Chapter 48: Full Dress

Chapter 48: In Full Attire

After returning from the Lu Mansion, Ji Qingzhou first went back to his bedroom and placed today's earnings into the top drawer of the bedside cabinet on the left, neatly arranging it with the previous shop income. He counted it once more to confirm it was one hundred ninety yuan.

Then he opened the lower drawer, which contained the pocket money Shen Nanqi had given him. Sure enough, thirty-two silver coins remained.

He took two and put them in his bag, along with the leftover copper coins for daily expenses. After closing the drawer and taking off his backpack, he glanced at the clock out of habit and saw it wasn't yet lunchtime. He instinctively headed for the door, planning to head downstairs to the tailor's room to find some work.

As he reached the staircase, he suddenly stopped.

No, he had promised himself three days of rest, and he couldn't touch any needlework.

Otherwise, he might not be able to stop once he got started!

With this thought, Ji Qingzhou turned a corner and walked straight down the corridor, and entered Jie Yuan's study.

As he passed through the dimly lit living room, he pushed open the inner door, and the sound of Huang Youshu reading blended with the melodious string music from the gramophone.

The rainy day cast a dim light, and a small, umbrella-shaped wall lamp by the bookshelf cast a warm glow in the corner of the room.

Ji Qingzhou glanced at Jie Yuan, who sat motionless in the armchair, seemingly dozing. He walked over to the chair on the other side of the desk and sat down. Nodding in greeting to Huang Youshu, he suddenly noticed the book in Huang Youshu's hand looked familiar.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the 'History of Economics' that had been placed on the bedroom cabinet.

When he first arrived, he had picked it up to examine the cover while reading bedtime stories to Jie Yuan.

"Wow, listening to this now? Are you really planning to go into business?" he teased, feeling a bit damp and stuffy, so he unbuttoned his shirt collar.

Since Jie Yuan was listening to the book, it was clear he wasn't asleep. In fact, he had already heard Ji Qingzhou's faint footsteps when the latter passed by the corridor on his way back to the bedroom.

He hadn't expected Ji Qingzhou to return to the study...

Hearing this, Jie Yuan responded directly, "A You picked it up casually."

"Casually picked up a book used as decoration on the bedroom cabinet? Do you think I buy that?"

Beside them, Huang Youshu had already paused his reading without realizing it, knowing they were bound to bicker for a while.

Jie Yuan changed the subject, "Not going to make clothes?"

"Taking a three-day break; no work for now," Ji Qingzhou said lazily, picking up a newspaper from the table and flipping through it. He realized he had picked up an English-language newspaper, the North China Daily News.

Remembering that it had been a while since he last read to Jie Yuan, and feeling somewhat unprofessional as a hired mascot, he asked, "Should we pause the study session and take a break? I can read the newspaper to you."

Jie Yuan's expression remained indifferent, showing not the slightest bit of anticipation. He tapped the armrest of the chair, signaling Huang Youshu that he could take a break.

Huang Youshu understood and flipped through the pages to find the bookmark tucked inside.

Before he could find the bookmark, something yellow and white slowly drifted down from the pages.

"Hey, the bookmark fell," Ji Qingzhou, who happened to see this, reminded him.

Huang Youshu immediately pulled out another bookmark from the back. As for the thing on the floor, it wasn't quite round or square, with uneven colors and a hole in the middle... He picked it up and looked at it, but couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Ji Qingzhou, however, seemed to recall something as he stared at the object. He glanced thoughtfully at Jie Yuan and beckoned to A You, "Bring it here, let me see."

Jie Yuan, unaware of what had happened, only heard that a bookmark had fallen. Thinking it might be a special bookmark that Ji Qingzhou wanted to examine closely, he didn't pay much attention.

But soon after, he heard the young man chuckle softly, his tone teasing as he asked, "Jie Yuan Yuan, where did you put that spring limited edition jasmine bracelet I gave you?"

"..." Jie Yuan's face remained calm, but his ears instantly turned bright red.

"Hmm?"

"Couldn't find a trash bin, so I tucked it into a book," he said, trying to sound calm, while secretly gripping the curved armrest of the armchair.

In truth, he hadn't wanted to throw it away at the time, so he grabbed a thick book from the bedroom and tucked it inside, not even sure which book he had chosen.

It didn't seem like much, but for some reason, he felt oddly embarrassed to admit it.

"Really? You're usually so good at tossing toilet paper," Ji Qingzhou teased, pulling the "Sherlock Holmes" book from the corner of the table and slipping the now-pressed jasmine bracelet into it.

He clicked his tongue softly. "Ah, we were just a regular couple, but with you doing this, it's hard not to read into it."

"..."

Jie Yuan remained silent for a good ten seconds before his thoughts calmed slightly. He spoke with an air of composed seriousness, "It's basic etiquette to keep gifts from others."

"Hmm," Ji Qingzhou burst out laughing, shaking his head slightly, "Then I guess I'm the rude one, misjudging your noble intentions."

