Chapter 58: Wedding Dress

Ever since returning from Xi’an last time, Chen Jin, Yang Qian, and Lin Xinran seemed to have gone off the grid; the three of them completely stopped calling each other. When they did call, it was just to ask Chen Jin to go shopping.

Chen Jin yawned, got up, and pulled back the curtains. The sun was blazing down at two in the afternoon. “What’s there to shop for? Come over to my place for some watermelon, soda, and a chat instead.”

She had been home for a few days and felt too lazy to go out. Even if she went out, she didn’t feel like moving around.

Yang Qian realized that no amount of persuasion would get Chen Jin to go out, so she revealed her true intention. “I need to try on my wedding dress, and you and Lin Xinran have to come help me check it out.”

Chen Jin exclaimed, “Aren’t your other friends enough to help you? I’ve never been married; I can’t give you any advice!”

“…I just want you to help me see if it looks good, not to give me any marriage advice!” Yang Qian decided for her. “Meet me at Sister Jiang’s wedding dress shop; I should be there by around three. You just figure out when to leave. I’m hanging up; I still need to notify Lin Xinran.”

“Hey! You’re giving us notice to try on your wedding dress? You…” Chen Jin glanced at the phone that had been hung up, threw her phone onto the bed, and huffed, “I’m not going.”

She had just walked to the study door but turned back around, muttering to herself, “Fine, I’ll go. I want to see how pretty her wedding dress is; she has to make me go see it!”

When Chen Jin arrived at Sister Jiang’s wedding dress shop, she only saw Zhuo Jiyu, who was standing calmly in front of the full-length mirror, and Lin Xinran, who was nervously curled up on the edge of the sofa.

Lin Xinran visibly relaxed when she saw Chen Jin, her body also easing up as she took a sip from the water cup on the table and raised her chin to indicate the fitting room. “Yang Qian is changing clothes.”

As soon as Chen Jin sat down, Lin Xinran immediately scooted over and whispered, “I just said a couple of words to Yang Qian when she went in to change, and now her boyfriend is out there standing around. I feel so much pressure just watching him.”

Chen Jin glanced at her sympathetically. “You really came at the wrong time.” Thankfully, she had taken a longer route to get some snacks, arriving about ten minutes later than expected. Otherwise, if she had to face Zhuo Jiyu alone, she would have felt awkward too.

To be honest, Zhuo Jiyu really did look like a character from a Hong Kong movie, the kind of suave gang leader. It was impressive how Yang Qian seemed completely unbothered in front of him.

A salesperson at the shop brought Chen Jin some water and a brochure introducing the wedding dresses. She explained that in addition to the existing styles, they also offered custom designs, featuring both Western wedding gowns and traditional Chinese wedding attire. The shop also had a dedicated makeup team and photography team…

As Chen Jin listened to the salesperson’s introduction while flipping through the brochure, she couldn’t help but think that the wedding dresses inside were indeed beautiful; they made her feel a bit tempted.

Actually, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to customize a set for herself.

So, Chen Jin earnestly inquired about the prices for custom designs and who would be designing the dresses. Her seriousness made the salesperson assume she was preparing for her own wedding and suggested she come back with her boyfriend to choose.

Chen Jin replied, “I don’t have a boyfriend yet, but that shouldn’t stop me from customizing a wedding dress.”

Who didn’t dream of wearing a wedding dress as a princess when they were young? She planned to customize a set for herself and keep it in the closet… Well, she would have to clear some space in the closet first; otherwise, it wouldn’t be spacious enough.

“…It’s not a problem at all. If you’re interested, I can arrange for our designer to communicate with you right away.”

“No, no, I’ll come back another day. Today, I’m here to accompany my friend.” Noticing the salesperson looked a bit disappointed, Chen Jin quickly added, “Please give me your business card. I’ll come back to consult you next time.”

“Okay, sure. Just look for me the next time you come in.” The salesperson was pleasantly surprised; although it was her first time encountering someone single wanting to customize a wedding dress, that didn’t matter. She had gained a new client.

Once the salesperson left, Lin Xinran remarked, “You want to customize a wedding dress even though you’re single? I’m really impressed. Is this the trouble of the rich? Having money but nowhere to spend it?”

