"You really don't need me to take you upstairs?" After driving the car out of the alley, Pei Yan opened the car door for Hua Jin and took a look at the high heels on her feet.
"I can walk home with my eyes closed, and I won't fall." Hua Jin shook her head. The night breeze, carrying the fragrance of her hair, sneaked into Pei Yan's nose. His eyes passed by her white neck, moist red lips, and finally stopped at her wrist.
"During festivals, the store would take advantage of the good times to hold promotions. In order to attract customers' attention, Tan Yuan and I would change into hand-embroidered clothes and high heels." Hua Jin lifted her foot, "The height of this pair of shoes is pretty good."
"Then be careful when you walk." Pei Yan walked Hua Jin into the alley and did not go any further.
Da da da.
Hua Jin's every step was neither fast nor slow, full of rhythm. When she was about to walk out of the alley, she stopped and turned to look at the end of the alley. Pei Yan was still standing there.
In this dim alley, she couldn't see the expression on his face, and he couldn't see her clearly. But Hua Jin knew that Pei Yan was looking at her.
She curled her lips and said, "Good night, Pei Yan."
The man at the end of the alley was silent for two seconds: "Good night."
This time Hua Jin did not look back. She walked out of the dim alley and entered the courtyard filled with moonlight.
The sound of high heels gradually faded away until it could no longer be heard. Pei Yan then turned around and went back to the car. There were countless unread messages and more than a dozen missed calls on his phone.
"Brother Pei, don't worry, my grandfather won't be angry about such a small matter. We all know what kind of person Xu Changhui is. This time we were not thoughtful enough and let Master Hua Xiu suffer injustice." This was the message sent by Yang Shao.
"Mr. Pei, I'm very sorry that you and the flower embroidery master have encountered this kind of thing. I'm sorry for the poor hospitality. Please forgive me, Mr. Pei and the flower embroidery master. I will definitely visit you in the future." This was the message sent by the Meng family.
As for the message from the Xu family, Pei Yan didn't even bother to read it and directly chose to delete it. He didn't have a son like Xu Changhui, so he didn't need to spoil him.
Back in the rental house, Hua Jin removed her makeup and sat on the bed to read the message from Yang Shao. She replied with a few polite words, then threw the phone aside and lay down on the bed.
After lying down for a while, the cell phone rang. Hua Jin looked at the caller ID. Mark?
She pressed the answer button: "Mr. Mark?"
"Sorry, Miss Hua, I hope I didn't disturb you by calling you so late." Mark's voice was very nice, and his gentle tone seemed to be filled with infinite affection.
"No." Hua Jin glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nine fifty-three in the evening. It was not early in this world, but for many young people, it was not late either. But it was definitely not the best time to talk about work.
"I'm glad I didn't disturb you." Mark chuckled on the other end of the phone. "I just got an idea, so I couldn't wait to call Miss Hua. I regretted it after I dialed the number. Fortunately, I didn't disturb you."
"What's your inspiration, Mr. Mark?" Hua Jin got straight to the point.
Mark laughed again: "I suddenly thought, many of our Chinese-style clothing likes to write about flowers, birds, insects and fish, why not change our thinking?"
Hua Jin did not interrupt and waited for Mark's next words.
"For example, we have inherited thousands of years of brilliant culture, even myths and legends, each of which is a national treasure." Mark said, "Miss Hua, have you read Huainanzi?"
"I'm sorry." Hua Jin said softly, "Mr. Mark may not know that I started working very early and my education level is not high."
Mark didn't seem to expect the topic to end this way. He was stunned for a moment and then said, "Then I'll send the design to Miss Hua after I finish it. Appreciation of beauty has nothing to do with diplomas. In my eyes, Miss Hua doesn't need those certificates to prove her charm."
Hua Jin smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to Mr. Mark's wonderful ideas." After hanging up the phone, she laughed meaningfully, got up and put on a facial mask.
When they first met, Mark said that he didn't dare to dream of stunning everyone, but in Hua Jin's opinion, he was a very ambitious man. His ambition was not in his words, but in his actions. And he was very courageous. The various strange legends in "Huainanzi" might really have a different kind of attraction for foreigners. But it was a very risky decision to inject these elements into fashion design.
It is not a bad thing to cooperate with ambitious people. At least we can take advantage of this favorable situation to let more people know about embroidery.
Sitting next to the embroidery frame and stroking the embroidery patterns, Hua Jin's turbulent heart gradually calmed down.
