20: Chapter 20 An Artistic Afternoon

Su Nange woke up early in the morning.

Although he had an appointment with Su Yao in the afternoon, he wanted to use the morning time to buy some clothes.

Anyway, he wasn't short on money now, so he could just buy all those sports brands he used to like.

However, Su Nange felt that luxury goods were unnecessary; brands like MLB suited him quite well.

Dressed in his new outfit, Su Nange looked very handsome. Along the way, he garnered quite a few admiring glances.

However, after the fight last night, he felt his slightly long, messy hair was a bit of an eyesore.

So, he walked into a ten-yuan quick-cut shop and got his hair trimmed.

Surprisingly, as Su Nange looked in the mirror, he felt the barber's skills were no worse than those of the hair styling directors.

Now with his short hair, he looked even more energetic and refreshed.

Paired with his well-defined facial features, it highlighted a youthful vibe.

Meanwhile, Su Yao also woke up early today. Of course, Su Yao never had the habit of sleeping in.

However, today, Su Yao clearly had a lot of preparations to make.

Various skincare products made her already delicate skin look even more flawless and tender.

Then she applied toner and a face mask.

Finally, she picked up her recently fully stocked makeup bag and began to battle it out in front of the mirror.

She applied her makeup extra carefully today, as if hesitating before every stroke.

The eyeshadow was a bit too heavy, and Su Yao pouted, "Why does it feel a bit seductive?"

So, she wiped it off and started again.

After who knows how long, a delicate little face that looked like it had no makeup on at all appeared in the mirror.

However, Su Yao herself was very satisfied with it.

Su Yao checked her phone and saw it was already 11 o'clock; she exclaimed at how time had flown by so quickly again.

She quickly ran to the wardrobe to pick out clothes that matched her makeup.

She definitely intended to wear a skirt today, but besides her work uniform skirt, Su Yao only had some ladylike long dresses.

She picked out a cyan one, tried it on, but wasn't quite satisfied. She felt that if Su Nange saw it, he would surely label her as "artistic" again.

Su Yao suddenly thought, shouldn't she try to break out of her mold?

Thus, a slightly girlish, smoky-gray pleated skirt appeared on Su Yao's slender waist.

Once the bottom was decided, the top was simple.

The weather in late October was very comfortable, so she put on a beige, collared blouse with exquisite lace.

Then she added a denim jacket, which not only fit Su Yao's obedient and pure image but also made her look very lively.

Su Yao put on a pair of white socks, hesitated for a moment, and then took them off.

She thought that after the movie in the afternoon, they would probably have dinner outside. If it got to evening, wouldn't her bare legs be a bit cold?

Thinking this, Su Yao took a delicate little gift box out of her wardrobe drawer. She had spent a fortune on it while shopping with her best friend.

Her best friend said this brand's craftsmanship was excellent and told her to give it a try.

So, Su Yao opened the package. After putting them on, her long legs looked as elegant as lotus roots.

Like in the game Miracle Nikki, Su Yao completed her outfit challenge for the day. Only then was she ready to head out, intending to take the subway early.

Su Yao politely declined Su Nange's offer to pick her up.

Su Nange reacted quickly. A stunning beauty like Su Yao would surely be like a little princess in her residential complex.

If a strange car were waiting outside the main gate, people would definitely gossip if they saw it.

Su Yao quickly ran through the living room and shouted to her parents, who were sitting on the sofa watching TV, "I won't be eating lunch; I'm going shopping with a friend this afternoon."

Wang Pei instinctively replied, "Oh," but when she saw her daughter's outfit, before she could stop her, she was interrupted by the crisp sound of the door closing.

Wang Pei said to her husband beside her, "Did you see that? Why is our Yaoyao dressed like that?"

Su Jianzhong was listening to two experts arguing intensely on TV. He replied, "What's wrong?"

Wang Pei acted as if it were a huge deal: "Yaoyao actually went out wearing such a short skirt!"

Su Jianzhong finally realized.

Then, Wang Pei brought up the time Su Yao had been making secret phone calls. She was very worried that if Su Yao happened to meet some punk, what would she do?

As for Su Jianzhong, he was worthy of being an old professor; he reacted quickly.

Su Jianzhong sighed, "Yaoyao, no matter how much we treasure her, she will definitely have to marry one day. How about this? I'll introduce her to a few outstanding young men, what do you think?"

