Chapter 58: Peeping

Lu Zhixi possessed features that aligned with the most universal human aesthetic standards, so freezing in place while looking at his face was not at all strange.

Thinking this, Jiang Ying quickly regained her composure and walked over to take a seat at the dining table.

During the meal, both maintained a proper distance. The professor and his wife conversed with Lu Zhixi about a project, while she and Andy chatted about recent school events.

The only thing that made Jiang Ying feel slightly constrained was that Lu Zhixi sat directly beside her, making it difficult for her to ignore certain details about him.

The rolled-up shirt cuffs, the taut muscles of his forearms, the impeccably ironed trousers...

All her vivid memories of Lu Zhixi had halted four years ago. No matter how clever and calculating he had been back then, he was essentially still a boy.

Now, he was entirely the picture of a mature man. Sitting side by side, this sense of unfamiliarity felt remarkably striking.

Jiang Ying found herself drifting off during the meal, until Andy, seated across from her, asked, "Ying, what is your favorite fairy tale?"

She had previously heard that Andy was conducting related research for a literature class. Word had it that the last time he came home from school, he had run into Professor Edward's students chatting at the house and had questioned everyone he met.

"I only know the most familiar stories. If I really have to choose one, perhaps it would be *Little Red Riding Hood*," Jiang Ying said after careful thought.

Andy's gaze hovered thoughtfully between her and Lu Zhixi for a moment before he asked, "Why is this your favorite story?"

"Little Red Riding Hood successfully escapes after being eaten by the wolf. Hearing that story as a child felt thrilling, and looking back at it now as an adult, it still holds a lot of depth."

Andy laid down his knife and fork, saying with great excitement, "How interesting! Both you and Alex favor stories that involve the element of 'devoured and devourer,' though the narrative subjects are reversed as the devourer and the devoured. I discussed this issue with my mom; perhaps this represents a certain orientation—"

Immersed in academic literature year-round, Jiang Ying was very familiar with such viewpoints. Guessing what Andy was about to say, she immediately picked up her soup spoon and an empty bowl beside her.

"Andy, you haven't tried the soup I stewed yet, have you? I added your favorite lotus root. You should try some quickly."

At that moment, Lu Zhixi paused his conversation with the professor and his wife, turning to ask Andy, "Represents what kind of orientation?"

The dining table suddenly fell silent for a brief moment.

Andy shrugged and said with subtle implication, "I believe literature is essentially a reflection of people's psychological needs. My interest in literature began with an understanding of sadism, so... those of you studying economics don't seem very interested in this. My dad doesn't like discussing these things with me."

Professor Edward chimed in, "At least not at the dinner table, son. From a theoretical standpoint, I still support your research."

At this, Lu Zhixi looked directly at Jiang Ying. "Do you and Andy often discuss topics like this?"

Jiang Ying replied without hesitation, "This is an academic discussion."

Hearing this, Lu Zhixi smiled ambiguously, withdrew his gaze, and resumed discussing potential investment partners with Professor Edward.

The dinner concluded in a harmonious atmosphere.

After the meal, Lu Zhixi went into the study with Professor Edward to continue discussing business. Even after Jiang Ying finished reviewing the project's research progress with Professor Brown, the study door remained tightly shut.

She hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to knock and interrupt, and drove home with Nono.

Once back home, Jiang Ying belatedly realized that running into Lu Zhixi at the professor's house was quite a coincidence. Yet, upon reflection, having heard Professor Edward mention the name Williams quite a few times over the past month, it wasn't entirely strange.

However, she soon had no time to ponder these matters.

As December arrived, winter break was fast approaching. Students were frantically rushing to complete their coursework, while Jiang Ying was also working overtime to grade student assignments, evaluate scores, and wrap up the concluding stages of her research.

After more than ten days of dizzying busyness, the holiday finally arrived.

On the first day of the vacation, Jiang Ying went to the supermarket to stock up on daily necessities and groceries, cleaned the house, and began preparing Christmas giveaway gifts for Nono's followers on Weibo.

This year, she had commissioned custom felt dolls modeled after Nono, twenty in total. She wrote the greeting cards and packaged every single one herself, intending to mail them out to fans once the raffle results were announced.

By the third day of the break, she finally found some free time and drove to her pre-booked tennis court.

As Jiang Ying walked onto the deep-blue indoor court carrying her racket, she saw her coach talking with a man dressed in white athletic wear.

Lu Zhixi had a slightly damp white towel draped over his shoulder, and the hair on his forehead was slicked with sweat, carelessly brushed back to reveal a smooth, fair forehead and a high-bridged nose.

Turning to see Jiang Ying, he smiled at her. "I just finished playing. I didn't expect to run into you here."

This seemed to be yet another coincidence, as Lu Zhixi exchanged a polite greeting with her and departed.

By the time she finished playing, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. Walking from the indoor tennis court to the lobby, Jiang Ying immediately caught sight of a vast expanse of white outside the glass doors.

It was snowing.

