Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
That night’s frozen persimmon, soft and glutinous and juicy, was like crushed ice in summer.
Lu Huaiyan never touched foods with soft glutinous textures, but that bowl of frozen persimmon he ate without leaving a single bite.
When leaving, knowing he was going to Hanshan Temple, Jiang Se went inside and took a fist-sized enamel jar for him to bring Han Yin a frozen persimmon.
The enamel jar was entirely snow-white; besides the frozen persimmon, it was filled with fluffy white snow.
On the way to Hanshan Temple, worried the snow in the jar would melt, Lu Huaiyan simply did not turn on the heater, drove with the window open the entire way back to Xihan Mountain.
Early the next morning, Han Yin had just returned from morning class, and saw Lu Huaiyan sitting on the cloth bench in the entryway, holding a snow-white enamel jar tied up with hemp rope.
Lu Huaiyan had a residence here in the bamboo forest, on the other side of Lake Zhuyin; Han Yin didn’t know when he had come.
As she took out her keys and walked up to open the door, she smiled and said: “Why are you up so early? I heard from Assistant Li you had him set off fireworks last night, I thought you’d sleep till noon today.”
“Still adjusting to the jet lag.” Lu Huaiyan took off his shoes and entered, bringing the enamel jar in with him, “Jiang Se had me bring this last night, persimmons from her family yard.”
“Just right for making persimmon tea.” Han Yin took the enamel jar and sized Lu Huaiyan up with a smile, “Those fireworks were for Sese, right? So, how was it, did she like them?”
Like?
Naturally she didn’t like them much, nor was she very moved.
At least not as much as she liked the frozen persimmon.
Last night, the way she shivered while eating the frozen persimmon was far more vivid than when she watched the fireworks.
Lu Huaiyan said: “Why not ask her yourself later?”
Han Yin wanted to create more chances for him, so she agreed directly: “Alright, I’ll call Sese later, ask if she’s willing to come up the mountain.”
Lu Huaiyan nodded; after a moment, he raised his hand to check his watch, and suddenly said: “Call after ten, it’s too early now.”
Who knows what he thought of, when he said this, his lips were lifted, a rare gentleness.
Han Yin reminded him: “When Sese comes later, keep smiling like that. Don’t keep that cold face all day. When you’re cold-faced, Sese probably won’t even drink tea with you.”
Lu Huaiyan glanced at the enamel jar and responded good-naturedly: “Alright, I remember.”
Han Yin placed the cut persimmon flesh into a tea cup, and while doing so, looked at Lu Huaiyan with earnest concern: “It wasn’t easy to find a girl who can catch your eye, don’t scare her off.” She was returning the very words Lu Huaiyan had said to her yesterday on the phone.
Lu Huaiyan continued responding in that unhurried way: “I know.”
Han Yin couldn’t gauge his attitude, but also didn’t want to interfere too much. After all, this son of hers had never been someone whose temperament allowed others to interfere. She didn’t ask again about his progress with Jiang Se, only asked two sentences about Lu Huaiyan’s upcoming schedule.
Hearing that he would return to Beicheng in a few days, she remembered something and asked: “Is Sese going back to Beicheng with you? Ah Li said he contacted Sese, wanting her to return to Beicheng to attend the Cen family’s New Year’s Eve banquet.”
Lu Huaiyan was lifting the cast-iron kettle to get water. Han Yin’s words made him remember what Jiang Se said to him last night—
“Cen Yu is a junior I admire very much and like very much. The Cen family’s New Year’s Eve banquet will be one of the most important occasions of her life. Please, Little Chairman Lu, you must give face and attend.”
Really quite protective of that junior of hers.
Lu Huaiyan put the filled cast-iron kettle on the stove to boil, said lightly: “She won’t go.”
At the Cen family’s year-end New Year’s Eve banquet, Cen Yu would formally enter Beicheng’s upper circle as the Cen family’s eldest young lady.
She was the rightful focus of that banquet.
If Jiang Se went, others would only pay attention to her and Cen Yu’s bit of gossip, and the banquet would probably turn into a tea-chat of gossiping aunties.
“Not going is good too.” Han Yin smiled, “There are plenty of New Year’s Eve events by the Fuchun River. It’s lively for her to spend New Year’s here. You might as well stay in Beicheng for a few more days this time, keep your grandfather company.”
