That night, Wen Tingli slept very soundly.

Waking the next morning, she felt light all over.

The big exam was over, and the leisurely summer break had officially begun. From now on she needn’t attend school or study, only wait patiently for the scores to be announced. That morning, after breakfast, she happily took Xiao Taozi to the park near the hospital and spent the whole morning playing. The next few days passed quietly as well.

Still, Wen Tingli couldn’t quite settle her mind. After the Qiao family’s underhanded trick, the medical bill now sat like a mountain on her shoulders alone. Huang Yuanshan’s Southern Beauty production wouldn’t start assembling its crew until next month, and her salary from the film wouldn’t be paid until after filming wrapped — so distant water couldn’t put out a nearby fire. These days, the first thought in her head every morning upon waking was how to make money.

She hadn’t been especially eager about the beauty pageant to begin with, but this time she didn’t hesitate — the moment she saw in the paper that Xinxin Department Store and Yifeilin had put the contest back on the agenda, she rushed off to register at Xinxin.

Huang Yuanshan strongly opposed Wen Tingli entering the pageant, worried it would clash with the start of the new film shoot.

“Sister Huang, this isn’t some ordinary contest.” Wen Tingli piled a stack of recent newspapers in front of Huang Yuanshan. “The two sides facing off are Dong Qinfang, the daughter of an old established department store, and the eldest son of the Gao family, newly entering the department store business. Half of Shanghai’s already waiting to see the fireworks between these two. If I can stand out in this pageant that’s drawing everyone’s attention, it’s bound to bring more people to notice the film I’m starring in — isn’t that a lot less trouble than you spending a fortune on publicity later?”

Huang Yuanshan blinked. There was something to that logic, and besides, she knew Wen Tingli was busy trying to raise money these days. As for herself, with two films in production at once, tying up a large sum of capital, she couldn’t offer much help either. She mulled it over for a while, couldn’t come up with a better reason to stop her, and let Wen Tingli have her way.

After a few busy days, that weekend, Wen Tingli got up and went straight to the telephone exchange to call Principal Zou and Li Chengying.

She needed to return that money in francs to Principal Zou. Also, if it hadn’t been for Li Chengying working behind the scenes, Huang Yuanshan would never have thought to connect her with the Shuguang Law Firm; the reason Huang Yuanshan had been able to find Lawyer Liu Yaqiao so quickly that night owed no small amount to Li Chengying’s covert help. For that alone she owed Li Chengying a proper thank-you, in person — and besides, she was deeply worried about how Deng Yuanzhang was doing.

The first call didn’t reach Principal Zou at home. The school custodian on the phone told Wen Tingli that the principal was busy entertaining an old friend visiting from Tianjin, and wouldn’t be back until after dinner.

Wen Tingli quickly tried to reach Li Chengying instead. The one who picked up was a stranger — a woman who, the moment Wen Tingli started to speak, said coldly, “I already told you, I’m not subscribing to milk delivery, stop calling!” and hung up with a bang.

Wen Tingli was startled. She sat frozen at the telephone exchange for a moment, then hurried back to the ward to ask Head Nurse Liu what was going on.

But it turned out Head Nurse Liu had taken sick leave first thing that morning. Wen Tingli’s heart sank with unease — most likely something urgent had come up, or she wouldn’t have been unable to reach either of them.

She hastily called the Shuguang Law Firm.

“Lawyer Bao’s gone out of town on business — he won’t be back for a few days,” Liu Yaqiao said over the phone. “Tingli, is there something urgent?”

Wen Tingli held the receiver, at a loss. In the end, unable to be sure whether Liu Yaqiao knew of Li Chengying’s existence, she couldn’t tell her the truth, and only said with a laugh, “It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask Lawyer Bao something about the contract. Sister Yaqiao, don’t let me keep you.”

After hanging up, Wen Tingli felt increasingly unsettled. She’d never quite noticed it before, but now, unable to reach Li Chengying, for the first time she felt like a kite with a cut string, drifting without direction.

Stepping out of the telephone exchange, she stared blankly at the street. She absolutely couldn’t go looking for Li Chengying now — if something had gone wrong over there, doing so would only expose herself. All she could do now was wait for them to reach out to her first.

She spent the whole morning weighed down with worry like this. After lunch, Zhao Qingluo and Yan Zhenzhen came to visit. They brought a huge pile of food for the Wen family, played with Xiao Taozi in the ward for a while, and, seeing it was still early, suggested going out to shop for books.

This was the first outing among friends since summer break began, and Wen Tingli happily agreed. Xiao Taozi insisted on tagging along, so the three of them, with the little girl in tow, took a car to Soochow University, near which there was a well-stocked bookshop called Daye, as well as a coffee shop with very good food.

By the time they finished picking out books, it was already past four in the afternoon. They sat down at the coffee shop, eating pastries and looking out the window at the street. Across the road stood Soochow University itself.

“I really hope the scores come out tomorrow,” Zhao Qingluo said with an anxious sigh. “I’m not picky anymore — Soochow, St. John’s, whichever one takes me, I’ll go.”

“Sure, sure, so not picky, and yet you open your mouth and it’s Soochow and St. John’s.” Yan Zhenzhen was busy opening a soda bottle for Xiao Taozi. “Hey, Wen Tingli, what are you staring at?”

Wen Tingli, her mind still on Li Chengying, had been flipping through the newspapers for a while, relieved not to see any news of assassinations or the like. Hearing this, she said absently, “I’m looking to see if there are any ads for part-time work, or tutoring jobs.”

“You need a job? Isn’t the beauty pageant about to start soon?”

“The prize money won’t be paid out until after the contest ends, and I can’t guarantee I’ll place, either. Our family’s savings won’t last much longer — I need to save something for university tuition too.”

