Volume One, Chapter 75: The Playboy and the Good Girl
Just past noon the next day, the doorbell rang.
It was as if they had all planned to come together; when the door opened, a group of people stood outside.
Lou Ye had his hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as if he were at home.
Jiang Huai and Jiang Ke’er were both carrying armfuls of gifts.
Flowers.
A fruit basket.
Gift boxes tied with beautiful butterfly bows.
Behind Jiang Ke’er were two bodyguards, one of whom carried in a huge green plant.
It looked awfully familiar.
Wasn’t that... the one by the floor-to-ceiling window in the villa on the hillside?
Imported from Brazil, perhaps?
Sang Wan glanced at Lou Ye.
Lou Ye’s expression was unchanged. “2S likes it, so I brought it for him.”
Sang Wan: …
“This is Young Master Jiang, and this is Ke’er...”
“Young Master Jiang, Ke’er, this is my best friend, Xu Yiyi.”
After the introductions, Sang Wan asked Xu Yiyi to serve tea and fruit.
Then she turned into the kitchen.
Xu Yiyi slipped in after her. “Why didn’t you introduce Lou Ye?”
“What? Don’t you know him already?” Sang Wan looked baffled.
Xu Yiyi threw her a meaningful look and walked back out.
The sound of stir-frying filled the kitchen, and for a moment, Sang Wan was lost in thought.
Yes.
Why hadn’t she introduced Lou Ye just now?
It was almost as if she’d assumed Lou Ye and Xu Yiyi already knew each other.
In the living room, Lou Ye was in excellent spirits.
He knew Xu Yiyi because, during those two years at Imperial University, the only people always with Sang Wan were Lu Jinnian and Xu Yiyi.
But just now, Sang Wan had only introduced Jiang Huai and Jiang Ke’er.
She hadn’t introduced him.
Did that mean she’d already talked about him to Xu Yiyi privately, and just assumed the two were acquainted?
What had she said about him?
“Mr. Lou, I’m Xu Yiyi.”
“Hello, Senior Xu!”
“Mr. Lou, thank you for what you did at Imperial University.”
“No need for thanks! Water shouldn’t flow to outsiders’ fields—if you appreciate it, that’s enough.”
“I do, I do, of course I do!”
Who knew what kind of riddle these two were speaking in.
Jiang Huai circled the living room and played with 2S for a while.
When he returned to the sofa, he heard Jiang Ke’er ask Xu Yiyi, “Yiyi, your name is so pretty. Does it mean ‘wholehearted’?”
“No…”
“Of course not!” Before Xu Yiyi could answer, Jiang Huai cut her off from his spot by the window.
Jiang Ke’er looked at Xu Yiyi.
Xu Yiyi nodded. “I was originally named Xu Shiyi—I didn’t like the name, so on my eighteenth birthday, I changed it myself at the registry.”
Jiang Ke’er looked utterly confused. “Why would any parents name their child ‘Eleven’?”
Jiang Huai said nothing.
Xu Yiyi replied softly, “Because I’m the eleventh child in my family.”
A brief silence settled over the room.
Xu Yiyi went on lightly, “Oh, don’t overthink it! My mother only had me and my brother and sister. I’m just the eleventh child in the Xu family.”
“The eleventh girl, right?” Jiang Huai added quietly.
Xu Yiyi nodded.
After a short pause, Jiang Ke’er apologized softly, “I’m sorry, Yiyi.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for! My hardships ended the moment I entered Imperial University. Come, have some chocolate to sweeten the mood…”
Xu Yiyi busied herself trying to liven up the atmosphere.
At the kitchen door, Lou Ye spoke to the busy and orderly Sang Wan, “Sis, what did you tell Senior Xu about me?”
“What? I never told her anything about you!”
“Then why didn’t you introduce me to her just now?”
“…I thought you knew each other. Back in school, you called her Senior Xu too!”
“I’m face-blind, I already forgot.”
“…”
Fish was frying in the pan, oil splattering now and then.
Even though Lou Ye wasn’t causing any trouble, his lazy presence was impossible to ignore.
Sang Wan turned and shooed him away. “Go out, or you’ll reek of oil and smoke.”
As the kitchen door closed, she could see his figure receding down the hallway.
