The moment Ji Ying handed over the handkerchief, she regretted it, her teeth lightly biting her lip. She wasn’t even familiar with him—why meddle so much?
Her pale fingertips hovered in the air, ready to withdraw. But before she could move, the other end of the handkerchief was already pinched.
Fu Jingshen bent slightly in cooperation, his long, defined fingers drawing the handkerchief into his palm. His voice was clear as jade, yet carried a natural chill. “Thank you.”
Ji Ying inclined her head, leaning slightly against the stair rail to signal him to go first.
From his higher vantage, Fu Jingshen couldn’t see her expression—only the glimpse of her snow-white neck. He lowered his gaze, stepped away, and had barely gone a few paces when a voice called from behind: “Long time no see, Boss Lady.”
He turned immediately, catching sight of Yan Hang’s eager smile.
Though she could no longer recall who the man before her was, Ji Ying still offered a polite, faint smile. “Long time no see.”
Yan Hang was dazzled, unable to look away, and followed her back upstairs, forgetting entirely about Fu Jingshen in the blind spot of his view.
Fu Jingshen paused for a few seconds before silently descending the stairs.
Outside the teahouse, the heavy rain from earlier had stopped. It seemed that when she appeared, the rain truly ceased.
Fu Jingshen lifted the handkerchief, glanced down at it, his eyes flickering. His thumb unconsciously stroked the corner— There, embroidered, was a small pink cherry blossom.
“Taste it.” Ji Ying’s eyes curved with a smile as she poured the freshly brewed tea into a cup and placed it before Chen Yu.
Ji Ying’s skill in brewing tea was unmatched, rarely shared. Chen Yu lowered her head to sip, and her eyes lit up instantly. “So fragrant! Manager, your craft is incredible.”
Ji Ying’s lips curved. “It’s the tea that’s good.” Her jade-white fingers held the porcelain cup, paler even than the vessel itself. She sipped lightly, then winked playfully at Chen Yu. “Keemun black tea.”
Chen Yu stared, transfixed by Ji Ying’s movements. Even after seeing her countless times, she still couldn’t look away.
Ji Ying was undoubtedly a beauty—not only in appearance, but in the grace of every gesture. Chen Yu couldn’t imagine what kind of man could ever be worthy of her.
“Manager, you look stunning today! No wonder that Yan fellow couldn’t take his eyes off you. Luckily, you dismissed him with just a few words.”
Ji Ying tapped Chen Yu’s forehead with her slender finger. “Was I not beautiful yesterday?”
Chen Yu’s ears flushed red. “Beautiful—beautiful every day! That Yan is just a frivolous young master, unworthy of you.”
Though Ji Ying rarely appeared in public, many like Yan Hang often visited, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Most left disappointed.
Ji Ying only smiled without reply.
“If anyone could be worthy…” Chen Yu’s eyes darted, raising a finger. “That man on the stairs today—judging by looks, he might barely qualify.”
“Just a tiny bit.” Ji Ying thought to herself that Fu Jingshen’s looks were indeed captivating.
At that, Chen Yu grew curious. “Tell me, Manager—do you actually know him? I’ve never seen you take the initiative to speak with a guest.”
Ji Ying’s fingers paused on the porcelain cup. “I know him,” she answered after a brief silence, “but not well.”
“Oh~” Chen Yu sounded disappointed.
The next second, Ji Ying calmly took a sip of tea. “It’s just a childhood betrothal, that’s all.”
“Oh… wha—?!” Chen Yu nearly spilled her cup. “Betrothal? You’re engaged?!”
Ji Ying smiled. “Mm.”
Chen Yu was instantly stricken with grief. How could such a fairy already be engaged! And worse—engaged, yet the man dared to act unfamiliar, forcing the fairy to offer him a handkerchief herself! Why wasn’t he drowned in tea water instead!
“Alright.” Ji Ying propped her chin on her hand, smiling at Chen Yu’s shifting expressions. “Stop imagining things.”
