T.N: A short chapter today (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
Seeing Xu Shen bending one leg on the bed, looking 100% unwilling to get up, Shu Ran asked: “You’re not going out today?”
“I won’t.” Xu Shen said. “I’m taking a day off.”
Shu Ran clicked his tongue: “I thought you’d never skip work.”
“Ah, your husband is not made of iron…” Xu Shen picked up the teapot and took a sip, then closed the lid and fell back on the bed with his eyes closed: “I’ll rest for half a day today, and show you my skills tonight.”
“What do you want to do?” Shu Ran asked.
“Braised carp.” There were two large carp living in the water tank they had in the yard, and Xu Shen was thinking about eating one tonight. Since they were both usually busy with work, the two of them preferred to cook simple meals. Just steam whatever could be steamed and stew everything in one pot. To put it simply, Shu Ran was quite easy to feed. Apart from choosing what he didn’t like to eat, he never cared about craftsmanship.
Shu Ran also took a sip of boiled water and said: “Looking forward to it…” The more you praise your man, the more diligent he’ll become… That saying was fully tested and approved by himself.
Under Shu Ran’s supervision every day and night, Xu Shen’s cooking skills really improved little by little. However, the words “your husband is not made of iron” suddenly stung Shu Ran’s nerves like a fine needle. Xu Shen was also made of just flesh and blood… Just because he always acted like Superman, it didn’t mean that he really was. Even Superman had days when he could take off his costume and rest, but Xu Shen, his own husband, had not rested for a long time.
Shu Ran thought about it and put down his pen. He couldn’t concentrate on designing anyway, so he moved his chair back. Xu Shen, who heard the movement, immediately asked: “What do you need, can I help you?”
“No, just have a good rest.” Shu Ran, who was suddenly possessed by the spirit of servitude, walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, covering Xu Shen’s eyes with his palm: “Close your eyes.”
Xu Shen followed his wife’s command and closed his eyes obediently, feeling the gentle and strong fingers massaging his head. The strength was just right and comfortable.
“Comfortable…” Xu Shen sighed.
“Is it nice?” Shu Ran smiled. “It feels super good to press all the nerves in your head.” Pressing on Xu Shen’s temples, he continued: “This area hurts a lot. Press it more often.” After a while, he touched it again. “Relax.”
“You’re so kind.” Xu Shen sighed with a smile of enjoyment, placing his hands naturally on his abdomen.
Shu Ran also smiled and continued to massage his head. He didn’t feel tired, so he went on to massage everything, from hands to feet and body all over, being so meticulous and thoughtful that Xu Shen felt like his body was resting on a pile of clouds.
“It’s so comfortable.” He hummed, and his whole body felt relaxed and soft. Well… Except for one place.
“Go to sleep.” Shu Ran said after pressing the stop button.
“…”
Xu Shen lowered his eyes and glanced at his waist and abdomen:
“You just don’t care?!”
“That’s a full set type of massage…” Shu Ran said. “It comes with another price.”
Since he was tired, he needed to take good care of his health!
Shu Ran wanted him to live a long and healthy life, dreaming of a fulfilling relationship… Even when he was fifty, he still wanted his husband to be able to lift him up in bed and relieve their youthful dreams!
Xu Shen, the one who was left behind, closed his eyes and smiled bitterly. However, he didn’t care. Needless to say, Shu Ran cherished his energy.
And he never wasted a drop of energy on anything else except on his wife!
Not only did Shu Ran cherish his body, but he also cherished Shu Ran’s. Anyway, he didn’t have to feel discouraged…
However, Shu Ran was still annoyed by his approach and thought he was a pervert!
… Here I am, praising him, but he’s still feudal and rigid at heart. While thinking that, Xu Shen fell asleep. Upon waking up in the evening and realizing that his wife was not with him in the bedroom, he quickly raked his hair and went down to kill fish and cook rice.
“You’re awake. Did you sleep well?” Shu Ran said. “I’ve already cooked the rice, but I won’t touch the fish.”