“How can it be called trouble? This is clearly the joy of spending money!” Ever since Shen Baichuan specifically asked her if her family had planted any fruit trees, Chen Jin had been dreaming about counting money for several days. Last time she spoke with the bank president, she mentioned that if there were any more demolitions, she would deposit her money in his branch; one had to be trustworthy, and she might as well keep working with him.

Standing in front of the mirror with his back to them, Zhuo Jiyu seemed to be assessing his own appearance while actually lost in thought. Hearing the two of them talking behind him, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes as he glanced at the closed door of the fitting room. For such an important matter as trying on wedding dresses, she had chosen these two friends to come along, so it seemed she genuinely liked them.

It was said that birds of a feather flock together; Yang Qian must have a humorous side in private too.

When Yang Qian emerged from the fitting room wearing a traditional wedding dress, her hairstyle and makeup had changed as well.

No wonder it took so long to change; it seemed she had changed everything.

As Yang Qian walked out of the fitting room, she first spotted Zhuo Jiyu next to the fitting room and then headed straight for Chen Jin and Lin Xinran on the opposite sofa. She spun around in front of them and asked, “How does it look? Is it pretty?”

“It looks great!” This trip was definitely worth it; Chen Jin was seeing how beautiful traditional wedding dresses could be for the first time, having only focused on Western gowns before. She leaned in to examine the craftsmanship, which was exquisite and grand!

“It’s super pretty!” Lin Xinran chimed in.

Chen Jin was so amazed that she almost lost her voice, finding it hard to describe Yang Qian’s beauty in a thousand words. She had become the very image of a noble lady from an ancient aristocratic family. Meanwhile, both she and Lin Xinran, being students from the Chinese literature department, felt like they had no sophistication, only able to say “It looks good” and “It’s super pretty.”

Chen Jin gently nudged Yang Qian and whispered, “You’re not marrying us; our opinion doesn’t count. Go ask your boyfriend.”

Yang Qian secretly glanced over at Zhuo Jiyu, who was looking this way, and suddenly felt her face grow warm. Thankfully, the makeup and blush covered it up, so it probably wouldn’t be noticeable.

“Cough.” Yang Qian took a few steps toward him. “This fits perfectly; there’s no need for any alterations.”

Zhuo Jiyu looked her over and nodded. “There are two more sets to try on; you can choose one later. Mine are all good.”

Yang Qian thought to herself: Of course your dresses are fine; they’re all pretty similar.

Later, Yang Qian tried on two more outfits, one traditional wedding dress and one Western gown, leaving Chen Jin almost blinded by the brightness. “They all look so good; how am I supposed to choose?”

“Oh, oh, you’ll have both a Chinese and Western ceremony? And you’ll need to pick a cocktail dress too…”

It felt like a fashion show, and Chen Jin was particularly happy, feeling that the day had not been wasted!

“Chen Jin? You’re here to accompany your friend to try on wedding dresses?” Chen Ting and Zhuang Yao walked in and immediately spotted Chen Jin sitting on the sofa eating a small cake, surprised to see her there.

Chen Jin was equally surprised to see them both together. She pointed to Yang Qian and Zhuo Jiyu standing side by side in front of the mirror. “They’re my friends.”

This was the third time Lin Xinran had seen Chen Ting. She waved at her, remembering that she was Chen Jin’s cousin, who had previously gone to eat with Chen Jin, almost crashing someone’s date. The last time they were at the café, Lin Xinran hadn’t dared to speak to her. Now that they met again, she was glad that the guy from last time wasn’t there.

“This store is run by Aunt Kexin’s older sister. They have styles to choose from, and you can even customize them. Let me find a salesperson to introduce you,” Chen Jin said, directly going to the young woman who had just given her a business card. She mentioned that the two accompanying her were her cousin and future sister-in-law, both of whom were planning to get married, which made the girl repeatedly thank her.

Chen Ting was interested and followed to look at the wedding dresses in the store, while Zhuang Yao, feeling uninterested, sat down to have afternoon tea with Chen Jin and the others.

“I wanted to ask you out shopping today,” Zhuang Yao glanced at Chen Ting. “But I ended up going to the company with Chen Yongxin and ran into Tingting. I guess we have a tacit understanding; we can meet even without making an appointment.”

