Chapter Sixteen: So It Was Tang Zhichu on a Date with Chen Siyang

Is a career important? Of course it is.
But what if your dream is your career?
Then there’s no need to be anxious—just enjoy the whole process.
Spring is here, the flowers will bloom; why worry about how they bloom?
As for how Chen Siyang understands this, that’s her concern.
The river breeze sweeps past skyscrapers, tousling the clothes and hair of all kinds of people.
Chen Siyang suddenly shivered and snapped back to reality.
Her phone vibrated, and she took it out.
He Jin: “Scroll up for yourself. You have at least three WeChat messages you haven’t replied to!”
Chen Siyang: “Huh? I thought I replied!”
He Jin: “Replied my foot. Apologize!”
Chen Siyang: “Sorry! I really thought I had replied!”
He Jin: “Hmph! Since you’ve apologized, how about you treat me to a meal?”
Chen Siyang: “???”
He Jin: “Don’t miss your chance. I heard the company’s project, ‘World in the Painting’—the second installment—is starting to cast roles…”
Chen Siyang’s eyes widened, and she hurriedly typed back: “Brother! Please let me treat you to drinks!”
He Jin: “Hahaha, then let’s call it even. You’re still my darling Yangyang!”
Chen Siyang: “Alright, Jin darling!”
Putting her phone down, Chen Siyang suddenly felt her shoulders relax and let out a long breath.
Wait—where did he go?
Finally, Chen Siyang realized Tang Zhichu had been gone to the restroom for quite a while and hadn’t returned.
Looking back, she saw Tang Zhichu leaning against the railing nearby.
They caught each other’s gaze. Tang Zhichu took out his phone and snapped a photo of Chen Siyang.
Chen Siyang was puzzled—what was he doing?
Her phone vibrated again; Tang Zhichu sent her the photo.
Beneath the magical, uneven skyline of the city, a woman in a plaid jacket sat there.
Chen Siyang stared at the photo, then gave Tang Zhichu a thumbs up. It was beautifully taken.
…
In the villa, the first couple on their date returned.
Jiang Lan sat on the bench by the entryway, took off her outdoor shoes, and rubbed her feet for a while before slipping on slippers.
Today, she’d gone hiking—with Huang Zejun.
Jiang Lan felt hiking was even more exhausting than a full day at work.
Huang Zejun brought his camera, always wanting to take photos, which left Jiang Lan speechless.
Is it really necessary to take so many photos just for a hike?
Men are so sentimental.
“I’ll touch up the photos a bit, then pick some nice ones to send you,” Huang Zejun’s voice came from the living room.
Jiang Lan frowned, “Fine, send whichever you want.”
“What do you mean, ‘whichever I want’? I’m a professional photographer—one whose work has been exhibited!” Huang Zejun’s voice sounded again from the living room.
Jiang Lan: “Alright, alright, great photographer, I’ll leave it to you.”
Huang Zejun appeared in her line of sight, carrying two glasses of water and smiling, “Now we’re talking. Here’s your water, I’m off to edit the photos.”
He set down the glass and hurried upstairs.
Upstairs, Huang Zejun pushed open the dorm room door, humming a tune.
Was Jiang Lan’s tone just now a bit coquettish?
Sitting at his computer, Huang Zejun opened a photo editing app and imported the pictures.
One was a solo shot of Jiang Lan. A shaft of sunlight fell across her face through the gaps in the foliage.
Her flawless, oval face was bathed in light; the pale blue, lightweight sweater clung to her, accentuating her figure.
Huang Zejun felt a bit embarrassed to look.
He was delighted—she looked stunning, the photo was excellent, the person even more so.
He wanted to retouch it, but found there was little to fix; her legs were shapely, he only needed to adjust the light and contrast.
Huang Zejun mused that Zhou Yun’s figure shone through her waist, while Jiang Lan’s beauty was in her overall silhouette and aura—like a peony in full bloom.
Suddenly, he felt Chen Siyang didn’t seem so dazzling anymore.
Once the thought took hold, Huang Zejun realized his aesthetic preference was exactly Jiang Lan’s type.
Stable career, mature personality, a blend of virtuous wife and alluring charm.
Why was he originally drawn to Chen Siyang?
It must have been her powerful aura—she was the face of the planetary girl group, her beauty was legendary.
But was a woman like that really someone he could handle?
When one’s heart changes, all sorts of reasons emerge.
Downstairs, Jiang Lan sat on the sofa alone, zoning out.
She was tired, and pondering that even though it was the weekend, she still needed to check in at the company tomorrow.
She worked in the meat products industry; a line of meat snacks under her brand was selling well, and she’d just bought a batch of equipment to expand production.
She was also planning a production workshop suitable for live streaming.
These were major company affairs—missing or delaying them could mean losing the competitive edge.
So Jiang Lan’s busyness was quite real.
As for the dating show?
Funny enough, she wasn’t here to find love.
In fact, she’d almost become the show’s main sponsor.
Negotiations fell through, mainly because the show was risky, and Jiang Lan re-evaluated it.
The show was competing with another music program for resources, and dating shows were on the decline. The “Love at First Sight” team struggled to get the seventh season approved.
Though the deal didn’t happen, Jiang Lan wasn’t one to give up easily. After some thought, she decided to join as a guest instead.
Not only did she not have to pay, she could be on screen all season, and as for advertising, she could find an opportunity later.
Besides, according to her information, there would be female celebrities among the participants this time.
The director was somewhat disgruntled—since the higher-ups didn’t have faith, he’d take another approach.
So Jiang Lan came.
With her image and qualifications, the director was eager for her participation.
Luckily, no man had paid her much attention since her arrival, which suited her fine; Jiang Lan was happy to focus on her business, treating it as a side gig.
Just as Jiang Lan was zoning out, the outer door opened again.
Zhou Yun and Yang Jiaxing returned.
They’d played golf and then taken a yacht ride.
Yet Yang Jiaxing could only give the date eighty out of a hundred.
Twenty points were deducted—half because his partner wasn’t Chen Siyang, the other half because Zhou Yun was so capable, leaving him with no sense of achievement.
Golf? She didn’t need him to teach her; there was no imagined physical contact, and she played better than him—what was he supposed to teach her?
Yang Jiaxing found it odd: nowadays, young women, who has the patience to learn golf?
Zhou Yun, on the other hand, was cheerful, chatting about everything along the way.
“Sister Lan, you’re back too? Where did you go?” Zhou Yun changed her shoes and ran over to sit beside Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan replied, listless, “We went hiking.”
Zhou Yun burst into laughter, “No wonder you look so tired.”
Yang Jiaxing chimed in, “Did you go with Zhichu?”
Jiang Lan shook her head, “With your Brother Jun. He’s terrifying—he filled his camera’s memory.”
Yang Jiaxing thought for a moment and sighed in relief.
That’s good, that’s good. So it was Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang together.