Watching Lu Xun like this, Qian Wei felt genuinely moved. She’d always thought Lu Xun was hard to please, but in this moment, it felt as though her relationship with him had suddenly grown much closer. If before, she’d only been helping Lu Xun out of a sense of obligation to her boss, then from this moment on, she genuinely wanted, from the bottom of her heart, to help him end his single life!
“Lu Xun! Since Mo Zixin couldn’t make it this time due to unforeseen circumstances, we need to keep pushing forward!” Qian Wei took the initiative to move on from the comedy movie topic. “Since we’re already out, we shouldn’t waste the opportunity. Mo Tao mentioned Mo Zixin’s birthday is coming up soon — why not pick out a birthday gift for her while we’re at it? I’m here too, so I can give you some advice from a girl’s perspective.”
Perhaps because he’d been stood up by Mo Zixin, Lu Xun seemed rather listless bringing up her name — he was probably feeling down inside — but eventually he glanced at Qian Wei and picked up the thread. “What should I buy her, then?” He thought for a moment, then added, “If it were you, what would you want for your birthday?”
“Me…” Qian Wei rubbed her chin. “I like jewelry — gold, silver, precious stones, that sort of thing.”
Lu Xun seemed rather surprised. “You like such impractical things?”
That answer was a dead giveaway of a straight-up direct man.
Qian Wei tapped him admonishingly. “Haven’t you heard? Girls are all dragons at heart — they love hoarding gold and treasure to sleep on. Sure, you can’t eat or drink it, but just lying on top of a pile of shiny gold makes you feel rich and happy!”
Lu Xun clearly disagreed. “How is that not a vulgar hobby, and why are you dragging dragons into this? What do you even have to do with dragons?”
“How do I have nothing to do with them? Aren’t we Chinese descendants of the dragon? Isn’t it perfectly normal to like gold and jewels?”
“…”
Though he said he didn’t agree, Lu Xun still followed along quite cooperatively into a Chow Tai Fook jewelry shop.
“How about this piece? Your skin is so fair, this gold bracelet would look really stylish on you.”
“And this one — it’s a matching necklace for the bracelet, the pendant is so delicate, it looks beautiful worn together.”
The saleswoman at the counter was extremely enthusiastic, constantly recommending different styles.
In the spirit of picking a gift for her future boss’s future wife, Qian Wei tried on piece after piece without complaint, and Lu Xun, who’d been dismissive just moments earlier, turned out to be quite patient once inside the jewelry shop — every time Qian Wei tried something on, he’d study it carefully and give his evaluation.
“Her wrists are thin, this chain is too thick, try a thinner one.”
“Hmm, this one’s fine, but a bit ordinary.”
Lu Xun was surprisingly invested in picking out a gift for Mo Zixin. Qian Wei tried on quite a few styles, and he wasn’t satisfied with any of them, until Qian Wei put on a rose gold bracelet, and finally a look of satisfaction crossed his face.
Even setting Lu Xun aside, Qian Wei herself was instantly smitten with the rose gold bracelet. The design wasn’t elaborate, but the minimalist style only highlighted its simple elegance. The rose gold tone was fashionable yet romantic, and a small delicate key-and-lock charm dangled from the fine chain. Qian Wei fell in love with it practically at first sight.
“This one is really beautiful!” Qian Wei praised it wholeheartedly, then glanced at the price tag and was taken aback. “Why is it so expensive?!”
Although it was clear that Lu Xun had a generous budget for the gift in hopes of winning Mo Zixin’s favor, he was still just a student after all, and a bracelet costing nearly two thousand yuan was rather excessive.
“This piece was co-designed with one of our in-house designers, so it’s quite unique. Since the small charm is handmade by the designer, it comes at a higher price point. If the price isn’t quite right for you, why not take a look at a few other options? These are also rose gold, and they’re this year’s most popular new styles.”
Qian Wei glanced over, and the prices on the other new arrivals were much more reasonable — ranging from a few hundred to around a thousand, with plenty to choose from. They weren’t ugly either, but compared to the designer collaboration piece, they were noticeably less impressive.
Lu Xun glanced at Qian Wei. “You like that designer piece?” Before she could even answer, he smiled. “Then that’s the one. Please wrap it up for me.”
“Hey! I haven’t said anything yet!”
“Alright, you don’t need to say anything, that look on your face already answered for you.”
Qian Wei thought to herself, was she really that obvious?
Still, he was her future boss after all, truly wealthy beyond measure. By 2009 prices, a bracelet costing nearly two thousand yuan was an extravagant purchase for any student. And yet, Lu Xun decided to buy it and paid without so much as a flicker of hesitation.
