Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
Tongcheng is located in Jiangnan, an ancient town leaning against mountains and beside water.
The buildings here are in Ming and Qing style—white walls, ink-colored roofs, streets formed around waterways. The misty rain draped a thin veil over the city, delicate and graceful, like an old-time beauty hesitant to speak.
Right after Jiang Se picked up her luggage, a call came in.
The name displayed was “Yu Shiying.” She paused briefly, then answered: “Hello.”
A gentle water-like voice came from the other side: “Sese, your older sister went in to find you, have you seen her?”
The airport hall was crowded with people coming and going. Jiang Se looked around but didn’t see the person Yu Shiying mentioned.
“No. It’s fine, in a moment I’ll—” The phrase “go over myself” hadn’t yet finished when someone patted her shoulder.
Jiang Se turned around and met a pair of large almond eyes shimmering with a rippling smile.
Jiang Tang wore a mask and a baseball cap, reached out and took the luggage from Jiang Se’s hand, her brows curving as she smiled: “Sese, I’m here.”
Jiang Se had only blanked for a second, and her luggage was taken.
She didn’t plan to take it back, just smiled and thanked Jiang Tang.
“Let’s go, Mom is waiting outside. Hungry? Dad’s cooking lunch at home, we can eat right when we get back.”
Jiang Tang’s voice was very gentle, soft, with the unique lilt of the water towns.
Though this was actually the first time Jiang Se met Jiang Tang, the two had only spoken on the phone before, she had seen a few viral videos of Jiang Tang, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with this sister.
Jiang Tang is the principal dancer at the Pingcheng Grand Theater, performing classical dance, and is somewhat well-known in the dance world.
Two years ago, in the wildly popular wuxia film “Yulinling”, there was a highly difficult sword dance. That dance was performed by none other than Jiang Tang, specially invited by the director.
Jiang Tang didn’t show her face in the movie, but half a year ago, someone posted a behind-the-scenes video on Weibo, her stunningly beautiful face was right there in the video.
The video exploded instantly, everyone saying this dance double was breathtakingly beautiful.
Later, netizens dug up Jiang Tang’s information and even uploaded videos of her at the theater and in the practice room, and several of the videos shot up onto trending searches.
Back then Guo Qian even sent Jiang Se photos of Jiang Tang, asking her: Don’t you think this beautiful older-sister looks just a tiny little bit like you?
Jiang Tang was two years older than Jiang Se. Naturally the two didn’t look just a little bit alike, honestly they looked three to four parts similar, especially those clear, bright almond eyes. They were practically identical.
Once she saw Yu Shiying, she naturally knew from whom the two of them inherited those eyes.
Yu Shiying was forty-seven this year, but looked only just over thirty.
Her features were very delicate, with slender brows and almond eyes, her skin very fair, her frame thin, and her voice soft and gentle, like a weak willow swaying by the riverbank.
Half of Jiang Se’s looks took after Yu Shiying, only her temperament was not soft.
Yu Shiying’s car was a white Volkswagen Golf, already very old, with a small interior. Maybe afraid Jiang Se would be uncomfortable in the back seat, she called her to sit in the front passenger seat.
“It’s more spacious here, and the view is better. At the end of the year I’ll have your dad change to a better car, so you’ll be more comfortable riding in it in the future.”
Yu Shiying looked at Jiang Se, her eyes a little red. She knew exactly what Jiang Se lost in order to come back here.
A month ago, Ji Yunyi had called her.
“Sese will have a better life staying with us. She will still be the eldest young lady of the Cen family, no one would dare look down on her. But if she chooses you all, then everything she received from us must be returned. She will have nothing.”
“Sese has lived a life of luxury since she was young. Can you afford to give her that kind of life? If you truly care for her, then you shouldn’t take her back.”
Yu Shiying knew what Ji Yunyi said was the truth, so from the start she had already prepared herself for Jiang Se staying in Beicheng.
Afraid others would talk about Jiang Se, she specially asked Ji Yunyi to pass on a message, saying it was their fault for losing her back then. Whatever choice she made, they would understand and respect it.
At that time Yu Shiying truly hadn’t expected that Jiang Se would choose to come back and be her daughter.
—
It wasn’t that she didn’t notice the slight redness in Yu Shiying’s eyes and the heartache she couldn’t suppress at the bottom of them.
Only, the education Jiang Se received since childhood was to not show joy or anger on her face. Emotions like sadness or sorrow absolutely must not appear outwardly.
