Chapter 61: The Ex-Boyfriend

The gift Jiang Ying prepared for Lu Zhixi was an advent calendar box containing thirty small drawers marked with dates. Inside each drawer was a small gift she had managed to pick out from markets and malls in her spare time after accepting his dating invitation. Some were luxury items, others were handmade crafts, and some were calming herbs she had found effective over the past few years.

The charm of the calendar box lay in the daily anticipation it brought. She hoped it would add a touch of delight to Lu Zhixi’s monotonous work routine.

That evening, Lu Zhixi sent her a photo showing that he had placed the calendar box in his bedroom and had already opened the very first box.

"Thank you, I love it."

Over the next few days, Lu Zhixi was busy with work and didn't contact her often, only sending a photo each day when he opened the calendar box's gift. Then, three days before the arrival of the new year, he asked her if she had any plans for New Year's Eve.

"Meng Shao is coming to the US for a meeting, and he and Anning are coming over to my place for dinner on New Year's Day."

After sending this message, Jiang Ying asked, "Do you have any plans that day? Why not come over and join us?"

"It's fine. Meng Shao doesn't like me, so I won't intrude on you guys."

Lu Zhixi had previously been entirely at odds with Meng Shao, but this time, upon hearing her mention Meng Shao, he was remarkably tactful and didn't even ask a single extra question.

Indeed, Meng Shao still very much disliked Lu Zhixi.

His trip to the US this time was for the company's preparations for a US stock market listing. He had originally planned to arrive in Boston a few days early to look around, but because a capital firm suddenly expressed interest in becoming an anchor investor for the company, he had to coordinate with the investors' schedule and meet them in New York on the evening before New Year's Eve.

Having dealt with too many impeccably dressed, cunning, and slick big-time capitalists, and then arriving in Boston only to learn that Jiang Ying had been coaxed away by her ex-boyfriend—who was also a malicious capitalist—Meng Shao was burning with anger.

"My impression of him is still stuck on that time he tricked you into his car. Even now, I still want to punch him."

In Meng Shao's memory, although Lu Zhixi was handsome enough to sweep Jiang Ying off her feet, as a fellow man, the look he had seen in Lu Zhixi's eyes when he gazed at Jiang Ying back then made it clear what kind of dirty thoughts were running through his mind.

He really couldn't dwell on it; the moment he thought about it, his fists started itching again.

"If you want to date someone, why does it have to be him? There are plenty of guys in Boston; mixed-race ones are easy to find too."

Meng Shao had already opened his phone and started flipping through the models in his WeChat Moments.

"I think most men are pretty boring," Jiang Ying said honestly.

Hearing this, Meng Shao laughed outright. "Why are they boring?"

Jiang Ying hadn't deliberately tried to interact with men over the past few years. She didn't know whether her luck was just terrible or if most men were simply like that, but her few experiences with being hit on had been rather unpleasant.

When young, handsome guys hit on her and found out she was a Harvard PhD student, they would either overtly or covertly try to prove they were superior and wealthier than her, or they would immediately feel insecure and back down.

There had also been slightly older, more mature men who wanted to approach her, but they were either married or playboys. As for the normal peers around her, many were already married or preparing to get married, and the rest left Jiang Ying feeling like they lacked any common ground for a real conversation.

Not wanting to dwell on it, she told Meng Shao, "We're just going on normal dates, don't worry."

Seeing that Jiang Ying had her own mind made up, Meng Shao finally dropped the subject.

Zhou Anning arrived shortly after. The moment she saw Meng Shao dressed in a handmade shirt and suit trousers, she immediately exclaimed how handsome he was.

"Touching these abs now requires payment—one US dollar per time. Since it's New Year's Day today, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."

Meng Shao bantered and joked with her.

Zhou Anning immediately clutched her pockets tightly. "You capitalists can forget about getting a single cent from a working stiff's wallet!"

"Hey, that's unfair. I beg alms from capitalists every day; I'm not cut from the same cloth as them."

The hot pot was set on the table, sending up billowing steam. Plate after plate of ingredients went into the pot, and the fresh, fragrant, and spicy aroma filled the entire room.

The three of them chatted and bantered animatedly, their topics revolving around the recent updates of mutual acquaintances and frustrating work matters.

After graduating with a degree in criminology, Zhou Anning worked at a consulting firm, where the salary was quite high but the workload was immense. Meanwhile, Meng Shao was busy running his business, worrying about operations and the listing. Both lamented that their souls had been traumatized and needed healing, quickly steering the conversation toward the psychological counseling product Jiang Ying and her friends were building.

"It's mainly divided into two segments: B-to-B and B-to-C. We've fed a large amount of case-tracking research on psychological therapy into the product, and then trained models to perform patient profiling, providing preliminary treatment guidance for patients while also serving as a reference to assist doctors."

Jiang Ying briefly introduced the product's status and then smiled, saying, "As for the two of you, as long as you eat well and sleep well, there's nothing wrong. Hanging out together usually to vent our grievances is more effective than any treatment."

As an outsider, Meng Shao asked, "I'm actually quite curious. From your perspective, can psychological trauma be completely cured?"

"This is different from a physical injury; it's hard to use the word 'cure'."

Jiang Ying spoke after thinking earnestly for a moment.

