“Ah Yan, I see you also like panda handkerchiefs?” The old lady grinned as she looked at Pei Yan. “Then I’ll give that one to you.”

Pei Yan wanted to retort that he was a bossman that found handkerchiefs useless, but seeing the old lady acting like a child that had found some delicious candy that she’d like to share with her friends, he simply swallowed the refusal he was about to utter and neatly folded the handkerchief and put it in his pocket before saying, “Thanks, Auntie. How did you know I fancied this handkerchief?”

“Hah! I’ve eaten more salt than you have eaten rice, and you think I can’t figure out you young ones when I want to?” Having someone younger share in her appreciation of things liften the old lady’s mood greatly. During lunch that day, she drank more of the healthy soup without needing to be nagged by the family.

After the meal, Yang Shao wanted to convince the old lady to take an afternoon nap, but somehow, her mood was phenomenal that day, so she dragged Pei Yan and him to talk about her childhood days. Thinking of how Pei Yan treated the Chen brothers, Yan Shao worriedly looked at this brother of his.

But the old lady remained oblivious of her grandson’s worries. She continually patted Pei Yan on the back remarking, “You look very much like your great-grandfather. You’re very lucky.”

Hearing this statement, Pei Yan couldn’t really smile. He had lost his father and mother when he was young so he grew up under his grandfather’s guardianship. Seven or eight years ago, after his grandfather had passed away, he was able to build a life that allowed him to make sure no one in his family would go hungry. So it was really difficult for him to say if he was really lucky or not.

But since this old lady said he was lucky, perhaps he’d start considering himself as one.

“You youngsters live in a good era, as you can live safe and secure lives. There are even cars and planes available when you want to travel for fun when you find yourselves having nothing to do.” The old lady’s gaze gradually seemed to drift into the past, “In my day, many had to hide just to live. Every night, both the young and middle-aged had to keep vigil at the entrance of the village, as life during that time was full of fear and uncertainty. Even after so many years, I still would wake up to the sound of a plane, even in my dreams, fearing that the invaders were going to do an air raid.”

“Grandma.” Yang Shao grew a little uneasy. Recently, as his grandma recalled her past more and more frequently, her health also gradually worsened, which made her reminisce even more.

“What’s the matter with you, child? Do not interrupt an elder who’s talking to the guest.” The old lady glared at Yang Shao, visibly full of energy.

Hearing her scold him like this, Yang Shao suddenly felt relieved. ‘To be able to scold me like this, it shows she’s in good health.’

The old lady talked for more than two hour, with Pei Yan accompanying her for the full duration. When he left, the old lady warmly encouraged him to visit more often. She also gave him two more panda handkerchiefs from the set.

After being sent off, Yang Shao followed him closely, eyeing the three handkerchiefs and looking a bit uneasy, “What happened? Are you following me to ask for the handkerchiefs back?”

“Brother Pei, are you kidding me? Am I that kind of person? How much can these few handkerchiefs costs-” Halfway into his sentence, Yang Shao suddenly widened his eyes, “Oh no! I forgot to pay!”

As kept replaying the scene of him hugging the box and running away, Yang Sha suddenly projected an aura of embarrassment. ‘What would that beautiful embroiderer think of me when I did such a thing?!’

‘Pretending to be wealthy by paying a lot?’

‘A robber?’

‘A scoundrel?’

The more he thought about it, the hotter his face got. Yang Shao quickly took out his mobile phone and opened WeChat. The embroiderer still hasn’t sent him a message. He didn’t hesitate to send several big red envelopes to the other party in a row, explaining that he was excited about the embroidered handkerchiefs, and that she was so beautiful that he totally forgot to pay.

Soon, the other party replied.

[Fan Hua]: It’s okay. It also means you’re satisfied with my work. So thank you and I’m looking forward to your next visit.

After replying to his messages, [Fan Hua] accepted all the red envelopes just like that.

Seeing her short replies, Yang Shao thought to himself, ‘This embroiderer is really a wonderful woman, who not only is elegant and intelligent, but also doesn’t value money over everything! She had even rushed to the Shu Province without saying a word, and voluntarily embroidered several pieces, all with different styles.’

For such a great embroiderer, how could he let someone, who doesn’t think of money above all, suffer from such a disadvantageous situation?! He got so excited that he sent another five big red envelopes again.

This time, the other party declined to accept, as she reasoned that the money he had already paid was already more than enough, so he no longer had to send any more.

How could Yang Shao accept such a statement? He quickly replied, insisting that if she didn’t accept the red envelopes, he’d take it that she was looking down on him and didn’t want his business in the future.

Waiting for the other party to finally accept the extra red envelopes, Yang Shao put down his phone and talked to Pei Yan who was still present, “Brother Pei, the embroiderer this time is not only young and skilled, she also has an impeccable character! I’m not sure if that stunning lady already has a boyfriend, if not, then I might hehe…”

Pei Yan stood there with a hand in his pocket, and his left eyebrow slightly twitching. ‘A woman like Hua Jin has an impeccable character?’

‘A woman who took dozens of photos just to be able to post something on social media and took half an hour to retouch them… this kind of narcissistic flowery peacock was actually described by Yang Shao as having impeccable character?!’

“I now not only think you have bad taste in clothing, but you also seem to have bad eyesight.” Pei Yan saw a picture of Yang Shao and Hua Jin standing together and remarked with a big frown, “You two aren’t suitable for each other.”

“Eh?” Yang Shao looked at Pei Yan’s back as he walked away, thinking that Pei Yan was saying that their identities weren’t suitable. He expounded, “I think it’s okay, I’m not against it.”

Pei Yan opened his car’s door and turned to look at him, “I’m worried that she won’t like you back.”

