The warehouse supermarket on the weekend was absolutely packed. Behind every shopping cart trailed clusters of two or three customers.
Couples, siblings, friends, families of three, even four, five, or six—they brushed past her with laughter and chatter.
Xi Shi turned to look at the family of six that had just passed by. She found it hard to understand why a simple trip to the supermarket required mobilizing three grandparents, a middle-aged couple, and a child who already looked old enough to be in middle school.
The six of them stood in front of the refrigerated display case, smiling and picking out food together, discussing their choices in a way that was rather heartwarming.
That kind of warmth was something Xi Shi had never experienced.
After walking a few steps, Xi Shi turned to look again—
The middle-aged man held up a box of sausages and asked the grandparents, his wife, and the child if they wanted some.
The wife said she wanted to check the ingredient list first;
The child leaned in and read it out loud;
The grandparents just smiled and listened…
The hand interlaced with hers tightened slightly. She slowly turned her head back and looked at Lin Youhe.
Lin Youhe tilted his chin toward a row of aquaculture tanks not far away. "Want to eat fish?"
The type of dialogue was basically the same as that of the family of six Xi Shi had been repeatedly glancing at.
This kind of intimacy was supposed to be what Xi Shi had always planned to obtain, yet when she met Lin Youhe's gentle eyes, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Xi Shi was distracted and casually tossed out a sweet remark: "Whatever's fine. Anything Teacher Lin makes tastes good anyway."
Lin Youhe glanced at Xi Shi, said nothing, then went to pick out a coral trout and a lobster.
Xi Shi's frozen hand had already been warmed up by his grip. Lin Youhe released her, took the two seafood items, and placed them in the shopping cart next to the red wine.
They went on to pick out other ingredients, and by the time they finished their shopping, they'd even prepared the after-dinner dessert.
Based on the unspoken understanding between adults, Xi Shi naturally knew what Lin Youhe meant.
She followed silently beside him with tacit understanding, and when they returned to Jinyue Jingyuan No. 1 Estate, she didn't go back to her own place. She went straight to Lin Youhe's home, even found a ballpoint pen in his study to pin up her fluffy curls, and followed him into the kitchen to help with a few trivial tasks that didn't really matter.
Xi Shi felt an extraordinary tenderness rising toward the prey she was about to claim. Her patience rivaled Lin Youhe's as he marinated that stunningly beautiful coral trout. She smiled and attentively rolled up Lin Youhe's shirt sleeves for him.
Lin Youhe said seriously, "Thank you."
Xi Shi's fingertips tapped the countertop at a leisurely pace as she smiled. "You're welcome~"
Lin Youhe's cooking was clearly far better than that newly opened congee-based hotpot restaurant.
The steamed coral trout had flesh as translucent and white as jade;
The Australian lobster was fresh, tender, and springy in the mouth;
The other stir-fried dishes and soups made by Lin Youhe each had their own distinctive flavors.
Xi Shi had already silently updated her database after waking up at noon. She knew Lin Youhe's soft heart and planned to hit the right spot, quietly scheming about what more she could say to gain extra sympathy on this special night.
Her mind raced as she placed both arms neatly on the edge of the dining table like a well-behaved student. "Teacher Lin, let me treat you sometime. Otherwise, I'll feel bad always having you cook for me."
Lin Youhe spoke softly: "Didn't you just help out?"
"Taking a few plates out of the cabinet and handing you a piece of ginger doesn't count as helping, does it?"
Xi Shi softened her tone. "Teacher Lin, I want to treat you."
Lin Youhe hesitated.
Xi Shi mentioned casually, as if it were nothing: "You pick the time. But the day after tomorrow won't work—that's my mother's death anniversary. I won't be home."
Lin Youhe's tone turned serious. "Going to visit your mother?"
Xi Shi propped her chin on one hand. "Yes. Actually, I don't know her real death anniversary. There's no way to verify it, so I can only commemorate her on the day she was found."
Lin Youhe asked gently, "Is that why you've been thinking about your mother and grandmother so much lately?"
Xi Shi suddenly froze.
Was… that the reason? Because her mother's death anniversary was approaching?
Hadn't telling Lin Youhe about her mother been something she'd carefully calculated?
Lin Youhe used a corkscrew to open a bottle of red wine, and amid the rich aroma, he reached out and ruffled Xi Shi's hair.
His voice was very gentle: "They say wine can drown sorrows. I don't know if it'll work for you."
Xi Shi barely managed to pull herself back to the present.
Outside the window, the night was dark and serene; inside, the fragrance of food drifted through the air. She thought, at a time like this, was the wine really meant to drown sorrows?
Xi Shi, being very understanding, didn't expose the honest man's attempt to maintain his image. Instead, she smiled brightly at Lin Youhe. "It should work, I think."
The sleeves of Lin Youhe's white shirt were rolled up to his forearms, yet his buttons were meticulously fastened all the way to the top one.
He poured half a glass for each of them, then raised his glass and looked at Xi Shi seriously. "I hope it works for you."
Xi Shi considered that the two of them, as adults, had a tacit understanding of what would happen tonight. She smiled ambiguously and took a sip of the wine.
With the first bottle of red wine, Lin Youhe was still completely at ease;
By the second bottle, he occasionally raised a hand to press his temple or the space between his brows.
Xi Shi considerately clinked glasses with Lin Youhe one last time. "I'm done eating."
After the meal, Lin Youhe insisted that Xi Shi not go back into the kitchen, so Xi Shi volunteered to take the trash downstairs.
Lin Youhe frowned disapprovingly. "It's cold outside."
"That's exactly why I don't want you to go. Drunk and exposed to the wind—you'll feel terrible."
