Chapter 47
The two of them lingered together a while longer, then had lunch. After that, Ye Ming came over with Aiwen’s styling team and rang Wen Yan’s doorbell.
Wen Yan opened the door and let them in.
The whole group immediately got busy with her hair and makeup.
The dress had been made by Liang Auntie earlier.
It was a navy velvet evening gown with a backless design, a neat gathered waist, and a hem that brushed the floor.
Under the lights, the velvet carried a faint, restrained sheen, making Wen Yan’s cool fair skin look even more translucent.
Her back was cut deeply open, revealing the clean, beautiful lines of her shoulder blades and the straight groove of her spine; there was a kind of strength in that beauty.
Aiwen stood behind Wen Yan and styled her hair.
Looking at Wen Yan in the mirror, she couldn’t help praising her. “Miss Wen really is tall, with excellent bone structure.”
“Wearing a gown like this, you look truly gorgeous and elegant.”
Wen Yan sat at the dressing table, still not quite used to watching her reflection being transformed layer by layer. She pressed her lips together and said, “Thank you.”
“Let’s put your hair up,” Aiwen suggested softly. “That way your neck and back lines will be fully shown. Miss Wen’s shoulders and neck are especially beautiful.”
Wen Yan nodded. “I’ll follow your lead.”
When the last hairpin was secured, Aiwen stepped back two paces, her eyes full of admiration.
Wen Yan was already tall to begin with; now her long hair had all been pinned up into a smooth, crisp bun, fully revealing her slender neck, straight shoulders, and that striking expanse of back.
The velvet gown fit her upright figure closely. It had no unnecessary decoration, yet because of the clean, sharp silhouette and the faint lines of muscle, it carried a unique aura that went beyond gender.
At that moment, the dressing room door was gently pushed open.
Jin Zijin had already changed into an off-shoulder pearl-white satin gown and was lowering her head to adjust the jade bracelet on her wrist.
She lifted her gaze casually; the moment it fell on Wen Yan in the mirror, she froze slightly.
The room fell quiet for a few seconds.
“Beautiful,” Jin Zijin said softly, her voice carrying undisguised amazement.
She walked over, her eyes slowly traveling over Wen Yan, from her smooth nape to her defined back, then to the waist drawn in at just the right point.
Wen Yan looked at her through the mirror, a little embarrassed for once. “...How is it?”
Jin Zijin didn’t answer right away.
She came around to face Wen Yan, lifted a hand, and touched the skin just beneath Wen Yan’s collarbone with the lightest of fingertips. Only then did she raise her eyes and meet Wen Yan’s slightly anxious gaze.
“Very beautiful,” she said, word by word, unusually serious. “So beautiful... that I’m regretting it.”
“Regretting what?”
“Regretting that I didn’t have Liang Auntie make a few more,” Jin Zijin said, already pulling out her phone and tapping quickly on the screen. “I’m sending her a message right now. Same cut, different colors and fabrics; at least five more sets.”
“There has to be one in champagne gold, dark green would work too, and black velvet definitely... ”
Wen Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out, took Jin Zijin’s wrist, and gently pressed the phone down. “Let’s leave first, okay?”
“We can talk about it on the way. If we’re any later, Grandma will start urging us.”
Jin Zijin lifted her eyes, still lingering on Wen Yan as if admiring a masterpiece just unveiled.
At last she smiled, put away her phone, and took Wen Yan’s hand in return. “Okay; I’ll listen to you.”
The two of them checked everything one last time.
Wen Yan put on a heavy dark gray cashmere coat, wrapping the gown up tightly so that only a slender ankle and the tips of her heels showed.
Jin Zijin also pulled on a white coat and wrapped a matching scarf around her neck.
“Let’s go.” She looped her arm through Wen Yan’s, her fingers lightly hooking Wen Yan’s cuff. “My princess.”
——————
The car’s heater hummed softly, sealing out the winter chill.
Wen Yan looked through the window at the winding private road ahead; far off, the outline of the estate was faintly visible in the sparse lights.
Jin Zijin glanced at her and asked in a low voice, “Nervous?”
Wen Yan had been watching the trees streak past outside. Hearing that, she turned back and honestly nodded. “A little. It’s the first time I’m formally meeting your parents, and all these relatives too.”
Jin Zijin gave a soft laugh and patted the back of Wen Yan’s hand. “Relax.”
“Tonight, the main character is my mother; we’re just supporting cast. Most of the time, you only need to smile, nod, and say ‘hello.’ That’s enough.”
She paused, then added with a trace of sly amusement, “Of course, if you want, I can give you a little refresher course.”
Wen Yan’s brows relaxed a little at that. “I’m all ears.”
The car smoothly took the final turn, and the old residence’s blue-tiled, white-walled outline came into sharp relief in the night.