Sang Wan let out a quiet breath.
For five people, Sang Wan cooked six dishes and a soup.
As soon as the braised pork knuckle was set on the table, Jiang Huai and Jiang Ke’er took their seats, drawn by the aroma.
When the squirrel-shaped sweet-and-sour fish arrived, both applauded.
“Sis, you’re amazing! Were you a Michelin five-star chef in your past life? No, you are one in this life too!”
“Sister Sang, you’re incredible! What a treat today!”
The meal stretched from afternoon to dusk, with Sang Wan enveloped by rainbow compliments from Jiang Huai, Jiang Ke’er, and Xu Yiyi.
As night fell, Lou Ye and the other two got up to leave at just the right moment.
They urged Lou Ye to drive carefully.
They invited Jiang Huai and Jiang Ke’er to come again whenever they liked.
When the door closed, Sang Wan had barely sat down on the sofa before Xu Yiyi dragged her into the bedroom. “Get changed, hurry up, we’re almost out of time!”
“What? Out of time for what?” Sang Wan was baffled.
Xu Yiyi tossed her a flirtatious look. “Didn’t I promise you, when my rank came through, I’d treat you to the supreme service of hot, young male models? Bingo, time to keep my word!”
“That fast? Wait, you mean your title came through already?”
“Of course. With Mr. Lou backing me, even if the school didn’t care about his face, they’d have to care about Chairman Mao’s—money talks! That’s the power of cash!”
Sang Wan: …
Half an hour later, Sang Wan was being dragged by Xu Yiyi into a bar called “Nightfall” at the end of Bar Street.
It was their first time there; Xu Yiyi had done her homework in advance.
“First, never go to the restroom alone.”
“Second, never accept drinks from strangers.”
“Third, after deductions, my salary is fifteen thousand this month. If you see a handsome guy you like, make sure to ask the price first.”
Sang Wan resisted the urge to roll her eyes and glanced at her phone. “It’s nine now. We’re going home at eleven, sharp.”
Two hours? That’s nowhere near enough!
The real fun hadn’t even started yet, had it? She’d heard that at midnight, there’d be scantily clad beauties performing tightrope dances, and hot male models strutting the runway.
“Opportunities like this don’t come twice! If you miss it this time, there won’t be another! I’m only treating you this once!” Xu Yiyi threatened in a conspiratorial whisper.
Sang Wan shook her head, laughing.
As they entered, a wave of rhythmic music crashed over them.
Her eardrums nearly burst from the volume.
Yet it wasn’t at all vulgar or jarring.
A glance around revealed a dance floor full of attractive men and women.
Waiters carrying trays weaved through the crowd, reminding tipsy guests to keep an eye on their phones and valuables.
There was an undercurrent of order, laced with something that made the heart race and blood run hot.
Scanning the menu, it was all brands like Martell and Hennessy, or abstract names like “Enchanted Ace of Spades” and “Tipsy Florence.”
Sang Wan didn’t even know what half of them were.
The two rookies debated for a while; one ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, the other a Daydream.
Soon, the drinks arrived.
The Long Island Iced Tea looked like diluted cola, a pale brown.
The Daydream was especially pretty, fading from pale white and blue at the top into deep blue at the bottom.
Sang Wan took a tentative sip, and her eyes lit up. “It’s delicious!”
They couldn’t dance.
They didn’t know anyone.
Chatting was a strain on their voices.
Xu Yiyi glanced at the darkened stage and sighed, “Two and a half hours until midnight—my hot… ugh…”
Sang Wan clapped a hand over her mouth.
Bored, Xu Yiyi looked down at her phone.
The screen, dark as it was, burst into noisy life as she posted a short video.
Comments quickly followed.
Lu Gou: [Xu Yiyi, where are you? Who are you with? Sang Wan?]
Xu Yiyi sobered up instantly.
She deleted the video in a flash.
In his apartment on the twentieth floor, Lou Ye stared at his phone, eyes narrowing.
He was a party boy, yet here he was, home on a Saturday night.
And that good-girl Sang Wan had gone out clubbing?
Unbelievable!
He shrugged off his bathrobe, letting it fall to the floor.
Dressed, he headed out.
His Maybach roared into the night.