Chapter 5: The Trumpet

After Lu Zhixi reminded her to focus her energy on research and studies, Jiang Ying seriously reconsidered quitting her job as a reading companion. She had planned to work at least until the end of this year, knowing that afterward, she would need to concentrate fully on her graduation thesis and wouldn't have the time to shuttle between school and Qingshui Court.

Yet, after much hesitation, she received a call from her senior, Wu Xi, at noon the next day.

"Yingying, I've decided to enroll our Qingqing in a squash class. The training schedule conflicts exactly with the time you used to teach her reading, so I plan to pause her supplementary reading sessions," Wu Xi explained.

"I'm really sorry for the sudden decision. I've transferred your salary for this week, plus a little bonus. Thank you so much for accompanying Qingqing and me all this time. Let's keep in touch and maybe collaborate again in the future."

Jiang Ying opened Alipay and was stunned. She had only taught Qingqing for four hours that week, but Wu Xi transferred her the usual amount for two days a week, one hour each day. Not only that, she also sent a sum of 88,888.88 yuan.

She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and counted three times. That amount was equivalent to her salary for teaching Qingqing through next year.

"Xi Jie, this is too much. I can't accept it," Jiang Ying protested.

"No, it's not too much. Consider it my blessing to you—no refunds allowed! When I was in business, a feng shui master told me that numbers like six and eight are very auspicious. If you return the money, you'll drive away both luck and wealth."

Wu Xi was truly a businesswoman. Hearing this, Jiang Ying dared not refuse. She sent a long thank-you message on WeChat, exchanged blessings with her, and just like that, the tutoring ended.

It was sudden but the outcome was ideal—no, more than ideal. Nearly ninety thousand yuan was a significant sum for a struggling student like Jiang Ying.

The nanny knocked on the door, asking if it was time to eat. Jiang Ying put down her phone and glanced at the clock on the wall—already half past eleven.

That morning, both she and Lu Zhixi had coursework to focus on. Since he disliked interruptions while working, she had been organizing experimental data in another room set aside just for her.

When Jiang Ying stepped out, the study door was still closed. Ling Jing handed her a glass of juice and asked if she would be staying tomorrow. She shook her head.

Time to return to school.

Jiang Ying had no morning classes from Monday to Wednesday this semester, so she could stay at Lu Zhixi's place up to five days a week. But ever since joining Professor Lin’s research group, she often had to attend onsite meetings or clinical interviews at the hospital. Since last month, her visits had become less frequent. Plus, they were in different departments, so even seeing each other regularly was rare.

Waiting at the dining table for Lu Zhixi to come out for lunch, Jiang Ying opened Weibo and typed a somewhat wistful message:

"Don’t want to go back to school, just want to grow on my boyfriend."

Lu Zhixi appeared, his eyes lowered to his phone.

He wasn’t one to be addicted to social media, never scrolling through short videos or chatting idly online. Yet now, he was smiling at his screen.

Curious, Jiang Ying asked, "What are you looking at?"

He glanced up, smiling gently. "Nothing much, just something interesting."

He locked his phone and sat beside her. "But you wouldn’t find it interesting."

Jiang Ying paused, then fell silent.

Ling Jing brought out steak, grilled shrimp, and seafood rice. Just as Jiang Ying picked up her spoon, her phone notified her of a new message.

She opened it—it was a post from Lu Zhixi on an English-language site, a pun joke. After reading, Jiang Ying realized he had sent it specifically for her.

"That's pretty funny," she murmured, putting down her phone.

Lu Zhixi cut a piece of steak and said softly, with a hint of meaning, "So, are you happy now?"

Jiang Ying blushed but he kindly didn’t tease her.

She leaned in and kissed him. "I am. Thank you."

The final exams for the Finance School were earlier than usual, so Lu Zhixi was especially busy these days. Though neither had classes today, they hardly had time together. After lunch, Jiang Ying was about to head back to school, but Lu Zhixi asked her to stay a while longer.

"Take a nap before you go. I’ll have the driver send you back."

Surprised and delighted by his offer to nap with her, Jiang Ying dropped her packed things without hesitation. Once he got into bed, she snuggled into his embrace. "Are you done with your work?"

"Nothing urgent. I want to spend time with you first. Besides, it’s your period—is your waist sore? Let me massage it for you."

She rested against him and felt his warm palm rubbing her lower back through her clothes, skillful and soothing.

She had only casually mentioned her cramps to him before, but he remembered. Nearly every time she had her period, he would massage her back.

