Chapter 10: The Secret Glance
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Jiang Ying took the subway there herself. The moment she stepped out of the station, she saw Lu Zhixi.
His gaze quickly fell on the Van Cleef & Arpels shopping bag in her hand. “Who gave you that?”
Jiang Ying told him that Lily had come to see her, but left out what they had talked about, merely saying that they had eaten together in the cafeteria.
“Lily went to see you?”
Lu Zhixi’s brows drew together almost imperceptibly.
He took the shopping bag from her and held her hand as they walked toward the apartment. “Lily has never had much sense of propriety, which was why I didn’t want her disturbing you. Did she say anything offensive?”
“No. We got along quite well, actually. We had plenty to talk about.”
“Really? What did you talk about?”
“She said you were extremely popular in high school.”
Jiang Ying stressed the point. “Extremely, extremely, extremely popular. And I slept with the dreamboat of all those girls.”
The pride in her voice amused Lu Zhixi.
“So that’s why you suddenly said you missed me?”
“I miss you every day. It’s not just that I want to sleep with you.” Jiang Ying lowered her head and looked at the concrete path, speaking in a small voice. “The moment an exam is over, all the knowledge slips right out of my head with a whoosh, and all that’s left is missing you.”
Lu Zhixi’s gaze settled on her face, as if studying her expression.
There was no denying that Lu Zhixi was exceptionally perceptive. Although Jiang Ying had been telling the truth, she had indeed concealed part of her conversation with Lily, and under his scrutiny she felt unexpectedly nervous. Fortunately, he said nothing more by the time they reached the apartment.
The moment they entered, they kissed.
They had been apart for an entire week, and had barely spoken even on WeChat. Their bodies reacted with fierce enthusiasm, as if touching each other for the first time.
Lu Zhixi lifted her up, his hands firmly supporting her weight. He lowered his head until their foreheads touched, his breath warm against her skin. “You’ve only just finished your exams. Aren’t you too tired?”
“I took a nap this afternoon. I’ve rested enough.” Jiang Ying kissed the edge of his ear. “You can be a little rougher.”
Lu Zhixi was not gentle in bed, but most of the time he restrained himself for her sake. Only at crucial moments did he occasionally lose control.
In the past, when she reached that point, she would instinctively cry and ask him to slow down, to be gentler. Today, however, she took the initiative to respond to him, and Lu Zhixi began teasing her with maddening patience, keeping her suspended between anticipation and release.
“What’s gotten into you today?” he asked gently.
Jiang Ying looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
“I just want to make you feel good.”
Lu Zhixi smiled. “You’re obviously trying to make me hurry up and make you feel good.”
“That’s because you always…” Her words faltered.
“Always what?”
“You always suddenly get rough…”
“And?”
Because her body had already grown accustomed to it.
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Jiang Ying could not bring herself to say it. She felt as though ants were crawling all over her skin. Lu Zhixi did not ask again. He remained unhurried and composed, leisurely savoring the sight of her.
Then, at an entirely unpredictable moment, he suddenly exerted his strength.
The sound of a racket striking a tennis ball was crisp and violent.
She thought of the calm, effortless yet explosive way Lu Zhixi played on the court.
His arm had looked the same then as it did now: the muscles taut, the contours not exaggerated but exceptionally solid, concealing a force that seemed absolute.
Strike. The ball hit the ground. Strike again.
The rhythmic, powerful sound of the racket.
“I love you, Zhixi.”
Jiang Ying lay in his arms, her cheeks flushed from the exertion, damp strands of hair clinging to her face.
Her eyes were moist, her body feverish, her voice ardent.
The man leaning over her paused for a second.
The lights were dim, and the darkness of night concealed Lu Zhixi’s expression.
His throat moved faintly. He closed his eyes tightly and did not look at her.
He attributed the tremor that had passed through him in that moment to nothing more than animal instinct.
*
The next day was bright and clear. By June, Beijing was already scorching hot, and standing beneath the sun felt like being roasted.
The car drove into Qingshui Court and stopped by the roadside.
Wu Xi and her husband, Wei Yingming, were waiting at the entrance, while Wei Zhen stood there holding Wei Qing’s hand.
The moment the car arrived, Wei Yingming and Wu Xi hurried forward enthusiastically. Little Wei Qing threw herself straight into Jiang Ying’s arms and loudly told her how much she had missed her.
Instead of greeting Lu Zhixi like an ordinary elder, Wei Yingming shook his hand.
Lu Zhixi handed the gifts to the nanny standing nearby and smiled at the couple. “Uncle, Auntie, it’s been a long time.”
Wei Yingming quickly replied, “Indeed, Alex. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much. How are your parents? You must give them our regards for us!”
Lu Zhixi’s father was often referred to in the financial news as Little Williams. His full name was Anthony L. Williams. Lu Zhixi’s Chinese name had been chosen by his mother, Lu Xiu, but his formal name was actually Alexander L. Williams. That was why many people who knew his parents preferred to call him Alex.
This was the first time Jiang Ying had heard someone call Lu Zhixi by his English name. Curious, she asked about it, and Lu Zhixi gave her a brief explanation.
A strange feeling rose in Jiang Ying’s heart.
It was rather like her best friend Zhou Anning having always told her that her name was Anna, and Jiang Ying having always believed it—only to discover that the name on her identity card was actually Zhou Anning.
Lu Zhixi noticed her silence and put an arm around her shoulders. “Only people close to me call me by my Chinese name.”
Jiang Ying smiled at him. “It’s fine. I’m used to calling you Zhixi too.”
