Chapter 13

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She had school the next day, yet Xu Xieyi lay in bed unable to fall asleep.

The bed was unfamiliar, the room unfamiliar, and even the air carried the strange fragrance of fresh wood. The furniture was all finely crafted, weighty Chinese rosewood.

The Lin household seemed to have retreated into another era.

Beneath the covers, Xu Xieyi thought of her parents and shed tears before finally drifting into a dazed sleep.

She had set her alarm early and rose while dawn was only beginning to break.

Still half-asleep, she followed the directions Du Juan had given her the night before and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Brother Lin had said he would drive her to school. She could not laze about and make him wait; that would be terribly rude.

But as soon as she reached the bathroom door, Xu Xieyi froze.

The door stood open, the light was on, and a tall man stood inside.

He wore simple black casual trousers and a gray hooded sweatshirt. His handsome face was half-covered in white shaving cream.

Xu Xieyi immediately fell silent, as timid as a frightened cicada.

She watched as the razor moved from the edge of his ear down along his jaw and throat.

His chin was tilted upward, his nose sharply defined, his lips and teeth slightly parted…

The stainless-steel faucet was turned on, and a clear stream of water splashed into the basin.

Lin Sheng bent over and rinsed his face several times. Only after straightening did he notice, in the mirror, Xu Xieyi standing dazedly at the door and watching him.

He looked surprised for a moment, then remembered himself. “Up so early?”

Xu Xieyi said nervously, “Good morning, Brother Lin…”

Seeing her obedient yet stiff greeting, Lin Sheng smiled inwardly and glanced at her again.

The girl was wearing loose raccoon pajamas. Her soft, tousled hair fell over her shoulders, marked by the curved impressions left by a hair tie.

It was an especially girlish appearance.

A faint smile touched Lin Sheng’s eyes, his lashes lowering to cast a row of shadows.

“Here to wash up?” he asked casually.

“Yes.” Xu Xieyi twisted the cuff of her sleeve. “But I’m not in a hurry. Take your time, Brother Lin. I’ll come back in a little while.”

“Wait.”

Lin Sheng called her back. Xu Xieyi turned and saw him take a neatly folded, snow-white towel from the rack.

“I’m nearly finished. You can come in.”

“Mm.”

Xu Xieyi obediently stepped inside.

The mirror immediately reflected the two of them.

Lin Sheng was nearly six feet two in his shoes. Looking at herself in the mirror, Xu Xieyi realized that she only came up to his shoulder.

Standing beside him made her feel terribly pressured…

“We’ve got plenty of time. Take your time washing up. We’ll take the expressway later; it’ll be twenty minutes to school.”

“All right. Thank you, Brother Lin. I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Lin Sheng smiled. Since she regarded him as an elder, he naturally ought to behave like one. He reached out and rubbed the girl’s hair.

“Good girl. Take your time.”

Then he used the towel to dry the beads of water from his face and walked out.

Watching his back, Xu Xieyi slowly let out a breath.

As she brushed her teeth before the mirror, her mind returned to what had just happened.

She had never shared a roof with another boy, so this was the first time she had seen a man engaged in something so… mildly private. Naturally, she did not know enough about the sensuality or charm of a mature man to appreciate it.

All she thought was…

Lin Sheng looked so mature while shaving. And his profile was rather handsome, too.

In her memories, Lin Sheng was always dressed in a shirt and trousers. This was the first time she had seen him in such casual clothes, dressed much like the boys in her class.

The sweatshirt and track pants made him look like a grown boy, far less stern than he did in a shirt and suit.

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On the shelf above the washbasin sat several men’s facial cleansers and skincare products, all labeled in English. Their black-and-gray packaging made them look rather expensive.

Xu Xieyi picked up a bottle of cleanser and read the instructions.

“To use, apply a small amount…”

She murmured the words, finding them somewhat difficult to recognize, then carefully returned the bottle to its place.