“I’ll do it.” Xu Shen quickly kissed his wife and happily went to deal with the fish. When he found his wife coming to watch the fun, he turned around and said: “I slept really well today. If you give me a full set every now and then, you’ll make me the happiest person in the world.”
“It’s half a set.” Shu Ran corrected him.
“…” Xu Shen sighed: “So I’m not the happiest person in the world yet.”
He lowered his head to kill the fish, lifting the knife in his hand and removing the scales and internal organs, all in one go. A few streaks of blood accidentally splashed on his face, so he raised his hand to wipe it away.
Shu Ran held his breath and watched silently. Ah… Why were some people so handsome even while gutting a fish?! He felt that his aesthetic preferences gradually became wilder and wilder after meeting Xu Shen, and he could never return to the proper path…
Thinking back to the beginning, the former Shu Ran still liked to deal with elegant and polite people, such as his former classmates from the calligraphy club.
“So… How much for a full set?” The handsome guy who looked serious about killing fish was obviously not that serious.
Shu Ran was speechless, staring at the knife with horror, and saying: “At this time, can you focus on the kitchen knife in your hand and stop talking so much?!”
“Do I still need to concentrate on this? I can do it with my eyes closed…” Xu Shen chopped off the fishtail in a funny way, slammed the kitchen knife on the chopping board, and scooped up water to wash the meat: “But it’s still very difficult for you.”
“You never learned how to speak?!” Shu Ran rolled his eyes.
“Then help peel some garlic?” Xu Shen said.
Shu Ran took two single heads of garlic from the bamboo basket on the wall, planning to peel and shove them in Xu Shen’s face to prove himself, but the kitchen knife couldn’t be pulled out: “You are so fierce, hammered it so deep.”
“What did I shove in too deep?” Xu Shen looked over.
“The knife is embedded too deep into the chopping board!” Shu Ran glanced at him: “Don’t think too much about it!”
“You are the only one in our family who thinks too much…” Xu Shen teased him back.
“Ha!” Shu Ran finally managed to pick up the knife and slap the garlic: “No one in our family is innocent!”
Two dishes and one soup… The fish head was chopped off and cooked into soup, with added shredded radishes. Shu Ran was full, and so was Xu Shen but… The two people who always wanted to avoid wasting food gave up on their full stomachs and finished the rest.
“I discovered…” Shu Ran stared at his abdomen: “Our appetite is not the same.”
“Huh?” Xu Shen also looked at Shu Ran’s belly and found that he could see a slight curvature. He immediately shook his shoulders and laughed: “It must be at least three months.”
“Yes, and it’s yours!” Shu Ran started to lovingly rub his belly.
“That would be great.” Xu Shen said softly. “It’s a pity that it’s all fish and vegetables.”
“Shut up! I want to exercise and try to develop eight-pack abs as soon as possible!” Shu Ran was a little stimulated and immediately stood up to walk around and digest the food.
He didn’t see Xu Shen exercising very often, so he had no idea how he got those beautiful abdominal muscles. To keep his own abdomen free of fat, Shu Ran had to work very hard and run every morning while he was in school.
“It’s good now…” Xu Shen’s eyes followed and landed on Shu Ran’s figure. He had long legs and a thin waist, with fair and delicate skin, and Xu Shen liked it very much: “You don’t have to train muscles deliberately, just be healthy.”
“You won’t let me exercise, so you work out in secret by yourself, right?!” Shu Ran glared at him.
Xu Shen was feeling wronged: “I don’t work out in secret! I just exercised normally, chopping firewood and fetching water…” He did all the work at home, so he had a lot of experience to share. “I also used to load and unload goods, you can’t do that!”
Loading and unloading goods was indeed a physical job way beyond his abilities, so Shu Ran finally managed to calm down.
…………
The notice and praise from the Cultural Bureau came out very quickly. The handsome face that the common people loved to see appeared in the newspaper again, holding hands while chatting and laughing with the comrades from the Cultural Bureau.
