Chapter 11

The Four-Sided Mirror - Xiao Ying (1)

“Why are you so excited? Didn’t we make plans this morning? Who knew you’d be so late.” He tilted his head toward the empty seat beside him. “Get in.”

Xiao Ying happily ran to the other side of the car, where the driver had already gotten out and opened the door for her. She quickly retracted her hand when it brushed against his, saying “Thank you” as she hurriedly sat inside. The sound of the door closing filled the cabin, and a deep silence settled in.

Xiao Ying was dressed in a gray suit and black shirt, with the top two buttons of her shirt casually undone, revealing a hint of her collarbone. Her legs and arms were long and slender—such a person was rare—and she was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, her hand resting on her forehead. She exuded an almost indifferent arrogance. For a moment, she reminded Xiao Ying of the masked K001 man. But as soon as their gazes met, the thought vanished. He raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “What, you want to say I’m not your type?”

Luo Wei froze for a moment, recalling something from her childhood.

Back then, her class and Class Four’s first period on Tuesday afternoons were both physical education classes. During one free activity, Xiao Ying went to the store to buy water, and she sneakily slipped inside and greeted him. Xiao Ying responded with a brief “Oh” and turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, he turned back holding a soccer ball and said, “From now on, let’s come to school together every Tuesday at noon.” She was overjoyed and nodded vigorously.

The next Tuesday, her mom packed an extra apple for her to give to Xiao Ying. After that, every Tuesday at noon, they would sit by the playground eating apples while waiting for the bell for physical education. A few classes later, one of Xiao Ying’s friends ran over, slung his arm around his neck, smiled at her, and said, “Hey, junior, you and the boss are really close, huh?” She honestly nodded. He said, “You like the boss, don’t you?” She replied, “I like him a lot.” Then the boys burst into laughter. The senior clapped his hands and said, “The junior is so honest, actually, the boss likes you too!” Ha ha ha ha! The result was that they were all eventually kicked by Xiao Ying.

That afternoon, Xiao Ying, for the first time ever, came to the classroom door to pick her up. She grabbed her schoolbag and ran out, holding his hand as they walked toward the school gate. Xiao Ying hesitated for a moment, awkwardly pulling her hand away. He glanced at her, then turned his head, grabbed her hand again, and dragged her outside. In that moment, she wasn’t unaware of the many eyes on them, but she thought, “Xiao Ying is the school’s boss, so it’s normal for people to look.” She puffed out her chest, thinking it was a moment of pride. However, Xiao Ying’s reaction was odd—he walked briskly with her hand in his, his ears turning red, and he didn’t look back at her until they had left the school.

During one PE class, while watching Xiao Ying run, slide tackle, and shoot on the soccer field, Luo Wei suddenly asked Su Jiayan why Xiao Ying looked more and more like a boy. Su Jiayan laughed, saying, “Ying Ze is actually a boy.” That moment felt like a thunderclap. She recalled what his classmates had said, how he reacted awkwardly when she held his hand, and the surprised looks from the entire school. The shock, the realization, the awkwardness… she could never forget that moment. From that day on, she stopped waiting for Xiao Ying. As soon as class ended, she would slip away and go home by herself. But even if she and Xiao Ying were on the same field, she could still hear laughter from dozens of meters away.

Their conflict erupted on the day of the music festival. She was a student who had a slow start in her studies. Not only did she lack artistic talent, but even exams were a struggle for her. The day before the music festival, the teacher handed out test papers. She secretly changed the score of “1” to “9” on her paper, but her parents caught her and scolded her, telling her to fix it before coming home the next day. So, she spent the music festival not only participating in the event but also quietly correcting her test paper.

That day, the students of Class 4 were seated just to the upper right of their class in the activity hall. When she saw Su Jiayan’s back, she rushed over to ask him to look over her test paper, but he was just getting up to prepare for his piano performance. She was about to leave when Xiao Ying’s good buddy suddenly appeared, shouting, “Wow, isn’t this the big sister? The big sister is here to ask the boss about homework!” The group called out, “Hey, hey, come on, call the big sister!” Xiao Ying, used to their teasing, walked up to her, tilted his chin toward the empty seat next to him, and said, “Come here.”

