Volume 1 Chapter 8: Lu Yanshu
It was snowing in Wangjing.
Jiang Zhiwan, who had been sick for three days, drank her medicine and turned her gaze toward the window.
Feathery white snow was falling in a flurry, while the wintersweet tree in the courtyard continued to bloom quietly in full splendor.
The brown branches were thick and sturdy, and the yellowish, almost translucent petals at their tips stretched out wantonly in the cold wind.
Although the window was wide open, Jiang Zhiwan, dressed in thin clothes indoors, didn’t feel cold at all.
When she had first woken up in this unfamiliar environment, Jiang Zhiwan, trying her best to maintain her composure, had undoubtedly been at a loss and flustered.
She had found the butler and asked to leave, offering to reimburse him for her treatment and lodging expenses, but was refused without hesitation.
The butler’s eyes held a smile, a flicker passing through his gaze. As meticulous as he was, he had already come up with a reason.
“Miss Jiang, please rest easy. Everyone who works in the Lu household receives this same treatment.”
Not a chance.
The Lu family did treat their staff well, but not to this extent.
For these three days, everything Jiang Zhiwan ate, used, and drank had been personally supervised by the butler, who had them use only the best, as if afraid of slighting this precious treasure.
Remembering that she had an exam that afternoon, Jiang Zhiwan absentmindedly finished the lunch that was brought to her, then went to find the butler to say she wanted to leave.
Who would have thought—the moment the butler heard that Jiang Zhiwan had a final exam at two o’clock that afternoon, he immediately began bustling about anxiously, arranging for the household driver to personally take Jiang Zhiwan to school.
By the time Jiang Zhiwan was holding the exam supplies that had been pressed into her hands and sitting dazedly in the car, she herself didn’t know how things had turned out this way.
When they arrived at the school, the driver got out, walked around the car, personally opened the door for her, and spoke respectfully before she could: “Miss Jiang, I’ll wait for you right here. I wish you success on your exam.”
Jiang Zhiwan, who had originally planned to go straight back to her dormitory after the exam, widened her eyes in disbelief at these words.
Once she snapped back to reality, she quickly refused repeatedly: “No need, no need. I’ll just head straight back to my dormitory when I’m done.”
The driver shook his head. “Butler Xu instructed that I must deliver you to school safely and also bring you back safely.”
The exam time was approaching, and Jiang Zhiwan couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer.
Forget it, she’d deal with it after the exam.
Most people who could get into Jing University on their own merits were no ordinary folk, and the final exams were hardly difficult for them.
When the time came for early submission, Jiang Zhiwan checked her paper once more and, finding no issues, submitted it ahead of time.
Quite a few people had submitted early, and Jiang Zhiwan followed the flow of the crowd out of the teaching building.
On the way, Jiang Zhiwan had already thought of a reason to refuse.
But who would have guessed—when Jiang Zhiwan arrived at the spot she remembered, the driver who had come to pick her up was someone else entirely.
“Miss Jiang, we meet again.” The middle-aged driver smiled.
Staring at this face that carried a hint of familiarity, Jiang Zhiwan was stunned for a long moment. That night at the Bai family banquet, when she had been at her most isolated and helpless, it was he who had helped her.
So she and Lu Yanshu had met long before.
A warmth surged in Jiang Zhiwan’s heart, and her round eyes sparkled. “Thank you so much for that night.”
The middle-aged driver naturally didn’t dare take credit for it: “The person Miss Jiang should thank isn’t me—that was arranged by President Lu.”
.
Half an hour later, Jiang Zhiwan found herself back at this Chinese-style manor after all.
The snow on the path had long been cleared away.
As she passed the wintersweet tree in the courtyard, Jiang Zhiwan stopped in her tracks.
The snow packed on the branches had also been cleared long ago, each branch standing tall and proud.
But Jiang Zhiwan noticed that on one small outer branch, the snow seemed to have been missed by whoever had done the clearing.
The heavy snow that had fallen for a day and a night weighed the branch down so much it couldn’t hold itself up. Jiang Zhiwan took it upon herself to brush the snow off that branch.
However, this wintersweet tree had been planted many years ago, and its branches were tall. Even when Jiang Zhiwan strained onto her tiptoes, she still couldn’t reach that branch.
Jiang Zhiwan tilted her head up, thought seriously for a moment, then changed her tiptoeing into jumping.
It had some effect, but not much.
Unable to hold it in, she angrily gave the base of the tree a light kick, slightly shaking the branches.
A wisp of snow drifted down and landed squarely in Jiang Zhiwan’s eye, as if mocking her “impotent rage.”
Jiang Zhiwan: “…”
She was too busy rubbing her irritated eye to notice a figure quietly approaching.
“Ungrateful!”
Once the discomfort in her eye had subsided, Jiang Zhiwan looked up at the branch again.
The next second.
Jiang Zhiwan’s eyes went wide.
The branch that had been out of reach even when she stood on her tiptoes was now inexplicably right before her eyes.
Her gaze shifted slightly to the left, and she saw a large hand with distinct knuckles pressing the branch down.
“Not brushing off the snow anymore?”
Before Jiang Zhiwan could turn around, a voice tinged with laughter came from very close behind her.
A hint of pink crept from Jiang Zhiwan’s cheeks to the tips of her ears. She quickly reached out and brushed the snow off the branch she had been holding.
As she released the branch, the figure standing behind her took a few steps back.
Sensing that the person behind her had moved away, Jiang Zhiwan’s tense body gradually relaxed.
Just as she hesitated over whether to turn around, the person who had retreated to the path spoke up.
“Come over here.”
Jiang Zhiwan obediently lowered her head and walked over. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered her thanks: “Thank you for that night.”
“Am I really that old?” Lu Yanshu curved his lips, unable to resist teasing her.
He didn’t ask how Jiang Zhiwan had managed to recognize him.
Still, seeing that she had identified him so quickly did make Lu Yanshu quite pleased.
Jiang Zhiwan’s face flushed bright red in an instant, and she stammered out an explanation: “No… it’s not that.”
“Mr. Lu is young and accomplished, so a respectful title is only proper.”
With her head lowered, she naturally couldn’t see the tender, indulgent smile in Lu Yanshu’s eyes.
The snow was still falling. Lu Yanshu remembered that the young girl’s fever had only just broken and she wasn’t fully recovered yet, so he didn’t delay any further and led her inside.
At the entrance of the Mystic Gate, servants were already waiting.
Lu Yanshu took off the overcoat he wore over his suit and handed it to them.
“Go dry your hair quickly, and be careful not to catch a cold.” Lu Yanshu turned to look at Jiang Zhiwan.
His voice was gentle, yet it carried a tone that left no room for Jiang Zhiwan to argue.
Finally, Lu Yanshu added: “I’ll be waiting for you in the study.”
Jiang Zhiwan nodded and followed the servants.
It was warm inside, and the snow on Jiang Zhiwan’s hair quickly melted into water.
Jiang Zhiwan declined the servant’s offer to blow-dry her hair: “I can do it myself, thank you.”
While drying her hair, Jiang Zhiwan recalled what Fu Baozhu had said not long ago about how the outside world viewed Lu Yanshu.
—Cold-hearted, ruthless, and unapproachable.
Sure enough, rumors couldn’t be trusted at all. Mr. Lu was clearly very gentle.
One should trust what one sees with one’s own eyes over what one merely hears.