Therefore, faced with Yu Shiying’s sudden surge of emotion and feeling, she really wasn’t used to it.
She could only lower her head, fasten her seatbelt, and say with a smile: “This car is very comfortable, no need to change it specially.”
This considerate remark made the corners of Yu Shiying’s eyes redden again, looking like she was holding back tears.
Even though this was only their second meeting and they were still strangers to each other, for some unknown reason, Jiang Se very much didn’t want to see Yu Shiying’s tears.
So she turned her head away and pressed down the car window, looking at the smoke-and-rain corridor outside.
Who knew that as soon as the window dropped, a silver-gray Gemera roared past in the lane beside them, blocking the view.
Jiang Se met eyes with the man in the back seat.
Separated by a thin layer of rainy haze, the eye contact lasted only one second before the two expressionlessly looked away, both with similarly cold faces.
“Bro, what were you looking at just now?”
In the sports car, Han Xiao, who was driving, glanced at Lu Huaiyan through the rear-view mirror, his tone improper as always.
“Did you see a beauty by the roadside? I’m telling you, the girls here in Tongcheng are so d*mn gentle. Want little brother to introduce you to some tonight? Not to brag, but I basically know all the most famous beauties around here!”
The lowered window slowly rose back up. Lu Huaiyan didn’t respond to Han Xiao, only said lightly: “So you’ve been in Tongcheng half a year, and all you’ve done is look at beauties? Aren’t you afraid uncle will skin you?”
Han Xiao quickly laughed it off: “Isn’t this combining work and rest? I haven’t forgotten what my dad told me to do. I’m properly working hard for the old man!”
Lu Huaiyan chuckled softly, clearly not believing him.
Han Xiao knew this cousin of his had long seen through him, so he didn’t bother pretending, clicking his tongue.
“Bro, you know, I’m just useless mud that can’t stick to a wall. I don’t know why my parents still won’t give up, insisting on troubling you to come to Tongcheng.”
Han Xiao shrugged. “But since you’re finally here, tonight I’ll welcome you properly. There’s a bar on Fuchun Street with insanely good drinks, all made with the owner’s ancestral recipes. You can’t come here without trying them. And the owner’s daughter is seriously beautiful. Remember that super popular ‘most beautiful dancer’ from a while ago? Yeah, her!”
Lu Huaiyan didn’t respond, but the silence seemed to make Li Rui beside him uncomfortable, so he spoke up: “Heard of her, heard of her. The principal dancer of Pingcheng Grand Theater, right? Her surname’s Jiang something. Eh, Young Master Han, what’s that bar called?”
“Wangchuan*,” Han Xiao said lazily. “How about it? Is the name interesting? Tonight I’ll take you guys there to drink a cup of Mengpo wine!”
*River of Forgetfulness; river in the underworld that souls must cross to be reincarnated. It is often associated with a drink or food given to souls that causes them to forget all their past memories, making it possible to start a new life without the burden of the past
—
Although the bar was on Fuchun Street, Yu Shiying’s family didn’t live there, but instead on Liyuan Street, which was several blocks away.
It was an old street, narrow and long, and cars couldn’t drive in.
Yu Shiying parked at the entrance and said to Jiang Tang: “Ah Tang, take your little sister in first. Remember to use an umbrella. The rain isn’t heavy, but getting too much rain will make you bald later.”
Jiang Tang lowered her head and laughed softly, obediently answering. She pulled an umbrella from the car door.
Once inside the street, she took off her mask, revealing that perfectly picturesque face.
Jiang Tang’s looks mostly took after Yu Shiying, very typical Jiangnan beauty features.
She opened the umbrella. “Let’s go, Sese.”
The people living on Liyuan Street were all old Tongcheng locals. They had watched the Jiang siblings grow up and had heard, more or less, about the case of the Jiang family’s second daughter being switched at birth.
They didn’t know much, only that Jiang Se had been taken to Beicheng, and didn’t know that the family who took her was the Cen family, a top wealthy family in Beicheng.
As Jiang Se walked all the way in, she saw countless grandpas and grandmas sticking their heads out of their windows, kindly calling: “Ah Tang, you brought the new little sister home?”
They also praised Jiang Se: “The little sister is really good-looking, she looks like Ah Ying and also like Jiang Chuan.”
A fruit shop owner that Jiang Tang called “Eleventh Aunt” insisted on stuffing a watermelon at them, saying it was for their family to celebrate being reunited.
Jiang Tang was holding luggage and also holding up an umbrella, so Jiang Se naturally took the big watermelon.
