Chapter 19

The Six-Sided Mirror, Wangcheng (3)

“That’s probably because your hair looks pretty nice when it’s styled up.”

It wasn’t the first time she had been complimented on her looks, and He Yingze’s tone didn’t carry any flattery, but she still felt flustered and happy for a while. She whispered, “...Really? Do you really think so?”

“Are you questioning my taste? Of course, it’s not true.”

“...”

He Yingze had brought her to the opening ceremony of a club invested in by Hollywood stars. There were many guests, and the DJ in the club was playing lively music, but they went to a relatively quiet social banquet hall. The hall was filled with guests in evening gowns and tuxedos. He led her toward two people who were waiting: “Come, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Gao Qizhi and Mr. Gao Lian. You should have heard of their names.”

She indeed recognized them without his introduction. The two men were brothers—one of the most famous diamond ring designers, and the other a well-known jeweler. She had seen their exhibition shows in another city. She nodded to them and cautiously said, “Hello, I’m Luo Wei.”

“Ah, so you’re Miss Luo. At first, I mistook you for Xie Xinqi,” Gao Qizhi quickly handed her his business card, presenting it to her with both hands, humbly as if he were an apprentice. “May I ask what you do, Miss Luo?”

Faced with such important figures and their attitude, she couldn’t bring herself to introduce herself as “a designer’s assistant.” She glanced awkwardly at He Yingze, who, breaking from his usual demeanor, pushed her forward and smiled as he said to the two men, “Luo Wei is an old classmate of mine. She went abroad for further studies and only returned to Gongzhou this year. She’s a new designer trained by Edward Conno and is currently working on launching Gongzhou’s first Mélanie Green project.”

She was left stunned. Could this introduction really work? Is this how all successful people know how to market themselves? Gao Lian sized her up and said, “This dress... it must also be from Mélanie Green?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Miss Luo, you’re so young and already so accomplished. That’s truly impressive. Mélanie Green is a brand with potential. My cousin has always wanted to represent it but never made up her mind. Now, it looks like someone more capable has taken the opportunity. However, if you have any future projects you’d like to collaborate on, feel free to contact me. Here’s my business card…”

After introducing these two brothers, He Yingze led her to meet many other people. If she had encountered these individuals alone, they probably wouldn’t have given her a second glance. But that evening, she received a business card, warm greetings, and admiring looks from each of them. It turned out that the life of the high and mighty was full of complexities. With He Yingze’s help, her career would certainly soar. But why was he helping her without any apparent reason? Before he introduced her to the next wealthy businessman, she grabbed the hem of his coat and whispered, “Xiao Ying, I need to talk to you. Could you step outside with me for a moment?”

On this clear night, the sky had turned into a realm of stars, wrapped in a deep blue curtain holding them up. He led her to the balcony outside the banquet hall, turned to face her, and said, “Go ahead.”

She felt a little awkward: “So far, you’ve helped me so much, and I’m really grateful. Thank you. But I have very little social experience, and suddenly being pushed up such a big step, I just can’t handle it. I also don’t want to owe too much to anyone, so I think it’s better if I learn on my own first.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the marble railing, his black hair reflecting the brilliant starlight: “With your intelligence, Miss Luo, if you were to learn slowly, I’d have waited long enough for you to owe even more favors. Just don’t be so polite.”

With such a sharp tongue, how could she properly express her gratitude? She laughed awkwardly: “In that case, you really don’t need to help me anymore. Do what you can, and that’s more logical.”

“What do you mean by ability?”

“People like you, who have built such big businesses, obviously need a lot of ability. I don’t have your abilities, so it’s not appropriate for me to interact with the people around you. I think I should try harder and then…”

“Luo Wei, you really are an idealist.” He interrupted her, “Do you think successful people achieve their success just through hard work? In reality, hard work accounts for at most thirty percent. Background, luck, and the resources at hand are the key. And for women, it’s even more so.”

“Why is it like that for women?”

“Men like beautiful women. If a beautiful woman wants a career, she either has to take risks or be a hundred times smarter than an ugly one. A woman who is both beautiful and dumb is very dangerous in this society.” Seeing her surprised expression, he paused before calmly adding, “And if she’s just dumb, she’s even more doomed.”

She twitched the corner of her mouth: “That makes sense. But I don’t know how that has anything to do with me.”

“I’m a man of my word. If I promise something, I’ll make sure to fulfill it no matter what. If I really can’t do it, I’ll make up for it with something else.”

