Forbidden To Be Tempted

In mid-December, when winter comes, one must wear a thin down jacket.

There are 23 meetings this month, and Cheng Suran spends almost every day on airplanes, hotels, companies, and cars. By the end of the year, being able to sleep a complete night at home is a luxurious enjoyment.

As Christmas approaches, the atmosphere on the streets is becoming increasingly intense, and major brands are holding holiday activities one after another. As soon as Cheng Suran got off the plane that day, she received a phone call from the ETERNO account manager—

Manager Fang said that a batch of limited edition new styles specially customized for VIPs had arrived at the store, and she was invited to have a look at them when she had time.

Big brands like this often notify VIP customers in advance when new products are launched. They show them the pictures of the items first and then arrange appointments for them to come to the store to try on and choose. If they need to, they can even bring the clothes to the customers' homes.

Busy and tired with work, Cheng Suran initially didn't want to go. However, when she saw the pictures sent by Manager Fang, she unexpectedly found them pleasing and had a very familiar feeling.

It seems like every item was hitting the mark with her aesthetic points.

Lately, she's been under a lot of mental pressure and hasn't gone shopping for a long time. It would be good to take some time to relax. With this thought in mind, she looked at her schedule for the upcoming days and made an appointment with Manager Fang for tomorrow afternoon.

She also thought of Wen Ruoxian, who was busier than her. She was still out of town at the moment, so she asked on WeChat: [Ruoxian, are you free tomorrow afternoon? Let's go out for a stroll together. ]

It wasn't until the evening that Wen Ruoxian replied: [I don't have time these days. It'll have to wait until after the New Year. We can go on a trip then. Wherever you want to go, we'll go, and have a great time.]

She sent three crying emoticons in a row.

Cheng Suran looked at it and couldn't help but smile, and then she thought about those few sketches. Her heart ached a little...

....

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582                    This translation is originally posted on her love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too 

The second floor of Yinhua Plaza is the main store of ETERNO in Jiangcheng.

The next day, as soon as she entered the door, Manager Fang, who had been waiting for Cheng Suran, warmly greeted her. Other salesmen also smiled and nodded to her. Cheng Suran felt indescribably weird, she only came to the store for the second time today, and her total consumption was less than 10,000 yuan, but it seemed like some wealthy family came to visit.

Recalling the situation of the last trade fair she quickly realized that it was because of Jiang Yu.

"Miss Cheng, would you like something to drink?"

Manager Fang smiled brightly, and led Cheng Suran up to the VIP exhibition hall on the third floor, holding the wine list with both hands and handing it to her.

"Warm water, please. Thank you," Cheng Suran said as she turned her head. Her gaze swept around the lobby. The showroom was quite spacious, with a well-thought-out layout. Several mannequins were positioned on all sides. An entire wall was covered with mirrors, and she saw herself in one of them.

The saleswoman downstairs came up with water and snacks,and put them on the side of the tea table. Cheng Suran thanked her softly, drank some warm water, and saw Manager Fang walking over with a display stand.

Three dresses, two pairs of pants, and a long skirt.

It seems to be a completely different style from the ready-to-wear.

"This is our spring and summer VIP-limited new style..." Manager Fang introduced the design concept as smoothly as a radio host.

With simple elements, excellent tailoring, and high-end color matching, Cheng Suran's eyes were firmly glued to the clothes, and the more she looked at them, the more familiar they seemed. She didn't even notice Manager Fang's rehearsed tone as if she was memorizing a manuscript.

She reached out and touched the fabric.

The touch feels familiar.

Jiang Yu's face suddenly flashed in her mind...

Cheng Suran found the label on the clothes, she opened it and looked at it, and saw only a symbol that looked like a letter along with a simple size. There was no ETERNO brand logo. If it wasn't for the amazing fabric and tailoring, one could even say it was made in a small workshop.

"Manager Fang, is this not the ETERNO logo?"

The woman smiled and calmly replied, "Because it's a special limited edition for VIP customers, the logo is different from the regular clothes."

"I can't be the only VIP, right? What about the others? Have they all visited?"

"Each client's appointment time is different."

"I wonder who the designer is."

Cheng Suran became a little aggressive, and Manager Fang's eyes flashed with embarrassment, she looked around and replied: "Our chief designer is Alvaro..."

Seeing her like this, Cheng Suran became more and more sure of her guess, or rather, her intuition.

She didn't intend to embarrass an account manager who was used as an accomplice, pointed to the clothes, and said with a smile: "I like these very much, Can I try them to see how they look?"

