The housekeeper took their belongings and hurriedly prepared some tea, clearly flustered. “The young duke actually came to visit!”
Ji Shu said, “He’ll be leaving soon.”
Lu Mingxi didn’t respond, strolling around the first-floor living room. “Do you live here alone?” he asked.
“My family went out, they had something to do.”
Immediately, Lu Mingxi’s polite smile vanished, replaced by his usual carefree, slightly mocking expression. He began inspecting the furniture and decor.
“Where’s your room?”
“Upstairs… why do you ask?”
The tea was brought over, and Lu Mingxi sat down on the sofa, legs bent, cradling the cup in his hands, fingers tracing the rim. He soon let out a small smile. “Nothing in particular, just curious.”
Ji Shu couldn’t stand the atmosphere. She turned on the TV, flipped to a random channel, and stood next to him with the air of someone politely ushering a guest out. “So, when do you plan to leave?”
“Maybe when the rain stops,” Lu Mingxi said, resting his knuckles against his chin. He pretended to think seriously for a moment, letting his gaze drift over the TV screen before returning to her. “Aren’t you going to have me stay for a meal?”
“Plain food like this, the young duke probably wouldn’t like it,” Ji Shu replied.
On the screen, a clip of Duke Lu Ruqing’s speech in the square played. The familiar voice caught Lu Mingxi’s attention. He tilted his head toward the screen, eyes narrowing at the face that resembled his own, and his expression quickly darkened with a hint of brooding ambiguity.
Noticing the change, Ji Shu deliberately asked, “You’re not going home because you don’t like the duke?”
Lu Mingxi’s eyelashes twitched. He turned his head, lifted his chin, and peeked at her over his eyes.
The air felt a little cold. But he soon shrugged nonchalantly, raised an eyebrow, and let out a chuckle. “Ji Shu, are you just trying to get rid of me quickly?”
“I’m not,” Ji Shu said. “I just want the rain to stop sooner.”
Lu Mingxi stared at her for three seconds, then couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. He tapped his shoe on the floor, eyes fixed on her with interest. “Never noticed before… you’re actually kind of interesting.”
Ji Shu felt slightly uncomfortable. She didn’t want to talk to him anymore and turned to the kitchen to prepare her cold medicine.
Even with her back to him, she could feel his gaze lingering.
In the kitchen, the housekeeper was preparing dinner for the two of them.
Ji Shu felt a headache coming on, but at the same time, she worried that if the rain really didn’t stop, she should at least do a little less. The portions far exceeded what she could eat, and if Lu Mingxi went back early, leaving the food would be too wasteful.
Muttering to herself as she went, she poured hot water from the electric kettle and mixed a cup of medicine. The faintly bitter taste felt out of place with the food, but the warmth slowly spread through her hands.
Holding the glass, she turned, and bumped straight into Lu Mingxi, who had just walked into the kitchen.
He had taken off his rain-soaked jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Seeing Ji Shu holding the cup, he seemed slightly disappointed.
Ji Shu asked, “Why are you here?”
Lu Mingxi said, “I thought you came in to help with dinner, since I might stick around for a meal.”
He tilted his head slightly, glancing into the kitchen. Some damp strands of hair brushed against the open collar of his shirt, his waist and shoulders were taut, and faint water stains had spread, revealing hints of pale pink skin.
Ji Shu was speechless. “…So you came in to help too?”
Lu Mingxi nodded as if it were obvious. “A guest lending a hand to the host, that’s only proper.”
Ji Shu walked toward the exit. “Then go help Aunt Zhang. I don’t cook.”
Lu Mingxi ignored her words. As she passed, he glanced at her cup. “What’s that?”
“Cold medicine.”
“You made it yourself?”
“…Yes.”
Suddenly, a shadow leaned over, blocking the light in front of her.
She looked up. Lu Mingxi was leaning sideways against the doorframe, arms crossed, standing in front of her, staring straight at her. “I got wet coming back. I want one too.”
Ji Shu hesitated for a moment as she looked at the damp ends of his hair and the translucent fabric at his shirt shoulder. “The medicine is on the kitchen table. You can get it yourself.”
But he didn’t budge. He looked at the steaming bitter liquid in her cup and said, eyes fixed on her, “I want you to make it.”
…This isn’t coffee. Ji Shu didn’t understand his thinking. Was this his usual way of tormenting people? First he made others run errands for him, and now he wanted her to make medicine.