“Isn’t that right?!” Chen Jin asked. “You and Second Brother are planning to get married at the end of the year, so shouldn’t you book your wedding dress now? Custom orders take more than two months to be ready.”

“Let’s see. He seems so busy right now. If I want to see him, I have to go to the company,” Zhuang Yao sighed in frustration. “If I had known that confirming our relationship would happen so quickly, I wouldn’t have done it. All he cares about is work; now that I’ve caught him, he’s completely focused on work.”

It turned out she was still working at the Chengxin Construction Company. She hadn’t really gone there to work but was sent by her father and Chen Yongxin’s father to facilitate their matchmaking. After confirming their relationship, she quit her job and returned to her family’s company.

But now that they weren’t working at the same company, it was really hard for her to see Chen Yongxin.

Chen Jin didn’t know what to say. She knew that her second cousin was wholeheartedly managing the development of the area in the suburbs of west district, while her uncle was focusing on the factories in Qiaoxi Village and the suburbs of South District, looking into when they would relocate to the industrial park and gathering information everywhere.

Chen Jin suspected it might be the inside information Chen Yongxin got while chatting at the tea house in the National Forest Park last time. Otherwise, it was hard to explain why her uncle had called her several times to go to Xichan Temple for worship after returning from the National Forest Park.

Second Cousin was a workaholic; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so long without looking for a partner. It wasn’t that no one had tried to introduce him to anyone. Now that he finally had a partner, and it was someone he knew well, both families were happy about it. He certainly had more time and energy to devote to work.

Chen Jin thought that if that were her partner, she would definitely set off firecrackers to celebrate.

“Isn’t it great? Second Brother is so focused on work that you don’t have to worry about him fooling around outside. He’ll still make money, and you just help him spend it! But, you need to keep in mind the financial situation; his income is half yours, so don’t put all the money in his hands. What if something happens? At least you’ll have some money, right?”

“Besides, who says he’s the only one who works hard? You should be busy too; who doesn’t have some career aspirations?”

These were conclusions she had drawn from several divorce cases around her. A woman must always have her own skills and hold the financial power in her household to maintain her say. Other promises, that was useless.

Zhuang Yao was shocked. She knew that Chen Jin was reliable, but she didn’t expect her to be this reliable! She had even thought of so much for her!

It showed that Chen Jin really considered her a friend.

Chen Ting looked at Chen Jin with a complex expression: Who is your family, anyway? Why are you helping someone else scheme against Second Brother’s interests?!

But at the same time, she was contemplating Chen Jin’s words. She was now confirmed to be marrying Liu Chengzhi, but marriage was marriage; she could never share what she had with him. So, she still had to do as Chen Jin said and keep the money in her own hands. As for her salary at work, it didn’t matter whether he used it to support his family or for himself.

Meanwhile, Yang Qian and Zhuo Jiyu suddenly felt the atmosphere shift subtly. Yang Qian wholeheartedly agreed with Chen Jin’s words; they perfectly expressed her feelings. She was eager to observe Zhuo Jiyu’s reaction. Just then, Zhuo Jiyu said to her, “Once we get the marriage certificate, I’ll transfer half of my assets to your name.”

Yang Qian: “……”

It sounded as if she was just eyeing what he had!

But indeed, she needed to hold tightly onto what she should have in her own hands.

“Your friend is a neighbor of Shen Baichuan,” Zhuo Jiyu asked. “Do you want to ask your friend to be a bridesmaid?”

“What’s the relationship between Chen Jin and Shen Baichuan being neighbors to whether she should be a bridesmaid or not?”

“Grandpa Cheng wants Shen Baichuan to accompany him when he goes to get married. Moreover, Shen Baichuan seems to have a good relationship with your friend. It would be perfect for them to be groomsman and bridesmaid together.”

If the relationship were ordinary, Shen Baichuan wouldn’t be seeking him out to ask if his family intended to acquire the land in Qiaoxi Village.

Had he not pressed for information, he wouldn’t have realized how kind-hearted Shen Baichuan was, helping his neighbor gather information.

Yang Qian glanced at Chen Jin, who was busy eating cake, and shook her head. “I haven’t heard Chen Jin mention Shen Baichuan. I only found out last time we met at the coffee shop that Shen Baichuan is Chen Jin’s neighbor. And Chen Jin definitely wouldn’t want to be a bridesmaid.”

