The staff at the Civil Affairs Bureau didn’t ask a single question. They took the marriage certificate, tapped away at the computer, then pulled out two divorce certificates and stamped them with a heavy thump. “All set.”
Su Yin stared at the green booklet, so miserable he wanted to die. “How soon can we remarry?”
The staff member said, “One week.” They looked thoroughly used to this sort of thing and didn’t even ask why.
“That’s actually pretty short. Weixue, shall we…” Su Yin turned his head, only to find that Pei Weixue had already walked out of the hall. By the time he chased after him, all he got was exhaust fumes.
He ran off so fast, like he was afraid Su Yin might regret it. Was he really that impatient?
Su Yin walked along the roadside, absently rubbing the still not quite dry embossed seal on the divorce certificate.
When he reached the overpass, he saw an old man up there playing the erhu. Su Yin listened for a while, and the longer he listened, the more heartsick he felt. He even had the urge to ask if the old man could play the suona too, and just send him off properly.
With a sigh, he took out his phone, thinking he’d scan over a little money for the old man, seeing as he’d listened to a whole performance.
“Thank you,” the old man said quickly when he saw Su Yin trying to scan the code. But after waiting and waiting, no money came through. “Young man, one or two yuan is fine too.”
Su Yin looked at the words ‘Insufficient balance’ on the payment screen and nearly lost it. It was only fifty yuan, and that still wasn’t enough?
Helpless, he could only type in 40.
Insufficient balance.
30. Insufficient balance.
20. Insufficient balance.
In a fit of desperation, he typed in 1 yuan. The words ‘Insufficient balance’ popped up again, and Su Yin once more felt dead inside. So there wasn’t even a dime in his bank card?!
Not only had that person stolen six years of his life, they had spent every last bit of his prize money too. Outrageous! Sooner or later, he was going to kill that bastard!
Awkward, humiliated. In all his twenty-six years, Su Yin had never been in this kind of situation. Under the old man’s gaze, he fumbled through his pockets. He had a little cash left over from buying groceries yesterday.
He pulled out a five-yuan bill, shoved it into the old man’s hand, and hurried off. This was too mortifying. He was twenty-six years old and couldn’t even come up with forty yuan.
Ahhhhhhh.
How the hell had it all been spent?? His competition prize money added up to hundreds of thousands. He hurriedly squatted down by the roadside and checked the transaction history. The moment he finished, he wanted to die. Luxury purchases like watches and tie clips costing ten or twenty thousand at a time, restaurant bills in the thousands.
No, seriously, just like that, all his money was gone.
At this point, the only thing he could be grateful for was that he didn’t have any debt.
Ding!
A repayment reminder popped up at the top of his phone screen, and Su Yin wanted to smash his phone on the spot.
Not only was he broke, he was in debt too! As for the house payment, he had always transferred each installment to Pei Weixue and let him handle it.
But over the past six years, he hadn’t transferred a single payment. Even the money for yesterday’s gym membership had come out of the family card.
So furious he kicked a plastic bag at his feet, only for it to stick to his shoe no matter how hard he tried to shake it off. He wrestled with it for ages before finally tearing it off with his hand.
Utter darkness.
He’d better find a job and make some money first.
Looking at his teacher’s number in his contacts, he had no idea whether ‘that him’ had done something to anger her too.
Back when he first entered a fashion design competition, the internationally renowned designer Ye Lin had been one of the judges. After seeing his design, she had taken him on as her student.
She was his mentor. Before graduation, she had told him to go abroad with her for six months of further study, and he had agreed, but judging by the current situation, he probably never went.
Beep beep beep~
“Hello.”
The familiar voice came through, and Su Yin grabbed his phone tightly. “Teacher, it’s me, Su Yin.” Thank God, she hadn’t blocked him. There was still hope.
Ye Lin let out a cold laugh. “Teacher? I wouldn’t dare accept that title.”
Su Yin: “?” Dear God, what had ‘that him’ done now?! Why was his teacher ignoring him too?
“Teacher. I was wrong.” Su Yin had always been quick to admit fault. Even though he had no idea what he’d done, if he wanted to return to the design world now, he desperately needed her support.
Ye Lin said in a cutting tone, “Oh? So you do know how to admit you’re wrong? Go on then, what do you want from me?”
