RITM - 42

Chapter 42: The Fourteen-Sided Mirror - Cohabitation (2)

Chang Feng searched near the booth for a long time before finally spotting Lu Xiren, who was turned away from the crowd in a corner. Lu Xiren seemed to be hiding from something, either scratching his head or pretending to look at his phone. Even when He Yingze was present, Lu Xiren wouldn’t be this timid when chasing women, which made Chang Feng curious. Could it be that he was juggling multiple relationships and was about to get caught? This was terrible and awkward, so he couldn’t miss this opportunity. Chang Feng shouted, “Lu Xiren!” which indeed attracted many women who understood the “situation.” Lu Xiren pretended not to hear, but Luo Wei also called out, “Lu Xiren, we’re about to leave.” He tensed up like a hedgehog, trying to play dead, but the worst thing happened—Luo Wei whispered something to Xiao Lajiao and brought her over to him…

At the moment their eyes met, time froze, and lightning struck. He only saw Xiao Lajiao’s overly bright, unnatural smile: “I always thought it was strange. After delivering packages for over a year, I never saw the homeowner, yet I was always being chatted up by the neighbors.”

“Ha, haha…” Lu Xiren’s face was covered in cold sweat.

“So tell me, how did you convince the neighbors to let you appear at their place every time?”

“Haha, I also bought the house next door…”

“To be honest, if this happened to someone else, I’d send them straight to the mental hospital. But for someone like Mr. Lu, who likes browsing online stores like ‘Sensual Pleasure Room’ and ‘Hundred Charms Uniform Mall,’ it’s just damn cool.”

Whispers arose from all around, and Lu Xiren’s face turned red as he watched Xiao Lajiao raise her champagne glass, drink it all in one gulp, and then leave the scene.

No matter how calm she appeared at the jewelry exhibition, on the way back, Luo Wei’s mood was complex. He Yingze had saved her once again. He not only saved her life but also restored her dignity. She owed him more and more, yet she didn’t know how to repay him. If he were single, she could simply offer herself to him, and she would even consider it a bargain. But he had a girlfriend. And upon further reflection on the “first love” statement, she realized it wasn’t a good thing: Before reuniting with her, He Yingze had harbored feelings of first love for her. After reuniting, he rejected her and quickly found a girlfriend, which was even worse than if he hadn’t had those feelings at all. She was extremely troubled and, apart from working hard for him, couldn’t think of any solutions. She could only call him to express her gratitude first but received no response for a long time.

No matter what, she wanted to see him. She directly asked Lu Xiren where he was.

“He’s on the 46th floor, didn’t he tell you…?” Lu Xiren, still not recovered from Xiao Lajiao’s blow, answered absentmindedly.

Forty-six—this number was a nightmare, making her heart race. After reuniting with He Yingze, she had never heard him mention anything about the 46th floor. She was momentarily stunned but didn’t dare to respond directly, instead continuing to evade: “He mentioned it, but I didn’t expect him to go there so early. I have something to discuss with him now. How do I get in?”

“I’ll call them now. When you reach the 46th floor, tell them ‘Lu Xiren sent me to find King,’ and they’ll let you in.”

“Alright.”

But she didn’t ask how she would recognize He Yingze among the masked people. Deep down, a terrible premonition suddenly arose. Back when she was on the 46th floor and met K001, she hadn’t paid much attention to his voice, manner of speaking, or behavior—she only vaguely remembered him as an unreasonable yet kind man. But now, recalling his way of speaking and his deliberate avoidance of mentioning K001… everything overlapped with He Yingze. Just before getting out of the car, Lu Xiren added: “By the way, do you know where the passage to King’s upper position is? The staircase on the east side of the room—just say the same thing to them, and they’ll let you up.”

This sentence made her heart race all the way until she entered the casino on the 46th floor. Inside, the black-and-white checkered marble floor was still there, crowded as usual with strangely dressed staff and masked guests. She adjusted her mask and walked in a few steps. As expected, she saw the elevated platform hanging in the air. There was a European-style four-cornered red sofa, and a man sitting in the middle. That night, there were particularly many people, and curtains hung around the platform, so from outside the door, she could only see his legs. She went up via the staircase on the east side, said to the guards, “Lu Xiren sent me to find King,” and they let her in. Many people stood on the platform, but there was still only one person sitting on the red sofa. She could easily recognize He Yingze’s silhouette, but for the first time, she was especially afraid of him turning around, only managing to take a couple of strained steps forward. The people beside him noticed her and whispered something in his ear. He put down the cigar in his mouth, turned his head, and looked at her indifferently.

“...Luo Wei? What are you doing here?” He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and patted the spot next to him on the sofa. “Come sit.”