It was the first time she stood so close to him since finding out his gender. No matter what he said, the teasing from the boys didn’t stop. She couldn’t stand it anymore and yelled at them, “I always thought Xiao Ying was a girl, which is why I had such a good relationship with him! I don’t like him! He’s not my type! If I were to like anyone, I’d like Jiayan!” The teasing immediately died down, but she saw the shock in Xiao Ying’s eyes. For a moment, she regretted it deeply, but it was too late. Ah, the things children say.

From that moment, their relationship changed. They became strangers, and this lasted for nearly three years, until the day she was about to move away from Gongzhou.

Three years later, on a vibrant spring day, she watched Xiao Ying and his friends take their graduation photos and sign yearbooks on the playground, but she didn’t dare approach them. Unexpectedly, Xiao Ying walked up to her and asked, “Luo Wei, after you transfer schools, will you ever come back?”

It turned out that he already knew she was transferring. It had been so long since they last spoke, and she awkwardly shook her head. “I don’t know...”

He draped his school uniform over his shoulder and asked, “Do you like me?”

She never expected him to say that. She was caught off guard. She couldn’t confirm or deny it, and her face flushed with heat, almost to the point of tears. She finally lowered her head and mumbled, “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

“If we might never see each other again, are you still unwilling to tell the truth?”

“...I...”

“Forget it, I won’t force you. By the time you really come back, we’ll probably have grown up. I’ll be a diamond merchant.” He gently patted her head and lightly hooked her pinky. “Don’t forget our promise.”

She remembered that day—it was spring, and the peach blossoms filled the entire city of Gongzhou, their petals falling on them both. He draped his school uniform over his shoulder, looked up at the peach blossoms above, pointed to them, and smiled at her with a childlike grin. “It’s decided then. I’ll wait for you to come back. When the flowers bloom again, I’ll marry you.”

The pink petals filled the campus. She watched him walk farther and farther away. For some reason, the heat on her face didn’t fade but instead grew hotter, like a fever. Finally, she rubbed her eyes with both hands and began to cry...

Many years later, that line, “I’m not your type,” also brought back the memories of a childish early crush. Thinking of this, Luo Wei’s face flushed. “In comparison to your memory, I’m practically a goldfish.”

“Having such self-awareness shows you’re a little better than a goldfish,” his voice, full of youthful male charm, was cold, like the deep ice of the sea. Then he held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

She obediently took out her phone, unlocked it, and handed it to him. He quickly entered a number, dialed it, then hung up. “This is my number. Save it.”

She stole another glance at him. With a guy like him, could there really be any girl who wouldn’t like him? But it always felt... a bit too dominant. She thought he’d become gentler as he grew older, but it turned out to be even more intense. Still, with his number suddenly appearing in her contacts, she felt pleased inside, too distracted to dwell on the details.

Soon, Chang Feng and Lu Xiren got in the car and sat in front of them. Chang Feng asked where Luo Wei lived. After she told him, she slapped her forehead in realization. “Oh, how dumb of me. Xiao Lajiao told me earlier that you’re often at Zhenji Wang City. I arrived at Dongmen Zhi, heard they said King was upstairs, but I didn’t even think that you’d be up there too. If I had come up earlier, I wouldn’t have made you wait so long.”

When she said this, Xiao Ying looked confused for a second, then coldly shook his head with a smirk. This expression really hit Luo Wei’s pride. She felt she should clarify. “I wasn’t wrong, right? Do you know King?”

“I do.”

Now, even Lu Xiren snickered. His ambiguous laugh made Luo Wei even more embarrassed. She continued, “Don’t laugh. Zhenji Wang City is so big, not everyone has interacted with him, right? I came to that conclusion because you all rode in his car. I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

Chang Feng fell silent, and Lu Xiren couldn’t stop laughing. Xiao Ying sighed. “You really are dumb.”

Actually, he was the one who was dumb. If he had been waiting all that time, why not ask Xiao Lajiao for his number? She had arrived exactly on time. But whatever, his temper had always been like this. Every time he made plans with someone, he had to be more punctual than a robot, but if the other person was even one minute late, he wouldn’t wait. No explanations, no communication, no showing weakness—this was his personal style. He hadn’t changed a bit after all these years. Thinking of this, she turned to him and smiled. “Hey, Xiao Ying.”

