The books in Shang Du University’s library were certainly useful, and Liu Yong studied them day and night, forgetting to eat or sleep.

But how could dry text compare to color illustrations?

Xia Xiao Lan had seen countless renovation examples in her past life, had renovated houses herself, and her work and life were constantly surrounded by endless examples – hotels she’d stayed in, shopping malls she’d casually visited, coffee shops where she’d bought coffee… few places were undecorated. Having seen countless renovations in her mind, she had even witnessed the evolution of domestic decoration styles since the 1990s. What did it matter if she hadn’t studied interior design? She could envision how to decorate a house with her eyes closed.

But Liu Yong couldn’t do that.

Coming from a farming background with limited exposure to renovations, and given the backward methods of transmitting visual information nowadays, it was incredibly difficult for him to imagine designs from scratch.

The decorating magazines with color illustrations were like a lifeline for Liu Yong.

He was even happier receiving these materials than the briefcase Xia Xiao Lan had given him. When Xia Xiao Lan wanted to take him to the tailor for suits, Liu Yong complained about wasting time, and Li Feng Mei couldn’t understand:

“Why would your uncle need a suit? Even if he needs one, couldn’t he just take a couple from the shop?”

Xia Xiao Lan said shop suits wouldn’t do. “If Uncle does a good job with Kang Wei’s house, he could get orders in Beijing. His appearance needs to convince people he’s capable.”

Liu Yong was dragged to the tailor’s shop.

Naturally, it wasn’t the shop where Xia Xiao Lan had borrowed the iron. Shang Du had many tailors, and good fabric was available if you could afford it.

It was just that Xia Xiao Lan’s time pressure made things difficult for the tailor.

For business people, no difficulty could be overcome with money – if there was, it meant they hadn’t offered enough! Xia Xiao Lan didn’t skimp on costs, and the tailor agreed to make two suits for Liu Yong in three days. She insisted the suits must fit properly, with sleeves not covering the backs of his hands and trouser legs not bunching at the ankles.

Shoulder pads were acceptable but shouldn’t be exaggerated.

In short, the clothes had to fit Liu Yong’s body perfectly. Xia Xiao Lan told the tailor:

“The suit should only have room for a dress shirt and sweater vest underneath, no looser than that!”

So tight?

Nobody made suits like that nowadays.

In winter, people wore sweaters under suits. If a suit was made so small, what if someone gained weight or wanted to wear more layers underneath when it was cold? They wouldn’t even be able to button it!

The tailor frowned deeply, hating to deal with customers who knew nothing about tailoring.

But this ignorant customer didn’t lack money, chose the most expensive fabric, and paid double the labor cost. The tailor took measurements according to Xia Xiao Lan’s specifications, repeatedly emphasizing that they wouldn’t accept returns if the clothes didn’t look good.

With such precise measurements and Liu Yong’s short stature, the suits wouldn’t fit anyone else. If Xia Xiao Lan rejected them, the shop couldn’t find another buyer.

“I definitely won’t return them. Thank you for your effort.”

Well, the paying customer has the final say.

Leaving the tailor’s shop, even the usually generous Liu Yong felt the pain in his wallet. He had thought the clothes in his shop were expensive, but never imagined there were such expensive tailors in Shang Du – over two hundred yuan for one suit, and Xia Xiao Lan ordered two, spending over 500 yuan! Liu Yong couldn’t possibly let his niece pay; he paid himself.

Clothes make the man as the saddle makes the horse – Liu Yong was nervous about Beijing.

He’d never been to Beijing and had a natural reverence for the capital, fearing he’d embarrass himself as a small-town person. He didn’t object to the expensive suits because he worried: that Kang Wei and Zhou Cheng were close, and their families must know each other, so embarrassing himself in front of the Kang family would be like embarrassing himself in front of Zhou Cheng’s family!

He couldn’t shame his niece. Liu Yong straightened his chest:

“When should we book tickets? Do you need to come along? I’d say you could stay home and study – only four months until the college entrance exam…”

How to decorate Kang Wei’s house?

Liu Yong had some decoration magazines; at most, he could copy their examples.

Xia Xiao Lan shook her head, “I’ll visit Zhou Cheng while I’m there.”

Liu Yong felt so sour inside!

What was so special about Zhou Cheng? He wouldn’t run away.

Young people in love were just so eager – they’d barely been apart, yet she wanted to run to Beijing to see Zhou Cheng. Liu Yong’s mindset was still mainstream at the time. Long-distance relationships weren’t uncommon then, with many couples meeting just once a year. How could everyone in long-distance relationships travel to Beijing like Xia Xiao Lan? Only because she didn’t lack money – round-trip train tickets were so expensive, equivalent to a month’s living expenses for ordinary families.

That’s why dating before the college entrance exam was such a distraction.

While complaining, Liu Yong still had to fulfill his uncle’s duties and book train tickets.

Liu Yong would bring two workers from Shang Du, making three including himself, and they could hire carpenters in Beijing. Adding Xia Xiao Lan and Gong Yang, an art student from Shang Du University, they needed five train tickets to Beijing.

Three days later, Liu Yong’s two suits were ready.

Xia Xiao Lan picked out two dress shirts to match at the store. When Liu Yong emerged from the fitting room and saw himself in the mirror, he felt the two hundred plus yuan per suit was worth it!

The Liu family had good looks.

Otherwise, Xia Xiao Lan wouldn’t be so beautiful.

However, due to poor nutrition in childhood, Liu Yong was less than 1.7 meters tall and quite thin, lacking masculine presence.

This suit jacket was slightly short with perfectly fitting trousers, making Liu Yong appear taller. The well-fitted clothes and energetic bearing highlighted his quite handsome features, despite his dark skin.

Li Feng Mei was stunned – was this her husband?

With their son already in primary school, Li Feng Mei just realized her husband was quite handsome.

Xia Xiao Lan handed Liu Yong the briefcase, which he tucked under his arm, and took a few steps: “I do look like those southern businessmen.”

After packaging her uncle, Xia Xiao Lan set off for Beijing. Gong Yang carried a bag with his change of clothes and drawing tools, having told his teachers and classmates he was going to Beijing to sketch. His roommates all envied him.

Gong Yang hadn’t expected that helping with some posters would take him to the capital!

“Gong Yang, look at these magazines.”

On the train, Gong Yang was still dazed.

Xia Xiao Lan placed the magazines in front of him, containing many designers’ works.

Gong Yang had thought only he and Xia Xiao Lan were going to Beijing, and he would have been nervous spending over ten hours on a train with the young and beautiful Xia Xiao Lan. Later, knowing her uncle would be there made him less nervous. Liu Yong usually dressed casually and even borrowed books from the Shang Du University library – Gong Yang had met him twice.

On the train, he discovered the traditionally casually dressed Liu Yong was now very formal.

Suit, tie, and briefcase – what big business were they doing in Beijing?

What puzzled Gong Yang even more was that after the train started moving, Xia Xiao Lan pulled out a book to read. He thought it would be a home decoration magazine, but looking closer, it was actually high school chemistry – Gong Yang’s head was full of question marks: why would a small business owner study high school chemistry?