Wang Pei lowered her head: "That's all we can do, but! Jianzhong, the boys you introduce must pass my inspection first!"

Su Jianzhong was speechless: "Would the ones I introduce to Yaoyao be bad? Hey, what about the son of Bureau Chief Qin at our school? Doesn't he suit Yaoyao quite well? Although he's a bit older, men being 30 is quite normal nowadays."

Wang Pei nodded repeatedly: "Hmm, not bad. Why don't you go and approach them?"

Su Jianzhong: "Fine, I'll go ask tomorrow."

There was a major subway station very close to where Su Yao lived.

However, as soon as Su Yao stepped into the subway, she felt some regret. If she had known, she should have just let that Annoying Ghost pick her up.

Why were there so many eyes on her? It made Su Yao feel awkward standing or sitting.

What Su Yao didn't know was that at her workplace, those men saw each other every day, so they had to maintain their image.

But here on the subway, men walking by wouldn't waste time and would feast their eyes.

So much so that as soon as she arrived at the station, Su Yao rushed out immediately.

Su Nange had been waiting early at the subway entrance on the basement floor of the mall, holding a cup of milk tea in his hand.

When Su Yao saw Su Nange, it was like seeing a savior; she hurried over.

Su Nange was dumbfounded; the girl coming towards him, full of smiles, was like a lively little deer—she was just too dainty and too cute.

So much so that even when the girl was right in front of him, he didn't pull back his gaze.

Facing Su Nange's somewhat intense look, Su Yao didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, she felt that her outfit today was the right choice.

So, comrades, when it comes to women sometimes, you tell me if they are double-standard or what.

Su Yao took the milk tea from Su Nange's hand and smiled: "What, don't you recognize me?"

Su Nange scratched his head: "It seems... I really don't quite recognize you."

Su Yao covered her mouth: "I almost didn't recognize you either. This hairstyle of yours is better than the original one; you look much more sunny and energetic."

Su Nange's mood was a bit complicated; seeing such a beautiful girl, it was absolutely impossible to say he had no thoughts.

And what man would dare to say he wouldn't be moved by a well-behaved, sensible little princess like Su Yao?

Su Nange thought, does this girl really not know that her outfit today has such great lethality? I am a hot-blooded young man, after all.

However, in his heart, Su Nange still couldn't let go of Tingting. He had warned himself more than once that he must never hurt Su Yao.

Su Nange changed his train of thought and sighed again. Sigh, maybe he was overthinking it. Look at yourself in the mirror, he thought, you're just an ordinary student from a third-tier university.

Just an ordinary insurance company salesman.

Who is Su Yao? A high-achieving student, a formal employee of City Investment, the apple of her parents' eyes.

Would she ever fancy you?

Su Nange said to Su Yao, "I've already picked up the tickets, and we still have plenty of time. How about we just stroll our way up?"

Su Yao nodded: "Okay. I rarely come to such big malls. In the past, when we Qianjiang people were kids, we all went to department stores."

"These malls now look high-end, but they lack the flavor of the past."

Su Nange wasn't a local, so he couldn't understand what Su Yao, a local old-timer, was saying. He could only agree.

Seeing Su Yao looking more and more radiant, it actually gave Su Nange an indescribable bitterness.

Su Yao asked suspiciously: "What's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind today?"

Su Nange smiled: "How could that be? I slept for a while on the car just now, maybe I haven't fully recovered yet. I've made full preparations and will definitely give my best state to finish watching the movie."

Su Yao was still very touched inside; she knew that boys definitely wouldn't like watching this movie. But since Su Nange agreed to accompany her, she was already very grateful.

Su Yao secretly made a decision: this time, she would let Su Nange accompany her. Next time, she would accompany him once too.

The movie started. Su Nange actually didn't feel bored; he really got into it.

The First Incense Burner is adapted from Eileen Chang's novel of the same name.

The story tells of a female student in that old era who, in order to continue her studies, went to the big city to rely on her aunt.

But under the manipulation of material goods and desire, the female student was influenced by her aunt and gradually fell, becoming a socialite.

After watching it, Su Nange suddenly felt very sad again. He thought, if he hadn't appeared that night, would Tingting have become like the female lead in the movie?

He now gradually understood: in the face of bread, what is faith worth? If one cannot even sustain their own life, what is the use of dignity?