Su Yin said, “Teacher, I wasted six years and let down your expectations. I want to continue designing now. I noticed there’s a fashion design competition in Haicheng next month, and the rules say contestants need guidance from a mentor. Teacher, would you still be willing to guide me?”
“Su Yin, six years ago you stood me up. And for the past six years you’ve been ghost-designing for other people. Do you know what people in the industry say about me because of that?”
Even though his teacher wasn’t in front of him, Su Yin obediently lowered his head and spoke softly into the phone. “I… I’ve come back from the wrong path. Teacher, do you still want me as your student?”
“Draw three design sketches for me,” Ye Lin said calmly.
“Okay! I just finished one, I’ll send it to you right away. Thank you, Teacher.” Su Yin bowed to thin air, startling the pedestrians walking by. He didn’t feel embarrassed in the slightest, completely immersed in the excitement that his teacher was still willing to look at his work.
That meant he still had a chance to stay in the design world.
After receiving the photo, Ye Lin brushed back her long hair and zoomed in for a closer look. It was a simple yet elegant wool shirt, with a small V-neck design that highlighted the swan-like line of the neck and shoulders. After examining it carefully, the young woman beside her said, “Looks like Su Yin’s muse has come back.”
Su Yin heard the voice and lit up with delight. “Senior sister! Please put in a good word for me with Teacher, I really do know I was wrong.”
Ye Lin said, “Make the physical garment and bring it to my shop the day after tomorrow.”
“Okay, okay, okay. Thank you, Teacher.”
After hanging up, Su Yin shouted into the air in delight and jumped straight up on the spot. There was hope, there was hope.
After his gym class ended, Su Yin rushed home without stopping for a second, burst into the studio, and hugged the dress form as he started making clothes.
After taking the measurements, he moved on to cutting, and the sewing machine rattled away.
It kept rattling until dark.
Pei Weixue came over to move the printer. Hearing the noise, he walked to the studio door and looked in through the crack. Su Yin was bent over the sewing machine, busy with pen and ruler in hand, while lengths of fabric hung over the mannequin beside him.
The plastic mannequin’s waist was slightly narrower than Pei Weixue’s. In the past, every time Su Yin came up with a new design, he would measure Pei Weixue’s waist before continuing the garment.
He didn’t look for long. He picked up the printer and turned to leave. But after returning to the workspace, he couldn’t help wondering whether Su Yin hadn’t asked for his measurements because he was making clothes for He Nan again.
Su Yin hadn’t touched a sketchpad or done any designing for over five years. It was only after meeting He Nan that he had started drawing design drafts again.
On his birthday before the New Year, he’d seen Su Yin buried in work in the studio and had actually felt a little happy, thinking Su Yin was finally no longer ignoring him and was making him new clothes as a birthday present.
In the end, though, that light gray little suit had been delivered into He Nan’s hands. He had to admit it broke him. Broke him enough that he had barged into the studio to check the garment’s measurements, wanting to demand why Su Yin had taken a gift meant for him and given it to someone else.
But from the very beginning, the measurements written in the notebook had never been his. No wonder Su Yin hadn’t asked to measure him. He had thought Su Yin was simply returning to his old craft, but it had all been false hope.
Suddenly, his phone chimed with a text alert.
He glanced at it. It was actually from Su Yin. The profile picture had been changed to a photo of the two of them together at the ski resort, so he almost didn’t recognize it.
He tapped into the chat.
【Su Yin: Weixue, my teacher asked me to bring over a sample outfit from my latest design. Could you send me your measurements? When it’s done, could I trouble you to model for me [rubbing hands]】
Sometimes Pei Weixue truly hated himself. He had thought there was absolutely no way Su Yin’s every little action could hurt him anymore, yet just a text like this was enough to make his nose sting.
“Weixue, you’re my muse. This time my design concept moved the judges on site so much that I almost didn’t even get first prize.”
After winning the last design competition he entered six years ago, Su Yin had called him from overseas to share his joy and said exactly that.
He had said “You’re my muse” more than once, saying that the inspiration for many of his award-winning designs had come from him.
He had been so happy, so very happy, to be Su Yin’s muse and his model. That way, it wasn’t as if he could only receive Su Yin’s kindness without ever being able to give back in kind.