For others, embroidery is just an intangible cultural heritage and a traditional craft, but for her, embroidery is salvation and hope.
In her darkest times, the colorful embroidery thread was the light in her life.
When Tan Yuan returned home, her parents were still sitting on the sofa watching a bloody family ethics drama. She fell on the sofa and said, "Huahua is not here today. I am so tired."
"There's soup in the pot that your dad has cooked. Go and scoop it out yourself." Gao Shulan glanced at her daughter. "Now you know how tiring it is to run a store alone. When you were dating that guy before, how many times did Huahua go to the store alone?"
Wearily going to the kitchen to get a bowl of soup, Tan Yuan smiled and praised Tan Qing's cooking skills: "Dad, you can open a restaurant with your cooking skills."
"You know, I used my cooking skills to coax your mother back home." Tan Qing was a little proud, "Your uncles can't cook as well as I do. So, what's the point of a man being good-looking? He can only eat and drink. The most important thing is to be able to cook."
"Yeah, Dad, what you said makes a lot of sense." Tan Yuan nodded repeatedly, "I want to find a boyfriend like you in the future."
"That Cao Yi, has he contacted you recently?" Gao Shulan has always had a problem with Cao Yi. He is such a big guy, but he can't cook and doesn't have much strength. After they get married, will her daughter have to do all the housework alone?
"He contacted me, but I ignored him." Tan Yuan didn't want to talk about this person. Thinking of what he said about Hua Jin, Tan Yuan felt that there was something wrong with his eyes, otherwise he wouldn't have such an ex-boyfriend.
"As parents, we don't want to interfere in emotional matters. Just keep it in mind." Gao Shulan sighed, "If things go wrong, your father and I can still be your safe haven. What I'm most worried about is not you, but..."
She still remembers the winter six years ago when the skinny and haggard little girl stood outside the store with a cane, staring blankly at the embroidery hanging on the wall, her face pale with cold.
At that time, she didn't know what she was thinking, so she stood up, opened the door, and beckoned her into the store: "Little girl, it's cold outside, come in and take a look."
The skinny girl struggled to enter the store with the help of a cane, but she stood at the doorway but didn't dare to go in: "My feet are dirty, I can't go in."
The ends of her hair were a little wet, as if frost had melted into water when it encountered warm air.
"Do you like this embroidery?" The original picture of this embroidery is an ancient painting titled "Bamboo Brings Peace". The picture of a naive child covering his ears while lighting firecrackers is very heartwarming and interesting.
"I'm sorry." The little girl lowered her head and shook her head, "I don't have any money."
"You can still see them even if you don't have money." In winter, when there were few customers in the store, Gao Shulan saw that the girl's hands were blue with cold, so she poured her a cup of hot water. "There are fewer and fewer young people who like these things. It's rare to have a girl willing to appreciate them. I'm so happy."
Later, the little girl always came with a cane to watch her embroider. Gao Shulan could see that she was not well off, but when she came, she always brought fruits, flowers and other things.
Once, she encountered an unreasonable customer. When she was about to pay compensation to settle the matter, this seemingly silent girl stood up and talked the customer down, making him blush and retreat repeatedly.
Later, she took the little girl in as her assistant and apprentice. Unexpectedly, the girl was extremely talented in embroidery. In just five or six years, she was able to use all kinds of needlework with ease.
Thinking of these past events, Gao Shulan sighed and said to Tan Yuan, "She has no family, no place to live here, and no interest in the boys pursuing her. She doesn't know what to do in the future."
"Mom, don't worry about it. She still has me." Tan Yuan put the half-drunk bowl of soup on the coffee table. "She doesn't have a room, but I do."
"You." Gao Shulan sighed and smiled, "I believe what you said now is true, but people's hearts will change. When you find someone you like and have a baby with him, your focus will gradually shift to your family and children. With Huahua's personality, she will definitely not have the heart to cause you trouble. By then, even if she suffers, you won't be able to notice it in time."
"I won't." Tan Yuan said affirmatively, "We want to be sisters for life."
Gao Shulan smiled and touched her head, "Okay." She was very glad that her child didn't have to suffer so much, but she also felt sorry for Hua Jin who had to go through so much.
How could she, a daughter who had never suffered much, understand that there were too many helpless things in the world. Moreover, she regarded Hua Jin as a sister, and Hua Jin valued her equally. If that day really came, how could Hua Jin be willing to disturb her peaceful life?