She pursed her lips, staring at him for a moment, and finally decided to give in.
“Fine.”
Ji Shu walked to the table, set down her cup, and returned to the kitchen to mix a new dose of medicine with boiling hot water.
She stirred the steaming liquid as she walked out, and saw Lu Mingxi playing with an empty cup in his hands.
Ji Shu froze. The cup she had left on the table with her cold medicine was gone. She hurried over in a few steps, placed the new medicine down, snatched the empty cup from his hands, and glared at him. “Why did you drink my medicine? Didn’t I already make it for you?”
Lu Mingxi raised both hands, skillfully dodging her faintly angry glare, wearing an innocent smile. “You weren’t going to drink it anyway, right?”
He shrugged, glanced at the steaming cup on the table, and said slowly, “Besides, mine was way too hot. If I waited until the rain stopped, I might not get a chance to drink it. That would waste the host’s effort, wouldn’t it?”
Ji Shu: “…”
She didn’t want to argue, but she couldn’t deny the fact that the medicine she’d made for him was so hot she couldn’t even hold it in her hand. She quietly put away the empty cup and left the new cold medicine on the table to cool.
The faint bitter scent of the medicine gradually spread through the air. Mixed with the dull rumble of thunder outside and the patter of rain, the ping-pong sounds of cooking echoed from the kitchen. There was an oddly peaceful, comfortable feeling in the house that made it hard not to relax.
Lu Mingxi sat cross-legged on the sofa, leaning his head to the side, casually flipping through TV channels. He stopped on a romantic comedy variety show. Before he could even watch properly, a towel was tossed next to him.
“Use this to wipe yourself. Don’t catch a real cold.”
Ji Shu’s voice came from a distance.
She was worried that if Lu Mingxi caught a cold before returning to the mansion, the Lu family might come down on her.
Even though the first time she’d hit Lu Mingxi had passed without consequence, that had been under the premise of him threatening her. The Lu family probably let it slide to avoid trouble or protect his reputation, she couldn’t count on that luck every time.
The figure on the sofa paused for a moment.
He slowly picked up the creamy-white towel. The soft, thick fabric felt warm in his hands and gave off a faint, subtle fragrance.
Lu Mingxi lifted the towel and wrapped it around his hair ends. The light scent immediately rushed into his nose, the soft material brushing against his neck and sending an unexpected surge of fondness through him.
…It was very close to her own scent.
He looked up. Ji Shu was coming down from the second floor. She had taken off her wet hooded jacket, revealing a simple, clean white T-shirt underneath. She had tied up her usually loose black hair with a hairband, securing it at the back of her head, and was walking to the kitchen to fetch some bowls and chopsticks.
The slender, pale nape of her neck looked smooth and beautiful under the warm light. The tied-up black hair fell neatly over one shoulder, and a few stray strands brushed her neck and earlobe as she moved. Even the tiny soft hairs near her ear caught the light, glinting subtly as the bowls and chopsticks clinked gently.
Lu Mingxi could hardly hear what the guests on the variety show were saying.
But very soon…
The phone in his pocket vibrated again, yanking his mind back to the torrential rain and booming thunder outside.
He glanced at the caller ID. His expression darkened once more, his brows and eyes weighed down with rising fatigue and irritation. The ringtone only buzzed for less than five seconds before stopping.
Lu Mingxi knew this was her prompting, he’d already experienced it once that afternoon.
Wrapping the towel around himself, he slowly stood and went to the entryway to grab his still-damp jacket and slip it on.
Ji Shu had just come out of the kitchen, holding a plate. She looked at his movements with mild surprise and tilted her head toward the window to check once more whether the rain had stopped.
“Are you leaving now?”
Lu Mingxi raised an eyebrow casually. “Want me to stay?”
Ji Shu quickly called the housekeeper to see him off, opened the door for the driver, and handed over his things.
Lu Mingxi looked slightly exasperated. Watching her urgent actions, he stood under the eaves, touched his nose, cleared his throat, and said, “…Alright. But it was nice visiting today, looking forward to next time.”
Her eyes spelled out four words clearly: “Don’t let there be a next time.”
As he took the items and walked out, he glanced back at the warmly lit room. The table had been set with food, and an extra place had been laid out for him.
He couldn’t ignore the faint sense of regret stirring in his chest.
“Ji Shu.” Under the umbrella the driver held, a figure turned and suddenly called her name.
Ji Shu responded, “Mm.”