Zhao Qingluo paused. “Look at you — struggling this much, and still so proud. When Zhenzhen and I offered to lend you money, you absolutely refused.”

Suddenly someone laughed heartily. “Miss Wen, why go through all this trouble?”

Looking up, they saw two smartly dressed people walk in — the man was Gao Tingxin, the eldest son of Yifeilin Department Store, and the other was Gao Xiaowen.

“Last time, at the Lu residence, I invited Miss Wen personally to enter our Yifeilin pageant, and you flatly refused. I assumed Dong Qinfang’s side must have offered you a hefty sum — but it sounds like that’s not even the case.” Gao Tingxin plopped down at the neighboring table without ceremony. “I’m known to be more straightforward than most — if Miss Wen agrees to enter Yifeilin’s contest, I’ll pay you a large sum up front. What do you say?”

Gao Xiaowen scoffed. “I’m the one who told her not to sign up with you. Qinfang’s ‘Flower of Shanghai’ contest doesn’t just promote women’s standing — it also promises to give a large sum to charity afterward. Not like you, Brother, always going on about ‘beauty’ this, ‘beauty’ that. Besides, Shanghai’s full of pretty girls — why do you keep fixating on Wen Tingli anyway?”

“Isn’t the title ‘school beauty of Wushi Girls’ Middle School’ reason enough?” Gao Tingxin glanced disdainfully at his sister. “If a contest can gather school beauties from all the top schools in Shanghai to compete, it’s bound to draw crowds of wealthy young gentlemen to come watch. You wouldn’t understand what goes on in a man’s mind.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Gao Xiaowen said with a laugh, winking at the others. “And we don’t care to understand it, either. All I know is, most of the female students have gone over to Xinxin. I saw in the papers this morning that all the cold-cream companies, dairies, and tailors in Shanghai are planning to advertise with Xinxin. Brother, the battle hasn’t even started and you’ve already lost.”

Gao Tingxin wasn’t offended in the least, only gave a snort of laughter and flicked his sister’s forehead. “You’re just mad Father won’t give you a share of Yifeilin, so you want your brother to fail. Too bad, I’ve already got a ready-made contestant lined up — just this one new arrival, this great beauty, will be enough to outshine every school beauty put together. The contest hasn’t even started, just you wait and see.”

Everyone was curious who this “great beauty” he spoke of might be, when Gao Tingxin suddenly seemed to spot someone and stood up. “Ladies, forgive me — this round’s on me.”

He pulled a bill from his pocket, tossed it on the table, and hurried out.

Just then a group of people came walking out from the gates of Soochow University, and Wen Tingli’s eye immediately caught Lu Shicheng among them. He seemed to be there on some business, surrounded by several older gentlemen.

Yan Zhenzhen said in surprise, “What’s young Mr. Lu doing at Soochow?”

“You don’t know? Soochow is practically Lu Shicheng’s second alma mater.” Gao Xiaowen said, meeting the others’ surprised looks. “Well, even if you’re all too sheltered to keep up with the news, you should at least know the chairman’s résumé — Lu Shicheng spent his final year of university in Soochow’s economics department.”

Wen Tingli sipped her soda in silence — as students, none of them would dare pry into the school chairman’s affairs.

“You’re all such scaredy-cats. If you want to know something, just ask me — I’m afraid of nothing. As for why he came to study at Soochow, I’ll tell you a story and you’ll understand. When Lu Shicheng was four years old—”

That year, the Lu household had received several guests, one of whom was a professor of economics from Nanyang Public University named Wu Xingyun, a man of considerable renown in academic and financial circles there. Hearing that Lu Shicheng was exceptionally clever, he’d assumed it was just local flattery toward the Lu family — until one day at the Lu residence, little Lu Shicheng carried over a small chessboard and asked him to play. Wu Xingyun at first indulged him half-heartedly, only to find that the boy actually played quite competently — he nearly lost his advantage.

Convinced the boy was a prodigy worth cultivating, he offered on the spot to take him on as a disciple — an opportunity most people would consider a rare stroke of luck, since Wu Xingyun’s vast learning was something countless people would have given anything for. Yet little Lu Shicheng shook his small head and said, “No, no, no.”

When Madam Lu asked her son why, and he answered, all the guests burst out laughing — it turned out Lu Shicheng was still sulking over how Wu Xingyun had looked down on him at first.

“That’s a famous anecdote in the Lu family’s history,” Gao Xiaowen said, sipping her coffee slowly. “Even now, ask around in Nanyang and plenty of people still remember it. It’s a shame old Master Lu was never close to the main branch — he didn’t even show up the day Lu Shicheng formally became Wu Xingyun’s student. Otherwise, the whole affair would’ve been even more of a spectacle.”

“Why weren’t they close? Just because of that Nanyang concubine?”

“That’s one reason.” Gao Xiaowen lowered her voice. “The other reason is that old Master Lu never much liked Lu Shicheng’s mother. He felt his eldest daughter-in-law was too strong-willed, too restless — even after marrying into the Lu family, she still had her heart set on returning home to run a pharmaceutical factory. Later, the family of three was kidnapped in Dutch Kroe, and old Master Lu has always insisted it was because Madam Lu just had to go visit and study at a foreign pharmaceutical factory in the Dutch colony that this tragedy happened. He resented his eldest daughter-in-law so bitterly he nearly refused to let her coffin be buried in the Lu family cemetery. And another thing — have you noticed how Lu Shicheng is better-looking than most men? That’s because he takes strongly after his mother. They say the moment old Master Lu looks at his eldest grandson, he’s reminded of that daughter-in-law he despised, and that’s why the relationship between grandfather and grandson has always stayed cold.”

