The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

Pei Ningxue led Chen Zhi into a side alley on Changle Road.

The alley was even narrower than the one where I ate pan-fried buns this morning. On both sides were mottled Shikumen walls, and the plane trees overhead cut the sunlight into fragments, which fell on the bluestone slabs underfoot.

After walking for about five or six minutes, Pei Ningxue stopped in front of a three-story old villa.

The door was an old, dark brown wooden door with a layer of green rust on the copper door knocker. There was only a small brass plaque hanging by the door that read "Shen's".

Chen Zhi glanced at the villa. Large sections of the rough cement on the exterior walls had peeled off, revealing the red bricks underneath, but the curved window frames and the cast iron railings on the second-floor terrace still retained the grandeur of the concession era in the last century.

"Where?"

Pei Ningxue pushed open the door, turned around and beckoned to him with her finger.

"You'll find out once you come in."

There's a hidden world inside the door.

The living room on the first floor was converted into a tailor shop, the kind of old-fashioned handmade custom workshop.

A row of mahogany clothes racks lined the wall, displaying samples of various fabrics. In the corner stood three mannequins dressed in half-finished clothes, and several scraps of fabric were scattered on the floor.

There was a faint scent of sandalwood in the air.

An elderly woman with gray hair came out from the inner room, wearing reading glasses and with a soft measuring tape hanging around her neck.

"Miss Pei, you're here."

The old lady spoke Shanghainese with a slow, leisurely tone. When she saw Chen Zhi, she looked him up and down and smiled.

"Is this the person you mentioned on the phone?"

"Yes, Grandma Shen." Pei Ningxue took off her baseball cap and tidied her hair. "Are your clothes ready?"

"Alright, alright, this is the last injection we just had yesterday. Go in and try it." Granny Shen gestured with her chin toward the inner room.

Pei Ningxue shoved the canvas bag in her hand into Chen Zhi's arms.

"Wait outside, don't come in."

Before Chen Zhi could ask anything, Pei Ningxue had already followed Granny Shen into the inner room, where the wooden sliding door closed from the inside.

He stood there and looked around.

There was a rattan chair in the corner, and on the small table next to it was a pot of cooled Longjing tea and an enamel mug. Chen Zhi walked over and sat down, casually flipping through a yellowed booklet on the table.

The album contains many old photos, some black and white, some faded, including a woman in a cheongsam standing in front of the railing on the Bund, and a man in a Zhongshan suit leaning against an old car.

The back of the photo has the words "Shen Family Tailors, founded in 1937" written in pen.

Chen Zhi put down the booklet and checked his phone again. He hadn't replied to Lin Wanwan's message or Li Zhiyi's.

He pondered his words for a moment, and was just about to type when the sliding door to the inner room creaked.

Grandma Shen came out first, leaned on the door frame, and waved to Chen Zhi.

"Young man, take a look."

Chen Zhi raised his head.

Pei Ningxue walked out from behind the door.

Chen Zhi's typing fingers stopped.

She changed into a moon-white cheongsam.

The neckline was a stand-up collar with a low, slanted placket, fastened with three pearl buttons. The dress fit her body perfectly, the fabric having a subtle sheen that flowed slightly with her movements. The waist was cinched just right, and the skirt went below the knees, with a not-too-high slit on the side.

A white magnolia is embroidered from the neckline to the chest, with fine stitches that are almost invisible. The petals have a faint embossed effect on the fabric.

Pei Ningxue's hair was restyled by Granny Shen into a low bun, secured with a simple silver hairpin, revealing her slender neck and delicate collarbone.

She stood there, the light from the old house streaming in through the window behind her, making her seem to glow.

Chen Zhi almost dropped his phone.

Pei Ningxue tilted her head slightly.

"How is it?"

Chen Zhi put his phone back in his pocket and stood up.

When did you order it?

"Last week," Pei Ningxue said, smoothing the hem of her cheongsam, "I called Grandma Shen and asked her to make one according to my measurements. She only finished sewing yesterday."

Grandma Shen couldn't stop smiling.

"I've been making cheongsams for over fifty years, and this is the best fit for me. The fabric hangs without a single wrinkle."

