anwhile, previous years had found Zhou Luchen arriving at the Zhou Family ho in Beijing early for the minor New Year celebration. This year, however, he was busy and delayed his arrival until New Year’s Eve. The large courtyard house within the Second Ring was livelier than in past years. Zhou Luchen sat behind a screen adorned with inverted characters for "good fortune," chatting with the old lady as usual, and he had her brimming with joy. She clearly enjoyed the reunion dinner trendously.
He toyed with the car keys on his fingertips, ready to leave. The old lady accompanied him to the door, walking shoulder to shoulder along the corridor with its elaborate beams and painted rafters. Watching Zhou Luchen, her gaze grew increasingly benevolent as she reminded him, "Drive safely, and if you’re not feeling up to it, have the driver take the wheel, alright?"
Zhou Luchen responded with a cheerful smile, "Don’t worry."
"That never reassures ." Seeing his irreverent smile, the old lady suddenly said sternly, "You drive too fast. If you keep it up, your second grandmother will have soone stop you."
His deanor remained relaxed. "With the car you all assigned to , how dare I be reckless?"
The courtyard was vast, and the path to the gate was long. The old lady gradually slowed her pace. "Rember to get to the airport early. Don’t miss your flight tonight, understand?"
Zhou Luchen humd in agreent, got into the car, and placed the red envelope the old lady had given him on the center console alongside his phone.
The black sedan left the alleyway. As he drove along the East Third Ring Middle Road, the LEDs on building facades were all displaying fireworks. Back in ’08 and ’09, real fireworks would have been bursting all over the place here.
Zhou Luchen arrived at the hotel he had booked. Xie Qinyang’s calls were annoying as hell.
"You’re heading to Switzerland tomorrow, and you’re not coming to see ? Fuck, Zhou Luchen, you’re going to sleep at this hour? Got a girl in the hotel warming your bed for you?" Xie Qinyang’s words were as provocative as ever.
Zhou Luchen replied indifferently, "Sixth Ring, near Global."
"That place is huge. Where exactly?" Xie Qinyang asked.
「At a guesthouse beyond the Sixth Ring, in the Beijing suburbs.」
The festive atmosphere here wasn’t as strong. Shen Jing sat beside the fire, sipping milk and watching Xie Qinyang co in, muttering curses at his lousy phone. Young n and won, all friends of Xie Qinyang, gathered in the courtyard, playing. They weren’t all very familiar with each other but were enjoying themselves nonetheless.
She asked Xie Qinyang, "Why did you drag all the way out here? Just to drink milk?"
"It’s for the New Year’s countdown! Happens just once a year," Xie Qinyang said, leaning on the railing. "You still thinking you can watch fireworks in Beijing? Not even in your dreams. They’re banned. However..."
This New Year’s Eve, she’d been forced into a two-hour car ride to the suburbs, all because Xie Qinyang had relentlessly pestered her with calls to co out.
Shen Jing was actually a bit hungry. "I didn’t have dinner tonight."
Xie Qinyang rested his hands behind his head, appraising her with a glance. "Silly girl. I was at your family’s table, and you got all shy and hid in your room to sleep? Like a new bride or sothing?"
"I fell asleep," she said.
"Your dad is wary of ."
"And your brother is wary of too."
Xie Qinyang withdrew his arms and gestured for Shen Jing to look at the crowd. "See that? The girl in the pink skirt over there? That’s the blind date the Xie Family set up for ."
Shen Jing followed his gaze. "Wow, she’s really pretty. Lucky you, Young Master Xie."
"You call that pretty? You clearly haven’t seen many beautiful girls," Xie Qinyang said, a trace of ridicule in his voice. "I turned her down. I’m not good enough for her."
"You rejected her?" Shen Jing felt Xie Qinyang had poor taste. She turned to him. "Are you planning to beco a monk or sothing?"
"Actually, I’m considering it," Xie Qinyang deadpanned. "Longquan Temple on Phoenix Ridge is recruiting monks, but they require a PhD."
Shen Jing smiled slightly. "Then go for it."
Xie Qinyang looked at her and said softly, "My mother would cry herself to death at ho."
Shen Jing chuckled. The youngest in the family is always the most doted upon, never having to worry about the family business.
