Chapter 10: Fitting

Chapter 10 Trying on Clothes

After listing out the general task plan for the next two months, Ji Qingzhou glanced at the time and realized it was already 2 p.m.

He had originally planned to visit a shop to have a store sign made, but when he got up to the door, he noticed a strong wind was blowing outside, and dark clouds were gathering, as if a heavy rain was imminent.

Reluctantly, he had to change his plans temporarily, locked the front and back doors of the shop, and hurried home before the rain started.

However, the heavens were unkind, and as he ran to the intersection to wait for a ride, the rain began to pour down.

With the sudden downpour, the street quickly became chaotic.

Pedestrians quickened their pace, newsboys nimbly weaved through the crowd to take shelter in nearby stores, vendors hurriedly packed up their stalls, foreigners clutching briefcases quickly hailed taxis, rickshaw pullers hurriedly ferried their passengers across the street, straw sandals creating splashing sounds...

Ji Qingzhou, like others waiting for a ride, used his satchel to shield himself from the rain, but it wasn't much use.

When he finally reached the Jie Mansion, his white shirt was mostly soaked, and his hair was dripping wet; shaking his head sent water droplets flying.

He had intended to take a shower and change clothes first, but as soon as he entered the hall, he was stopped by an older maid.

This maid was specifically assigned to serve the old lady, and Ji Qingzhou remembered that the other servants called her Sister Chun.

Sister Chun seemed to be waiting for him on purpose, and as soon as he entered, she stepped forward and said, "Mr. Ji, the old lady is waiting for you in the small reception room."

Upon hearing this, Ji Qingzhou felt a sense of foreboding, thinking that he was likely to be scolded for opening a shop outside.

He managed a weak smile and said, "I just got caught in the rain, it wouldn't be proper to see the old lady like this. Could you allow me to change clothes first?"

If only he could go upstairs, he could call Jie Yuan down to help him avoid this trouble.

Sister Chun slowly shook her head: "The old lady instructed me to wait here, and as soon as you return, I am to bring you over."

Ji Qingzhou took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and nodded: "Alright, let's go."

Following Sister Chun along the corridor straight to the small reception room at the eastern end, the old lady was still sitting on one side of the black leather sofa as she was the first time he saw her.

On the coffee table in front of her, there were a variety of flowers and plants neatly arranged, and a translucent blue porcelain plum vase.

Seeing him enter, the old lady, as she trimmed flower stems and arranged them in the vase, said in a calm tone: "Come sit."

Ji Qingzhou unceremoniously sat down on the single chair diagonally across from her, leaning forward with his hands clasped on his knees, and asked: "What did you need to see me about?"

"How did you end up so drenched..."

The old lady glanced at him and gently shook her head, "I'll be brief. This morning, Doctor Zhang came to treat Yuan Yuan with acupuncture. At such an important time, why weren't you with him?"

"Today was his treatment day?" Ji Qingzhou arched his eyebrows in surprise, "He didn't mention it."

"If you don't ask him, he won't tell you on his own." The old lady let out a soft sigh: "I won't hold today's mistake against you, but remember, Doctor Zhang visits every five days at 10 a.m. to treat Yuan Yuan.

"Other times, I don't mind you going out, but at times concerning his health, you must stay at home."

Ji Qingzhou responded formally: "Understood, I’ll keep that in mind."

"Very well, you may go." The old lady waved her hand, indicating he could leave.

Ji Qingzhou stood up and left, heaving a sigh of relief as he exited the small reception room.

Then, he went up the eastern staircase to the second floor and directly returned to his bedroom to take a shower.

After changing into fresh, dry clothes, Ji Qingzhou walked towards Jie Yuan's study while drying his hair with a towel.

He walked with long strides, his demeanor somewhat accusatory.

He turned the handle and pushed open the study door. Sure enough, Jie Yuan was resting in an armchair beside the desk.