Chen Zhi stared at Pei Ningxue for several seconds.

Pei Ningxue felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and subconsciously raised her hand to touch her earlobe.

"Is it pretty?"

"nice."

The word "clean and efficient" is used without any unnecessary embellishment.

Pei Ningxue's ears turned red.

Grandma Shen coughed twice beside her.

"Young man, you brought your clothes with you, right? Go next door and change, I'll help you get dressed."

Pei Ningxue took out a suit bag.

Chen Zhi took it and went to the empty room next door to change his clothes.

The custom-made suit I bought at Hang Lung Plaza yesterday has an extremely sharp cut.

When he came out after changing, Granny Shen walked up to him, held up a soft measuring tape on his shoulder a couple of times, and then tugged at his hem and cuffs.

"The material is nice, and the cut is good, but the tie is too stiff. Young people don't need to tie it so tightly."

Grandma Shen loosened his tie knot and folded his pocket square again.

"Okay, go take a look."

An old-fashioned full-length mirror stood in the corner, its wooden frame cracked.

Chen Zhi walked over, and the person reflected in the mirror made him pause for a moment.

He was over 1.8 meters tall, with his shoulders stretched wide by the suit, his waist neatly cinched, and his trousers perfectly straight.

Pei Ningxue stood next to him.

Two people in the mirror.

She wore a moon-white Suzhou-embroidered cheongsam, her hair styled in a low bun, exuding a cool and aloof yet indescribably charming aura.

He was wearing a dark gray custom-made suit, with broad shoulders and long legs, and his entire body was covered in sharp, sculpted lines.

Grandma Shen leaned against the door frame, pushed up her reading glasses, and sighed softly.

"They look exactly like the customers I had when I was young and had clothes made."

Pei Ningxue's lips curled up slightly, and she turned around to grab Chen Zhi's hand.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Wukang Road is two streets away from here."

The two left Shen's restaurant and walked west along Changle Road.

As soon as I turned onto Wukang Road, I was immediately turned around and attracted a lot of attention.

Wukang Road is a popular spot for taking photos in Shanghai. It is lined with plane trees and old villas, and most of the tourists walking around are dressed in casual clothes and taking pictures with their mobile phones.

The moment these two people stood on the street, the whole atmosphere changed.

A woman in a cheongsam and a man in a suit walk down a street strewn with fallen plane tree leaves, with the cast-iron balconies of old Western-style houses and ivy behind them.

Passersby frequently turned their heads back.

Someone took out their phone to secretly take pictures.

A young photographer carrying a camera ran over and asked if he could take a set of street photos for them.

Pei Ningxue politely shook her head.

Less than a hundred meters later, a man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket, clutching a stack of business cards, ran quickly from beside a white van parked on the side of the road.

"Beautiful lady! Beautiful lady, please wait!"

Chen Zhi slowed his pace.

The man rushed up to Pei Ningxue, handing her his business card while rattling off a string of numbers.

"I'm Brother Wang, a talent scout signed with Star Media. Everyone in the industry knows me. Beautiful lady, it's such a waste that you're not a model. How tall are you? 170cm? Your face shape is amazing, your bone structure is top-notch, you're born to be in the camera..."

"She doesn't need it."

Chen Zhi's voice came from the side.

The talent scout glanced back at him.

He's dressed in a suit, young, and quite handsome, but in the talent scout's mind, this kind of young man is just an ordinary male college student accompanying his girlfriend shopping, not worth paying attention to.

"Handsome, don't be in such a hurry, I just want to chat with your girlfriend for a bit—"

Chen Zhi took a step forward.

The talent scout's words stuck in his throat.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling. The young man in front of him just stood there, not making a move, but the aura he exuded was completely different from any ordinary person he had ever met.

Take another look at that suit.

Having been a talent scout in Shanghai's entertainment industry for so many years, he could recognize good stuff. The quality of the fabric, the cut of the shoulder line, and the workmanship of the hidden buttons on the cuffs of this suit were worth at least tens of thousands of yuan.

The talent scout withdrew his hand.

