Am I very drunk?
"Can I be a good person?"
She laughed as she spoke, retracting her hand from his collar, "I don't want to interfere with anyone's feelings. I just choose selectively, like only choosing Mr. Xu."
Despite not being familiar with Xu Jingxi, based solely on what she had heard from Liu Huaiying's mouth, this man was the only one in Forty-Nine City who could keep Liu Huaiying in check.
However.
Dare she say she wasn't approaching Xu Jingxi to chase her own desires even a little bit? There was some unclean motive mixed in.
Dare she say she wasn't attracted to the handsome face before her?
Yet, at her age, her pride was somewhat high; she was unwilling to admit too much and would not say something like "I like you a little."
Xu Jingxi gestured to the driver standing in the corner to hand over the car keys.
"A thank you for lighting my cigarette." The keys to his black Mercedes Benz G Class were now in her hands, "If you can't drive, just pick anyone from inside to drive for you."
Having said this, he stepped past her and headed over to the freestanding ashtray to extinguish his cigarette.
It was merely a subconscious action, yet it carried an appropriately merged sense of refined nobility.
She watched, wide-eyed, as the driver in white gloves opened the rear door of the Hongqi car, shielding with his hand to protect him as he got in.
With its privacy film dark and murky, the driver revved the engine, maintaining a steady speed as he left the villa.
In the back seat of the car, Xu Jingxi turned off airplane mode, and a deluge of messages started popping up one after another.
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, knowing that sometimes, turning off his phone late at night means he's unwilling to be disturbed by anyone.
Thinking this, the driver cautiously spoke up, "There's hangover medicine in the glove compartment."
Xu Jingxi closed his eyes, feigning sleep, just casually leaning there.
"Xiao Li, am I that drunk?"
Driver Xiao Li: "You're sober."
He was simply too level-headed at heart, but he hid this shallow affection extremely well, reveling in the flowers and deceiving others easily into taking his dalliances seriously.
Xiao Li withdrew his gaze and focused on driving, returning to the West Fourth Ring overnight.
Taking the two-way road onto Wutong Planting Road, the car eventually stopped in a heavily guarded traditional villa complex.
The Xu family of the Forty-Nine City.
-
The car keys tossed onto the bed, Leh Ying lay on her bedding, lost in thought.
How could she not understand that Xu Jingxi was just flirting casually? That wasn't what she cared about.
However, rumors about Xu Jingxi's generosity weren't false – just for lighting a cigarette, he gave her the car keys.
With that thought, she fell asleep.
That night, Chen Ruoqi and Liu Huaiying had an argument; one was drunk and spoke offensively, and although Chen Ruoqi's slap didn't dare to land on the face of such a distinguished young master, she turned away to sulk in her room.
She distinctly remembered the first time she met Liu Huaiying at the art gallery. He had a clean smile, tall and fair, a young master speaking in a courteous and polite manner. She would never have associated him with the word 'scumbag'.
Come noon, Liu Huaiying woke up and knocked on Leh Ying's door, "Join me for lunch."
The housekeeper who was tidying the room slowly responded, "Miss Leh left Wang Yanhe Garden at 6 in the morning, and the painting you requested is stored at the reception desk."
"The suburbs, how did she leave so early in the morning?" Liu Huaiying asked, focusing on the first part of the statement.
Housekeeper: "She took the Mercedes Benz G Class parked at the door."
Liu Huaiying turned around, hands in pockets, thinking the housekeeper must be blind – who would dare to touch that car?
When Xu Jingxi came, he drove the Mercedes Benz G Class, and last night, wasn't the Xu family's driver already sent to pick him up?
Early in the morning, Leh Ying was back at her studio, busy with training, and she ignored Liu Huaiying's calls.
The winter days in Forty-Nine City were always misty, the buildings looked cold, and the heart felt empty.
The Mercedes Benz G Class remained parked in the apartment parking lot, accumulating hefty parking and management fees.
She had no way to contact Xu Jingxi.
Sometimes she reflected that both he and she had big hearts, probably emboldened by alcohol.
She stepped forward and gently nudged the car tire with her foot.
Where exactly did Xu Jingxi live, work, and where was his home – was it on a road not even searchable on the internet? What was he doing at that moment, lying in which hotel bed, drinking tea, or browsing his CryptoTab?
Leaving the car with her really made her mind wander.
That night, she couldn't sleep in bed and scrolled through Liu Huaiying's social media. There was no reliable information, all dry and serious daily routine.
Opening WeChat, she sent a voice message to Liu Huaiying.
Liu Huaiying laughed frivolously, "Yo, you're taking the initiative to contact me now."
"Young master, do you have Xu Jingxi's number?" she asked gently.
Scolding her with a "What's wrong with your brain," Liu Huaiying instantly ended the voice call.
"Whose car did you come back in?" The speaker was Li Ting, holding groceries from the supermarket, standing at the door.
"Hanging around unclearly outside for two months and you bring back an entire Mercedes Benz G Class?"
Leh Ying shrugged, "I can't find its owner, it's really big in Forty-Nine City."
Li Ting didn't pay too much attention and headed to the kitchen to cook, "You really are rich enough to afford those parking fees."
-
As the year was drawing to a close, she received a call from home.
"Yingying, can't you get a flight ticket?" It was the voice of her mother, Ms. Wang Yanhe, followed by her father's muffled words, "I've transferred some money to you. Take good care of yourself over there, it's no trouble if you don't come back."
"Dad, I still have money."
The other side hmphed in response.
Leh Ying felt a warm sensation inside. Ms. Wang Yanhe always inquired if it was cold, if it had snowed, reminding her to eat well. After hanging up the phone, Leh Ying covered her phone and continued with her meal.
Li Ting, sitting opposite at the dining table, looked up and asked, "Not going back for real?"
Leh Ying poured a cup of hot water: "Can't go back, the gallery is busiest these days. Sister Zhang said she'd give me ten thousand a day, wealthy families love to get into the arts for gifts during the New Year, who else would I attend to if not them?"
Li Ting added mutton to the soup and suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about becoming an art teacher at a university? Your family has been teachers for generations, that seems like a stable path."
Leaning back in her chair, Leh Ying thought it over and eventually shook her head.
They say once you come to Forty-Nine City, you never want to leave. She didn't believe it at first, but now she did. The lights here were too glamorous, yet they made her feel a class disparity.
"Yingying, if I go home for the holidays, are you afraid of being alone in the dark?"
"Nonsense."
Li Ting straightforwardly scooped all the mutton into Leh Ying's bowl.
"Eat well, drink well, and sleep."
Li Ting left the capital after her exams.
Leh Ying began to come back to the apartment later and later, mainly staying in the studio to prepare artwork for the gallery's annual exhibition event.