Chapter 4: The Secret Glance

When the butler led two girls—one older, one younger—into the backyard, many people took notice of them.

Among the crowd were some boys studying at a prestigious university in China who knew the relationship between Jiang Ying and Lu Zhixi. One of them called out, “Zhixi, isn’t that your girlfriend, Jiang Ying? What’s she doing here looking for you?”

Lu Zhixi was talking to a friend nearby but looked up at the sound. Indeed, he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Beside the boy sat a girl with striking golden-pink hair. She was utterly stunned as she asked Lu Zhixi, “You have a girlfriend? You actually have a girlfriend?! You’ve only been in China for a year!”

Lu Zhixi furrowed his brow slightly but ignored her.

Jiang Ying hesitated about whether to approach Lu Zhixi and say hello, but seeing that he had noticed her, she stood up and walked over.

“Yingying, what are you doing here?”

“I’m tutoring tonight. Wei Zhen is here, right? His little sister wanted to find him, so I brought her along to see.”

“You’re tutoring Wei Zhen’s sister?”

Jiang Ying had mentioned to Lu Zhixi before that she tutored students after class but hadn’t gone into detail. Lu Zhixi hadn’t asked further either. Meeting here, both saw surprise in each other’s eyes.

Wei Zhen had just come out of the dining room after dessert and immediately noticed the two by the terrace sofa. He ran over, saying, “Sister Jiang Ying?”

Then he looked at the little girl beside her, dressed head to toe in pink, and his tone shifted abruptly, “What are you doing here?”

Qingqing, delighted to see her brother, kept her eyes on him but spoke with bold confidence, “I can go wherever I want. If you can come, why can’t I?”

Wei Zhen replied, “Fine, you’re impressive. Enjoy the fun, but hurry back. This isn’t your place, little brat.”

The siblings, having grown up together in Beijing, exchanged words faster than a drumbeat. Jiang Ying quickly explained to Wei Zhen, “Qingqing was fussing at home wanting to find you. Coincidentally, your mother was looking for you too. Are you coming back with us?”

Wei Zhen didn’t want to go back so soon, but he knew his sister’s nature: she must have caused such a fuss at home that even his mother and Jiang Ying had no choice but to bring her here.

Unable to refuse, he bent down to pick up Wei Qing and said to Lu Zhixi, “Brother Xi, something came up at home. We have to leave now.”

Lu Zhixi grunted in acknowledgment and glanced at Jiang Ying. “You’re coming back too?”

Jiang Ying nodded. “I still have two hours of tutoring with Qingqing.”

Suddenly, a girl with golden-pink hair dashed over, holding out her phone with a bright smile. “Hi, I’m Lily. Let’s add each other on WeChat and be friends?”

Lily was striking and charming, speaking Chinese with a clear American accent. She was a bit plump but confidently showed off her figure in a backless crop top and ultra-short shorts, radiating lively self-assurance.

“Lily, she’s busy. Don’t bother her,” Lu Zhixi suddenly said.

Lily pouted, “Don’t be so stingy.”

Her tone was as coquettish as her appearance.

Lu Zhixi replied, “Alright, go have fun.”

Jiang Ying hesitated, glancing between the two. Seeing that Lily actually obeyed and put away her phone, sitting back down quietly in her spot, she withdrew her gaze.

Everyone around—whether grilling, chatting, playing board games, or singing—paused and looked toward them. Several girls lowered their heads, sneaking glances at Jiang Ying and whispering among themselves.

They were all fashionably dressed, wearing scanty fabrics. Not all were conventionally beautiful, but each carried an air of pride and arrogance, much like Lily.

Since being with Lu Zhixi, Jiang Ying had been scrutinized plenty, but mostly at school, where the gazes were curious or envious. Here, she sensed their looks were condescending.

In this luxurious villa’s backyard, it seemed an invisible yet deep wall enclosed this group of youthful, radiant young people, creating a realm filled with a sense of superiority. Lu Zhixi, usually reserved and low-key, was their center.

Jiang Ying withdrew her gaze and said calmly, “Zhixi, I’ll be going. Have fun.”

Lu Zhixi looked at her. “When does your tutoring end?”

Hearing the implied offer to accompany her, Jiang Ying smiled, “It’s fine, you focus on your thing. When I’m done, I’ll take the subway back.”

She then gently patted Wei Zhen’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Lu Zhixi had the butler send them home and only returned to his seat on the terrace sofa after the three had left the backyard.

Beside him, Qi Zhou teased, “Wei Zhen standing with your girlfriend looks pretty legit, huh?”

Lu Zhixi smiled, “Is that so?”

Qi Zhou shuddered at the smile and raised his hands. “Alright, I get it. You really like her. I won’t say more. Damn, good thing civilians can’t carry guns here...”

Lily reluctantly withdrew her gaze, sighing, “What a pity. Wei Zhen’s only sixteen but has such big muscles.”

“I have big muscles too. You can touch them for free,” Qi Zhou said.

“He got them from playing basketball. I like basketball players.”

Lily fondly stroked Qi Zhou’s chest muscles. When she heard Qi Zhou boasted about his kissing skills, she grinned and leaned in, “Really? I don’t believe it.”

