Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Su Tinghe had cried the night before and went to bed late, so he woke up late as well.

After waking up, Su Tinghe told Aunt Qin that he wanted to go to the hospital to check on his right wrist.

Aunt Qin agreed it was necessary to get his wrist checked, as leaving any potential issues untreated could be risky.

Aunt Qin had the driver take Su Tinghe to the hospital the Shang family often visited. Everything in the hospital was overwhelming to Su Tinghe, but fortunately, the private hospital's service was very attentive, so Su Tinghe felt at ease.

During this time, Shang Yizhi called, and without hesitation, Su Tinghe told him the name of the hospital.

Not long after, Shang Yizhi arrived at the hospital and accompanied Su Tinghe through the examination.

After the examination, the doctor determined Su Tinghe's wrist was fine but advised him to avoid lifting heavy objects or sudden impacts.

Coming out of the consultation room, Shang Yizhi took Su Tinghe's right hand, lightly pressed his wrist, and asked, "Does this hurt?"

Su Tinghe was caught off guard, slightly furrowing his brows, and replied, "No... it doesn't hurt." Then he pulled his hand back.

Shang Yizhi didn't take offense and invited Su Tinghe to grab a meal together. Su Tinghe declined, and Shang Yizhi didn't press further.

Before parting, Shang Yizhi suddenly asked Su Tinghe, "Is my elder brother treating you well?"

Su Tinghe answered without hesitation, "Yes... very well."

Shang Yizhi smiled but said nothing, watching Su Tinghe leave.

Someone had been watching their interactions since Shang Yizhi arrived at the hospital. When only Shang Yizhi remained, Su Qingyue stepped forward to greet him.

Shang Yizhi knew Su Qingyue, recognizing him as Su Tinghe's younger half-brother.

Su Qingyue suddenly sighed, "It feels like it's so hard for lovers in this world to find happiness together."

Shang Yizhi asked, "Why do you say that?"

Su Qingyue seemed to make up his mind before saying, "Although family matters shouldn't be aired publicly, you're not an outsider, so I'll tell you. In truth, my brother was forced into marrying Shang Huoyong. My brother has someone he loves. On the day of the engagement, my brother tried to run away but was dragged back."

"Is my brother in love with you?" Su Qingyue asked.

Shang Yizhi pondered for a moment and said, "Don't speak nonsense. Su Tinghe is living well with my elder brother now."

"Maybe it's all an act. If he can't be with the one he loves, it's better to stay apart and let each other find peace," Su Qingyue said earnestly, looking at Shang Yizhi. "If you really care for my brother, please ensure his happiness."

Shang Yizhi glanced at Su Qingyue and said, "You're overthinking it."

Su Qingyue shrugged, "I hope so. I just want my brother to be happy."

*

On the way back from the hospital, Su Tinghe spotted a group of people dressed in ancient costumes from the car. Su Tinghe was very excited and told the driver he wanted to get out and walk around.

As he approached, he realized it was an immersive market with a traditional Chinese theme. Many visitors, including shop owners, were wearing a variety of Hanfu styles.

Lacquer fans, tea whisking demonstrations, painted oil-paper umbrellas, handmade rabbit lanterns... As he wandered through the market, Su Tinghe felt transported to a bygone era.

For visitors who didn't come dressed in Hanfu, the market offered Hanfu rental and styling services. They could choose their favorite Hanfu from the racks, and the shop owner would handle the makeup and styling personally.

Su Tinghe ran his fingers over the displayed Hanfu, one after another. The texture was rough, and the designs weren't entirely accurate, but they looked passable from a distance.

The shopkeeper praised Su Tinghe as a "natural fit for ancient times," urging him to try on the Hanfu, claiming the effect would be extraordinary. Su Tinghe smiled, politely declining, and said he wasn't interested.

A Hanfu blogger noticed Su Tinghe and approached him, asking if he would be willing to participate in a Hanfu photoshoot.

Su Tinghe, recalling the texture of the Hanfu he had just touched, was initially inclined to refuse. However, when the blogger presented several sets of men's Hanfu, Su Tinghe changed his mind.

The Hanfu in the blogger's hands was far superior in quality to the ones in the shop earlier.