"It's difficult for us to define 'normal' and 'healthy' on a psychological level. Therefore, rather than saying treatment pursues a cure, it's more accurate to say it pursues helping those whose functioning is disordered to return to a self-regulatory state.

"However, among people with similar traumas, some manage to improve their lives while others do not. The reason for this difference might simply come down to a single thought in a person's mind."

With that, Jiang Ying opened a bottle of berry-flavored beer and poured it into her cup. Ruby-red and clear, the liquid filled the glass, countless bubbles lively and dancing.

This beer had been recommended to her by Lu Zhixi, its sweet-and-sour, refreshing flavor carrying just the right touch of mellow richness.

Just then, her phone suddenly chimed with a new text message notification.

It was a New Year's greeting sent by Lu Zhixi.

They hadn't added each other on WeChat yet and had always communicated via text messages, to the extent that the old messages Lu Zhixi had sent five years ago still lingered in her phone.

Those chaotic and stubborn pleas from five years ago formed a sharp contrast with Lu Zhixi's concise words now.

Jiang Ying suddenly fell into deep thought.

Through these few recent encounters with Lu Zhixi, she could feel his precisely measured care and affection; he seemed to have undergone a wonderful transformation.

Except for those very rare moments—when she inadvertently caught Lu Zhixi smoking.

Just like on Christmas night, when Lu Zhixi left her home, got back into his car, and lit a cigarette. When Jiang Ying asked him if he had a good time, Lu Zhixi smiled and said he felt "more than happy."

Yet Jiang Ying could not quite understand what the look in his eyes at that moment truly meant.

*

Learning that Jiang Ying would return to campus early after the New Year to resume her research work, Lu Zhixi suggested that when her schedule permitted, they go skiing at a ski resort located midway between Boston and New York.

Boston had long winters and many nearby ski resorts. Jiang Ying had long wanted to try skiing, but had never gone due to various reasons. When Lu Zhixi invited her, she readily agreed.

The ski resort chosen by Lu Zhixi was built as a resort village, featuring not only luxury hotels but also fine dining and winter amusement parks.

Upon arriving by car, one could see from afar a scattering of dark brown buildings surrounded by a vast expanse of forest behind them, leading down to the pristine white ski slopes.

Jiang Ying was a complete novice. When she planned to go shopping for gear beforehand, she even asked Lu Zhixi if he had any recommended brands, but he told her she didn't need to prepare anything. It wasn't until she arrived that she discovered Lu Zhixi had already bought everything for her, even preparing several pairs of thick socks.

After checking in at noon and having lunch, the two of them headed to the ski slopes together.

Lu Zhixi favored snowboarding, but because skiing was easier for beginners, he accommodated Jiang Ying this time and used skis as well so he could teach her the basic techniques.

He was a good teacher, always providing plenty of emotional value during lessons. Praised by him, Jiang Ying managed to slowly make her way down the beginner slope and the elementary green run very quickly.

"Can I try the blue run?" she asked.

Snow trails marked with blue squares were intermediate trails, suitable for skiers with a bit of foundation—something Jiang Ying had specifically looked up beforehand.

Lu Zhixi said, "It should be fine."

Hiding her trust in Lu Zhixi's athletic expertise, Jiang Ying followed him to the slope marked with blue squares.

She soon regretted it.

Although she understood the theoretical knowledge of basic skiing techniques, she wasn't yet proficient in applying them in practice because she wasn't familiar enough with the trail. Most importantly, this trail was much steeper than she had imagined. Through her ski goggles, Jiang Ying couldn't quite tell where the steep drops were versus the flat ground, which made her somewhat hesitant.

However, by the time feelings of fear set in, she had already been skiing tremulously down the slope for a while.

"I-I-I-I—" she stammered, a rare occurrence for her, "I'm a little scared."

It had been a very long time since Lu Zhixi first learned to ski. He remembered only trying a green run once before switching to a blue one, quickly advancing to carving down the slopes, so he naturally assumed Jiang Ying would find this more thrilling and fun, not expecting her to lose her nerve after just two minutes.

Fortunately, he had been slowing his pace and following close behind Jiang Ying, so he said, "Yingying, stop."

With the slope being so steep and her speed picking up, Jiang Ying was even afraid to stop. When she lowered her center of gravity and fell to the snow in the way Lu Zhixi had taught her from memory, she felt like crying.

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to be scared," Lu Zhixi quickly pulled up beside her and apologized.

Once helped up by him, Jiang Ying felt her legs turn somewhat weak. Wearing gloves, she tightly gripped Lu Zhixi's hand, half-laughing and half-crying, "How are we supposed to get down from here?"

Lu Zhixi's voice was calm and reassuring. "It's fine, I've got you."

Being tall with long arms, he simply grabbed Jiang Ying's arms to guide her slide downward, occasionally calling out reminders to watch out for the steep sections.

Jiang Ying was hauled along by him like a little chick wearing a pink-and-white ski suit.

Once one has something to lean on, feelings of intimidation can be magnified infinitely.

As they slid past a steep incline, Jiang Ying failed to adjust the position of her skis in time and unexpectedly plunged sideways. Quick-witted, Lu Zhixi shielded her and fell down as well, ending up firmly pinned beneath her.

Though Jiang Ying wasn't heavy, the sudden tumble drove her helmeted head straight into his chest, still eliciting a muffled grunt from Lu Zhixi.