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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="351" data-orig-width="500"></figure>Our third male lead has finally shown up! I say that he is the third male lead because another man, who hasn’t appeared in the story, has the unlucky fate of being the most important man in Jing Wan’s life yet also forever unable to obtain her heart.
I actually really enjoyed this chapter, especially the adorable interactions between Jing Wan and Jian Zhang. They tease each other, hold hands and do a number of cute couply things. I’m a little disappointed by the obvious lack of chemistry between Jing Wan and Jian Zhang in the drama adaptation, which is odd because the chemistry between Li Xiao Ran and Tan Kai (Jian Zhang) was so vibrant in Feng Chuan Mu Dan. I ended up fanshipping the two of them for most of the drama, even though Li Xiao Ran’s character was married to another man (played by Hawick Lau nonetheless). I’ll just say that Tan Kai makes a wonderfully suave Shanghai gangster. :D
Encountering Love: Chapter 4
Yin Jing Wan just then thought of it and said: “I brought lots of things back. Pelts in the north are really inexpensive, Mother, I bought a nice otter pelt for you and it is large enough to make a coat.” She ordered the servants to bring in the two largest trunks, opening them one by one to show her parents. Yin Chu Fan saw that there was a beautifully decorated box inside and opened it; there was a ginseng from Lao Shan inside, but he said: “Don’t bring this kind of thing next time. People will gossip.” Yin Jing Wan replies with all smiles: “I only brought back a piece of ginseng. Will they really charge me for attempting to smuggle medicine?” She brought out a box decorated with pressed flowers and said: “I also brought this back for Jian Zhang.” Madam Yin affectionately chided her: “You really have no manners, you don’t even call him ‘elder brother’. Jian Zhang this and Jian Zhang that, what will others think if they hear you speak like that?” She continued: “Your Elder Brother Xu heard that you were coming back today. He said that he would come see you in the afternoon.” When Yin Jing Wan heard this, she turned around and said: “I’m very well, why do I need him to come see me?“
Madam Yin smiled to herself and did not reply. Yin Jing Wan saw that she was smiling and faced her, called out to her, upset: “Mother!” Madam Yin said: “Hurry, go bathe and change your clothes. Then, come back to eat dinner.”
The room facing the courtyard was Yin Jing Wan’s bedroom, Wu Ma had already prepared bath water for her and Ming Xiang was unpacking the rest of the things that she had brought back. After she had bathed, Ming Xiang had already finished putting away all her things in the dresser, she sat down to comb her hair and suddenly caught sight of that gold pocket watch on the dresser. The cover of the pocket watch had small diamonds, which sparkled in the light, embedded in it. She knew that this Patek Phillippe pocket watch is of considerable value, perhaps he wanted to thank her with this? On the train, she didn’t look at it very carefully before putting it away, so she only knew that the watch was exquisitely crafted. Using the light, she noticed that the cover had some words engraved on it and upon looking more closely, she saw that the words “Pei Lin”. This name seemed familiar, but she could not think of where she had heard this name before. Suddenly, she heard Ming Xiang: “Miss, Young Master Xu has arrived.” She was so happy; hastily shoving the watch into a drawer, she fixed a few strands of her hair and went out immediately.
Xu Jian Zhang was in the reception hall talking with Yin Chu Fan. Since the day had already darkened, the hall’s wall lamps were lit, and when Jing Wan saw a familiar silhouette standing in front of the window, her heart fluttered, like the wind blowing against a jade tree, though perhaps it was because she was walking too quickly. Xu Jian Zhang had already caught sight of her, giving her a slight nod and a smile, he said: “Jing Wan just went on one trip but now she seems all grown up.” Jing Wan stuck her nose up in the air and said: “I was already grown up. Did you think I was still a child?” She acted fiercely annoyed and her jade earrings jingled as they touched her clothes. Madam Yin said: “This child is always so improper. It’s a good thing that your Elder Brother Xu is not an outsider. How can you speak to him like that?” She continued: “Keep your Elder Brother Xu company. I will check how dinner is coming along.”
She rose to check on the servants preparing the dining room and Yin Chu Fan also found a reason to excuse himself. Yin Jing Wan smiled shyly at Xu Jian Zhang and said: “I brought back a box of cigars for you.” Xu Jian Zhang noticed that she had changed into Western-styled clothes, the color of pale mist, which made her seem as graceful and as delicate as an apricot blossom when the light shined on her. He lowered his voice and asked: “Didn’t you tell me to stop smoking?” When Yin Jing Wan heard him say this, she unwittingly gave him a charming smile. She hesitated for a moment and then replied: “During my journey, I’ve been thinking that the light scent of tobacco actually smells nice.”
When he heard her say that, he also could not help but smile back.
The Yin and Xu families were old friends so Madam Yin asked Xu Jian Zhang to stay for dinner, and they chatted happily until it was late. The next morning, Madam Yin had just risen from bed but when she saw that Jing Wan was already up, she asked: “Why are you already up?” Jing Wan hastily replied: “I made plans with Elder Brother Xu to go to the flower fair.” Madam Yin knew that the young couple wanted to meet again, and since she already knew where they were going, she smiled slightly but did not ask any further.
Xu Jian Zhang drove by himself to pick her up. When she got in the car, he asked: “Did you eat breakfast?” Jing Wan replied: “Not yet.” Xu Jian Zhang said: “I just knew that you wouldn’t have – you love sleeping too much. Since you had to get up so early today, you probably didn’t have time to eat breakfast.” Jing Wan replied: “You are always either asking me if I want to eat or saying that I love to sleep. What do you think I am?” Xu Jian Zhang saw that she was just pretending to be angry, he rolled his eyes and said: “I’ll just apologize to you, alright? Today, I will take you to eat something that you’ve definitely never eaten before.”
The car followed the long street south; he later turned west and continued for a while. He passed through a small street and finally parked on a small side street. Xu Jian Zhang said: “This place isn’t far from the flower fair. Let’s walk over and get breakfast on the way there.” Jing Wan got off the car with him, but it was still quite early so the street was extremely quiet. There were two pagodatrees planted at the intersection and the flowers were scattered all over the floor, muffling her steps. Xu Jian Zhang walked in front and Jing Wan suddenly called out to him: “Jian Zhang.” He turned around and the sun shined on his face, sparkling like bits of gold, while accentuating his features. Her heart overflowed with sweetness and the morning breeze caressed her lightly. He had already reached out his hand and she caught onto it. The early morning breeze felt cold but also carried the scent of the flowers.
Crossing the intersection, they walked down another street with many small shops selling the Yun Nan specialty noodles ‘Guo Qiao Mi Xian’. She had never come to this kind of shop to eat before and thought it was new and exciting. When the noodles arrived, they also brought four plates of thinly sliced meat, fish, peas and tofu skin. As she picked up her chopsticks, she heard Jian Zhang say: “Be careful, it’s hot.” Good thing he said that as she would have really been scalded. She thought that since there wasn’t any steam rising from it, the soup would not be that hot. She picked up the small plate of sliced meat and upon seeing the small beads of sweat on Jian Zhang’s forehead, she handed him her handkerchief. He accepted it with a smile. The sun outside was shining brightly, while a street-sweeper holding large broom, was sweeping the street slowly and they could occasionally hear the sound of him sweeping, which sounded like someone was stroking a feather against their ears. It was comfortable watching the sunlight, which was the color of pale gold, as it hit the white wall across the street. Their surroundings were completely peaceful, a silent yet dazzling brightness.