TRCT_25

Chapter 25: Fragrance Beneath the Sleeve — Spring Limited Fashion Item

Luo Mingxuan didn't grab well; instead, the moment he pinched, he happened to pinch right onto the bruise on his wrist.

Ji Qingzhou gasped in pain at that instant, sucking in a breath of cold air. He hurriedly pulled his hand back and rubbed his wrist, barely managing to suppress the urge to throw a punch at the other person.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't notice you were hurt!"

Luo Mingxuan, who had just been in an agitated state, suddenly felt at a loss upon realizing he'd done something wrong, and apologized repeatedly: "I'm truly sorry, I'm just reckless like this, why don't you hit me back a couple times to make up for it?"

Ji Qingzhou naturally knew it was unintentional on his part. He pressed his lips together and said: "Forget it, it only hurt for a moment."

"Then can you help me with a makeover?"

The moment he heard that it was fine, Luo Mingxuan immediately changed his tone, following closely at Ji Qingzhou's side step for step, chattering on without pause:

"You don't need to fuss over me hand by hand, just tell me what clothes I should wear, what hairstyle I should get. As long as you can make me as handsome as that guy, I'll give you that bolt of fabric. And from now on, whatever trouble you run into, feel free to come to me for help, all right?"

Ji Qingzhou listened to his long-winded chatter, feeling quite irritated, and just wanted to send the man away, to have him hurry back to work and deliver the fabric he wanted as soon as possible.

But then, while sorting through the unbleached fabric, he suddenly caught sight of that unfinished leather jacket, and a flash of inspiration struck his mind. He changed his mind again, turning to size up Luo Mingxuan's appearance.

The moment Luo Mingxuan met his serious gaze, he realized the other person had entered work mode, and hurriedly straightened up, letting himself be sized up.

What Ji Qingzhou observed first was his physical build.

He couldn't agree with Young Master Luo's dress sense, but this guy's figure was actually decent enough, and he was quite tall. Aside from his somewhat narrow, sloping shoulders, the ratio of his head to body and the proportions of his limbs were passable.

Next, he looked at Luo Mingxuan's face, trying his best to ignore that greasy, awful hairstyle, and glanced at the round-framed glasses perched on his nose, asking: "Are you very nearsighted?"

"Nearsighted? I'm not nearsighted!"

As he spoke, Luo Mingxuan took off his glasses and showed Ji Qingzhou the thin, crystal-clear lenses, grinning as he said: "They're flat lenses, I just wear them to look refined."

"Don't wear this kind of glasses even to look refined, they make you look like a dim-witted goose."

"Oh, okay, okay..." Luo Mingxuan nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice, and obediently tucked the glasses into his pocket.

Once he'd put away the glasses and looked up again, Ji Qingzhou finally got a clear look at his face.

Before this, because of the excessive colors and elements piled onto the other person's outfit, Ji Qingzhou's impression of this guy had just been 'dark skin', 'loud voice', 'greasy middle part,' and 'loud clothes,' as for whether his looks were handsome or ugly, he'd had no particular impression.

Now, looking closely, he was surprised to discover that this guy was actually quite good-looking.

His features weren't especially outstanding, his eyes were single-lidded, slightly drooping doe eyes, his nose bridge neither high nor low, his lips on the thin side, his face lean, and the two sides of his jawline were a bit asymmetrical. But put together as a whole, there was a roguish kind of handsomeness to it.

Especially when he smiled, he liked to tilt one corner of his mouth up crookedly, which made that scoundrel-like air even stronger.

Being sized up so thoroughly from head to toe, Luo Mingxuan felt inexplicably nervous, unable to stop himself from asking: "You've been looking for so long, did you discover my strong points?"

"Good foundation to work with," Ji Qingzhou withdrew his gaze, having roughly figured out how to give him a makeover: "Tall, small face, well-proportioned features, and pretty healthy skin tone too."

"No need to be so tactful about it, just say I'm dark-skinned!"

Having been showered with praise, Luo Mingxuan couldn't help but break into a grin: "I suspect I came out of my mother's womb already a dark-skinned kid. When I was little playing hide-and-seek, I didn't even need to find a place to hide, just standing in the shadows and no one could spot me!"

"Stop going fishing so often, and you might get a bit lighter."

"Whether I'm light-skinned or not doesn't matter. Do you think you can transform me to be as successful-looking as him?" Luo Mingxuan glanced enviously at Zhu Renqing standing nearby.

"Hard to say, but there's a lot of room for improvement," Ji Qingzhou answered conservatively, then asked: "What style do you want?"

"I even get to pick a style?" Luo Mingxuan's eyes immediately went wide, and he started dreaming aloud: "Then I want to become a refined and cultured young gentleman, elegant and graceful, gentle and scholarly, cultivated and genteel!"

