Chapter 36 So immersed in the role, as the performance progressed, even he himself...
For three consecutive days, Su Cheng's step count remained in the double digits, but today it finally made a qualitative leap.
Xu Zhisui and Shen Siqi's wedding is scheduled for December, and they have arranged to meet Su Cheng and the other bridesmaids to try on their wedding dresses.
The glass shop windows along the street display a variety of gowns, including queen-style collared gowns with long trains, satin fishtail gowns, and strapless ball gowns, each with a unique design.
This is a mid-range luxury brand founded by a local designer, specializing in evening gowns and wedding dresses. It has been operating for several years, but its business has remained lukewarm.
Until last month, a female celebrity accidentally fell while wearing a dress from their brand on the red carpet. The media originally wanted to capture her embarrassing moment, but in the photos they took, the dress not only had no wrinkles or deformation, but also maintained its elegant and crisp perfect silhouette after the fall. The hand-set rhinestones on the skirt reflected the dazzling light under the spotlight, making this originally niche designer brand an overnight sensation and the focus of discussion across the internet.
The waiting list for fitting appointments was already six months in advance. Xu Zhisui pulled many strings to finally secure this opportunity to try on a dress.
The most eye-catching window display features European-style Roman columns as a backdrop, with pearl chain curtains hanging on both sides, and silver foil butterflies fluttering under the lights, creating a dreamy three-dimensional space.
The dress on display in the center is the same light blue off-the-shoulder gown worn on the red carpet.
The dress features a sweetheart neckline with lace trim, and a three-dimensionally tailored skirt with elegant, wavy pleats. It is covered in sequins and beads, and the custom-dyed pattern resembles flowing water, shimmering with the changing light.
The entire dress is like a shimmering starry sky draped over the body, leaving people in awe.
Su Cheng paused in front of the shop window, her hazy reflection appearing in the glass.
Marriage may not be every girl's dream, but a wedding dress certainly is.
She couldn't help but imagine what she would look like in a wedding dress.
Or she could pull her long hair up high and wear a sparkling crown; or she could curl it into lazy waves, letting the breeze gently caress the ends, looking exceptionally gentle.
Who will be standing next to her?
The person who lifted her veil is still a vague figure beyond her imagination.
Many girls her age are already being pressured by their families to get married or being arranged to go on blind dates.
It seems that once you reach a certain age, getting married and having children becomes a necessary task in life. In the end, most people can't withstand the pressure and settle for a suitable partner but have no feelings for them, just to get by for the rest of their lives.
The phone vibrated gently, pulling Su Cheng back to reality.
It was a message from Jiang Muzhou. The site visit was going very smoothly, and he was returning to Linhai today, two days earlier than originally planned.
She recalled the photo of the white porcelain bowl he had sent her a few days ago and guessed that the theme of his next video might be related to porcelain.
Making a piece of porcelain, from throwing to firing, takes at least ten days to half a month. Once the documentary starts filming, we probably won't see him for a long time.
[ease: What would you like for dinner? I'll cook.]
She typed "[Fish Head Soup]" into the chat box, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
What are you looking at?
Su Cheng suddenly felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around and met Xu Zhisui's suspicious gaze. "I called you just now and you didn't hear me."
Xu Zhisui leaned forward, her probing gaze landing on Su Cheng's phone. "Tell me honestly, is something going on?"
Su Cheng's thin skin under her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly pressed the lock screen, "It's Jiang..."
"Zhizhi!" A clear voice cut through the air, and Wei Manman rushed over like a small whirlwind, wrapping her arms around Xu Zhisui's neck. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"
After letting go of Xu Zhisui, she turned around and hugged Su Cheng, gently pinching Su Cheng's arm with her fingers, "Wow, Su Su, have you lost weight again?"
Yang Shi stood behind Wei Manman and greeted the two of them with a smile.
Like Su Cheng, they were Xu Zhisui's high school classmates, but they only became close after being separated into different classes in the second semester of their junior year.
Xu Zhisui planned to design a first look segment at the wedding, so she deliberately avoided Shen Siqi when trying on wedding dresses, and only invited three girls to give advice and try on bridesmaid dresses.
The store has three floors. On the first floor, various evening dresses are displayed according to color scheme.
The second and third floors are all dedicated to wedding dresses. The arc-shaped exhibition hall is divided by white arches, with mannequins dressed in exquisite wedding gowns standing in front of each arch. Soft sunlight filters through the gauze curtains, making you feel as if you are in an elegant ancient Greek palace.
The dressing room is ready.
The shop assistant came to take Xu Zhisui to get her hair done, and she told Su Cheng and the others to go downstairs first to pick out dresses.
Many brides nowadays buy uniform bridesmaid dresses online, but Xu Zhisui insists that they choose them in person. In her opinion, not only should she look beautiful on the wedding day, but her best friends should also look gorgeous.
The girls appreciated the gesture but also knew how to keep things in check, choosing from simple, basic styles that were both elegant and appropriate without overshadowing the main items.
Yang Shi's fingertips lightly traced the outline of a champagne-colored fishtail dress as she remarked, "Time flies so fast. It feels like I just graduated high school, and now Zhizhi is getting married."
“That’s right!” Wei Manman chuckled and picked up the thread. “If you ask me, she and Shen Siqi were acting strangely back in high school. Shen Siqi would come to our class every day. He must have been eyeing our Zhizhi for a long time.”
