trct_61

Chapter 61: Visit

Noon on Xiafei Road was scorched white by the blazing sun, without a trace of shadow to be found.

A car sped past on the wide road, startling a dog dozing by the roadside.

"I'm still a little worried," said Song Yu'er, sitting in the back seat, dressed in a jade-blue qipao with her hair in two braided pigtails, her tone somewhat conflicted. "Since it's your friend, Brother, and I don't know anyone there, I'm afraid it'll be quite awkward."

"So you don't want to visit a top-notch tailor shop?" Song Youling replied while driving. "I did tell you, didn't I. That Mr. Ji's fashion sketches are remarkably original. I have a sharp eye for people, and judging by that gentleman's talent, he's bound to make a name for himself in Shanghai sooner or later. While he's not yet famous, go and get acquainted with him. I'll put in a good word for you. Who knows, he might just be willing to take you on as a student."

Song Yu'er was naturally quite curious. Her greatest hobby was making clothes; aside from her studies, she spent her days researching clothing coordination.

Her parents were indifferent about it, feeling it was a good thing for a girl to be skilled with a needle, while her brother could tell it wasn't merely an ordinary hobby for her, and encouraged her to apprentice at a tailor shop in her spare time.

Even so, Song Yu'er felt that what she wanted wasn't as simple as just being a tailor. Though what exact profession she wanted, she couldn't quite say.

Not until the day Song Youling came home and mentioned that their newspaper was launching a new publication, dedicated to featuring trendy fashion illustrations, and that the artist they'd hired was the owner of a certain clothing shop.

He also said this owner was quite skilled at drawing fashionable clothes, with many of the styles never before seen on the market. This instantly piqued her curiosity, and at the same time, stirred something in her heart that might perhaps be called an ideal.

Perhaps what she wanted to become was that kind of artist—one who could innovate in clothing design, publish illustrations in newspapers, and thereby set fashion trends.

"But I still haven't seen that gentleman's drafts," Song Yu'er muttered, somewhat displeased.

Her brother was truly exasperating. Going on and on about Mr. Ji's talent, yet claiming it was newspaper confidential material and refusing to let her get a glimpse of the actual fashion sketches, insisting she wait for the publication to come out. It left her both anxious and conflicted.

"Besides, didn't you say Mr. Ji is young and handsome, and possibly still unmarried? If he really does take me on as a student, won't... won't people gossip?"

"Who would dare gossip about you?" Song Youling snorted coldly, raising a hand and clenching it into a fist. "Don't forget what your brother does for a living. Whoever dares wag their tongue, I'll dig up eighteen generations of scandal from their ancestors and put it in the papers, so they'll learn what it means to fear the tongues of others!"

"No wonder people say newspaper editors-in-chief are the most vicious for their karma, truly wicked..."

Song Yu'er muttered, then couldn't help but burst into a small laugh, and the nervousness she'd felt about attending a gathering of strangers eased considerably.

The address Luo Mingxuan had given—"No. 6 Baojian Road"—was, compared to those shopfronts pressed right up against the main road, actually rather hard to find. But the red banner standing at the intersection was certainly eye-catching.

As Song Youling drove, he spotted the characters "Century Fashion Studio" on the banner from a good distance away, and slowly slowed down, pulling the car over to the roadside.

When they got out of the car, they found two cars already parked by the grassy slope, one of which belonged to Luo Mingxuan, Song Youling recognized it. He said to his sister, who was carrying the gift, "Everyone should be here already. Judging by the direction the sign points, we should go up these steps."

Song Yu'er turned to look at the wooden sign posted beside the steps, reading softly: "Made-to-measure men's suits and robes, women's qipao, gowns, dresses, and more, one design per person, exclusive design, your own personal tailoring..."

"That's quite a clever advertisement," Song Youling said, pointing at the banner with a laugh. "Even I, just tagging along for the excitement, am tempted to order a new outfit here."

He had just finished saying this when a rickshaw came running up and stopped beside their car. Two young women got off, arm in arm, and also paused beneath the banner.