Chen Yu pouted.
Back to the matter at hand.
“Since Wang Xing isn’t sincere, we don’t need to be polite. There are plenty of tea merchants we can work with.” Ji Ying’s eyes held a faint smile. “In the coming days, I’ll personally make a trip to Huizhou.”
“You’ll go yourself?” Chen Yu asked.
Ji Ying thought for a moment, then gave a wry smile. “If my family will let me out.”
Chen Yu knew Ji Ying’s family was extremely strict, never approving of her running Yulinling. That was why she managed the shop most of the time. She often wondered what kind of family could produce a beauty like Ji Ying, carved from jade.
As they spoke, Ji Ying’s phone lit up. She answered, hearing Yu Wanqing’s gentle voice asking when she would return home.
“I’m on my way back,” Ji Ying replied. After hanging up, she gave Chen Yu a helpless nod. Chen Yu shrugged in understanding.
Leaving the teahouse, Ji Ying stood under the eaves. The sky had begun to drizzle again, and a light breeze was blowing. The umbrella handle was still damp from earlier rain. She reached into her bag, fumbling for a while before remembering—the only handkerchief she had was already given away.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard a shy male voice at her ear: “Hello.”
Ji Ying lifted her eyes and saw a young man with a camera hanging around his neck.
The moment their eyes met, the young man’s handsome face flushed red. He quickly looked away. “Sorry to bother you. My name is Xiao Yang.”
“Hello.” Seeing that he meant no harm, Ji Ying replied gently.
“It’s like this.” Xiao Yang clutched his camera nervously. “This morning I was taking photos on West Street, and I accidentally captured you.” He lowered his head, voice barely audible. “Would you like these photos? I can send them to you.” Then he hurriedly added, “I’m not trying to hit on you, I—I really just wanted to give you the photos…”
“Alright.” Ji Ying, noticing he was nearly stumbling over his words, smiled faintly and agreed.
Xiao Yang fumbled for his phone. “Should I… add you on WeChat?”
Ji Ying: “If you prefer QQ, that’s fine too.”
Xiao Yang: “…”
Ji Ying gave him her WeChat. She had two accounts—one for work, one for personal use. The work account wasn’t much of a secret.
By then, the driver had already parked the car by the roadside.
Xiao Yang kept it brief: “Once I’ve edited the photos, I’ll send them to you, Miss Ji.”
Ji Ying had already opened the car door. Hearing this, she smiled. “Thank you.”
The car pulled away, leaving Xiao Yang standing there, his refined face dazed, unable to recover for a long while.
Yan Hang arrived at the club fifteen minutes late. Pushing open the heavy wooden door of the private room, he was met with the faint smell of smoke mixed with expensive perfume. Around the card table sat several men. Besides Fu Jingshen, two others were accompanied by female companions.
“Just got here?” Jiang Sheng, sitting inside with a cigarette between his lips, lifted his chin toward Fu Jingshen opposite him. “Late like this—are you busier than Third Master?”
Beside him, Xu Zhou gestured for his companion to light his cigarette. “Maybe he just came back from a beauty’s embrace, still lost in her charms.”
Jiang Sheng raised a brow. “A beauty? Which one? Don’t tell me that elusive proprietress of Yulinling?”
Fu Jingshen, silent until now, lifted his eyes slightly, casting a cool glance at Yan Hang slouched at the table.
Yan Hang shuffled the cards with practiced ease, slapped them down, and signaled the others to draw.
Xu Zhou laughed lazily, picking up a card. “So you still haven’t seen her, huh?”
“Cut the nonsense.” Yan Hang, already simmering with frustration, snapped, “Play.”
Jiang Sheng shook his head with mock pity. “So you really haven’t seen her.”
Catching the ridicule in their tone, Yan Hang laughed angrily. “Who says I haven’t? I actually saw her today.” He played his card, nearly choking on his own excitement.
Jiang Sheng looked skeptical. “Really?”