The blogger took out a set of Hanfu from his collection and recommended it to Su Tinghe, "I usually don't let anyone wear this outfit. I bought it specifically as a collector's item, but today, meeting you, I suddenly feel like this outfit has found its rightful owner. Would you like to try it on?"

The blogger spread out the Hanfu, a set with a gradient of icy blue tones. The upper part was lighter, while the lower part was darker, with a light, gauzy outer robe embroidered with pale golden patterns and wide, flowing sleeves.

Even without touching it, the quality of the clothing was evident at a glance, clearly above average.

Su Tinghe had once owned many similar garments, but since arriving in this world, he had never had the chance to wear them again.

The outfit had several layers, and the blogger, worried that Su Tinghe wouldn't know how to wear it properly, offered to help, but Su Tinghe declined.

When Su Tinghe stepped out wearing the outfit, the blogger and photographer were both left speechless. Even without any makeup or styling, it was clear that Su Tinghe and the Hanfu were a perfect match.

The blogger put a wig and delicate headpieces on Su Tinghe and applied some light makeup. Everyone around was amazed, with some even joking that it looked like a young noble from ancient times had been transported to the present.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Su Tinghe also felt as if he had stepped back into the past.

Next to the market was a park with serene flowing water, small bridges, pavilions, and bamboo groves. The photographer led Su Tinghe there for the shoot, with the blogger assisting with lighting, styling adjustments, and capturing short videos.

Many onlookers pulled out their phones to photograph Su Tinghe. During breaks in the shoot, some bold individuals even approached to ask for photos with him, all of which Su Tinghe agreed to with a smile.

After the shoot, the blogger informed Su Tinghe that they would upload the day's content to their social media accounts and kindly helped Su Tinghe register an account, with both parties following each other.

When it was time to remove the Hanfu, Su Tinghe was reluctant and directly asked if he could buy it. The blogger hesitated but declined, though he offered to recommend the Hanfu shop to Su Tinghe.

Since that was the case, Su Tinghe didn't press the matter further and prepared to leave the market and head home.

As Su Tinghe was about to leave, he was intercepted by a familiar stranger.

"What a coincidence, we meet again. Your period attire is truly stunning. Would you consider playing the young prince in our play?"

It was the middle-aged man who had once tried to persuade Su Tinghe to act. Su Tinghe replied earnestly, "But I really don't know how to act."

"You can always learn. If you have time, I can give you an overview of the story."

Since the evening performance was still far off, Su Tinghe thought for a moment and followed the man to a nearby milk tea shop to sit down and chat in detail.

The story was about an ostensibly timid young prince and an ostensibly all-powerful regent. The young prince triumphs against the odds and eventually seizes power, but in reality, it was all part of the regent's plan.

The young prince and the regent had a mentor-student relationship with an undercurrent of ambiguous feelings. Both the political intrigue and the emotional aspects sounded quite interesting.

The middle-aged man spoke at length to Su Tinghe, but his expression darkened when he received a phone call and sighed, "Never mind, it's okay if you don't want to act. Someone has withdrawn their investment, and it's unlikely we'll be able to continue filming this play anytime soon."

Su Tinghe asked, "How much was the investment?"

The man looked worried, "Twenty million yuan. He was the biggest investor. Without this investment, it's impossible for us to continue filming."

Su Tinghe said nonchalantly, "Twenty million, is that a lot of money?"

The man stared at Su Tinghe in disbelief, "You’ve got some nerve. That’s twenty million! I worked tirelessly to secure that investment, and now it’s vanished in an instant. I don’t know where else to find it."

Su Tinghe said, "I can invest."

"You?" The man's voice trembled slightly, "Really?"

"It's true," Su Tinghe said, "I can't act, but I have money, so I can invest to keep your project going."

The middle-aged man was tempted but held back. "But this is twenty million. Shouldn't you discuss it with your family?"

Su Tinghe thought for a moment and said, "I’m not really savvy with investments. I'll go back and ask my husband, and then we can discuss it in detail, okay?"

The middle-aged man was shocked. "You look quite young. I didn’t expect you to be married already. Alright, let’s exchange contact information, and I’ll send you the TV series proposal. I guarantee this show will be a hit once it's made."

Not fully understanding, but nodding along seemed like the right thing to do. In truth, Su Tinghe had his own motives; he was very curious about how period dramas were made in this world.