“What?”

Only the faint glow of streetlights filtered into the car. He turned his head and his gaze fell on her. Her shoulder-length hair fluttered in the wind, giving off a graceful and elegant vibe. But she was still the same as before—her eyes had that unyielding tenacity, her smile held both the mischievousness of a bad girl and the innocence of a good girl, just like when they were younger. He gazed at her quietly, his face shadowed by the light behind him, but his features still beautiful like a scene from a movie. Whether it was the tremble of his hair in the wind or the flutter of his eyelashes as he blinked, everything seemed to slow down, like it was in slow motion.

— Don’t forget our promise.

— I’ll wait for you to come back. When the flowers bloom again, I’ll marry you.

The voice of that childhood boy echoed faintly in her ears. She thought to herself that the reason she used to feel nervous about meeting Xiao Ying was probably because of conversations like that. But when they actually met, she realized that she had overthought things. She tried to continue the conversation. “I can’t believe it’s been fifteen years since we last saw each other. I couldn’t find you for so long, I thought you had run into trouble, but now you’re so amazing.”

These words were sincere. Xiao Ying’s family wasn’t wealthy, and there was no woman in the house, but Uncle Lin was a standard good father. Back when they used to play at Xiao Ying’s house, he would always cook delicious meals for them, treating them very well. With such a kind and amiable father, one would expect to raise a well-behaved son, but to her surprise, Xiao Ying was so dominant and had managed to get this far. She had heard from others that most of the higher-ups at Zhenji Wang City were from prestigious families, with the He family holding a large portion of the shares. For a young man in his twenties to work his way up to King’s side, it definitely required some real skill.

“Impressive? Do tell,” he said with interest.

“To be working next to King, isn’t that impressive? Although I also work with impressive people, I’m still just a small assistant. You’ve definitely surpassed me by several levels,” she replied.

Lu Xiren burst out laughing. “Oh my God, my stomach is as empty as a cold winter night with a thin moon, and you’re making me laugh. Miss Luo Wei, are you trying to bury me with your humor?”

“You’re not eating because you’re busy flirting with girls, and you blame Miss Luo Wei for that?” Chang Feng didn’t give him a chance to save face.

Xiao Ying stopped mocking her. “Who are you assisting?”

“Edward Conno.”

“Still into shiny things?”

Luo Wei smiled brightly, her eyes turning into two beautiful, deep pools. “By the way, is there something you wanted to tell me?”

The atmosphere quieted down. She had always thought she understood Xiao Ying, but when faced with his gaze, she often found herself at a loss. That gaze didn’t have the warmth of friends or the tenderness of a man attracted to a woman. It was more like a wolf watching its prey—extremely calm and quite terrifying. He looked at her for a moment before turning to look out the window. “We’ll talk later.”

“Alright, it is getting a bit late,” she said, shaking her phone. “Let’s talk on the phone.”

“Mm.”

Not long after, the car stopped downstairs at Xiao Lajiao’s place. After she got out and opened the door with her keys, the car sped off. Her heart was filled with excitement; she wanted to share her feelings about reuniting with Xiao Ying, but Xiao Lajiao was asleep, mumbling in her dreams, “Tomorrow I need to deliver a package,” and then fell into a deep sleep.

-Rose Theater-

Xiao Lajiao: “Since the serialization of Mirror Rose, the character of Xin Qi has been quite controversial. Readers are divided—some love her, others can’t stand her. Some readers think she’s ‘so cute!!’, while others think she’s ‘the most annoying character, without a doubt.’ Miss Xin Qi, what are your thoughts on this?”

Xie Xin Qi: “As long as everyone is happy, I don’t really care.”

Xiao Lajiao: “But readers have strong feelings about Luo Wei—either love or hate. Is it because she’s more gentle? It seems like that’s also why Shǎn Niū chose her as the female lead, very safe.”

Luo Wei: “I can’t tell if you’re praising or criticizing me = =.”

Xiao Lajiao: “And the very popular older brother always appears with Xin Qi. Maybe it’s because they have strong chemistry as a couple?”

Xie Xiu Chen: “I sincerely reject the idea of me and my sister as a couple.”

Xiao Lajiao: “Now, about King, everyone’s opinion is...”

King: “Heh.”