Leh Ying's muscles tensed along her spine.
Seeing her startled reaction, Liu Huaiying continued, "Do you know who his father is, and do you know who his paternal grandfather is? Do you even watch the news?"
She did.
If it weren't for knowing Liu Huaiying, let alone knowing who Xu Jingxi was, she wouldn't have had the chance to even meet him once in her life.
Liu Huaiying added, "Don't be so ambitious. If it weren't for our fathers knowing each other, even seeing him once would be difficult for me."
"He had been coldly handling the tender documents tonight, and considering the acquaintance between the Xu and Liu families, he finally signed off and delegated it to the Liu family to take over."
Listening to Liu Huaiying, Leh Ying remained silent.
The other party leaned in and whispered in her ear, "If you don't agree, then don't. Let's keep dragging this out, dad is rich, and I quite enjoy the taste of chasing after you."
She couldn't understand what that taste was. Was the son of a powerful and influential family so bored with life that he considered her a form of entertainment?
Ding—
The call from his current girlfriend came through, prompting Liu Huaiying to sigh. Leh Ying finally had the chance to escape his proximity.
"I just want to paint well and deliver the work; I don't want to take your 300,000 for nothing."
She said this as she turned around. Fortunately, Liu Huaiying didn't chase after her; he was busy dealing with the storm from his girlfriend on the phone, allowing her to leave.
What did he say? Keep dragging it out?
She couldn't afford to drag it out, and she definitely couldn't afford to offend this kind of wealthy and powerful scion. It was rumoured that Liu Huaiying's last girlfriend ended up taking sleeping pills because of him; nobody knew the specific story.
Stepping out of the door, Leh Ying let out a sigh of relief in the dark, forgetting all about the worries she had, unaware of the sedan parked on the side of the road.
The streetlights cast shadows.
That's how she came to see Xu Jingxi leaning back in his seat on the phone, inadvertently overhearing the conversation.
"I haven't been drinking, just smoking."
There was a pause for four or five seconds, the voice from the other end inaudible.
"I'll arrive later, you go to sleep first."
His voice was a bit deeper and huskier, and he seemed so solitary in the act of smoking, lonelier than the snow of Forty-Nine City.
In just a glance, her curiosity was piqued, wanting to get closer, to watch him, to see those peach-blossom eyes that held a charm that seemed eternally stirring and deep.
After hanging up the phone, the half-smoked cigarette was pinched out, and he then restarted the engine.
She thought, this apparently law-abiding scion, stopping his car just to take a call—or perhaps, the person on the other end was someone important to him, someone worth stopping for.
With this thought, she forgot to walk and looked up, accidentally locking eyes with the man.
His rare, moist eyes held a clear light, and yet, Leh Ying sensed a different message, as if he were questioning her.
—Is eavesdropping polite?
Leh Ying licked her lips, "I didn't spy, and I didn't eavesdrop; it just happens to be a coincidence whenever I pass by."
His eyebrows and eyes very indifferent: "Liu Huaiying is really willing to let you walk."
Leh Ying gave him a smile, "I'm not Liu Huaiying's girlfriend."
She looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her.
Only to be interrupted by Xu Jingxi's languid tone, "I'm not interested in your affairs."
The snow fell heavily, and the cold caused Leh Ying to sneeze.
"Mr. Xu." Her voice was very light and soft. Xu Jingxi finally raised his eyelids, and Leh Ying continued in a low, stumbling voice, "I'm really sorry about tonight, for messing up your pants."
"What are you nervous about?" He propped his hand against his face. "Did I scold you?"
He hadn't, but Xu Jingxi's demeanor was too indifferent and detached, rarely showing his emotions, yet that often made one fearful that he might turn his face and show his ruthlessness at any second.
"You are quite nice though..." she said coyly.
Shivering from the cold, Leh Ying rubbed her nose and sniffled, "It's my first time here; which way is it to the subway?"
Xu Jingxi dragged out his reply, sounding seriously inquisitive, "Where are you heading? Let's hear it."
This scion of Forty-Nine City always carried a Beijing accent, rich and mellow to the ear, pricking at one's heart, tender yet not quite tender.
Leh Ying felt as if her whole body had turned soft and comfortable, "Huajiadi."
"So you really don't want to go with Liu Huaiying," he asked.
Leh Ying didn't pretend otherwise, "Can I even decide that? If I say no, won't he pursue a breach of contract fee against me? He's dead set on playing this game with me."
The conversation ended.
In the rearview mirror, Liu Huaiying's McLaren was just driving past.
Xu Jingxi glanced over at her casually.
That night, she stood silently in the snowfall, her white coat layered over a turtleneck sweater. While not stunningly glamorous, her appeal lay in her good figure and remarkable face, with rosy lips that stood out vividly against the snow.
As Liu Huaiying said, he pursued her because he found her excessively beautiful.
