Zheng Su Nian owned a suit that he had bought when he was a groomsman at Dou Si Yuan’s wedding, but he hadn’t worn it much since.
Bai Yun Sheng, however, was adamant that he wear it now.
"Why do you keep insisting I go?" Zheng complained as he reluctantly tied his tie. "It’s just a meeting. Don’t you have enough people at your studio?"
"There are plenty of women," Bai Yun Sheng said, grimacing at Zheng’s poorly tied tie, which looked more like a school scarf. He yanked it off and retied it properly. "But we’re short on men."
"Who else is going?"
"Our professor and a few clients."
"And what am I supposed to do?"
"You just need to clap like crazy when I give my speech."
"So you’re just using me for cheap labor."
Bai Yun Sheng straightened Zheng’s suit, nodding approvingly. "Yeah, you look decent enough. Let’s go."
Bai Yun Sheng always had a million random meetings to attend, but this one fell on a day when Gu Yun Jin happened to be in town, so he couldn’t miss it. Zheng sat in the second-to-last row, and just before the meeting began, he saw Gu Yun Jin quietly slip in through the back door.
"Hey," she greeted him with genuine surprise, "you’re here too?"
Zheng, uncomfortable in his suit, shifted awkwardly, making Gu Yun Jin smile softly.
"Your suit doesn’t fit quite right," she pointed out, tapping his shoulder and sleeve. "As a seamstress, I can tell you—style is one thing, but tailoring is everything. If it doesn’t fit, it just doesn’t look sharp."
Zheng Su Nian didn't know what to say, so he mumbled, "I bought it two years ago, maybe I've grown taller since then."
Bai Yun Sheng was under the stage, chatting with a few professors. His suit was perfectly tailored, and his hair was meticulously styled. He stood there, looking confident and impressive. Zheng Su Nian rolled his eyes internally, thinking, Well, at least I make a good contrast for your girlfriend.
"How’s Beijing treating you these past few days?" he asked.
"Not bad. Yun Sheng took me around the areas near the Forbidden City. He told me your parents both work on restoration there. That's amazing."
Zheng Su Nian thought her way of speaking reminded him of someone. After a moment, it hit him—Kang Mo Shui. Suzhou girls—they’re as gentle as water.
Neither of them were big talkers, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, the conversation stalled. Fortunately, Bai Yun Sheng's presentation was starting. The slides were perfectly timed, and the professors nodded approvingly.
"Yun Sheng really cares about you," Zheng Su Nian couldn’t help but remark. "I never understood what ‘liking’ really meant until I saw how he talks to you."
Gu Yun Jin didn't respond right away.
After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her voice, "But sometimes I’m scared."
Zheng Su Nian was taken aback.
"You’re his roommate, so you probably know his personality," she said, looking down as if she couldn’t quite figure things out herself. "He’s so ambitious, always thinking far ahead. Sometimes I can’t tell what he really wants. Back in Suzhou, I thought he just wanted to design jewelry, but ever since he came to Beijing..."
She trailed off, then smiled apologetically. "Forget it, I shouldn’t be telling you all this. Don’t worry about it."
Zheng Su Nian nodded, feeling the collar of his shirt getting tight. He loosened a button to breathe easier.
He couldn’t shake a growing sense of unease.
The meeting was divided into two parts. In the second half, the clients were escorted out, leaving only the inner circle. When Zheng Su Nian noticed that most people had left, except for Gu Yun Jin waiting for Bai Yun Sheng to finish his conversation with the professor, he asked, "How’s the cheongsam design going?"
Bai Yun Sheng had done well earlier, and his professor seemed pleased with him. But when this topic came up, the professor’s face darkened slightly.
"If you’re not confident in securing this, maybe it’s time to let someone else have the opportunity."
Bai Yun Sheng froze, and his eyes instinctively darted toward Gu Yun Jin. Most people had left, and she was sitting in the back row, gently watching him with a soft smile.
He took a deep breath.
"No problem," Bai Yun Sheng forced a smile, maintaining his usual composure in front of others. "I’m almost there."
As they left the building, the cold hit Bai Yun Sheng, making him shiver. Gu Yun Jin hurriedly followed, pulling a scarf from her bag and wrapping it around him.