One was slender in figure with elegant features, dressed in a fitted tea-brown qipao patterned with pale purple prints, her eyebrows drawn thin and long, carrying a rather classical and dignified air.

The other was somewhat petite, wearing a long pale-yellow qipao trimmed with pale purple piping, her face round, her almond eyes pretty and lively—she looked as though she might not yet have come of age.

The two were none other than Shi Xuanman and Fang Birong, who had come together by arrangement.

Wearing qipao made by Ji Qingzhou to attend the gathering was their way of showing respect for the tailor gentleman.

Song Yu'er had originally been about to follow her brother up the steps, but turning her head and seeing the qipao worn by the two women, she was instantly captivated.

So beautiful... she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Whether it was the elegant chinaberry blossom pattern reminiscent of an old painting, or the charming pairing of pale yellow and pale purple, both drew her admiration and delight.

Of course, the women wearing these two lovely garments each had their own distinct qualities as well, which matched remarkably well with the style of the qipao they wore.

"Are you two also here to visit Mr. Ji's studio?" Shi Xuanman noticed the young lady carrying a gift, her qipao's color scheme quite striking as well, and guessed that she might be, like them, an old customer invited by Mr. Ji. She spoke up first.

"That's right." Song Youling answered on behalf of his shy younger sister, asking with an easy, cheerful smile, "You two must be Mr. Ji's longtime customers?"

"Indeed," Shi Xuanman replied.

"Wonderful, then. I'm Song Youling, and this is my sister, Song Yu'er. She's a bit shy. Please look after her a little, if you would."

Song Youling had already noticed that Song Yu'er's old habit had flared up again, taken with someone's outfit but too embarrassed to ask which shop had made it, so he took the initiative to help open up his sister's social interaction.

"No problem," Shi Xuanman agreed readily, then met eyes with the girl whose ear-tips had turned faintly red, and gave her a warm, friendly smile.

At once, a flush of pink rose across Song Yu'er's cheeks.

"It's quite hot out here in the sun. Let's go, we'll head in together." Song Youling made a gesture of invitation, then stepped first onto the stone steps, so as to let his sister chat and get better acquainted with the two girls who were close to her in age.

Seeing this, Shi Xuanman looped her arm through Fang Birong's and walked over beside Song Yu'er, introducing herself. The three of them then fell into conversation as they followed after Song Youling.

"Miss Song, is this robe of yours also made to order at Mr. Ji's?" Shi Xuanman asked, curious.

"No, I made this myself," Song Yu'er answered briefly at first.

Then, sharply catching the deeper implication in her own words, her eyes brightened as she pressed further: "Don't tell me your qipao were all made by Mr. Ji?"

"That's right." Shi Xuanman turned and exchanged a smile with her friend, her tone unconsciously taking on a touch of salesmanship as she explained: "Besides this one, I've had two other outfits made there. One Western-style dress, and one qipao-like dress, in emerald green, quite fashionable and lovely. I'm planning to wear that dress out tomorrow for an outing..."

Up the steps, what met the eye was a black wrought-iron fence with floral carvings. Within the railings lay a beautifully landscaped little garden, lush with flowers and foliage, amid which sat a lovely small white Western-style house.

Since it was a fashion studio open to the public, the iron gate to the courtyard stood open, and a wooden sign was posted at the entrance as well, painted with a black arrow and the word "Century" written in Chinese characters, English, and French, indicating that this was the entrance to the studio.

This house's exterior is quite elegant—clearly a building constructed not too long ago, cleaner and more refined than that rental Western-style house she once inquired about for Mr. Ji... Shi Xuanman mused to herself.

Passing through the garden path paved with rose-colored tiles, they had just stepped onto the entrance stairs when the sound of cheerful laughter drifted out through the open door.

Though the door was already open, Song Youling still knocked politely.

The three young women stood quietly waiting for their host to emerge, when suddenly Fang Birong patted Shi Xuanman's arm and exclaimed softly in surprise, "Look over there, what beautiful flowers!"

At her words, everyone's gaze—including Song Youling's—turned at once toward where she pointed, and immediately two of the women and the one man let out sounds of admiration.

