Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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Ji Yue’s efficiency was high. The things she mentioned in the afternoon had arrived by evening. In the evening, a parcel was delivered. The recipient was Tang Tang, and the sender was Ji Yue.

Tang Tang signed to accept the parcel. Afterward, she opened the box and saw that it was filled with bottles and jars that she had never seen before. Even though every bottle and jar had words on it, they were not Chinese characters. Maybe they were from abroad since she could not read a single word on them.

Therefore, Tang Tang could only search through the box and see if there were any instructions. She did find a note, which had every product listed and explained how to use them.

By the time Tang Tang finished reading the instructions, she had to agree that Ji Xiao Zhuo had asked the right person. Because each item that Ji Yue had sent was correspondent to something that Tang Tang wanted to improve.

Most of the products in the box were for skincare, such as moisturizer, whitening, and skin repair, etc. Tang Tang was shocked by the number of bottles. She didn’t know there were so many different products that someone could apply on the face. Apart from products for her face, some products were for her hair and intended to make it glossy, thick, and smooth.

On the bottom of the note, Ji Yue wrote that she also had used all these products herself and guaranteed they had good results.

Tang Tang was extremely grateful for Ji Yue’s help, but she didn’t feel it was right to accept the parcel because all the products didn’t look cheap. They were from abroad, so they must be quite expensive. She couldn’t accept the products that easily, as it was probable that they were worth a lot of money.

Even if she could become pretty with these products, she should buy the products herself.

Tang Tang didn’t touch any of the bottles and jars and got Ji Yue’s number from Xiao Zhuo. She assumed that Ji Yue wouldn’t be busy since it was late and gave Ji Yue a call.

Ji Yue accepted the call quickly. Before a word was even said, Ji Yue seemed to have already figured out who called her, “Tang Tang?”

Tang Tang let out an ‘En’ sound before saying, “Ji Yue, it’s me, am I disturbing you?”

“No, no, I’m at home. What’s the matter?”

Ji Yue, who was getting her feet washed, talked while moving her feet around. Her wet feet bumped into Gu Zhang An’s face a couple of times, which caused him to glare at her. He took hold of her feet and dried them with a cloth.

Hearing that she wasn’t disturbing Ji Yue, Tang Tang stated her thoughts, “Ji Yue, I called about the things you sent me. I can’t accept them. They are too expensive.”

Ji Yue paid no attention as she let out an, “Ah,” before answering, “It’s nothing, those things aren’t worth that much. It’s not as precious as you’re thinking. Just use them. It’s not like we’re strangers.”

Tang Tang couldn’t be casual because no matter if it was herself or the original owner, they were both not close to Ji Yue. “No, no, I haven’t done anything to deserve these. Ji Yue, I’m grateful for your thoughts, but I really can’t accept it. Please take them back.”

Hearing this, Ji Yue knew that Tang Tang wasn’t willing to accept her gift for nothing. She rolled her eyes and responded, “I have already sent the things out, so how can I take them back? Not to mention sending and returning is troublesome, some of the products may get damaged in the process. If you really can’t accept it, then how about a trade? You can cook something delicious for me instead. I miss your cooking.”

“This …” Tang Tang didn’t think that some food would be equal to the money spent on those products. She would still be taking advantage, but if she kept insisting, it wouldn’t be good for their developing friendship. So Tang Tang could only nod, “Ok. I will cook something for you and deliver it to you with Xiao Zhuo when it’s done. “

Ji Yue agreed straight away, “Alright, it’s agreed. You can use those things at peace.”

When the call ended, Gu Zhang An asked curiously, “When did you and Tang Tang get so close? What did you send her?”

Ji Yue smiled and moved her foot to Gu Zhang An and acted coquettishly, “Dear, give me a massage. My foot hurts a lot ~.”

Gu Zhang An helplessly pampered her and skillfully massaged her foot while he scolded, “Who told you to keep wearing heels with that many inches to work? You come home every night telling me your foot hurts, it’s your own fault.”

“Ah, you, men, don’t understand the beauty standards that women pursue.”

Ji Yue pouted. Then she got back to the previous topic, “Xiao Zhuo called me today. He asked if I had any ideas to make his mummy pretty. He made me happy, and it’s rare for him to ask me for something so, naturally, I helped him out. I sent a set of all the skincare products I use to Tang Tang.”

Gu Zhang An nodded and carried on massaging her.

“Ah, dear, I want to ask you something. Have you seen Tang Tang in the past before? Did she always look …. have that appearance?” Ji Yue didn’t feel it was right to say the word ‘ugly’ out loud.

After getting asked, Gu Zhang An went through his memories and tried to remember the first time he met Tang Tang. He remembered Ji Yan introduced Tang Tang to their group after they got their marriage certificate, but Gu Zhang An couldn’t exactly remember what Tang Tang looked like at that time, “I can’t really remember. She wasn’t a beauty, but she looked better than her current appearance. “

It was likely that he would remember if someone was either really beautiful or ugly. Since he couldn’t remember, then Tang Tang probably looked ordinary at that time, so she was not memorable.

