62. Try on a cheongsam

That afternoon, while Jiang Nan was waiting for the cheongsam master to come to her house, she was checking the final promotion data, and then her cell phone suddenly rang.

It’s Han Yan.

Thinking of those past events, Jiang Nan hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone: "Hello, Sister Han Yan?"

"Yes, it's me." Han Yan's voice sounded a little different, less casual and capable than usual, with more complex emotions. "Are you busy now?"

"I'm fine. Sister Han Yan, go ahead."

"I've talked to Song Wei about the Song Huai incident," Han Yan sighed. "I told her everything I know."

Jiang Nan put down his pen and listened attentively.

"Song Huai was indeed a jerk back then. He acted affectionate in front of Song Wei, while continuing to flirt with other women outside. I knew about this and told Song Wei, but Song Huai said I was slandering him and that I tried to seduce him, but he rejected me, so I was angry and embarrassed."

Han Yan's tone was tinged with sarcasm. "Later, Song Wei and I... sort of broke up. When Song Huai got into trouble, he fell in love with a girl from the art academy. He cared about her and treated her like a spoiled brat. The things from Teacher Fu weren't gifts for Song Wei. Song Huai had them custom-made for Teacher Fu, intending to give them to the girl."

Jiang Nan was silent. The truth was indeed unbearable - but she was more curious about how Song Huai later married Gao Wanqing.

"On the day of the accident, he was in a hurry to get this surprise, and he was driving too fast, so—" Han Yan paused, "He's gone, and no one has taken Teacher Fu's things."

"You know Mr. Fu, he's both aloof and stubborn. He felt this was dishonorable. Sharing it would tarnish his craft and disturb the deceased's peace, so he simply pretended it didn't happen," she continued. "When Song Wei asked him about it later, he naturally didn't want to tell the truth. He just said he didn't have it or didn't remember it."

"So that's how it is." Jiang Nan murmured.

Fu Yifang's silence was actually to maintain a twisted decency and the last respect for the deceased, even though this respect seemed so ridiculous.

"Ms. Song..." Jiang Nan was a little worried.

"She was silent after hearing that, stunned for a long time," Han Yan said, her voice lowering. "Then she started crying. It wasn't like she was sad, but more like she was letting out the anger she'd been holding back for years. She finally felt it was pointless. She'd been fighting with herself for so many years over that jerk, hating the wrong person and missing out on so much."

Both of them were silent for a while.

"It's good now. Now that everything is clear, we can finally move on." Jiang Nan said softly.

"Yeah. Well—I just wanted to say thank you," Han Yan's tone returned to its usual briskness. "If your project hadn't brought up these old stories, Song Wei and I probably wouldn't have sat down and talked it out in our lifetimes."

"I didn't do anything actually." Jiang Nan told the truth.

"Okay, I won't be polite with you. Just go about your business. Next time you come to Beijing, I'll treat you to a good meal." Han Yan hung up the phone with a smile.

Jiang Nan put down his phone and looked at the beautiful sales graph of Summer Pulse on his computer screen, feeling a surge of emotion. The progress of a project could surprisingly bring up so many hidden memories and emotions.

However, she still couldn't figure out how Gao Wanqing married Song Huai, and why Han Yan suddenly told her about these past events.

At this moment, Chen Yunsheng came out of the study. He walked to the center island with a cup in hand, then looked at Jiang Nan sitting at the dining table and said, "The cheongsam chef will be here soon."

"Yeah, okay." Jiang Nan agreed.

"Is the matter almost settled?"

"Not bad." Jiang Nan shook his head, and thinking of Han Yan's words, he simply told him the truth of what happened that year.

After hearing this, Chen Yunsheng showed no surprise. He simply commented in a flat tone, "Ridiculous."

I don't know if he was talking about Song Huai or commenting on Fu Yifang's concealment.

"Yeah, it's pretty boring," Jiang Nan sighed, then smiled again, "But it's better now that it's out of the way. Sister Han Yan and Mr. Song should be able to let it go."

She paused slightly and asked cautiously, "But I still don't understand why Song Huai finally married Gao Wanqing, and... why did Sister Han Yan suddenly tell me this."

