By October, the air in Beijing already carried a chill. When Yulan arrived at the train station after an eight-hour journey on a slow train, there was no sign of Xi Mingzhou, only a biting gust of wind.
She hugged her arms to her chest, ducked into the bus stop shelter, and pulled out her phone to dial. "I’m at the South Station exit. Where are you?"
"Babe, are you sure you didn’t misread? There’s no South exit on the high-speed rail side."
Yulan was silent for a moment. "I told you days ago that I couldn’t snag a high-speed ticket for the National Day holiday, so I switched to a regular train."
On the other end of the line, Xi Mingzhou offered an awkward laugh. "I’ve been a bit busy lately and it slipped my mind. Don’t be mad, babe. Just wait right there; I’ll be there in thirty minutes, guaranteed."
Xi Mingzhou said thirty minutes, and he was true to his word.
He arrived to pick her up in a small, red convertible. It was a two-door sports car, looking flashy and eye-catching in the sunlight—very much in line with Xi Mingzhou’s personality: bold and flamboyant.
Yulan carefully pulled the door shut, and no sooner had she sat down than the roof retracted.
A kiss landed on her forehead.
Xi Mingzhou’s eyes sparkled. "My little magnolia, I’ve missed you so much."
Yulan pushed him away. "Don’t be cheesy. You saw me just three days ago."
Having been with Xi Mingzhou for a year and a half, her own accent had been almost imperceptibly warped by his.
"My little magnolia is so exquisite that I go mad with longing if I don’t see her for a single day, let alone three. My heart is simply breaking with the wait."
Yulan felt a sweet warmth at his cajoling. Xi Mingzhou was handsome to begin with, and when he spoke sweet nothings, those peach-blossom eyes—which even dogs would find affectionate—seemed to be filled with flickering stars.
Yulan pinched his cheek and decided on the spot to forgive him.
But his next sentence sent ripples of unease through her heart once more.
"I’m taking you to meet my uncle first," Xi Mingzhou said, his eyes scanning her up and down.
"Not your parents?"
He looked away, rubbing his nose. "They went abroad. They couldn't make it back in time."
The feeling of being scrutinized and deceived made Yulan knit her brows.
"This outfit you have on isn't quite right for meeting him. Come on, give your big brother a kiss, and I’ll take you to buy something new." As he spoke, he pointed to his left cheek.
Yulan lowered her eyes to look at her off-white dress. The hem was slightly wrinkled from a night on the train. The dress had cost nearly a thousand yuan, which was quite decent compared to the pile of Taobao clothes in her closet.
She wasn't the type to swallow her feelings, and her expression immediately soured. "I thought I’d only need to bathe and change for your 'Imperial Father,' but I didn't realize the 'Imperial Uncle' required such formalities too."
Xi Mingzhou understood her sarcasm instantly. He hurriedly put on a playful act. "You cruel thing, I’m just looking out for you. The temperature difference between morning and evening is huge lately; I’m just worried you’ll catch a cold."
He deliberately affected a Beijing accent, as if responding to her "Imperial Father" jab.
Since Xi Mingzhou had already offered her a way out, she stopped being difficult and asked what really concerned her: "Is your uncle easy to get along with? What if he tries to toss a five-million-yuan check at me to make me leave you?"
Xi Mingzhou’s eyes curved into crescents. "Your top priority should be deleting that 'Xiami' app from your phone—what on earth are you filling your head with?" He paused, then said with a straight face, "He’d ask if you have a corporate account, and after he transferred the money, he’d ask you to issue an invoice."
Yulan couldn't keep a straight face anymore and burst into a laugh.
"You look so beautiful when you laugh, just like a magnolia blossom."
The car pulled steadily into the underground garage at SKP. Xi Mingzhou leaned over to kiss her; after being apart for a few days, there was indeed a sense of excitement between them.
*Tap, tap, tap.* Just as they were about to kiss, a knocking sound came from the car window. Yulan’s eyes widened in fright, her expression beyond adorable. Xi Mingzhou chuckled, covered her eyes with his hand, and whispered in her ear, "Oh no, paparazzi caught us. Looks like a shakedown is coming."