Ji Yue pondered, “Tang Tang could probably become a beauty if she takes good care of herself. Since Xiao Zhuo looks so handsome, then as his mother, her appearance shouldn’t be bad.”

Gu Zhang An didn’t respond. He stood up and carried Ji Yue to their room, “Alright, don’t ponder over if someone is good-looking or not. If you have time, think about whether or not your husband is handsome instead.”

Ji Yue laughed out loud.

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On the other side, Tang Tang released a sigh. She placed all the bottles and jars on the dressing table in her room. Then Tang Tang thought about what she should do to express her gratitude. Naturally, she would be cooking something, but just some dishes weren’t enough. She wanted to give something else to Ji Yue; otherwise, her conscience wouldn’t be in peace if she just took such precious gifts.

But no matter how long she thought, there was nothing that Tang Tang could give. She had no money or jewelry, and neither could she earn money. Therefore she couldn’t buy anything suitable to gift either.

What should she do?

After she pondered over the issue for some time, Tang Tang could only think of making something for Ji Yue herself. Apart from her cooking, the only other skill she had that could create things was embroidery. Maybe she could embroider a handkerchief for Ji Yue?

But Tang Tang quickly rejected the idea. She couldn’t gift something she embroidered. There was a possibility that it would expose that she was not the original owner.

Recently, she watched a program about cultural heritage and discovered that practically no one practiced embroidery anymore. It was currently rare to find someone who could do embroidery. The original owner definitely didn’t, and if she embroidered something now, other people would notice something there was something wrong.

Suddenly having cooking abilities was still believable, but knowing a rare skill like embroidery was unbelievable and impossible.

If embroidery wasn’t possible, was other needlework possible? The main problem was that Tang Tang didn’t know if the original owner had any needlework skills.

Tang Tang sighed as she thought, and her mood sank. In her time, needlework was one of the most important abilities that a woman should have. Every woman would start learning the major arts when they were young girls, but a major skill was practically lost here. It was hard to believe.

Tang Tang started learning needlework when she was five. She learned and practiced for so many years. Not even mentioning the amount of effort and hard work she spent on it, needlework was one out the two skills she was good at. If she couldn’t even use her only good gifts here, she really wouldn’t have much merit.

She suddenly realized that she didn’t know the original owner that well. Tang Tang needed to know what the original owner was good and bad at. Otherwise, she could easily expose herself in the future.

Thinking up to this point, Tang Tang swiftly stood up and started to search around her bedroom. She wanted to look at what the original owner had left behind to find out more information.

Unfortunately, she didn’t find anything useful even after searching through the room a couple of times. Tang Tang didn’t know if the things she was looking for were hidden securely.

Seeing that Tang Tang was constantly moving around, Xiao Zhuo got curious and asked, “What are you doing, mummy? What are you looking for?”

Tang Tang didn’t know what she was looking for. “Mummy is looking for mummy’s old things. I can’t remember where I put them.”

Ji Xiao Zhuo blinked. Then he looked at Tang Tang before turning around and dashing off. He soon came back with a large envelope and passed it to Tang Tang, “For you, mummy.”

Tang Tang didn’t understand, “What’s this?” Ji Xiao Zhuo poured everything out onto the bed and replied, “These are the things mummy threw away. Grandma Li picked them back and said that these things couldn’t be thrown away.”

Hearing that it was the original owner who threw them away, Tang Tang immediately took a look at the things. The first thing that caught her attention was a red book, which on the cover said ‘People’s Republic Of China Marriage Certificate.’ She opened the booklet and saw a picture of her and Ji Yan together.

It was actually her marriage certificate! Tang Tang knew that this little red book was her version of the marriage letter. It was something that proved that a couple was married. She didn’t expect the original owner to throw away such an important thing. No wonder she had never seen it in her room before.

Heavens, it would be gone now if Aunt Li hadn’t picked it up.

Tang Tang was feeling extremely grateful to Aunt Li. Luckily she had picked it up. Tang Tang put it away carefully and decided that from now on, she will never lose it.

Once she finished looking at the marriage certificate, Tang Tang continued looking at the other things. Apart from a ring, there were a few other certificates that she didn’t understand. She would need to investigate later on.

The final item had a large blue cover that also attracted her attention because the title said it was a graduation certificate from A University.

Tang Tang knew about A University. It was a remarkable university that was probably equivalent to the imperial academy from her time. It was a university that all the students wanted to attend, and it required a really good score in the entrance exams to get accepted into the university.

Tang Tang didn’t expect that the original owner had attended university and that she even attended such a good school. Tang Tang had thought that the original owner was useless. It seemed she was wrong.

Quickly opening the cover, Tang Tang saw that there was a piece of paper inside. It had Tang Tang’s name on it as well as the art department clothing design major.

After studying it for a long time, Tang Tang still couldn’t understand it, so she ended up asking Ji Xiao Zhuo, “Bao Bao, what’s the art department and clothing design major?”

Ji Xiao Zhuo blinked. He became stunned because he also didn’t know.