Today, wearing clothes from his past, Su Tinghe was in a good mood. He first went to the practice room to find Ruan Xiting, then went with the band members to the bar where they were to perform.

Upon entering the bar, Su Tinghe was struck by the dim lighting and scattered colored lights. He hesitated, then slowly followed the band to the bar.

"Mr. Bai!" Su Tinghe suddenly called out to the person bartending behind the counter.

Bai Hua looked up at the sound, also somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Su Tinghe pointed to the people he came with and introduced them to Bai Hua. "My friends are performing with their band and invited me to watch."

Bai Hua glanced at Su Tinghe’s companions. "The Sharp Bees band, you have quite a few fans in this bar."

"You two know each other?" Ruan Xiting said to Bai Hua. "Then Su Tinghe can stay at the bar, you take care of him while our band gets ready for the show."

Su Tinghe sat down and said to the band members, "You guys go ahead, I'll stay here."

After the band members left, Su Tinghe asked Bai Hua, "Mr. Bai, what brings you here?"

"To make money, of course," Bai Hua smiled. "No need to call me teacher here."

"Oh, okay, can I call you by your name then?" Seeing Bai Hua nod, Su Tinghe couldn’t hide his curiosity and asked again, "Does Jiusong School pay very little? Why do you still need to work part-time to earn money?"

"I'm a part-timer at Jiusong School. The teacher there saw my good calligraphy and asked me to help out," Bai Hua leaned closer to Su Tinghe and whispered, "The pay here is much better than at the academy."

Su Tinghe blinked, his eyes sparkling, watching Bai Hua's hands fly between different bottles and jars. "That’s awesome, you’re really talented."

Bai Hua handed Su Tinghe a glass of pink cocktail. "Try this. It has peach juice, the alcohol flavor is light, quite sweet."

The glass was decorated with a small paper umbrella, looking very cute. Su Tinghe took a sip with a straw, it was indeed sweet.

When the band officially started their performance, Su Tinghe had finished the glass of wine without realizing it. By then, the bar seats were almost all filled.

During the band’s intermission, Ruan Xiting ran over to ask Su Tinghe if he wanted to come up and sing a song. Su Tinghe had followed along with a ballad during their rehearsal before and learned quickly.

Su Tinghe agreed and followed Ruan Xiting onto the stage. The audience, seeing a new person join, erupted in cheers and whistles.

After Su Tinghe and the other lead singer of the band finished a song together, the audience erupted in applause. Some even sent drinks to the performers on stage. When a drink was handed to him, Su Tinghe smiled, accepted it, and clinked glasses with the person who offered.

Since they were all sweet wines, Su Tinghe didn't think much of it and accidentally drank a few more cups, his head spinning. When Shang Huoyong called, he was already slurring his words and could hardly stand.

*

After the big misunderstanding last night and Su Tinghe's tearful episode, Shang Huoyong thought of coming back early to check on Su Tinghe, only to find that Su Tinghe wasn't home at all.

Auntie Qin said Su Tinghe had gone out with friends to play, Shang Huoyong didn't think much of it, but after sitting down to rest for a while, he felt for the first time how quiet and empty the villa was.

Bored, he took out his phone and flipped through it, just in time to see Assistant Song share a short video with him. The person in the video was none other than Su Tinghe.

Su Tinghe was wearing a light blue ancient costume, his long hair flowing down, only tied up with a hair crown at the top, his clothes fluttering, his skirt flying, looking around with a proud and innocent demeanor of a young nobleman.

The video was very popular, the comment section was full of flirtatious remarks, some calling him baby, others calling him wife, or drooling emojis, Shang Huoyong frowned as he read.

As I scrolled down, I came across a comment with a photo, captioned: [Is this him?]

In the picture, Su Tinghe was singing under the dim lights of the bar, looking more vibrant and animated compared to the innocent young gentleman persona in the video.

Shang Huoyong immediately called Su Tinghe: "Where are you now?"

The bar was noisy, and Su Tinghe couldn't make out the words: "What did you say?"

Shang Huoyong repeated: "Where are you now?"

Su Tinghe didn't answer, and a strange man's voice came through the phone: "Be careful, if you're feeling dizzy, you can lean on me. Do you need me to take you to the restroom?"

Shang Huoyong's face darkened instantly, his grip on the phone so tight his knuckles turned white.