The antique girlfriend of a chaebol heir

The antique market was already bustling with activity at just past seven o'clock.

As dawn broke, the entire market seemed to have already awakened.

Besides the boutique antique shops inside the building, there are countless individual vendors setting up stalls on the ground.

A plastic sheet and some old newspapers are all it takes to create a small space.

The items for sale were diverse and colorful—rusty copper coins, chipped porcelain bowls, yellowed old books, finely carved walnut bracelets, and old pocket watches from who-knows-when, their hands long since stopped, the glass covered with a layer of age-old fog.

Shen Ci strolled along the edge, avoiding the most crowded areas.

The air was filled with the scent of old wood, the metallic smell of bronze, and the aroma of fried dough sticks and soy milk wafting from a nearby breakfast stall.

She walked and stopped, occasionally squatting down to take a look, then getting up and continuing on her way.

Jiang Duo stayed quietly by her side the whole time.

Suddenly, a shop with a wooden sign that read "Suzhou Embroidery Shop" caught Shen Ci's attention.

The words on the wooden sign were handwritten, and although the ink has faded somewhat, they still exude a refined and elegant charm.

She went inside.

The storefront is small, but the inside is surprisingly spacious and charming.

The four walls are covered with framed embroidered works depicting flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes, and figures, which gleam softly under the lamplight.

An embroidery frame sat by the window, holding a half-finished peony design. A middle-aged woman was threading a needle with her head down. When she saw them come in, she looked up and smiled.

I asked around and found out that the stall owner was a Suzhou embroidery master, and that he sold both finished products and materials.

Shen Ci stood in front of the shop window, which displayed different kinds of silk threads—mulberry silk, castor silk, and gold silk. The variety was quite complete, and the quality was better than those she had bought online before.

She lowered her head slightly and began to carefully select the silk thread.

She held the chosen color up to the light and gently shook it to check if the silk sheen was even. After selecting the silk thread, she chose the embroidery needle. The needles here were made of various materials. Shen Ci selected a box of hand-sharpened steel needles. The needles had slightly blunt ends, but they were very similar to the embroidery needles she was used to in her previous life.

The morning sunlight streamed through the carved window frames, breaking into tiny dappled patterns that lazily spilled onto the shop floor.

A faint fragrance of silk and plant dyes floated in the air. Jiang Duo stood at the edge of this interplay of light and shadow, his gaze involuntarily falling on Shen Ci.

His gaze traced her lowered eyebrows and eyes, her lips slightly pursed in concentration, and the profile of her face that appeared exceptionally soft in the halo of light.

She always possessed a solemnity that seemed out of place in this era, like someone who had stepped out of an ancient painting, where every stroke was meticulous and every line followed a set pattern.

He suddenly felt that she was even more captivating than she was when he kissed her on the island terrace at midnight, her eyes red with tears…

Shen Ci lowered her eyes and carefully placed the selected silk thread, embroidery needle, and beads into a small walnut box. The box, provided by the shop owner, was folded into three layers and was both exquisite and practical.

She also selected a delicate and exquisite ebony base in the store, specifically designed for mounting embroidery.

"That'll be 1084 yuan in total. Will you pay by QR code or cash?"

Jiang Duo habitually took out his phone, pressed his thumb on the fingerprint scanner, the screen lit up, and the scanning frame was already aligned with the QR code on the counter.

Suddenly, a slender white hand covered the back of his hand, the fingertips cool and silky.

"No need."

Shen Ci's voice was low, yet carried an undeniable lightness.

Jiang Duo was slightly taken aback. His gaze slowly moved up from her fingertips, which were covering the back of his hand, and finally landed on her eyes.

Her eyes were a light color, reflecting the sunlight streaming in from the window, calm and resolute.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Duo put his phone away.

After leaving the Suzhou embroidery shop, Jiang Duo walked beside Shen Ci, carrying a walnut box containing embroidery.

The box is small but exquisite, with a delicate bamboo pattern printed on it.

He held the box in one hand and naturally took her hand with the other, their fingers intertwined.

He looked at the ebony base in Shen Ci's hand and asked, "What's this for?"

Shen Ci looked down at the base in her hand. The wood was solid, with fine texture and rounded edges.

"Grandma Lin will be turning 80 next month," she said. "I have limited time, so I can only embroider a smaller design, which will be framed on this base and used as a small display stand."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Duo's gaze softened even more. He looked at Shen Ci's earnest profile and said gently, "It will definitely look beautiful."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly leaned forward slightly and lowered his head to whisper in Shen Ci's ear.

The man's warm breath brushed against her earlobe, carrying a hint of tenderness and a smile.

"When will my mandarin duck sachet be finished?"

Shen Ci paused almost imperceptibly, a faint blush rising to her ears.

She was surprised that he still remembered this.

"I'll embroider it for you after Grandma Lin's gift is finished."

A smile instantly spread across Jiang Duo's eyes. He stopped and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the alley, lowered his head slightly and placed a very light and gentle kiss on her fair cheek.

The moment their lips touched, even the air seemed to soften.

He stepped back slightly, looking at her slightly flushed cheeks, and said in a deep and firm voice, "It's a deal then."

……

The National Day holiday is over, and the first day back at school is calligraphy class.

Chu Xuanxuan sat next to Shen Ci and whispered in her ear while Lin Ruochen turned around: "Today, apart from me, I guess 90% of the students in the class failed their calligraphy assignments. They were all punished to rewrite them."

As she spoke, she glanced over there with lingering fear.

"Why is Professor Lin so strict today? He looks like he's been shot. Could it be that he just broke up with his girlfriend?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ci frowned slightly, lowered her voice, and spoke softly:

"Don't talk nonsense."

As soon as she finished speaking, her hand holding the calligraphy brush involuntarily paused.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Lin Ruochen's gaze was subtly falling on her.

That gaze was no longer as gentle and composed as usual, but carried a certain scrutinizing weight that made one's back tense.

Lin Ruochen was indeed somewhat different from usual in class today.

Although he used to be strict and direct in his comments on homework, he was always like gentle bamboo, making a sound in the wind but never hurting anyone.

But today, it is much sharper, like a blade drawn from a bamboo joint.

As he walked around the lecture hall, he commented on the assignments. His voice was not loud, but every word was like a needle, piercing everyone's heart.

"The structure is loose and the brushstrokes are weak."

"Ink has five colors, but yours is just dead black. Rewrite it!"

The classroom was quiet, with only the soft scratching of the brush on the paper and suppressed gasps for breath.

I finally made it to the end of get out of class.

As soon as the bell rang, the classroom erupted in groans. Some students slumped in their chairs, while others rummaged through their inkstones with long faces.

Lin Ruochen, who had already left, made a few footsteps in the corridor before suddenly turning back.

The students quickly shut their mouths, like sparrows with their necks being choked, not daring to breathe.

Lin Ruochen walked straight into the classroom, his gaze sweeping over everyone and landing on Shen Ci.

He walked without stopping, passing through the aisle between the tables and chairs, and stopped beside her.

"Shen Ci".

She looked up and met a pair of unfathomable eyes.

There was no longer the gentle smile of the past, only a quiet darkness, like a pool of water frozen with a thin layer of ice.

"Come to my office in a bit."