If she had to, she might just skip the wedding altogether.

Zhuo Jiyu suddenly laughed, “You wouldn’t have told your friend that Shen Baichuan is trying to deceive Grandpa Cheng about the car, would you?”

“Can’t I say that?” Yang Qian reflected for a moment, feeling that she was just sharing gossip, and it wouldn’t leak out. It shouldn’t be a big deal for Shen Baichuan.

“Yeah, you can say it.”

Yang Qian was suspicious. Since it was something she could say, why was he laughing? It felt like he was waiting to see a joke.

The next day, Chen Jin went back to the wedding dress shop run by Sister Jiang, looked for the same salesperson as yesterday, and met with the designer to discuss. She ordered a white wedding dress, paying a deposit of six thousand yuan, and just had to wait a month and a half to pick it up.

While wandering around Guxi Road, she unexpectedly ran into Shen Baichuan in a cake shop.

“What a coincidence! Did you come here specifically to buy cake?” She had to admit that when he saw Chen Jin walk in, he couldn’t hide his surprise.

In such a large Rong City, they met in the new store on this old street.

“I’m just out to pick up some clothes and happened to come by to buy a cake.” Chen Jin walked over to the counter, placed her order, and also reserved a large cake to bring to her three partners when she signed the contract at “Sifang Travel Agency.”

Now, since she had to wait for the cake, Chen Jin ordered something to eat on-site and sat down across from Shen Baichuan. Seeing that he had something to drink on his table, she followed suit and ordered a drink as well.

“Did you also have your clothes custom-made? Did you find an old tailor?” After asking, Shen Baichuan cursed himself for trying to make small talk, wondering if the question was too personal and if she would think it intrusive.

But evidently, Chen Jin didn’t think much of it. She replied, “I ordered a Western-style wedding dress, not from an old tailor. I heard the designer graduated in fashion design. It’s from the Liangyuan Wedding Shop on Zhongshan Road; their wedding garments are really well-made.”

“If Teacher Shen needs it, you can go check it out.”

“…” Shen Baichuan took a deep breath, took a while to find his voice again, “Teacher Chen is preparing to get married? I haven’t heard you mention having a partner.”

“I don’t have a partner. I just thought that wedding dress looked nice, and it’s not very expensive, so I bought it.”

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll go check it out another day.” Shen Baichuan felt as if he had just taken a roller coaster ride; his mood finally landed, and he quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Looking again at Chen Jin, who seemed oblivious and was focused on digging into her cake with a small spoon, he suddenly felt he was being quite amusing.

From the moment he heard her say at the restaurant earlier this year, “You can find a man anywhere, but money, once gone, is really gone,” he felt there was something intriguing about this neighbor. Later, after a few brief interactions and hearing various praises about her from Professor Song, his curiosity grew, and he wanted to befriend her.

Although several chance encounters were often ignored by her, and she even exhibited a somewhat resistant attitude, as if to say, “We’re not on the same page, so don’t come near me,” her vibrant personality still attracted him.

Watching her every day, leisurely humming a tune as she went out for breakfast, returning with a watermelon, or one day bringing back a truckload of flowers and calling Professor Song out to choose a few bouquets; seeing her sitting cross-legged in her backyard, snacking and reading a book, sneakily observing her surroundings while trying to mimic the martial arts moves from a novel…

He still wanted to get closer.

Previously, he had been somewhat unsure until just now when she mentioned ordering a wedding dress; his hair nearly stood on end. She seemed to spend her days either hanging out with relatives and friends or staying at home watching TV and reading books, and Professor Song had said she didn’t have a partner. How could she suddenly be ordering a wedding dress?

Oh, it was a misunderstanding!

It was so close; he almost thought he would never have a chance.

While Chen Jin was eating, she sensed something was off; it seemed there was a scorching gaze fixed on her head from across the table. She quickly looked up and met Shen Baichuan’s eyes. Then, she slowly turned to glance behind her, only to find no one at the table behind her.

“Teacher Shen, are you okay?”

It felt a bit eerie with him staring at her like that.

“I’m fine.” Shen Baichuan withdrew his gaze, looking out at the pedestrians and vehicles passing by outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, calming his thoughts bit by bit. Seeing that Chen Jin was completely absorbed in her meal, he asked, “By the way, last time you mentioned you have a plot of land and a few buildings in Qiaoxi Village?”