Lu Huaiyan gave an “en”: “I’ll return to Beicheng on the 27th.”
For most of this half year he had been in Europe or Tongcheng. When he occasionally returned to Beicheng, he only stayed one or two days before leaving. Old Master Lu had urged him who knows how many times to come back to the old house.
If he didn’t go back soon, the old man might come personally to Tongcheng to drag him back.
The reason he was so urgent in wanting him back was nothing more than thinking that he was older now, his career already established, and that he should put his lifelong matters on the schedule.
Even Han Yin knew Old Master Lu’s thoughts.
She looked at Lu Huaiyan and said: “Your grandfather mentioned to me several times wanting to arrange blind dates for you. Yesterday he even sent me a few girls’ photos, saying he wanted to look through them with me.”
Lu Huaiyan poked the charcoal in the stove, said evenly: “You mentioned Jiang Se to him?”
“A thing with not even one stroke of the eight characters, how could I tell him?” Han Yin said, “Your matter with Sese, you tell your grandfather yourself, so he doesn’t have to waste time and effort arranging blind dates for you.”
Lu Huaiyan smiled a little, picked up the cast-iron kettle that was already boiling, and said: “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to blind-date. Even if Grandfather puts a knife to my neck, I won’t go. A girl I look down on, nobody can force me to marry.”
Only then did Han Yin let out a breath.
Lu Huaiyan stayed to drink tea with her for a while, then went to the empty room next door to handle work. After a few overseas calls, ten o’clock had already passed.
He walked out of the room, crossed the living room, and went to the study opposite.
Han Yin was inside holding a brush writing sutras. Hearing the movement at the doorway, she said: “Finished?”
Lu Huaiyan gave an “en”: “Jiang Se isn’t coming?”
Han Yin’s brush didn’t stop. While writing she said: “She’s going to Jinxiu Alley to handle some things, said she’ll come see me in a few days when she has time.”
Lu Huaiyan raised his brows a little.
Jinxiu Alley?
That qipao shop?
—
Jinxiu Alley No. 39.
Jiang Se stood on the shop’s steps, expression faint as she looked at the people below.
“I have never seen such shameless people, taking any random painting and daring to come extort money!” An old woman with greying hair sat on the snow crying her heart out, pointing at Jiang Se and cursing as soon as she opened her mouth, “This old woman has lived so long and never seen someone this black-hearted!”
Beside the old woman stood three burly men, all in their thirties or forties, each looking somewhat similar to the old woman. The tallest one was even holding a phone and recording.
Inside the qipao shop, He Miao looked at Jiang Se’s back, thought for a moment, then said to Zhang Yue who was inside: “Master, you go inside, I’ll go out and take a look.”
She was about to step past the counter when Zhang Yue blocked her.
“What are you going out for? The police will be here soon. Besides, didn’t Miss Jiang say she can handle these people? We just wait here.”
“I know Miss Jiang is very capable. Last time those people came to smash the shop, it was Miss Jiang who brought the police and chased them off.” He Miao pressed her lips together, “But the police aren’t here right now, are they? She’s all alone, I want to go stand by her and give some momentum!”
“You’re not afraid?”
Those men outside looked fierce and not easy to provoke.
He Miao was only nineteen. To say she wasn’t afraid would be a lie, but a person couldn’t just hide in the back because of fear, waiting for someone else to stand up.
“Even if afraid, I still have to step out! Can’t let Miss Jiang block everything for us!”
Her words were forceful, with the spirit of a calf unafraid of tigers. Zhang Yue was stunned listening, her hand frozen midair, forgetting to pull back.
He Miao didn’t notice her reaction and strode to stand next to Jiang Se, shouting: “I have never seen people as shameless as you! We already said there’s surveillance here, everything you do will become evidence in court later, understand? Really think our shop is your backyard? Coming to smash whenever you want?!”
He Miao was standing right next to Jiang Se. With that shout, even Jiang Se’s ears felt slightly numb.
She turned her head a little and saw He Miao’s faintly trembling hand. Her face, which had shown no emotion, finally had a slight ripple.
“Don’t be afraid of them. The more people who make a big scene like this, the more cowardly they actually are.” Jiang Se said gently, comforting her, “The real ruthless ones are the ones who don’t make a sound.”