Jin Zijin gave a light laugh; in the quiet car, her voice sounded especially clear. “Our family has been female-led for several generations.”
“The rules are fixed. Only the reigning matriarch and the designated heir get to keep the Jin surname. If someone gets kicked out along the way, they have to take their father’s surname instead.”
“It’s a kind of stripping of status, meant to ensure that the Jin family’s resources stay concentrated in the heir’s hands from generation to generation.”
Wen Yan thought about it. “That’s a very strict tradition.”
She looked at Jin Zijin with curiosity. “So if someone’s removed, they’re treated more like a retainer than family, right?”
Jin Zijin reached over and flicked her nose, praising her, “Smart.”
She smiled, holding Wen Yan’s hand as she let out a sigh. “But tradition is tradition; people are alive.”
“So for this gathering, the only people you really need to pay extra attention to are my great-aunt’s family.”
Wen Yan’s curiosity deepened. “Oh? Why? Is there something special about them?”
“Not really special,” Jin Zijin said. “It’s just that... they’re not very well-behaved. There may be some veiled sparring tonight.”
Wen Yan was even more curious after hearing that.
She straightened up and stared at Jin Zijin, like an elementary school student waiting for a bedtime story.
Jin Zijin’s lips curved. She continued, “Actually, it’s nothing much. My great-aunt; that is, Grandma’s biological older sister, Jin Jiuhong... ”
“...was originally the heir of the previous generation.”
“But then, my Great Aunt Jiuhong was a hopeless romantic. She ran off with a man who had nothing but ambition and sweet talk, hid out in the countryside, and was dead set on ‘marrying no one but him.’”
“She nearly drove my great-grandmother to death, so Grandma was pulled back from the front line and made to take over the family business.”
Wen Yan let out an “ah” and asked, “And then?”
“Then... ”
Jin Zijin paused to sort through the story, then went on, “Grandma and her older sister had been especially close when they were young, so after Grandma took power, she didn’t make things hard for her. She still let her keep the Jin surname and remain in the core circle.”
“She even once wanted to cultivate her daughter; my great-aunt who was sent overseas; as the next successor.”
Wen Yan listened quietly, her gaze falling on Jin Zijin’s profile, outlined by the faint light from the window.
“Unfortunately,” Jin Zijin sighed softly, and the sigh mixed regret with a trace of mockery, “the man my great-aunt chose was utterly heartless.”
“When my great-grandmother died, he drugged Grandma and tried to create chaos so he could seize power in the confusion.”
“The scheme was exposed.” She turned to look at Wen Yan. “Grandma was furious, but she still didn’t go all the way. After forcing my great-aunt to divorce that man, she let the matter drop.”
Wen Yan was quiet for a moment before saying, “Grandma... really values feelings.”
“Yeah. But after that, she no longer thought highly of my great-aunt’s children.”
“She still wanted to keep the family fortune secure, so she married my grandfather.”
“My grandfather had a clean background, a gentle temperament, and was a university professor... ”
Wen Yan blinked, her tone turning subtle. “Mm... that condition sounds very familiar.”
Wasn’t her damned dog brother exactly that type?
Jin Zijin couldn’t help laughing. She pinched Wen Yan’s hand and said, “Exactly. That’s why Grandma originally picked your brother.”
Wen Yan understood at once.
So it had all been based on Grandma’s own taste, choosing a spouse for her granddaughter.
In other words, Wen Chen had been chosen by Grandma, not by Jin Zijin herself!
Thinking of that, Wen Yan felt a little happy.
She pressed her lips together and smiled, then asked, “But didn’t your father later study art? Was that because the family only passes things down through women, so they didn’t let him get involved in business?”
Jin Zijin said, “Half and half.”
“My dad didn’t really have any business talent, but he was healthy and looked proper. So Grandma wanted to have him marry into a military and political family... ”
“But my dad was also a hopeless romantic, and my mom didn’t want children... Grandma couldn’t bear to make the child suffer, so she let it go... ”
“Then she figured that since my great-aunt had remarried and found a family with a military and political background; even if it was a second marriage, she still had a few daughters, and Grandma was getting older and sentimental, she just let several of my cousins enter the company... ”
Wen Yan immediately understood. She took Jin Zijin’s hand. “So... because of these historical leftovers, you still have some constraints in the company, right?”
“Constraints is too strong a word; at most, they’re a small whetstone.”
Wen Yan smiled and teased her, “Good thing your parents had you, and you’re willing to take over the family business.”
“If you didn’t want to take it over, what would Grandma do?”
“Then I wouldn’t take it.” Jin Zijin’s answer was crisp and easygoing. “Grandma’s traditional, but she’s not rigid.”
