Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jiang Yicen didn’t really understand modern prices or the Jiang family’s assets, but after all, he wasn’t the real “Jiang Yicen” and had no right to demand so much. Besides, even “Jiang Yicen’s” own mother hadn’t fought for such benefits for him, so he didn’t overthink the so-called “dowry.”

It wasn’t until breakfast the next day that He Nuanqing brought up his phone not turning on.

“Is your phone dead?”

Jiang Yicen naturally didn’t have the habit of carrying a phone daily, but after going out yesterday, he knew that phones were essential for modern people—for calls, payments, and more.

Jiang Yicen came up with a solution: “It might be broken. I’ll go out to get it fixed later.”

He Nuanqing lowered her voice: “Why bother fixing it? Just get a new one. Don't let people think we can't afford a new phone. Don't embarrass Dad in public.”

Jiang Yicen didn't go along with her: “I'll take care of it.”

He already knew that Jiang Gongming cared about face and appearances, but whether he followed suit was his own business.

He Nuanqing was about to insist on convincing him to get a new phone when Jiang Yifeng walked into the dining room with heavy steps, diverting her attention.

“Yifeng, what would you like to eat? I’ll have the kitchen prepare it.”

Jiang Yifeng glanced at the porridge and pastries in front of Jiang Yicen: “Same as his. Jiang Yicen, why aren’t you eating your Western food today?”

He Nuanqing turned and went to the kitchen, clearly trying to suck up to the Jiang brothers.

Jiang Yicen didn’t know what “Western food” contained, but from the term itself, he figured it referred to Western cuisine, since “white people” meant foreigners.

He naturally didn’t like Western food: “Just wanted a change of pace.”

Jiang Yifeng was probably still half-asleep and slow on the uptake, scrolling through his phone, not noticing Jiang Yicen sneaking glances at him.

A few days ago, Jiang Yicen had been watching TV to learn about this new era, but he still didn’t understand how young people used their phones.

Jiang Yifeng, looking tired, talked into his phone, which made a 'whoosh' sound. He stared at the screen, then talked into it again, waited, looked at the screen, and repeated the process.

By the time He Nuanqing came out of the kitchen, Jiang Yicen had finished breakfast. He went back to his room to grab the phone he hadn’t touched since bringing it home that day.

Before he left, He Nuanqing reminded him: “The wedding is coming up soon. Don’t go out too much these next couple of days. Someone will bring clothes over this afternoon—pick out a few sets you like.” She slipped a card into his hand. “Use this if you need to buy anything.”

Jiang Yicen pocketed the card and nodded: “Got it.”

The Jiang family had several drivers, and Jiang Yicen could go out anytime. Since “Jiang Yicen” was about to marry Nan Shuyi, no one stopped him. He had the driver take him to the brand’s official phone store for repairs.

The store assistant was very enthusiastic and checked his phone.

After plugging it in to charge, the assistant said: “Sir, your phone isn’t broken. It just ran out of battery, and the case has a little scuff.”

Jiang Yicen saw the phone screen for the first time after it had charged. Touching the screen opened the apps—a totally new experience.

He decided to get a new one. After all, this was the original 'Jiang Yicen's' phone—he needed a new one to figure out how to use it properly.

The assistant patiently explained how to operate the new phone. No matter how dumb his questions were, the assistant never got impatient.

After spending two hours in the store, the assistant showed him how to use the voice assistant, and he finally had a rough idea of how to use the phone. He still had a ton to learn.

When he got home, Jiang Yicen immediately locked himself in his room to study.

First, he used his new number to add Nan Shuyi on WeChat.

He wrote: “This is Yicen.”

Meanwhile, Nan Shuyi had been dragged out by his dad to this year's Global Premium Food Expo. He stood in the back, covering his mouth to yawn.

He hadn’t slept well last night, and being dragged out early by his dad for a business trip left him looking terrible.

But the phone notification perked him up.

That little overseas student finally remembered to add him? He obviously didn’t take him seriously, despite agreeing so readily.