"Obviously, that doesn't suit you," Ji Qingzhou vetoed it outright.

Luo Mingxuan blinked, his tone softening: "Then what do you think suits me?"

"Probably more like a domineering, unrestrained street delinquent type."

"Huh?" Luo Mingxuan was momentarily stunned.

Although he always called himself an idle young master with nothing to do, his conduct was actually quite proper. He neither squandered his family's wealth nor had any bad habits; his daily hobbies were just listening to opera and fishing, still a far cry from anything like 'delinquent'.

"I'm not insulting you here, I'm just saying your appearance suits a dashing, free-spirited style, not a gentle, scholarly one," Ji Qingzhou polished up his wording from a moment ago.

Luo Mingxuan gradually came around to understanding, and after a few seconds of consideration, slapped the table and said: "If I can't be an elegant young gentleman, being a dashing young master works too! So tell me, how should I change?"

Ji Qingzhou stared at him, pondering for a few seconds, then asked: "Do you have a suit?"

"No, I don't like wearing that, it's not free enough," Luo Mingxuan said bluntly, then immediately changed his words: "But if you need one, I can ask my brother to borrow a set, he wears suits often."

"I need a dark-colored shirt and suit trousers, brown, black, twill, or striped, any of those will do, borrow a set and bring it next time."

"Sure, no problem, anything else?"

"Also, remember to wash your hair clean before you come, don't put on hair oil, and don't wear glasses.

"Also, let me give you one more piece of advice: if you don't know how to coordinate colors, then it's best not to have more than three colors in one outfit. If you want to look less dark-skinned, especially avoid wearing this kind of shiny, reflective satin."

Luo Mingxuan looked down at his own brilliantly colorful satin robe and felt his sense of aesthetics had been harshly belittled.

But he had indeed always dressed purely according to his own preferences, without regard to how it looked on him.

He also rarely paid attention to other people's clothing normally. If someone stood out exceptionally in a crowd, dazzling everyone the moment they appeared, he would only attribute it to that person's naturally good looks, never suspecting it was the effect of styling and clothing.

Not until today did Ji Qingzhou's transformation of Zhu Renqing completely open his eyes.

For the first time, he so directly realized just how much truth there was in the saying 'clothes make the man'.

"All right, that's enough talk for today, I'm getting off work."

Today there had been no business, and almost no work had gotten done either; thinking of this made Ji Qingzhou feel gloomy.

Seeing Luo Mingxuan lingering in the shop and showing no sign of leaving, he started to shoo him out: "Come find me again once you've borrowed the clothes. Also, don't forget the fabric I want."

Hearing that he was getting off work and heading home, Luo Mingxuan had wanted to offer him a ride, and sneak in a free dinner at the Jie residence along the way. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered he'd lent his car to his cousin to drive, so he had no choice but to give up the idea with regret.

After Luo Mingxuan left, Ji Qingzhou advanced Zhu Renqing five silver dollars in wages as promised, and also gave him a spare key to the door lock.

This way, even if he got up late one day or had other matters that delayed him a little, he could still open the shop and run business as usual.

Zhu Renqing took the key and silver dollar, clutching them in his palm, and asked hesitantly: "Sir, this clothing of mine is..."

"Just keep it to wear as your work clothes," Ji Qingzhou picked up his crossbody bag and slung it over his shoulder, cutting him off: "Once I'm done being busy with this stretch of time, I'll make some time to make you clothes."

"This, this is too expensive," Zhu Renqing said with a slight stammer. From childhood until now, he had never worn fabric this comfortable even during New Year celebrations.

To use such beautiful clothing as his work uniform left him truly feeling guilty inside.

Moreover, sir had also said he'd make time to make him new clothes. He was just a lowly shop assistant; how could he possibly deserve such kindness from his employer.

"You've already treated me well enough, I can't let you spend so much on me like this."

Hearing this, Ji Qingzhou looked at him and asked: "Are you still not clear on what your job actually involves?"

Zhu Renqing was stunned for a moment, his clear eyes gazing at him with a touch of bewilderment: "Isn't it just doing odd jobs?"

"Doing odd jobs is indeed part of it," Ji Qingzhou explained to him calmly and clearly: "Besides that, you should have also heard how I introduced you to Young Master Luo. Right now, besides being my assistant, you're also my fashion model.

"What is a fashion model? As the name suggests, it's someone whose profession is to display clothing. People in this line of work are usually tall like you, possessing a fine appearance and excellent body proportions, with strong adaptability and a certain degree of expressiveness, able to wear even plain, unremarkable clothes with personal flair, making them stir up customers' desire to buy.