Of course, she knew that beauty alone wasn't enough to shake Xu Jingxi; she was betting on whether he would remember who she was after meeting her three times.
Before Xu Jingxi could respond,
Liu Huaiying came up behind her, kindly holding an umbrella, "With such heavy snow, I'll take you home." Then, he humbly and respectfully asked, "Brother Jingxi, did the little girl bother you? Sorry, sorry."
With a disdainful 'huh,' Xu Jingxi laughed, his knuckles gripping the steering wheel as he revved the engine and drove off.
The luxurious black Mercedes gradually shrank down the neon-lit street.
How could a scion of power born into high society give a ride home to a strange girl, let alone the female companion of a friend from a prominent family?
I'd underestimated the bottom line of Xu Jingxi's diversions in this materialistic world.
As the snow fell heavier, it was truly hard to find a ride in this area. Leh Ying turned her head and got into Liu Huaiying's car, buckling her seat belt.
"Huajiadi, thank you."
With a cigarette in his mouth, Liu Huaiying pressed the gas pedal, "You're gutsy, going to ask him for directions."
No matter how comfortable a multimillion-dollar sports car might be, Leh Ying's bottom hurt from sitting, and she didn't want to chat more.
Liu Huaiying really didn't like her attitude, "I'll take you to the outskirts to the Colosseum tomorrow."
"I'm busy," Leh Ying made an excuse, adding, "Art training for the next few days."
Liu Huaiying drove leisurely, "Look at you, we're in a law-abiding society now. How would it be if you went with me, could I eat you up?"
As he spoke, his hand left the steering wheel, pretending to move close to the edge of her thigh, just fucking toying with her to see if she'd let him touch, but she didn't move, and Liu Huaiying retracted his hand with a laugh.
"Draw me a leopard for my bedhead," he said.
Leh Ying propped her hand against the car window, laughing, "Leopards are the most affectionate, you?"
A man flanked by women on either side.
"Can affection feed you?" Liu Huaiying turned his head to look at her, "I heard you're thinking of holding an exhibition and want to do a master's degree?"
At the age of 21, her specialty was just ordinary oil painting. Holding an exhibition was her dream born of a love of art. She glanced at the streetlights receding outside the window.
"Don't bother with me, we're not close."
Liu Huaiying probably laughed at her idea, "Running an exhibition takes more than just money, Leh Ying. Who do you know in Forty-Nine City?"
Not intending to continue the conversation, Leh Ying changed the subject, "I'll take your 300,000, once I finish the painting."
Thinking about it, 300,000 wasn't a lot for others, might just be the cost of a piece of clothing, but for her, soon to be a common graduate with an uncertain future, it was a sizable income.
Liu Huaiying chuckled, "Hard to chase."
...
He dropped her off at the intersection, but Liu Huaiying didn't hurry away.
"Don't stand me up tomorrow, you brat. I'll send the driver to pick you up," he suddenly yelled after her retreating figure.
Leh Ying didn't look back, walking into an apartment building at the corner. The motion sensor light came on, she went up to the third floor and opened the door.
The young woman she was sharing an apartment with had gotten back earlier, wearing pajamas and playing video games on the couch.
Li Ting, also a student from Huajiadi Art School, loved to play around. The dormitory closed too early for her, and she ended up wandering outside, unable to get back in. Biting the bullet, she rented a place near Huajiadi and saw that Leh Ying often worked part-time, so she pulled her into sharing the rent.
Seeing her come back, Li Ting lifted the facial mask from her face, "Did the McLaren guy give you a ride home?"
The floor heating was sufficient, Leh Ying took off her coat and hung it up, "Yeah."
"You're really living wild," Li Ting gossiped with enthusiasm, "Are you really going to stay at his villa and leave me behind?"
Leh Ying found a hairpin to secure her long hair, "He set his sights on me for fun."
Li Ting examined her from head to toe, giving a straightforward comment, "The way you carry yourself, you have the allure to disturb empires, a magnet for the wealthy heirs, wow, if I had money, I'd want to keep you hidden away in a chamber lined with gold."
Not going there.
Leh Ying took her pajamas into the bathroom to freshen up, ending the conversation.
But later, as though jinxed, she really did trouble the most powerful man in Forty-Nine City.
...
The next day, as Leh Ying left the studio, Liu Huaiying called, telling her to get ready, as the car was waiting at the intersection.
After getting in the car, she initially felt bored, hugging her tool bag and dozing off the entire way.
What she didn't expect was,
That this trip to the Colosseum would lead her to cross paths with Xu Jingxi.
According to Liu Huaiying,
"The Colosseum is closing down, the department promotes animal protection, feudal institutions shouldn't exist."
"Draw anything you like, the sun or the moon will do."
Leh Ying turned her head to look at the carefree young master instructing her, "Are you playing with me?"
"If you went with me, you wouldn't need to sell your paintings to get by," Liu Huaiying said as he stepped down and headed forward, "Don't just stand there, follow me."