So on the day she returned to Tongcheng, Jiang Se, once a socialite of Beicheng, walked from one end of the street to the other wearing a deep green little dress and holding a huge crisp watermelon.
The color of the dress matched with the green rind of the watermelon, strangely even a bit fitting.
The Jiang family lived in a courtyard at the end of the street, the area wasn’t big, but it was quite unique.
A well, a few persimmon trees and osmanthus trees, under the trees a set of stone tables and chairs, and several waist-high wide-mouthed clay jars.
In the damp air floated a faint scent of wine.
Jiang Tang pushed open the double wooden gates of the courtyard, and a tall, slim boy about seventeen or eighteen came out of the house, called “Big Sis,” then stood there looking at Jiang Se without speaking.
“Come help your second sister take the watermelon.” After Jiang Tang spoke, she turned her head to Jiang Se, “Sese, this is Little Ye.”
Jiang Ye unwillingly walked over, took the luggage from Jiang Tang’s hand, then glanced at Jiang Se: “Give me the watermelon.”
The boy was very handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, his voice also nice, just his attitude couldn’t be called friendly.
It was the first time the siblings met, and as for that faint hostility of Jiang Ye’s, Jiang Se didn’t much care. She handed the watermelon over and lightly said a thank you.
Jiang Ye curled his lips, took several steps into the house.
Jiang Se followed behind him into the house.
As soon as she entered, a tall, sturdy middle-aged man immediately came out from the kitchen. That face, still handsome even with age, looked very similar to Jiang Ye’s.
“Sese.” The man called out to Jiang Se with a smile.
Jiang Se pressed her lips slightly: “Hello.”
Jiang Chuan made an “eh” sound, not minding that Jiang Se didn’t call him Dad, smiling very brightly: “Dinner is almost ready, Ah Tang, take your little sister to put her luggage down first.”
The Jiang home was a large flat layout, the area not small, more than one hundred eighty square meters, four bedrooms and two living rooms, and a storage room. Because Jiang Se came back, Jiang Chuan cleared out the storage room for Jiang Ye to live in, while Jiang Ye’s original room naturally went to Jiang Se.
Before coming to Tongcheng, Jiang Se had actually already contacted an agent and rented a small apartment in the nearby Xiangshu Alley.
The apartment was pre-renovated, and even the furniture she had arranged remotely, just ready to move in.
Tomorrow the agent would bring the keys over.
Which was to say, she would only stay one night here on Liyuan Street.
But even if it was just one night, Yu Shiying and Jiang Chuan still carefully prepared her room.
The walls were freshly painted, the bed set, desk, and wardrobe were new, and on the door hung a wooden plaque carved with her name.
Jiang Tang pulled open the curtains, letting the dim daylight of the rainy day shine in.
“Little Ye didn’t pass his middle-school second-year syndrome, don’t mind him. Give it a bit of time, once he gets familiar with you, he won’t be like this. Actually he has the softest heart in the family, when Little Yu left, he was the one who cried the most.” As she spoke, she pointed to the persimmon tree outside already bearing fruit, “When the fruit ripens, tell Little Ye to pick persimmons for you to eat.”
Jiang Se glanced outside. The rain mist was hazy, the golden persimmons hanging like little lanterns all over the branches, adding some warmth to this cold, quiet old city.
She gave an indifferent “mm.”
After putting down luggage and coming out, Yu Shiying had also returned and was setting bowls in the dining room.
The dining table was an old peachwood table, with ten full dishes arranged on top, each one something Jiang Se liked to eat.
Most likely they had asked Aunt Zhang in advance about her food preferences.
Jiang Chuan’s cooking wasn’t worse than Uncle Tong’s. Jiang Se had been on a plane all morning and originally had no appetite, but still ate a full bowl of rice.
The meal was fairly warm.
Jiang Se learned while eating that to welcome her home, Jiang Tang and Jiang Ye, one took leave from her production crew and flew back, the other was in closed training at the base and was directly dragged back by his dad pinching his ear.
No wonder Jiang Ye’s face was so foul when he saw her.
—
After dinner Jiang Se took a nap, and when she woke up it was already four in the afternoon.
The rain had stopped, thin sunlight filtered in through the pinewood window cracks like a layer of soft golden gauze.
She had taken a sedative before sleeping, so her head was still muddled, with a bit of disorientation of not knowing what day it was.
Only after a while did she realize she had left Beicheng and come to Tongcheng.
A completely unfamiliar city.
She stared at the pale ceiling for quite a while.