"Hmm." Jie Yuan responded indifferently, though his ears were still red. He coldly urged, "Read the paper."

"Alright, alright..."

Ji Qingzhou finally burst out laughing, shaking his head slightly as he picked up the newspaper and began reading.

·

During the days he spent resting at home, Ji Qingzhou found himself either sketching or knitting to kill time.

According to the magazine's commission, the first issue required six women's outfits and two men's outfits, with two of the women's outfits being new-style qipaos.

Having drawn so many qipaos recently, he had become quite adept at it. However, with the growing market, Shanghai's tailors were constantly innovating, so he had to think of new designs.

Still, working on design sketches during a lazy holiday was pretty easy. The eight sketches he promised to deliver by mid-month were already half-finished in just a few days.

As for the knitted coat he had promised Shen Nanqi, he had been working on it little by little in his spare time over the past month. It was mostly done, and with a bit more effort these past few days, it was finally completed.

Of course, it was too warm to wear it now. When he gave it to Shen Nanqi, she would have to put it away until autumn.

Before he knew it, the three-day holiday was over, and Ji Qingzhou returned to the shop to continue working.

Over the past few days, a pile of small tasks that Zhu Renqing couldn't do had piled up. Ji Qingzhou spent a day getting through them, and the next morning, he made a sample for Shi Xuanman's Chinese-style dress.

In the afternoon, he skipped work again.

He returned to the Jie residence for lunch, rested for two hours, and then changed into a formal suit with Jie Yuan to attend Miss Lu's birthday party.

This was Ji Qingzhou's first formal evening event since his transmigration, and the suit Shen Nanqi had taken him to Yuxiang to have tailored finally came in handy.

He picked out a beige suit he'd never worn before, with a vest and jacket made from the same pure wool fabric, crisp yet smooth.

After tying a black bowtie at the collar of his champagne-colored dress shirt, Ji Qingzhou looked in the mirror and couldn't help but click his tongue.

Too similar...

Too much like a wedding emcee... It felt like he could grab a microphone and step on stage to bless the newlyweds at any moment.

So he decisively swapped the bowtie for a champagne-colored satin tie, tucking it into the vest, which at least made him look somewhat normal.

The layers of clothing felt heavy, with the collar and belt tightly fastened, making it feel stuffy.

Fortunately, despite the rainy season, the weather was at least cool, so wearing a full suit was bearable.

The suit picked out for Jie Yuan was also one he had never worn before.

A black grosgrain suit with a silk satin lapel, the shoulders were exquisitely tailored, and the collar was sharply shaped. Although the suit was a bit too formal, as if he were heading to a wedding, it was undeniably elegant and dashing.

Ji Qingzhou tied his bow tie and pinned a sun-shaped brooch made of metal and gemstones, then stepped back, nodded and teased:

"Our dear brother looks so handsome tonight, I’ll have to keep an eye on you, otherwise you might not notice and be charmed by some shady character."

"Isn’t the most unclear one you?"

"Me? Your family has thoroughly vetted my background, clean and clear, or I wouldn’t be here. Don’t wrong a good person."

Jie Yuan hummed meaningfully and said nothing more.

"Alright, you’ve changed your clothes and done your hair, let A You take you downstairs to relax for a bit, I need to check on Mrs. Shen’s outfit."

With that, Ji Qingzhou called out to the tea room, calling for Huang Youshu.

Then he headed straight down the corridor to the west wing’s hostess’s private reception room on the second floor.

Shen Nanqi had only returned an hour ago, and after resting for ten minutes at home, she began to change and put on makeup.

In the middle, she specifically asked Aunt Liang to come over to the east wing to urge Ji Qingzhou, telling him to come and help her adjust her evening look after he finished with her son's attire.

Actually, there wasn't much to adjust, the white pear blossom embroidered dress, Shen Nanqi had already tried on no less than three times, and without Ji Qingzhou's help, it was already worn very well.

What Ji Qingzhou could do was to help her choose matching earrings and high heels.

As for the hat, it was temporarily not worn, as they would be taking a car later, and wearing that exaggerated wide-brimmed hat adorned with real silk pear blossoms and ribbons would probably make it difficult to even squeeze into the car door.

For this birthday party, except for the elderly, children, and pregnant women who were not planning to attend, everyone else from the Jie family was going together.

While Ji Qingzhou was discussing and selecting matching earrings with Shen Nanqi, Zhao Yanzhi sat on the sofa, watching her mother-in-law with bright eyes, accompanied by a little girl in a cream blue dress.

"Are you sure about this one? Isn't it a bit too eye-catching?"

Shen Nanqi put on the earrings selected by Ji Qingzhou and looked in the mirror.

In the mirror, her black hair was braided into three strands and coiled into a low bun at the back, without any conspicuous hair ornaments, only wearing a pair of precious earrings with emeralds wrapped in crushed diamonds on her earlobes.

If she had matched them herself, she might have just worn simple pearl earrings, but since seeing Ji Qingzhou's talent in dress design, she had completely regarded him as an authority in this area, even asking his opinion on how high or low her hair should be coiled.

