“No one can help you with this; you can only rely on yourself,” Susu said, softening her tone. “Think about Huo Jin’s family, and then think about your own family and friends. Your parents cannot live without you. Your mother survived a serious illness; how can you bear to let her lose you?”
Chang Qingchuan lowered his head and wept, remaining silent.
Susu continued to persuade him, “Even if you suspect foul play in Huo Jin’s death, if you don’t pull yourself together, how can you resolve the doubts in your heart? I know no one’s heart aches more than yours, but no matter how much it hurts, you must live strongly for Huo Jin, help her honor her parents, and help her accomplish the things she wanted to do but didn’t have the chance to. Don’t you agree?”
Chang Qingchuan looked up at her, a glimmer of his former self finally returning to his eyes. He said tearfully, “Okay, I will pull myself together.”
Susu couldn’t help but shed tears with him and encouraged him, “You can do it, you will get through this.”
…
A few days after Susu saw Chang Qingchuan, she heard from Tianyi that Chang Qingchuan had requested leave from the human resources department and had returned to work at Míshàng.
This was for the best. Chang Qingchuan could distract himself with work and would no longer be lost in grief.
Susu was alone in the newly renovated studio. She saw that Chang Qingchuan had finally posted a new message on his social media. Although the pictures and words still carried a touch of sad remembrance, they also hinted at his determination to move forward.
As she smiled and was about to like his post, her phone suddenly rang.
“Huo Zheng, hello.”
“Susu jie, can I call you that?”
“Yes, of course.” Susu asked cautiously, “How have you been lately? Are your parents well?”
Huo Zheng sighed over the phone, “Ever since my sister left, the house has become lifeless. My mother cries all the time. My father, who was already strict, now has a face that’s unbearable to look at.”
Susu said, “Then spend more time with them, don’t stay out so much.”
“Susu jie, I’ve already turned over a new leaf. Don’t look at me with old eyes anymore,” Huo Zheng said righteously.
He was Huo Jin’s only brother. Now that Huo Jin was gone, Susu sincerely regarded him as her own brother and was willing to help him in any way she could.
“Go ahead, what do you need me for?” Susu didn’t want to stray too far from the topic.
Huo Zheng said, “Are you free to come to my sister’s shop today? With my sister gone, no one is managing the shop. My father asked me to handle it, but I’ve been fumbling around here these past few days, not getting anything right.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there. Organize what you’re unsure about, and I’ll take a look,” Susu agreed readily and immediately packed her things to head to Huo Jin’s boutique.
When Susu arrived at Huo Jin’s shop again, she felt a sense of change. Not long ago, she and Huo Jin had been sitting in this shop, drinking coffee and chatting and laughing, and now…
“Susu jie, you’re here,” Huo Zheng greeted her.
Susu followed him to the rest area inside and asked, “The shop looks well-organized. Why do you say you’re fumbling around?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Huo Zheng pointed to a pile of large and small cardboard boxes stacked behind the curtain in the rest area and complained, “Goods arrive at the shop every day, but they don’t match the order forms at all.”
He then took out a stack of ledgers and said, “And these are like a foreign language to me, giving me a headache just looking at them.”
Susu didn’t know what to say, other than that he had come to the wrong person. She also got a headache just looking at ledgers.
But she couldn’t lose face in front of Huo Zheng, so she started with the simplest task, saying, “Put the ledgers aside. Let’s first check the order forms. I’m good at this. I’ll teach you how to verify the goods each time.”
Susu told him to sort the order forms by date and then cross-reference them with the contents of the various packages after unpacking.
She was responsible for organizing the order forms, and Huo Zheng was responsible for unpacking the boxes. They began working with clear division of labor.
With a method in place, the goods and the forms soon matched. Huo Zheng felt relieved, knowing he could notify some customers who had placed custom orders to pick them up tomorrow.
“What is this? A beautiful wedding dress? Does my sister’s shop sell wedding dresses? I didn’t see any wedding dresses on the order forms.”
Susu stared at the wedding dress Huo Zheng had unfolded, and she froze. This was the wedding dress she had designed and custom-made for Huo Jin, but unfortunately, she hadn’t had the chance to wear it before she passed away.
“It’s a custom-made wedding dress for your sister.”
Huo Zheng’s eyes immediately turned red. He took a deep breath and held the wedding dress, falling silent for a moment.
The automatic welcome voice of the shop sounded. Before they could see who had arrived, they heard Chang Qingchuan’s voice, “Huo Zheng, are you in the shop?”
Susu didn’t have time to dwell on her sadness. She immediately said to Huo Zheng, “Quickly put the wedding dress away.”
Huo Zheng reacted and hastily tried to put the wedding dress back into the box.
But Chang Qingchuan had already walked over. He saw the crumpled wedding dress in Huo Zheng’s hand and then looked at Susu, who was sitting there holding order forms. “You’re both here.”
Huo Zheng used his body to shield the wedding dress, still trying to put it into the box.
Susu smiled at Chang Qingchuan and said, “Huo Zheng is a bit confused, so I’m helping him.”
Chang Qingchuan said “Oh,” his eyes fixed on the wedding dress Huo Zheng was blocking. He asked, “Hasn’t it reopened yet? Who ordered this wedding dress?”
“After Susu jie sorted things out for me today, we can reopen tomorrow,” Huo Zheng said. The more he tried to hide it, the more flustered he became, and he ended up knocking over the entire cardboard box.
Susu casually picked up an order form and said to Chang Qingchuan, “A customer ordered it. Huo Zheng will notify her to pick it up tomorrow.”
Chang Qingchuan didn’t listen to her. He stepped forward, picked up the overturned box, and saw a pink heart-shaped card inside. It read, “Miss Huo, it is my honor to create this wedding dress for you. Wishing you a happy wedding and a lifetime of love!”
He unfolded the wedding dress, hugged it tightly, and said, “Jin, you must have been the most beautiful bride wearing this wedding dress.”
“Brother-in-law, why are you here?” Huo Zheng tried to take the wedding dress from him and said, “My sister didn’t have the fortune to wear this wedding dress. Let me put it away.”
Chang Qingchuan refused to let go, saying, “Give it to me, I want to take it back.”
Susu, afraid he would be heartbroken again, quickly said, “Qingchuan, let Huo Zheng handle this wedding dress…”
Chang Qingchuan folded the wedding dress, placed it in the beautiful paper box, and interrupted Susu, saying, “I’m fine. I just want to keep it as a memento. You don’t need to worry. My life ahead is long, and I will move forward, but I can never forget her.”
Susu didn’t say anything more. She saw that his attire and appearance had returned to normal. Although he was still haggard, he had regained some spirit and was no longer like an empty shell without a soul.
“You two continue with your work. I just wanted to look around the shop,” Chang Qingchuan said as he carefully placed the paper box aside.
“Okay, then feel free to look around,” Huo Zheng said, also feeling sad, but he couldn’t grieve as unrestrainedly as Chang Qingchuan.