trct_56

Chapter 56: Sketching Designs

Saturday night, dusk settling in slowly.

After dinner, Jie Jianshan went off alone to the study to busy himself with work, while Jie Yuchuan and his wife took advantage of the free time to keep Jie Linglong company in the front hall as she practiced on her newly bought children's bicycle.

Listening to the bursts of laughter drifting in now and then from the corridor outside, Shen Nanqi nimbly cracked open the shells of some roasted pine nuts, picking out the kernels and setting them in a small bowl, meaning to give them to her granddaughter later.

Glancing over at her younger son, who sat leaning motionless against the back of his chair as though meditating, she said leisurely, "If you're bored, why not go for a walk with A' You? It doesn't look like it's raining out there, perfect for a stroll. As for me, I'll sit here a while and wait for Qingzhou; there's something I want to discuss with him."

At this, Jie Yu'an seemed to come back to himself, turning his head slightly. "What is it?"

"Nothing important." Shen Nanqi spoke in the easy tone of casual chat, her words clear and unhurried. "The Empress Hotel over on the Bund, the one that's been under construction for two years, is officially opening next month. Cheng Jingren even sent over an invitation, asking your father and me to come to the ball.

"I can't say I think much of that man's character—acting like some nouveau riche, decked out in gold and silver every day just to show off his money—but he's a real estate king all the same, and your father runs into him often enough that we ought to give him some face and put in an appearance at the ball. So, well, that's why I wanted to have Qingzhou make me a ball gown."

The moment Jie Yu'an heard the words 'ball invitation,' he guessed his mother's intent, and said flatly, "Don't bother. He's terribly busy."

"You feel for him and want to ease his load, but he might not mind taking on a little more work," Shen Nanqi said, glancing at him with a light laugh. "In any case, I'll still ask him myself when he's back. If he really has no time, then I can hardly force him, can I?

"Oh, that man—he simply can't handle being praised. Wear a couple of Qingzhou's novel designs to a couple of events, get a taste of being the center of attention, and suddenly all his old, ordinary gowns seem dreadfully dull. Once you've grown used to luxury, it's hard to go back to modest living."

When Jie Yu'an heard her use the word "feel for," something about his mood turned oddly uneasy.

He'd only been stating plainly that Ji Qingzhou had been busy with work lately—how had that, in his mother's mouth, turned into him being especially concerned for Ji Qingzhou's wellbeing?

Fortunately, the person in question wasn't here, or he'd surely have been accused of reading too much into things again...

As he thought this, Jie Yu'an reached for the teacup on the table out of habit, his hand closing around the handle, about to lift it for a sip—when his brow gave the faintest twitch, and he said, unprompted, "He's back."

"Hm?" Shen Nanqi looked at him in puzzlement, only to see her son unhurriedly lift the teacup and take a sip of green tea, paying no mind to her question, his manner carrying an odd air of studied composure.

It was several seconds after he'd set the cup down that she finally caught, from the corridor outside, the sound of Ji Qingzhou exchanging greetings with Jie Yuchuan and the others—apparently they'd crossed paths in the front hall.

"So it's Qingzhou back, is it?" she said, realizing, and laughed as she looked at Jie Yu'an. "Your ears really are sharp. Can't see everything around you, so you've taken to hearing everything instead?"

A moment later, Ji Qingzhou strode into the dining room with a light, brisk step, and seeing Shen Nanqi seated at the table, raised a hand in greeting. "I'm back, Madam Shen!"

"I've been back for a good while myself. You, on the other hand, I'm only home a day or two each week, and even then I rarely catch you at the dinner table at night," Shen Nanqi said, pushing the small bowl of shelled pine nuts aside and wiping her fingers with a handkerchief.

"That's just how I am. Once I get busy, I lose track of when to knock off work. I'll be more careful from now on, and try to make sure you see me whenever you're home for dinner."

With that, Ji Qingzhou pulled out the chair beside Jie Yu'an and sat down, leaning back against it with a sigh of relief. "I'm nearly starving. Anything good tonight?"

Jie Yu'an parted his lips, about to answer, when Shen Nanqi raised a hand to call the maid to bring over the warmed dishes, saying, "There's plenty good, braised mandarin fish and stir-fried hairy crab. Are those to your taste?"