Nan Shuyi’s finger swiped over the 'Accept' and 'Reject' buttons but didn't tap either.

Let him stew.

Jiang Yicen waited for a good while but didn’t get a response from Nan Shuyi. He wondered if he'd done it wrong and added him again. Still no response. The instructions were the same—maybe the other person was just busy.

Just then, his room phone rang. He Nuanqing called him down to the living room to pick out clothes.

Every quarter, the Jiang family had clothes delivered from brands for them to pick.

When Jiang Yicen got there, the normally huge living room was already filled with rows of clothes. Most were men’s wear, with only a few women’s pieces.

He was just wearing a simple casual outfit, but his demeanor was relaxed, his steps confident and unhurried. He was polite and respectful to the people delivering the clothes, not acting stuck-up at all.

To others, he looked like a classic rich young master, not a nouveau riche dripping with money.

He casually picked out a few sets of everyday clothes, and He Nuanqing added several more formal suits.

While He Nuanqing discussed custom wedding attire with the designer, he sat to the side flipping through a fashion catalog. The setting sun caught the ends of his hair, painting them a soft gold, giving off a serene gentleness.

As a kid, he was sent to live with his grandparents on his mom's side, and when he occasionally returned to Lincheng, his mother would have a tailor come to the house to take his measurements. Sometimes she even took him shopping. He was used to this and knew to wait patiently.

The original “Jiang Yicen” wasn’t very fair-skinned, but lately, Jiang Yicen had been mostly staying indoors, so his skin had lightened by a shade.

His pale fingertips rested on the page, his eyes fixed on a section of men's accessories: a pair of cylindrical, multi-faceted gold cufflinks. Really unique.

He Nuanqing finally finished picking out clothes, and the designer and her assistants left. But the day’s tasks weren’t over yet.

He Nuanqing said to Jiang Yicen, who was heading back to his room: “You can't go out tomorrow—the Jiangs have set the wedding dress fitting for tomorrow.”

Jiang Yicen nodded: “Mm-hmm.”

Back in his room, he kept studying his phone. It was fascinating—he could communicate through apps and learn new stuff. He had a lot of modern information to look up, at least enough to fill in the gaps from the eighty years he had missed.

He was so deep into learning that he didn't notice Nan Shuyi had accepted his friend request. He Nuanqing went to a dinner party with Jiang Gongming that night, so Jiang Yicen ate alone upstairs. To save time, he watched modern history videos while eating, not wasting a second.

On the other side, Nan Shuyi realized he was the only one playing hard to get. He put down his phone and, less than five minutes later, accepted Jiang Yicen's friend request.

Was Jiang Yicen really that busy?

The Jiangs were always sucking up to the Nans—Jiang Yicen’s attitude today wouldn’t do. But after thinking it over, he still didn’t send the first WeChat message.

Why should he? He could wait longer than Jiang Yicen.

It wasn’t until ten at night that Jiang Yicen, tired from watching videos, finally exited the video app and saw that Nan Shuyi had accepted his friend request.

It was late—he was probably about to sleep. Better not bother him.

Meanwhile, Nan Shuyi skimmed through the group chat. These people got more hyped the later it got, happily chatting away. He wasn’t interested, so he left the group chat. No new messages.

He checked the time—almost midnight.

Alright, time for bed.

The next morning, Nan Shuyi got dragged by his dad to a branch meeting.

In the middle of the meeting, the message he'd been waiting for all night finally came through.

Nan Shuyi shifted to a more relaxed sitting position.

"Xiao Liuzi: See you in a bit."

"Nan Shuyi: When did we make plans to meet?"

He waited a good while before getting a reply.

"Xiao Liuzi: Isn't today the suit fitting?"

Nan Shuyi checked the schedule his dad's executive assistant had sent. He'd brushed it off at the time and hadn't paid it any mind.

"Nan Shuyi: I was out on a business trip yesterday."

"Xiao Liuzi: Want to reschedule?"

"Nan Shuyi: Don't bother. Just try mine on too."