"Where did this come from?" he asked absentmindedly.
"I saw it in a shop and thought it would look good on you, so I bought it."
His mind was already in chaos, and the scarf felt like a fire that had nowhere to go. There was a tea house near the school, and he pulled her along toward it.
The tea house was warmly lit, the soft glow making everyone’s features look gentler. Zheng Su Nian ordered a pot of Pu’er tea, but he didn’t drink it, just held the warm cup in his hands.
"When did you start drinking tea?" Gu Yun Jin asked.
"My stomach hasn’t been great," he replied slowly. "I heard Pu’er is good for it."
"Master Chu loves tea too," Gu Yun Jin said, looking over the menu carefully. "Last time I went to Hangzhou, I brought him some West Lake Dragon Well tea."
"How’s Master Chu’s health?"
"Not bad, but he’s getting old and can’t overwork himself."
Bai Yun Sheng didn’t like this feeling. Usually, he wasn’t like this around Gu Yun Jin—speaking carefully, as if negotiating a business deal.
Gu Yun Jin set down the menu and looked directly into his eyes.
"What are you staring at?" Bai Yun Sheng felt uneasy under her gaze.
"You have something on your mind, don’t you?" She had known him for six years and loved him for that long. No subtle change in his expression could escape her. "Since I arrived in Beijing, you’ve had something you wanted to tell me."
She reached out and took his tightly clenched fist from under the table.
"If there’s something to say, just say it. Why are you so tense?"
Her voice was soft, as if she could forgive him for anything. Bai Yun Sheng relaxed a little, loosening his grip, and pulled out the contract he had printed earlier, placing it gently on the table in front of her.
"Yun Jin, I… need your help."
They had met in a similar way. Bai Yun Sheng had been only fourteen years old, standing hesitantly at the door of Master Chu’s shop. Gu Yun Jin had called him in, and he had lowered his head and said, "Can you help me?"
Six years had passed in the blink of an eye. He had changed, yet somehow remained the same. His smile was still warm and gentle, but there was now a hint of calculation in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read.
Gu Yun Jin said nothing, flipping through the contract, understanding more or less what was going on. "Yun Sheng, you’re asking me to go get scolded by Master, aren’t you?"
Since she was fourteen, Gu Yun Jin had been learning how to make qipaos under Master Chu, and she knew better than anyone the old man’s temperament and opinions. As soon as she glanced at the contract, she understood everything. Incorporating qipao elements into fashion, in the eyes of traditional craftsmen, was nothing short of a disgrace. Master Chu didn’t care about money, and to lower himself to make something like this would tarnish his reputation.
As soon as she said that, Bai Yun Sheng’s heart sank halfway. He reached out to cover the contract, speaking softly, “Then let’s just…”
“I never said I wouldn’t help you,” Gu Yun Jin cut him off. “It’s not the first time anyway.”
The knot of anxiety in Bai Yun Sheng’s throat seemed to dissolve in an instant. The tea had cooled, so he poured her another cup.
They sat there in silence, the tension palpable, until Bai Yun Sheng’s phone suddenly pinged.
He frowned and turned slightly to take the call. Gu Yun Jin paid no mind, continuing to skim through the contract, feeling more uneasy with each page she turned.
“Yun Jin,” Bai Yun Sheng said after hanging up, “a junior from my class is bringing me something from the professor.”
She nodded, slipping the contract into her bag. The atmosphere between them had grown inexplicably stiff. She sipped her tea and awkwardly changed the subject. “Yun Sheng, are you...doing well?”
Bai Yun Sheng, who had been distracted, was startled by the question.
Was he doing well?
He hadn’t thought about it.
Before leaving for Beijing, he had told Gu Yun Jin that he wanted to revive Bai Jewelry. So for years, he had run like a machine on full throttle, moving forward at top speed. At first, he could only support his own living expenses and tuition. Later, he managed to send money back home. While his classmates were still figuring out their futures, he had already earned his professor’s favor and gained a foothold in the jewelry industry.
How was he doing all this time? Nobody had asked. All he knew was that his professor appreciated him, his classmates admired him, and clients trusted him.
