Chapter 34 — If you are prettier than the bride, then isn’t that awkward?

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Using Xu Ying’s words, many gentlemen and celebrities had been invited to her engagement reception with He Chen. Naturally, parents from both sides would also be in attendance. Which would mean…seeing the family head.

Although to He Xiu, Aunt Jiang was more his parent than He Jing Long and Zhao Ying Fang, nominally, the latter two were his parents.

“Eh…” Jian Yan felt a bit nervous in her heart. “What day is the engagement reception? I don’t know if I have work that day.”

He Xiu said, “If you have a conflicting shift, I can help transfer you to a different one.”

Jian Yan: “…”

Yes, that’s right.

He Xiu silently waited for her answer. Jian Yan struggled for a moment before rubbing her neck and saying, “Alright. I’ll go.”

He Xiu released a sigh of relief and smiled at her. He said, “Then when that moment comes, I’ll come get you.”

“Okay.” After Jian Yan said goodbye to him, she opened the door and left the car. Upon entering her home, she exhaled deeply. Currently, she and He Xiu…were affirming their relationship? But, neither of them had confessed!

She used her slightly cool hands to press against her cheeks. Before knowing He Xiu, she really had no expectations whatsoever towards love——with such a severe case of misandry, who was she going to date?

But now, she was actually worried about seeing the family head of a male friend.

Today, He Xiu had taken her to see his aunt. Did that mean she should also find a day to bring him to see her mom? After all, her mom had caught a glimpse of him last time.

No, no, no, neither of them had confessed still!

Jian Yan patted her face before going to the bathroom to bathe.

She had originally planned on working tonight, but she was no longer in the mood to draw at the moment. Instead, she nestled within her blanket and went online. Scrolling through her Weibo home page, she discovered that VOICE’s official blog had uploaded a video file not long ago. The contents were…the studio’s entire personnel wishing everyone a blessed New Year!

Apart from Nan Si, VOICE also had several other well-known singers. This Weibo post hadn’t been up for long, but it was rapidly exceeding ten thousand reblogs. Jian Yan clicked it open to take a look. Although it was a video, there were no graphics, just subtitles and a note on who was currently speaking.

The BGM1 used was…one of those especially festive kind of Lunar New Year music.

Jian Yan: “…”

The comments had also already become crazily wild by this enigma. One after another, everyone left comments about how 「After this BGM, no one can tease me anymore」.

It was innumerably fortunate that all of the Great Gods of VOICE, despite this kind of BGM, still shockingly stayed on this platform. In particular, after Nan Si’s voice came through, there was absolutely no one who could hear the BGM.

“Hello, everyone. I am Nan Si. I wish that everyone has a happy new year and that they are happy every day. In this new year, I wish everyone can suddenly get rich quick, play less on their phones, and go to sleep a bit earlier.”

Pfff. Jian Yan couldn’t help but giggle. Great God Nan Si’s blessings are very realistic.

In the comments, the fans stated, 「If I could sleep together with you, then they can go to sleep at 5:00PM.」

Jian Yan: “…”

Fans are even more dependable.

Just before she went to sleep, she went to her cloakroom to find her own formal gowns. She had previously bought one when she had attended a Manhua Association award ceremony for the first time. Normally, however, an evening gown like that could only be worn once because it was impossible for one to attend an award ceremony or banquet every time whilst wearing the same dress. It was compulsory to change attire.

In her heart, Jian Yan was slightly hesitant. All evening gowns were very expensive, and even though this dress of hers wasn’t very costly, it had been a few hundred thousand yuan. Calling to mind the contempt Xu Ying had held for those types of evening gowns that cost more than two hundred thousand yuan last time, she decisively placed the dress back.

An elite’s haute couture was, to say the least, in the price range of several millions of yuan. This price, it wasn’t like she couldn’t afford to pay; it was just that it wasn’t very cost-effective since she could only wear it once. If she wasn’t willing to pay for it, then she could only borrow from brand names. She previously had a collaboration with Bunny, so if she sought them out, then it should be relatively easy to borrow a dress from them.