Yulan’s heart raced. She knew Xi Mingzhou was a "second-generation" rich kid, but this was Beijing—a place where if you scattered a handful of pebbles on a footbridge, you’d hit a dozen luxury cars. What kind of second-generation kid would be stalked by paparazzi?
The car window slid down slowly. Before anyone could be seen, a slightly husky voice drifted in: "Xi Mingzhou, are you looking to die? I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour!"
Yulan quickly brushed his hand away. The face that greeted her was striking—vivid, high-end features, exquisite makeup, and even the waves in her hair looked meticulously styled.
The beautiful woman didn't spare a glance for Yulan, crossing her arms and saying, "Hurry up. Buy it and let's go. Time is money."
Once Yulan stepped out of the car, the woman finally deigned to look at her, though she only gave her a sidelong glance. "Go to Miu Miu; she suits that style." With that, she walked off on her own, her red-soled heels clicking out the rhythm of money across the garage floor.
Xi Mingzhou took Yulan’s hand. "Don’t mind her. That’s just her personality; she thinks she’s better than everyone else."
Only then did he seem to remember they hadn't been introduced. He pulled Yulan over and said, "This is Li Xiwei, my childhood friend. We grew up in the same compound. I figured since she studies design and has a good eye, I’d ask her to help you pick out a few outfits."
He then looked at Yulan. "Yulan, my girlfriend."
Li Xiwei arched an eyebrow. "And her last name?"
Yulan stopped Xi Mingzhou from speaking with a look, reached out, and introduced herself. "Hello, Sister Xiwei. My surname is Yu, my given name is Lan."
Li Xiwei’s eyes fell on her outstretched hand, and she turned away. "Nice name. You’re quite a young, pretty girl."
Yulan didn't particularly like Li Xiwei’s attitude. She worked in retail, which was all about being friendly to everyone, and she had a rule that you don't hit a smiling face. Li Xiwei’s habit of looking down her nose at people meant they were definitely not cut from the same cloth.
However, dislike aside, Li Xiwei’s taste was undeniably good. The two outfits she picked made Yulan realize exactly what it meant to "dress for success."
Yulan was already good-looking—perhaps "good-looking" was a modest way to put it. The fact that Xi Mingzhou, who had seen it all, had fallen for her at first sight proved how beautiful she was. Even after she started dating him, her little milk tea shop was always swarming with male college students.
Xi Mingzhou was chatting with Li Xiwei outside the car.
Inside, Yulan looked at the thirty thousand yuan she had just transferred to Xi Mingzhou on Alipay and felt a sharp pang of pain in her wallet.
Whatever they were talking about seemed to leave Xi Mingzhou in a bad mood when he returned. Yulan asked him, "I thought today would be one of those scenes where a childhood sweetheart makes things difficult for the newcomer."
Xi Mingzhou wrinkled his nose. "Don’t be ridiculous. Li Xiwei likes my uncle. She’s gunning to be my aunt."
Now it was Yulan’s turn to frown. "Such a beautiful woman, why would she like some old man?"
"Who said my uncle is old? He’s only twenty-eight."
Yulan clicked her tongue. "You never mentioned him before."
Xi Mingzhou pursed his lips. "I didn't dare. Just by standing there without saying a word, my uncle could turn all my ex-girlfriends into a puddle of mush."
Yulan caught a key piece of information. "You’ve brought girlfriends to meet the family before?"
"Of course. I’ve gone into every relationship with marriage in mind. As the great Chairman Mao once said, 'Any relationship not intended for marriage is hooliganism.' Your boyfriend here is a serious guy."
Yulan couldn't quite bring herself to smile. She felt a heaviness in her heart and simply turned to look out the window. "Let’s go, then. Let’s go meet your twenty-eight-year-old uncle."
"We can't go anymore. I’ll take you to the hotel first. He has a meeting tonight and can’t get away. I’ll just have to wait for my little magnolia to bloom tomorrow."