A few strands of hair from the sideburns’ corner scattered, and Li Xichun casually brought them together, observing the changing expressions of Li Xiangfu as he walked toward Yuan Boyuan, finding the transformation intriguing.
She believed that such a dull drama would only unfold in movies or television shows.
Her gaze inadvertently scanned to witness Li Xiangfu “hooking” the seemingly clueless Luo An, prompting another sigh.
… Art derives from life and surpasses it; this saying holds.
“Sheesh, you, the straight guy, actually gifted a Transformers figure.”
Hearing the sigh, Li Xichun turned around to find a familiar friend and smiled, “If you don’t present a handicraft, how can you legitimately suggest letting the other party sell it, portraying an image of a caring person ready to assist?”
Thoughts of Gao Zhen crossed her mind.
Ignoring his shortcomings, at least Li Xichun learned a lesson from Gao Zhen: being “straight” doesn’t imply a low emotional quotient or an inability to navigate the complexities of the business world.
-The following is a summary of Gao Wen’s story.
Luo An devised a plan to please Yuan Boyuan after offending the Li family and with Qin Jin remaining neutral. Fearing the need for a new backer, he anticipated various scenarios and crafted a plan to help Yuan Boyuan get closer to the Bian family’s little princess.
Regretfully, despite his extensive history of affairs and clandestine liaisons with celebrities, Yuan Boyuan wouldn’t be in such a favorable position without Li Xiangfu’s intervention.
By now, Li Xiangfu had approached Yuan Boyuan and greeted him, “Long time no see.” Just as he finished speaking, his phone vibrated.
“Sorry, I’ll reply to the message first.”
He excused himself, walking aside to check a message from Qin Jin: [I’ll be there in about ten minutes, maybe you should prepare a witness.]
Li Xiangfu calmly replied, “It’s not a problem; the show has just begun.
–How far did it go?
Seizing the opportunity, Luo An interjected, “Thanks to Ms. Bian’s birthday banquet, we old alumni can get together again.”
Li Xiangfu replied, [Luo An has joined the group chat.]
When he raised his eyes, they met Luo An’s, and he casually pocketed his phone.
Several people stood in the gift area, and Luo An pointed to a large piece, saying, “I saw earlier that you placed quite a substantial item… seems to be this, resembling a model.”
“That’s perfect. Ms. Bian isn’t interested in these,” Yuan Boyuan smiled, perking up, “I recall my senior high school brother often fed small stray cats on the side of the road, so why don’t we sell these items and contribute to helping stray animals?”
He acted as if he and Li Xiangfu shared a warm camaraderie, showing no intention of being generous at the expense of others, typical of boys who don’t harbor many reservations when talking to each other.
“Not by hand,” Li Xiangfu remarked casually, “I’m not that wild.”
His hobby was to enjoy life.
Singing in harmony, Luo An displayed excellent cooperation, pretending to be surprised. “Didn’t you say a few days ago that you would give a handmade gift? I thought it might be an assembly model.”
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.
This effectively piqued Ms. Bian’s curiosity and that of the few people nearby.
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The handmade item was truly impressive; several men passing by were drawn to it, inspecting it for a few extra moments.
Li Xiangfu also examined it closely, running his hand over it.
Someone behind him couldn’t help but remark, “No man can resist a handicraft like this.”
Standing silently and upright, Li Xiangfu once again felt the disparity between himself and the world.
When it was his turn, Li Xiangfu didn’t immediately act. Instead, he shrugged and remarked, “I didn’t bring my courier knife.”
The box’s tape wasn’t overly secure, and Luo An urged, “Just open it directly.”
“What if I hurt it with myhand?”
Before she could mock him, Luo An witnessed Li Xiangfu slowly extending a pair of hands. His fair skin seemed to emit its radiant glow. Some onlookers discreetly crossed their arms behind their backs, and even Bian Shiqin couldn’t help but feel a twinge of self-consciousness.
“Your hands are beautiful,” she expressed with genuine admiration. “If I had hands like that, I’d get them insured.”
“Thank you.” Li Xiangfu turned to Luo An, saying, “Please help me unwrap it, brother.”
“… ” Why is he doing this?
Luo An instinctively wanted to refuse but caught Yuan Boyuan’s warning gaze. Realizing not to miss the main event, he approached to unpack the box, thinking, “There are times when embarrassment befalls you.”
“Hiss.”
A painful sound escaped.
Fearing that the tape wasn’t secure, Li Xiangfu used a special staple at the top. While unwrapping, Luo An accidentally scratched himself. It didn’t draw blood, but a red mark remained.
Seeing this, Li Xiangfu patted his chest, expressing relief. “I’m glad it wasn’t me.”
Most people concurred with this sentiment, considering it a shame to mar such beautiful hands.
Catching the celebratory expressions around him, Luo An struggled to maintain a basic smile, secretly venting various unrepeatable expletives. Lost in his concentration, he didn’t even realize he had already extracted the object.
The onlookers gasped in amazement.
It was just a pair of hands; what made them so extraordinary?
Luo An thought their attention remained on Li Xiangfu’s hands until, after a considerable time, he lowered his head and realized that astonished gazes were directed at him.
A small, lively lion stared at him with eyes resembling bronze bells, its front paws raised and resting on a round, chased-flower embroidered ball.
Luo An couldn’t help but lean back, feeling as if the lion cub would pounce on him at any moment.
