Zhao Shuyan stood at the door for a few seconds before she finally reacted. Flustered, she invited Shen Qingshan in.
In the living - room, Shen Qingshan didn't rush to speak. Instead, he sized up the surroundings. He motioned for the people behind him to leave first, leaving only himself and Zhao Shuyan in the living - room.
At this moment, Zhao Shuyan wished more than anything that Shen Yi would come back soon to relieve the awkwardness.
No matter what she thought in her heart, it was unrealistic for Shen Yi to come back now. Zhao Shuyan could only pour a glass of water for Shen Qingshan and sit down respectfully in her place.
Zhao Shuyan always felt a bit strange towards this father - in - law whom she had met only a few times.
"I heard you've been preparing Nanyi's birthday party recently. I'd like to discuss something with you." The old man, who had long been at the top of the business world, rarely spoke in such a euphemistic tone. It was also a kind of recognition of Zhao Shuyan as his daughter - in - law.
"Please just say what you want directly." Not knowing Shen Qingshan's intention, Zhao Shuyan could only follow his words.
"I'll handle this. I'll throw the best birthday party for Shen Nanyi. What do you think?" Shen Qingshan had tried his best to make his tone sound more euphemistic, but inevitably, there was still a bit of toughness in it. This was due to his long - established habit, and it was unrealistic to change it in a short time.
"… But I've already prepared everything." Deep down, Zhao Shuyan still wanted to organize Shen Nanyi's birthday party herself. After all, this was Shen Nanyi's coming - of - age ceremony, which was very important to Shen Nanyi and their family in some sense.
"In that case, I won't force you. I'll make a concession. You and Secretary Yang will jointly prepare this birthday party. You can put forward your ideas and suggestions to him. Is that okay?" Over the past few years, his relationship with Shen Yi hadn't improved much. Shen Qingshan had deeply reflected on himself, so he didn't want to make things too stiff on this matter.
But he must participate in this birthday party. Not for anything else, but because he wanted to give Shen Nanyi a surprise at her birthday party.
"All right then…" Since things had come to this point, Zhao Shuyan could only nod in agreement. At this moment, she didn't know how grand the birthday party Shen Qingshan was talking about would be.
After Shen Qingshan left, Zhao Shuyan became even busier. She often left home in the morning and didn't come back until midnight.
Shen Yi was very curious, but he always comforted himself by saying that it was because of Shen Nanyi's birthday party that Zhao Shuyan was so busy.
Several times, Shen Yi wanted to help, but was gently refused by Zhao Shuyan. Zhao Shuyan only told Shen Yi to focus on his own business.
A few days passed in a flash, and soon it was Shen Nanyi's birthday.
Early that morning, Shen Yi was awakened by the knock on the door before he even woke up.
When he struggled to get out of bed, Shen Yi found that there were more than a dozen people filling the living - room. They were all holding toolboxes and several suitcases.
Looking at this scene, Shen Yi, who usually had a quick mind, was a bit confused and didn't know what was going on.
Zhao Shuyan, however, seemed to have expected this. She led the people to Shen Nanyi's room.
Several makeup artists and stylists put their makeup tools on the table and hung the clothes on one side, then started to get busy.
Shen Nanyi had just woken up and didn't even know what was going on. She was drowsily pushed into a chair and started to get her makeup done.
For Shen Nanyi's appearance that evening, Shen Qingshan had really gone all out. He had invited a first - tier styling team. Even ordinary celebrities couldn't afford to hire them.
The clothes hanging on the rack were all high - end custom - made pieces from several brands. Since Shen Nanyi had never been in the entertainment industry, she couldn't enjoy the treatment of renting formal dresses. But thanks to the Shen family's wealth, Shen Qingshan had simply bought all the latest styles of the season.
In his decades of life, Shen Yi was seeing such a grand occasion for the first time. Standing at the door, his eyes were filled with curiosity and a bit of anticipation. He also wanted to know how beautiful his daughter would look today.
When Shen Nanyi's styling was almost done, there was another knock on the door. Zhao Shuyan rushed to open it and saw a gentle - looking young man standing there, holding a gift box.
After searching her memory several times, Zhao Shuyan didn't remember who this person was. She looked at him in confusion, thinking he had gone to the wrong place.
"Mrs. Shen, hello. I'm Qian Jin, Assistant to General Manager Ji. This is the dress that General Manager Ji prepared for Miss Shen. Please accept it." Qian Jin recognized Zhao Shuyan at first sight and put the dress in her hand.
It took Zhao Shuyan a while to realize who the General Manager Ji Qian Jin was talking about. She didn't decline Ji Beichuan's kindness.
She walked back into the room with the dress. At first, Zhao Shuyan didn't take this matter seriously. It wasn't until the stylist asked to see what Ji Beichuan had sent that Zhao Shuyan remembered to open the box.
In the box, a tea - colored modified cheongsam lay quietly, looking rather unremarkable.
Besides the dress, there was also a small box with very delicate packaging.
There wasn't even a label or logo on the whole dress. It looked very plain.
"Why do I feel like this dress is a bit familiar?" The stylists who had come to do Shen Nanyi's styling today were all top - notch in the styling circle. Naturally, they wouldn't just focus on the brand.
One of the stylists reached out and picked up the dress in the box. The moment his fingertips touched the fabric, he became very excited. This kind of fabric was too special and completely different from what he had seen before.
Even when the stylist held the dress up, they still didn't find anything special about it. It looked like an ordinary dress.
"Miss Shen, why don't you go and try it on?" The more plain the dress looked, the more curious the stylist became.
Everyone knew who Ji Beichuan was, even those who weren't in the business circle. Naturally, they didn't think Ji Beichuan would just pick a random dress for Shen Nanyi.
Shen Nanyi didn't refuse. To be honest, she was also a bit curious. She took the dress and went to change.
A few minutes later, the door of the room was opened, and Shen Nanyi walked out wearing the dress that Ji Beichuan had sent.
Everyone in the room stared at Shen Nanyi with wide eyes, not knowing how to describe her.
Even Shen Yi and his wife, who had watched Shen Nanyi grow up, couldn't take their eyes off her.
Since Shen Nanyi had changed her dress, her styling needed a simple modification. By the time everything was done, it was almost noon.
Looking at the time, Zhao Shuyan knew that time was running out. She took Shen Nanyi's hand and dragged the still - dazed Shen Yi into the car and left.
What they didn't know was that when they left home, a little girl came to their neighborhood. She stood at the neighborhood entrance for a long time and argued with the security guard for a while before leaving.