The next day, the marks on Xu Tao’s face had faded, though they were still a little red.
Shi Jin called her roommate, Lu Yang, early that morning. He didn’t ask about anything else—he just wanted to know who had helped them the night before.
When Xu Tao explained that it had been her student’s uncle, Shi Jin seemed relieved.
She wasn’t in the mood to explain any more. After breakfast, she went to the north gate to have her phone repaired, then headed to the Qin family’s home for class.
Qin An wasn’t there, and Xu Tao was genuinely relieved.
If she didn’t see him, things couldn’t get awkward. Xu Tao quickly put it all out of her mind and focused on the lesson.
From then until the start of winter, Xu Tao didn’t see the Second Young Master at the Qin family’s home again.
She did, however, meet Qin Yuting’s father. He was a very amiable man, with a gentle voice and courteous manner, and he was very polite to her, their young tutor.
She also met Father Qin and Mother Qin.
At the time, she’d been stunned. Old Master Qin Shaoxiong was the man who was often on the news on television, and seeing him in person made Xu Tao very nervous.
But he was quite kind and even asked a few questions about Xu Tao’s studies.
Because of her connection to Professor Chen, Mother Qin, Jiang Lan, was also warm toward her. She looked much younger than Qin Shaoxiong, and her air of elegance was impossible to suppress.
Both sons had inherited her looks.
But everyone in the Qin family was busy, especially Qin Shaoxiong, who was constantly traveling around to attend meetings and offer his regards. His health was no longer what it used to be, so his wife accompanied him wherever he went.
To cut down on all that travel, they usually didn’t return to the old residence, choosing instead to live in the city.
Xu Tao rarely saw these members of the household at the Qin family’s home, which made her feel more at ease.
She and Qin Yuting became “friends across the generations” and even exchanged phone numbers. Sometimes, Xu Tao would receive a voice message from him in the evening.
He secretly called her “Big Sister.”
He was a lonely little boy, born into a family of great wealth and status, yet with very few people to keep him company.
Xu Tao couldn’t help but favor him. Her tutoring job would probably end after the New Year, once Qin Yuting started elementary school as a transfer student, so she treasured the time they spent together.
As it happened, she learned Qin An’s name from Qin Yuting.
Qin Yuting wanted to know how to write his father’s and second uncle’s names, so he secretly asked Xu Tao to teach him.
When Xu Tao taught him the character “an,” she thought of a kind of tree.
The eucalyptus.
The tall, straight mountain ash eucalyptus, which grows mainly in Australia.
There was also a widely circulated line of poetry said to come from Tagore’s The Stray Birds, though Xu Tao had never found it in the book:
“The blue gum has met the mistletoe bird.”
This tree was domineering, allowing no other plants to grow around it, yet letting the red-billed blue magpie nest in its branches, as if it had reserved all its tenderness for one alone.
Eucalyptus leaves were poisonous. Xu Tao thought the name suited Qin An’s nature: power, influence, money, status, and good looks. Men like him were often a poison in their own right.
Best to keep well away. She wasn’t a koala, after all; she didn’t have to live on eucalyptus leaves.
By the time Xu Tao finished explaining the character, her palms were sweaty.
This was her first winter in the north, and the cold was nothing like Tongcheng’s. She had to wear a lot more.
But the Qin family had underfloor heating, and the house was too warm.
Qin Yuting was still wearing thin pajamas, while Xu Tao had a thick sweater on. If she stayed for long, she would start to sweat.
Her face had turned a little red too. She made a mental note to wear a cardigan next week, so she could take it off more easily.
When it was finally time to leave, Xu Tao breathed a sigh of relief.
“Teacher, your face is so red. Are you hot?”
Qin Yuting’s Chinese was fluent now. Sometimes he would recite a few poems, swaying his head as he did, and even explain some of their deeper meanings.
That was one reason the Qin family was so pleased with Xu Tao: she adapted her teaching to the student, and even as a first-year university student, she understood that principle.
Xu Tao patted her cheek with the back of her hand. “A little. Your house is so warm—I’m not used to it.”
Their dorm didn’t get this warm. The dormitory buildings at Wancheng Normal University had open balconies, just like in the south. When the winter wind blew, the rooms never seemed to warm up.
Qin Yuting propped his chin on his hands. “Teacher, I’m hot too. Let’s go outside and have a snowball fight, okay?”
A light snow had fallen in Wancheng that day—not enough for a snowball fight. Besides, Xu Tao needed to head back. She was about to say so when the butler pushed open the door, and swirling snow came blowing into the corridor on the biting wind.
