Chapter 2417: Chapter 1529: Groomsmen and Bridesmaids (2)
"Mm, that’s true."
"If this set looks okay on me, then should I just not change?"
Tie Jun asked his friends for their opinion.
"I think it’s good." Jiang Chen commented.
"Try a few more. Whichever you like, just book a few sets. Anyway, trying them on doesn’t cost money." Tong Dan suggested.
Women and men are definitely different. Women can try clothes for an entire day, happily and tirelessly, but men won’t.
Men picking clothes is like facing love.
Once they’ve set their sights on something, they won’t be willing to waste more energy choosing.
Unless.
The price of that piece is beyond what they can afford.
"What do you think, Qing Gege?"
Tie Jun raised his arms, generously showing himself off.
"How about you try on a white one?"
Tie Jun froze for a moment, then immediately shook his head. "White... better let Jiang Chen try that. My skin’s dark, it doesn’t really suit me."
Jiang Chen couldn’t help laughing. "Why would I try anything on? I’m not the one getting married."
"We’re short a groomsman. Since you’re here anyway, just make up the numbers."
Jiang Chen paused, half amused, half helpless. "Who drags people into service like this?"
"President Jiang, are you still treating Tie Jun as a friend or not? How does that saying go—’if I rise to wealth, don’t forget me’."
Tong Dan cut in, still habitually going against a certain someone, but it was obvious she’d toned it down a lot.
They’d said this much already—could he still refuse?
Jiang Chen could only nod. "Alright then. But if there’s some talent show or something, let me say this up front: I don’t know any."
"No need. We’re not playing that many tricks. When it’s time to pick up the bride, just help me charge the door."
Jiang Chen agreed readily. "Deal!"
"Sir, your wife is coming out."
The fitting room door opened.
The demure, girl-next-door type they’d seen once at Tie Jun’s barbecue place walked out. An off-the-shoulder snow–white wedding dress, the skirt full and puffy, layers upon layers, like a sea of clouds, or waves on the ocean, with strands of bright gold thread woven through, shimmering with light.
Tie Jun turned around.
Jiang Chen, Fang Qing, and Tong Dan stood off to the side watching, all with smiles of blessing on their faces.
Wen Rong seemed a little nervous, anxiously tugging at the hem of her dress, her eyes cast down, not daring to face Tie Jun’s gaze.
"Miss Wen, no need to be shy. Mr. Tie is already stunned by your beauty."
The staff member helping her carry the train spoke up. No wonder she was in sales—she really knew what to say.
Only then did Wen Rong lift her head, timid and shy. "...How is it?"
Tie Jun nodded, sighing with feeling. "There’s no girl in the world more beautiful than you."
Almost everyone present was female, but not one of them was displeased. In all their eyes was nothing but goodwill towards the couple.
Wen Rong’s eyes lit up. His praise dispelled much of her nervousness. She fluttered the lashes the makeup artist had carefully drawn. "Really?"
Tie Jun nodded hard.
"Rongrong, I also think this one looks amazing. You look just like a princess in it."
The one helping with the dress was Wen Rong’s colleague, also a nurse at the psychiatric center, and one of the bridesmaids.
Girls, after all, have little resistance against wedding dresses. Plus she was still young; it was like she herself was the one wearing the wedding dress—she was even more excited than Wen Rong.
"Mm, like Snow White."
Jiang Chen said with a smile.
Wen Rong noticed him and looked a bit surprised.
"Jiang Chen rushed back specially to be our groomsman."
Tie Jun spoke up for his good brother.
"Wishing you an early, healthy baby."
Jiang Chen said it like no one else was around.
Wen Rong had been shy to begin with; now she was even more embarrassed, a flush spreading up her neck.
"Why don’t we just go with this one?"
Tie Jun walked over.
"...I still want to try some others."
Tie Jun nodded. "Okay. Whatever you say."
Love filled Wen Rong’s eyes, the glow of happiness eclipsing all the makeup on her face.
"Sorry to trouble you, Zhang Ying."
Tie Jun said to his wife’s colleague who was helping her change.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Then let’s go change into another one."
The few of them carefully headed back to the fitting room.
"You guys go pick some too, have the staff introduce a few styles."
Tie Jun turned around.
"Let them pick. I don’t need to."
"Saving money for me?"
Tie Jun jokingly patted his suit pocket. "I can’t compare to you, but it’s not like I’m short of money."
Jiang Chen smiled. Unable to argue, he could only follow Tong Dan and Fang Qing to choose dresses.
