Resisting Arranged Marriages: Starting with Myself - Chapter 10

After a dreamless night, the eight guests arrived at the small courtyard on time the next morning.

The project the production team prepared for them today was crafting silver jewelry.

Nanfeng Village and its surrounding county are famous gathering places for ethnic minorities, long renowned for their glittering silverwork. Traditional ethnic costumes are often paired with silver accessories, and local residents consider large, heavy, and intricate silver pieces to be the height of beauty. During festivals and celebrations, the girls put on their traditional attire, their hemlines swaying like blooming green lotuses in the air, while the clinking silver ornaments emit a melodious sound like flowing spring water following their dance moves. The silver plates adorning their dresses shine like dazzling sunlight, the silver bracelets wrapped around their wrists resemble silver snakes climbing up branches, and the massive silver neck rings they wear are like flowing galaxies. Whenever they dance, the entire celebration is swept away by a sea of silver.

Thus, the eight guests were to follow the village silversmith today to learn the craft of silver making.

However, considering the limited time and the fact that traditional silver jewelry has a very long production cycle and an overly complex process, the production team lowered the difficulty. They only needed to forge simple, everyday accessories.

But the rules had changed today. They could no longer freely choose the accessories they wanted to make; instead, it would be decided by drawing lots.

“There are eight bamboo slips in the cylinder before you, and each slip corresponds to a type of accessory. After each of you draws one, you will craft the silver jewelry according to the requirements on the slip and give it to your partner upon completion.”

“If you do not like the slip you drew, or feel the content is not suitable for each other, you can choose to exchange slips with other guests, as long as both parties reach a consensus.”

Once the rules were announced, the staff handed the cylinder to them.

“I will go first!” He Chen said happily. “The probability is higher if you draw first.”

“It is actually the same,” Duan Weiyue said indifferently from the side.

Hearing this, He Chen glanced at him and murmured a few words under his breath before drawing the first slip.

“Let me see,” he lowered his head to check the content, then burst into a fit of laughter. “Ear studs, hahahaha!”

Everyone froze for a moment, then instinctively began to laugh, their eyes unanimously shifting toward Duan Weiyue.

Duan Weiyue still maintained his expressionless, cold professor persona, but the small patch of bright red skin peeking out from his collar betrayed his true thoughts.

He Chen had not yet noticed the change and was still laughing to himself. “This is too funny, Old Duan, hahahaha! You have to go get your ears pierced when we get home!”

Before he could finish laughing, he felt a force tighten around his hand. He was yanked back, and the slip was snatched away.

Duan Weiyue looked at it repeatedly. After confirming He Chen was not tricking him, his face turned even darker. He gripped the bamboo slip so hard it seemed he might crush it.

It was his turn after He Chen. What he drew was quite standard: a bracelet.

After drawing it, no joy or anger could be seen on Duan Weiyue’s face. He simply slapped his slip heavily onto He Chen’s chest. “A bracelet. You better wear it properly.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Next were Han Ziqian and Chang Si. Han Ziqian drew a necklace, while Chang Si drew a brooch.

Xie Zhimeng’s slip was also standard: a bangle. Unfortunately, Wu Shuo drew a men’s item: a tie clip.

“A tie clip? What should I do about this?” Wu Shuo worried while holding her slip. “Neither Momo nor I have any use for a tie clip.”

“I will trade with you!” He Chen, like a big dog spotting a bone, instantly lunged to Wu Shuo’s side. “I beg of you, can I trade with you?”

He was still holding the “Ear Studs” slip, giving Wu Shuo an imploring look.

Following his gaze, Wu Shuo looked at Duan Weiyue not far away. He had his arms crossed over his chest with a face as cold as frost. His emotions were unreadable, but his eyes drifted toward them every now and then.

Over here, He Chen was still pleading bitterly. “Xiao Shuo, I beg you. Does Zhimeng not happen to have pierced ears? Ear studs are perfect for you two.”

Wu Shuo’s round almond eyes darted around playfully. “It is fine. I will buy Momo a suit immediately! The tie clip will not go to waste!”

She smiled and patted He Chen on the shoulder. “Brother, you have to understand. I want to see Momo in a suit, but I also want to see Professor Duan get his ears pierced. Achieving both goals is a wonderful thing, is it not?”

Hearing this, He Chen was on the verge of despair. He turned to see Xie Zhimeng’s expression: a wry smile while holding her forehead. She did not stop her partner, simply watching the scene play out.

“No!” He let out a wail and slunk back to Duan Weiyue’s side.

Even after standing still, his eyes did not forget to glance toward Le Xiao, clearly already scouting his next target.

The cylinder reached Le Xiao and Ye Jiming, with only the last two slips remaining.

Ye Jiming made a gesture of invitation. “You go first.”

Le Xiao glanced at his smiling face and then reached out to draw a slip.

Please let it not be something weird, he prayed internally. I do not want to go through the trouble of trading slips, and I definitely do not want to see Ye Jiming get his ears pierced.

He held his breath and flipped the bamboo slip over. Two words were written in small regular script: Cufflinks.

“Yes!” He excitedly hugged Ye Jiming. “This really suits you!”

For a CEO who wears shirts and suits every day, giving a pair of silver cufflinks was the most appropriate choice.

Ye Jiming was stunned by the hug. He smiled and patted Le Xiao on the back. “Let me see what the last one is.”

He took the bamboo slip and looked at it, his breath suddenly hitching.

Ring.

He was to give Le Xiao a handcrafted silver ring.

In an instant, the blood in his body clamored and boiled, racing toward his brain and glands. He could not remember or know anything for a moment, feeling as if he were on a spinning carousel, dizzy from the rotation.