“Engineer Pei. Take a look at the proposal for XX Company’s system design. They said they want it simpler, and then even simpler than that.”
Pei Weixue took the proposal his assistant handed him. It was full of color print photos and various page designs. He looked at the clashing color combinations on it, then looked again at Su Yin’s text.
He could be his model tonight when he got back.
“Mm. This will do. Start on it.” The system didn’t have many functions anyway, just basic input, lookup, and search functions.
“Also, President Liu has arranged a dinner tonight. He says he wants to discuss some issues with the after-sales system.”
Pei Weixue nodded.
After work, Pei Weixue took his keys and headed out. The phone in his pocket vibrated twice, but he didn’t look. It was probably just more of Su Yin’s rambling messages.
As he drove past He Corporation, he suddenly saw a familiar figure coming out of the building. His expression darkened instantly. So much for saying he’d change.
He stepped on the gas and sped past Su Yin.
Su Yin, who had hurriedly gone to retrieve all the design drafts, was riding a shared bike home, drenched in sweat from pedaling.
If he hadn’t discovered while checking the phone records that a lot of his design drafts had been taken, he never would have come here.
If Pei Weixue found out, he’d definitely misunderstand and think he’d come to see He Nan again.
Damn it. He hadn’t even seen He Nan’s face clearly once.
Halfway there, a Maybach backed up from the roadside. He looked up. “Twiggy!” He immediately tried to stop the bike. “Give me a ride home, quick!” He was in a real hurry right now. Pei Weixue hadn’t replied to his messages, but the clothes still had to be made.
“I knew you hadn’t given up. You divorce Pei Weixue and immediately come running to He Nan. Have you no shame?” Jiang Zhi drove slowly, speaking with open mockery.
Su Yin stopped his bike, and Jiang Zhi stopped his car too. “Say something. Don’t play dead. Did you run to He Nan again to badmouth me?”
“Sigh.” Su Yin grabbed the strap of his backpack. “I just came to get my design drafts.” He wasn’t going to let anyone else benefit from his work.
“Drop the act. He’s in the company right now.” Jiang Zhi flat-out didn’t believe him.
Su Yin put one hand on his hip. “No, really. If he’s in the company, then why are you circling around down here? Just go find him. What’s the point of lurking around like some ghost?”
“Oh?” That only made Jiang Zhi angrier. He shoved the car door open and ran up in front of Su Yin. “If it weren’t for you, would we have broken up? If we hadn’t broken up, would I need to ask to get back together?” In a fury, he jabbed a finger at Su Yin’s nose. “You’re one to talk. Pei Weixue divorces you, and you’re probably so happy your tail’s about to stick up in the air. Now you can cling to He Nan out in the open.”
“Bro.” Su Yin slapped at the finger in front of him and failed to knock it away. “Bro.” The second slap didn’t work either. After several tries, he gave up. “Twiggy!”
Hearing the nickname, surprise flickered in Jiang Zhi’s eyes. “Why are you suddenly calling me by my nickname? What are you plotting now? Maybe I can’t beat you in a fight, but I’m not letting you trick me again!”
“What did I ever trick you about!” Su Yin shouted right back. “Why would I trick you! No one compares to my Weixue, so why would I even bother?”
Jiang Zhi refused to back down. “You used to say right in front of Pei Weixue that he wasn’t even worth one of He Nan’s toes. And now suddenly he’s the best?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“If it wasn’t you, then was it a ghost? I’d know you even if you turned to ashes. Either way, I’m not getting fooled by you again.”
Su Yin thought, Isn’t this the perfect chance to dig up some information? So he pressed on, “Then tell me, what exactly did I trick you about?”
“You staged that kidnapping with He Nan and tricked me into rescuing you!”
Su Yin: “?”
Su Yin: “Man, I couldn’t possibly be that bored, could I?”
Jiang Zhi: “You could! You even squatted outside my hotel room with He Nan all night. When he and I were in bed, you even said you wanted in so we could play some little filling-the-sandwich game.”
Su Yin: “…” His fist hardened. Really hardened.
He’d better catch whoever had been controlling him. Beating them into a pig’s head wouldn’t solve anything, he needed to scatter their ashes!