Cheng Yan walked up to Jiang Muping and asked, “How did you get here?”
“Li Sizhi asked me to come and pick her up.”
Cheng Yan turned his head and glanced out the window. The rain was getting heavier and heavier.
From this angle, Jiang Muping could see water droplets hanging from his chin. As Cheng Yan turned his head, the droplets shook and fell down.
Cheng Yan’s face had not completely dried yet, and Jiang Muping pulled out a beige handkerchief from his trousers’ pocket and handed it to Cheng Yan.
Jiang Muping’s handkerchief had the same color as his shirt, belonging to the same color scheme. At the same time, Cheng Yan noticed that Jiang Muping had changed his tie as well. The style was casual and matched well with his shirt today.
In the moment when Cheng Yan zoned out, he wondered to himself, “Just how many different styles of ties does Jiang Muping actually have?”
Cheng Yan stood still, caught between whether to accept or not, unable to make a decision.
Perhaps for Jiang Muping, it was just a simple act of kindness, perhaps even out of habit. However, Cheng Yan unilaterally perceived a slight ambiguity in the gesture.
After hesitating for a moment, Cheng Yan thought that refusing to accept would make him appear less open-hearted. So, he extended his hand, trying his best to maintain a natural posture, and accepted it.
“Thank you.” Cheng Yan gently patted his damp face with the handkerchief.
He held the handkerchief in his hand, contemplating whether to wash it and return it to Jiang Muping or to buy a new one as a replacement for him.
However, both options seemed to carry a sense of embarrassment, so Cheng Yan gradually grew somewhat restless.
The walls of the studio were adorned with many large-sized photographs, depicting a series of tattoo designs. The styles were similar, clearly the work of the same artist.
“Did you tattoo all of these?” Jiang Muping asked Cheng Yan as he looked at the photos on the wall.
“Yes,” Cheng Yan replied.
Cheng Yan’s works had a distinct personal style, with a heavy emphasis on geometry and lines. Jiang Muping also noticed that Cheng Yan had a fondness for incorporating the element of “water” in his art. Almost every piece revealed various forms of water, albeit in a subtle manner, without occupying much of the composition.
The constant buzzing sound of the tattoo machine filled the air, and amidst the humming, Jiang Muping could hear the rhythms of Cheng Yan’s daily routine.
“Where is Li Sizhi?” Jiang Muping asked Cheng Yan.
Cheng Yan, still holding onto the handkerchief, “She’s in my office.”
As they were speaking, Li Sizhi and her young friend walked out of the workspace.
“Muping!” Li Sizhi called out.
Li Sizhi’s sharp eyes caught sight of the handkerchief in Cheng Yan’s hand. She smiled quietly to herself but didn’t say anything.
The sound of rain outside grew increasingly intense, and Li Sizhi urged Jiang Muping to hurry home.
Cheng Yan seemed to have something to say, so he called out to Li Sizhi as she was about to leave. “Lǎo shī…”
“What is it?” Li Sizhi asked, curious.
Cheng Yan hesitated for a moment. Li Sizhi had an art exhibition in the downtown area of the city recently, and Cheng Yan wanted to go and see it. However, he didn’t have an invitation, and he felt awkward about asking Li Sizhi for a favor. In the end, he shook his head and said, “It’s nothing.”
“You can tell me if there’s something,” Li Sizhi insisted.
“It’s nothing, not a big deal,” Cheng Yan replied, brushing it off.
Li Sizhi held the umbrella Cheng Yan had given her and hurriedly got into the car first.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
At the doorstep, Jiang Muping bid farewell to Cheng Yan. The two of them stood under the eaves, and Jiang Muping extended his hand towards Cheng Yan, taking the initiative to ask for his handkerchief back.
Jtfcu Tjc tfiv bcab atf tjcvxfgmtlfo jcv vlvc’a ulnf la yjmx ab tlw. “Pa’r vlgas. P’ii yes j cfk bcf jcv ulnf la yjmx ab sbe.”
“Rb cffv, P ilxf erlcu biv bcfr,” Aljcu Zeqlcu gfqilfv.
Jtfcu Tjc vlvc’a kjca ab ub atgbeut atf tjrrif bo kjrtlcu atf tjcvxfgmtlfo jcv gfaegclcu la. Glv tf gfjiis tjnf ab wjxf j rqfmlji aglq pera obg j tjcvxfgmtlfo?
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Cheng Yan insisted earnestly.