Manager Fang secretly heaved a sigh of relief, nodded, and smiled: "Of course. The fitting room is here, please follow me." As she spoke, she was about to push the display rack.

"Are there new ones?"

"Sorry, Ms. Cheng, only the displayed can be tried on."

"But I have a cleanliness issue. I can't accept things that others have touched or tried on."

Cheng Suran smiled like a fox, if she guessed correctly, each item on the display rack was tailor-made just for her, with only one of each piece.

"Because it's a VIP exclusive, there's only one display item for each design. If you like them, we can register a reservation for you and make them according to your body measurements."

Manager Fang responded very quickly.

"Never mind."

Cheng Suran waved her hand, glanced at her watch, pretended to be busy and in a hurry, pointed to the display shelf, and said, "No need to try, I want these, just pack them up."

"This is an exhibit, didn't you just say..."

"I've changed my mind."

....

Cheng Suran was escorted out of the store's entrance.

After bidding farewell to Manager Fang, she got into her car, took out her phone, and dialed the number she had already memorized by heart.

"Ranran?"

A woman's gentle and pleasant voice came through the earpiece.

Like a stone falling into her heart lake, it stirs up the water and sinks into the deepest corner. Cheng Suran held her breath and asked softly: "Where are you? I have something to tell you.

"I'm here..." Jiang Yu was obviously taken aback and hesitated.

"Manager Fang showed me the clothes just now, I like them very much, and bought them all."

"What clothes?"

"Designer Jiang's tailor-made fashion for me." Cheng Suran directly exposed her, the corners of her lips raised unconsciously and saw herself smiling through the central rearview mirror, with two small dimples floating on her cheeks.

As if the person on the other end of the phone could see it.

Sure enough—

The air fell silent as if the call had ended.

After a long while of silence, Jiang Yu let out a slight chuckle, and her tone became softer: "It just so happens that I'm in the ETERNO Building, on the nineteenth floor, and I'll ask my assistant to pick you up downstairs.

"Mm."

Cheng Suran smiled.

....

On the 19th floor of the building, "Y.R" private studio.

The large work table was full of sundries. Jiang Yu was currently engrossed in drawing, but her focus was divided at the moment. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to draw a simple line properly. After several attempts, she put down the pen and picked up her phone to check the time.

The screen still displayed the call log.

A WeChat message arrived and it was from Manager Fang:

[Miss Jiang, the plan was successful. Miss Cheng bought all the clothes.] Immediately following, she sent a voice message, reporting the events that had occurred over a dozen minutes ago.

"Miss  Cheng is very perceptive. I feel like she knows something, but she didn't expose it."

[Mm, I see.]

The unfinished designs on the table seemed to be mocking her. She tried her best to beat around the bush, but in the end, she was still seen through at a glance. She thought that this method could be used at least three times to make Cheng Suran wear the clothes she tailored for her. Though not completely straightforward, it was a way to fulfill her wishes.

However, Ranran was more sensitive than she imagined.

She was already mentally prepared to be exposed, she didn't expect this day would come too soon, yet the expected embarrassment and bitterness didn't come as strongly as she thought, on the contrary, she actually felt a hint of joy and subtle sweetness.

She was keen because she was familiar. She was familiar because she kept it in her heart.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yu looked at the drawing and smiled, picked up the pen again, added the cut line, drew a little rabbit beside it, and wrote the letter "R".

After finishing the drawing, she got up and went to the storage room to get the sample fabric.

The storage room was in a corner of the studio, with a thin wooden door. Inside, various materials and tools needed for clothing design were stored. It was a small room without windows, quite dark, and hadn't been tidied up in a long time. Things were piled up in a mess.

Jiang Yu bent down and entered the room. The light quickly dimmed, and her eyes took a moment to adjust. Not paying attention, she stepped on a cylindrical object and slipped...

—clang!

The wooden door was slammed shut, and with a "click", the latch locked.

"Hiss."

Jiang Yu supported herself against the wall, stood up, and rubbed her waist. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in pitch-black darkness where she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face.

Her heart twitched violently, beating faster and faster.

It was as if a monster in a distant memory jumped out and devoured her, and the anxiety brought about by fear weighed heavily on her. Panicked, she fumbled on the wall with both hands and finally touched the handle of the wooden door, but she couldn't pull it open.

"Open the door... is there anyone..."

....

This is the second time Cheng Suran has come to the ETERNO Building, and she is no longer a stranger to this place. She followed Jiang Yu's assistant and took the elevator up to the 19th floor. The entire floor belonged to Jiang Yu, and it was a scene she had never seen before.