Lu Mingxi looked at her, his usual playful smile in place. His low voice carried faintly through the downpour:
“…Actually, I live alone too.”
It wasn’t until his figure disappeared far into the rain that Ji Shu belatedly muttered, “Oh.”
She didn’t understand what he meant. She only slowly exhaled as she watched the car fade into the curtain of rain.
Turning back to the entryway, she had the housekeeper put away the extra bowls and chopsticks and tossed the cup Lu Mingxi had used into the trash. Then she sat at the table, staring blankly at the spread of food.
The boisterous romantic variety show on TV gave her a headache. She got up, went to the sofa for the remote, intending to switch to a speech or international news coverage. As she turned, she happened to see a segment showing heavy rain, male guests carefully holding umbrellas to shield the female guests as they walked through the storm.
Expressionless, Ji Shu switched to the international news channel and sat down to eat. But within ten minutes, as usual, she set down her chopsticks and turned to go upstairs to do homework.
Passing the entryway, she caught sight of the black umbrella Lu Mingxi had forgotten to take. It stood alone on the umbrella stand at the door, dripping with rain.
Outside, the rain was tapering off, and the light was dimly brightening.
Lotus’s COB birthday schedule was finally confirmed.
Next month, the 7th, doors open at 6 p.m. The beginning of the month meant there was still almost half a month’s time. Xie Zhoulin circled the date on his calendar widget, then slowly replied to the duke’s thank-you email using formal language, before finally shifting his gaze away from the screen.
The girl with the big wavy hair was already kneeling on the floor by the desk, trembling all over.
“I, I really know I was wrong, President…” She shivered, her eyes swollen from crying, her voice hoarse, makeup smeared. “It was Qin Jia who made me do it. She said that if I sent her the specific photos of Ji Shu, she could make sure my boyfriend wouldn’t be blackmailed anymore…”
Xie Zhoulin opened the files on his laptop.
Qin Jia was a student in the special vocal program at the C campus. She was well-liked within the school, and outside, she had connections in the underground scene, the leader of a well-known local youth gang was her friend.
She was also a classmate of Ruan Si’an.
Xie Zhoulin remembered the name. Last year, the post about Lu Mingxi being doused with wine had exploded on the school forum, topping over a thousand replies, the female protagonist in that post was her. At the same time, she had been Ji Shu’s middle school bullying tormentor according to public opinion.
It was said Qin Jia was very loyal and might have acted to protect her good friend.
Xie Zhoulin didn’t approve of these factional behaviors at school. Small cliques were tangled with each other, every interest linked to another. They claimed it was friendship loyalty, but in reality, it was all for selfish gain.
Especially when it involved someone in his own class.
Smoking on campus combined with bullying others could result in suspension at minimum, expulsion at worst.
Under his supervision, the girl’s punishment was clearly unlikely to be the former. Once the school issued a formal reprimand or expulsion, it would leave a blemish on her record, no reputable high school in the city would accept her afterward.
Xie Zhoulin closed his laptop, slowly removed his glasses. In the president’s office, the harsh ceiling light shone down. The boy sat upright behind the desk, looking down at her from above. His black hair fell over his forehead and eyelids, casting a shadow over his brows and eyes, making it impossible to read his gaze or expression.
He asked, “Do you really want me to let you off?”
The girl frantically nodded, eyes wide, looking at him like a drowning person grasping at a final lifeline.
“Then, I need you to do one thing.” Xie Zhoulin stood, walked to her side, and spoke softly.
His voice was both soothing and commanding.
…
After dealing with the matter, Xie Zhoulin checked off another item on his schedule.
In the short span of the weekend, he hadn’t rested for a single moment. Once the preparations for the chief meeting were confirmed, he sent messages to the two of them as usual, but unlike the usual sluggish replies, tonight both of them responded unusually quickly.
Lu Mingxi: 【I might not be able to make it. She dragged me to a press conference, we’re currently doing a rehearsal for the banquet, and later I still have to oversee the birthday venue setup. I’m already at the estate.】
Xie Zhoulin’s brow twitched: 【…Would the duke really take up your time just for a meeting?】
Lu Mingxi didn’t reply. It was unclear whether he had squeezed out a message secretly in the gaps of the crowd just now.
Chi Yaoxing, on the other hand, unusually responded: 【Not going.】
Xie Zhoulin had expected that reply, but what was unusual was that Chi Yaoxing used to completely ignore group notifications. Today, for some reason, he replied, and so fast.