"Xiao Liuzi: But I don't know your size."

"Nan Shuyi: Just guess."

What did the suit matter anyway? The wedding was just for appearances. With only twenty days to go, the schedule was tight, and he couldn't care less.

"Xiao Liuzi: Can you get your measurements taken on your end?"

Nan Shuyi was about to say no, but he typed "yes" instead.

He instantly regretted it. Where the hell was he supposed to get his measurements taken?

During a break in the meeting, Nan Shuyi found Nan Anru and said, "I'm stepping out."

Nan Anru asked, "For what?"

Nan Shuyi replied, "Hungry. Gonna grab a bite."

Nan Anru pointed at him, annoyed. "Wasting time. You've got half an hour. Today's meeting is important, so you'd better pay attention."

Nan Shuyi didn't bother to agree or disagree. He just turned and left, heading to a high-end tailor to get measured. He sent the measurements to Jiang Yicen.

"Xiao Liuzi: Received."

"Xiao Liuzi: Where'd you go on your business trip?"

"Nan Shuyi: Guangzhou."

"Xiao Liuzi: Guangzhou's a city with a rich history and a food capital. If I have time, I'd love to go and try its specialties."

The old Thirteen Hongs of Guangzhou once brought together delicacies from all over the world, leaving behind countless culinary treasures. He'd never had the chance to go back then, but now he could probably make time to visit this city full of flavor.

Nan Shuyi, hearing that he'd never been, figured it made sense—he'd gone abroad early and probably never made it to Guangzhou.

On a whim, Nan Shuyi made a decision he thought was reckless: he'd take Xiao Liuzi to Guangzhou sometime.

Jiang Yicen was at the store alone, trying on clothes. He hadn't asked He Nuanqing to come with him.

The store wasn't just serving him; there was another couple there preparing for their wedding. They were pretty lively, and he enjoyed watching them.

The couple was young, probably well-off, with the guy handsome and the girl beautiful. But things got heated, and they suddenly started arguing about the wedding. The guy said his family preferred a traditional Chinese style, so they should go with Chinese-style attire. The woman insisted the wedding was hers and wanted a Western style, her way.

A staff member stepped in to mediate, and they eventually quieted down.

Jiang Yicen couldn't help but think about his own family. When his second brother and sister-in-law got married, they had a Western wedding. It caused quite a stir in Lincheng back then, because during the Republic of China era, white was considered unlucky—only used for funerals. But nowadays, wedding gowns are common, and more young people are going for traditional weddings.

Since the Nan family was a big client, the designer came in person and showed Jiang Yicen around.

The designer hadn't met Jiang Yicen before, but he knew about the upcoming marriage between the Jiang and Nan families—it was insider info.

He was very polite to Jiang Yicen. "Mr. Jiang, sorry for the disturbance."

Jiang Yicen didn't mind. "It's fine. It's pretty lively."

The designer asked him what style of men's suit he liked.

Jiang Yicen looked at the display of black, white, and gray suits for men. He thought about traditional weddings. He had also seen same-sex wedding ceremonies, where most men wore white suits. But he wasn't drawn to Western-style weddings.

He had seen too many loved ones off, attended too many funerals. He didn't want white to appear at his own wedding. A Chinese wedding should be joyful and lively.

Jiang Yicen stood in front of the display case for a long time, silent, before he made his first call on his new phone.

On the other end, Nan Shuyi was heading back to the meeting. Before entering the elevator, he answered Jiang Yicen's call.

His voice was low. "What's up?"

Jiang Yicen's voice was tight, almost as if he were holding back tears. "Nan Shuyi, can we have a traditional Chinese wedding?"

Nan Shuyi noticed something off in his tone. "Master Jiang, has someone bullied you?"

Jiang Yicen chuckled softly. "Why would you think that?"

Nan Shuyi asked, "Why do you want a Chinese wedding?"

Jiang Yicen's fingers brushed against the white flowers on the white suit. His heart ached, his throat tightened, and his voice dropped.

He said, "Because white is unlucky."