He silently stuffed the business card back into his pocket.

"Um... sorry to bother you, sorry to bother you."

He chuckled dryly, took two steps back, and then slipped back to the nanny van.

Chen Zhi withdrew his gaze, placed his hand naturally on Pei Ningxue's waist, and led her forward.

Pei Ningxue turned her head and glanced at him.

"Is it really necessary? They were just handing over their business card."

"It's not that bad, I just don't want anyone to get in your way."

Pei Ningxue snorted and didn't say anything more, but she leaned closer to Chen Zhi.

At the end of Wukang Road, after turning a corner, you'll find a three-story old-style house coffee shop.

The storefront isn't large, but there's a small terrace on the second floor covered in ivy. A small blackboard stands at the entrance, with the words "Today's Special: Osmanthus Latte" written in chalk.

Pei Ningxue pulled Chen Zhi upstairs to the second floor.

There were only two tables on the terrace, and the one near the railing was empty.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, scattering golden dappled patterns on the ground.

An old-fashioned record player stood in the corner, playing a lazy jazz tune.

Pei Ningxue sat down in the chair, rested her chin on her hands, and stared blankly at the old Western-style house across the street for a while.

Chen Zhi ordered two Osmanthus Lattes. When they were served, Pei Ningxue had already moved her chair next to him, leaned her shoulder against his, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Tired?"

"No," Pei Ningxue said with her eyes closed, "I just want to lean against you for a while."

The jazz music on the record player changed, and the tempo slowed down.

The steam from the coffee rose gently from the rim of the cup.

Neither of them spoke; they just sat there leaning against each other.

A while later, when Chen Zhi lowered his head to pick up his coffee cup, he caught a glimpse of Pei Ningxue's collar out of the corner of his eye.

The top of the three pearl buttons on the stand-up collar of the cheongsam is crooked.

The knot of the Chinese knot was not fully fastened; it was hanging there halfway and could come undone at any moment.

"The buttons on your collar are loose."

Pei Ningxue raised her hand and touched it, but couldn't find it.

"Which one?"

"The top one. Don't touch it."

Chen Zhi turned to the side, raised his right hand, and pinched the knot of the pearl clasp with his index finger and thumb.

The structure of the Chinese knot is very ingenious. A silk cord is wrapped around several times, and it takes a little patience to fasten it back into the corresponding loop.

He fiddled with his fingers a couple of times, but couldn't fasten it.

I tightened it a little, let's try again.

His fingertips touched Pei Ningxue's skin.

Above the collarbone, on the side of the neck, that small, soft area.

Pei Ningxue's breath hitched.

Chen Zhi paused for a moment.

The two were standing too close. He had his head down, while Pei Ningxue had her face upturned, their noses about five or six centimeters apart.

He could feel her breath on his chin, warm and sweet with the scent of osmanthus latte.

Pei Ningxue did not dodge.

She tilted her head back, looking at Chen Zhi's profile as he focused on the Chinese knot button.

Chen Zhi's fingers finally threaded the knot back into the loop, and the knot was fastened again.

But he didn't immediately pull his hand back.

My fingertips lingered on the pearl clasp, feeling the warmth of my body seeping through the silk.

The two stared at each other for about three seconds.

Pei Ningxue's eyelashes trembled.

Chen Zhi withdrew his hand.

He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

"It's fastened."

Pei Ningxue lowered her head and quickly pressed the back of her hand against her burning cheek.

"……Um."

The terrace fell silent again.

The record player was still spinning, and jazz music was playing lazily.

The shadows of the sycamore leaves swayed on Pei Ningxue's cheongsam.

The sun slowly sank in the west.

The sky changed from orange-yellow to rose-colored, and then from rose-colored to deep blue.

The streetlights on Wukang Road came on, their warm yellow light shining through the old-fashioned lampshades, bathing the entire street in an amber hue.

Pei Ningxue straightened up and looked at the street where the lights were just coming on.

Chen Zhi grasped Pei Ningxue's hand, which was resting on the railing.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

Chen Zhi looked into her eyes and said earnestly, "Tonight in Shanghai, there's one last gift."