"I like just about everything, though aren't those two dishes ones Xiao Yuanbao can't eat?" Ji Qingzhou said, sitting up straight and picking a few pine nuts from the plate to shell and eat.

Shen Nanqi looked momentarily surprised, then laughed. "You certainly know a lot, don't you, Xiao Yuanbao. I'd nearly forgotten that childhood name myself. However did you manage to dig up ancient history from ten years back?"

As she spoke, she glanced at her son's expression. Jie Yu'an's lips were pressed together as though displeased, yet he offered no cold retort, which really wasn't like his usual self.

"Came up while I was chatting with Luo Mingxuan. I thought it was rather sweet," Ji Qingzhou said, well used to teasing Jie Yu'an by now, and called out the name freely even in front of his mother.

"Isn't that right? I always say 'Yuanbao' suits him so well, sounds so endearing, but this child just won't have it."

Jie Yu'an let out a cold snort in response, expressing his feelings on the matter through that alone.

Just as they were talking, steaming dishes arrived, plate by plate.

Catching the scent of the food, Ji Qingzhou's already-empty stomach felt emptier still. He hurriedly picked up his bowl and chopsticks and served himself a heaping bowl of rice.

Seeing how hungry he was, Shen Nanqi held off on further conversation for the moment. Only after he'd worked his way through half a bowl of rice did she bring up the matter of the ball again.

"Yuanyuan says you don't have time to make it, but I still wanted to ask you myself, just in case you did have time after all."

"He's got it right this time," Ji Qingzhou said, swallowing his food before answering. "Unfortunately, if you'd asked yesterday, I would have had time, but I just took on a new order today, from a Mrs. Pan Yuling, who's attending the very same ball you are. I believe I met her before, at Miss Lu's birthday party, didn't I?"

"Pan Yuling, of course you've met her. You were right behind me that day, weren't you the one who handed her your card?"

Shen Nanqi said this with a faint smile, then sighed. "In that case, you certainly won't have time to manage it. I'll just head over to Yuxiang tomorrow, then. One shouldn't always be stealing the spotlight anyway, better to keep it modest this time."

Ji Qingzhou had been about to offer to sketch her a design that she could have made up by another tailor, but hearing her say this, he decided not to bring it up.

"Since I'll be going to Yuxiang tomorrow regardless, I might as well have a few light robes made for you children while I'm at it. The weather's clearing up little by little these past couple of days, and once the plum rains end in a few days, that shirt-and-trousers getup of yours won't hold up for much longer."

Shen Nanqi looked over Ji Qingzhou's rolled-up shirt sleeves as she spoke.

Ji Qingzhou hadn't worn a changpao even once since arriving in the Republican era. He often saw Jie Yu'an in his long robes, elegant and refined, and had occasionally thought about trying the new style himself, but work had genuinely kept him busy. Though he could have made one himself, he felt it wasn't worth spending time on himself, and so had never gotten around to it.

Hearing Shen Nanqi bring it up now, he went along with it and nodded. "Sure, sounds good."

"Then once you've finished eating, come along to the sewing room and I'll get your measurements taken." Having said this, Shen Nanqi suddenly remembered something else to ask. "Oh, by the way, how's the place coming along, the furniture arrangements?"

"All the furniture's been ordered, from Changfeng, it's set to be delivered in three days, so next Tuesday," Ji Qingzhou answered, scooping himself another bowl of rice as he spoke. "We've arranged with Luo Mingxuan for him to bring a few friends over that day to help move furniture and clean up a bit."

As for the curtains and the custom mannequins, clothing racks, and cutting table, those would all take one to two weeks to be made.

"You two have been quite efficient, then. Once the studio opens, will there be firecrackers and a ribbon-cutting?"

"No need for that, it's hardly some big enterprise. We'll just have a small tea gathering, invite a group of friends over," Ji Qingzhou said. "If you'd like to come, I'll move the opening date to a weekend."

Though Shen Nanqi was pleased by the thought, her own work kept her quite busy as well, and her weekends varied in length—she couldn't be sure she'd have the free time. So she said, "Why would I want to crowd in among you young people? No need to arrange things specially around me. Since this studio's in the very house I picked out for you, I'll be dropping by sooner or later regardless."