“I’m filthy rich, so what won’t she like?” Then Yang Shao touched his chin, “It shouldn’t be so.”

“Perhaps… she dislikes that you’re ugly?” After Pei Yan said this sentence, he got into the car and closed his door. He didn’t even wait for Yang Shao to reply.

Yang Shao: “…”

No wonder rumor has it that this cousin of his from his mother’s side was different from the ones from his father’s side. It was said that he lived far away and was very callous with his words. But Yang Shao thickened his skin and got in from the opposite side, “Brother Pei, I’ll treat you tonight, so let’s go!”

Pei Yan glanced at him, “Eat what?”

“Whatever you want.”

Hua Jin, who was described as having ‘impeccable character’ and had just accepted the red envelopes Yang Shao had sent her, was humming a song happily. When she turned to see Tan Yuan still lying on the table in a daze, she said, “Let’s go, I’ll treat you to some luxurious western meal tonight.”

“That runaway customer settled the balance?” When Tan Yuan raised her head and saw Hua Jin’s bright smile, she immediately knew that she made a lot of money this time. “I don’t want to eat western food! I heard there’s a nice seafood restaurant that just opened in Chengdong District, so let’s go there.”

Many of their customers would often mistake Hua Jin as being an elegant and intellectual person who wasn’t in it for the money, but if they really thought about it carefully, has she ever given any of them a discount?

“So I see you’re really keen on disallowing me to save some money.” Hua Jin searched the location of the seafood restaurant on her mobile phone while she was packing her back. “Let’s go right now.”

‘I really hope that there will be more customers who are less demanding and more generous in the future! Even if it’s my dream to bring this traditional art of craftsmanship into the future, I still have to eat.’

When Hua Jin and Tan Yuan arrived at the seafood restaurant, it was packed full of people because of the dinner rush, so the two had to wait for nearly an hour before a table finally freed up.

The restaurant’s business was booming. What’s more was because the people inside weren’t really talking loudly, the environment inside could be considered good.

When their order finally came, Hua Jin and Tan Yuan looked at each other.

“Take the pictures.”

“It’s better if you take the pictures though. I’ll just use them later.” Hua Jin smiled innocently.

“How lazy can you get?!” Tan Yuan eventually took out her mobile phone to take a few pictures of the food. “Well, since you have embroidered so many things recently, take a couple of days off or your neck and waist might give way.”

“Okay. You don’t have to worry.” Hua Jin opened the lobster claw and poured the sauce on the meat. “You’ve also been stuck manning the store recently and haven’t had the time to go out for a date, so for the next few days, I’ll be the one manning the fort. Take the time to go out with your boyfriend and have some fun.”

“But there’s nothing fun to do.” Tan Yuan casually ate her fish filet as she complained in a light tone.

“What happened? Did you two get into a fight?” Hua Jin was a little surprised. Tan Yuan and her boyfriend have been in a relationship for almost 5 years already. Since their college days until now, they’ve been getting along, up to the point that the two even got engaged. When she heard Tan Yuan complain, she heard a bit of resentment.

“We didn’t fight.” Tan Yuan shook her head. “We have nothing to fight about anyways.”

‘Is having nothing to fight about something bad?’ Seeing that Tan Yuan did seem to want to walk about it yet, Hua Jin only said, “Don’t coop everything up in your heart. I’m always here if you want to air your grievances, like a trash can.”

“I knew it! In this world, besides my parents, you love me the most, right?” Tan Yuan forced a smile.

“Yes yes yes~ I love you the most in this world, otherwise, how can I stand being with you for over five years already.” Hua Jin raised her glass in a toast, “Come! Take a shot for our never-ending love!”

Being obviously teased by Hua Jin, Tan Yuan’s mood lightened. She picked up her glass and clinked it with Hua Jin’s.

Yang Shao had just coincidentally walked out from a private room when he overheard their conversation, specifically right after they confessed their love. He froze for a moment, not moving or greeting them. Even when the two had finished toasting, he pretended to not have heard or seen them and tried to just be passing by, “Embroiderer Hua, what a coincidence. I never expected to meet you here.”

“Hello.” Hua Jin’s gaze passed over Yang Shao and incidentally landed on Pei Yan who was behind him. “Mr Pei, we meet again.”

Pei Yan saw the mountain of lobsters shells in front of her, and then took a quick glance at her waist. ‘Where did all that meat go?!’ He only “hmm-ed” a reply before saying nothing further.

“My name is Yang Shao, Embroiderer Hua. You can just call me Xiao Yang in the future.” Yang Shao glanced at Hua Jin and Tan Yuan with a strange look, “We’ll stop disturbing the two of you having a meal, so we’ll be leaving first.”

When they walked out of the restaurant, Yang Shao sighed. He had hoped to water his seedlings with his love, only for them to die before sprouting.

“What? Found out that the other party was really not into your face? Is that why you’re disappointed?” Pei Yan straightened his rolled up sleeves, but didn’t bother with his loose tie.

“Perhaps it wasn’t my face that the embroiderer disliked…” Yang Shao said in a serious tone before he continued, “…It was my gender.”

Pei Yan glanced at Yang Shao strangely, thinking that something may have been wrong with his brain. He opened the car door, “Get in already.”

Yang Shao sat quietly in the car, but after a while, he could no longer hold himself back, “Brother Pei, you’ve spent time alone with Embroiderer Hua. What do you think of her…?”

Pei Yan was expressionless, “I’m driving. Don’t talk to me.”

Yang Shao held himself back for a while again, but again couldn’t hold himself back in the end. “Tell me! She’s such a beautiful girl, but she isn’t interested in men?!”

———-

The Author has something to say: [Tan Yuan & Hua Jin]: We’re not what you’re thinking! Stop talking nonsense!