No, that’s not quite right, Wen Tingli thought to herself, quietly recalling what Mother Liu had told her that day at the Lu residence — there must surely have been some scheming by the Second and Third Masters Lu behind all this too. After all, once the Lu family’s eldest son died, the only one with any real claim to contest that enormous fortune from the main branch was Lu Shicheng — if he hadn’t turned “mute,” it’s doubtful he’d even have survived to adulthood.

“After the tragedy, Professor Wu Xingyun often visited the Lu family in the capacity of a mentor, checking in on Lu Shicheng. A few years later he began personally tutoring him in mathematics — all his students went on to enter university early, and Lu Shicheng was no exception. At fifteen he tested into Nanyang Public University’s economics department, and I hear he ranked at the top of his class. After three years there, Lu Shicheng, for ‘certain reasons,’ came to Shanghai, and Wu Xingyun helped him transfer to his own alma mater, Soochow University, where he continued his studies while also managing the family business here, graduating officially a year ago.”

Finally, Gao Xiaowen said unhurriedly, “My brother and his friends often joke that Lu Shicheng’s real talent is in his eye for people — Wu Xingyun in Nanyang, Kuang Zhilin here in Shanghai, both rare business geniuses. Kuang Zhilin doesn’t count as much, since he’d already been the late Master Lu’s trusted man — but Wu Xingyun, Lu Shicheng won over entirely on his own. How old was he even, to command a talent like that for his own use? So it’s no wonder that, two years ago, he was able to quietly reclaim control of the whole Lu family business without anyone noticing — eh?”

She stared out the window in surprise. “Look, you two — is Lu Shicheng really about to agree to have dinner with my brother? No, no, I have to go out there and hear what they’re talking about — remember that night at Ciro’s, I mentioned wanting to start a cosmetics company? I’ve got all the paperwork ready, I just need to line up some investors. Wait here, I’ll bring you good news.”

“Wait, what exactly is your brother trying to get Mr. Lu to do?”

“What else — that new amusement park Yifeilin’s opening. He’s already got Meng Qiguang to invest, and he’s trying to convince Lu Shicheng to put in money too, but since Lu Shicheng won’t settle for only two shares, it hasn’t worked out. Strange thing is, the White Dragon Gang also seems very interested in the amusement park project. A while back, Boss Cao suddenly approached my brother wanting to invest — normally when the White Dragon Gang gets involved in someone else’s business, they only ever offer empty promises, but this time Boss Cao actually brought over a whole crate of cash. My brother doesn’t want to get tangled up with the White Dragon Gang, so naturally he refused the money — but he’s also worried they’ll come after the remaining shares, so he’s been rushing to convince Lu Shicheng.”

Something stirred in Wen Tingli’s heart — that day Qiu Lingyun had brought his men to make trouble at Ciro’s, he’d claimed their boss was entertaining a distinguished guest from Peiping.

Could this “distinguished guest from Peiping” be the very same investor? Just who was this person, able to produce that much cash on the spot, and still so mysterious about it?

As she spoke, Gao Xiaowen had already hurried off toward the door, and in her haste, bumped into an elderly woman coming into the shop.

Strangely enough, Western coffee shops like this usually attracted mostly young people, and it was rare to see elderly patrons here at all. The old woman walked slowly, bent at the waist, as though searching for someone.

As she passed their table, Wen Tingli felt something brush against her ankle. Looking down, she spotted an unremarkable little wad of candy wrapper on the floor. Sensing something was off, she quietly picked it up when no one was looking.

[3895-893, safe.]

Wen Tingli’s chest thumped wildly — “safe” was Li Chengying’s code word. She looked up again, but the old woman had already turned and left the shop.

Wen Tingli glanced around; there was a telephone at the front counter. She asked Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo to look after Xiao Taozi, then got up and went to make the call.

She dialed the number, and it went through. “Hello, this is—”

“Little Wen, don’t talk, just listen.” It was indeed Li Chengying’s voice. “The Third Master Lu has come to Shanghai. Two days ago, together with the White Dragon Gang, they had two of our people injured.”

Wen Tingli’s heart leapt into her throat.

“The White Dragon Gang has long wanted to hitch onto the Lu family’s Nanyang business, but the Lu family strictly forbids its members from mixing with gangs. Lu Kejian, likely trying to reclaim power within the Lu family, has apparently decided to break the family’s rule and join forces with Cao Zhenyuan. If the two of them combine, it puts us in a very unfavorable position. Right now there’s only one person who can break this alliance — Lu Shicheng. And this whole contest between Xinxin and Yifeilin — that’s the best opportunity we have.”

Wen Tingli held back the urge to ask questions.

“Lu Shicheng understands his third uncle’s weaknesses better than anyone. Rather than spend our days and nights guarding against the White Dragon Gang and Lu Kejian, we’re better off using Lu Shicheng’s own hand to break apart their alliance.”

Then, Li Chengying laid out her plan.

Since the Third Master Lu and Cao Zhenyuan had set their sights on the Gao family’s business, they were bound to support Yifeilin’s pageant to curry favor with Gao Tingxin. But Gao Tingxin likely wouldn’t want to be shackled by the White Dragon Gang, hence his urgency in seeking out Lu Shicheng.

Once Lu Shicheng learned his third uncle was involved, he’d surely try to drive a wedge between Cao Zhenyuan and Lu Kejian. Cao Zhenyuan was, by nature, treacherous and suspicious — once a rift formed, he’d never again wholeheartedly submit to the Third Master’s direction.

That would naturally cause the so-called “alliance” between the White Dragon Gang and the Third Master to collapse on its own, at which point Li Chengying could set up ambushes on both fronts — against Lu Kejian and the White Dragon Gang alike.