So this was the source of the faint milky fragrance that occasionally clung to Brother Lin.

Middle-school students did not have many rituals when it came to washing up. Xu Xieyi brushed her teeth, rinsed her face with water, returned to her room to apply a little baby lotion, changed into her school uniform, and was finished.

When she went downstairs, the sky was still not completely bright.

In the dining room on the first floor, Du Juan had risen earlier than usual. When she saw Xu Xieyi come down, she hurried to greet her warmly.

“Up so early? What a diligent, good girl. Come, come, sit down first. Breakfast will be ready in a moment.”

Of course, Du Juan did not cook herself. The Lin household had a dedicated cook, Auntie Zhang.

“Thank you, Godmother. I’m sorry to trouble you.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal. From now on, think of this as your own home, all right?”

Xu Xieyi smiled and did as she was told, taking a seat. She slipped her schoolbag into the gap behind the chair.

Although she was well-developed, her frame was actually quite small, leaving plenty of room between her and the back of the chair.

“Did you sleep comfortably in the bed last night?” Du Juan asked warmly as she sat beside her.

The pampered woman had risen early, but clearly had little to do at such an hour.

“Yes.”

“Hehe. Good, good.”

By then, Auntie Zhang had heated the soy milk and brought it to the table. Du Juan pushed it in front of Xu Xieyi.

“Here, have some while it’s hot. If it isn’t sweet enough, add more sugar. Asheng eats lightly seasoned food, so it may taste a little bland.”

Xu Xieyi lowered her head and took a sip. It had been freshly ground and was wonderfully fragrant. She raised her face with a smile.

“It isn’t bland. It’s delicious, Godmother.”

Du Juan had no children. Seeing how well-behaved the girl was, she felt a genuine fondness for her, along with a touch of wistfulness and emotion. She smoothed Xu Xieyi’s soft ponytail.

“Drink more. Soy milk is good for you.”

Xu Xieyi glanced toward the living room. No one was there.

“Where’s Brother Lin? Isn’t he eating?”

“Asheng? He went out for a run.”

Du Juan spoke enthusiastically with Auntie Zhang as they arranged the bowls and chopsticks, not even looking up.

Xu Xieyi hurried to stand and help. The two of them chatted as they set the table.

“Your Brother Lin enjoys exercising. He runs every morning. Being a surgeon requires a great deal of physical stamina, so he works out every day.”

Du Juan looked up with a smile.

“Do you like exercising, Xieyi?”

“Um… it’s all right.” Xu Xieyi stammered slightly.

Heaven knew how much she hated running.

Every physical-education class felt like climbing a mountain of knives.

Her chest bounced uncontrollably, and the boys in her class were always looking at her. It was a complete nightmare…

“Even though you’re in your final year of high school, you can’t spend all day studying. Health is the foundation of everything.”

Du Juan thought for a moment, then said, “How about going with your brother tomorrow morning? With him beside you, you’ll be perfectly safe.”

Xu Xieyi finished breakfast quietly. She had absolutely no desire to run, but she could not bring herself to say outright that she disliked it.

Lin Sheng came through the door fifteen minutes later.

Xu Xieyi had already finished getting ready and was waiting on the sofa. The moment she saw him enter, she hurriedly greeted him.

“Brother Lin.”

Lin Sheng glanced at her. He was a little tired from running, so his mood was somewhat distracted, and his smile was faintly perfunctory.

“Mm. All ready?”

He was wearing the same hooded sweatshirt and casual trousers as before, along with black running shoes. His short hair was slightly disheveled from exercise, and a fine sheen of sweat warmed the skin along his hairline.

His whole person looked vivid, clean, and upright.

“Wait for me a few minutes. We’ll leave once I’ve changed.”

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Xu Xieyi nodded.

She could tell that Lin Sheng did not particularly feel like talking.

The gentle Brother Lin, she realized, was not so easy to approach once one got to know him more deeply.

She always felt there was an indefinable indifference in his bones.

