Jiang Shu waved her hand and pointed to the clothes and dresses behind her. “Take a look and pick whichever you like. I’ll buy it for you.”
Her smile was bright, her eyes sincere. Ruan Tang could tell Jiang Shu genuinely wanted to give her clothes.
To be honest, ever since she was little, whether it was toys or food, her parents would always prioritize her older brother or younger brother first. She rarely had the chance to make choices.
Clothes were always bought by her mother—whatever was purchased was what she wore.
Later, when she learned to make clothes herself, she still stuck to plain, ordinary styles. Her mother said girls shouldn’t dress too flashy, as it might give people the wrong impression about their character.
So she had never worn a dress before.
Now, with Jiang Shu so enthusiastically urging her to choose, Ruan Tang felt somewhat at a loss.
She moved closer to Jiang Ye, her small hand grabbing the hem of his clothes as she said, “I want to buy some fabric to make clothes for Jiang Ye.”
Her expression, her little movements—Jiang Shu took it all in.
This girl was indeed as her mother had described: simple and straightforward in nature, speaking directly without any hidden agendas.
It seemed that brat Jiang Ye had really stumbled upon a treasure!
Jiang Shu decided to pick out clothes for her personally, so she took another look at Ruan Tang.
The girl was about 1.65 meters tall, with a slender build. Her small chest was decently shaped, her waist was slim, her bottom was quite perky, and her legs were long and straight. Not bad, not bad—she’d make a good clothes hanger.
But her current clothes?
Although clean and tidy…
The floral short-sleeve seemed to have been washed too many times and had become somewhat sheer. Fortunately, she wore a small undershirt inside to avoid exposure. The blue pants had been washed so much they were fading.
The cloth shoes on her feet also looked like they’d been worn for a long time.
It seemed she needed a full set of matching outfits.
So Jiang Shu smiled and said, “You two go buy the fabric first. Just stop by here before heading back.”
Jiang Ye understood her implied meaning and nodded, then led Ruan Tang away.
Jiang Shu crossed her arms, watching their retreating figures with amusement.
Her younger brother was tall and handsome, her sister-in-law petite and cute—they were truly a perfect match!
No wonder her mother hadn’t minded the trouble of calling up to the fourth floor just to tell her that Jiang Ye was getting married.
How wonderful!
Jiang Ye’s marriage was truly a happy occasion.
Because she had been looking forward to it for so, so long.
Jiang Ye took Ruan Tang directly to the fabric counter.
She looked around—there were only a few colors available: mostly black, gray, and army green, with fewer options in navy blue and white.
Ruan Tang felt the fabrics and thought the white one was more breathable, suitable for making tops.
She turned to ask Jiang Ye, “What color pants do you like?”
Jiang Ye leaned against the counter, staring at Ruan Tang. How could he possibly focus on choosing fabric?
He said, “I’ll like whatever you choose.”
Ruan Tang actually believed him. She said to the saleswoman, “Sister, please give me nine feet of that breathable white fabric—no, make it ten feet. He’s tall. And nine feet of the navy blue fabric.”
White tops paired with navy blue pants would look better.
“Alright, coming right up,” the saleswoman responded.
Noticing how Jiang Ye’s eyes were completely focused on Ruan Tang, she couldn’t help but say, “You two are so loving, and you look very well-matched too.”
“Sister, you have great eyesight to notice that,” Jiang Ye said, giving her a thumbs-up.
The saleswoman felt pleased by the compliment, so when measuring the fabric, she made sure to give generous portions.
Ruan Tang couldn’t help but look at Jiang Ye.
From their recent interactions, she could tell Jiang Ye didn’t dislike her, and she didn’t dislike him either. Being around him felt quite comfortable.
Could this be what they called… affection?!
It felt a bit strange.
Jiang Ye felt a tingling sensation under Ruan Tang’s gaze and pretended to look elsewhere casually.
If Ruan Tang had looked closely, she would have noticed his ears turning red again.
Soon enough, the shop assistant finished cutting the fabric.
“That’ll be six yuan and twenty-seven fen, plus nineteen chi of fabric ration coupons,” the shop assistant said, wrapping the cloth and handing it to Ruan Tang.
After paying, Jiang Ye asked Ruan Tang, “What do you want? I’ll buy it for you.”