Xi Shi felt a triumphant thrill, sweet talk rolling off her tongue effortlessly. She let down her long hair, which had been pinned up with a charcoal pencil, and shook her head lazily and casually. "Let me borrow your coat."
Lin Youhe found a thick down jacket.
Wrapped in Lin Youhe's long black down jacket, Xi Shi also gathered the slightly drooping Freud roses from the coffee table into the trash bag before heading out with the garbage, following Lin Youhe's reminders.
Xi Shi's feelings toward Lin Youhe were complicated. There was deliberate exploitation, calculated approach, a desire for closeness, admiration, lust—and of course, some guilt.
Lin Youhe was an innocent, good person.
Xi Shi thought regretfully that it was her fault for dragging Lin Youhe into this revenge plan without permission.
He had grown up next to a church, gentle and naive, even carefully tending to the roses she gave him, unwilling to throw them away even when they drooped…
Xi Shi exhaled a puff of white mist into the cold moonlight. She thought, when Lin Youhe eventually learned the truth about being used, who knew how heartbroken he'd be. At least for now, she should make him happy.
So Xi Shi, a cold-blooded creature who usually couldn't even be bothered to eat, rarely bothered to put in the effort. Willingly, she walked out of the building on that bitingly cold night, took a cab to the flower shop outside the residential area, bought a new bouquet of roses, and then cabbed back.
Perhaps Xi Shi had taken a while choosing the flowers, because just as she was entering the passcode to unlock the door and about to step into Lin Youhe's home, she happened to receive a call from him.
She hung up the call from "Target," pulled open the security door, and met the gaze of Lin Youhe, who had risen from the sofa, phone in hand.
Lin Youhe dropped his phone and walked over. "I thought you'd gone straight home. How—"
Xi Shi, carrying the chill of the night, pressed the roses into Lin Youhe's arms. "It's a long night—thought I'd give Teacher Lin something to do."
While Lin Youhe trimmed the roses, Xi Shi sat beside him, scooping dessert with a small spoon, glancing at the book lying face-down on the sofa.
She said, "Teacher Lin still reads books like this?"
Lin Youhe said, "Just browsing."
Dinner, red wine, and roses—these were merely the appetizers of the night.
Xi Shi watched Lin Youhe trim the roses and place them in the vase, watched him wash his hands, return to the living room, and sit down on the sofa less than half a meter away from her.
Xi Shi held her dessert and tilted her head to ask, "Aren't you eating?"
Lin Youhe didn't answer. Instead, with a thoughtful expression, he gently wiped a bit of cream from the corner of Xi Shi's lips with the pad of his index finger.
As Lin Youhe rubbed his fingertip and prepared to pull his hand back, Xi Shi caught his wrist.
She suddenly leaned in and lightly kissed his fingertip, then turned that already provocative gesture into something even more teasing—licking and sucking.
Xi Shi looked into Lin Youhe's eyes, slowly tracing his fingerprints with the tip of her tongue. She could feel his palm growing hotter and hotter, and she took the opportunity to swing a leg over and straddle his lap, knocking the half-read book off the sofa.
Lin Youhe's muscles visibly tensed.
Xi Shi braced herself on his shoulders and leaned in, pressing a sly, playful kiss to his chin, then whispered by his ear, ever so considerately, "Want me to put on some music? Don't you like listening to cello pieces?"
Lin Youhe's eyes darkened. At a certain moment, he suddenly raised his arm and pulled Xi Shi tightly against him by the waist, pressing her into his embrace—but the startling force lasted only a few seconds before he abruptly let go.
Lin Youhe looked at Xi Shi with a complicated expression. "You…"
A warm current surged in Xi Shi's lower belly, and she narrowed her sparkling eyes slightly.
She kissed his chin again.
They were very close, the tips of their noses nearly brushing, their disordered breaths mingling rapidly, only each other's figures reflected in their pupils.
When she reached to take off his glasses, Lin Youhe leaned his head back to dodge.
Xi Shi poked Lin Youhe's shoulder with seductive charm. "Lin, You, He."
Her voice was soft. "You're reacting."
"I am."
Lin Youhe took a breath, leaned back against the sofa, pressed his temple, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he lowered his gaze to look at Xi Shi's face.
His voice remained gentle, even tender, almost hypnotic: "I'm a fairly traditional person. Rather than chasing thrills, I prefer a stable, developing relationship. When I date, it's with marriage and a lifetime together in mind."
Xi Shi furrowed her brow.
Lin Youhe raised a hand to stroke Xi Shi's ear. "We can keep going with what we're doing. I'll take it as you agreeing to start a steady romantic relationship with me."
The ambiguous atmosphere in the air began to cool.
Lin Youhe continued, "Xi Shi, right now—do you want to be in a relationship with me?"
Xi Shi furrowed her brow and fell silent. After a moment, she rose with cool detachment and walked straight to the entryway.
She picked up her coat and bag. "There's been a misunderstanding. I have no intention of dating you. Sorry."
The security door opened, then closed.
Xi Shi left without a trace of reluctance.
A faint trace of her perfume still lingered in the air—subtle, alluring.
Lin Youhe took off his glasses and tossed them aside, pinching the bridge of his nose as he cast a downward glance at his trousers.
He remained reclined against the sofa, taking more than ten minutes to steady himself before bending over to pick up the book that had fallen to the floor. He opened it—
"When I cross through all that is sunken and lost,
And march to war against eternity,
You are my battle standard."
The pad of his index finger was still burning. Lin Youhe narrowed his eyes and let out a scorching breath, reflecting—he had been too hasty.