RITM - 44

Chapter 44: The Fifteen-Sided Mirror - Awakening (1)

At 8:30 a.m., when the door with the golden “4948” numbers was pulled open, Xiao Lajiao once again felt as if she had traveled through time. The hallway was adorned with only a pair of gleaming men’s leather shoes, and fresh flowers lined the corridor all the way to the living room. The European ferns on the balcony were lush with life, the living room was spotless, and the crystal tabletop reflected blinding sunlight. The person who opened the door was none other than Lu Xiren himself. In Lu Xiren’s timezone, 8:30 a.m. equated to 2:00 a.m. for normal people, yet today he hadn’t gone back to sleep. Instead, he stood impeccably dressed, pulling open the door: “Good morning, Miss Yellow Rose.” As his cologne wafted through the air and she heard his poetic tone, Xiao Lajiao couldn’t help but feel that the man before her was some kind of flower spirit. She stared at him silently, handing over the package, noticing the words “Chang’an Arts and Literature Library” written on it. With a slight tug of her lips, she handed him the ballpoint pen and delivery slip for his signature.

He held the pen, trying to suppress his eagerness, but his pink cheeks betrayed him: “Tomorrow I have another package to send. Perhaps the beautiful and delicate Miss Su will have to make the long journey to deliver it…”

“I won’t be handling this area tomorrow,” she said indifferently without looking up.

“What? Why?”

“You have too many packages, and they’re all small items. I don’t want to deliver them anymore. Tomorrow, a man will be responsible for this area. Don’t worry—he won’t just leave the package at your doorstep and walk away.” After he signed, she snatched the delivery slip, turned around, and left, completely indifferent to the fact that the man behind her had frozen like an ice sculpture under the summer sun.

---

At the same time, waking up from another dream, Luo Wei felt as if only five minutes had passed, but the light seeping through the gaps in the curtains was already blinding. She gasped, sat up abruptly, and checked the time—thankfully, she wouldn’t be late for work. In a frenzy, she washed up and rushed downstairs, only to find He Yingze already fully dressed in the living room. Seeing her emerge, he glanced at his watch and said, “You’re just in time. I have a last-minute meeting in Hong Kong today, and I need to take you along. The plane departs in two hours. Let’s get ready to go.”

Clearly, He Yingze didn’t understand that women can’t just step out the door after putting on clothes and shoes. With no time to dress properly, she initially wanted to decline, but he emphasized that the client was an American who judged business stability by the harmony of one’s family. She could only speed up her preparations, but she was still much slower than expected. While blow-drying her hair in the bathroom, she suddenly caught sight of He Yingze standing expressionless with his arms crossed against the doorframe in the mirror. Feeling immensely guilty, she said, “Sorry, sorry, I’ll be done soon.”

“How much longer?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes?” He glanced at his watch. “What exactly do you still need to do that will take twenty minutes?”

“My hair is too long…” She put down the hairdryer, brushed her hair vigorously with a comb, and then had a sudden idea. Turning to him, she handed him the hairdryer: “Here, you dry my hair while I comb this side.”

He sighed, looking away, but came over and turned on the hairdryer, roughly drying her hair with chaotic movements. Water droplets splattered everywhere, but she endured the discomfort and continued combing. When the long strands covering her eyes were brushed aside, she saw in the mirror that he was tall, effortlessly drying her hair, and inexplicably lowered his head in shyness, avoiding looking at their reflections. However, his fingers occasionally brushed against the skin of her neck, making her want to dig a hole and bury herself. He sighed again and muttered, “I can’t believe I’m doing this for you.”

She pretended not to hear and turned to him, blinking up at him: “Hmm?”

“Hmm what hmm? Hurry up.”

“Oh, okay.”

Turning back, her mind was filled with the moment their eyes met. Despite his stern and exasperated expression, it reminded her of the happiness she once felt eating figs. She wished she could stop everything, turn around, and quietly wrap her arms around his neck, clinging to him like rubber and never letting go… Realizing how shameless she was being, she buried her head even lower, unaware that she was smiling like a child who had gotten away with something mischievous.

Their departure was delayed by twenty minutes. Just before leaving, she asked him if he had eaten. He said no, so she rummaged through the kitchen and grabbed a siu mai, her favorite, before heading out with him. After getting into the car, He Yingze kept glancing at his watch. She handed him the siu mai: “Eat this.”

“I don’t feel like eating.”

“You haven’t had breakfast—it’s bad for your stomach. How can you not feel like eating? Come on, eat it. Don’t be picky.”

“I don’t like eating when I’m busy.” He looked preoccupied, clearly thinking about work.

“I knew you wouldn’t eat properly when you’re working. Your health comes first! You’re not busy right now, so hurry up and eat.”

Unable to bear her nagging, he reluctantly took the siu mai, but his tastes had been spoiled by her cooking. After one bite, he frowned, put it back in the plastic bag, and moved it out of her sight. He Yingze could be so childish at times—it was like forcing Crayon Shin-chan to eat green peppers. She leaned over to peek at the siu mai and raised an eyebrow. Helplessly, he took another bite and flipped it over: “Why don’t you eat some? I haven’t bitten this side.”

She waved her hands frantically: “No, no, I’m full.”