Ruan Tang shook her head without hesitation. “No need, I don’t lack anything.”
How could she not need anything?
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Ye knew she wouldn’t ask him even if she did need something.
So he changed the subject. “I want to buy some gifts for your parents to improve my impre…”
“No, no,” Ruan Tang interrupted him.
If he bought things they didn’t need, they’d just say it was a waste of money.
Even if it was Jiang Ye’s money, it shouldn’t be spent recklessly.
Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then pulled Ruan Tang aside and patiently explained, “Your parents don’t have a good impression of me. We’re going to propose tomorrow, and I’m worried they might make things difficult for me. That’s why I want to buy some things to improve their opinion in advance.”
Hearing this, Ruan Tang didn’t know what to do.
In her view, it was completely unnecessary since Jiang Ye would be living with her, and her parents’ opinions weren’t that important.
But she also felt Jiang Ye had a point.
“Maybe just buy a little?”
Jiang Ye: “Alright.”
However, they had different definitions of “a little.”
Ruan Tang thought some pastries would suffice.
To her surprise, Jiang Ye bought two cans of fruit, three jin of pastries, four jin of White Rabbit candy, plus rice, flour, and pork.
Ruan Tang’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment at his purchases.
“Jiang Ye, you bought way too much.”
Jiang Ye thought this was nothing – if they could carry more, he would have bought even more.
Before leaving, Jiang Ye asked Ruan Tang to wait downstairs while he went back up.
When he returned carrying a large bag, Ruan Tang didn’t think much of it, and they headed home.
With so many items, some were hung on the bicycle handles while Ruan Tang carried a bundle in her arms.
Just as they reached the compound entrance, they ran into Cai Xiaolan. Ruan Tang pretended not to see her and didn’t greet her.
Seeing all the packages they carried, Cai Xiaolan burned with jealousy.
“My, aren’t we starting early – having a man buy you things before you’re even married.”
Hmph, how shameless.
Before Ruan Tang could respond, Jiang Ye spoke up first.
“Hah, and aren’t some people in a hurry – climbing into a man’s bed before marriage, throwing all shame to the wind. How dare she criticize others!”
“Hmph, if you’re jealous, have your man buy you things. Don’t come here with your sarcastic remarks.”
After saying this, Jiang Ye pushed his bicycle inside.
Ruan Tang looked at him with starry eyes, her smile stretching ear to ear.
Cai Xiaolan stamped her foot in anger. She wished Su Jincheng would buy her things.
Just this morning, because she had publicly claimed him on the broadcast, Su Jincheng had gotten angry. He said they shouldn’t see each other for a few days, and even when going to read their self-criticism statements, they should do so at different times.
Then in the afternoon, the factory notified her that she was being fired for misconduct. They had circulated a notice throughout the factory, using them as negative examples to teach all employees a lesson in ideological education.
She had been simmering with pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it, and coming back only to see the two of them carrying so many purchases made her want to throw some sharp remarks their way.
Why should Ruan Tang be exempt from going to the countryside? Why was there still someone willing to marry her?
Although Jiang Ye had no job and amounted to nothing, he was undeniably good-looking.
Whether it was his face or his physique, Su Jincheng couldn’t compare to him.
Cai Xiaolan stared at their retreating backs as they entered the house, grinding her teeth in frustration.
No, now that she had lost her job too, she had to hold onto Su Jincheng.
Even if she couldn’t capture his heart, she would seize his body—make him think of her day and night, make him unable to resist her.
In just a few seconds, Cai Xiaolan had figured out how to keep Su Jincheng by her side.
Instantly, she became brimming with confidence again.
Meanwhile, after entering the house, Ruan Tang wanted to take Jiang Ye’s measurements, but he said, “No rush, let’s do it another day. It’s getting dark soon—I should head back.”
It was almost time to get off work, and he wasn’t ready to run into Ruan Tang’s parents just yet.
Ruan Tang didn’t think much of it and nodded.
“Then take care on your way.”
Seeing her agreement, Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Before leaving, he tossed out a sentence, then hopped on his bicycle and sped off.
“That big bag has clothes from Third Sister for you. The tags are already removed, so they can’t be returned. If you don’t want them, just throw them away.”
Ruan Tang was stunned.
She had already said she didn’t want them—how could he do this?!
How could she possibly throw away such nice things?