Hearing this, Ji Qingzhou readily agreed. "All right, then whenever you're free, feel free to stop by anytime."

.

It rained again that night, fine threads of rain tapping softly against the glass, filling the bedroom with a quiet, pleasant hush.

As usual, while Jie Yu'an bathed, Ji Qingzhou remained curled up on the sofa with his long legs crossed, sketching.

Had he not taken on Mrs. Pan's gown order, his workload for the next few days would actually have been fairly relaxed—nothing especially urgent, just working on Chen Mengyi's coin-pattern qipao at the shop during the day, and sketching designs at home in the evenings when there was nothing else to do. He'd have had time to spare.

But with the added gown order today, his workload had suddenly grown heavier...

Fortunately, of the eight illustrations the newspaper needed by mid-month, six were already finished, and of the three film costume sketches, only one and a half had been done so far.

Though the work had piled up, he wasn't especially worried—a busy life held more interest for him, if anything.

On the small table beside the sofa's armrest sat a tin box of watercolor paints. Ji Qingzhou dipped his brush and mixed various shades of grey on the lid, then laid down layers of color across the sketched-out page, working from top to bottom, left to right, building up gradually.

He layered color in the shadowed areas, leaving appropriate blank space where the light fell, to capture the sense of overlapping layers in the sheer fabric, then went back over the folds of the skirt with lighter strokes to refine them.

Mrs. Pan's requirements for the gown had been simple—she'd given him just three words: fashionable, elegant, and dignified.

She wasn't tall, and carried a bit of fullness in her figure; her face was well cared for, with hardly a wrinkle. Her hair was thick, dark, and glossy, her complexion healthy and rosy—altogether, she gave the impression of a robust, well-kept lady.

After some thought, Ji Qingzhou settled on a rose-shaped silhouette: pleated, printed chiffon draped like a long shawl over both shoulders from behind, crossing at the front into a V-neckline that emphasized the bust and exposed more of the neck, elongating the neckline and drawing the eye upward toward the face.

At the waist, a wide sash cinched in gently without overly defining the waistline, while the lower half of the skirt was long and full—multiple layers of the same silk chiffon falling along the body's natural curves, like a rose about to bloom, concealing the fullness of the hips.

The skirt fully covered the legs but bared the ankles, ideal for a pair of black velvet-textured high heels—composed and elegant, while also lengthening the body's proportions into something more graceful.

Finally, he added black silk gloves to elongate the arms, and a wide-brimmed hat in black gauze.

With that, the design illustration meant for the client was complete.

He spread the finished sketch out on the coffee table to dry, and looking up, found that Jie Yu'an had, at some point, already settled onto the sofa to rest.

"Done bathing? Should I call A' You in to read to you?"

As he asked, Ji Qingzhou spread open another sketchbook, rinsed his brush in the water cup, wiped it dry, dabbed it in white paint, and began working on the unfinished costume sketch from before.

As for how to make this East-meets-West garment shine on a black-and-white screen, Ji Qingzhou had an idea: using gold or silver brocade techniques to create a jacquard effect, or even applying rhinestones or sequins to the fabric in the pattern he wanted—so that even under black-and-white filming, the fabric would still catch and scatter light as it moved, as though dusted with gold and silver, shimmering with every motion.

Of course, this raised a problem: it didn't quite fit the story's setting.

In the original story, Xiu Die had stolen fabric from the tailor shop and spent a single night recreating Miss Li's dress—and how could an ordinary tailor shop possibly have such elaborate material on hand?

Not that recreating a beautiful gown in a single night struck Ji Qingzhou as especially realistic to begin with...

So he decided to sketch two versions—one following his original idea, and a backup with simpler cut and fabric—so that at least one would likely suit the film studio's taste.

Jie Yu'an didn't answer the question, but produced a book from somewhere and set it on the coffee table. "Read this before bed."

Ji Qingzhou glanced up and saw it was "Stray Birds".

The original text version, obviously A' You couldn't read that one aloud.

"Didn't you say you don't like listening to poetry?" Ji Qingzhou raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Jie Yu'an: "Who said that?"

"Then why do you always have A' You skip over the poems whenever he gets to one?"

"He reads them badly."

