RGL – Chapter 114

Although, between the two of them, it really was just him performing a one-man show.

Later on, Xue Mian spoke less and less. Su Min wasn’t a talkative person to begin with, so the two of them just walked around the county town, visiting some once-familiar places. They even wandered through the little alleys where they used to sell popsicles together.

It wasn’t until evening, when they were about to head home, that Xue Mian suddenly stopped at the side of the street.

“Xue Mian?”

Su Min turned around and looked at him. Seeing tears shimmering in Xue Mian’s eyes, her heart immediately sank. She walked over and asked, “Xue Mian, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Xue Mian took a deep breath, then suddenly reached out and held Su Min’s shoulders, bending down to rest his head on her shoulder.

Su Min’s body immediately stiffened. Feeling a bit awkward, she said, “Xue Mian, what’s going on with you?”

“Xiao Min, I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to go abroad—not at all.”

After saying this, Xue Mian suddenly stood upright, his eyes red as he looked at Su Min. “It’s not like I’ll be gone forever—just two years. Once I finish my studies, I’ll come back.”

He spoke seriously, his expression earnest.

Su Min nodded blankly, a bit nervous inside.

Although Xue Mian moved his head away, his hands were still on Su Min’s shoulders. There were fewer and fewer people on the street, and neither of them said anything. After a while, Su Min was about to head back.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Xue Mian suddenly said.

Su Min looked up at him. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, there are few flights available, and I need to go early to prepare for my interview.”

The suddenness caught her off guard. Su Min felt even worse than before. She had thought they’d have a few more days together, but it turned out to be just this one day. In the blink of an eye, Xue Mian was leaving.

She sighed lightly. “It’s fine. Better to be prepared early. Since you’re going, make sure to study well.”

“Su Min, will you wait for me?” Xue Mian looked at her seriously, even calling her full name with solemnity.

Hearing that, Su Min was stunned and looked up at him in surprise, her lips parting as if to say something but stopping short.

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Xue Mian seemed pained. “Su Min, I’ve already graduated high school. I’m an adult now—I can make promises. I… I like you. Once I’m gone, can you wait for me for two years?”

“…”

Su Min widened her eyes at him, her heart caught in her throat, unable to say a single word.

Seeing her remain silent, Xue Mian panicked.

He hadn’t planned to confess so soon—he’d hoped to wait until he was more mature, afraid she might think he was being childish. But watching her walking ahead of him earlier made him anxious. Two years was a long time. Su Min was so great—what if someone else came along while he was away and stole her heart? Then all his efforts would have been for nothing. Just imagining her with someone else when he came back filled him with grief. The thought of returning to find her with someone even closer than he used to be made him feel like an outsider, and the unfairness of it all made him want to cry.

His heart was uneasy. He knew that if he didn’t make things clear now, he wouldn’t be able to focus on his studies once he went abroad.

“Su Min, won’t you say yes?”

“I’m sorry, Xue Mian. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

She truly hadn’t. Right now, her focus was on studying and fashion design. Romance wasn’t even on her radar.

“Then don’t think about it. Just listen to me.” Xue Mian relaxed a little. As long as she didn’t dislike him, it was fine. He nervously said, “I know we’re still young, and this might not be the right time to talk about this. I’m not asking for anything—just that you promise me, until I come back, don’t think about dating anyone else, okay? You might not feel the same now, but in a few years, maybe you will. Then we can talk about it again. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Hearing this, Su Min also felt relieved.

He was only asking her not to date for two years. That was no problem at all. She smiled softly and nodded. “Okay.”

Seeing her agree, Xue Mian grinned and stuck out his pinky. “Let’s pinky promise.”

Looking at his childish gesture, Su Min’s heart softened. She hooked her pinky with his.

After walking her home, Xue Mian stood downstairs, watching her go upstairs.

When Su Min reached the second floor and looked down from the stairwell window, she saw Xue Mian still standing there, looking up at her. Under the streetlight, his figure looked somewhat lonely and desolate.

She waved at him through the window, then turned quickly and entered Sun Hai’s house.

Sun Hai and Li Meng hadn’t gone to sleep, waiting for her to return before relaxing.

