After tidying himself up, Lu Zhoushan arrived at the restaurant where they had agreed to meet.
There weren’t many customers inside, and young, attractive women were even rarer.
He swept his gaze around the room before noticing a lone figure in a light blue padded coat seated by the window. Despite the bulky winter clothing, she somehow carried herself with an elegant, ethereal grace.
His eyes lingered.
He didn’t recognize her, but the red rose lying on the table in front of her immediately told him she was his blind date.
Walking over, he sat down across from her and greeted her straightforwardly.
“Hello. I’m the man Matchmaker Wang introduced for today’s blind date.”
Jiang Xiaoci had been lost in thought. Hearing his voice, she looked up.
Their eyes met.
The moment they saw each other, both of them froze.
Looking at the man before her, Jiang Xiaoci found herself at a loss for words. After a long pause, she finally managed to say,
“…Hello.”
Lu Zhoushan gazed at her, his pupils trembling ever so slightly.
He had never met this young woman before.
Never in his imagination had he expected his blind date to be this beautiful.
Yesterday, he’d assumed Matchmaker Wang had exaggerated. After all, matchmakers had a habit of turning someone who was only a five out of ten into an eight.
But now that he’d seen her in person…
For once, the matchmaker hadn’t exaggerated at all.
The young woman sitting across from him looked equally surprised to see him, though she quickly regained her composure.
She wore a pale blue padded jacket, her glossy black hair braided into two neat plaits. Beneath her delicate brows were a pair of almond-shaped eyes as clear as spring water. Every gentle flutter of her lashes gave her an air of intelligence, liveliness… and something far more complicated.
While Lu Zhoushan was studying her, Jiang Xiaoci was silently observing him as well.
She had never imagined that the man the matchmaker had arranged for her…
…would actually be Lu Zhoushan.
Lu Yaozu’s uncle.
Her emotions were incredibly complicated as she examined the man before her.
His dark navy wool coat made his already fair complexion appear even paler. His features were exceptionally handsome, but because his skin lacked color, he looked rather frail and sickly.
Yet when he looked at her, his deep gaze carried a sharpness that didn’t match his delicate appearance at all.
Sitting this close, she could even clearly see the tiny brown beauty mark beneath the corner of his eye.
The longer she looked…
…the more absentminded she became.
Memories from her previous life surfaced.
Back then, she had married that scoundrel Lu Yaozu, so she knew a little about the Lu family.
If she remembered correctly, Lu Zhoushan—the Lu family’s second young master—had always been in poor health. He was often ill and frequently recuperated at the family’s country estate.
But she also vaguely knew that his identity wasn’t as simple as it appeared.
Once, in her previous life, she’d accidentally witnessed several soldiers in uniform treating him with extraordinary respect.
At that time, the aura surrounding Lu Zhoushan had been completely different from his sickly appearance.
He had seemed calm, composed, and coldly authoritative.
As for the reason…
She didn’t know.
Nor did she have much interest in finding out in this lifetime.
Right now, her only priority was to marry someone as soon as possible to solve the crisis facing her family.
Lu Zhoushan spoke first.
“Hello. My name is Lu Zhoushan.”
But Jiang Xiaoci was still immersed in memories of her previous life and didn’t respond immediately.
Seeing the little girl staring blankly at him, her eyes gradually losing focus, Lu Zhoushan couldn’t help chuckling.
He lightly tapped his fingers against the table.
The sound startled Jiang Xiaoci back to reality.
Realizing she’d been openly staring at him the whole time, she quickly lowered her eyes and smiled apologetically.
“I’m sorry… I got a little distracted.”
A faint blush spread across her cheeks, like warm jade brushed with delicate rouge, making her unexpectedly alluring.
Lu Zhoushan instinctively looked away.
He beckoned a waiter over, picked up the menu, and asked in a voice so gentle that even he didn’t notice the change,
“It’s alright. What would you like to eat?”
Jiang Xiaoci thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“Anything is fine. I ate quite a lot this morning, so I’m not really hungry yet.”
Her answer was refreshingly honest, making Lu Zhoushan smile again.
It was the first time he’d ever heard a young woman so openly admit in front of a man that she’d eaten a lot.
He wasn’t particularly hungry either, so he ordered a pot of hot tea and several delicate pastries, intending to chat while they ate.
“By the way, I still don’t know your name,” he asked casually.
Although Jiang Xiaoci felt somewhat conflicted toward him because of Lu Yaozu, she didn’t act coy.
“My name is Jiang Xiaoci. Jiang as in river, Xiao meaning little, and Ci from ‘bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.'”
She explained every character of her name carefully.
After taking a sip of hot tea, a hint of color finally returned to Lu Zhoushan’s pale face. The cold detachment around him softened, replaced by a touch of relaxed laziness.
“Jiang… Xiao… Ci.”
He slowly repeated her name.
She nodded with a gentle smile.
“Yes. It means ‘to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.’ That’s how my name was chosen.”
Lu Zhoushan looked pleasantly surprised.
“You seem to have read quite a few books.”
Embarrassed, Jiang Xiaoci smiled shyly.
“Not really. I graduated from high school. By the way… how should I address you?”
Of course, she already knew who he was.
But to avoid raising his suspicions, she politely asked anyway.
“You?”
Lu Zhoushan nearly choked.
Was he really old enough for her to use such a respectful form of address?
Then again…
If she’d just graduated from high school, she was probably only eighteen.
That made her a full seven years younger than him.
Perhaps he did seem considerably older.
Still…
The fact that her surname was Jiang reminded him of something.
A few days ago, his rather disappointing nephew, Lu Yaozu, had mentioned proposing marriage to a girl who also had the surname Jiang.
Which meant…
Jiang Xiaoci and his future niece-in-law shared the same family name.
Both were girls from the Jiang family.
Maybe, five hundred years ago, they had even belonged to the same clan.
The corners of Lu Zhoushan’s lips lifted.
What an interesting coincidence.
“My name is Lu Zhoushan. Lu as in land, Zhou as in a boat sailing on a river, and Shan meaning mountain.”
He answered casually, even though he’d already introduced himself earlier.
Since she’d taken the time to explain every character of her own name, he couldn’t very well be perfunctory.
But the moment he finished speaking, he realized…
A boat sailing on a river.
The river was Jiang.
His surname paired naturally with hers.
The coincidence sounded almost deliberate, creating an inexplicably intimate feeling between them.
His clear, cool eyes paused for a moment before filling with quiet amusement.
Jiang Xiaoci froze as well, her fair face flushing slightly pink.
She had clearly realized the implication too.
Though she was young, her temperament was remarkably composed.
She showed neither surprise nor embarrassment.
Lu Zhoushan couldn’t help thinking that she possessed a steadiness and restraint that seemed far beyond the maturity of an eighteen-year-old girl.
What he didn’t know…
…was that Jiang Xiaoci had already lived through two lifetimes.
She had even been married once before.
Compared to everything she’d experienced, this tiny moment of accidental romantic ambiguity between a man and a woman was hardly enough to fluster her.
Like a pure white lily quietly blooming, beautiful in a fresh and refined way, the girl looked at him with smiling eyes and spoke softly,
“Hello, Mr. Lu Zhoushan. It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I hope we’ll get along well.”