It was almost as if he were constantly lurking on LINE, waiting for the notification.
Xie Zhoulin read Chi Yaoxing’s message, then sent a final ultimatum to Lu Mingxi privately:
【Next week’s meeting will discuss the construction of the new building at the B campus, including the repair and management of old library books, new zones, student rest areas, and other matters. Dare not show up? Try it and see.】
It took a long while before Lu Mingxi’s chat finally showed the green “read” mark.
He leaned against the window of the massive reception hall, hands in pockets, gazing out at the sprawling estate at night.
Scattered ancient castle buildings dotted the view like stars. Farther away were lush private forests, lakes, a golf course, and a helipad. Closer roads were bustling, brightly lit, luxury cars poured into the parking lot like schools of fish, and guests were led by attendants into the castle’s reception rooms. Downstairs, the large pool already had people playing, their laughter and shouts filtered through the glass in a constant stream.
Inside, glasses clinked, and amidst the intoxicating mix of alcohol and perfume, similar flattering words were passed around cup after cup, no one knew who actually took them seriously.
Tonight was a rehearsal for the birthday banquet.
The duke was extremely meticulous and cautious. The venue had already been checked for flaws and arranged to near perfection, yet he still called Lu Mingxi back to the estate to showcase the setup. He even assigned a female companion for the evening, apparently the daughter of some minister, a well-known socialite among first-year students at Flandre.
After enduring the smiling crowds, Lu Mingxi broke away halfway, escaping the haze of alcohol and overpowering perfume to find a quiet spot.
He stared at the night view for a while, sipped his drink slowly, and opened LINE to read Xie Zhoulin’s messages. After leaving their chat, he casually scrolled into Ji Shu’s chat box and, bored, began rereading the apology note she had written a few days ago, line by line, word by word, sipping his drink as he went.
“Little duke, I’ve been looking for you everywhere, so you’re here.” A soft, sweet voice suddenly sounded behind him, a girl carrying a drink approaching.
Lu Mingxi didn’t hear her, still focused on the screen.
The girl was the companion assigned by the duke for the evening. She hadn’t seen him for a while, searched around, and finally found him by the window, enjoying the night air while scrolling on his phone.
She wore a strapless evening gown, her wavy brown hair was pinned into an updo with jeweled accessories. A Tf&Co. amethyst necklace sparkled exquisitely on her chest.
She smiled sweetly and approached, lightly looping her arm around his, leaning her soft, full body against him so that almost all of her weight pressed onto him.
The young duke, however, showed no reaction at all, still focused on his phone, even instinctively shifting away with a hint of impatience. Her step faltered.
Not giving up, she propped up her smile again, edged closer from the side by the window, hooked his arm, and pointed expectantly downstairs: “Young Duke, after the banquet ends, shall we go swimming together?”
“Hm.” Lu Mingxi replied perfunctorily, barely hearing what she said.
He had just finished reading the last part of the apology letter, which after praising the duke’s family and critiquing the writer’s faults, finally began expressing genuine sentiment:
【To show you my sincerity, I will do my utmost to meet your satisfaction. I only hope that my mistakes of the past few days can be forgiven. Your guidance will be the direction I strive toward from now on, and may the honor of the duke’s family always protect you.】
Although clearly written with hollow flattery and somewhat pompous phrasing, Lu Mingxi, for some reason, was willing to believe he could detect a trace of genuine heart behind the words.
He suppressed the curve of his lips, drained the contents of his glass, and only then noticed the companion who had leaned in beside him without him realizing.
He frowned, thinking for a moment, but still couldn’t recall her name. He simply turned and stepped away, leaving her nearly stumbling.
Feeling a bit aggrieved, she tried to follow, but saw that the young duke, who had just been smiling at something uncontrollable, had already replaced that expression with cold indifference.
He called over a waiter, had his glass refilled, sipped lightly, and furrowed his brows as he subtly put some distance between them.
“What perfume are you wearing?” Lu Mingxi asked.
The companion quickly gave a sweet, ingratiating smile: “Midnight Rose. It’s the classic salon fragrance your father launched at the Lotus new product showcase three years ago. I specially wore it today…”
Before she could finish, Lu Mingxi interrupted.
He let out a faint, ambiguous sneer, placed his empty glass back on the tray, didn’t spare her a single glance, and turned to leave, leaving behind only a light, dismissive remark:
“Don’t wear it again. Smells bad.”