Shu Ran looked so calm that it almost made people forget that he was not that old. Those who didn’t know may think that he was taught how to properly interact with people since he was a child.
The book fans who saw the commendation were also very happy. Their favorite writer was now a celebrity in Nanshi, with the aura of being an exemplary and outstanding young writer. Let’s see who else dared to throw dirty water on him.
For a time, Shu Ran’s new book became a best-seller, and even his old book received attention. The writer himself received no royalties, but his book fans and friends still wanted to earn some money for him, even though he was also an entrepreneur who was not short of anything.
Booksellers from other places also heard about him, and the publishing house soon received many orders from out-of-town bookstores, all of them hoping that more people could buy Shu Ran’s works.
And so, Shu Ran was labeled as a people’s martyr and role model. Fanatic pursuit of celebrities was no longer something worthy of criticism, but a positive thing. Now, his book fans were particularly proud of pursuing him.
That trend was slowly spreading and, sooner or later, it will become a trend that will define the younger generation of fans.
Immediately afterward, articles praising Shu Ran started popping like mushrooms after rain, and many fellow writers wrote to him sincerely. Regardless of the personal opinion those authors had of him, most of their words praised his story and characters, declaring his work as being worthy of emulation.
Shu Ran flipped through the letters and… Some of the names were familiar!
Even if they were not famous yet, some of those authors would become famous in the future… But now, they were all writing letters of praise for each other, sending their own prose and poetry. Ah… That was the harmonious and loving literary world he dreamed of!
There were too many letters, and Shu Ran could only briefly answer them, afraid he might piss off some “about to get famous” authors.
But no. In fact, the writers who got his reply were very happy and even showed it to their friends for appreciation: “As expected of him, his words and person are not like everyone else’s!”
“Yes, he looks pretty, but has a bold and decisive temper. I really want to meet him!”
“He is a famous person now. It would be great if we could become pen pals…” The fellow writer sighed softly while holding Shu Ran’s reply letter.
Those literati and poets were very interesting. It was not a big deal to send and receive letters and books all over the country. Xu Shen didn’t mind, but he couldn’t understand why someone would even send their own photos to Shu Ran!
Moreover, the writers who sent photos were all quite young and good-looking! Those who knew it understood that they just wanted to make pen pals, but those who didn’t might think they were all competing in a beauty pageant!
Xu Shen looked at it with interest: “Are all you writers like this?!”
Shu Ran didn’t understand it either, but he tried to analyze it: “People may not mean anything else, they just think that being handsome is an advantage. Maybe I will be more willing to associate with good-looking people. It is normal for them to show me their advantages.”
“It seems that writers are also superficial…” Xu Shen said while remembering the prim and proper voices who were shouting in the newspapers not long before: “Pay attention to the work, not to the author’s face!”
“Who says they’re not…?” Shu Ran touched Xu Shen’s pretty face. Their eyes became intertwined, and they quickly forgot about other writers.
As the number of people paying attention to Shu Ran increased, so did the number of people paying attention to their company. The designer recruitment information that had not caused a stir before quickly spread, and many fashion designers with real talent and knowledge were interested.
If it weren’t for Shu Ran, nobody would take a fancy to a young company with such a weak foundation. But think about it, if they could successfully apply, they might work with Shu Ran and get along day and night… What a great thing that was!
Many people began to regret that they were not fashion designers, otherwise they would have loved to come and recommend themselves.
As for the real fashion designers, they didn’t dare to be too conceited. It was enough to look at Shu Ran’s recruitment information: “We don’t want conservative designers. We want people with bold personalities and distinctive features. Those who are regular and well-behaved, don’t come!”
In that regard, all designers thought they were quite unique.
Interested candidates wanted to find some clothing from “Tongxin Garment Factory” and use it as a reference, but they searched all over the country and… They couldn’t find any?!