Watching him struggle to eat it as if it were poison, she realized this wasn’t going to work. There was still a long time before boarding, and he would definitely end up starving. Suddenly, she had an idea: “How about this—you eat it, and I’ll tell you a secret.”

“What secret?”

“I’ll tell you after you finish.”

“Is this just a trick to make me eat? There’s no secret.”

“No, there really is a secret. But it’s not a big one, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Sure enough, this seemed to work. Even the driver glanced at them quickly through the rearview mirror. He Yingze thought for a moment: “Does it have anything to do with me?”

“Yes.”

“Did I get something sticky on me?”

“No.”

“Did I forget to bring something?”

“No.”

He thought for a long time, then leaned over and whispered in her ear: “Are you having menstrual cramps again?”

“No!” She turned her head and whispered back into his ear, “What does my menstrual pain have to do with you? Hurry up and eat your siu mai, and you’ll know after you finish.”

Sure enough, he became much more efficient, though he complained while eating: “I don’t like siu mai. It’s sticky and dry—completely impossible to swallow.”

She couldn’t believe he was being so picky about her favorite food. But the more childish he became, the closer their relationship seemed to grow. She couldn’t help but laugh: “It’s still better than having an empty stomach.”

After a few bites, he looked up at her: “...Why are you laughing?”

“I’m imagining your reaction after I tell you the secret. Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh.”

“...”

Seeing that he was almost done, she clapped and laughed: “Great! Finish it all in one bite, come on!”

Obediently, he swallowed the remaining piece in one gulp. As he chewed, he shot her a hateful glare. She clapped her hands together: “Alright, now I’ll tell you the secret.”

Both He Yingze and the driver perked up their ears.

“In fact, earlier on the road, when I was holding this siu mai, I looked at it and thought it looked so soft... I kept thinking...” She raised her index finger dramatically toward the sky, “...I really wanted to eat this siu mai.”

The driver in the front seat almost burst out laughing but covered his mouth and pretended to cough. He Yingze, who hadn’t finished chewing, choked on his food and started coughing for real. She patted him on the back, laughing uncontrollably: “I knew you’d react like this. I’m really good to you—I gave up my favorite siu mai for you.” But he grabbed her and started tickling her.

“Is teasing me fun? Now this siu mai is rolling around uncomfortably in my chest—it says it wants to roll into your chest.”

“Stop, stop! Can’t you see even the driver is laughing? It’s clearly funny.”

The driver, intimidated by He Yingze’s glare, cleared his throat and said: “I just wanted to say... Mr. He and Mrs. He have such a great relationship.”

That single sentence instantly froze the atmosphere. Only then did Luo Wei realize they were practically hugging each other. She quickly straightened up and turned to look out the window. He Yingze awkwardly opened his phone and began scrolling through financial news. The awkward silence lingered, and just as Luo Wei was trying to think of a topic to break the tension, He Yingze spoke first: “You woke up in the middle of the night yesterday?”

“Yeah, I laughed myself awake from a dream.”

“Did you have a nice dream too?” he asked absentmindedly.

“I dreamed you gave me roses—a real fantasy blockbuster, huh?”

He didn’t respond, making her feel even more embarrassed. Glancing at the laptop on the seat, she changed the subject: “Can I use your computer to look something up?”

“Mm-hmm.” His attention wasn’t on her.

She opened the laptop and clicked on the search bar. A few lines of the owner’s recent search history popped up. Amidst keywords like stock indices, stock names, sports news, financial reports, current affairs, and politics, there was one particularly jarring entry: “Symptoms and treatments for menstrual cramps.” It was as if she had stepped into a surreal alternate universe. Reflecting on this, she found it both amusing and touching.

Dreaming of fantastical blockbusters was normal, but experiencing them in reality was another matter entirely. After arriving in Hong Kong, Luo Wei accompanied He Yingze through a full day of socializing and returned to the hotel exhausted. Upon opening the door to their room, the first thing that caught her eye made her rub her eyes three times in disbelief—there was a massive bouquet of deep crimson roses on the bed, numbering at least three or four hundred. They occupied half the bed, wrapped in a circle of pure white feathers and encased in deep red silk packaging. She let out a joyful squeal, rushed over, and tried to pick them up, only to find that they were too heavy to lift easily. In the end, she could only hug them like a tree trunk, nuzzling her face against the petals: “They’re so beautiful! I’m taking them back to Gongzhou. For the next week, I won’t leave the house—I’ll just stay with them.”

A faint smile played at the corner of He Yingze’s lips. Slowly walking over, he remarked: “They’re just plant reproductive organs. How can they excite you so much?”

She frowned, deep in thought, recalling her offhand comment from earlier. Suddenly, it dawned on her that these roses weren’t a gift from the hotel or some random act of fate. Tentatively turning her head, she asked: “Giving me flowers out of the blue—don’t tell me you have ulterior motives?”

He stared at her silently for a few seconds: “We both know the likelihood of you having ulterior motives toward me is higher.”

“...”

It was terrifying. These roses were truly a gift from He Yingze. Such vivid red roses symbolized passionate love... Of course, she couldn’t say that aloud, nor dare to entertain wild thoughts. Pretending to relax, she turned on the TV and casually browsed to a horror movie-on-demand page: “Oh, they even have horror movies here. Are you brave enough to watch?”

“Come to my room.”