“If my great-aunt’s daughters and granddaughters really don’t measure up, then at worst she’ll adopt a clever girl from one of the collateral branches and raise her from childhood.”
“What the Jin family values is ability and a sense of responsibility; whether someone is blood-related actually matters less.”
Wen Yan nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”
There was family infighting too, but compared to inheritance in patriarchal families, Jin family women, as long as they didn’t casually fall in love and have children... wouldn’t really suffer any substantial familial oppression.
No matter how political women could be, there was still some softness in their hearts.
As she digested this family history full of information, Wen Yan finally sighed softly. “Your family’s story... is enough to write a screenplay.”
“Right?” Jin Zijin’s eyes lit up. The faint distance she had shown while talking about the past vanished instantly, and her usual lively self returned. “I’ve long thought about adapting all these old incidents into a short drama.”
“Rich-family grudges, sisters turning against each other, a comeback from the brink... the ratings definitely wouldn’t be low.”
“You invest in film and television too?” Wen Yan was a little surprised.
“I started laying things out seven or eight years ago.” Jin Zijin smiled, speaking as casually as if she were talking about the weather. “These kinds of projects monetize quickly, and audiences buy them.”
“Make money here, make a little there, and when you pile it all together, you’ll have the confidence to do what you really want later.”
She blinked, her smile carrying a hint of smugness. “Nothing shameful about that.”
Looking at her animated profile, Wen Yan found that bit of nervousness in her heart had quietly faded away.
She smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive.”
——————
While they were talking, the car arrived at the old residence.
The two of them got out; the winter night air rushed over them, carrying the crisp scent of pine and distant plum blossoms.
The heavy wooden doors of the old house stood open, warm yellow light spilling out, with faint sounds of laughter and conversation drifting from inside.
They walked together along the spotless blue-stone path. Suddenly Jin Zijin asked, “I’ve been talking about my family the whole time. What about yours? I feel like I’ve never really heard you talk in detail about them.”
Wen Yan was startled by the question.
The night, and the fact that they were about to face everyone, made the question feel especially weighty.
She thought it over carefully before speaking slowly. “My family... is pretty ordinary.”
“My grandparents passed away early, so my dad was the only child.”
“My maternal grandfather was a retired soldier. He had a hard temper and was very decisive. My maternal grandmother passed away early too, leaving only my mom and my uncle, the twins.”
She paused, her voice flowing steadily through the quiet night. “My mom started working as an accountant at my grandfather’s factory right after high school, and she did it for many years.”
“She kept at it until my uncle graduated from college, had a stable job, and got married and had children. My grandfather probably felt he had fulfilled his responsibility to his son, so only then did he finally agree to let my mom consider marriage.”
Jin Zijin held her arm and listened quietly.
“At that time, my grandfather’s business was doing well, and he happened to have a partnership with the materials lab where my dad worked. My mom went along to discuss the details... ”
Wen Yan’s tone paused here, becoming a little complicated. “My dad fell for her at first sight.”
“My grandfather thought he was talented, and that he held key technology patents; he was a worthwhile ‘potential stock,’ so he smoothly helped bring the marriage about.”
“After they got married, my dad used my grandfather’s funding and resources to start a small company, and slowly grew it into what is now Wen Group Materials.”
After she finished, Wen Yan herself thought it sounded bland, and she gave an apologetic smile. “Was that especially boring? Like a work report.”
“No.” Jin Zijin shook her head and tightened her hold on Wen Yan’s arm. “You explained it clearly; I could follow.”
Wen Yan smiled back, her expression faint.
Jin Zijin caught the mood in her face and asked softly, “When you talk about your parents, it doesn’t seem like you have any particular feelings about it?”
Wen Yan was silent for a few seconds. The lights of the old house flickered in her eyes from afar.
“Mm.” She finally nodded. “Maybe. They don’t really tell us these things; I pieced it together from little fragments.”
“On the surface, my dad dotes on my mom and seems to love her very much.”
“But whether that kind of ‘doting’ comes from real feelings, or because he’s relied on my grandfather’s support since he started his business, is hard to say.”
Her voice grew softer, as if afraid of disturbing the night. “As for my mom, she’s very satisfied with her life.”
“Her husband listens to her, she has both a son and a daughter, her father has always been a solid backer, and she herself can run the household and take care of her own family.”
“In many people’s eyes, that would probably count as a worldly success.”
At that point, Wen Yan smiled a little. “Other than being unhappy that both my brother and I don’t want to take over the company, they’re satisfied with everything else about each other.”
Anyway, there were her cousins on her mother’s side and her father’s side; she and her brother didn’t need to worry about the company.
That was what her grandfather and mother had always said, wasn’t it?
Wen Yan lowered her eyes and curved her lips in a faint smile. “It’s just that sometimes, they’re satisfied with themselves a little too much, and occasionally that troubles us.”