The problem now was that Li Chengying couldn’t predict exactly how Lu Shicheng would act, and given the Third Master’s usual habits, the moment the plan failed he’d flee Shanghai at once. His entire power base was currently in Peiping — once he pulled out, it would be much harder for them to arrange anything on this side. So the time and opportunity left to Li Chengying were limited…

Having heard the full plan laid out, Wen Tingli instinctively turned to look across the street at that figure — she’d already understood: in this matter, her position and Lu Shicheng’s were, in fact, aligned.

Only, he acted in the open, while she worked in the shadows.

Their shared enemies were the same: the Third Master Lu and the White Dragon Gang.

This left her feeling less conflicted than she had the last time.

Besides, Li Chengying, coming to find her this way, hadn’t even dared reveal her real face. She guessed Li Chengying must either be injured, or needed to use this method to shake off whoever was watching her.

And yet Li Chengying hadn’t said a single word about her own situation — clearly she had no intention of using any of this to sway Wen Tingli’s decision.

By now, Wen Tingli fully understood why Deng Yuanzhang had come to regard Li Chengying as her right hand, and why even a lawyer as renowned as Bao Yaming was willing to act, in effect, as Li Chengying’s subordinate — Li Chengying wasn’t just extraordinarily capable, she also possessed a broad, considerate heart.

But a person this outstanding, meant to carry on Deng Yuanzhang’s work, now faced the very same predicament Deng Yuanzhang once had. Wen Tingli’s heart tightened, and she said without hesitation, “Mm.”

She gripped the receiver tightly, as though doing so could let Li Chengying feel her resolve.

Li Chengying was silent for a long moment on the other end. “One more thing you need to watch for. Our people in Tianjin say Cao Zhenyuan suddenly went to Tianjin himself a few days ago — likely arranging something. Combined with Yifeilin’s big publicity push for the beauty pageant, you’d best keep an eye out for any women recently arrived from Tianjin. The White Dragon Gang has its own ways of coercing people, and knowing Cao Zhenyuan’s usual methods, he’ll very likely send someone to get close to Lu Shicheng.”

“Are you saying this woman might enter the beauty pageant too?” Wen Tingli asked, cupping her hand over the receiver.

“We haven’t confirmed the details yet. Without exposing your own position, you can try to warn Lu Shicheng to be on guard. I can’t say any more now — call this number if anything comes up…”

Wen Tingli returned to the table uneasily, just as Gao Xiaowen came back clacking in her high heels.

“Lu Shicheng agreed to have dinner with my brother. I should seize the chance to pitch my cosmetics company too. Want to come along?”

Wen Tingli said quickly, “Sure. I was thinking — since young Mr. Lu is a Soochow graduate, and a rather famous alumnus at that, maybe if he’s in a good mood later, he might write us a few letters of recommendation?”

Yan Zhenzhen, busy fighting Xiao Taozi over a round chocolate candy, slapped the table at this. “Now that’s clever of you! If our scores just barely make the cutoff, a recommendation letter from a famous alumnus could make all the difference — though who knows if young Mr. Lu would agree to it.”

The group hurried out together, excited. Gao Xiaowen pulled Wen Tingli and the others over to greet the men. “This is my classmate — Mr. Lu should recognize her.”

Lu Shicheng looked at Wen Tingli for a good while without reacting.

He was wondering why he kept running into Wen Tingli of all people.

Wen Tingli, however, wore a delighted expression. “What a coincidence, Mr. Lu — we meet again.”

Lu Shicheng lowered his eyes and noticed the little girl she was holding by the hand.

The child looked to be about three at most, the very picture of a chubby little winter melon.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce her — this is my little sister, Xiao Taozi. Xiao Taozi, say hello: good day, Mr. Lu, good day, Mr. Gao,” Wen Tingli said.

Xiao Taozi hid behind her sister, eyeing Gao Tingxin and then Lu Shicheng warily, apparently deciding Lu Shicheng looked more approachable, and bowed to him with great solemnity. “Good day, Mr. Lu.”

Gao Tingxin gave an exaggerated cry. “Hey, little one, why don’t you say hello to me? Am I missing an eye, or an ear, compared to him?”

Everyone laughed.

Lu Shicheng crouched down and, with great seriousness, shook hands with Xiao Taozi, before standing back up.

Xiao Taozi, rarely greeted as though she were a grown-up, looked up excitedly at her sister and pointed at Lu Shicheng.

Wen Tingli laughed and pushed her sister’s hand back down. “Mr. Lu is very polite, and our Xiao Taozi should be polite to people too. Come on, say hello to Mr. Gao.”

“Dao-shen hao,” Xiao Taozi said in her babyish voice, turning “Gao” into “Dao” (knife). Everyone laughed again.

“Well, since these ladies want to join us, let’s be on our way,” Gao Tingxin said briskly. “It’s not far — Fu Chun Restaurant.”

He suddenly paused. “Xiaowen, where’s your car?”

“Didn’t bring it — I came with you today, remember?”

“Ah—” Gao Tingxin found himself in a bind. Xiaowen had brought three classmates along — no, counting Xiao Taozi, that made four ladies — one car couldn’t fit them all. Calling in another car from the car rental company on short notice could take half an hour. Lu Shicheng was a guest he’d worked hard to secure, and he couldn’t very well leave the man waiting by the roadside for half an hour.

But leaving two of the ladies behind to wait for a taxi — well, that would solve the problem, but it hardly seemed gentlemanly.

Gao Xiaowen was already itching to act. She grabbed Wen Tingli’s hand quickly. “Why don’t a few of us ride with Mr. Lu instead? Not sure if that would trouble him though?” She asked Lu Shicheng in an affected, ladylike tone.

Lu Shicheng, just about to get into his car, turned back at this, and nodded without the slightest reluctance.

“I knew it — I’ve never met anyone more easygoing than Mr. Lu.” Gao Xiaowen happily pulled Wen Tingli toward the car. Gao Tingxin, seeing right through what his sister and her classmate were up to — obviously hoping to use the chance alone with Lu Shicheng to pitch her own cosmetics company — quickly stepped in front of them. “Hey, you’re riding in my car — I need to talk to you on the way.”

Without further argument, he dragged Gao Xiaowen off to his own car, then came back to “invite” Wen Tingli as well — only to notice, as he reached out, Xiao Taozi’s hands covered in chocolate smears, and quickly withdrew his hand.

That car of his was brand new — the pristine apricot-white leather interior wouldn’t survive a child rubbing chocolate all over it.

But he couldn’t very well show his distaste openly, so he pretended his real targets had been Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo all along, and invited them into his car instead.

Wen Tingli, understanding the situation, stayed back on the roadside. “You all go ahead, Mr. Gao. Xiao Taozi and I will just wait for a car from the rental company.”

As she spoke, she bent down and used her handkerchief to wipe her little sister’s hands clean.

Seeing this, Lu Shicheng got out and opened the car door on his side, gesturing for Wen Tingli to get in.

Wen Tingli waved her hands quickly. “Thank you, Mr. Lu, but we’ll just wait a bit, it’s fine — I’m worried the snacks on Xiao Taozi might get your car dirty.”

Having said this, she deliberately waited a moment — but got no response from Lu Shicheng for a good while. Looking up, she found him watching her without expression, though there was something probing in his gaze — this was the first time she’d seen that particular look from him.

Wen Tingli’s heart gave a jolt. Earlier, to avoid getting into Gao Tingxin’s car, she’d deliberately crushed Xiao Taozi’s chocolate candy — she’d assumed Lu Shicheng would never notice such a small gesture, but it was clear he’d taken in everything she’d done, and hadn’t called her out on it in front of everyone, instead choosing to preserve her dignity as best he could.

She bit her lip and lowered her head, a faint smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Looking up again, Lu Shicheng had already returned to his usual calm expression, as though it had all just been her imagination.

He looked at her seriously again, then pointed toward a car-rental advertisement on the roadside — if she really didn’t want to ride in his car, he could help arrange one for her.

Wen Tingli didn’t hesitate, and got into the car with Xiao Taozi at once. “Then, thank you, Mr. Lu.”

Now it was Gao Tingxin’s turn to feel embarrassed — Lu Shicheng seemed even more fastidious than he was, and yet he hadn’t minded these small things at all. He rubbed his hands together. “All right, we can be on our way now.”

Once in the car, Wen Tingli appeared to be busy tidying up her little sister, but her attention was entirely fixed on Lu Shicheng in the front seat.

Li Chengying’s first assignment for her was to “casually” let slip to Lu Shicheng the news that the Third Master Lu had secretly slipped back into Shanghai. The Third Master had clearly come prepared, and with the White Dragon Gang’s help in covering his tracks, it seemed to be working well so far — Lu Shicheng didn’t appear to have gotten wind of any of it yet.

In fact, if Li Chengying’s people hadn’t planted eyes in Peiping a month in advance, they wouldn’t have found out about this either. The longer this news stayed hidden, the harder it would be to use Lu Shicheng’s own hand against his third uncle — so someone had to “let it slip” in front of Lu Shicheng as soon as possible.

But Lu Shicheng was always so vigilant about matters concerning his third uncle — how exactly could she manage to make it sound “casual”?

From the front seat came the occasional sound of paper turning. The driver was driving; Lu Shicheng, absorbed, was flipping through a document. Wen Tingli sat up straight and glanced over — it was the Yifeilin Amusement Park development proposal Gao Tingxin had just handed him.

She propped her chin up gloomily, watching Lu Shicheng’s profile.

He was reading so intently that even with her thick skin, she hesitated to interrupt his work.

Unexpectedly, the sound of pages turning caught the attention of someone else in the car. Xiao Taozi had been quietly watching Lu Shicheng for a while, and now tilted her small face up to ask, “Sister, is Mr. Lu… taking exams for university?”

Wen Tingli’s heart leapt with delight. She quickly pretended to cover her sister’s mouth. “Mr. Lu doesn’t need to take university exams — he’s already graduated from university.”

Xiao Taozi’s eyes went wide, and she turned to stare at the back of Lu Shicheng’s head, then blurted out, thoroughly puzzled, a name: “Dr. Tang-sheng!”

Wen Tingli nearly burst out laughing. The only university graduates Xiao Taozi knew were ones she’d met at Cixin Hospital — like Dr. Thompson, whom she called “Tang-sheng,” and who had only graduated the year before. Xiao Taozi was apparently puzzled that, both being university graduates, why did Dr. Thompson look so much older than Lu Shicheng?

She said softly, laughing, “Their fields of study are different — Dr. Thompson studies medicine, which tends to age a person faster, while Mr. Lu studied economics. Besides, Mr. Lu went to university at fifteen.”

Lu Shicheng turned his head slightly, as though somewhat puzzled by how well Wen Tingli seemed to know his background.

Wen Tingli said, a little embarrassed, “Don’t misunderstand, Mr. Lu — I only happened to overhear a couple of teachers from school talking about your background that night at Ciro’s. As I recall, it was… some classmate wanting to apply to Soochow’s economics department, and it happened to come up that you’d graduated from there too, Mr. Lu — but before they could say much more, that Qiu fellow barged in with his gang of thugs and caused a scene.”

She sighed indignantly. “Just thinking about it makes me angry. That night we’d finally gotten Principal Zou to come out and celebrate her birthday, and those people nearly ruined the whole evening. Boss Zhu kept saying someone had already booked the place, but Qiu Lingyun kept pushing in, going on about their Boss Cao entertaining some distinguished guest from Peiping. But I know he was just bluffing — the moment he heard it was you who’d booked the place, Mr. Lu, he slunk off with his men right away. So that so-called distinguished guest from Peiping must have been pure nonsense.”

As she spoke, she quietly watched Lu Shicheng’s reaction. Sure enough, Lu Shicheng reacted noticeably to the word “Peiping” — the sound of him turning pages stopped almost instantly.

At this point, Wen Tingli knew that saying any more would seem too deliberate, so she let the matter drop at the right moment. But just then, Xiao Taozi suddenly piped up crisply, “Why don’t you talk?”

Wen Tingli’s scalp prickled. Xiao Taozi pointed at her own throat toward Lu Shicheng, then turned to ask her sister, “Does it hurt?”

Lu Shicheng turned to look at Xiao Taozi, his face showing no sign of displeasure. Wen Tingli, alarmed, hurried to cover her sister’s mouth — for real, this time.

But Xiao Taozi had already pulled something out of her front pocket and offered it to Lu Shicheng.

“Candy. Zhou Sao’s throat didn’t hurt anymore after eating candy.”

Wen Tingli looked closer and saw it was the Luo Han fruit candy she’d bought Xiao Taozi before. A while back, Zhou Sao had caught a slight cold, and Wen Tingli had asked Dr. Thompson for some Western medicine for her; Zhou Sao had recovered quickly after taking it, though her throat still itched now and then. Head Nurse Liu, hearing Zhou Sao clear her throat repeatedly during rounds, had given her a bag of Luo Han fruit candies.

Xiao Taozi had assumed Zhou Sao’s cold had been cured by eating this candy, and had clamored to have some too.

Wen Tingli had asked Head Nurse Liu whether it was fine for the child to eat this regularly, and, told it was harmless, had taken Xiao Taozi to the nearby Wuzhou Pharmacy to buy a box — but she’d set a rule that Xiao Taozi could only have one piece a day.

Though Wen Tingli had managed to cover her sister’s mouth in time, she hadn’t managed to stop her from sticking out her hand. A round brown candy rolled smoothly out, landing at Lu Shicheng’s hand, then rolling onto the center console, about to tumble onto his trouser leg — luckily, Lu Shicheng caught it just in time.

Wen Tingli, unable to snatch the candy back from Lu Shicheng’s hand, laughed it off awkwardly. “Please don’t mind her, Mr. Lu — that’s just Luo Han fruit candy for soothing the throat, Xiao Taozi usually eats it like regular candy. Just set it on my handkerchief, it might be a bit sticky.”

She quickly lowered her head to scold her sister for talking too much, while pulling out a handkerchief to catch the candy.

But Lu Shicheng didn’t do as she suggested. He didn’t throw the candy away in front of the two sisters either — instead, he took a handkerchief from his own pocket, wrapped the candy in it, and tucked it into his breast pocket.

Then he nodded solemnly at Xiao Taozi in thanks.

Xiao Taozi, though her sister still had a hand over her mouth, had been watching Lu Shicheng’s every move closely. Seeing this, she looked up at her sister and happily clapped her two chubby little hands.

Wen Tingli quietly let out a breath of relief — at least Lu Shicheng hadn’t slighted Xiao Taozi’s little gesture of kindness in front of everyone. Just then, the car arrived at Fu Chun Restaurant, and she smiled and said, “Xiao Taozi usually treasures that candy like a prize — she won’t give it up to anyone in the ward.”

Lu Shicheng got out and opened the car door for the two sisters, then walked straight into the restaurant. Wen Tingli called out her thanks, looked around, but didn’t see the Gao siblings’ car anywhere. Not being familiar with this restaurant, she had no choice but to take her sister’s hand and follow behind Lu Shicheng inside.

As they walked, she murmured to her sister, “This is a restaurant. Our Xiao Taozi is a proper young lady — remember your manners at the table later.”

Xiao Taozi hummed an eager “Mm.”

“If you behave well tonight, Sister will take you to the amusement park sometime soon.”

“Xiao Taozi’s good, Xiao Taozi wants to go tomorrow!” Xiao Taozi insisted.

Wen Tingli patiently explained in a low voice. “Sister doesn’t have any money right now. The moment I do, I’ll take you first thing, all right?”

Lu Shicheng had meant to avoid overhearing this private exchange, but it kept drifting to his ears regardless. After a moment, he suddenly noticed no more footsteps behind him and turned, puzzled — it turned out Xiao Taozi’s shoelace had come undone, and Wen Tingli had crouched down to tie it for her. She was remarkably patient with her sister, not even noticing when a lock of her curled hair fell against her cheek.

Watching her like this, he realized — when she wasn’t talking, she still carried a hint of a smile, and that her hairline had a distinctive widow’s peak at the center of her forehead.

Once the shoelace was tied, Wen Tingli stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear, then looked up to find Lu Shicheng standing ahead — though he seemed to be looking off in another direction, he had clearly been waiting for them.

Wen Tingli suddenly felt a little shy, and hurried over with her sister in hand. “Were you waiting for us? Sorry to have kept you, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng said nothing and simply continued walking forward. Wen Tingli, embarrassed, was about to say something when she heard the Gao siblings’ voices.

“Little sister, look, this is the great beauty I told you about earlier — Miss Zhu Zihe. Principal Zou, you know Miss Zhu?”

Wen Tingli followed Lu Shicheng’s gaze and saw a young woman in a pink Western dress standing gracefully on the steps.

At the sight of her, Wen Tingli found she could hardly look away — the girl’s beauty was almost beyond words. Not only did the men coming and going through the restaurant stare openly, but even Wen Tingli herself, a woman, felt her heart stir at the sight.

“She’s the daughter of an old schoolmate of mine. Her mother went to teach in Tianjin years ago, and I stayed in Shanghai. My old classmate hasn’t been in good health these past years, and Zihe rarely comes to Shanghai since she stays to keep her mother company,” Principal Zou said warmly. “Fortunately, Zihe’s done her mother proud — she tested into Nanwang University back then, and now serves as deputy curator at the Tianjin Art Museum. With the museum under renovation lately, she’s come to Shanghai for a few days.”

Tianjin!

“What a coincidence.” Gao Tingxin said with a laugh. “One of Miss Zhu’s classmates happens to be a friend of mine. This friend of mine, seeing me inviting people everywhere to enter the contest, recommended Miss Zhu to me. Miss Zhu is a straightforward person — she agreed right on the spot. I’ve long heard of Miss Zhu’s name — skilled in poetry and painting, and was even voted school beauty back at Nanwang University. With a talented, dazzling artist like her joining our Yifeilin pageant, how could it fail to cause a sensation? Xiaowen, wasn’t I right?”

Gao Xiaowen changed the subject in a muffled voice. “Huh, why haven’t Wen Tingli and Mr. Lu arrived yet?”

Principal Zou spotted Wen Tingli and Lu Shicheng behind them and waved Lu Shicheng over. “Come here — this is Zhu Zihe, her mother was classmates with me and your mother.”

Zhu Zihe stood there very properly, lowering her lashes with a smile. “I’ve met Mr. Lu before.”

Lu Shicheng looked at her with some surprise. Zhu Zihe, with a look of regret, took Principal Zou’s arm. “It seems Mr. Lu doesn’t remember me at all.”

At this, Lu Shicheng couldn’t help but study her more carefully. Principal Zou asked, puzzled, “Where did you and Shicheng meet?”

Meanwhile, Gao Xiaowen was waving her hand in front of Wen Tingli’s eyes. “What are you staring off into space for?”

Wen Tingli truly had been lost in thought — the words “Tianjin” and “beauty pageant” had seized her full attention. Could the world really hold such a coincidence? She stared fixedly at Zhu Zihe, unable to reconcile this dignified, beautiful young woman with the image of a White Dragon Gang spy. But Li Chengying’s information had never been wrong before.

“Come to think of it, we really did only meet briefly, from a distance — no wonder Mr. Lu doesn’t remember. The year before last, you and I—” Zhu Zihe seemed practiced in social conversation, and quickly opened up the topic further.

Wen Tingli went decisively over to greet Principal Zou. “Good day, Principal.”

Principal Zou took Wen Tingli’s hand. “I was just about to ask you — did you call me this morning?”

“Mm, I have something to return to you. Xiao Taozi, say hello to Principal Zou.”

And with that, Wen Tingli neatly cut off Zhu Zihe’s line of conversation. Zhu Zihe didn’t seem to mind, looking Wen Tingli over with interest and asking pleasantly, “And this is?”

“This is our school beauty, Miss Wen Tingli,” Gao Xiaowen said with a giggle. “She was the school beauty at Xiude Girls’ Middle School too. Miss Zhu, don’t be fooled by whatever nonsense my brother’s been telling you — see, our Shanghai school beauties are nothing to scoff at.”

Gao Tingxin laughed, exasperated. “You really can’t stand to see the world at peace, can you! However is Miss Zhu supposed to respond to that?”

But Zhu Zihe replied with easy grace, “I only came at a friend’s request to join in the fun — I’d never dare take Young Master Gao’s jokes seriously. Seeing Miss Wen just now, I feel almost too embarrassed to greet her first. And Miss Gao, don’t you know how beautiful you are yourself? Which pageant have you entered? And these two lovely young ladies are—”

Wen Tingli raised an eyebrow slightly — everyone loves a compliment, and Zhu Zihe, even while being modest about herself, hadn’t forgotten to lift up her rival, and her tone was so sincere throughout. Gao Xiaowen’s hostility eased noticeably.

No wonder Gao Tingxin was so confident about this pageant — this Miss Zhu Zihe wasn’t just “beautiful outside” but “wise within” too.

When she spoke again, Gao Xiaowen’s tone had indeed grown much friendlier. “That’s Yan Zhenzhen, and this is Zhao Qingluo — she’s a relative of mine. The four of us all study at Wushi. Miss Zhu, if you find it dull while you’re in Shanghai, feel free to come find us to play. Are you and Principal Zou dining here too? Why don’t we all sit together?”

Zhu Zihe answered while taking Principal Zou’s arm to walk inside, seemingly chatting with the girls on the surface, but keeping a careful, measured distance from Lu Shicheng at all times.

Alarm bells rang in Wen Tingli’s head — she could only hope this Miss Zhu wasn’t a spy sent by the White Dragon Gang, or things could get quite difficult to handle.

When they were seated, Principal Zou took the seat of honor, with Lu Shicheng to her right, and Zhu Zihe seated on her other side.

This left Wen Tingli and the others seated on the opposite side of the round table.

Throughout the meal, Zhu Zihe attended to Principal Zou like a devoted junior the whole time, and Principal Zou, too, treated Zhu Zihe differently from the others.

Perhaps because Lu Shicheng was so difficult to secure company from, the Gao siblings cherished this chance to dine together, and not long after sitting down, both rushed to pitch their respective projects to Lu Shicheng.

“Not to boast, but countless people want in on this amusement park project — the value of that Hongkou land goes without saying, and the scale of the facilities is unprecedented too… If Mr. Lu insists on a forty-percent stake, I might find that a bit difficult… The White Dragon Gang? That’s right, they’re quite interested too, and they’re offering cash on the barrel.”

Paper and pen sat on the table, and Lu Shicheng occasionally picked up the pen to ask a question, seemingly casual, yet each one striking right at Gao Tingxin’s vulnerabilities. After only a few exchanges, Gao Tingxin had already lost his footing, and it seemed the words Wen Tingli had said in the car had taken effect — before long, without any obvious effort, Lu Shicheng had steered the conversation toward the White Dragon Gang.

“Where’s Boss Cao getting all that cash? Of course I looked into it. Half a month ago, Boss Cao took a trip to Tianjin — the White Dragon Gang has stakes in Tianjin’s Taolin Company and Jia’er Milk Powder Factory, and most of this money was drawn from those two firms’ accounts.”

Wen Tingli shook her head inwardly, no, no, no — this was all just a smokescreen the White Dragon Gang had put up; the real mastermind behind it was the Third Master Lu!

But she couldn’t tell whether Lu Shicheng believed this or not — he only sat there, lowering his eyes as though pondering something. Wen Tingli grew secretly anxious — how could she steer the conversation back to Peiping again? She had it!

Perhaps because she kept staring at Lu Shicheng, someone across the table shot her a couple of glances.

“Miss Wen, I hear you’re about to star in a film? What role will you be playing, I wonder?” someone asked with a smile — it was Zhu Zihe.

Wen Tingli winked playfully at Zhu Zihe. “Our director says everything must stay confidential before filming begins, but I can let slip one thing — the screenplay was written by the renowned Peiping playwright Miss Yue Zhaoyun. The plot is bound to be wonderful.”

She deliberately emphasized the words “Peiping.”

“Yue Zhaoyun?” Zhu Zihe’s interest was immediately piqued. “Then it must be truly wonderful — once your film is released, I’ll be sure to buy several tickets to support it.”

With these few lines, everyone’s attention shifted to Zhu Zihe once more, and the whole table began chatting about films instead. Lu Shicheng, however, wasn’t so easily distracted — he no longer asked further about the amusement park, but sat sipping his tea as though the matter no longer concerned him. Gao Tingxin refused to give up. “What else are you unsure about, Mr. Lu? Boss Cao brought along a major shareholder of an underground bank in Peiping when he came to see me — this man once owed Boss Cao a great favor, and he’s one of this round’s investors too. Though, since their bank’s money is of somewhat unclear origin, he hasn’t wanted to draw too much attention since coming to Shanghai, which is why I didn’t mention it earlier.

“I can absolutely confirm this! Mr. Lu should know that our Gao family started out running a private bank — when it comes to tracing where a sum of money really comes from, no one’s better at it than we are.”

By the sound of it, the Third Master Lu’s plan this time was seamless — both the manpower and the money had all been arranged well in advance.

Whether Lu Shicheng had thus set aside his suspicions, or simply concluded there was nothing more to be gained from questioning Gao Tingxin, he only went on to ask a few details about the amusement park’s facilities, and pressed no further.

Wen Tingli could only fret quietly to herself. As the meal broke up, Principal Zou said to Zhu Zihe, “Go on, cancel that room you booked at Aimei Hotel. You’ll be staying with me for the time being.”

Zhu Zihe put on a look of reluctant compliance, laughing, “All right, all right, I’ll do as you say — it’s just I have so much luggage, I’ll need to hire a separate car for it.”

She glanced at Lu Shicheng. Principal Zou caught on and gestured toward him. “Shicheng’s driving, isn’t he? Shicheng, would you mind giving us a lift?”

Zhu Zihe lowered her eyes and waited. Lu Shicheng, without the slightest hesitation, waved for his driver to bring the car around — but once the car had pulled up, he apologetically pointed at his wristwatch toward Principal Zou.

This was his habitual gesture, meaning he had other matters to attend to.

Principal Zou sighed with regret. “You’ve been so busy these days, it’s practically impossible to have a proper heart-to-heart with you.”

Lu Shicheng only smiled faintly. Principal Zou, satisfied enough, helped Zhu Zihe into the car and said, “Can you come by the house on Sunday? I’ve got a few educational initiatives I want to discuss with you in advance.”

Lu Shicheng nodded. Principal Zou seemed pleased with that. By now the driver had finished his call and came to tell Lu Shicheng, “Steward Chen will send a car right over.”

Principal Zou suddenly remembered something and asked through the car window, “Little Wen, didn’t you say you had something to give me earlier?”

At this point, Wen Tingli’s mind was still entirely occupied with the news that Zhu Zihe would be staying at Principal Zou’s house. Hearing this, she lowered her head and rummaged through her book bag for a moment — even though those francs were right there at hand, she pretended to look frustrated. “Oh no, I forgot to bring it out with me this afternoon — I’ll bring it to you some other time when you’re free.”

Principal Zou laughed helplessly. “This child.”

Wen Tingli naturally moved to stand beside Lu Shicheng, her right hand still holding Xiao Taozi’s, and waved. “Goodbye, Principal. Goodbye, Miss Zhu.”

Zhu Zihe gave Wen Tingli a look full of meaning, but could only wave farewell to them from inside the car.

Gao Tingxin, watching this from behind, draped his arm lazily over the car door and murmured to his sister, “So Miss Wen likes Lu Shicheng, does she?”

Then, puzzled, he laughed. “Strange — someone as sharp as Lu Shicheng, and yet he can’t seem to see through Miss Wen’s little tricks, and indulges her anyway.”

Gao Xiaowen, baffled, lowered her compact mirror. “Huh? Who’s indulging whom?”

Gao Tingxin coughed a couple of times and called out, “Qingluo, ladies — shall I drive you two home?”