If he mentioned that, she would perk up!

Chen Jin immediately straightened up, “To be precise, the residential land is mine; only one of the five buildings is mine. Teacher Shen,” she leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice, “is there any news?”

Shen Baichuan felt helpless; as expected, she was only interested in her land and buildings. If he brought up another topic, she would probably brush it off with a few casual words.

“Sort of, but it’s not that fast; it’ll probably take another year or two. I’ll let you know when there’s news.”

Chen Jin held back the smile that was threatening to spread across her face and quickly ordered Shen Baichuan another piece of cake. “Teacher Shen, this one is really good; you should try it. Oh, right, it’s on me.”

Given that Teacher Shen, this friendly neighbor, had shared information with her, regardless of whether they would demolish it in the end, she would make sure to order him a piece of cake as well!

Speaking of which, she hadn’t expected Teacher Shen to like cake. Thinking he might know even more, she casually asked if he had any recommendations for other good cake shops.

Shen Baichuan had found something she was interested in besides money—food.

So, he began recalling and recommending cake shops to her.

Many of them were places Chen Jin had never heard of, and she exclaimed, “You’ve only been back from studying abroad for a year, but you know Rong City better than I do.”

Her knowledge of Rong City was basically limited to Qiaodong Village, Qiaoxi Village, the area around NTU, near Hanlin Garden, and the old department store in Dongcheng District. Plus, there were many alleys she had never even wandered into.

Shen Baichuan smiled but didn’t mention that all of this information was summarized by his cousin, Qin Yi.

During the hour of waiting for the cake to be prepared, it was mainly Shen Baichuan who initiated topics, and Chen Jin gradually got drawn in, becoming more animated and starting to ask him questions in return.

However, when Shen Baichuan mentioned his cars, Chen Jin almost blurted out, “Do you have any tricks for scratching cars?” She quickly covered her mouth, wanting to smack herself a few times: how could she ask the God of Wealth such a question? If she brought this up and made him feel awkward about scratching cars in the future, wouldn’t she become an obstacle preventing him from filling up the parking lot?!

But she was genuinely curious; his cars looked almost brand new. Did he scratch them and then send them for repairs?

Wow, how extravagant.

Shen Baichuan didn’t notice Chen Jin’s moment of embarrassment and continued, “If you have the chance in the future, you can come see the cars in the parking lot I rented. A few of them are pretty good; they were specially customized and sent back from abroad.”

Listen to him, he even said “pretty good.” What a wealthy guy!

“If I get the chance in the future,” Chen Jin laughed dryly.

She only cared about how they looked; just seeing the cars parked in front of his house was enough. Why would she need to make a special trip to see the ones in his rented parking lot? When she went to find Third Brother to sign the contract later, she had to mention Mr. Shen’s luxury cars; Third Brother would definitely be as envious as a lemon!

“My cake is ready,” Chen Jin said as she saw the staff member had already packed it and was looking her way. She stood up to get it but noticed Shen Baichuan was still sitting there, motionless. She asked, “Teacher Shen, are you waiting for a friend?”

She also mentioned that she had something to attend to and would leave first.

“I am waiting for a friend. Teacher Chen, if you have things to do, go ahead,” Shen Baichuan replied, looking up at her with a smile in his eyes, indicating that they would have plenty of opportunities to meet again.

“Goodbye, Mr. Shen.”

As she drove away with the cake, Qin Yi soon approached, his eyes sparkling with gossip as he fixed his gaze on Shen Baichuan. “Cousin, were you just signaling me not to come over because you were afraid I’d interrupt your date with your neighbor?”

Oh my god, oh my god! He couldn’t wait to spread the news about this amazing discovery!

“Don’t say random things. We just happened to run into each other,” Shen Baichuan replied, lowering his gaze but smiling slightly.

After a while, he looked up and warned him, “If you dare to say anything, don’t expect to drive my car in the future.”

Qin Yi rolled his eyes and muttered, “Others might not know, but I know how you got your car. You won’t even let me drive a car that just fell into your lap…”

Upon meeting Shen Baichuan’s sharp gaze, he immediately straightened his attitude. “Oh, I got it.”