CH 10

The car of the Lu family was parked in front of the Ye family. Mother’s never-stopping words almost made my ears grow calluses. 

“Do not offend the young master of the Lu family, think twice before doing anything. After all, they are officials. Do not give your father trouble.” 

Her words sounded as if I had scissors hidden in my body and would die with him if necessary.

I dressed up like a lily, had my hair done, and pinned it with a white magnolia flower. The driver of the Lu mansion invited me several times, but I stood stubbornly under the sun at the gate. The maids around me were jittery and were pinching the corners of their clothes in a restless manner. For these maids who were sold to big families, their wish was just to have peace and stability in the present world and not to make any mistakes.

Not long after the appointment time, Qin Shiyue came. He was wearing a gray coat, and he looked elegant. He did not know what I had planned. I just asked him to accompany me to the temple fair and did not tell him that there was also the young master of Colonel Lu accompanying us. 

I smiled a little too smugly before looking away from him. 

“What the hell are you thinking, you little fox?”

“Mr. Qin must be joking. Even if this little fox, Bingqing, is cunning, she would not dare play tricks in front of you, the old fox.”

“If you didn’t dare, your name wouldn’t be Ye Bingqing.” Qin Shiyue’s eyes closed on me. “What do you mean by the seventh day of the seventh month by the willow bridge? You can only use this kind of trick to deceive children.”

“You⎯⎯” I stared, I did not dare draw attention to my bewilderment. I thought to myself, This is bad, he actually saw a flaw, but there is no need to fear him. Look at this situation, he already knew that I deliberately concealed it, but there is no harm to my intention. Otherwise, he would not have left me in the slums but would have dumped my body on the street.

This time, Qin Shiyue was pleased, his thin lips pursed into a line. “You must really like me, I can see. So even if you know who I am, it doesn’t matter.”

This guy was really overconfident. Although I, Ye Bingqing, grew up among foreigners, I also cultivated a strong sense of patriotism, unlike him who appeared decent, but was doing something that corrupted his conscience. I immediately put on a sorrowful expression. 

“Less of this, our Ye family’s money can kill a hundred Qin Shiyue, don’t you dare look down on me with those discriminating eyes. It’s good working for the Nationalist Party. In the future, you can serve as an official or a part-time official to qualify to be my Ye family’s son-in-law.”

“Last time someone kidnapped you, I did not know.”

“I don’t blame you.” 

I laughed and gnashed my teeth like a cat crying at the mouse’s fake compassion. If I was still feeling guilty before making this decision, all that was left for today was the mood of watching a good show.

This city’s temple fair was really lively. I just got out of the car and saw a candy man, jugglers, singers, and heard mobile flower sellers shouting, “Jasmine, gardenia, magnolia—”

The maid of the Lu family greeted me and said, “Young Master Lu has been waiting upstairs at the Nine Fragrance House for a long time—”

I took Qin Shiyue’s arm affectionately and made my way to the Nine Fragrance Building. Lu Xingjiu was sitting at a carved mahogany round table, dressed in a horseback riding outfit. Beside him was a woman who was wearing heavy makeup with cheap beaded flowers adorned in her hair. 

“Brother Xingjiu, is Uncle Lu not here?” 

I squinted at Qin Shiyue, who looked stunned, his eyebrows knotted with worry which I couldn’t read.

Lu Xingjiu’s expression was also strange as hell. At first, he was impatient with sipping his wine, but now, had an expression of him watching a good show. 

He said, “Mr. Qin, we met again.”

“The sky is the limit.” 

Qin Shiyue was not very formal as he nonchalantly sat down to pick up his glass of wine and drank from it

I was not even surprised. Like I suspected, they really did know each other and got along strangely enough. If they are friends, I must expose them and make them tear off their pretenses. If they are not friends, that’s good, it solves the problem without much fuss. 

I was only thinking of playing my own little game, and Lu Xingjiu smiled calmly. “My sister Bingqing just came from abroad, I did not expect her to have a friend like Mr. Qin so soon.”

“Brother Xingjiu, you and Qin Shiyue should not be so out of touch. He likes me a lot, maybe my father will marry me to him.” 

I secretly snickered while the woman with thick makeup actually guffawed. “Miss Ye is really a naive and beautiful person. I only heard from the Colonel that Young Master Lu and Miss Ye are a perfect match, so what kind of good thing is this Mr. Qin thinking?”

Lu Xingjiu glared at the woman, but the woman continued as if she did not see, “I am not afraid of this Mr. Qin jokes. My nine fragrance building was built with money from the school on the road. Almost all the ladies of Shanghai who want to marry into the Lu Mansion have come here. Even the most beautiful and famous lady in Shanghai, Tang Yu Xiangxiang, has come to match with Young Master Lu. But Young Master Lu was not interested as he had fallen in love with Miss Ye. So, what are you, a poor teacher, doing here?”

“Miss Jin, you talk too much⎯⎯” Lu Xingjiu reprimanded softly, but his face showed a smile of satisfaction. The Jin girl really must be the young master Lu’s beloved. She cast a wink before gracefully opening the bead curtain and went out. My face was on fire, as if those taunting words to Qin Shiyue fell on my heart, hot and painful.

“Mr. Qin, Miss Jin is straightforward, I’ll apologize for her.” Lu Xingjiu elegantly clasped his fist.

“I, Qin Shiyue, am indeed a poor teacher, so Miss Jin was not wrong.” 

Qin Shiyue returned the salute without being condescending. But the two men seemed like they were secretly competing with each other. Originally, I only wanted Lu Xingjiu and Qin Shiyue to be in conflict because of me, but it seemed that they were already in conflict without my help. I was on pins and needles as if I saw myself being swept up into a huge vortex.

When I got home in the evening, I was still worried about Qin Shiyue, who had left the temple fair in a hurry, as if he had fled on purpose. I sat in front of the copper mirror to look at my own face, slightly pale face, petal-like small lips, a black waterfall cascading at the shoulders. Just that the eyebrows were slightly clustered, indescribable guilt written over it, causing distraction.