But after all that running in circles, it was still Gu Yun Jin—only Gu Yun Jin—who asked: "Are you doing well?"
His throat felt tight, and he suddenly wanted to spill all his frustrations.
But before he could say anything, a girl’s voice interrupted from behind him.
“Bai Yun Sheng, is this your friend?”
Xue Ning, wearing a white sweater, had her sharp chin tucked into her scarf. Gu Yun Jin didn’t look up, so she didn’t see her face clearly. The steam from the tea blurred her view, and in that mist, Bai Yun Sheng stood up, stepping away from Xue Ning.
The petite girl chattered like a yellow warbler, repeating, “The professor told me to tell you this.” When Gu Yun Jin finally glanced up, she saw Xue Ning handing Bai Yun Sheng a thick folder, even playfully tapping him on the forehead.
Bai Yun Sheng stiffened, and Gu Yun Jin slowly set her teacup back down on the table.
Xue Ning seemed to want to chat longer but noticed Bai Yun Sheng’s body language, clearly trying to send her off. Before leaving, she glanced at Gu Yun Jin and, with a touch of condescension, said, “This sister is really beautiful.”
Though meant as a compliment, her tone carried a hint of superiority.
Gu Yun Jin was no fool. She had run her own qipao shop and dealt with plenty of unreasonable customers. While she was gentle and loving toward Bai Yun Sheng, she could be sharp and fierce with others.
“Art students do have an eye for beauty,” Gu Yun Jin’s tone was calm, but her skill in handling situations was clearly a notch above this young girl’s. “Yun Sheng used to say that too. I thought he was just flattering me.”
Xue Ning’s face darkened, and she stomped off in anger. But after a few steps, she turned back, glaring at Bai Yun Sheng with a challenging look. “It’s cold outside.”
Bai Yun Sheng’s expression darkened, frustration flaring up inside him. Xue Ning’s endless pestering had pushed him to the edge. He threw the folder onto the table and growled, “Then go back and wear more clothes.”
Gu Yun Jin knew this side of Bai Yun Sheng. Normally easygoing, when pushed to his limit, his words could sting like knives. Xue Ning hadn’t experienced it before, and after stomping her foot in frustration, the sound of her heels clattered down the stairs as she stormed out.
He hadn’t been that fond of her to begin with, but now, with her attitude in front of Gu Yun Jin, she had hit a sore spot. His earlier embarrassment was drowned out by his rising anger. Gu Yun Jin calmly stood up and began buttoning her coat. Without showing any emotion, she said, “I’ll go back and try to persuade Master Chu about the contract. I’ll do my best, but the final decision rests with him.”
Bai Yun Sheng felt a pang of guilt and reached out to hug her.
That hug melted Gu Yun Jin’s heart by about seven or eight degrees.
“Don’t overwork yourself,” she said, patting his head, though this time, like a puppy, he lowered it for her to pet. “If your stomach hurts, make sure to eat on time. There’s never enough money to earn.”
He nodded, replying sincerely with a soft "Hmm."
After sending Gu Yun Jin off, it was late by the time Bai Yun Sheng returned to the dorm. The only light came from Pei Shu, still hunched over his computer.
“Still studying?” Bai Yun Sheng called out. “When’s the exam?”
Pei Shu was preparing for graduate school, aiming for a university in France, and was spending late nights struggling with the complexities of French grammar.
“First exam is at the end of the year,” Pei Shu sighed. “I’m losing hair in clumps. I’ll be bald soon.”
Zheng Su Nian, curled up in bed reading a novel, opened his curtain and offered, “Xue has a senior who minors in French. Want me to ask her to tutor you?”
“You’re still awake?” Bai Yun Sheng finally spoke up. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“Did you send Gu Yun Jin off?” Zheng Su Nian asked.
“Yeah.”
“Did she agree?”
“She did.”
Zheng Su Nian let out a long sigh and collapsed back onto his bed. “What did such a good girl do in her past life to deserve dating someone like you?”
Bai Yun Sheng, who had just climbed into bed, tossed his pillow at him, hitting Zheng Su Nian squarely in the face.
“Damn you.”
A curse echoed from the darkness.
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