“It’s beautiful.”
Someone attempted to touch it, only to withdraw their hand in fear of soiling it.
They had never seen anything like it before—a work of art so realistically embroidered that it appeared plucked from a painting.
“The colors seem to have changed.” Bian Shiqin stood closer to the window, and under the natural light, the lion’s tail had a faint golden glow, swirling around like a lake. However, when he returned to his original position, the effect disappeared.
Countless words of praise welled up in his heart, but they seemed too inadequate, and he felt any description would be sacrilege.
Luo An was the first to come to his senses and said with a smile, “Is this what you call handmade?”
Yuan Boyuan, appearing to assist, was mocking, “Making a gift box is also considered handicraft.”
“He only glued the box together,” he continued in a playful tone, and the others took it as a joke, laughing along.
“I embroidered it myself.” Li Xiangfu’s tone was light, with no intention of jesting.
“……”
Amidst the evident and clumsy ‘lie’, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Luo An heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that, in certain aspects, Li Xiangfu remained as clueless as ever. Suppressing his satisfaction upon seeing the speechless expressions of those around him, he was about to capitalize on this point when, at that moment, a cold voice echoed from afar: “The real thing is much more exciting than the video.”
Observing that it was Qin Jin, the gathered guests instinctively made way for him.
Luo An instinctively inquired, “What video?”
Unhappy eyes swept over, prompting Luo An to instantly fall silent. Qin Jin withdrew his gaze and responded, “He posted it on his social circle, so it seems you’re not included as a friend.”
“…”
Li Xiangfu somewhat admired Qin Jin; whenever he desired, he could effortlessly subject others to double the embarrassment.
“Social circle?” Li Taichun, on the side, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the embroidery since he first saw it. He swallowed saliva and looked at Li Xiangfu.
Li Xiangfu changed the topic, “The blocking is mutual.”
“… “An impulse surged within Luo An. Breaking the silence, he sneered, “Could it be that he’s live-embroidering in his social circle?”
Before the words were finished, Qin Jin’s assistant had already taken Qin Jin’s phone and displayed it in front of him.
The video, which was triple-accelerated, clearly showed a portion of the lion’s body being crafted by a pair of exquisite hands.
Luo An’s eyes almost dried up, finally having to admit that Li Xiangfu could indeed embroider.
“Don’t abandon your doubts,” Qin Jin said with a sinister smile as if regarding a jumping clown. “Maybe the video was synthesized.”
“… “The more astute onlookers sensed that something was amiss, as if both sides were prepared for it.
What relieved Luo An was, surprisingly, Li Xiangfu. The latter gazed at Yuan Boyuan on the other side with a gentle look and smiled. “Just as the senior said, they’re all sold out. Let’s contribute together.”
Yuan Boyuan suppressed his anger but forced a smile.
Without paying attention to their conversation, Bian Shiqin found someone to carry the gifts to prevent them from being damaged by the bustling crowd.
Looking at Yuan Boyuan, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment. It was only natural for people to want to keep good-looking and rare items in a private collection, but she couldn’t say anything about it, or she’d come across as a bit of a possessive person.
Struggling to maintain his image, Yuan Boyuan attempted to belittle Li Xiangfu, first praising his skill and then saying, “I didn’t realize there were still boys who were good at embroidery.”
Li Xiangfu regretfully responded, “It’s a pity that my son only likes strange and weird robots. If he loved dolls, I could make any style he wanted.”
Li Xiangfu genuinely regretted this, as robots were too expensive.
“I especially like dolls,” the girl who had talked to Li Taichun earlier approached him with sparkling eyes. “Can we exchange ideas about the aesthetics of clothing and design issues?”
“Could you help me with the eyes too? I’ve recently found an artist for my daughter, and I’m designing a New Year’s set for next year.”
By ‘daughter,’ she meant her Barbie doll.
“The embroidery is amazing. Why can the lion be different colors on both sides?”
When girls gather, it’s easy to find a common topic of conversation. Li Xiangfu found himself surrounded by people heading to the other side of the room, even Bian Shiqin among them.
Behind him, a group of dry men was left behind, and after a while, a young man in his early twenties muttered in a low voice, “It’s incredible that there’s a man amidst all the flowers, and he can still be so colorful and beautiful.”
Initially, people didn’t understand the meaning of the words until they observed Li Xiangfu surrounded by beauty for a long time. Envy and jealousy gradually transformed into confusion.
The casually tied black hair, secured with a hairband, cascaded down to his hips, flowing darker and more gracefully than anyone else’s. At this moment, Li Xiangfu slightly turned his body to the side, deliberately maintaining a distance from the girls, displaying a somewhat reserved demeanor.
Bian Shiqin didn’t know what to say; everyone laughed. Li Xiangfu also raised the corners of his mouth slightly, among many smiles, only the spring sunshine had to yield to his smile.
Broad shoulders, slim waist, narrow hips—sexy, beautiful, charming, and talented.
Many people unconsciously gulped.
Li Xichun had just snapped out of the fact that her brother had suddenly become very popular. When she observed the throat movements of a few men in the audience, her expression changed slightly.
The Author has something to say:
Previously: Stealing the limelight doesn’t end well.
The next second: Ma Ma he is so beautiful!
Translator’s notes:
Sorry for not updating based on the schedule these days! I’m quite busy with my final exams. So the update will be quite sporadic.
May I survive this wave.
Thanks for the chapter!