No, it’s not like there wasn’t…
Since everyone was educated and very smart, they immediately looked through all of Shu Ran’s photos to analyze his clothes. There was one thing that was worthy of mention. All of Shu Ran’s clothes were very simple, without complicated designs, but every piece looked good and fit his temperament very well.
They didn’t know who the current designer of “Tongxin Garment Factory” was… The level was indeed very high, making the designers who wanted to apply for the job wonder if they could design on that level.
Those who were not confident were still hesitating, while the confident ones already applied for the job, sending their portfolios.
Designers came every day, so Shu Ran simply resumed his commute to the factory with Xu Shen.
Zhou Lan, who still worked in the first, original factory, had not seen her second brother for a long time. Upon hearing that Shu Ran had come to the factory, she took the time to visit the office and meet him: “Second brother!”
When Shu Ran heard her voice, he was surprised to see a tall girl who was no longer the skinny child in his memory. Zhou Lan was now tall and graceful, with two big black braids and a temperament that was becoming more and more confident and generous.
“Xiao Lan!” Shu Ran looked at her name badge and armband while smiling: “Have you been promoted?”
“Yes, Brother Sen recommended me.” Zhou Lan touched her armband and smiled sheepishly: “What have you been busy with recently?”
“Hey, I’m writing books and doing design. I just published something!” Shu Ran said while gifting her one of the books from the pile on his desk. “Here, there’s one for you!” The rest were to be put in all the factory’s reading rooms. It was far more meaningful for the books to be read instead of collecting dust somewhere on a shelf.
“I saw the newspaper…” Zhou Lan said with admiration as she stroked the book given to her by her second brother. “Brother, you are so awesome!”
Shu Ran touched her head but quickly retracted his hand. The age difference of three or four years was not that big, so patting her head felt weird: “Have you been home recently? Has your family given you any trouble?”
Zhou Lan shook her head: “Not much. I’m now a city resident with a big salary… My parents only want to coax me.”
Her eldest brother and sister-in-law were the same, they didn’t dare to even look at her in a funny way.
“That’s good.” Shu Ran didn’t go back much, only occasionally sending some money home, to create the illusion that he was receiving a salary every month. He smiled: “You are independent now, live your life well, okay? You should go to our sister’s place more often during the holidays. She’s pregnant and needs someone to accompany her.”
“Yeah!” Zhou Lan nodded.
Zhou Lan returned to her post with the book in hand, while Shu Ran began to look through the design drafts sent by the designers. Everything was so varied and complex that Shu Ran was dazzled. He really liked a few of the designs and wanted to get in touch with those designers but…
It seemed that the works sent were their most inspiring ones.
They might run out of inspiration after taking up the job since that was the result of Shu Ran’s face-to-face contact with job-seeking designers in the past few days. In the end, stable output was far more important than a few, eye-catching designs.
Shu Ran repeatedly looked at the ones he was most satisfied with, noticing that one of them had an address from Beijing. The designer’s brushwork and expressiveness were unique, in a very individual yet soft way. To put it simply, it had a sense of androgyny…
That concept fiddled with Shu Ran’s nerves, making him feel very touched.
Let’s take a look at this one first… It just so happened that they were about to enter the Beijing market.
While he was thinking about it, Xu Shen brought two more job-seeking designers in, saying: “Please take care of them, I’ll go get busy.”
“Okay.” Shu Ran’s eyes separated from his in the air, and they quickly returned to their work.
The two designers who came to the factory for interviews were both girls from neighboring cities, also good friends and partners. They previously studied in Hong Kong and were very professional when talking about clothing.
The Hong Kong clothing style of the 80s was truly fashionable and eye-catching, a silhouette that would not be out of date even in the 21st century.
Shu Ran really liked those two designers since they were confident enough and had their own ideas. Also, being able to go to Hong Kong for further study showed that the family background was very good.
In terms of salary, Shu Ran decided to sign a commission-based work contract after careful consideration: “If we produce one of your styles, you will be given a design fee for it. If it sells well, you will get a bonus. How about it?”
The girls looked at each other.