For some reason, she couldn't wait to see that person, so she quickened her pace.

She thought Jiang Yu was in the office.

The assistant led her directly to the next door, knocked on the door, and said to her with a smile, "Miss Cheng, please come in."

Cheng Suran nodded and glanced at the platinum nameplate on the wall, which read "Y.R". Seeing these two familiar letters and symbols, she knew that her guess was correct.

She pushed the door lightly and entered, then closed it behind.

The big "Y.R" logo on the snow-white wall came into view, and the hanging small light bulbs were shining brightly. Five or six mannequins stood in a row. The shortest one stood out prominently, dressed in clothes; the tailor-made outfit Cheng Suran had returned to Jiang Yu several months ago.

A large rectangular table is placed in the center, full of designs, long rulers, fabrics, and other items, and there is a design spread out on the table.

"Jiang Yu?"

Where is she?

Cheng Suran glanced around, and suddenly there was a "dong dong" sound from the corner, and Jiang Yu's trembling voice came through the wooden door: "I'm here..."

She rushed over and flipped the lock to open the door.

Light shone into the dark room, Jiang Yu sat weakly against the wall, shivering, sweating profusely, and breathing heavily as if struggling to catch her breath.

"Jiang Yu!" Cheng Suran knelt and hugged her, "What's wrong?"

The light came in and she felt the warm body temperature. Jiang Yu seemed to have grasped at straws, hugged Cheng Suran desperately, and buried her face in her arms.

"It's okay...the lock suddenly broke, and I couldn't open the door."

She dared not look at Cheng Suran.

Cheng Suran glanced inside, the situation seemed familiar, she remembered the escape room game a few years ago, she remembered her conversation with Qi Yan... and now, her heart ached once more.

"Jiang Yu, do you...have claustrophobia?"

"A little bit." Jiang Yu closed her eyes and curled up.

"But I'm trying to get over it."

"Not all weaknesses have to be overcome." Cheng Suran frowned and patted her on the back to comfort her, "Jiang Yu, in my heart, you're first and foremost a person, an intricate, complex, multidimensional person. I believe that in your heart, I'm the same, right?"

There was nothing to be ashamed about.

This woman is just too strong-willed.

Jiang Yu remained silent for a long time, only her breathing gradually became calmer, and suddenly, she pushed Cheng Suran away and stood up. "I'll show you my private studio."

Cheng Suran got up and followed her out.

"It turns out that this is Designer Jiang's lair. It seems there was a well-thought-out plan." She looked around again, walked to the window, and cast a look at Jiang Yu pretending to be angry.

As she spoke, she placed the large paper bag she had brought.

Jiang Yu's face paled slightly, whether due to her symptoms easing or because she took her words seriously wasn't clear. Her steps hesitated as she walked to Cheng Suran's side. "How did you know it was my work?"

"Because I like your style very much."

They stood side by side, their clothes rubbed against each other inadvertently, The height difference brought a little sense of pressure, but it also brought a feeling of safety, Cheng Suran felt that she was surrounded by a solid and gentle atmosphere, at this moment, she wanted to lean against Jiang Yu's shoulder.

"Likes leave a strong impression and make you remember, and also..." 

Her voice trailed off, and she turned her face, her gaze fixated deeply on Jiang Yu's face.

"No one understands my aesthetics better than you."

Those pair of dark eyes seem to be the deepest vortex in the center of the ocean, a long and secret passage leading to the softest part at the bottom of the heart, seemingly deep and quiet, full of thorns, but full of enthusiasm and warmth buried inside.

Jiang Yu gazed at her, and her thoughts instantly stirred.

Her heartbeat which had just calmed down began to roar again.

"Sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For leading you in such a big circle."

Her smile was a bit bitter. She wanted to hold her hand; her slender fingers hesitated by her side. In the end, she restrained herself and pulled them back. "I thought that if I gave it to you directly, you probably wouldn't accept it. Even if you did, you might just throw it away, just like last time."

The night the old model was broken.

Cheng Suran lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes covered her regret, She wanted to hold Jiang Yu's hand, but she held back, and said in a low voice, "That's in the past."

"Really?"

"Mm."

Even though she was overjoyed, Jiang Yu couldn't help but wonder if there was another meaning to these words. She expected Cheng Suran to say something more, but there was nothing more.

She could only continue to restrain herself.

Restrain her emotions, restrain her mind.

"I have a wish."

"What is it?"

"To be your personal designer."

Cheng Suran froze.

Jiang Yu turned to face her, meeting her gaze. Her deep eyes were filled with light. "Could you help me make it come true?"