Lin Sheng was a neat freak. He took a shower before changing and coming downstairs again.

He wore dark blue trousers and a white shirt. His hair was immaculate, and his bearing was elegant and composed. It was a very different air from that of the grown boy she had seen earlier.

Lin Sheng draped his suit jacket over his arm and said to the girl with her schoolbag on her back, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to school first.”

“Aren’t you going to eat something, Brother Lin?” Xu Xieyi hurriedly reminded him.

Only then did Lin Sheng glance at the table. He seemed dissatisfied with the few small dishes and pastries there and frowned slightly. When he noticed Xu Xieyi watching him, he casually lifted the bowl of soy milk and drank half of it, as though completing an assignment.

“There. Let’s go.”

Xu Xieyi said nothing.

In the end, he had consumed nothing but a little soy milk.

Du Juan saw them out, and the black Porsche drove along the morning road.

Lin Sheng was an experienced driver and drove with great steadiness.

It was still early, and there were few cars on the road.

Xu Xieyi sat in the passenger seat and occasionally glanced at him. Everything about him felt new and unfamiliar to her, from his neat, understated clothes to the quiet composure between his brows.

She remembered unexpectedly encountering him that morning with his face covered in shaving cream, and found herself looking a little more closely at his chin. The skin along his jaw was smooth, though on closer inspection there was indeed a faint bluish shadow of stubble.

When she breathed in carefully, she could still detect that creamy fragrance from his facial cleanser lingering in the car.

Xu Xieyi had not been close to many members of the opposite sex, especially men of Lin Sheng’s age.

That was why everything about him seemed separated from her by a certain distance, yet made her unable to resist taking another curious look.

Lin Sheng was perceptive. He sensed her scrutiny throughout the drive and finally could not help smiling.

“Is there something on my face?”

Xu Xieyi quickly shifted her gaze away and tightened her arms around her schoolbag.

“No.”

Lin Sheng watched the taillights of the cars ahead, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

“Is that so?”

Xu Xieyi nodded.

From childhood onward, Lin Sheng had never been the sort of boy who went unnoticed. He was very familiar with that particular look in a girl’s eyes.

It was the look of interest.

Lin Sheng paid it no mind. With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached into the storage compartment and felt for his cigarette case.

“Do you mind if your brother has a cigarette?”

Xu Xieyi shook her head.

“I don’t mind.”

Lin Sheng was quite pleased by how obedient she was. No matter what he said, she seemed to accept it with sincere eyes and calmly tell him, “All right.”

“But, Brother Lin…” Xu Xieyi bit her lip. Her gaze moved from the fingers touching the cigarettes to his face. “I think you’d better not smoke.”

She pressed her lips together in a small smile.

“You didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Smoking on an empty stomach is bad for you.”

Lin Sheng was slightly surprised and turned his head to look at her.

Morning light spilled through the car window. The girl wore a clean, plain school uniform with a white shirt. Her ponytail was tied low, gathered gently at the nape of her neck, its strands dyed a soft brown by the dawn.

Her smiling eyes curved like crescents. Perhaps afraid of angering him, she spoke in a coaxing, ingratiating tone.

“Brother Lin, you don’t eat cilantro, beef, noodles, or steamed buns. You won’t even eat eggs.”

“With such a picky appetite… what are you going to do about your health?”

Over the past two days, Xindu had been hosting a major forum on plastic surgery. Doctors and experts from twenty countries had gathered for academic discussions in the thousand-seat conference hall of the InterContinental Hotel. The event had been heavily publicized, receiving blanket coverage from Xindu’s television stations, websites, newspapers, magazines, and other mainstream media.

Lin Sheng spoke at the main conference, giving a brief presentation with a few slides before taking his seat among the guests.

Academic conferences like this were rather dull, filled with gimmicks designed to manufacture prestige. Lin Sheng listened with growing boredom, then went out into the corridor to get some air.

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