The two of them looked over and saw Xiao Cheng beckoning to Lin Aiyun: “Come here. I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?” As she spoke, she walked over to the dining table, inadvertently brushing past whatever Zhou Jin had been about to say.
“Sit down. Have some porridge first—we’ll talk slowly.” Xiao Cheng’s voice was slightly hoarse, his dark, gem-like eyes gleaming. He cast a subtle glance at Zhou Jin, who understood immediately, nodded, and quickly left the main hall.
Lin Aiyun obediently sat down to Xiao Cheng’s left. Seeing no clean bowl on the table, she got up again and fetched one from the kitchen. After ladling out some porridge and taking a sip, she turned her eyes toward him with a questioning look.
“Eat first. I’ll ask after I’m done.” Xiao Cheng, irritated by her gaze, pushed the side dishes and the sugar jar toward her.
“Oh.” Lin Aiyun nodded. The porridge was freshly cooked—fine, soft white rice, a luxury that poor families might not even have once a year. Steam rose into the air. She scooped up a spoonful and blew on it gently.
Catching her movement from the corner of his eye, Xiao Cheng frowned. Whatever was in the newspaper, he couldn’t focus on it at all. His mind was full of those pink, pouty lips. He tossed the paper aside and suddenly spoke: “What kind of gifts do women like?”
The spoonful of porridge hadn’t even reached her mouth when his question came. Lin Aiyun froze. Why was he asking that?
Could it be that he already had someone he liked? The thought made her heart race. The spoon clattered into the bowl, splashing hot liquid that made her wince.
Seeing Xiao Cheng’s expression darken, Lin Aiyun quickly wiped the droplets off the back of her hand. “As long as it’s given with sincerity, anything is fine.”
What a useless answer.
Xiao Cheng’s gaze flicked to her hidden hand. He picked up the clean, damp towel meant for after-meal hand-wiping and tossed it beside her bowl, annoyed: “So clumsy. Why get so flustered over a simple question?”
“I’m not—”
“What’s Teacher Lin so nervous about? It’s not like I’m giving anything to you.” Xiao Cheng leaned back, arms crossed, his tone cutting and his smirk infuriating. He watched her face flush redder and redder, her mouth half-open, unable to get a word out—it was quite amusing.
It took her a long moment to find her voice: “I just didn’t expect you to ask me that all of a sudden.”
“What did you expect me to ask? National affairs?”
“That wouldn’t be out of the question either.”
That shut Xiao Cheng up. He gave her a once-over. She might want to talk about that, but he certainly didn’t. Discussing such grand, dry topics at home was just asking for a headache.
“You said ‘given with sincerity’—give me an example. Something specific.” Xiao Cheng called Auntie Wang over, who quickly brought a fresh bowl of porridge. She’d noticed the tense atmosphere earlier and had been hiding in the kitchen, not daring to come near. Thankfully, nothing had happened.
“I don’t really know…” Seeing Xiao Cheng pause mid-sip, Lin Aiyun quickly changed tack: “It depends on what the other person likes. Targeting their preferences is always the right approach.”
Preferences? How was he supposed to know that?
Since they were both young women, their tastes probably weren’t that different. Xiao Cheng fixed his gaze on Lin Aiyun with an unreadable look, then said slowly: “You’re coming out with me later.”
Having dropped that statement—whether she agreed or not—Xiao Cheng said no more. He focused on his breakfast. It didn’t seem to suit his taste—he only took a few bites of everything except the egg pancake, of which he ate two extra pieces.
That was a dish she’d taught Auntie Wang to make.
Knowing how picky Xiao Cheng was, Lin Aiyun filed that away and quietly ate her porridge. He hadn’t told her to leave, which meant he was okay with her eating at the same table.
He finished quickly, with no intention of waiting for her. He got up and went upstairs. By the time he came back down, she had just finished.
“Let’s go.”
Zhou Jin had already pulled the car out front. Xiao Cheng, always accustomed to being waited on, got in without hesitation. Lin Aiyun muttered inwardly about his lack of chivalry, then obediently walked around to the other side to get in.
After all, for now, they were just boss and employee.
“Miss Lin, sit in the front.” Zhou Jin reminded her just as she was about to open the rear door.
“Huh? Oh, right.” The boss sat in the back—it wouldn’t be proper for her to squeeze in next to him. Usually, in situations like this, she’d sit in the front with Zhou Jin.
Just as she started to pull back, an impatient voice came from inside: “Just sit here. Why bother switching? Waste of time.”
Not daring to delay, Lin Aiyun plopped down beside Xiao Cheng, leaving a seat’s worth of space between them—close enough, yet not too close.
Zhou Jin instinctively looked up and met a pair of deep, brooding eyes in the rearview mirror.
“What are you standing there for? Drive.”
“Yes.” Zhou Jin quickly averted his gaze and focused on the road.