Fortunately, Ji Xiao Zhuo had a good habit, which was asking someone if he didn’t understand something, so he called for help again. This time, he called Zhuo Ji for help. Zhuo Ji assumed that Xiao Zhuo was just curious as a child, so he seriously explained it to Xiao Zhuo.

While Zhuo Ji was explaining, Tang Tang was also listening along with Xiao Zhuo. Once the explanation ended, her eyes brightened, and she wanted to roll around the bed just like Xiao Zhuo does at times.

It turned out that the original owner had studied something related to making clothes. So that means that the original owner knew how to make clothes, which was equivalent to knowing needlework. Tang Tang didn’t need to pretend that she didn’t know how to do embroidery. She could carry on using the two skills that she was only good at!

The heavens were looking after her. Tang Tang felt very grateful to the heavens, but she was even more thankful to the original owner. She was thankful that the original owner had learned clothing design!

Since it was like this, she could make a pair of shoes for Ji Yue. Even though it wasn’t worth much, it was the best thing that Tang Tang could give at the moment.

After learning such a piece of useful information, Tang Tang felt herself relax. As she was in a good mood, she now had the effort to study all the skincare products Ji Yue sent. Tang Tang wondered if these creams were effective so she could be pretty like Ji Yue. As she remembered Ji Yue’s fair and tender skin as well as her graceful long hair, Tang Tang’s heart became restless. She couldn’t wait to try these products.

Because her injuries on her face still required ointment, Tang Tang couldn’t try the skincare products yet. She could only try the products for hair care. It was important to look after hair as well as her face. Tang Tang couldn’t accept having her hair looking like dry grass.

On that night, Tang Tang used the hair care products that Ji Yue gave her and treated her hair. It included washing, applying, and wrapping her hair. The process took about two hours long. Even Ji Xiao Zhuo, who was watching, almost couldn’t endure and thought women were scary.

Tang Tang didn’t find the process troublesome, instead, she was happy. When the treatment was completed, she didn’t know if it was just a psychological illusion but Tang Tang thought her hair looked a bit better.

Whether or not it was just a psychological thing, Tang Tang had hope that she could become beautiful.

Tang Tang had a dream that night. She became a real beauty in her dream with a slim body, flowing long soft hair, fair skin, and an outstanding temperament while wearing a white dress looking like a fairy.

Ji Xiao Zhuo was stunned as he stared at her. He forgot about the snacks in his hands and ran towards her. He hugged her legs while praising, “Mummy, you’re very pretty ~” Tang Tang smiled shyly as she bent down to give the little one a kiss, “Thank you, Bao Bao.”

Then Ji Yan, who was wearing his uniform, walked in. When he saw Tang Tang, in a white dress, he was stunned. His gaze never left her as something flashed across his eyes. It took him some time to confirm the woman was his wife. Slowly, he walked towards her as he touched her face with his hand and murmured, “Tang Tang, you’re beautiful.”

Tang Tang was so shy she didn’t dare to look at him while her face became as red as peach blossoms.

Ji Yan’s mind became scattered as he stared at Tang Tang’s beauty. He unconsciously moved closer to kiss her.

Tang Tang felt her toes curl and a laugh escaped from her lips.

“Mummy! Mummy! Quickly wake up! Grandpa sun is shining!”

Tang Tang was awake from the shake and a loud shout. She opened her eyes and saw Ji Xiao Zhuo’s face from close up. The little one was frowning as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong, Bao Bao?” Tang Tang murmured the question as she was still a bit dazed.

Seeing Tang Tang was awake, Ji Xiao Zhuo breathed with relief. He threw himself into Tang Tang’s embrace. “I was so worried, mummy. You were laughing in your sleep. It was so scary. Did you have a nightmare, mummy? But shouldn’t one be crying if it was a nightmare?”

Tang Tang froze. She immediately remembered her dream and blushed. She felt so embarrassed that she didn’t want to see anyone and stammered a reply, “No … Mummy didn’t have a nightmare.”

Ji Xiao Zhuo touched Tang Tang’s forehead and said, “Mummy, why is your face so red, do you have a fever?”

Enduring her embarrassment, Tang Tang waved her hand, “No, no, no, mummy doesn’t have a fever. I’m just feeling a bit warm. I’ll be fine after a while.”

Ji Xiao Zhuo relaxed and gave Tang Tang a gentle kiss before jumping off the bed and dashing to the bathroom. “Mummy, I’m going to brush my teeth now so get up soon.”

Only when Xiao Zhuo’s shadow was no longer in sight, Tang Tang screamed silently as she put her hands on her face. She felt so ashamed. She actually dreamed about Ji Yan doing such things to her and .. and… Ah ah ah! Why was she so shameless!

There was a saying that if one kept thinking about something, they would dream about it. Could it be that she actually wanted … Pah! That was not true. Her brain must be temporarily broken to be dreaming stuff like that. Tang Tang immediately stopped herself from thinking about it. Instead, she quickly got off her bed and did her morning routine before going to the kitchen to make breakfast. She would fill up Xiao Zhuo and her stomach.