“You’re finally back. Have you eaten? There are still leftovers at home.”

Li Meng stood up, ready to cook.

Su Min quickly said, “No need, I ate out with a classmate.”

Only then did Li Meng sit back down. “Even though you and Xue Mian are good friends, it’s not good to stay out so late. You can’t do that again.”

“I won’t.” Su Min smiled and shook her head. “Aunt, I’m going to my room now.” She ran off to her room.

Once inside, she closed the door and looked out the window. She could still see Xue Mian walking farther and farther away.

She turned around and sat on her bed, thinking about his confession and their promise. She couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

If she hadn’t been reborn—if she was truly just a seventeen-year-old girl—how wonderful would that be?

Maybe she wouldn’t feel so conflicted. But she was a thirty-year-old woman inside. Dating a seventeen-year-old boy… she just couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

Xue Mian left, and Su Min no longer wanted to stay in the county.

The next morning, after breakfast and saying goodbye to Li Meng, she packed her things and returned to the city.

On the way back, staring out the window, she kept thinking about the tears in Xue Mian’s eyes the night before.

The more she thought, the more unsettled she felt—so eventually she stopped thinking about it altogether.

“Anyway, it’s still two years away. I’ll deal with it then.”

Back in the city, she dropped off her things, rested a bit, then brought her design drafts to Sun Yan and the others.

The clothes she had designed for Xue Mian’s mother were ready to be made. The rest would be handled by Sun Yan and her team.

“You took on this many custom orders?” Sun Yan was shocked when Su Min showed her the designs.

Su Min said, “I didn’t know if I could do it before. I’ve only finished designing one outfit so far. You can start working on this one, and I’ll keep designing the others later so we don’t end up piling everything up at once.”

“No problem. Our workshop’s been slow anyway,” Sun Yan said happily. She’d been worrying about making money—now business was coming to her. And judging by Su Min’s tone, these clients were wealthy, which meant high prices and good commissions.

That afternoon, Sun Yan brought the drafts to a skilled tailor to start cutting fabric. She also asked Zhang Qingqing to finish her current tasks quickly to work on the embroidery for the custom orders.

When Zhang Qingqing heard another big order had come in like last time, she was so excited she nearly pricked her finger.

Making clothes was a skill refined through experience.

Since completing the first haute couture piece, everyone had gotten used to the process. Making the second one went much more smoothly.

It took three days just to finish cutting the fabric. Zhang Qingqing then began working on the embroidery.

This embroidery was even more intricate than last time, but as Su Min had explained, the more embroidery a piece had, the higher its price. So with more to embroider, Zhang Qingqing was thrilled—she practically wanted to cover the whole cloth with patterns.

Su Min wasn’t idle either. She studied and reviewed in the mornings, and spent afternoons and evenings designing.

This time, Ke Wan had assigned her four outfits. After completing the one for Xue Mian’s mother, three remained.

Su Min did the math and realized that designing and producing everything would take quite a bit of time. Even with the tailors working quickly, Zhang Qingqing couldn’t do embroidery that fast.

Worried about delays, Su Min called Ke Wan to explain.

Ke Wan was very understanding. “These kinds of custom orders usually take over a month. You’ve already taken on multiple jobs—it’s perfectly normal. Just focus on the work.”

With her reassurance, Su Min felt less pressure and focused on designing.

By the end of summer break, she had finished designing the remaining three outfits. The production was handed over to Sun Yan.

Once Xue Mian’s mother’s outfit was done, Su Min brought it to Ke Wan.

Seeing the qipao embroidered even more lavishly than her last one, Ke Wan felt tempted again. She was realizing that traditional Chinese clothes had more cultural depth than foreign ones.

“This is getting better and better. Once you’re done with these, you must make another one for me.”

Su Min laughed. “You’ll have to wait until winter break. I really don’t have time during the term. And my embroidery person is swamped too.”

“Look at you, such great business!” Ke Wan joked.

“It’s all thanks to your help.”

“Oh, don’t give me that polite nonsense,” Ke Wan said with a smile. Then she added, “By the way, I visited your shop recently. Honestly, the location and interior could use an upgrade. Coincidentally, my husband’s mall has rental space open. Want to move there? The place looks nice and can match your high-end image.”