The rain outside was still pattering, making the room particularly dim and quiet.

A You stood nearby, head bowed, holding a copy of "The News," reading the articles meticulously.

Noticing Ji Qingzhou's displeased expression as he entered, A You nodded in greeting, finished a paragraph, and tactfully left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Why didn’t you inform me about your treatment today?" Ji Qingzhou sat down in the chair opposite the desk as usual. "I was scolded by the old lady the moment I returned."

Jie Yuan remained silent, leaning back in his chair.

Ji Qingzhou then noticed that his complexion seemed paler than usual, whether it was due to the aftereffects of today's treatment or the gloomy light from the rainy weather.

His voice softened as he asked, "How was the treatment? Did it have any effect?"

"It’s only the first session," Jie Yuan replied with a hint of fatigue.

"So, no effect, huh?" Ji Qingzhou nodded. "Don’t worry, with me, your lucky star, you’ll definitely get better."

Jie Yuan didn’t reply, just lifted his right hand and tapped the table twice with his knuckle.

Ji Qingzhou stared at his pale fingers for a moment and asked, "What does that mean?"

"Read the paper."

Ji Qingzhou clicked his tongue, reluctantly picking up "The News," scanning it and asking, "Where did A You read up to?"

"Switch to another."

"Huh?"

Ji Qingzhou was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes shifted and he noticed another newspaper, "The North-China Daily News," on the right side of the desk, filled with dense English text.

"You really know how to make the most of things," he muttered, tossing the white towel onto the table, picking up the newspaper, and leaning back in the chair to start reading.

The towel slid a bit across the table, half off the edge.

Jie Yuan wasn’t sure what he had done, only feeling a breeze from the side, followed by a faint, moist scent, like sweet honeydew, reaching his nose.

Today’s acupuncture session had been uncomfortable, and after it ended, not only had there been no improvement, but the neuralgic headache had worsened, spreading in waves through his body.

Jie Yuan wasn’t one to shy away from pain, but if it could be alleviated, that would naturally be better.

Now, smelling this faint scent and listening to the young man's voice reading the newspaper, his nerves gradually relaxed, and the pain seemed to lessen.

Maybe that Taoist by West Lake wasn’t a complete fraud after all...

For the first time since returning home, Jie Yuan felt a slight agreement with his grandmother and family’s decisions.

·

That night, Shen Nanqi returned to Shanghai from Suzhou.

However, because she arrived home late and missed dinner, Ji Qingzhou didn't see her in the dining room. It wasn't until the next morning, when he and Jie Yuan went downstairs for breakfast, that they met her in the hall.

Even though it was the weekend, Jie Jianshan and Jie Yuchuan still had work to attend to and headed out after breakfast.

Ji Qingzhou and the others slept in a bit. As they descended the central staircase to the first floor, they spotted Shen Nanqi coming in through the foyer with Boss Yan from Yuxiang Fashion Store.

"Up already?" Shen Nanqi glanced at them and waved to Ji Qingzhou, saying, "Great timing. Boss Yan delivered the cheongsam you designed last time. I’ll try it on, and you can check it out later to see if it needs any tweaks."

Ji Qingzhou gave Boss Yan a polite nod and responded with a "Sure."

Between the banquet hall and the main dining room on the first floor of the west wing, there was a common dressing room, typically used by guests to change clothes during banquets.

Shen Nanqi, too lazy to go upstairs and change, joined them in the main dining room. She instructed Steward Liang to make tea for Boss Yan, then took the carefully wrapped garment in brown paper and went to the adjacent dressing room.

Boss Yan, clearly used to visiting, took a seat at the dining table to wait.

When Steward Liang brought the hot tea, Boss Yan took a sip and looked kindly at Ji Qingzhou, who was popping xiaolongbao into his mouth one by one diagonally across the table. With a smile, he asked, "Mr. Ji, have you thought about the offer to work at my store?"

