Chapter 11

Xin Chun: "Exactly what it says."

Ke Hang narrowed his eyes and gave Xin Chun a profound, inscrutable look. "Chun'er, you have a secret now. Tell me, are you hiding something from me?"

Xin Chun looked at him. "Why don't you guess?"

Ke Hang immediately put on a tearful act. "Chun'er, you've gone bad. You weren't like this before."

Xin Chun responded with indifference.

Before long, the girls had finished their makeup and hairstyles and emerged in qipaos, earning plenty of praise and compliments.

Xin Chun said, "The oil-paper umbrella display covers an entire street. There's running water alongside it and little bridges in the middle. We can walk through it all the way, then take a boat back."

"It's beautiful for photos there. And if you buy an umbrella, you can bargain for a much lower price."

Xin Chun had brought a camera with him. He wanted to take photos as keepsakes.

As for who would be in those photos...

Xin Chun looked at Owen and smiled.

Chapter 11

The street was paved with bluestone bricks. The rain from last night had not stopped until dawn, so the ground still had that damp feel to it.

The air was fresh and cool. Numerous ropes stretched between the eaves, with countless beautiful oil-paper umbrellas hanging from them. Sometimes, they turned with the breeze, so beautiful that it was hard to look away.

Such an evocative scene could not be found elsewhere.

"So pretty," Ivy praised.

Xin Chun held up his camera and took pictures. Whenever they came across a spot suitable for photos, he had whoever wanted a picture stand there. Ke Hang was usually the first to respond, and sometimes Ke Hang's classmates joined in as well.

Once they finished, Xin Chun would naturally call Owen over and ask whether he wanted a photo.

Owen never said no.

Ivy glanced at the two of them, then pulled Miko and the female classmates aside, saying that the girls would walk around and explore together. There were some things the men were not interested in, so there was no need for them to wait around specially.

There were quite a few of them, and by the end of their stroll, they had split into several groups. Xin Chun and Owen walked together, and Owen also held the camera to take pictures of Xin Chun.

Perhaps the way Owen held the camera gave people a certain impression. When Xin Chun was drawn in by an oil-paper umbrella and ran over to take a closer look, two girls approached Owen together and shyly asked whether they could take a photo with him.

It was rare to see such a handsome mixed-race man in town. The two girls did not want to miss the chance, and only worked up the courage after hesitating for a long time.

Owen gave them an apologetic smile, his gaze turning toward Xin Chun. "Sorry, but I'm his model. I belong to him."

I belong to him. The two girls exchanged a look, a faint thrill rising in their hearts. Did that mean they needed the young man's permission?

What was their relationship?

Just then, Xin Chun came back. He had bought an oil-paper umbrella painted with bamboo leaves.

The stall owner also sold some handmade accessories. Xin Chun had taken a liking to two similarly crafted brooches shaped like antique folding fans, made from wound gold wire, so he bought them too.

As he approached and saw two girls standing beside Owen, Xin Chun looked puzzled.

One of the girls said, "Hello, could we take a picture with him?"

She pointed at Owen.

Xin Chun looked at Owen.

Owen gave him a faint smile.

Xin Chun nodded. "Of course. I'll take the picture for you."

"Thank you." Seeing that Owen did not object this time, the two girls spoke with barely concealed excitement before handing their camera to Xin Chun.

After the photo was taken, one of the girls said to them, "B-Blessings to you both."

After saying that, she grabbed her companion and ran off.

A question mark could not help popping up in Xin Chun's mind. Blessings for what?

"They may have mistaken us for a couple," Owen said.

Xin Chun understood. "I see. It's fine, don't mind it."

They had a good eye. The two of them really were a fine match.

Xin Chun turned to the brooches he had just bought. The two small brooches were exquisitely delicate as they lay in his palm, identical in color and similar in shape, like a matching couple's set.

"I bought two. I'll give you one, Owen. Do you want to wear it?"

One brooch for each of them.

Owen had not seen the expression he had hoped for on Xin Chun's face before, but at those words, his lowered eyes lifted again. "All right. Could I trouble you to help me put it on?"

Xin Chun stepped forward and pinned the brooch onto Owen. Owen then took the other one from his hand and pinned it onto Xin Chun's T-shirt.

The two brooches reflected specks of golden light in the sunlight, as though echoing each other. There was no need to pay special attention; one glance was enough to spot them.

Ke Hang noticed at once.

He had also been picking out oil-paper umbrellas. After paying for one, he came back to find Xin Chun and immediately noticed the new items on Xin Chun and Owen's chests.

"Where did you buy those brooches?"

Xin Chun pointed to the stall not far away.

Ke Hang said, "Your brooches are pretty much the same too. I have to say, they look nice."

"Mm, because I picked them out," Xin Chun said.

"Chun'er, you bought them?" Ke Hang was surprised, though he also felt a little sour inside. Wasn't he Xin Chun's most important partner? Chun'er had even picked out a brooch for his boss, but not for him.

Seeing his expression, Xin Chun could not help laughing. Then he took another brooch in a different style from his pocket and handed it to Ke Hang. "Here, I bought one for you too."

"The stall owner handwove these entirely from wire. They weren't cheap."

Owen's heart rose and fell in an instant.

Ke Hang chuckled twice, accepted the brooch, and said happily, "Chun'er, I knew you still loved me."

"Love, love, love," Xin Chun replied perfunctorily.

Ke Hang believed Xin Chun had picked out his brooch first, but had felt it would not be right to give one only to him, so he had also chosen one for his boss.

Sometimes, not knowing the truth was a kind of happiness.

Passing beneath the oil-paper umbrellas, they reached the end of the street, where they could take covered boats back. However, each boat could only bear so much weight; including the boatman, it was full with two more passengers.