Then lifted the blanket and got out of bed, barefoot walking to the window, quietly looking at the persimmon tree full of life in the courtyard.
At this moment, she very clearly felt that the shogetsu cherry blossom that had accompanied her since childhood had finally withered completely from her life.
She lowered her eyes, took clothes from her suitcase and changed, then walked out of the room.
Only Jiang Tang was in the living room. Seeing Jiang Se awake, she closed the script in her hands and asked with a smile if she wanted to go play at the family bar.
“Bar?” Jiang Se pondered a little, “‘Wangchuan’?”
“Mm.” Jiang Tang put down the script and pointed toward a direction outside the door, saying, “It’s the little bar Grandpa left for Mom, in Fuchun Street. Come on, I’ll take you over to look. Dad, Mom, and Little Ye are all over there.”
Fuchun Street was built along the Fuchun River, a well-known bar street in Tongcheng. Here, all kinds of unique quiet bars, book bars, and live houses stood close together.
“Wangchuan” was located in the least noticeable corner of Fuchun Street.
The storefront wasn’t big, but it was a famous Internet-popular quiet bar. The bar officially opened at five in the afternoon, though it usually only got lively after dinner.
Yu Shiying saw that Jiang Se had come, fussed over her for quite a while, afraid she was hungry or thirsty, and even mixed her a glass of melon-pulp wine, the watermelon juice inside coming from “Eleventh Aunt” of Liyuan Street.
Jiang Ye was at the bar mixing the drinks for tonight, and seeing this, he cast a sidelong glance at the sparkling wine in Jiang Se’s hand, dissatisfied: “Mom, I’m thirsty too. I’ve been here for so long, and you haven’t made me anything to drink.”
Jiang Chuan, coming from behind, happened to hear this and gave a slap to the back of Jiang Ye’s head.
“Are you missing hands or feet? Even drinking something has to be served by your mom? Spoiled you! If you want a drink, mix it yourself, and while you’re at it, make a cup of osmanthus honey for your big sister to soothe her throat.”
Jiang Ye: “……”
After scolding Jiang Ye, Jiang Chuan turned to look at Jiang Se. His expression was like a Peking opera face change, from glaring angry to gentle scholar.
“Sese, want to try some local snacks from Tongcheng? Dad can make them for you.”
“No need, I’m not hungry.” The lingering sweetness and freshness of the melon-pulp wine still on her tongue, Jiang Se’s fair fingers traced the glass wall steaming with cold mist, she curved her brows and smiled, “Thank you, Dad.”
The moment she said “Dad,” the air at the bar instantly froze.
Jiang Chuan was stunned for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh: “Kid, why so polite with your old man.”
Yu Shiying, eyes red, smiled, and soon Jiang Se looked at her: “Mom, can I learn to mix drinks from Little Ye?”
The drinks at “Wangchuan” were different from elsewhere, not using foreign spirits, but the most traditional Chinese sorghum wine, fruit wine, and flower wine.
Jiang Se was genuinely interested, a little itchy to try.
She hadn’t touched a shaker in a long time.
Yu Shiying was startled, then quickly said: “Sure, of course. Little Ye, teach your second sister properly. Later Mom will make your favorite Eight-Treasure Duck.”
Jiang Ye curled his lips.
Tsk, just afraid of giving his second sister special treatment? Who cares about that bribe.
Muttering in his heart, he still glanced at Jiang Se, gruffly said: “I’ll only demonstrate once, watch carefully, don’t expect me to do it a second time!”
Though Jiang Se hadn’t held a shaker in a long time, she had trained under the best bartenders in New York, and didn’t need a second demonstration to get the hang of it.
The drink she made even had a more enchanting color than Jiang Ye’s.
The boy looked defeated, glaring beside her for a long while in silent resentment, then probably feeling his face hurt, went back to the bar.
—
Eight o’clock at night.
The quiet and peace of the ancient town by day gradually faded, replaced by the chaos of the night.
The entire Fuchun Street was bustling.
Han Xiao pushed open the bar’s wooden door, showing off to Lu Huaiyan: “Bro, really, I promise you can’t drink this kind of alcohol in Beicheng.”
The little bar followed a Ming-Qing style, quaint and antique, even the music played was all pipa and guzheng.
Lu Huaiyan lifted his eyelids lazily.
Before his gaze completed a sweep of this narrow space, he heard Han Xiao exclaim: “Woah! Am I seeing things? Bro, the beauty sitting over there, why does she look so much like Cen Se?”
