Stealing a Kiss

There was the faintest starlight outside the window. Though the room was dark, when he brought this thing out, my eyes lit up more than threefold.

It was a string of pearls.

Each was as big as a thumb, perfectly round and full. Most astonishingly, all these dozens of pearls were exactly the same size.

This was worth far more than three thousand taels. Far more.

My hand reached out on its own. Once I picked it up, I couldn't bear to put it down.

"This is the deposit. Once the job is done, you'll get the other half." He cut off my hesitation lightly, then shamelessly added, "And if you don't agree, I'll call for help."

Premise: