She didn’t know what Jian Zhiqing had said to Jian Ming, but when she came out, Jian Ming looked at her with a meaningful expression. She touched her face, wondering if there was something on it, perhaps she had smeared some soot from the pot earlier.
She made an excuse to go into her room and took out a mirror to check, but there was nothing. Her face in the mirror was clean and clear — not exactly a stunning beauty, but still a pretty, delicate girl. She looked down at her flat chest.
She still had no breasts.
When she came out, she brought a teapot and a packet of tea leaves, preparing a pot of tea for the father and son still seated at the table.
Her tea-making skills were mediocre and learned from others, but she at least did everything in the correct sequence, and her posture wasn’t bad, having the air of an ancient dignified lady.
"Uncle Jian, please have some tea," she said, placing the teacup with both hands in front of Jian Ming.
Jian Ming smiled and nodded, taking the cup with a serene expression.
Qin Xiangming poured another cup for Jian Zhiqing then set down the teapot.
Qin Xiangnuan suddenly lifted her face to look at Jian Ming.
It felt awkward hearing her name suddenly coming from his mouth.
Perhaps Jian Ming also felt the awkwardness, as he embarrassedly raised his cup, "May I call you Nuannuan? You are much younger than my son."
"Yes, you may," Qin Xiangnuan lowered her eyelids, shielding some of the look in her eyes.
Jian Ming shot his son a look, which Jian Zhiqing missed.
Then Jian Ming awkwardly spoke up.
"Nuannuan, you can make clothes, right?"
Qin Xiangnuan understood.
"Uncle Jian, do you need a piece of clothing?"
"Yes," Jian Ming said, somewhat embarrassed, "In a few days, I need to attend a meeting in another province, but I don’t have suitable clothes to wear."
"I’ll make a suit for Uncle," Qin Xiangnuan said, entering the room to get a soft measuring tape, while the Jians father and son were still staring, seemingly at a loss.
"What kind of clothes would you like, Uncle Jian?" Qin Xiangming took out a notebook, ready to jot down the requirements and measurements. Making clothes was her forte, even more so than making scallion pancakes, and she could also work in the system without wasting external time, even if Jian Ming needed it urgently, she could get it done.
Her feelings for Jian Ming were subtle; ideally, a father should be like him, kind yet strict, just as he was with Jian Zhiqin, able to pat his head and also scold him. But in her two lifetimes, she never had special feelings towards the word "father."
The most she had felt was hatred and resentment towards Qin Guohua.
But as the years went by, this hatred gradually faded with time, turning into indifference.
Jian Ming was a good father, apparent from how well he raised Jian Zhiqing and Jian Zhiqin, knowing a good father needs to raise good sons.
Thus, for the sake of the word "father," she was willing to make this piece of clothing for him.
Jian Ming thought for a moment, then shared his thoughts, "I’d like a suit, dark-colored, preferably something that looks formal even without the jacket."
Qin Xiangnuan remembered this simple request: a matching shirt, belt, and tie would make a fine emblem of a mature man, and if the fabric and craftsmanship were good, it would indeed be suited for formal occasions.