His glands began to heat up and burn. His blood was noisy and expanding; he could almost feel the powerful beat of every vessel. Pheromones leaked uncontrollably from under the scent-blocking patch. He quickly pressed down with his hand to make the patch stick more firmly.

“What did you draw?” Le Xiao had not yet noticed his abnormality. He took the slip from his hand to look. “A… ring?”

He also seemed to freeze, looking up at Ye Jiming in a daze.

“You are giving me… a ring?” he asked again, uncertainly.

Within a few short seconds, Ye Jiming had controlled his emotions. He withdrew the nearly overflowing pheromones and regained his calm, graceful demeanor.

“Is that not allowed?” He smiled and leaned close to Le Xiao’s ear, whispering, “Xiao Xiao, we are a legal couple, after all.”

“Besides, the registration was too rushed back then. We still do not have wedding rings.”

These words made the tips of Le Xiao’s ears burn. He lowered his eyes and murmured, “Who wants your wedding ring?”

On the other side, He Chen had clearly noticed their movement and pounced like a hungry wolf that had found its prey.

Before he could even open his mouth, Le Xiao and Ye Jiming turned back simultaneously and said in unison, “No trading!”

The hungry wolf immediately lost its morale. He lowered his gaze, his ears and tail seemingly drooping together in grievance, turning into a pitiful Alaskan Malamute.

In the end, through He Chen’s difficult individual negotiation, he finally exchanged the ear studs for the tie clip. This only happened after his way of addressing Wu Shuo upgraded from “Sister Wu Shuo” all the way to “Great Aunt,” and after Xie Zhimeng, unable to watch any longer, whispered a few words to Wu Shuo.

With that, the gifts for the eight guests were all selected. They only needed the silversmith to lead them to the production area.

Upon reaching the workshop, the master silversmith had already prepared the silver material for them.

The silver material first had to be heated with a torch until it melted. Only after being poured into a mold could it be shaped into silver bars that were easier to use.

Watching Ye Jiming pick up the torch, Le Xiao instinctively stood a bit further away, seemingly afraid the flames would scorch him. He peeked out from behind Ye Jiming’s shoulder, watching curiously.

The flames roared, and the silver chunks in the crucible soon melted into liquid silver, resembling a flowing galaxy.

The liquid silver was poured into the mold, slowly solidifying into shape.

During this time, Le Xiao took a piece of draft paper and began sketching designs for the cufflinks.

Many cufflinks on the market are inlaid with gemstones or diamonds, or have extremely complex carved patterns. Le Xiao had no gemstones to inlay, nor could he carve such exquisite patterns. He began to worry.

Should he just make a pair of the simplest round cufflinks? That would be easy, but he feared it might be too simple to present.

He could not help but imagine a gathering of CEOs and directors where pot-bellied middle-aged men were decked out in gold and silver, while the handsome and suave Ye Jiming wore such a pair of shabby cufflinks.

That would be a loss of face. No, that was not good.

Or perhaps draw some simple traditional patterns on them? Cloud patterns, water patterns, or the character for longevity, these were the common patterns mentioned by the masters. There were ready-made molds in the workshop, so carving them would not be difficult.

But what if someone asked about them? A curious partner might pull Ye Jiming aside and ask, “Does the pattern on these cufflinks have any special meaning?” Then he could only smile awkwardly and say, “I do not know.”

Just thinking about it made his toes curl. No, that was not good.

He had not yet come up with a good idea when he suddenly heard Ye Jiming call him.

“Xiao Xiao?” He looked up. Ye Jiming was on the other side of the wooden table, smiling and waving at him.

When he walked over to Ye Jiming’s side, he saw him take out a string of plastic rings that looked like a large bunch of keys from a distance.

“Let us measure your ring size.” As he spoke, he slipped a ring onto the tip of Le Xiao’s ring finger and pushed it toward the base.

Watching his movements, Le Xiao’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if he were being fitted for a real ring.

After trying the rings one by one, Ye Jiming finally determined Le Xiao’s size. He noted it down silently and prepared to start forging the ring.

“Wait!” As Ye Jiming turned to start working, Le Xiao suddenly stopped him and asked, “What… what kind of pattern do you plan to carve?”

Hearing this, Ye Jiming could not help but laugh. “Xiao Xiao, I am also a beginner. How could I be that skilled?”

“You are not carving anything?” Le Xiao could not help but roll his eyes. “That is way too simple!”

He had spent so much time agonizing over the pattern for the cufflinks, only to find that Ye Jiming only intended to make a plain silver ring. It really felt like his efforts were in vain.

Seeing the change in Le Xiao’s expression, Ye Jiming had already guessed his thoughts. He smiled and rubbed Le Xiao’s head of chestnut curls. “Do not worry, Xiao Xiao. I will engrave letters.”

“Fine.” Le Xiao pouted and turned back to his own workbench.

However, Ye Jiming’s words did provide him with inspiration. Although he could not inlay gemstones or carve complex patterns, he could engrave the simplest letters!

In fact, he could change the shape of the cufflinks into letters. Wearing a pair of letters on the cuffs would be even more unique and meaningful, would it not?

He began to let his imagination run wild: carve one cufflink into the shape of the letter “L” and the other into “X.” Linked together, it would be Le Xiao.

If Ye Jiming wore cufflinks with his name to company meetings and industry summits, it would surely attract many curious glances.

Wait! He suddenly snapped out of it and shook his head vigorously to throw such an absurd thought out of his mind.

He was truly crazy! What was Ye Jiming to him? He was nobody. Why should he parade around with Le Xiao’s name?

He stole a glance at Ye Jiming not far away. Seeing him with his head down, focused intently on melting the silver material and completely unaware of his movements, Le Xiao could not help but give him a fierce glare.

Nuisance!

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