Lanxi County didn’t have any large-scale stores—just a few general shops here and there. Given Xiao Cheng’s temperament, he wouldn’t even give them a second glance, so he had Zhou Jin drive straight to the provincial capital. It was a bit of a trek—about an hour or two.
Summer was approaching, and the scenery outside the window was a lush green. A small stream ran alongside the road, its banks covered in large clusters of iris. The leaves were crisp and emerald, the flowers large and striking, like dancing butterflies. Their blue-purple stamens gave off a faint, elegant fragrance that drifted into the car through the open window.
But Xiao Cheng thought it wasn’t as alluring as the scent he could smell.
His gaze shifted upward. The wind blew her hair, and that familiar fragrance grew stronger—the same scent as his own shampoo, mingling in the air around him. It lingered, tugging at his attention.
Damn it, Zhou Jin. Why did he have to pick such a sweet-smelling shampoo?
Zhou Jin, focused on driving, felt a chill run down his spine—what was that about?
With the long drive and no one to talk to, Lin Aiyun leaned against the car window and dozed off—but she didn’t sleep deeply, waking every so often to check where they were.
Shun’an City, the capital of Jiangming Province, was located on a river terrace where two rivers converged, surrounded by high hills. As the saying went, “the city is encircled by mountains.” It had been a strategic military stronghold for centuries, a place of great importance.
But with years of war—first driving out the Japanese, then the civil war—Shun’an, one of the few unliberated regions, hadn’t fared well. Its economy had plummeted, and it wasn’t particularly prominent among Chinese cities.
Still, its military forces were among the strongest in the region. Every day, one could hear the sound of artillery and gunfire from training exercises.
Even entering the city required inspection. But Zhou Jin showed some kind of document, and the search was called off without the car door even being opened.
Outside the city, it was bleak; inside, it was bustling. Lin Aiyun even spotted a couple of Westerners in suits.
“We’re here. Get out.”
“Oh—okay.”
Lin Aiyun followed Xiao Cheng out of the car and into a four-story European-style building. It resembled a department store from later times, selling high-end goods of the era. The décor was lavish and opulent, exuding an air of wealth. Anyone without money probably wouldn’t even have the courage to step inside.
“Help me pick out a gift.” Xiao Cheng stated his purpose.
Hearing this, Lin Aiyun wasn’t surprised. They’d been discussing what to give a woman earlier without reaching a conclusion, and then he’d brought her along. Obviously, he wanted her to help.
But picking out a gift for a romantic rival—wasn’t that just putting a green hat on her own head?
“I don’t know what that lady likes. What if I pick something she doesn’t want?”
Xiao Cheng glanced at his watch, then caught the faint reluctance in Lin Aiyun’s expression. He paused, then said on a whim: “Then it’s ruined.”
The words felt strange even as he said them, so he pressed his lips together and added: “Women all like the same sorts of things. Even if she doesn’t love it, she won’t hate it. Just pick something—leave the rest to me.”
“Oh.”
Oh? What kind of tone was that?
Xiao Cheng narrowed his eyes, studying her face. Seeing nothing, he waved for her to begin.
Lin Aiyun was irritated, but she turned and walked away. Her husband from a past life was making her pick a gift for another woman—what was that? It was a clear, blatant act of “infidelity,” and yet she couldn’t show a single hint of displeasure.
After all, it was her “past life”! In this life, they didn’t even have a relationship yet.
Thinking about it made her feel wronged. Her cheeks puffed slightly, her lips pressed into a thin line. She strode ahead, head down, and charged into the first jewelry store she saw.
If she wasn’t happy, she’d make sure Xiao Cheng bled a little.
“Show me your special designs.”
The salesclerks exchanged glances, then looked Lin Aiyun up and down. Her clothes were shabby, her style plain—aside from her striking face, there was nothing about her that said “wealth.”
They had no idea where this young girl got the audacity to ask for the most expensive pieces in the store.
“I’m sorry, but we only show our special designs to VIP customers. You could try turning right and going downstairs—maybe there’s something more to your taste down there.”
Downstairs was an ordinary jade shop. When she’d passed by, she’d glanced in and seen nothing but scraps—hardly worth anything.
The salesclerk’s polite words implied that she could only afford cheap goods. Instead of wasting time here, she’d be better off looking elsewhere.
She couldn’t afford it, sure—but she wasn’t the one paying. Did it matter whether she had money? No. What mattered was that Xiao Cheng had money.
Lin Aiyun smiled, unconcerned by his earlier words, and pressed on: “Do you have anything else like that? The pricier, the better.”
The salesclerk hadn’t expected her to persist even after such a clear dismissal, let alone ask for even more expensive items. Was she just messing around?
“Nothing else. If you really want to see something, these are the cheapest styles we have.” The salesclerk smiled and pulled out a bracelet, its center set with a small green gem—possibly jade—so tiny you had to hold it up to the light to see the faintest green glow.
“See if you like this,” the salesclerk said, her finger landing on the price tag beneath the bracelet.
Leave a Reply