"Ohh..." Ji Qingzhou nodded thoughtfully, deliberately drawing out the word. "So it's my voice that sounds nice, is it?"

Jie Yu'an didn't deny it, replying with a faintly teasing tone, "Shouldn't it be? Master of Peking opera."

"Ahem." Whatever slight smugness Ji Qingzhou had just worked up was instantly startled back into hiding by that "master of Peking opera" remark.

He said, very seriously, "I've kept my hands clean of that for many months now. Let's not bring up the past."

Speaking of this, Jie Yu'an suddenly recalled something Luo Mingxuan had once mentioned—that he used to frequent the Dangui Garden theater often, and had seen Ji Yunqing perform there several times; that was where he'd first gotten to know Ji Qingzhou, back when the man was still a performer.

Ji Qingzhou could actually sing opera, and had played dan roles at that... Jie Yu'an still found the thought hard to quite believe, every time it crossed his mind.

In his stereotyped impression, performers all spoke in soft, delicate voices—but for as long as he'd known Ji Qingzhou, the man had been like a little tiger with a firecracker in his mouth, quick to temper, and full of spirited energy whenever they bickered, rarely offering anything close to sweet, gentle words.

That clear, bright voice of his, usually so brash and unrestrained—what would it be like, if it turned gentle...

The thought raised goosebumps, and at the same time made his heart skip unexpectedly.

After a moment's hesitation, Jie Yu'an asked, in a roundabout way, "Can you sing Kunqu opera?"

"Kunqu?" Ji Qingzhou looked up at him, and suddenly smiled. "What, you want to hear it?"

Jie Yu'an feigned nonchalance. "I used to hear it often as a child. Can you or not?"

"Is there anything I can't do? Never mind Kunqu, I can do Huangmei opera too, but don't get your hopes up about hearing it, because this voice of mine isn't reopening for business."

Ji Qingzhou bent his head back to his drawing, remarking with a sigh, "Ah, some people and some things are just like that. Once you miss your chance, there's no getting it back..."

Jie Yu'an fell silent, pressing his lips shut, though his mind refused to settle.

A few seconds later, he suddenly got up, walked over to the bed, lifted the covers, and sat down on it.

"Turning in already? It's only eight-thirty!" Ji Qingzhou glanced at the clock on the cabinet, and seeing the other man silently undoing his blindfold with an air of ignoring him entirely, asked, "You're not sulking again, are you? Just because I won't sing for you?"

"I'm tired," Jie Yu'an replied coldly.

"Really tired?" Ji Qingzhou tilted his head, feigning concern. "So you don't want to hear the Tagore poems, then?"

"......"

"Do you or don't you?"

Outside, the wind and rain had stopped, making the room feel all the more still.

After ten-odd seconds of silence, Jie Yu'an leaned back against the headboard and gave an offhand "Mm."

"What's 'mm' supposed to mean? I don't understand that," Ji Qingzhou said.

"...How childish can you get." Jie Yu'an let out a light scoff.

"Hm? What was that?" Ji Qingzhou pretended not to hear, drawing out his words. "Xiao Yuanbao? Answer your brother when he's talking to you."

"......"

Jie Yu'an quietly ground his back teeth, then lay flat on the bed, pulling the thin blanket up over his chest and saying nothing more.

Seeing this, Ji Qingzhou couldn't help a small laugh, and said in a coaxing, child-soothing tone, "Hang on now, don't fall asleep yet. I'm almost done here, and I'll come read to you in just a bit."

T/N:

1). "fashionable, elegant, and dignified.", "a rose-shaped silhouette: pleated, printed chiffon draped like a long shawl over both shoulders from behind, crossing at the front into a V-neckline that emphasized the bust and exposed more of the neck, elongating the neckline and drawing the eye upward toward the face.", "At the waist, a wide sash cinched in gently without overly defining the waistline, while the lower half of the skirt was long and full—multiple layers of the same silk chiffon falling along the body's natural curves, like a rose about to bloom, concealing the fullness of the hips.", "The skirt fully covered the legs but bared the ankles, ideal for a pair of black velvet-textured high heels—composed and elegant, while also lengthening the body's proportions into something more graceful.", and "added black silk gloves to elongate the arms, and a wide-brimmed hat in black gauze." The following are sketch and dress generated by AI based on the description for reference:

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