Shu Ran leaned back on the chair and continued with a smile: “Our factory has a large export sales volume of each model so everyone gets a big bonus. You could probably buy two or three houses in Nanshi throughout the year or so.”
The two fashion designers were named Zhu Lin and He Rui. Their family backgrounds were in fact very good, and designing was just a hobby and dream.
Both of them came mainly for Shu Ran, to see if he really shined as brightly as in the newspaper!
If he was just as bold and unique in person, then they really wanted to form a team. Seeing Shu Ran, the two of them felt amazing. A real person who could laugh and move was so much prettier than the black and white photos!
Furthermore, he had a good temperament and his conversation skills made people feel comfortable. While they were chatting incessantly and getting excited, Shu Ran never interrupted them or looked at them strangely.
To be honest, the factory’s appeal was in fact very small, but the contract Shu Ran offered was really special and unheard of.
“You…” The surprised girls asked. “Why give us such preferential treatment?”
“I think dead wages will stifle a designer’s inspiration.” Shu Ran answered.
“You are such a generous boss…” No wonder you donated all the revenue from your best-selling book!
“Want to join us?” Shu Ran looked expectant.
Zhu Lin and He Rui said in unison: “Okay!”
They were of course willing to join that team, a team that provided money, freedom of design, and at the same time, the respect of their boss! So… Why not?!
“Welcome.” Shu Ran nodded and smiled.
“Boss!” the lively He Rui asked: “Who designed the clothes that you’re wearing? Please introduce him to us. We will be colleagues from now on, right?”
“Let me tell you this…” Shu Ran pulled up his clothes and continued: “Designed by the boss himself. It’s an exclusive model, not for sale.”
“…”
The two of them opened their mouths in surprise again. They were thinking… Was there anything that their boss didn’t know?!
They talked for a while until Xu Shen knocked on the door a few times and came in to remind them: “It’s lunchtime. Everyone, can we talk after we eat?”
“Here we come.” Shu Ran said, greeting his two new partners: “Let’s go, the boss will treat you to a working meal!”
Xu Shen raised his eyebrows when he heard that, knowing that the negotiations went well and they came to an agreement.
Chen Sen was also in the factory when he heard there were two, new outstanding designers. He came over to say hello and then sat down next to Xu Shen to eat.
Zhu Lin and He Rui soon realized that the table was filled with all kinds of handsome young men. Needless to say, Shu Ran, the one whose face was becoming a newspaper staple, was so handsome that he was totally unique and out of tune with that era from head to toe.
Very charismatic.
Next to him, Boss Xu, who had also been in the newspaper, had a very attractive appearance. He looked similar to Shu Ran, in that they were both outstanding and special, but there were some differences. For example, Shu Ran’s temperament was warm and bright, while Xu Shen seemed not so approachable and hard to figure out.
The eyes of the two designers swept past Xu Shen and finally landed on Chen Sen. That one was silent, with very short, trimmed hair. He might look a bit fierce however, if they must choose a man they want to further communicate with, a girl would rather choose Chen Sen over Xu Shen!1Don’t worry Brother Sen, I would rather choose you as well :)) He is serious and reliable, doesn’t talk nonsense, and is, above all, straight!
“Do you need to arrange accommodation?” Shu Ran asked.
“Yes…” The two girls quickly looked away. Zhu Lin continued: “But we don’t want to live in the factory… We want to live in the city since it’s more convenient. Is that okay?”
“Well…” Shu Ran looked at Chen Sen: “Brother Sen, is there a suitable place to live near your house? If they live close, the commute would be shorter.”
Chen Sen raised his head, thought for a moment, and said concisely: “Yes.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you to make arrangements?” Shu Ran asked again.
“Okay.” Chen Sen nodded.
“Good.” Shu Ran smiled and said to the two new colleagues: “After dinner, you two go and have a look with Brother Sen. It’s best to deal with it tonight. Don’t worry, Brother Sen is very nice and reliable. He also lives in a very good area and it’s safe around him.”
“Okay!” Zhu Lin and He Rui nodded.
