's just that Jingliu…"
The Dragon Lord stopped mid-sentence and said no more.
One dragon and one human, both close to Jingliu, trusted comrades on the battlefield and friends who could drink together, but no matter how close they were… Jingliu would never talk to them about her deceased parents.
No one knew whether Jingliu's parents had prepared a dowry for their daughter.
Baiheng was attentive and had thought of this in advance.
The foxian desperately wanted to see her friend obtain happiness. For that, she deliberately turned down invitations from others and focused entirely on figuring out how to add to Jingliu's dowry.
After hearing about this, Dan Feng fully agreed.
Jingliu's lover's identity was far too special. The wedding itself wouldn't be their place to help, former marshal's subordinates would naturally take care of it.
Friends like Dan Feng… could probably only put more thought into Jingliu's dowry.
Besides, the former marshal didn't want to reveal his identity to too many people.
Even if outsiders didn't know the inside story, he, as an ally and friend, couldn't afford to be careless, right?
That meant giving gifts, two sets of them.
If all the valuable gifts were given to Jingliu as dowry, then giving them to Jingliu was basically passing them from the left hand to the right, and giving them straight to the former marshal.
But if the gifts were too expensive… it would easily cause misunderstandings about his relationship with Jingliu.
Dan Feng glanced at Yingxing and formed a plan.
When the time came, he could use Yingxing's name to give gifts to Jingliu. That way, no one would misunderstand.
Yingxing had no idea what Dan Feng was planning and asked, "So are we giving both gift money and dowry?"
Dan Feng paused for a moment and said, "As for Zero, he won't accept gift money."
Yingxing: "..."
Then what had he been working himself to death overtime for?