“Really!” Yan Hang jerked his chin toward Fu Jingshen. “Third Master was there too—you can ask him.”
Xu Zhou perked up with interest. “So Third Master saw her right away? Quite the luck with beauties.”
Jiang Sheng looked toward Fu Jingshen and asked, “Then tell us—what’s this beauty like, the one our Young Master Yan can’t stop dreaming about?”
For a while, there was no reply. The men’s attention was drawn, and they all turned to Fu Jingshen.
They had been brothers for years—everyone knew Fu Jingshen was cold-hearted, yet ironically the one most blessed in romance. From childhood, he had been engaged in a marriage that everyone envied, his fiancée none other than Ji Ying of the Ji family in northern Beijing, famed for her beauty.
The only pity was that Ji Ying kept an extremely low profile. Her family shielded her so tightly that she had attended only a handful of banquets over the years. But those rare appearances had elevated her to near-mythical status, earning her the exaggerated title of “a goddess descended.”
For Jiang Sheng and Xu Zhou, the last time they had seen Ji Ying was many years ago. As for Yan Hang, who had only returned to the family from Shanghai in high school, Fu Jingshen’s fairy-like fiancée was little more than a legend.
Under their gazes, Fu Jingshen’s expression remained indifferent. His long fingers brushed the cards in his hand. “Anyone want these?”
Before they could react, he tossed down all his remaining cards. “If not, I’ll play them.”
“Damn!” Yan Hang stared at the hand Fu Jingshen had laid down. “A straight flush—all hearts! My luck with women must’ve been stolen by Third Master.”
Jiang Sheng and Xu Zhou threw down their cards and pushed their chips across the table. “Finished—we’re going to lose everything again today.”
Fu Jingshen calmly collected hundreds of thousands in chips.
With that interruption, the earlier topic was quietly brushed aside. Jiang Sheng and Xu Zhou didn’t forget to tease Yan Hang: “So you got shut out by the beauty, didn’t you?”
The words struck right at Yan Hang’s sore spot. He snapped, “Enough! If you don’t talk, no one will mistake you for mute.”
A new round began.
“Strange,” Xu Zhou flicked ash from his cigarette, mocking. “When has Young Master Yan ever failed?”
Annoyed, Yan Hang muttered, “She’s not an ordinary woman.”
At the teahouse today, no matter how much Yan Hang tried to charm her, the beauty remained distant yet polite. Fearing he’d seem too forward, he left in frustration.
Yan Hang declared: “She’s my goddess.”
“Pfft.” Jiang Sheng nearly laughed himself breathless, while Xu Zhou shook his head in disbelief.
Fu Jingshen cast Yan Hang a silent glance, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Right in front of Yan Hang, he slowly wiped at fingers that had no dust at all.
When Jiang Sheng finished laughing, he tapped the table. “If you like her that much, check her family background. Tailor your approach.”
Xu Zhou added, “Find out what she lacks, give her that. I don’t believe any woman wouldn’t be moved.”
For men like them, that was the way. For a young master born with a silver spoon like Yan Hang, chasing women was supposed to be effortless.
After hearing this, Fu Jingshen raised his brow, his voice carrying its natural chill. “Have you never considered that she’s already engaged?”
Xu Zhou toyed idly with his lighter, replying carelessly, “So what if she is? Just take her away.”
As Xu Zhou finished speaking, he suddenly felt a cold gaze fall upon him. Looking up, Fu Jingshen’s face was calm, as if it had all been his imagination.
Yan Hang, however, looked at Fu Jingshen with sorrow, as though seeking guidance from a pillar of strength. “Third Master, then what do you think I should do?”
Fu Jingshen’s fingertips lightly brushed over the pink cherry blossom embroidered on the handkerchief. He raised his eyes toward Yan Hang and suddenly let out a quiet laugh, his voice clear and cool. “Clean yourself up.”
Yan Hang: “Huh?”
“And then get lost.”
T/n: Ying in Ji Ying means sakura/cherry blossoms.