Qi Zhou wrapped his arm around her waist, smiling, “Then why not try it?”

The two, barely acquainted, kissed right in front of Lu Zhixi. As their kiss deepened, Lily straddled Qi Zhou.

She asked, “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”

“Only now you’re asking?”

Lily pretended to get off him. “I don’t kiss men who have girlfriends.”

Qi Zhou held her back. “No need to rush. Did I say I have one?”

Lily laughed, slipping her hand under his T-shirt, “Then why don’t you ask me?”

“Oh, you have one? You can text him now and break up.”

Lu Zhixi put down his phone and reminded them, “If you’re horny, go book a room.”

His words were light but the two on the opposite sofa quickly separated, exchanged a few playful remarks, then went off to join their friends, as if the wild moment had never happened.

On the way back, Jiang Ying learned from Wei Zhen that this party was hosted by Lu Zhixi to entertain some friends visiting Beijing from the U.S., many being children of Lu Zhixi’s parents’ acquaintances. The lavish villa belonged to Lu Zhixi’s family, usually unoccupied, maintained regularly by the butler.

Even Wu Xi had previously known Lu Zhixi’s mother. It seemed the wealthy all shared one phone book.

At nine o’clock, when the second half of the reading session ended, Qingqing was already drowsy. Once the reading was over, the nanny took her to wash up and go to bed.

Jiang Ying, carrying her bag, went downstairs but suddenly saw Lu Zhixi sitting on the sofa chatting with Wu Xi. Wei Zhen sat at the other end, bored and playing on his phone, clearly dragged along to join.

Jiang Ying approached Lu Zhixi and asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”

“This place is far from home. I couldn’t just let you go back alone.”

Wu Xi told Lu Zhixi, “I didn’t expect you’ve been in Beijing a year already and are Jiang Ying’s boyfriend. Before, she’d come back too late, and I worried. Usually, Wei Zhen would see her to the subway entrance. It’s much more reassuring to have you accompany her.”

Lu Zhixi smiled politely and thanked her, then wrapped his arm around Jiang Ying’s shoulder, glancing at Wei Zhen still absorbed in his phone.

Wei Zhen waved him off, signaling no thanks needed.

A sleek dark-gray car with sharp lines pulled up to the door. The driver called out, “Young Master Lu,” and opened the rear door for them.

Once inside, Jiang Ying asked, “Did I hold up your party tonight?”

“The butler’s watching. No problem.”

Lu Zhixi looked at her. “This gathering was arranged by my parents. It’s to keep in touch with peers we must maintain contact with. I didn’t tell you earlier to avoid overthinking. I hope you don’t mind.”

Jiang Ying was taken aback, meeting his gaze.

She did feel a bit uneasy—anyone would feel uneasy catching their boyfriend at a place so brimming with youthful hormones.

Yet every inch of that party’s atmosphere felt alien to her; even knowing about it, she wouldn’t want to go.

“If you ever want to go to such parties, just tell me directly. I’ll understand,” Lu Zhixi said gently, taking her hand.

“Okay, I’ll remember.” She smiled. “But you, you said the tutoring place was accessible by direct subway. I thought it wasn’t remote, but it’s far from both school and the apartment. You shouldn’t keep doing it.”

Talking openly with him eased her mood, and she added with a smile, “The pay’s good, and Qingqing is very well-behaved and cute. I quite like the job.”

“Aren’t you part of a new research group now? Can you still handle this?”

That question struck a nerve.

Since joining Professor Lin’s group, her workload of data organization and literature review had increased dramatically. The tutoring felt like a heavy burden.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Money isn’t an issue.”

“Money isn’t an issue!”

Those words were tempting.

In fact, when Lu Zhixi first learned Jiang Ying was earning her own living expenses, he immediately transferred a significant sum to her. It was enough to cover her study abroad costs comfortably, even allowing a lavish lifestyle.

Jiang Ying wasn’t a saint, but she wanted their relationship to be about love alone. Accepting his money would complicate things, making their relationship ambiguous and hard to define. Besides, since starting university, she had earned a considerable savings from tutoring, student work, and assisting professors with research, so she ultimately declined.

It might seem a bit pretentious, but she just wanted to stand a little taller before Lu Zhixi.

“Zhixi, don’t worry. I know my limits.”

Lu Zhixi lowered his eyes to look at her in his arms. The car’s ceiling light cast shadows over his delicate features.

“But it’s always inconvenient for Wei Zhen to see you off at the subway. What should we do?” he murmured.

Jiang Ying explained, “Actually, this road is very safe. Wei Zhen is now in the second year of high school; sometimes, when he has evening study sessions at school, I walk home alone. He only accompanies me back to the subway after he finishes.”

Lu Zhixi listened quietly. When she finished, he suddenly reached out, gripping the nape of her neck firmly. Jiang Ying looked up, puzzled.

He bent down and kissed her gently.

The kiss lasted a long time.

Lu Zhixi was undeniably captivating. Usually calm and refined, desire transformed him into something intensely seductive. His pale pink lips, moistened from the kiss, resembled dew-kissed blossoms—tender and alluring.