Jian Ran raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued. But she had no prior knowledge of nearby attractions, so there was no way she could guess. However, Chu Lulin was acting unusually this time—no matter how much she hinted or pressed, he refused to give any clues.
It wasn't until they stood at the entrance that Jian Ran finally figured out where they were. An intangible cultural heritage Bai-style silver embroidery workshop.
"This workshop was opened by an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. They offer experience classes for tourists, said to be quite good and well-reviewed online," Chu Lulin introduced.
Jian Ran had heard of Bai embroidery and was familiar with this model of tourist experience classes. What puzzled her was why Chu Lulin had thought to bring her here.
Chu Lulin seemed to read her confusion and pointed to her clothes with a smile. "I noticed that almost every piece of clothing you've worn these days has embroidery. I don't know much about different types of embroidery, but I thought you might be interested."
Today, Jian Ran was wearing a silk long dress with an ink-wash painting design. At the hem, there was a small, inconspicuous pattern of green bamboo, which was embroidered. Indeed, as Chu Lulin said, all her other clothes over the past few days had embroidery patterns of various sizes. And these were all embroidered by Jian Ran herself—it was her current occupation.
She looked at Chu Lulin, then at the embroidery on her dress, and suddenly felt a bit dazed. So, Chu Lulin, someone she had just met a few days ago, could notice something that Zhou Yu had never discovered.
"What's wrong, Big Sister? Don't you like it?" Chu Lulin seemed a bit uneasy when she suddenly fell silent.
Jian Ran looked up at him, forcing a smile. "It's fine. I like it. Let's go in."
*
Jian Ran was no stranger to courses like those at the intangible cultural heritage embroidery workshop. This business model, common for embroidery across the country, usually combines with local tourism for cultural heritage, interactive participation, and commercial monetization. She had been to some before, such as Su embroidery workshops and Miao embroidery experience centers, but this was her first time with Bai silver embroidery.
They arrived just in time. An experience class for a batch of tourists was starting in the afternoon, so Jian Ran signed up.
The embroiderer instructor briefly explained the intangible cultural heritage history of Bai embroidery, analyzed traditional patterns using actual objects, and then led everyone to practice stitching on frames. For tourist experience classes like this, the instruction was usually light, with the simplest stitches and not too in-depth. For Jian Ran, it was very easy. After all, while embroidery styles vary by region and school, the core principles and techniques often share similarities.
"Hey, how did you thread the needle just now? So fast!"
Sitting next to Jian Ran were two young women, probably in their early twenties. Jian Ran glanced over and saw them holding a needle in one hand and a thread in the other, with the thread in their mouths—clearly preparing to thread the needle.
"Next time, leave a thread end on the needle," Jian Ran said. Then she demonstrated threading the needle again, this time slower. She separated the two thread ends, placed the thread she wanted to use on top of one end, wrapped that end around the needle twice, then gently pulled on the other end. A new thread tip emerged from the eye of the needle, and she pinched it to pull the thread through.
"Wow!" the short-haired girl exclaimed in amazement. "So that's how you thread a needle! What have I been doing with all my saliva all these years?"
The long-haired girl shrugged and self-deprecatingly added, "What else? Just that we have a lot of saliva."
"True, we have plenty of saliva and strength!" The two exchanged glances and cracked up.
Jian Ran couldn't help but laugh too. The two girls were lively, especially the short-haired one—definitely a social butterfly. After striking up a conversation with Jian Ran, she chatted away like they were old friends.
They were college students on summer vacation, visiting this area and trying embroidery for the first time. Jian Ran had guessed as much from how they threaded the needle.
"Big Sister, your boyfriend is really handsome," the short-haired girl suddenly said, grinning.
Jian Ran was taken aback. What boyfriend? Following their gaze, she saw Chu Lulin in the courtyard, on the phone. He had stepped out earlier to take a call, saying it was a classmate.
"You've got it wrong. He's not my boyfriend." The two exchanged glances, clearly surprised. "You're traveling together, and he's not your boyfriend yet? Then he must be about to be." At the very least, they should be mutual crushes.
Jian Ran shook her head with a smile. "No, he's a guide arranged by the hotel."
"A guide?" the short-haired girl said incredulously. "There are guides this handsome? What hotel is it? We want to go too!"
"Quanyun Mountain Villa." Hearing the name, the two girls were even more amazed. "We looked up that resort online before coming. One night there costs as much as a month's stay at our hostel." "Sorry, sorry—so Big Sister is a rich woman!" They playfully cupped their fists in salute.
Jian Ran was amused by their reaction. "It wasn't my money. My friend booked it for me." Lu Chuchu was the real rich woman.
"Then where's your friend? Why didn't she come with you?" "She's working. Can't get away."
The short-haired girl said "Oh," then suddenly hugged her friend. "Hear that? Bestie, you've got to work hard, get rich soon, and let me enjoy the good life!"
The long-haired girl gave a fake laugh. "What a coincidence! That's what I was thinking too."
They bantered about who would work hard and who would enjoy life, and Jian Ran watched them happily, reminded of how she and Lu Chuchu often interacted.
"But you two really suit each other," the short-haired girl said, looking at Jian Ran and then at Chu Lulin in the courtyard, a bit regretfully.
Jian Ran found it funny. How did they suit each other? Chu Lulin was five years younger than her. With that age gap, when she was in college, he was still in junior high.
"Can't you tell he's younger than me?" The two nodded honestly. "We heard him call you 'Big Sister.'" Jian Ran was perplexed. "Then why did you misunderstand?" They wore expressions that said 'So what?' "Age-gap love is even sweeter!"
Jian Ran: "..." "Right, it's not just us who think you two are a perfect match. Everyone thinks so." Jian Ran was even more confused. Who was 'everyone'?
The long-haired girl explained a bit sheepishly, "You probably didn't notice, but we saw you at lunch. A lot of people waiting in line were whispering and shipping you two."
Jian Ran suddenly understood. So that was it. She had thought the effect was just their good looks multiplying.
"And the auntie in front of us even sighed, wondering how beautiful your future kids would be," the short-haired girl added, as if to make their point more convincing.
Jian Ran: "???" Wait, whose kids? People really let their imaginations run wild!