Xie Qinyang gave her two sparklers—just two—and they were expensive ones he’d bought from a group of girls nearby.
A fine snow was falling. The guesthouse, situated by a river, was so extensive that Shen Jing couldn’t explore it all. She walked to a slope behind the main building to get so fresh air.
Clearly part of the sa guesthouse villa complex, Villa Number 2 had a much quieter and more settled atmosphere. A few affluent young n in suits were seated around its pool. Their conversation was barely audible, as if they were waiting for soone to arrive. Shen Jing was even less acquainted with those people. To her, they all looked like thirty-year-old "old n."
Just as she retracted her gaze and turned away, Zhou Luchen’s figure strolled leisurely into Villa Number 2. Silently, without either being aware, they missed each other.
Amid the ethereal fragrance of tea, several of these distinguished young n stood up in succession to greet him.
"Second Young Master Zhou, you’re always late! We were afraid you wouldn’t co. We’ve been waiting and waiting; we’ve already gone through three pots of tea."
Zhou Luchen handed the suit jacket draped over his arm to an attendant. "Here to see off?"
One of them laughed. "Of course, we have to see you off! You only co to Beijing occasionally; how could we not gather during the holidays?"
Zhou Luchen chuckled softly and accepted a cup of tea.
Over the next few tens of minutes, the conversation shifted from small talk to work, and then to finance. Uninterested, Zhou Luchen stood by a granite counter, flicking the flint wheel of his kerosene lighter, about to light a cigarette.
Suddenly, he heard laughter from below.
He paused, the unlit cigarette still between his lips, and glanced down from the terrace.
Beside a stream flowing down the hillside, a few neon light boxes were placed near a rockery. From his vantage point, he could see a beautiful woman standing alone in the light snow. She was wrapped in a thick, white woolen coat, rubbing her hands together and breathing on them for warmth as she accepted a sparkler from Xie Qinyang.
A smile touched her lips in the twinkling orange glow of the sparkler. It burned for only a brief mont before extinguishing, her face vanishing into the dim light and shadows.
Zhou Luchen, will you set off fireworks for too?
What’s so good about them? They just pollute the environnt.
Zhou Luchen, do I get a red envelope? Your little sister wants one too!
Zhou Luchen turned away. He snapped the cigarette in his hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can, his expression unreadable. The fading light of distant fireworks flickered over his back.
Precisely at midnight, soone shouted, "Happy New Year, everyone!"
At the exit, the departing silhouette of the young scion exuded a cold aura. For him, the New Year seed to be an insignificant affair. The bodyguards who had co to pick him up followed him as their car drove away.
「On the other side of Beijing’s dazzling New Year’s Eve sky.」
The direct flight route from Beijing to Zurich had recently been inaugurated, operated by Air China. His private jet was now en route to Switzerland.
The man sat on a pristine white leather sofa, his upright, broad-shouldered posture strikingly eye-catching. A flight attendant pushed a tea cart over. She neatly arranged refreshnts on the work table in front of him, then leaned in and said softly, "Welco aboard. This will be a twenty-hour flight. If you require anything, please press the service bell."
He rely humd in acknowledgnt, flipping through a contract and carefully reviewing its contents. The flight attendant moved aside to adjust the cool-toned lighting, making it more conducive for his work.
After a mont, Zhou Luchen flicked his fountain pen and frowned. "Do you have any ink?" His voice was light and magnetic.
The flight attendant clasped her hands in front of her and replied warmly, "I’ll get so for you right away. Please wait a mont."
A short while later, the flight attendant returned with the ink and placed it down. Extending her hands politely, she offered, "Mr. Zhou, allow to help you."
"I’ll do it myself."
Zhou Luchen closed the contract. He unscrewed the barrel of the solid platinum fountain pen, set the cap aside, and carefully drew ink from the bottle. As he did so, his slightly raised arm caused the cuff of his shirt to ride up, revealing a glimpse of his strong wrist. He perford even this simple action with a slow, refined grace.
The flight attendant maintained a perfectly composed and pleasant smile. "Sir, there were many calls for you just as we were taking off. Regarding those..."
He spoke unhurriedly, "I’ll return them once I’m in Switzerland. It’s nothing that would have affected our departure."
"Very good, Mr. Zhou. I’ll leave you to your work then."
Reviews
All reviews (0)