"How about this one?"
Without having the bridal shop staff introduce anything, the three of them wandered freely around the bridesmaid dress section. Tong Dan picked up a backless, sheer chiffon gown from the rack.
Before Fang Qing could speak, Jiang Chen shook his head. "Not suitable, too revealing."
Tong Dan put it down, walked a few steps, then picked up a sleeveless, one-shoulder short dress. "What about this one?"
Jiang Chen shook his head again. "Not convenient. You’d have to wear safety shorts."
Tong Dan glanced at him, then put it down again.
"How about this one?"
When she picked up the third option, a satin slip dress, she didn’t even bother asking Fang Qing and went straight to Jiang Chen for his opinion.
As expected, it was vetoed again.
"It’s very pretty and very classy, but you have to remember—you’re the bridesmaids, not the bride."
"..."
Tong Dan couldn’t take it anymore. "It’s not your wedding. Go pick your own stuff."
"I’m giving you my input."
"We don’t need your input."
"I’m the groomsman. Don’t I have the right to give suggestions on you bridesmaids’ outfits?"
Tong Dan widened her eyes, finding this utterly absurd.
Please.
Groomsmen and bridesmaids might only be one character away from the bride and groom in Chinese, but they basically have nothing to do with each other.
What she wore needed his guidance?
"Have you ever been married?"
"No."
A certain clueless someone answered instantly.
Tong Dan choked on her words.
While the two of them were bickering, Fang Qing stayed out of it. She walked over to a row of display racks, picked up a chiffon, high-neck, mid-length dress—vintage, flowing, yet dignified.
Jiang Chen was already nodding on his own. "Qing Gege really has good taste."
Tong Dan let out a disbelieving laugh, glanced at this thick-skinned guy, then at her best friend. She wanted to snap at him, but held it back.
No matter how straightforward her personality, she still had to bow to reality.
After all, this guy was her big boss now.
Tong Dan walked over, took the dress from Fang Qing’s hands, looked it over, then glanced at the price tag attached to the hanger.
"Isn’t this a bit too expensive?"
"Can’t you rent it?"
Jiang Chen asked.
He’d never been married, but that didn’t mean he had no basic common sense.
"Renting is six hundred a day."
"To buy?"
"Six thousand."
That was indeed a bit pricey.
Still, this bridal shop was quite proper, with clearly marked prices. Rental and purchase prices were both listed separately and clearly—none of that sleazy tactic of using the customer’s pride to force consumption.
Six hundred a day.
Forget Jiang Chen—even for the present-day Tong Dan, it was nothing. But no matter how far they’d come, they hadn’t forgotten where they started.
Especially.
Tie Jun was not the same as them.
Six hundred yuan—how many skewers of barbecue did he have to sell to earn that back?
Tong Dan hesitated. "Why don’t we pay for it ourselves?"
"That’s insulting him."
Jiang Chen said casually, "It’s just six hundred. He can afford it. You only get this once in a lifetime anyway. If he doesn’t spend now, is he going to wait for a second wedding?"
See?
Her awareness level shot up immediately.
Tong Dan found that reasonable. She let go of her worries, took the dress, and dragged Fang Qing off to ask the staff about sizes.
Jiang Chen strolled after them at an easy pace.
Bridesmaid dresses weren’t as complicated as wedding gowns.
They changed fairly quickly.
Even though he’d been used to Qing Mei’s beauty since they were kids, when she stepped out of the fitting room in a formal dress, Jiang Chen, who had been waiting rather nonchalantly, still zoned out for a moment.
Qing Gege’s beauty wasn’t the kind that struck like a sudden spring wind, stunning in an instant. It was more like silent, nourishing water, trickling day after day, quietly soaking into one’s heart.
The petal-like neckline hugged her slender neck, exuding an upward vitality; the flowing skirt brushed the floor smoothly; Fang Qing’s forever-unchanged straight black hair fell over her shoulders, forming a sharp contrast with the pure dress. The intricately patterned bodice rose into a soft, rounded curve...
Clearly, nothing was showing; she was covered thoroughly, you couldn’t even see her shoes. Yet her presence made Tong Dan, who stepped out from the fitting room next door, fade into the background.
At least, that’s how it was in a certain someone’s eyes.
One had to know that Miss Tong, the great beauty, had been a real flight attendant once—her looks were officially certified by the airline industry.
Fang Qing watched him quietly.
And the corners of a certain someone’s mouth twitched, almost curving up, almost not.
"How about you try on a wedding dress too?"