Luo Wei grew even more confused, but she just nodded. He cast a cold glance at her and waited a moment, noticing that she awkwardly avoided his gaze. Finally, he spoke again: “If I promised a woman that I would marry her but couldn’t do it, I would still provide her with the same living security as a wife.”

Luo Wei nodded again, preparing to hear him continue. But there was no further explanation. She blinked, suddenly recalling something he had said under the peach tree when they were kids. “Ah!” she exclaimed, trying to laugh but holding it back, “Wait, the woman you’re talking about… that wouldn’t be me, would it? The one you mentioned when we were playing house as kids?”

She didn’t notice that when he heard her mention “playing house,” his expression subtly changed. He then said flatly, “No matter when, I made that promise.”

“Xiao Ying, how can you be so cute? No one cares about what we said when we were kids. You don’t need to worry about me—I’m doing just fine now.”

Everyone says that King is the most heartless man in Gongzhou, but in her view, he wasn’t heartless—he was just a little lacking in common sense in certain areas, in a way that was almost endearing. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt uneasy. That’s right, she never took what they said as kids seriously. They had both grown up now, and there was a clear gap between them. She never expected to become his lover. But now, hearing him seriously say that he wouldn’t marry her and would offer compensation… Did all those phone calls and subtle tests he did before just stem from him fulfilling his childhood promise? Was that why everything had become so complicated? Had he finally realized that she wasn’t the kind of woman he wanted?

The more she thought about it, the more disheartened she felt. It even seemed like the violinist inside the room was drawing the bow across her heart.

But Luo Wei was never one to openly show her emotions. Her biggest strength was being able to make the people around her feel comfortable just by her presence. She leaned a little closer, sniffing at He Yingze: “I understand. I can tell there are many women who like Xiao Ying.” Seeing his confused expression, she smiled and said, “Because Xiao Ying smells so good, like Chanel No. 5.”

He smiled faintly: “I think you must be smelling Chanel No. 250.”

She had meant to tease him, but instead, she ended up laughing herself: “Even if I can’t win over such an outstanding man like you, I don’t think it’s so hard to get myself married off. You’re really worrying about me more than my dad does. We’ve been old classmates for so many years, we should maintain this trusting relationship.” She lightly nudged his arm with her hand. “You should go see your friends. They miss you.”

He looked down at her, his eyes deep, making it hard to read his emotions: “…Alright.”

“Great!” She happily clenched her fist and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call them and set up a time right now!”

He frowned again: “Why are you smiling like that?”

She ignored him and dialed Xiao Lajiao’s number, waiting for the call to connect. She didn’t want to show that she was hurt, not even willing to admit it to herself, so up until now, she was satisfied with how she was handling it. But the pain inside her only seemed to grow. As she listened to the beeping sound on the other end of the phone, she felt like she was transported back to the first night they spoke on the phone. Back then, just hearing his voice made her feel genuinely happy and sweet, how foolish she had been. Luckily, the night sky was willing to shield her, hiding the tears that welled up in her eyes. She lowered her head, turned her back to He Yingze, and tried to calm herself.

After a long while, the call still hadn’t been answered. She put down her phone, about to dial again when someone appeared at the balcony door and rushed in. It was a guest from the neighboring club. He was dressed fashionably but was drunk. Just as she was about to speak into the phone, the guest cried loudly and lunged at her. She didn’t have time to dodge, and stumbled back, falling into He Yingze’s arms. His hand landed on her waist to steady her. For a moment, she couldn’t think clearly; the spot he touched, even through her clothes, felt like it was on fire, and the heat spread all the way to her face.

“Hello, Weiwei?” It was Xiao Lajiao’s voice.

He Yingze used a bit of strength with his other hand, pushing the drunk guest to the ground. He held her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She, still in shock, instinctively turned her head to look at him, but all she could see was his neck. When she looked up…

“Hello, Weiwei? Is the signal bad? Why aren’t you speaking?”

“It’s... it’s nothing.” She hurriedly averted her gaze, too afraid to make eye contact with He Yingze. But her heart was racing so fast that she could hardly bear it, and her ears were buzzing like wild bees.

“So, I was saying, I made arrangements with Xiao Ying...”

After that, He Yingze went out to deal with the drunk guest while she stayed behind, continuing her phone call with Xiao Lajiao. She tried to act as if nothing had happened, but her mind was already in complete disarray. The spot where He Yingze had touched her waist felt like a wound that had been reopened, unable to heal from its fragile state.

She remembered the memories of crying as she said goodbye under the flower petal rain when they were kids. The feeling now strangely overlapped with that time.

The difference was, back then, she didn’t know what the outcome of their reunion would be. Now, she did.