Chen Yunsheng was silent for a minute or two before speaking: "Maybe they know that even if they don't say it, I will tell you. Instead of that, it's better for them to say it themselves."

He took a sip of water and continued, "Song Huai is nominally the Song family's adopted son, but... his true identity is the illegitimate son of Song Wei's father. He used the name of adoption to bring Song Huai, his biological son, into the public eye without damaging his own reputation."

"He only brought this up because Song Wei and Song Huai were getting married," he stated calmly. "As for Gao Wanqing, I heard they got married because she was pregnant. But the child never came."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore," Chen Yunsheng said, changing the subject. "We agreed to have hot pot after the cheongsam fitting. But I'm not sure what to prepare."

"Then leave it to me." Jiang Nan leaned back in his chair and took out his mobile phone to make purchases.

——

In the afternoon, Jiang Nan and Chen Yunsheng had just put the hot pot ingredients into the refrigerator when the master chef from Chunhua Qiushi came to their door with his assistant on time.

So a space was temporarily cleared in the living room and a portable dressing mirror was set up.

The assistant carefully unloaded the pale emerald cheongsam. The heavy silk satin shone softly in the sunlight, revealing the subtle patterns. The experienced craftsman helped Jiang Nan put it on, his fingertips deftly fastening the delicate rows of buttons.

Chen Yunsheng was originally sitting behind the center island pretending to drink water, but at this moment he raised his head and his eyes fell on Jiang Nan.

The cheongsam was perfectly tailored, delicately outlining Jiang Nan's slender yet graceful figure. The light blue hue was elegant, accentuating her already clean temperament even more calm and gentle, like a newly planted lotus after an early summer rain.

The master craftsman carefully examined the waistline, shoulder width, and length of the garment, making minute marks with a needle and muttering to himself. The assistant followed the master's instructions, jotting down the key points in a notebook.

Jiang Nan nervously looked at herself in the mirror, then secretly glanced at Chen Yunsheng. At this moment, he was also looking at her through the mirror, quietly, his eyes focused, with a kind of undisguised admiration that she had never seen before.

"Mr. Chen, what do you think?" The old master asked him with a smile after finishing the adjustment.

Chen Yunsheng put down his cup and walked over from behind the center island. His eyes remained fixed on Jiang Nan, and he nodded, "Very good."

Hearing this, Jiang Nan's cheeks flushed slightly: "It's because the master craftsman is good."

The old master smiled and said, "Miss Jiang has a good foundation and her temperament can support this color and style. Mr. Chen has good taste and the style he ordered is most suitable for Miss Jiang."

Next, Jiang Nan tried on two more pieces. The elegant lilac color and the fresh white were surprisingly good. After making some final adjustments and recording the measurements, the master craftsman left with his assistant.

In the blink of an eye, they were the only two left in the apartment.

Jiang Nan was tidying up her hair helplessly, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"All three pieces look great." Chen Yunsheng's voice came from behind.

"Thank you." She pursed her lips and smiled, her heart beating a little faster.

"So - let's eat hot pot now?" he suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Jiang Nan, still immersed in the atmosphere of the cheongsam, was stunned for a moment, then said woodenly, "It's all right."

Chen Yunsheng suggested, "Shall I go squeeze some more juice?"

This proposal was somewhat unexpected to Jiang Nan, but she nodded and said, "Okay."

Afterward, Jiang Nan changed into a more durable, older home outfit and went into the kitchen with Chen Yunsheng. He opened the refrigerator and took out beef rolls, shrimp balls, and tripe, while she dug out enoki mushrooms, baby cabbage, potatoes, and winter melon.

The two people divided the work tacitly, one washed the vegetables and the other prepared the dipping sauce and the soup base.

The steamer in the double-boiled pot on the induction cooker soon began to boil, and the aroma of spicy butter and fragrant mushroom soup immediately spread out, driving away the evening chill and adding a bit of lively atmosphere to the cold apartment.

They sat opposite each other at the dining table.

The hot mist blurred each other's eyes and brows, but the atmosphere became relaxed and comfortable.

