"What are you upset about?" Mo Wenyang drove his newly acquired Dongfeng Fengshen sedan, which cost him only ten thousand RMB, looking refreshed. He casually brushed his bangs aside with one hand, a teasing smile playing at his lips as he spoke to Jiang Yan, "You chose to play the part of the fallen noble, so you can't blame others for getting you angry."
"It's not that I'm angry about people seeing me as a fallen noble." Jiang Yan's tall and sturdy figure stretched out somewhat lazily on the car seat, his hands crossed behind his head, a slight hook at the corners of his mouth full of a young boy's mischief. However, when he thought of Xu Yu'e's angry face, his handsome brows furrowed slightly into a tight bundle, and the playful curve of his mouth flattened as he said, "What about you? You've been in the Wen Family's house for quite some time. Haven't you taken a fancy to any of the girls?"
"The only one I found attractive was snatched up by you first, right?" Mo Wenyang arched his eyebrows, knowing that the whole Wen Family had run to the balcony to witness the secretive meeting between the man and the woman. It was a pity he hadn't been able to see it with his own eyes, and now was a good time to ask the person involved.
The car just happened to pass under a streetlight, and as the light flickered, Wen Man's small, fair face flashed before his eyes, like a warm little lamp swaying in front of him, filling Jiang Yan's heart with a warm, homely feeling.
Seeing Jiang Yan's completely distracted expression, Mo Wenyang couldn't help but pucker his lips to whistle and said, "Hey, do you really like her?"
At these words, Jiang Yan was taken aback, his brows knitting tighter. It was true, Wen Man was a very nice girl, good-natured and kind-hearted; however, her family members were truly something else. In all the years Jiang Yan had been out in society, he had met many people, but he had never encountered anyone as ostentatiously materialistic as the Wen Family, even Ge Langtai would have to step down. Thus, any normal man would not want anything to do with the daughters of the Wen Family.
As if guessing what he was thinking, Mo Wenyang looked ahead at the traffic as if he was saying casually, "They don't resemble the upper-class intellectual family that my dad talked about at all. Perhaps Wen Shirong, his wife, and daughter pull off a convincing act, but the other elders, at a glance, all seem rather vulgar. As for those girls, they actually all look quite decent."
"As soon as they heard I was a fallen noble, they all scattered." Jiang Yan didn't want him to make excuses for the Wen Family, and coldly stated the facts.
Seeing how clearly Jiang Yan detested the Wen Family, Mo Wenyang shrugged his shoulders and frowned helplessly, "Alright, buddy, let's just consider this outing a bit of fun. The world is full of wonders, all sorts of people exist; we might as well treat it as seeing something lively and novel."
"That's true. If we hadn't gone out like this, we wouldn't have been able to see that there are people like the Wen Family in this world." Jiang Yan shrugged his handsome brows, his arrogant lips curving in amusement. Aside from the annoyance, the experience of being treated to a meal tonight and nearly fainting from hunger really was quite an eye-opener. Besides, it was precisely because of the Wen Family's outrageous behavior that he had discovered Wen Man, a remarkable woman. Recalling that bowl of instant noodles, he licked his lips, as if not savoring that bowl of delicious noodles, but the taste of Wen Man. That night, the image of Wen Man flickered in front of him constantly, almost filling his entire dream.
—— "The Late Hours of a Grand Wedding" ——
The next day, when Wen Man arrived at the company, she mentioned the matchmaking dinner from last night to Chun Xia while rubbing her belly, "I almost starved to death."
"Whose fault is it that you didn't go eat Japanese sushi with me?" Chun Xia raised her slender eyebrows, not inclined to sympathize, "So, did you manage to spot a handsome guy by sacrificing your stomach?"
"There was a handsome guy," Wen Man mused about the fallen noble from the night before, a sigh escaping her lips, "but it's a pity he doesn't have any money."
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't have money, as long as he has a car and a house, that's enough." Chun Xia analyzed for her close friend, noting that with the devaluation of the RMB, buying a house was the best way to retain value.
"He doesn't have a house or a car, so my family looks down on him," Wen Man sighed deeply. This sigh wasn't about the fallen noble being penniless; it was about how such a fallen noble could be so arrogantly poised.