“Cheng Yan,” Jiang Muping called his name.
Cheng Yan looked at Jiang Muping, his expression showing some difficulty.
Jiang Muping glanced at the handkerchief tightly held in Cheng Yan’s hand and reminded him, almost as a warning, “You do know that you shouldn’t casually give away a handkerchief, right?”
The handkerchief suddenly felt scorching hot in Cheng Yan’s hand, causing him to swiftly release his grip, nearly dropping it to the ground. Fortunately, his quick reflexes allowed him to catch it just in time.
Cheng Yan immediately stuffed the handkerchief back into Jiang Muping’s hands, visibly frustrated and muttering sarcastically, “At your age, you still have such feudalistic thinking.”
Jiang Muping calmly folded the handkerchief, his smile ambiguous. “At thirty-five, it’s normal to have some feudalistic thinking.”
It was indeed inappropriate and ambiguous to leave the handkerchief with his name embroidered on it in Cheng Yan’s possession.
Cheng Yan might not have noticed the name embroidered on the handkerchief. If he had seen it, the handkerchief would have been even more uncomfortable for him to hold onto.
“I’m leaving,” Jiang Muping said, putting the neatly folded handkerchief into his pocket.
“Don’t casually give your handkerchief to others in the future,” Cheng Yan teased Jiang Muping playfully, “Otherwise, they might ask you for more intimate favors in return.”
Jiang Muping chuckled and nonchalantly replied, “Then you should be the first candidate for that.”
With those words, Jiang Muping turned and walked into the rain, leaving Cheng Yan standing alone in a daze.
Cheng Yan wanted to remind Jiang Muping not to flirt so casually, but Jiang Muping had already walked far away.
In recent times, during mealtime, the topic of conversation in the Jiang household always revolved around Jiang Muping’s lifelong commitment. Today was no exception. Especially when Li Sizhi opened up and introduced a potential partner to Jiang Muping, the attitude of Jiang Muping’s parents immediately became clear, departing from their usual laid-back demeanor.
Jiang Muping’s mother picked up a dish with her chopsticks and said, “What about that child Li Sizhi introduced to you earlier? How is it going?”
“Not much.”
“Didn’t you continue to get to know each other?” his mother asked.
Jiang Muping took a sip of soup and shook his head.
Jiang Muping’s mother had a worried expression on her face as she looked at Li Sizhi. “Didn’t you say that the person is good?” she asked.
“The person is indeed good, Auntie. Your son has high standards and doesn’t fancy them.”
Jiang Muping’s mother turned to look at Jiang Muping, her tone carrying a hint of reproach. “You’re always like this. Before even having a proper conversation with someone, you say you can’t get along and don’t want to pursue it.”
Jiang Muping argued, “Mom, when have I ever–”
“Just by meeting someone once, you think you know what kind of person they are?”
Jiang Muping took off his glasses and pinched his brow. “Could you please not listen to Li Sizhi’s nonsense? When did I say I didn’t like them?”
Jiang Muping’s mother glanced at Li Sizhi, who was smiling while holding her rice bowl. “I may have exaggerated,” Li Sizhi said.
“That’s called defamation,” Jiang Muping said as he put on his glasses.
“But you really didn’t like them,” Li Sizhi deliberately said, “Auntie, when it comes to these things, it’s all about chemistry. If there’s a connection, there’s potential, but if there’s no chemistry, no amount of matchmaking will work.”
“What does the child look like?”
“Extremely handsome,” Li Sizhi became enthusiastic. She took out her phone and said, “Let me show you the photos. He’s no less handsome than your son.”
Li Sizhi pulled out the photos of Cheng Yan and showed them to Jiang’s mother. Jiang’s mother adjusted her glasses, carefully examined the pictures on the phone, and then passed it to Jiang’s father, saying, “He does look handsome, take a look.”
The photos were secretly taken by Li Sizhi while Cheng Yan was working. Jiang’s father looked at the pictures and raised a question, “How old is this child? He must be several years younger than Muping, right?”
Li Sizhi smiled and said, “Uncle, why don’t you guess?”
“In their early twenties?” Jiang’s father frowned. “No, it won’t do. They’re too young. They’re a whole round younger than Muping.”
Jiang Muping’s age was unintentionally subtly criticized, and he chuckled, shaking his head helplessly.
“Do I really look that old?”
“It’s not that you look old,” Jiang’s father said seriously, “but this child is indeed too young.”
“Dad, this child is the same age as me.”