"Since the main job is to 'display,' a model must inevitably show their face in public, needing to frequent many public venues, such as nightclubs, bars, racecourses, such as balls, banquets, and dinner parties.

"Going to those places commonly called high society social occasions, using your bearing and your own charm to attract potential customers, whether male or female, to buy the clothes I make, that's the work I need you to do."

Ji Qingzhou spoke without any reservation, saying words that seemed somewhat outrageous for this era, hoping Zhu Renqing could understand his own positioning as soon as possible.

And if the other party felt he couldn't adapt to that kind of socialite-like lifestyle, then recognizing this as early as possible would also be a good thing, sparing Ji Qingzhou from investing a great deal of money and energy into training him, only for this guy to have second thoughts and want to be an ordinary person instead.

"Of course, right now I'm just an obscure little tailor shop owner, nobody can say for certain what the future holds."

Ji Qingzhou added: "Go back and think it over carefully. If you can accept this uncertain line of work, then you can start preparing from now, learning more knowledge about clothing during the process of doing odd jobs, so you won't be caught off guard if someone asks you about it later."

Zhu Renqing listened blankly, and it took him a good while to come back to his senses.

Perhaps because of his own complicated past experiences, he wasn't afraid of showing his face in public; he even faintly looked forward to the kind of glamorous high society that Ji Qingzhou had described.

Recalling how he'd felt just now being directed by Ji Qingzhou on how to dress and style himself, he didn't feel tired or shy at all, instead he was able to taste a kind of pleasure he'd never experienced before from the focused look in his employer's eyes.

But the words 'caught off guard' that the other party had said at the end struck a blow to his heart, stirring up the inferiority complex buried deep in his bones, making him secretly timid about socializing with others, not daring to dream too much.

"I understand what you mean."

Actually, he didn't need any time to think it over; Zhu Renqing had long known in his heart what he would choose. As long as he could earn money, he was willing to give up anything in return.

His amber pupils gazed unwaveringly at Ji Qingzhou as he said in a low voice: "I'd like to try the model work you mentioned."

Ji Qingzhou gave a faint smile, not feeling particularly surprised, and reached out to pat his shoulder encouragingly, not bringing up again the suggestion that he go back and think it over.

He considered his own intuition for reading people to be fairly accurate. This guy Zhu Renqing acted in front of him like an honest, simple country youth, but Ji Qingzhou remembered where they had first met.

Willing to degrade himself for the sake of earning money, yet also capable of striving upward, sharp-eyed and quick-handed enough to grasp this lifeline of his, treating Gu Bosheng's group as a stepping stone into a new stage—this kind of decisiveness fully demonstrated that he was someone clever, skilled at reading the situation.

Zhu Renqing was the type of inconspicuous vine that grew in some dark, obscure corner; given a single support, he could climb up and flourish. Ji Qingzhou found himself curious how his future would unfold.

"Well, I'm off then. The job of locking up is yours now."

Ji Qingzhou raised an eyebrow at Zhu Renqing, and after saying this, picked up his coat and strode off toward the mouth of the lane.

Based on experience, the tram would pass by this intersection in about five minutes.

Ji Qingzhou glanced toward the road on the right, but saw no sign of the tram.

While idly waiting for the tram, his gaze wandered, and suddenly landed on an old grandmother squatting by the roadside selling flowers.

What the old grandmother had laid out for sale on a coarse cloth were fresh flowers strung into bracelets.

A kind of small white flower, somewhat resembling locust blossoms, and somewhat resembling jasmine.

Ji Qingzhou found himself unexpectedly thinking of those two gardenia blossoms he'd seen at Zhu Renqing's home.

Hesitating for two seconds, he went over to ask the price, and learned that what she was selling was jasmine, two strings for one copper coin.

It was cheap anyway, so Ji Qingzhou decided to buy two strings, to bring back and let that patient of his also feel a bit of the spring atmosphere.

Right at this moment, the tram happened to arrive, slowing down gradually at the mouth of the lane.

He had no time to pick and choose, casually grabbed two strings, put down one copper coin, then turned and squeezed onto the tram in a few large strides.

.

Today he got off work several dozen minutes earlier than usual. By the time he got back to the Jie residence, not only had dinner not yet begun, but even Jie Jianshan and Jie Yuchuan hadn't come back yet.

Ji Qingzhou headed straight for the study on the second floor, and sure enough, found Jie Yu'an in that south-facing reading room.

The other man was lying in the armchair listening to music as usual, while Huang Youshu leaned against the windowsill, his head nodding off, eyes seemingly already closed. But the moment Ji Qingzhou pushed open the door, he immediately snapped awake, straightening up to greet him.

Ji Qingzhou nodded his head in response, walked straight over to the side of the armchair, and said to Jie Yu'an in a steady tone: "Hold out your hand!"