Listening to them talk about their high school days, Su Cheng tilted her head and tried hard to recall, wondering if Qi used to often run to their class.
She only remembered accompanying Xu Zhisui to find Shen Siqi, after all, it was a good opportunity for her to openly peek at Jiang Muzhou.
"Hey, Manman, have you seen their proposal video?" Yang Shi put down the lace cufflinks she was looking at, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and said, "It's so romantic, it made my girlish heart explode!"
"I've watched it at least ten times!" Wei Manman clapped her hands and stomped her feet excitedly. "That photographer is really good at shooting. He captured the ambiguous atmosphere perfectly. Every shot is full of pink bubbles."
Her eyes suddenly lit up. Remembering that Su Cheng was also there that day, she immediately leaned over as if she had discovered a new continent. She lowered her voice mysteriously, but couldn't hide her excitement, "I heard from those boys on the volleyball team that Jiang Muzhou filmed this video?"
Su Cheng was holding up a gray-blue strapless dress and trying it on in front of the dressing mirror.
Upon hearing the name "Jiang Muzhou" from someone else, her fingers unconsciously tightened, causing several small folds to appear on the hem of her skirt.
She paused for a moment, then nodded gently and hummed in agreement.
"Ugh, what a huge loss! If I had known Jiang Muzhou was there, I would have pretended to be sick and sneaked over!" Wei Manman scratched her head in frustration. "He's the most handsome guy in our school! I haven't seen anyone so handsome in all these years!"
As she spoke, she nudged Su Cheng lightly with her elbow, "Tell me quickly, is he still as handsome as before?"
Su Cheng's ears turned red, and she answered after a beat of delay, "He is quite handsome."
"Manman, have you been offline lately?" Yang Shi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Su Su and Jiang Muzhou are a business couple now. They were even sharing their live stream clips in the class group the other day."
"Huh?" Wei Manman looked bewildered.
As a corporate slave who works overtime every day until her eyes are glazed over, Wei Manman hasn't even had time to check her WeChat Moments lately. Today, she took a year off after the project ended so she could finally get some fresh air.
It wasn't until Yang Shi found the collaboration video between "Mu Yichengzhou" in the group chat that she realized the two had formed a business CP.
Su Chengxin tensed up. She and Jiang Muzhou were already surfing the internet under their real names, and this time they showed their faces again during the Qixi Festival live stream, and the video went viral. There was a high probability that people they knew would see it.
She wasn't in the group Yang Shi mentioned. Back in high school, she was practically invisible, but Jiang Muzhou was different; he was a recognized star throughout the school. Now that they were working together, if acquaintances mistook it for a romantic relationship, it could potentially damage Jiang Muzhou's reputation.
Feeling increasingly uneasy, she borrowed Yang Shi's phone to check the group's reaction.
This is the group chat for their photography club. Initially, the group was discussing how the documentary account "Du" had recently changed its name to "Muzhou" and its IP address showed up in Linhai. Some people suspected that the operator was Jiang Muzhou.
This speculation was confirmed after she revealed her face during the Qixi Festival live stream.
It was only then that everyone remembered that Su Cheng, who was paired with Jiang Muzhou, was actually their classmate from the same year.
Someone posted screenshots of netizens' comments about shipping a couple in a group chat, which immediately sparked heated discussion:
How could these two completely unrelated people be paired up as a couple?
[They're probably signed with the same company. They saw that Jiang Muzhou's account was popular, so they had him mentor newcomers.]
[Netizens get so easily carried away; a few staged photos and they're already obsessed with this whole thing.]
[Haha, I just said it was all an act, and I got criticized over a hundred times.]
A subtle thread stirred within Su Cheng, and she smiled, handing the phone back to Yang Shi.
It seems she was overthinking it.
Aside from her best friend Xu Zhisui, who views her through a biased lens, none of their other old classmates, who know them well, believe that they could actually develop a relationship.
She knew from the very beginning that this was nothing more than a carefully designed play for outsiders, but she got too caught up in the role and, as she continued acting, she couldn't even distinguish between reality and fiction anymore.
It wasn't until someone pointed it out that she remembered that she had tried her best to barely make it to the bottom of the Dragon and Tiger List.
And he, forever standing firm at the very top.
Some distances are simply unbridgeable.
She just happened to become his neighbor, happened to feed his cat, happened to enter his life, and happened to become his business partner.
These coincidences, strung together, are like a corridor with no end in sight; they are so close, yet forever separated by a door that can never be opened.
"Come up and take a look at this!" Xu Zhisui shouted from the second floor.
She had already changed into her first dress, a white V-neck trailing tulle dress that made her collarbone appear and disappear, and a Baroque-style waistline that accentuated her slender curves.
Hearing the sound, the three people downstairs jogged up the stairs. Despite having prepared themselves, they were still speechless with amazement at the sight of her in her wedding dress.
Su Cheng rubbed her reddened eyes. She could imagine that when Shen Siqi saw Xu Zhisui in her white wedding dress at the wedding, he would probably be so excited that he would burst into tears.
How fortunate I am to be able to walk down the aisle with the person I loved in my youth.
People like Xu Zhisui and Shen Siqi are probably the kind of luck that countless others can only dream of.
Compared to those unrequited loves that never came to fruition, Su Cheng thought she was already lucky enough.
Regardless of their identities or whether there will be an ending, at least the person she liked in her youth is about to cook and clean for her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