She glanced at the time and felt that Lin Zhen should not have gone to bed yet, so she gave her a call. At the moment, Lin Zhen was still in the studio, looking over an author’s rough sketch. Hearing her phone ring, she casually accepted the call. “Hello.”

“It’s me, Jian Yan. Are you still in the studio?”

“Yes, a draft still needed to be looked over. What do you need so late at night?”

“Oh, I’m attending a friend’s engagement reception. Can you help me see if Bunny has an expensive evening gown I can borrow?”

Lin Zhen blinked rapidly, setting down the draft as well. “How could I not know about an engagement reception of your friend’s?”

Jian Yan’s friend circle was very small, so her circle basically coincided with Lin Zhen’s. She hadn’t heard of someone getting engaged, though.

“A friend you don’t know.” Jian Yan was afraid that she would ask more, so she very quickly went through the motions of answering. “Can you help me?”

Celebrities would frequently find large brands to borrow high-end clothes off of to attend all kinds of events, but brand names also wouldn’t lend out clothing to just anyone. In her heart, Jian Yan was still uneasy of failure.

“If you want to borrow, you should be able to. After all, we also have a collaboration with them. Only, are you sure about wearing something so fancy to attend someone’s engagement reception? When that moment comes, if you are prettier than the bride, then isn’t that awkward?”

“Eh, maybe there really is a little…”Jian Yan could imagine Xu Ying’s utterly discomfited appearance. “But I’m afraid of losing face if I wear any ordinary evening gown. I considered it for a moment and felt that my humiliation is not equal to her humiliation.”

Lin Zhen: “…”

“Well, are you sure it is your friend holding the engagement reception? Not an enemy?”

Jian Yan stated, “A friend is merely a qualifying word.”

“Oh, I understand.” Lin Zhen nodded. If it was like this, then it was okay to be daring. “When do you need it; are you in a hurry?”

Jian Yan thought back for a moment before saying, “The engagement reception, if I recall correctly, is the 16th of this month.”

“Okay, I’ll help you ask in two days, but you still need to personally go and try on the clothes.”

“Mn, contact me when that moment comes.”

Completing this agreement with Lin Zhen, Jian Yan could finally be considered to be at ease. She didn’t expect, however, for her to receive a call from He Xiu first before the call she had been waiting for from Lin Zhen.

“After you finish work tomorrow, will you go with me to Bunny’s specialty store to try on clothes?”

Jian Yan’s soul fluttered away in shock. “Try on what clothes?”

He Xiu smiled and said, “Naturally, it’s for our formal attire when we attend the engagement reception. Did you forget?”

“Ah, of course I didn’t forget. I already arranged for Lin Zhen to help me deal with the formal attire.”

He Xiu heard her say this and his smile deepened a bit. “In the end, who is the boss, you or Lin Zhen? How come I feel that she is more like your assistant?”

Jian Yan: “…”

“Then you haven’t seen her when she’s pressing for drafts to the completed. Once you’ve experienced this, then you’ll know how much bitterness the exploited and oppressed working people suffer.”

“Haha.” He Xiu chuckled. “It was me who invited you to the engagement reception. Naturally, the clothes you will wear for attending would be my responsibility. Let’s not trouble Chief Lin.”

“Oh, okay then. I’ll speak with her.”

“Mn. After you get off work, wait for me by the doorway. I’ll take you there.”

“Okay.” Jian Yan pondered for a moment. She just won’t drive her car tomorrow morning. Last time when He Xiu had taken her to Aunt Jiang’s house, she had left her car for the night at the company.

After coming to an agreement He Xiu, she hurriedly called Lin Zhen and told her that she didn’t need to borrow clothes anymore.

Lin Zhen didn’t ask much, merely saying, “Okay. I just so happened to be quite busy these two days, so I hadn’t had time to ask anyway.” After she said this, she asked her, “How much longer are you going to be working at Starlight General Merchandise? Didn’t you previously say until after Christmas?”