She sat down beside him but kept some distance, tightly clutching her skirt, her eyes fixed on every move he made. He wore an open-collar shirt and a black suit, adorned with a black-and-white checkered square scarf at his chest, and a king’s mask on his face, looking extremely relaxed and not noticing her unease. She called his name softly. He didn’t respond, only turning his head to look at her calmly through the mask. She felt a bit nervous: “Is your number here K001?”

“Yes.”

In that short moment, she suddenly realized why He Yingze had suddenly appeared after that nightmare-like night. But she didn’t understand why he had never told her his identity. She felt there must be a secret behind it, but she had been kept in the dark. She probed: “So, from the beginning, you knew who I was, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me that you saved me here before? Or was it that you brought me here by mistake and didn’t want me to know?”

“It’s not that complicated. I just thought it wasn’t necessary to say.”

Was it always He Yingze’s straightforward answers that made her overthink things? She wanted to ask more questions, but she clearly understood that he wasn’t the type of person who could be forced into answering. She decided to investigate slowly if she got the chance later. After a brief silence, she sighed: “I wish you weren’t so nice to me.” Seeing his puzzled look, she continued: “You’ve always protected me, even going so far as to offend your girlfriend and have a fake marriage with me... I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. These are just small favors for me. If you really want to thank me, work hard on your performance. Think about what Xie Xinqi said and did to you today—do you feel satisfied with that?”

“Achieving dreams sounds beautiful, but not everyone can do it.” Even the mask couldn’t hide her dejection.

“Don’t make excuses for your weakness.”

“I’m not weak. If effort alone could achieve what one wants, there wouldn’t be so many failures. He Yingze, do you know... I...” She opened her mouth for a long time before bitterly smiling and saying, “To become someone like Xie Xinqi... I... maybe I’ll never be able to perform well in my career. Every time she releases a new design, it startles me. Comparing it to my work, I realize... there really is a gap in talent between people. And this kind of thing is hard to cultivate in a short period...”

“If being talented only means being good at design and art, then aren’t those in IT, finance, securities, or electronics all mediocre? Everyone has talent; you just haven’t found your point yet.”

The surroundings were very noisy, but she heard every word he said without missing a single one. It was like seeing a glimmer of hope while groping in the dark. She quickly looked up: “What do you mean by that?”

He smiled: “Can’t even figure this out? Go back and think about it yourself.”

“I’ll try.”

“Besides, you’re good at cooking, and you’re pretty too. Any man would want to marry a woman like you. If you really can’t succeed in your career, just get married and be a housewife. For a woman, it’s not such a bad choice.”

They hadn’t talked about feelings for a long time. Her feminine charm being affirmed by him made her clench her fists nervously, but she still boldly joked with a playful smile: “Then, do you want to marry me?”

“No.”

“It’s too late to say no.”

“It’s just a formality marriage. You’d better not expect anything. I won’t touch you.”

“Alright, alright, I’m just joking with you. I know that even if you were single now, I’m the type of person who would cling to you and you wouldn’t even glance at me twice.”

“Good that you know.”

Deep down, she understood that Xiao Ying’s current actions were all about taking responsibility for her. His initial feelings of love for her had long been washed away by time, turning into friendship, and the heart-wrenching pain she felt after being rejected by him had also healed over the past year. So even though they couldn’t be together, they were still childhood friends who grew up together. He had always been someone who wasn’t good at expressing himself, often saying harsh words to cut off her hopes, but he was kinder to her than anyone else. She understood his hidden tenderness better than anyone. Having such a friend was already the greatest blessing of her life. If there was anything lacking... perhaps the only, and final regret, was that she still liked him.

However, life is never perfect, and she understands contentment.

“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in men who have girlfriends. Especially old friends like you, who are so familiar that holding your hand feels like my left hand touching my right.” She lightly pushed him, “Don’t make our current relationship too public—I still want to get married in the future.”

Seeing his inscrutable gaze, she didn’t know what he was scrutinizing, so she used a smile to ease the awkwardness. What she needed to do now was to ensure he didn’t feel burdened or detect her lingering feelings. After laughing for a while, she suddenly stopped, put on a serious face, and said, “I was just trying to make you laugh. You always react like this—with no response at all. I’m not laughing anymore.”

But unexpectedly, he reached out and tightly gripped her hand. After releasing it, his expression was hidden behind the mask as he turned his head: “Indeed, there’s no feeling.”

His hand was much larger than she remembered, and it was scorching hot. Her hand felt slightly sore from his grip, and the pain seemed to seep into her heart. She lowered her head and sighed softly, so quietly that even she couldn’t hear herself. Sensing her emotions, he flicked her forehead: “Remember, be more open-minded. Don’t dwell on things too much.”

She covered her forehead and smiled with a hint of defiance: “I don’t have an open mind.”

“Exactly. Neither heart nor...” He didn’t look at her but took a sip of his drink with a smile.

“...”