After lunch, Chen Sen took the two girls to find a house, driving them back and forth on his motorcycle. He spent the whole afternoon helping them settle in and, after everything was finally done, he looked at the sky and touched his head: “You… Want to come to my house for dinner?”
“Okay!” Zhu Lin and He Rui said in unison.
When they arrived at the Chen family’s house they saw… Oh… A big courtyard house. You could bet it belonged to a very wealthy family.
Chen Kai arrived home a while ago when he suddenly saw his brother bringing two girls home. His eyes widened: “Brother, you…!”
That younger brother’s mouth was never able to spit ivory. Chen Sen slapped him before he could finish his words: “These are our new colleagues, designers.” He pointed at Zhu Lin and said: “This is Zhu Lin, call her Sister Lin.”
Chen Kai said dryly: “Sister Lin…”
“This is He Rui.” Chen Sen continued. “Sister Rui.”
Chen Kai accepted his fate: “Sister Rui.”
They didn’t look any older than him!!!
“This is my brother, Chen Kai.” Chen Sen introduced.
“Hey, hello!” The two girls laughed. How to say it… It looked like they accidentally fell into a nest full of handsome guys!
After Shu Ran’s influence and hard work for the past year, Chen Kai changed a lot. His clothes improved, his temper calmed down, and his speech and behavior began to resemble a business upstart. In fact, he was quite a catch!
“Sisters, sit inside the room.” Chen Kai greeted them enthusiastically and continued: “You don’t have to be afraid. My mother is the only elder in my family. She is very hospitable.”
“Oh, thank you.” The two girls nodded.
Unlike many shy and introverted girls, they were actually not afraid to meet the elders!
What was so scary about elders? They were not savage beasts. What was scary was not being confident enough and afraid of receiving negative looks… As avant-garde women who have seen a lot of the world, they feared nothing!
…………
Shu Ran and Xu Shen also got off work and returned to their love nest together.
Xu Shen kept a question in his mind for a long time. When he was free, he finally couldn’t help but ask: “Do you want to match them up?”
“What?” Shu Ran reacted for a moment and shook his head: “No!” Truly, that thought never crossed his mind.
“I thought…” Xu Shen laughed.
“Then who else can I ask for help?” Shu Ran was also helpless: “Brother Sen is the only one who is suitable. I can rest assured that he will handle the matter.”
After a while, Xu Shen sighed: “It would be great if they could talk…”
“Hey…” Shu Ran looked at him: “I can tell, are you really worried about Brother Sen’s marriage?”
“He’s already thirty, what do you think?” Xu Shen smiled.
As for Chen Sen’s matter, Xu Shen felt that he would be okay if someone took the initiative to help. However, Shu Ran thought there was nothing wrong with being thirty and single. It was in fact quite cool.
“Don’t worry so much.” Shu Ran said: “Brother Sen can find a wife by himself if he wants to. Just because you are happy now, it doesn’t mean that everyone else wants to get married.”
The gap of the times lay there. Not getting married at the age of thirty was not a problem in Shu Ran’s eyes, but Xu Shen didn’t think so. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so desperate to arrange a marriage for himself while he was barely in his early twenties.
“Of course, he wants to get married.” Xu Shen asked while giving him a sideways glance: “Do you think being single is easy?”
“Then let nature take its course…” Shu Ran compromised. “It’s hard to say when you talk about fate. If someone is destined to be together, they can be together across thousands of mountains and rivers.”
He glanced at Xu Shen and thought that his own marriage not only spanned thousands of mountains and rivers but also decades of time.
“Yeah.” Xu Shen nodded.
With new designers joining the company, Shu Ran still had to go to the factory to familiarize everyone with the work, trying to hand over the design issues as soon as possible, so that he could concentrate on developing new areas in Beijing.
In mid-July, the weather in Nanshi was getting hot. Shu Ran, who had been busy with work, suddenly remembered that his birthday was coming. Oh no… It was now Xu Shen’s birthday.