“Oh, Director He said that they’ve recently been short-staffed, so I’m staying until Lunar New Year, where I can even get the holiday bonus.”

Lin Zhen was greatly alarmed. “You, a probationary employee, still can get a holiday bonus?” Head He did business like this??

Jian Yan contrarily felt that it was inevitable and expected. “Yes, shouldn’t you learn from others?”

“…” Lin Zhen frowned and said to her, “Then can you still finish drawing your rough sketches? The magazine says that your drafts need to be handed over by Lunar New Year.”

“Don’t worry. The yonkama scripts are already completely drawn, and the poster’s line sketch is done, just need to color it in. If there’s not enough time, I’ll seek you out and get you to send over assistants. Then since that’s settled, I’m going to keep on working.”

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After finishing work the next day, she went to Bunny’s specialty store with He Xiu. Bunny’s store in Starlight General Merchandise was the largest in the nation, larger than any of its other specialty stores. The staff there knew the two of them, however. If the two of them went there to buy clothes, then it was likely that the next day, this information would be spread widely throughout the entire company.

Therefore, He Xiu deliberately took her outside to shop, which she also didn’t feel was odd.

“You already chose the formal attire?” she asked He Xiu.

He Xiu nodded and said, “But I’m afraid it might not complement your body, so I’m taking you to try.”

“Oh.” Jian Yan didn’t say anything else. After they arrived at the specialty store at last, the shop assistant enthusiastically welcomed them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Hello, Mr. He, your formal attire has already been delivered.” The pretty shop assistant smiled as she said this before her gaze fell onto Jian Yan. “Is this the lady who is wearing it?”

He Xiu answered, “Yes.”

“Okay, then please come with me.”

The shop assistant led them to the second floor. Rather than rows upon rows of clothes on the second floor, it was a VIP reception room.

“It’s this dress.” The shop assistant pointed at a white evening gown on a mannequin. She politely sized up Jian Yan. “The dress should fit this lady very well.”

Jian Yan recognized it with one glance. This was an expensive article from Bunny. Not only was it off the runway of this year’s fashion show, its price was set as seven million yuan or so.

“So beautiful.” Jian Yan couldn’t help but sigh. The dress had silver sequins and pearls hand-stitched onto the chest; making something like this must have took a lot of time and skill.

He Xiu was also very pleased with the evening gown. “Try it on. It should be even more beautiful when worn.”

The shop assistant carefully took down the dress from the mannequin and led Jian Yan to the dressing room. He Xiu sat down in the reception room and waited for her. The shop assistant considerately gave him a tray of small pastries and a cup of coffee.

He Xiu browsed through a fashion magazine for a while until Jian Yan came out after changing clothes. He Xiu raised his head and was unable to tear his gaze away.

Jian Yan had always been beautiful, and her figure was very well proportioned with her tall height. She was a natural model. Although this evening gown’s design was luxurious, the white color made it appear very pure, gentle, and beautiful, surrounded by a slight aura of ‘not eating the food of common mortals.’

He Xiu’s lips slowly curved, revealing a smile to Jian Yan. “Indeed, my vision was correct. You look stunning wearing this dress.”

Jian Yan herself also liked it very much. She kept looking at herself in the mirror. The shop assistant stood to her side and helped her straighten out the skirt before saying to her, “This evening gown’s sequins and pearls were all handsewn one by one, and the silver silk embroidery on this white muslin skirt had been done by hand to create a dark striped look. If you look carefully, you can see that they are in the shape of flowers, which is faintly discernible on the white muslin.”

Jian Yan nodded. “Mn, its designer is Lewis. I love his work.”

He Xiu stood up from the sofa and walked up to her. “If there’s anywhere that doesn’t fit, they can alter it.”

Jian Yan looked up at him. “Alter? Don’t tell me you plan to buy it?”

He Xiu replied, “Of course.”

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Author’s Note:

I was still late…I have made a mistake; I will reflect…

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Notes:

1. BGM = background music ?