"I didn't expect you would actually agree to eat hotpot." Jiang Nan picked up a piece of beef roll and dipped it in the red soup, and couldn't help saying.

At this moment, Chen Yunsheng was carefully scooping shrimp paste into the clear soup pot. Hearing this, his tone was a little playful: "What? Do you think I should only eat Western food or nutritionist-prepared meals?"

"A little bit," Jiang Nan nodded honestly. "Even if it's Chinese food, it's not cheap, like the Manchu-Han Banquet."

"That was a work event or maybe we were pressed for time," he said calmly, watching the shrimp paste slowly turn red and float up. "When eating alone, the simpler the better. And you know, my cooking skills are average. So there's no way I'd refuse something as simple and convenient as hot pot."

Jiang Nan dipped the braised beef into the oil dish and said, "That's right. Hot pot is very simple to prepare, and nowadays the base sauce and ingredient packages are more comprehensive, so you don't have to do anything after buying them. When I lived on my own, Wenwen and I would often have hot pot at home. It's very convenient."

After saying that, Jiang Nan looked up at Chen Yunsheng and asked him with a smile, "Autumn is coming soon. How about we have hot pot at home more often in the future?"

"Okay." He responded naturally, without any reluctance. Then, he picked up a cooked shrimp and placed it in her bowl: "Try this."

"Thank you," Jiang Nan said, lowering her head to eat the shrimp paste he had picked up. It was chewy and sweet. "It's delicious."

Chen Yunsheng smiled and continued to pick up food for her.

As she ate, she thought, Chen Yunsheng, now dressed in simple home clothes and sitting in the steam of the hot pot, seemed very different. He seemed to talk more than usual, and his attitude was much softer, like a thick and warm mammal.

Afterwards, they talked about their preferences for hot pot ingredients, documentaries they had both watched, and various interesting things that happened in college.

“In the end, it all turned into a pot of paste, but it smelled really good.” Jiang Nan said with a smile, her eyes sparkling because of the heat.

"When I was in college, I usually ate cold food," Chen Yunsheng said, using a slotted spoon to scoop up the boiled tripe and share it with her. "I could only find time to eat hot food occasionally."

"Can your stomach handle it?"

"It's true that I've developed some issues," Chen Yunsheng said softly, "but as long as I eat on time, I'll be fine."

Jiang Nan nodded, then said seriously, "I'll supervise you while you eat."

"Okay," Chen Yunsheng continued, "Your blend tastes great."

He seemed particularly unreserved in his expression tonight.

"You actually noticed it?" Jiang Nan was a little surprised. She just adjusted it casually according to her habit.

“It smells delicious.”

Jiang Nan was stunned, and the tiny bit of joy in his heart emerged again, like the small bubbles bubbling in the hot pot soup base.

As the hot pot simmered, their conversations became increasingly casual and natural. He'd even complain to her about a partner's pedantic ways, or listen to her complaints about the clients' baffling aesthetic preferences. Their conversations became more and more like casual conversations between friends, perhaps even more intimate.

Jiang Nan also discovered that he was a good listener, and his occasional comments were always to the point. Furthermore, his scope of knowledge was far wider than she had imagined, ranging from obscure facts in documentaries to the history of street food; it seemed he could discuss any topic.

He gradually began to talk more, as if he had endless things to say to her. He was no longer the cold boss who was very frugal with words and required her to carefully guess what he was saying, but a lively and even talkative man.

The hot pot meal lasted nearly two hours. By the end, both of them were a little stuffed. The table was a mess of cups and plates, and the air was still filled with the aroma of warm food.

After cleaning up the dishes together, Jiang Nan stood in front of the dishwasher, watching it slowly turning, his heart filled with a feeling of fullness and peace.

She turned around and saw Chen Yunsheng leaning against the kitchen island, drinking water. The light cast a soft halo on him. He noticed her gaze and looked over.

Their eyes met in the air, and no one looked away immediately.

Jiang Nan chuckled, looking somewhat innocent. Then, Chen Yunsheng was infected by her smile and started laughing too.