Ji Qingzhou had been so busy looking for a shop these past few days that he had almost forgotten about the offer. Hearing this, he took a sip of milk from his glass, cleared his throat, and said:

"I’ve already got a job, but I’d be happy to work with you in the future if the chance comes up, Boss Yan."

"I see, no problem then," Yan Weiliang nodded with some regret, not asking further about his current work.

He thought that since Ji Qingzhou was Shen Nanqi's nephew, he was likely working for the Jie family's company, probably at their mechanical garment factory.

"By the way," Boss Yan suddenly remembered something else, "your suits are already in the works. I'll have them delivered by the end of the month. They’re all handmade by our senior tailors, including me—no apprentices involved—so it’ll take a bit of time."

"Understood, we’re in no rush to wear them, so take your time," Ji Qingzhou replied on behalf of Jie Yuan.

In fact, he thought it was quite fast to have eight custom-made suits completed and delivered within a month.

Ji Qingzhou kept eating breakfast while chatting casually with Yan Weiliang.

About seven or eight minutes later, Shen Nanqi entered through the side door of the dining room, wearing a light peach cheongsam with a low slit.

"I’ve never tried such a form-fitting outer garment before. Once it’s buttoned up, my back naturally straightens," Shen Nanqi said as she walked to the dining table, addressing the group. "It felt a little odd at first, but after seeing it in the mirror, I think it looks pretty good. What do you all think?"

She spread her arms slightly and turned to show off the dress.

"It looks great to me," Boss Yan immediately stood up and said sincerely to Shen Nanqi:

"Honestly, when I was making this dress, I was worried the color might be too bright or too young. But now that it’s on you, it feels just right—not too bold nor too plain. It blends the modernity of Western dresses with the charm of our traditional style. It’s simply perfect."

"It does look nice," Ji Qingzhou paused his breakfast and added a comment.

In fact, while sketching the design, he had already imagined how it would look on Shen Nanqi, so he wasn’t particularly surprised now.

However, there was no doubt that Shen Nanqi in this cheongsam was indeed more eye-catching than usual.

Her tall, well-proportioned figure was perfectly highlighted by the cheongsam’s fitted bust and waistline.

Today, she happened to be wearing a pair of low-cut high-heeled shoes, and as she moved, the low slit of the dress swayed gently, giving glimpses of her light yellow heels, radiating elegance and charm.

Still, despite the good effect, Ji Qingzhou noticed two minor issues.

The first was the low bust line.

In this era, most women still considered a high bustline shameful, often tightly binding or flattening their chests, even resorting to distorted corsets as a fashion statement. It was clear that Shen Nanqi wasn’t wearing a tight bustier or corset, but her natural bustline wasn’t as lifted as it would be with modern bras.

However, this also gives the cheongsam a more relaxed and casual vibe, which cannot be considered a flaw.

Secondly, there is still the issue of fabric color.

The peach-pink printed fabric, made into a long-sleeved, long cheongsam, ends up being too bold in color. If it were made into short sleeves, moon sleeves, or sleeveless, revealing more arm skin, the visual effect would likely be better.

Unfortunately, shortening the sleeves wouldn’t fly in today’s society.

"Both of you are the planners of this outfit, so having you evaluate it might be biased."

Shen Nanqi, feeling more confident after Boss Yan's compliments, still had some reservations.

She glanced at Jie Yuan, who was quietly eating, and brushed right past him, turning to Steward Liang to ask, "Liang Ma, what do you think?"

"Madam, are you wearing a cheongsam?"

Steward Liang first asked uncertainly, and after Shen Nanqi nodded, she immediately praised, "Although I’ve never seen a cheongsam like this before, I think it looks truly beautiful on you, even more so than the Western dress you used to wear."

"Is that so?" Shen Nanqi looked down a few times, then turned to Ji Qingzhou and said, "I noticed you seemed to have something to say earlier. Speak up, is there something wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Boss Yan quickly turned his attention to him.