Only when you are young and fearless can you say "no" with certainty. The older you get, the more you understand that many things cannot be changed by human will.
She wanted her daughter to grow up, but she also wanted her daughter to never have to experience this kind of helplessness and pain in her life.
What happened at the Meng family gathering did not affect Hua Jin's life. Pei Cunhai, who threatened to buy the shop and put Fanhua Studio out of business, did not take action. Hua Jin embroidered and sold things every day, and her life was relatively peaceful.
In order to make the embroidered screen customized for Yang Shao, Hua Jin has hardly had any dinner plans with other friends recently.
As the date got closer, Hua Jin arrived at the store earlier and earlier. Almost every day when she opened the store, the nearby stores were not open yet.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and there was still no coolness at six or seven in the morning. Hua Jin yawned and took a few sips of tea, trying to keep herself awake.
"Hello, excuse me."
Hua Jin raised her head and looked at the young girl at the door of the store. She smiled instantly and said, "Hello, please feel free to look around."
"Thank you." The girl walked closer to the store, looking a little uncomfortable. "Excuse me, do you have any smaller pendants for sale?"
"Yes." Hua Jin stood up and took out a box of brocade bags and amulets. "These are all."
The girl picked out the items in the box for a while, then turned to look at Hua Jin: "Can I order a small bag like this?"
Hua Jin glanced at her and said, "Can I ask you something? Do you want to use it yourself or give it to someone else?"
"Give it to someone." The girl smiled bitterly, "I want to give it to my ex-boyfriend."
Hua Jin glanced at her and said nothing more.
"He and I are classmates. We have been in love for four years since our freshman year." The girl's voice was trembling, but she didn't cry. "I found a good job here, but he didn't want to stay. He said that the pressure of life here is too great, and he wants to go back to his hometown to find a job."
"Maybe I am a cold-blooded person at heart. I don't want to give up my current development opportunities just to get married and have children." The girl's eyes were red. "He bought a ticket back to his hometown and said he would never come to this city again. I don't want to send him away, nor do I want to force him to stay. From now on, we will be separated from each other. I just hope that in the future there will be a girl who is right for him and we can live happily together for the rest of our lives."
Hua Jin had an impression of this girl. She had seen her on the subway that night. The girl and her boyfriend had an argument on the subway about whether to stay in this city. The argument ended with the girl sobbing. She thought it was just one of the countless times they passed by in life, but she didn't expect to see her here again today.
Young love is beautiful, even if the ending is not necessarily happy. Hua Jin smiled and asked, "What do you want to embroider?"
“Can this be custom made?”
"Of course." Hua Jin invited the girl to sit down. "The customer's satisfaction is our greatest success."
“Embroider a mouse, and embroider gold ingots and food next to it.” The girl sniffed.
"It seems your ex-boyfriend was born in the Year of the Rat." Hua Jin wrote down the request, "It can be done in three days. Do you want it delivered within the city, or do you want to pick it up in person?"
"Same-city express delivery." The girl paid and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Hua Jin looked at her and said with a smile, "You're welcome to come next time."
The girl thanked him again, and after walking out of the store, she couldn't help but look back at the store.
Flowers...
May your future be bright and prosperous.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled slowly.
Three days later, in the morning, Hua Jin just walked to the door of the store and saw a girl squatting there with her knees hugged. She was startled and asked, "Hello?"
"Hello." The girl raised her head, her eyes were red and swollen. It was the girl from three days ago.
"The sachet you ordered is ready. I'll go get it for you." Hua Jin sighed in his heart. Looking at the girl's appearance, he was afraid that something might have happened again.
Sure enough, after she opened the door and handed the sachet to the other party, the girl stared at the sachet for a long time and said: "It's no longer useful."
Hua Jin was afraid that she would be depressed, so she pulled her to sit on the sofa and poured her a glass of sweet glucose water.
The sweet glucose water entered her mouth, and the girl's bitter heart seemed to be sweetened. She looked up and said to Hua Jin: "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"He left early last night by car, leaving cleanly without leaving any trace."
The shop door was pushed open and Pei Yan walked in, carrying a food box in his hand.
Hua Jin looked up and met his gaze.
The girl covered her eyes, not realizing someone had come in: "Maybe, two people from different worlds shouldn't have been together from the beginning."
"Without a beginning, there would be no end, and there would be no sadness..."
The author has something to say: Pei Yan: We are different~
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