Then she added, “Rent’s cheap—just make me one outfit a year.”

Su Min laughed. “That’s great. Then I’ll just randomly throw together something for you.”

Ke Wan grinned. “Go ahead and try! If you make a mess of it and ruin your reputation, don’t blame me.”

Hearing that, Su Min knew she couldn’t treat Ke Wan’s outfit casually. She was a walking billboard—if her outfit looked bad, it would affect the shop’s image. Just for the business she brought in, Su Min had to go all out.

But truthfully, the rent wasn’t exactly cheap. A custom outfit she put real effort into cost over a thousand yuan. That was still over a hundred a month—whereas her current shop only cost a few dozen.

Of course, she didn’t turn her down immediately. She planned to visit the location before making a decision.

After all, Ke Wan was right. Her current shop really wasn’t upscale enough. Right now, it was only thanks to Ke Wan’s endorsement that she had any customers. Rich people wouldn’t usually wander into that kind of area on their own.

After starting 11th grade (senior year 2), Su Min got busy again.

The second year of senior high was even more intense than the first. According to the teachers, most of the 12th-grade curriculum would be covered this year so that the final year could be focused on review. So every class felt like two jammed into one. Naturally, the students buckled down.

To make better use of her time, Su Min stopped going home for lunch and ate in the school cafeteria with Liao Zhaodi and the others.

“Hey Su Min, guess who I saw during enrollment a couple of days ago?”

During lunch, Tang Man leaned over and asked.

Su Min was reading and marking key points while eating.

Hearing Tang Man, she asked, “Who?”

“The girl who tried to fight us in the park. Don’t you remember?”

Su Min glanced at her, momentarily confused.

Seeing her dazed expression, Tang Man said, “The one who was with that guy and threw your bag.”

Su Min’s face instantly turned awkward as she remembered. “She came to our school too?”

She found it hard to believe. Su Wenwen’s grades had always been at the bottom of the class—how did she get into a top city school? Maybe she worked hard during her year off? But that seemed unlikely—last she saw her, she was still messing around.

Tang Man said, “I thought it was strange too. But she was dressed pretty well, so maybe her family’s rich. You know how it is—there’s always a way to get in.”

Her tone carried a tinge of jealousy.

Su Min, however, was focused on Su Wenwen.

She had thought they’d never cross paths again—yet here they were, on a collision course.

Liao Zhaodi also knew Su Wenwen and how she used to bully Su Min. Hearing she was now at their school made her worried for Su Min too.

Though she knew Su Wenwen was around, Su Min didn’t think much of it. She just decided that if they did meet, she’d avoid conflict. That girl was too unstable now, and Su Min had no energy to deal with her.

After lunch, they headed back to class to study.

Just outside the cafeteria, a girl in a short skirt walked past with a group of other girls.

Su Min didn’t pay much attention and kept walking with Tang Man.

“Wenwen, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Su Wenwen said, pressing her lips together. “I’m treating you all today—order whatever you want.”

“Awesome!” the others cheered happily.

As they entered the cafeteria, Su Wenwen couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d just seen.

She gave a cold snort. So, it really was Su Min.

Seeing Su Min doing well, surrounded by more friends than ever, made her angry.

If it hadn’t been for Su Min, none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have had to drop out. Her grandfather wouldn’t have been arrested. None of it.

She wouldn’t have ended up like this—unloved by both parents.

“Wenwen, hurry up or there won’t be any food left!”

A girl tugged her arm.

Su Wenwen bit her lip and turned to go inside.

These past few days, Su Wenwen had been the one paying for meals, and everyone had gotten used to it. Hearing she was treating again, they didn’t hesitate and ordered the best dishes.

But when Su Wenwen went to pay, she found there wasn’t much money left in her wallet. After settling the bill, there was barely anything left.

A classmate nearby saw and asked, “Out of money?”

“No problem. I’ll ask my mom tonight. My dad’s a big boss—money’s no issue.”

She threw her wallet into her bag with a smug air.

“Mom, I’m out of allowance this month. Send me 50 yuan.”