Xu Tao stared in amazement. It snowed back home in Tongcheng, but she had never seen snowflakes this big.
“Teacher Xu, the snow is coming down too heavily, and the roads are slippery. There have already been quite a few accidents on the way into the city. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here tonight. I’ll prepare a guest room for you.”
The Qin family valued propriety. In a blizzard like this, how could they let a young woman risk the journey home?
Xu Tao felt awkward about imposing. Hesitantly, she said, “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble? Once the snow lets up a little, you could just take me to the subway station.”
The butler glanced at the storm. “The forecast says it’ll snow all night. You’d still have to transfer to a bus after taking the subway. It’s too dangerous. Teacher Xu, please don’t worry about imposing. Sir and Madam are staying in the city tonight, and the First Young Master is coordinating the emergency response to the blizzard. You can stay here without concern.”
In other words, she didn’t need to feel uncomfortable; the heads of the household weren’t there.
Besides, it wasn’t something a butler could decide on his own. He must have been given instructions by the family.
But Xu Tao wasn’t worried about them. It was Qin An, the one he hadn’t mentioned, who worried her. She looked at the weather, and it really would be unreasonable to insist that someone drive her home.
Maybe Qin An wouldn’t come back.
“Then I’ll be imposing on you, Uncle Zhong.”
The butler’s surname was Zhong, and his given name was Yi.
Zhong Yi nodded. “Your lesson is over, Teacher Xu. Please make yourself at home. You’re from the south, so if you like the snow, you can go play in the back garden. Just remember to dress warmly.”
Xu Tao’s eyes lit up. Seeing her enthusiasm, Zhong Yi smiled too. He was in his forties, and his son was about Xu Tao’s age.
He generally looked out for her a little more.
He showed Xu Tao the way to the back garden, though Qin Yuting could have taken her there himself.
Qin Yuting had been waiting impatiently. He pulled Xu Tao outside, but the servants brought him a sweater and coat and bundled him up from head to toe before they would let the precious young master leave.
Xu Tao put on her down jacket, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and led Qin Yuting toward the back garden.
The Qin residence was laid out like a garden estate. The front courtyard was used to receive guests, while the area beyond the garden was where the family lived and rested.
The garden was blanketed in white, and even the pond had frozen over. It was Xu Tao’s first time seeing so much snow, and everything seemed new to her. She held out a hand to catch the flakes.
Her fingertips quickly turned red with cold.
Qin Yuting had already darted out from the covered walkway, crunching through the snow. Every so often, he crouched to scoop some up, not seeming to mind the cold at all.
“Teacher, hurry!”
Xu Tao hunched her shoulders. She knew the snow slipping down her collar would be freezing, but she couldn’t resist the temptation of a snowball fight. After only a few seconds’ hesitation, she stepped down.
She scooped up some snow. It was icy to the touch, the cold sinking all the way into her, but she was happy.
Xu Tao packed a little snowball and tossed it gently at Qin Yuting’s head.
He grinned foolishly and clumsily made his way over to her, copying Xu Tao and joining in the snowball fight.
After a few throws, they were both hunching their shoulders and too cold to move. They were freezing and shivering.
“Qin Yuting, shall we build a snowman? Do you know how? I’ve never done it before.”
Xu Tao stacked two snowballs, one large and one small. “It shouldn’t be hard, right? Look, it’s a miniature snowman!”
Qin Yuting scrunched up his little face. He was still a child himself—how was he supposed to know how to build a snowman?
But he had an idea.
“Let’s go ask Uncle Zhong for help. We can have him find someone to teach us!”
That was a great idea!
Xu Tao immediately stood up and stamped her feet. This was her first winter in the north, and she hadn’t known Wancheng could get this cold. The cotton shoes she’d ordered hadn’t arrived yet, and in her sneakers, she could barely feel her feet.
She turned with Qin Yuting’s hand in hers—and suddenly saw someone standing behind them on the covered walkway.
He stood casually, dressed in a black coat. The snow on his shoulders hadn’t melted yet, and his eyes were just as cold.
The snow had cooled Qin An, too, making his thin lips look even redder. There was something almost bewitching about him. Xu Tao was sure of it now: he was a dangerous, dangerously alluring… femme fatale.
She had no idea how long Qin An had been standing there watching.
The memory of that night came rushing back. Xu Tao suddenly felt nervous and unconsciously took a step backward.
His gaze was always so predatory that it made her uneasy.