Her car was parked in the nearby open-air parking lot. Slipping into her down jacket and grabbing her sports duffel bag, she pushed open the glass door, and a wave of cold air hit her face. Jiang Ying quickened her pace toward the parking lot to avoid treacherous road conditions if the snow intensified after dark.

Her footsteps left shallow and deep prints on the ground, and sporadic snowflakes drifted down the back of her neck, sending a shiver through her.

Walking along the path in front of the shops, she turned a corner and abruptly bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," she murmured repeatedly.

The man steadily caught her by the shoulders.

"It's fine," he answered in Chinese.

A familiar voice sounded above her head, followed by the scent of cigarette smoke drifting into her nose. Jiang Ying looked up sharply.

In the snowy weather, Lu Zhixi wore only a thin gray hoodie over his tennis attire, holding a cigarette between his fingertips. The moment his free hand steadied her, he took a step back so the smell of the smoke wouldn't bother her.

His movements in smoking were already quite practiced, and the thin, grayish-white smoke blurred his handsome profile into a hazy, dreamlike outline that nearly blended with the snow-covered streetscape.

Jiang Ying watched him for a moment before she couldn't help asking, "...When did you start smoking?"

"I don't remember clearly."

He extinguished the cigarette, tossed it into the trash can outside the Chinese supermarket nearby, and offered her a faint smile. "It looks like you wanted to say something to me."

"Smoking is bad for your health. You should smoke a little less."

Lu Zhixi didn't reply, simply looking at her quietly with a gentle gaze.

The sudden silence once again stirred a sense of constraint in Jiang Ying, reminiscent of the dinner table the other day. She smiled at him. "I'll be heading off first. It's getting dark, the temperature is dropping, and you should head back early too."

With that, she walked around Lu Zhixi and headed toward her parking space.

Opening the car door, she climbed into the driver's seat, started the engine, and shifted into reverse. Her tires rolled over the fine, salt-like snow and immediately swerved in a small arc, slipping like a drift.

Cold sweat instantly beaded on Jiang Ying's back.

The snow had fallen too suddenly, and she hadn't switched to winter tires yet. Although her home wasn't far away, it was best not to take risks for the sake of survival.

She grabbed her bag, pushed the door open, and saw Lu Zhixi, dressed as though it were still summer, walking toward her.

"I'll drive you."

The snowy weather was bone-chillingly cold, and Jiang Ying shivered involuntarily as she got into Lu Zhixi's car. Seated in the passenger seat, she looked at the man beside her and said, "I thought you would have a chauffeur."

Lu Zhixi smiled. "Aside from work, I always need to find something to do for myself."

Jiang Ying turned her gaze toward the car window. "I heard from Emily that you'll be staying in Boston for a while."

"Yes, perhaps until after Christmas."

"Not going back to New York for Christmas?"

"My grandfather has passed away; spending it anywhere makes no difference now."

Jiang Ying had heard the news. After it made the headlines in April, everyone knew.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. He enjoyed a lifetime of luxury; the only regret perhaps was that almost no one cried when he died. But that doesn't matter. He won't know."

Following the navigation address Jiang Ying provided, Lu Zhixi drove steadily onto the road, arriving at the beige villa's entrance before long.

Nono sensed the commotion at the door, poked its head out from the second-floor window, and barked at the unfamiliar black sedan downstairs.

Dusk was settling, washing the sky in a layer of grayish-blue.

Lu Zhixi suddenly spoke. "I haven't asked you yet—what fun places have you been to these past few years?"

Indeed, Jiang Ying had traveled to quite a few interesting places in recent years.

Once she and Zhou Anning became confident drivers, they took advantage of long holidays to embark on road trips, driving all the major routes across the American West, visiting Yellowknife in Canada to watch the northern lights, and lying idle in Southern Europe for half a month.

Though she had been too busy this year and lacked the time to travel, speaking of those joyful travel memories still brought an involuntary, relaxed smile to her face.

Lu Zhixi listened quietly as she animatedly recounted those fascinating experiences.

Though he could tell she had encountered some difficulties along the way, it was evident that Jiang Ying had lived quite freely during those days.

So happily, perhaps, that she hadn't thought of him for even a single second.

His fingertips curled slightly, resting on the metallic compartment beside him that held his cigarette pack, before slowly withdrawing.

"I also went to Orlando's Disney World. A few years ago when I ran into your grandfather in Hong Kong, he recommended I take a trip there, saying you loved going when you were little."

Lu Zhixi came back to his senses slightly, recalling that such a conversation had indeed taken place.

He was very young the first time he visited Orlando Disney; old Mr. Williams had booked the entire park, inviting the children of business partners to accompany him.

That place was far too vast for children. Even with numerous nannies accompanying them, the absence of other tourists made it feel exceptionally desolate.

Not just Disney; ever since he could remember, Lu Zhixi had traveled to various countries on invitation with his grandfather or parents. Enjoying too many fine things alone at a very young age was not necessarily a good thing.

The gratification of desires was followed by boredom; for the most part, the world lacked appeal to him.