Clearly, Wei Yingming and Wu Xi had ordered the villa to be cleaned from top to bottom. Even the water in the backyard pool had been drained and replaced. All kinds of fruit were arranged on the living-room table, while four nannies bustled about in the kitchen preparing the meal.
Wei Qing was familiar only with Jiang Ying. She pulled Jiang Ying upstairs to see the dolls she had recently bought, while Lu Zhixi stayed downstairs chatting with Wei Yingming and Wu Xi. Wei Zhen was forced to sit on the sofa and listen in.
Lu Zhixi’s father’s family held considerable status in North America. Their history of wealth could be traced all the way back to the beginning of the previous century. They had seized several waves of global economic expansion and survived both depression and stagflation. Their foundation was as deep-rooted as a century-old tree standing on North American soil: above ground, thick, towering branches and a broad crown; below ground, a tangled mass of roots reaching deep into the earth.
If Lu Zhixi’s father had not purchased this property in Qingshui Court for Lu Xiu many years ago, Wei Yingming and Wu Xi would never have had the opportunity to meet a tycoon of that stature.
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At the time, however, Lu Zhixi’s father rarely appeared. Lu Xiu only brought Lu Zhixi back to China in autumn, when she visited her aunt, who lived there, and they would stay for a while.
Unlike Wu Xi, who came from a wealthy family and had joined forces with her husband to build a business in the marketplace through hard work, Lu Xiu was an artist with a distinctly bourgeois sensibility. She had little business sense and no role in her husband’s enterprises. Though she had grown up abroad, her family had not been especially affluent, and all the expensive jewelry she wore had been purchased with money from her husband’s family.
Wu Xi suspected that Lu Xiu had been able to marry Lu Zhixi’s father largely because she possessed an Eastern beauty so striking that both men and women would marvel at it. Lu Zhixi’s father’s mother was a Singaporean of Chinese descent, and he had a particular preference for Asian features.
When Wu Xi first befriended Lu Xiu, it was merely to find an opportunity to meet Lu Zhixi’s father, establish a connection, and seek a business partnership. But after sharing afternoon tea with Lu Xiu twice, Wu Xi suddenly discovered that she had a great deal of insight into raising children.
Not only had she hired tutors to teach Lu Zhixi his schoolwork in advance and ensure that his grades remained far ahead of his classmates, she had also focused closely on language learning. At five or six years old, the boy could switch seamlessly among Chinese, English, and French. On top of that, Lu Xiu had enrolled him in tennis from an early age, making sure he fell behind no one physically, either.
Wu Xi thought it was incredible.
If she had not been so busy with her career back then, with no time to look after Wei Zhen, she would never have created Wei Qing as a second chance to put all her untested theories on education into practice.
“Your mother is truly remarkable. She raised you to be so outstanding.” Wu Xi looked at Lu Zhixi, admiration mingling with envy in her voice. “If only our Wei Zhen and Wei Qing could be as exceptional as you.”
In truth, she was mainly talking about Wei Qing.
Her elder son, Wei Zhen, had decent grades. He could probably get into a good university through the national entrance examination, or choose a respectable school abroad for his undergraduate studies. He had enough brains to take over their company one day.
But Wei Qing was different. Wu Xi was determined that Wei Qing would attend an Ivy League university, outshine all her peers, and climb even higher by standing on the shoulders of her and her husband—becoming a brilliant, dazzling, truly exceptional woman.
Upstairs, on the second floor, Jiang Ying sat down in the room filled with stuffed animals, somewhat distracted.
She had realized that she was once again coming to know another side of Lu Zhixi when she least expected it, and the feeling was not pleasant.
But Wei Qing soon captured her attention.
The little girl brought her a shimmering gift bag that reached nearly to her shoulders and told her it was a present.
Jiang Ying thanked her in surprise. A moment later, she saw the little girl quietly sit down beside her, only to begin shedding tears less than two seconds later.
Wei Qing had a round face, like a plump, delicate steamed bun. When she cried, she resembled a tiny peach bun beaded with dew—pitiful and adorable at once.
Jiang Ying hurriedly pulled her into her arms and wiped away her tears. “What’s wrong?”
Sobbing, Wei Qing said, “Sister Ying, will you come and keep me company every week like you used to? I love studying with you. I can use my allowance to pay for your lessons.”
Jiang Ying froze for a moment, then said gently, “But you have a new study schedule now.”
“I don’t want to play squash. Squash is exhausting, and afterward I still have to study the violin, English, composition, and reading… I’m so tired, Sis. I don’t want to study anymore.”
Wei Qing was crying so hard that she could barely catch her breath, clutching Jiang Ying’s sleeve and refusing to let go.
That evening, during dinner, Jiang Ying mentioned the matter to Wu Xi.
Wu Xi pinched Wei Qing’s cheek. “Oh, sweetheart, aren’t you clever? You even know how to find someone softhearted to speak for you.”
Everyone else laughed, treating Wei Qing’s complaint as nothing more than a minor grievance. Only Jiang Ying looked concerned.
“She’s still very young. If she studies things that are too difficult, it might undermine her confidence and make her dislike studying even more.”
“Of course she can play,” Wu Xi said. “Why wouldn’t she? We’re even planning to take her to Switzerland during the summer vacation, and perhaps let her ski while we see whether she has any talent for it.”
Then she turned to Wei Qing. “Qingqing, Mommy will buy you two more pretty dresses. No more tears, all right? Grit your teeth and persevere a little longer. Look, Alex also cried when he was little, and now he’s become so outstanding.”
Wu Xi looked toward Lu Zhixi. He responded with a polite smile.
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