Down the steps, the old woman was still howling. Hearing this, she immediately refused to accept it, and sprang up from the snow, both hands covered in slushy snow reaching to grab Jiang Se’s coat.
Because of the holiday, Jinxiu Alley, usually devoid of people, had more liveliness than usual. Three or five passersby, drawn by the old woman’s howling, gathered from afar to watch the commotion.
Yet not one person lent a hand.
Jiang Se didn’t pay attention to the people around, standing quietly on the steps, not retreating half a step, and her face didn’t have the slightest bit of fear.
In a photo studio at a diagonal angle, Li Rui was standing behind the second-floor window, hesitantly asking: “Little Chairman Lu, really don’t need to go help? This old lady is pretty unreasonable, last time at the police station she almost howled the police comrades’ ceiling apart.”
Lu Huaiyan’s lashes were half lowered, his eyes hidden behind the lenses, the color of his pupils unclear.
He said lightly: “She didn’t call people, so no need to go.”
Standing beside Jiang Se, He Miao was even more nervous than Li Rui. When the old lady rushed over, she subconsciously wanted to block in front of her.
But who would have thought that one light, floating sentence from Jiang Se would scare the old lady stiff.
“This coat is worth two hundred thousand.”
Jiang Se had both hands in her pockets, the corner of her lips carrying a gentle and elegant smile: “Same amount of money you all got when you sold this shop eight years ago. If it gets dirty or damaged, you have to compensate, a few thousand at the least, the full price at worst. Add on emotional damages, maybe not as much as that painting last time, but for you guys, it’s not small either.”
She leaned down slightly, her delicate, painting-like face slowly restraining a smile, looking at the old lady and enunciating each word: “If you dare, try touching me?”
It was a pearl-white coat, couldn’t tell the brand, didn’t know the material, but no one doubted the truth of what she said.
It was simply because of the noble aura on her body; one look and you’d know she was born with a golden spoon. If she said that painting was worth a million, then it really was worth a million. If she said that coat was worth two hundred thousand, then it really was worth two hundred thousand.
The old lady’s cloudy eyes met her jet-black pupils, and only felt a chill down her back. The howl was stuck halfway in her throat, and the motion of lunging forward had no follow-through at all.
This farce finally ended with the arrival of the police.
Jiang Se and He Miao followed the officers to the station to make a statement. When leaving, she looked back at Zhang Yue and said in a light voice: “If you’re scared, then close the shop first and go home. If you’re not scared, then keep it open.”
The police car carried the people away, the onlookers scattered like birds and beasts, and the alley returned to its usual silence not long after.
Zhang Yue sat silently behind the counter. After a moment, she stood up, locked the door, and left Jinxiu Alley.
Lu Huaiyan was still standing inside the photo studio, watching Zhang Yue’s figure grow distant. He took out his phone and dialed a number.
“Delete all the videos from those people’s phones,” after a pause, he glanced at the steps where Jiang Se had stood, then added, “and investigate the owner of No. 39 Jinxiu Alley, Zhang Yue.”
—
In the following days, Jiang Se went to the police station a few more times.
She was never home these days. Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying didn’t ask much, thinking she was going to Hanshan Temple to visit the elder.
These days Jiang Se had been busy with the qipao shop’s matters. She hadn’t gone to see Han Yin at all. It wasn’t until the 30th that she finally had free time; after lunch she headed to Hanshan Temple, and spent an afternoon with Han Yin in the bamboo house drinking tea.
By then Lu Huaiyan had already returned to Beicheng. Not only him, Cen Li, Guo Song, and those others had all, rare as it was, rushed in from all corners of the country.
These people were busy all year round, and getting them all together was harder each year.
Being able to gather today was naturally for the Cen family’s New Year’s Eve banquet.
Everyone knew tomorrow night was the grand day for the Cen family’s long-lost, newly recovered precious daughter. No matter what, they had to make time.
The stingiest of the Cen family, Cen Scrooge, had miraculously put together a high-end gathering, the location set at Beicheng’s most money-burning Mayfair Club.
Cen Li had booked a private room on the fourth floor. Lu Huaiyan arrived late, and when he entered, more than ten people were already seated inside.
Cen Li had a cigar between his fingers. Seeing Lu Huaiyan’s figure, he hurriedly patted the main seat beside him and said: “Come over, this seat, if you don’t come, no one dares sit. Why so late? Did your old man arrange another blind date for you?”