"Yes, today you are attending an evening party, so you can be bold in your choice of accessories. At night, nothing is more dazzling than the pure white you are wearing.

"When the lights shine, from the dress to the earrings, everything will sparkle, making the visual balance more harmonious."

Ji Qingzhou met her gaze in the mirror and said, "But if you were going out shopping on a regular day, then the small and delicate pearl earrings would be more suitable as an accompaniment in the sunlight."

Hearing this, Shen Nanqi also felt that wearing these grand earrings added a touch of noble and luxurious feeling to the fresh and elegant dress, so she smiled and said, "Well, then I'll listen to you."

Shen Nanqi, in a good mood, put on her gloves, turned around and saw Jie Linglong curled up on the sofa, staring at her with wide eyes, and asked, "Linglong, why are you staring at me like that?"

Jie Linglong grinned and said, "Grandma, you look so beautiful today, the dress looks like a wedding dress."

"Oh? Have you seen a wedding dress before?"

"In Mom and Dad's wedding photos, Mom was wearing a wedding dress," Jie Linglong, despite her young age, knew quite a lot. She then cheerfully said, "The wedding dress is so pretty; I really want to wear one too."

Zhao Yanzhi, who had just been admiring her mother-in-law's attire, immediately spoke up to stop her, "Linglong, don't talk nonsense."

Jie Linglong, scolded, shrank her neck, her eyes darting around, and then she spotted Cousin Ji Qingzhou leaning by the single sofa. She jumped off the sofa and walked over to Ji Qingzhou, asking, "Cousin, can't I wear a wedding dress?"

Ji Qingzhou then squatted down to comfort her, "Your mom is right; wedding dresses are for brides, so you can't wear one yet. But there are many beautiful dresses similar to wedding dresses. When it's your birthday next year, I'll give you one, okay?"

"Great!" Jie Linglong immediately beamed with joy, hugging his arm, "I really like you, Cousin."

"This girl..." Shen Nanqi helplessly shook her head, not scolding her for being too unruly, after all, she also quite liked a young man like Ji Qingzhou who was both talented and handsome, with a cheerful and kind personality.

After getting dressed, Ji Qingzhou went downstairs with Shen Nanqi. By then, Jie Jianshan and his two sons had already been waiting in the living room for some time.

Jie Jianshan, who had been casually flipping through a newspaper to pass the time, instinctively looked up upon hearing the sound of high heels.

The next second, he saw his wife carrying a hat, wearing beige open-toe high heels, glowing as she slowly walked over, his gaze immediately froze.

After several seconds, as Shen Nanqi approached, he suddenly came back to his senses, put down the newspaper, stood up, and cheerfully said, "Is this the dress Xiao Ji made for you? So beautiful, I thought a fairy had come down."

Shen Nanqi, hearing his straightforward description, couldn't help but laugh, "You're supposed to be a scholar, yet your words are so crude."

"I stopped studying decades ago; now I'm just a businessman, a bit rough around the edges, so I can only ask for your understanding," Jie Jianshan said, touching his nose and smiling.

Then, as if to shift the awkwardness, he turned his praise towards Ji Qingzhou, "Xiao Ji looks quite dashing and handsome today too!"

"I just said, after combing his hair up, his face looks even more beautiful."

Shen Nanqi agreed, looking at Ji Qingzhou with a gentle smile, "You should wear suits more often; they suit you so well, really like a young master of our Jie family."

Ji Qingzhou glanced at the two real young masters of the Jie family beside him and replied, "Actually, I'm two years older than Jie Yuchuan."

Jie Yuchuan then pretended to complain, "Hey, with this outfit, you look even younger, making me seem five or six years older than you."

"So, just tell people outside that Qingzhou is your cousin; it's more believable," Shen Nanqi added.

Their discussion, Jie Yuan, being blind, couldn't join in at all.

He tightly closed his lips, feeling as if claws were scratching his heart, anxious and restless but helpless.

"Everyone's here, so let's go then," Jie Yuchuan said, standing up, pressing his brother's shoulder, "Later, I'll sit with Mom and Dad, and Qingzhou will sit with you."

Jie Yuan nodded with an "Mm," and as Ji Qingzhou walked to his side, he grabbed his arm through the sleeve, then without hesitation pulled out his arm, instead grabbing the hand of the person beside him.

Feeling the familiar warmth between his fingers, his heart finally felt more at ease and peaceful.

"Do we really have to hold hands for such a short distance?"

Ji Qingzhou, although long accustomed to holding hands with him, knew that Jie Yuan, being blind and lacking a sense of security, wanted to actively control his position as a human guide. But doing such intimate acts under the eyes of his parents still made him a bit concerned.

Jie Yuan responded without changing his expression, "It's easier for walking."

"Oh, then let's walk slowly, don't let your parents and brother see, in case they think we're eloping; that would be bad."

"Watch your words," Jie Yuan warned lightly.

Ji Qingzhou couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, "'Watch your words' I accept, but 'watch your actions,' you can keep that for yourself."