Jie Yu'an had apparently already recognized his footsteps, and responded flatly, not the least bit startled: "What for?"

Ji Qingzhou gave a cold laugh, took off his crossbody bag and tossed it onto a chair, deliberately saying in a fierce tone: "Naturally it's to punish you. Last night you tormented me terribly, made me suffer so much, I couldn't get any work done all day today!"

Overhearing this nearby, Huang Youshu glanced at his young master in some astonishment.

Couldn't get any work done all day? Could it be that after he'd left, the young master had done something violent to Mr. Ji?

Jie Yu'an was silent for a moment, then raised his left hand in Ji Qingzhou's direction.

He rather wanted to see just how Ji Qingzhou planned to punish him.

Right after, he felt something like a ribbon being tied around his wrist, and along with it, a fresh fragrance drifted into the air.

"What is this?" he asked, while at the same time unable to resist reaching up to pinch the thing on his wrist.

"Light hands, it's a jasmine flower bracelet, it's real flowers, don't pinch it to pieces," Ji Qingzhou unceremoniously batted away his right hand, which was fumbling and pinching at it.

"Why am I wearing this?"

"No reason in particular, how about– spring limited fashion item?"

Ji Qingzhou sat down lazily in the chair across from him, relaxed his body, and crossed his legs.

"I have to say, don't you get bored staying home all day? I know your eyes can't see, but your limbs are all in working order, and it's not like you're bedridden or can't handle a bit of wind, so why not go out more?"

When Jie Yu'an set his left hand back down on the armrest, he unconsciously lightened his movement, careful not to crush the jasmine on his wrist.

He replied calmly: "Then where would you suggest?"

"Plenty of places. You could go fishing with Luo Mingxuan, go gather some people for mahjong at your brother's office, go chat with those scholars and literary types at the Shanghai Gazette office where Brother Xin works, or, if you've got some childhood friend or something, you could also invite them out for coffee, go window shopping, whatever, I don't mind," Ji Qingzhou rattled off several examples in one breath.

"Or if there's really nowhere to go, you could also come to my shop. Though my shop is rather small, so I could only set you up with a chair by the door, where you could feel the breeze and listen to the sounds of the street.

"If you feel that a black cloth over your eyes is too conspicuous and you're worried about people gathering to stare, then switch to sunglasses instead. Go to a glasses shop and have them custom-make a pair with large lenses, to cover things up more thoroughly.

"And if you're worried about being bored, I could also find you an erhu. You could sit at the door playing the erhu, and bring me in a bit of extra revenue."

Jie Yu'an: "Saying all that, was it just to set up this last 'good idea,' wasn't it?"

"Don't slander me, I genuinely want you to properly experience the spring outside."

Ji Qingzhou clicked his tongue lightly and sighed: "Today I went to visit my employee's sick mother at his home. She's quite seriously ill, and what she probably wants most right now is to go out and see the scenery outside."

Jie Yu'an fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, he said: "We'll talk about it later."

"An adult's 'we'll talk about it later' is the same as having no follow-up."

Ji Qingzhou ruthlessly exposed his intention to stall on the matter.

"……"

Jie Yu'an said nothing, originally intending to play dead all the way through, until Ji Qingzhou couldn't hold back and brought up another topic.

But after one or two minutes of silence with Ji Qingzhou not saying anything, he instead grew somewhat restless, as if he could sense the other's intent gaze lingering on his face.

After a moment of secretly wavering and hesitating, he said: "In a few days, I'll come sit at your shop for a while."

By this point, Ji Qingzhou's thoughts had long since wandered off somewhere else.

One moment he was worried that the fabric Luo Mingxuan gave him wouldn't meet his ideal standards, the next he was torn over whether the coat for Shen Nanqi should be hand-knitted, taking more time, or whether it would be more convenient to just sew a small vest instead.

Hearing Jie Yu'an suddenly speak up just then, he was a bit puzzled at first, and only reacted a few seconds later: "Oh, sit at my shop, right, sure, should I prepare an erhu for you?"

Jie Yu'an said coldly: "An erhu at a music shop costs around six to ten yuan."

"That's too expensive, never mind buying one then," Ji Qingzhou decisively chose to give up; spending that much money to set Jie Yu'an up doing street performances wasn't worth it.

While they were chatting idly, someone knocked on the door from outside to remind them that dinner had been laid out, so Ji Qingzhou stood up and stretched lazily, getting ready to go downstairs to eat.

As Jie Yu'an stood up, he found himself glancing instinctively at the other man's left wrist.

He had assumed Jie Yu'an would take off the jasmine flower bracelet and set it down on the table, but instead, the man simply adjusted his sleeve as if nothing were the matter, hiding that fragrance beneath the sleeve of his long robe.

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