There, at the end of the corridor to the left, was an arched doorway, half hidden in shadow and half bathed in sunlight. It served both as a doorway and, at the same time, seemed like a picture frame, framing the blue flowers cascading down the courtyard wall like a waterfall in full bloom.

"Isn't that plumbago? I've heard it's a foreign species, fairly rare..."

Song Youling, who had some knowledge of plants, remarked, "A touch of coolness in the height of summer, this landscaping is well done."

"Brother Song is truly worthy of being a newspaper editor-in-chief, well-read indeed." Ji Qingzhou had just come out to greet the guests when he overheard Song Youling's remark, and took the chance to offer a compliment.

The group turned around at the sound of his voice, and upon seeing the elegant, refined young man before them dressed in a pale green long robe, all their gazes flickered with a momentary daze.

"Ha, my apologies, I was showing off a bit..."

Being praised so, Song Youling grew somewhat embarrassed instead, and changed the subject: "We ran into these two young ladies at the intersection and came in together. Oh, this is my sister, Song Yu'er. You haven't met her before, have you?"

Ji Qingzhou nodded and smiled in greeting to the two longtime customers, and when his gaze landed on the girl standing behind Song Youling, his brow lifted slightly for a moment.

"Um, you're..." Song Yu'er clearly also found him familiar, but since his attire today was quite different from when they'd first met, she wasn't certain enough to say so right away.

"Don't remember me? The silk and satin shop, we've met before."

"...It really is you. I remember now."

Seeing this, Song Youling made a suspicious "Hm" sound. "What's going on, you two know each other?"

"Met once. She was buying fabric at the time, and we exchanged a few words. Come, let's go in and talk."

Ji Qingzhou said this lightly, then led the group into the entrance hall. Passing through the white double doors on the right, they arrived at the reception parlor for receiving guests.

The reception parlor, floored in pale wood tones, was bright with light, a brass ceiling fan overhead spinning rapidly, sending down a faint cool breeze that stirred the beige gauze curtains before the windows on either side into a gentle sway.

Among the invited guests, Song Youling's group had arrived the latest.

Ji Qingzhou and the others had arrived first, and less than ten minutes later, Jie Yu'an's lawyer friend Jiang Xuehong had also hurried over close behind.

Everyone busied themselves tidying and arranging things, brewing hot tea, buying a whole pot of coffee, and setting out pastries and cooked dishes, some brought from home, others packed from nearby eateries.

Considering there wouldn't be enough room on the sofas for so many people, they had specially carried down the butterfly table and its four matching chairs from the small parlor upstairs as well.

This decision proved to be quite sensible—when the three young women came in, they took one glance at the sofa area occupied by the men and, in wordless agreement, all went to sit at the window-side butterfly table instead.

"Ladies, help yourselves to whatever you'd like!" Though Luo Mingxuan didn't know any of them, that didn't stop him from greeting them with easy familiarity.

Within ten seconds of sitting down, Song Yu'er had quickly swept her gaze across the entire room's furnishings and all the guests inside.

Aside from being tastefully arranged and unusually bright with light, the room actually had nothing particularly special about it.

On a jute-woven rug sat a brown leather sofa and a wooden tea table; beside the door, against the wall, stood a staggered-height cabinet set, atop which sat an arrangement of plumbago flowers, a few books, and some decorative paintings.

It looked pretty much like the sitting room of any ordinary Western-style house, the only thing related to clothing at all were a few mannequins standing in the corner by the east-side window.

Song Yu'er thought to herself, feeling a touch disappointed.

As for the men sitting on the sofa, aside from her brother's colleagues, Mr. Yuan and Mr. Qiu, she didn't recognize anyone else at all.

At a glance, the ones who left the strongest impression were a gentleman with a particularly loud voice and somewhat dark skin, and the one sitting in a single-seat sofa off to the side with his eyes covered.

He and that "boisterous" gentleman seemed to be two opposite extremes—very fair-skinned, handsome-featured, and very quiet as well.

From the moment she'd come in, he hadn't said a single word or moved at all, leaning there indifferent to everything happening around him, to the point where one might wonder if he'd fallen asleep.