Though when he confessed, Lu Zhixi hadn’t explicitly said he liked her, and seldom mentioned the word "love," he was really attentive—remembering her tastes, her little habits, tolerating her clinginess when he was busy, and listening to her troubles seriously. Afterward, he would comfort her, take her out for treats, and cheer her up.

In contrast, Lu Zhixi never showed his own negative emotions or spoke of his worries. It was as if he had none—like an inexhaustible machine, tirelessly busy with studies, competitions, and tennis training, never complaining, never tired, never breaking down.

Jiang Ying suddenly thought of Qingqing, the little girl who was only six but already had a packed schedule every day. Now she was set on becoming an athlete—though that ambition was more her mother’s than hers.

She told Lu Zhixi about ending the reading companion job with Wu Xi that morning and lamented Qingqing’s busy life.

"That’s normal. If she wants to study in New York, she has to learn many courses in advance because private schools there are tough. If her grades suffer and she risks expulsion, her parents will have to donate a lot to the school. It’s best if she excels at a sport—nerds are often ostracized in American schools."

Jiang Ying looked up at him, eyes sparkling. "Zhixi, you must have been very popular at school, right? Good grades, a tennis player—you must have won many matches. Your parents must be proud."

Lu Zhixi lowered his lashes, meeting her gaze and smiling silently.

His amber eyes were like honeyed liquor, intoxicating and inscrutable.

Unable to resist, Jiang Ying said, "Zhixi, do you know your eyes are especially beautiful?"

"No, your eyes are more beautiful," he replied.

She thought he was just being polite, but he was serious.

"Your eyes are rounder, your pupils darker, and your whites clearer."

Then he suddenly pinched her cheek.

Not hard, but with a boy’s strength, Jiang Ying was caught off guard and tears welled in her eyes. "It hurts."

Lu Zhixi smiled. "You look even better when you cry. You always remind me of Pabby."

Jiang Ying recalled, "Is that the little dog you used to have, the one that passed away?"

"Yes."

He gently stroked her brow, his cool fingertip tracing down. "You and Pabby have the same lovable look. Only you two look at me like that."

A pure, sincere, passionate gaze.

Pabby was a dog—it couldn’t understand human words, so it thought he was a good person.

And Jiang Ying, knowing nothing about him, also thought he was a good person.

Such a look was truly endearing, he thought.

*

The nap was ruined.

Jiang Ying found herself pinned under Lu Zhixi, kissed and touched.

His kisses deepened, his tongue licking her lips, slipping inside her mouth, catching her tongue, sucking, nibbling.

His hands gripped her waist firmly, making her eyes water.

He pressed down on her in a nearly overpowering manner.

Blushing, she tried to push him away a little. "Zhixi, my period isn’t over yet."

"I know."

His voice was still calm, but his movements suddenly paused.

"Isn’t it your period? Why aren’t you wearing a pad?"

Jiang Ying felt her face flush. "We used tampons afterward."

Lu Zhixi’s gaze swept her lower abdomen. He reached out and rubbed her belly twice.

The pressure was light, like a caress, but it stirred a strange feeling in her, making her instinctively pull back.

He grabbed her waist and dragged her back under him, then took her earlobe into his mouth, gently biting and grinding.

It didn’t hurt, but it made her strangely nervous, part of her wanting to run away. Before she could move, Lu Zhixi suddenly rose from her and turned toward the master bedroom’s bathroom.

The bed was left in disarray. Jiang Ying lay in the covers, listening to the water running, her heart pounding.

After a long time, the water stopped. She waited, but Lu Zhixi didn’t come out.

Worried he might be overheating inside, she got out of bed and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Zhixi, are you okay?"

No answer.

Some couples shower together, but Lu Zhixi disliked it. She hesitated a moment but, out of concern, pushed the door open.

The bathroom was still misty with steam. Seeing the scene inside, she froze.

The shower enclosure had glass walls on two sides. The door was open, with half the fog on the glass clearing away, revealing his tall figure, half-hidden behind the mist.

His half-exposed handsome face looked down slightly. One hand braced against the glass wall, the other arm’s muscles taut, water droplets streaming down the rippling veins.

Seeing her enter, he didn’t stop; instead, he lifted his gaze toward her.

Jiang Ying knew she should leave—strictly speaking, she was invading his privacy. But her body was frozen, unable to move.

The amber eyes of the young man fixed on her, filled with an intensity she had never seen before.

Like a seemingly gentle beast suddenly revealing its wild nature, eyeing a coveted prey.

"Yingying, come here."

After a moment, he spoke.

His usual tone was the same, yet strangely dangerous.

Jiang Ying felt as if under a spell, her body moving of its own accord toward him.