Old Master Lu arranging blind dates for Lu Huaiyan was never a secret in Beicheng.
Unlike this group who had arranged-marriages long ago, Lu Huaiyan had won back his right to decide his own marriage from Old Master Lu the year he turned twenty-one.
Even Old Master Lu couldn’t stuff people to him anymore. All he could do was keep nagging, then secretly arrange a few blind-date candidates.
When they first learned about the bet between Lu Huaiyan and Old Master Lu, Cen Li had been pretty curious, asking him: “Did you meet your ‘true love’ or something?”
Old Master Lu originally wanted to use the bet to make Lu Huaiyan reconcile with Lu Jinzhong. If they couldn’t reconcile, at least don’t go to the point of no return.
These childhood friends knew exactly how much Lu Huaiyan loathed Lu Jinzhong. For him to stake his marriage autonomy on this? How could they not be shocked?
To them, whoever they married didn’t matter, they could still play after getting married.
Lu Huaiyan obviously didn’t take the marriage autonomy seriously, giving a careless reply: “It’s a sure-win game, why not bet? Just think of it as an add-on.”
After saying that, he even shot Cen Li a sideways look and laughed: “‘True love’? Cen Li, you’re pretty romantic.”
Romantic my *ss.
Although Cen Li wasn’t as much of a playboy as the other few, he had dated a few times and deeply knew romance was expensive and time-consuming, definitely not something he would enjoy.
There were quite a few people at today’s gathering, but those who truly played well with Lu Huaiyan were only Cen Li and Guo Song.
Lu Huaiyan sat down on a nearby single sofa, half smiling: “You’re this concerned about whether I went on blind dates?”
His words naturally stirred up some very unpleasant memories for Cen Li. He clicked his tongue: “Relax, I’m not trying to play matchmaker.”
As someone with two younger sisters, he would rather die than introduce his sisters to Lu Huaiyan again.
Too naive when he was young, seeing Lu Huaiyan aloof from women and disciplined, and Sese having feelings for him, he’d thought he could match them up. Now when Cen Li thought back, he wanted to slap himself. Must have been blind to think of letting Lu Huaiyan be his brother-in-law.
Lu Huaiyan gave him a meaningful glance and lightly laughed: “Even took out the cigars you’ve been hoarding for years. Say what you want to say quickly.”
Everyone present knew why Cen Li had organized this gathering.
Nothing more than to pave a road for the little sister he just recognized back.
Cen Li picked up the drink on the table, speaking with solemn seriousness: “You all know my family’s situation, I won’t say more. The past twenty-three years of Cen Yu’s experiences, as her older brother I really do feel distressed, and you older brothers probably feel even more distressed than I do. From here on I’ll ask you all to look after her more. If someone bullies her, help vent her anger, when you run into projects she’s doing, try to be generous, have the magnanimity of being older brothers, let her earn some pocket money. I’ll drink this cup first!”
After this shameless speech fell, someone in the private room immediately cursed: “I knew your cigars you’ve hoarded for years weren’t going to be free for us to smoke!”
The glass of liquor in Cen Li’s hand not only had a high proof but was also filled to the brim. He smiled and downed it in one gulp, then filled a new one to the top again.
“There’s one more thing I want to ask of you all,” Cen Li raised the glass in his hand, “tomorrow at the banquet, my other little sister might also come. You guys are basically people who watched her grow up. I have no other request, just hope that how you treated her before is how you’ll treat her in the future. Tonight, whatever you eat, drink, or play, all goes on my tab!”
When Cen Li started speaking, Lu Huaiyan had taken one of the cigars Cen Li had hoarded for years and was playing with it in his hand, lazily leaning back on the sofa, clearly not interested in what Cen Li was saying.
Only now, when Cen Li mentioned the other little sister, he finally looked as if he gained a bit of interest, lifting his eyelids and staring at the animatedly talking Cen Li for a moment.
Just now, Cen Li used the word “might.”
With Jiang Se’s personality, she definitely would not come to tomorrow’s Cen family banquet, and would certainly reject Cen Li.
Unless… someone insisted on dragging her over from Tongcheng.
In the entire Cen family, only that person would do such a thing.
Lu Huaiyan tapped the smooth, soft armrest of the sofa with his fingertips and asked lightly: “Cen Li, your little aunt came back to Beicheng?”