The two words this child amused Li Sizhi.
Jiang’s father looked at the photo in disbelief and said, “He looks really young. I thought he was a college student…”
Jiang’s father handed the phone back to Li Sizhi and asked, “I heard from your aunt that this child is a tattoo artist?”
“Yes.”
“How is the family situation?”
“He has no parents, but he has a younger brother who was fostered by someone else over ten years ago,” Li Sizhi explained.
Both Jiang’s father and mother fell silent at the same time, realizing that the family situation was indeed quite complicated.
Jiang Muping looked at Li Sizhi and asked subconsciously, “How do you know so much about it?”
Li Sizhi seemed to perceive the emotions in Jiang Muping’s words. His tone and his gaze seemed to be asking: Why do you know these things while I don’t?
Li Sizhi deliberately asked, “He didn’t tell you about these things?”
Jiang Muping saw through her wordplay and said casually, “We’re not close enough for him to share those things with me.”
“Yeah, I’m close enough to him, so I know,” Li Sizhi replied.
“Wasn’t he your student a long time ago? Didn’t you just meet recently?” Jiang Muping pressed on, seeking clarification.
“Jiang Muping,” Li Sizhi couldn’t help but laugh, “you’re quite persistent.”
Jiang’s mother expressed some concerns, “What’s the situation with his family? How did his parents pass away? And what about his younger brother…”
“Aunt, it’s not easy to explain this matter in a short time, and it’s also their personal affairs,” Li Sizhi glanced at Jiang Muping, “Now Muping doesn’t have any intention towards them, so it’s not good to ask too many questions.”
Jiang’s mother nodded and said, “That’s true.”
“Show me that photo again.” Jiang’s mother asked Li Sizhi for Cheng Yan’s photo.
Li Sizhi smiled and said, “Still want to look?”
“I’ll take another look… He is good-looking…”
Before Jiang Muping left, Li Sizhi handed him something.
“What is it?” Jiang Muping took it and glanced at it—it was two invitation cards for an art exhibition, with Li Sizhi’s pen name “Si” written on them.
“Your art exhibition?”
“Next Saturday.”
“Why did you give me two?”
Li Sizhi lightly tapped the invitation card with his index finger a few times and said, “These are the last two. I intentionally didn’t give one to Cheng Yan.”
Jiang Muping paused for a moment, looked up at her, and said, “Can we do a favor?”
“I want to give my art exhibition invitation cards to whomever I want.”
The purpose behind Li Sizhi’s actions was clear, and she knew that Jiang Muping was an intelligent person. Therefore, she didn’t hide her intention to play matchmaker between him and Cheng Yan.
“Of course,” Li Sizhi said with a smile, “You can also choose to give the invitation card directly to Cheng Yan.”
“Understood.”
After saying that, Jiang Muping got into the car, and Li Sizhi smiled and waved at him through the car window.
Jiang Muping stuffed the invitation card into the glove compartment.
Ten minutes later, the car slowly entered the underground parking lot of the residential complex. Jiang Muping parked the car in a parking spot and sat quietly inside for a while.
He picked up those two invitation cards, glanced at them, took out his phone, and dialed Cheng Yan’s number.
Cheng Yan had just finished showering and walked out of the bathroom when he heard his phone ringing. The incoming call number seemed familiar, so he pressed the answer button.
“Hello?”
“You’re not asleep yet?”
Cheng Yan was slightly startled, holding the towel and sitting on the bed. He answered naturally, “Not yet.”
It turned out that it was only himself who had resolved to eliminate all means of contact. Jiang Muping wanted to call him, and he called so openly.
There was no need for any prepared opening greetings.
“Li Sizhi has an art exhibition next Saturday, and I have two invitation cards. Do you want to go?” Jiang Muping asked.
The brief silence from Cheng Yan made Jiang Muping doubt himself.
The person on the other end of the phone sounded slightly hesitant. “… I thought you liked going to art exhibitions.”
“You…”
“I did,” Cheng Yan replied.
Great beginning
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Thank you for the chapter.
Thank you for the chapter !
Hehe cute! Li Sizhi is a thoughtful matchmaker indeed 🤭
I already love Jiang parents 😂😂
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for the chapter. 💕💕
Arrghghrh gak sabar nunggu perkembangan mereka!!!
their tension ahhhh
😊😊
after reading your name, translator, properly, i fancy a nice warm mug of milk…. but it’s 3am going on 4 sobs