Clearly not, though, because just as that thought crossed her mind, Mr. Ji walked over to the blindfolded gentleman's side and pressed a winter jujube into his hand.

And the other man, as though he could see perfectly well, accepted the jujube with remarkably composed and unhurried manner, brought it to his mouth, and bit into it with a crisp crunch.

Something's a bit odd... their relationship... Song Yu'er thought, almost by instinct, though she couldn't quite say what exactly seemed odd about it.

"Oh right, Brother Ji, I almost forgot!" Song Youling, just about to take a seat beside his colleague, suddenly remembered he'd brought a gift, and made a point of going to retrieve the gift box Song Yu'er had set down on the table.

He then tore off the ribbon directly, opened the lid, and held the gift inside out toward Ji Qingzhou to show him: "A congratulatory gift for your grand opening, wishing you a flood of fortune and smooth sailing in your business!"

Ji Qingzhou glanced down and immediately understood why he'd opened it right there on the spot.

What he'd given was none other than a golden-thread nanmu wood carving of the Martial God of Wealth!

Ji Qingzhou drew a light breath, and hurriedly lifted the imposing, formidable God of Wealth statue out from the box, thanking him: "Many thanks for the generous gift, Boss Song, though, where on earth should I put this?"

He held the statue and looked around the room, but couldn't find a suitable spot for it either.

"I must say, Brother Song, you really know how to work a room. This morning I asked whether we should prepare gifts, and you said there was no need—and yet here you are, sneaking in a gift of your own, and such a lavish one at that, making the rest of us who came empty-handed look like we're just here to freeload."

Seeing this, Yuan Shaohuai couldn't help but point at him and needle him a bit.

"You lot are the freeloaders, not me. I actually prepared a substantial gift."

Luo Mingxuan hastily distanced himself from the accusation. "Though mine ran into some trouble on the way and hasn't arrived yet. I'll bring it to you once it does."

The latter half of what he said was directed at Ji Qingzhou.

As he spoke, he reached out and took the God of Wealth statue from Ji Qingzhou's hands, tilting his chin toward the entrance to indicate the doorway. "The Martial God of Wealth needs to be placed directly facing the door, its gaze fixed on the outside to ward off ill fortune and draw in wealth. Come, let me find you a spot!"

"Don't underestimate Xiao Luo just because he's young, he actually knows quite a bit." Song Youling had been about to help find a spot for the God of Wealth, but seeing Luo Mingxuan take over the task, he sat down on the sofa to rest instead.

"He is the young master of Taiming Xiang, after all," Jiang Xuehong remarked teasingly, cradling his teacup.

In the entrance hall, since there was no table positioned directly facing the door, Ji Qingzhou moved the cabinet by the door from its spot against the west wall over to the corner by the staircase.

Then, moving aside the vase of roses that had been sitting on top, he placed the God of Wealth statue in the center—and the position turned out to be just right.

"This God of Wealth is certainly imposing, but he looks completely out of place with the decor of your house!" Luo Mingxuan stepped back two paces and mused aloud.

"Shh, don't be disrespectful to the God of Wealth," Ji Qingzhou chided him, then said with mock seriousness: "I've long felt that while the structure and furnishings of this house are all quite nice, the all-white look isn't very auspicious. It really needed an imposing God of Wealth to hold down the fort here."

"Now that you put it that way... that does make sense." Though Luo Mingxuan didn't actually think so in his heart, he went along with it reluctantly anyway.

Back in the reception parlor, the three ladies had already fallen into casual conversation.

Ji Qingzhou brought over a pot of flower tea and set it on the butterfly table between them. Catching sight of the soluo silk qipao Shi Xuanman was wearing, he was reminded of the time he'd delivered clothes to her home, and asked casually, "When are you off to Hangzhou?"

Shi Xuanman hadn't expected him to still remember that, and replied with a smile, "Tomorrow. I'm going for a three-day trip with my family."

"Three days is enough time?"

"It's enough. We're taking the Shanghai-Hangzhou express train, only three and a half hours there."

"That works out well then. I hope you all have a wonderful time!"