Jin Zijin heard the sarcasm in her words but didn’t comment immediately.
Only after a long while did she speak, her voice calm and firm. “Everyone has their own path. Your parents are your parents; you are you.”
“You’re like a tributary branching off from a great river; you already have your own riverbed and direction.”
“The water at the source may be clear or muddy. As for where it flows, can you still go upstream against the river’s course and change it?”
Wen Yan shook her head. “I don’t want to change it.”
“Then don’t change it.” Jin Zijin’s tone was decisive. “We’ll just live our own lives well; eat well, drink well, sleep well, and make this tributary of ours broad and abundant. That’s better than anything.”
Those words were like a warm current of water, quietly dissolving the faint stiffness in Wen Yan’s heart.
She nodded and tightened her hand around Jin Zijin’s. “Okay.”
By then, the two of them had reached the front of the main residence.
A middle-aged woman in an improved Ming-style hanfu made of Xiangyun gauze, with a cashmere shawl of the same color draped over her shoulders, came up to greet them with a smile; two respectfully attentive attendants followed behind her.
“Zi Jin, you’re finally here.” Her voice was warm, and her gaze fell on Wen Yan at once.
She sized Wen Yan up and down carefully; instantly, undisguised admiration lit her eyes. “So this is Wen Yan? My, my, I’ve heard Second Aunt mention you so many times. I finally get to see the real thing.”
She took Wen Yan’s hand affectionately. “Just look at this face, this figure, this whole presence. Standing next to Zi Jin, you two look perfect together no matter how you look at it.”
Wen Yan was a little at a loss from such straightforward enthusiasm; she kept a polite smile on her face and looked toward Jin Zijin.
Jin Zijin stepped forward at the right moment and introduced her with a smile. “Second Aunt, this is my wife, Wen Yan. Yan Yan, this is the second daughter of Great-Grandmother, Second Aunt Song Yangtian.”
“Hello, Auntie.” Wen Yan bowed slightly.
“Good, good, such good manners!” Song Yangtian laughed even more heartily, patting the back of Wen Yan’s hand before turning to Jin Zijin. “Your Third Sister Zijyu is here too; she’s inside keeping Grandma company.”
“She also brought a friend. What a coincidence, she’s a surgeon too, so she’s in the same field as Wen Yan. You young people should get to know each other later.”
Jin Zijin raised a brow. “Third Sister is back? And she brought a doctor friend? Then we should go see them.”
She took Wen Yan’s hand, pressed her fingertips lightly into Wen Yan’s palm, and then headed toward the brightly lit main hall.
The hall was warm as spring, with crystal chandeliers casting bright, soft light.
Passing several properly dressed relatives engaged in polite conversation, Wen Yan’s gaze subconsciously moved to the center of the living room, to that set of large velvet sofas.
Grandma Jin Shuangye wore her hair in an immaculate bun, a deep purple brocade Ming-style hanfu on her body, with a dark-patterned shawl over it and a purple sandalwood cane resting at her side.
Though already old, she sat upright, her eyes clear and sharp, carrying the authority of someone long accustomed to power, along with a refined elegance accumulated over years. She looked much more stern than usual.
And seated on the single sofa beside Jin Shuangye was a young woman in a light gray tailored wool skirt suit.
She sat comfortably and at ease, half-turned as she spoke to the old lady.
The young woman’s speech was unhurried, her smile appropriate and confident; her gestures were composed, making her look capable and generous.
Even in front of someone like Jin Shuangye, she showed no trace of awkwardness; instead, she had a calm, unflustered presence.
As if sensing the gaze from the doorway, the young woman’s words paused slightly, and she naturally turned her head.
Her eyes met Wen Yan’s.
The woman’s originally poised, proper smile instantly froze on her face.
Wen Yan’s steps came to a barely perceptible halt.
Across the warm air and the shifting silhouettes, both of them could clearly see the unmistakable shock on the other’s face.
Wen Yan blinked. “Senior?”
Senior?
Jin Zijin, standing beside her, lifted her eyes to Wen Yan, then let her gaze settle on the woman on the sofa.
The young woman had a refined face, and she carried the crisp, capable air unique to a surgeon, like a wild lily blooming in the mountains.
Pure. Elegant.
Jin Zijin narrowed her eyes.
Oh.
So this senior was the one who had blown Wen Yan’s hair dry, cooked for her, and looked after her when she was seriously ill?
Heh...
Interesting.
Jin Zijin looped her arm through Wen Yan’s and, without changing her expression, pinched her on the arm.
————————
A sincere, high-quality conversation is very important before becoming partners [head pat]
They’re gradually becoming one [teary laugh].
Jin Zijin: eating jealousy by the mouthful