The penniless, property-less, three-nothing poor, Chun Xia also sighed deeply, resting her hand on her best friend's shoulder: "Manman, listen to me, a man with nothing to his name is really no good to marry."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not interested in him." After saying this, Wen Man moved her hand away and tied on an apron to get to work in the framing workshop.
That same afternoon, after Jiang Yan found out which company Wen Man worked for, he urged Mo Wenyang to take him for a visit.
Mo Wenyang, who had been surrounded by a crowd last night and hadn't had a chance to give Wen Man more than a couple of glances, had been curious to see what this woman who caught Jiang Yan's attention looked like. He readily agreed to Jiang Yan's request and hurriedly drove to Wen Man's company. There, they first met Chun Xia running out with some documents. After introducing themselves, they inquired about Wen Man's whereabouts.
Chun Xia noticed the two of them dressed quite impressively and had driven over in a sedan, and couldn't help exclaiming, "Huh?" Hadn't Manman mentioned they were from a fallen household? Could this be the handsome man Wen Man spoke of last night?
"Doesn't Wen Man work here?" Mo Wenyang asked, feeling puzzled as she remained silent.
At that moment, Jiang Yan's gaze caught the silhouette of the beautiful lady; abandoning his buddy Mo Wenyang, he walked directly toward the other side of the office building passage.
Through the ground-to-ceiling windows installed in the office building, Wen Man's slender and enchanting figure lay on the workbench, appearing like a still sculpture under the fluorescent light, her tiny nose already beaded with a layer of fine sweat.
The hardest part of mounting work lies in patience and attentiveness, as the slightest carelessness can ruin the original author's painstaking efforts. As such, mounting is a separate craft; a good mounter is of equal value to an outstanding painter or calligrapher. Unfortunately, most people don't understand the profundity of this profession.
Wen Man decided to switch to working in the mounting room four years after graduating from college. She had originally studied fine art design but later realized her personality wasn't quite suited for that job, as advertising companies nowadays chase after trends, resulting in a rather frivolous industry atmosphere. Wen Man's temperament has always been deliberate and meticulous; she enjoys focusing on pursuing the ultimate detail, which aligns more with the requirements of a mounter. However, as a newcomer to the mounting profession, who started late, her starting salary was not high; thus, even after so many years since graduation, she still made around two to three thousand RMB, which was considered below average for pink-collar workers in the big city.
Jiang Yan knew a bit about mounting because he had elders at home who excelled in calligraphy. Now, watching Wen Man's delicate hands meticulously restore the damaged painting on the copying desk, her ink-black hair coiled into a gentle bun atop her small head, casting a beautiful slanted shadow, she was a vision akin to a classic ink wash painting of an ancient beauty, stirring a palpable sense of attraction.
Mo Wenyang, not knowing when, had come to stand beside him, gazing together at Wen Man in the mounting room. He teased, "So, this is the type you're into."
Jiang Yan didn't argue, his starry, elegant eyes lingering on Wen Man's figure for quite some time.
Driven by curiosity, Chun Xia moved behind them, listening to their conversation and became doubtful: Were they really from a fallen household?
Jiang Yan squinted at Chun Xia approaching, gave her an appraising look, and, seeing she didn't have the worldly demeanor of the Wen Family, finally asked, "Are you Wen Man's good friend?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Chun Xia continued to look at him with a puzzled expression. The two handsome men before her clearly differed: this man seemed even more heroic than Mo Wenyang.
"How long have you been good friends?"
"From college till now, about ten years, I guess." Chun Xia unconsciously slowed her tone because the handsome man asking the questions carried an arrogance not commonly found in others, as if he enjoyed talking down to people.
Seeing Chun Xia's slight fear, Mo Wenyang chuckled and interjected, "Don't get the wrong idea. He's not that kind of person; he's just used to giving orders."
"What do you mean?" Chun Xia seemed to have discovered a new world, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Jiang Yan, worried that Wen Man would notice, pulled her to a corner, lowered his handsome face, but kept an eye on her as he spoke, "Could you please keep a secret for me from your friend and her family for now?"
"Why should I do that for you?" Chun Xia had to consider whether this man had any ulterior motives towards Manman, her questioning sharp.
"I can swear on my life that I'll be good to your friend Manman."
Chun Xia looked up, reading a clear shine in the man's eyes: he was serious.