Ji Qingzhou had originally meant to ask her when her film audition for the female lead role was, but considering there were quite a few people around, he decided not to bring it up.

Noticing that the three ladies all seemed a bit reserved, only sipping their tea without touching any food, Ji Qingzhou was just about to move some of the pastries and fruit from the tea table over to them, when Song Youling called out, "Brother Ji, would you mind taking my sister to have a look around your studio? This is exactly what she loves most, and it's the whole reason she came today."

"Sure." Ji Qingzhou had already anticipated that someone might want a tour, and had covered the two gowns currently being made in the studio with white cloth to keep them concealed for the time being.

Hearing this, he said to the three young women, "The ones who arrived earlier already went up and had a look. Would you like to go take a look together?"

"Of course," Shi Xuanman answered at once, she was quite curious about this so-called fashion studio herself.

Fang Birong nodded in agreement as well, and as for Song Yu'er, she could hardly wait.

Ji Qingzhou then led the three young women alone out of the parlor, up the wooden staircase to the second floor.

He first pushed open the door to the room in the northeast corner, introducing it as he did: "This is my office. It's rather empty, nothing much in it at the moment."

Compared to the reception parlor downstairs, this study was smaller in size, with a large window facing the door fitted with white shutters.

In the northeast corner were two arched windows, decorated with wave-edged lace curtains, and in the corner by the windows sat a butterfly table with matching chairs.

Along the north and west walls of the room stood tall bookshelves, the floor covered with a jute-woven rug, and there also sat a rather comfortable-looking armchair.

"Not empty at all, actually—quite tidy, isn't it?" Shi Xuanman remarked, peering inside.

"Yes, it's clearly lovely," Fang Birong agreed, joining in the praise.

"That's just because I only just moved the studio here. Come back again in a while, and this place will probably be quite a mess by then."

Ji Qingzhou said this as he walked over to the side and opened the door to the room in the southeast:

"This is the parlor, which also doubles as a fitting room. The floor-to-ceiling windows inside can be opened out onto the balcony, and from the balcony you can go straight down into the courtyard, quite convenient in its layout. In the future, if you live nearby, Miss Shi, it'll be easy to come by for fittings."

"Diagonally across from there is the storage room, it's quite a mess, so I won't take you in to see it."

"This here is the studio, or you could call it the tailoring room."

As Ji Qingzhou pushed open the door on the west side of the second floor, a spacious room filled with tables, chairs, and various tools came into view before the three of them.

One side of the afternoon room was bathed in slanting sunlight, and by the windows stood a row of five mannequins side by side, two of which appeared to have clothes fitted on them, covered by Ji Qingzhou with white cloth.

Facing the door, in front of the lattice window, stood a rather large ironing table, with a brand-new electric iron set up beside it.

Next to the ironing table was an even wider cutting table, its surface clearly tidied up but still scattered with some fabric scraps and paper patterns.

Against the wall to the right of the door was a solid wood cabinet, its counter draped with a lace tablecloth—on one end sat a small glass vase decorated with two white roses clipped from the garden, and on the other end, a bamboo basket piled with various hand-sewing tools, along with a ceramic pen holder holding drafting instruments.

And since it was a tailoring room, a sewing machine was, of course, an essential fixture.

It was positioned on the west side, near the mannequins—sitting there to work, one could look up and see the view through the window, while still being conveniently shielded from direct sunlight.

"The lighting is wonderful," Shi Xuanman said, her tone delighted as she walked further into the room to look around. "Compared to your old little shop, this place is so much more spacious, and I feel like the clothes made here will turn out even more exquisite too. I'm truly happy for you."

Clearly, she and Fang Birong had come to tour the studio with the mindset of customers, viewing it as the place where perhaps some future garment of their own might come into being.

Song Yu'er, however, was different. She looked over at the mannequins standing by the window, then reached out to touch the smooth, sturdy ironing table, her heart stirring with turbulent emotion, countless thoughts surging within her, ultimately all converging into a single thought: If only this were my studio...

No, perhaps she really could work here.

She absolutely had to ask Mr. Ji later whether he took on apprentices!

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