Qian Wei couldn’t help but admire him a little. People who accomplish great things really do need this kind of decisiveness! Lu Xun really seemed utterly devoted to Mo Zixin — with this kind of generosity and attitude, Qian Wei believed winning her over was surely just a matter of time.
“Your boyfriend has really good taste — this bracelet was also the last one we had, all our other stores have sold out too. He just finished paying, and we already saw in our internal system that another store up north wanted to transfer stock from us.” The saleswoman smiled brightly. “Good thing he moved fast, or someone from another store might have snapped it up first.”
Qian Wei had actually been planning to save up and buy one for herself someday, and upon hearing there were none left, she completely forgot to correct the misunderstanding about her and Lu Xun’s relationship, her eyes widening instead. “Huh? None left? This was the last one?”
The saleswoman nodded. “Yes, the very last one across all our stores in City A.”
Qian Wei felt quite a pang of regret — she’d genuinely loved that bracelet. But she consoled herself: for the sake of her future boss’s happiness, sacrifice the small self for the greater good! If she managed to successfully play matchmaker for her future boss and his future wife, becoming an unsung hero in the process, surely Lu Xun wouldn’t shortchange her on good cases in the future? Once she made enough money, she’d buy herself a dozen bracelets like that!
And so, though she hadn’t finished the movie, Qian Wei had at least accompanied Lu Xun in picking out a birthday gift for Mo Zixin — not a total loss.
After buying the bracelet, the two of them found it was just about dinnertime.
“I made a reservation at Twenty Seats. Since Mo Zixin couldn’t come, we shouldn’t let it go to waste. Let’s go.”
Twenty Seats was an established, authentic Japanese restaurant, run by actual Japanese owners. The sashimi was always fresh, the prices reasonable, and the ambiance elegant and quiet — it was hugely popular among both college students and working professionals in the city. The name came from the fact that the restaurant was tiny, with only twenty seats, meaning they could only serve twenty guests at a time. Precisely because of its scarcity, the place stayed constantly packed, and every reservation required frantically refreshing the booking system the moment it opened at midnight just to secure a spot.
Qian Wei thought to herself that Lu Xun must have really gone to great lengths for this date, managing to secure a reservation at the notoriously hard-to-book Twenty Seats.
In her previous life, Qian Wei never actually had the chance to go to Twenty Seats — she’d never had the drive to stay up in the middle of the night just to grab a reservation. Qian Chuan, on the other hand, had booked it several times for Mo Zixin’s sake and had raved about the food afterward, which had always left Qian Wei curious. Now, thanks to Mo Zixin standing them up, she finally got the chance to try it herself.
Twenty Seats truly lived up to its reputation. The interior was decorated in an authentic Japanese style, with a rustic ambiance, and each seat had its own small Japanese garden display, complete with an elegant dry landscape garden.
For the date, Lu Xun had dressed rather elegantly tonight, matching the refined atmosphere of Twenty Seats perfectly. Qian Wei, by contrast, looked rather out of place, still wearing that plain black oversized jacket. The moment she walked in, she couldn’t help but feel eyes on her — her outfit really was strikingly ugly…
Lu Xun, as her companion, seemed completely unbothered by comparison. He had a naturally refined look, and his outfit was clearly well put together. Now, under the soft glow of Japanese-style lanterns, he was unusually courteous and gentle, and it gave Qian Wei a rather dreamlike, disoriented sensation, as though none of this were quite real.
Perhaps needing an outlet after a small setback in his pursuit of Mo Zixin, Lu Xun ordered dish after dish of the restaurant’s signature items — that expensive giant sea crab, he ordered an entire set course of it in one go, following the principle of “only the most expensive, not necessarily the best”…
Though it felt a bit disloyal, while Lu Xun was down on love, Qian Wei was up on appetite — she happily ate her way through those crab legs with great satisfaction. True to its reputation, Twenty Seats’ crab meat was translucent and fresh, with a delicate sweetness that had Qian Wei’s appetite roaring. Lu Xun, by contrast, probably owing to his less-than-great mood, didn’t eat much at all. Qian Wei, on the principle of not letting good money go to waste, cleaned up practically everything herself.
By the end, the meal turned into something like a solo eating show starring Qian Wei.
Still, though Lu Xun hadn’t eaten much himself, he was quick and decisive when it came to settling the bill.
Having eaten so well at his expense, Qian Wei felt obligated to offer some comfort to Lu Xun on the way back to school. Men, after all — when their pride takes a hit, what they need most is encouragement!
“Lu Xun, don’t be discouraged, you’re amazing! You’re the best person I’ve ever met! Compared to your brilliance, every other man is nothing but common trash — nobody stands a chance competing with you for Mo Zixin!”
Lu Xun, who’d remained noncommittal the entire time, seemed to perk up a bit at this. He raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? What about Mo Tao, then? Am I better than him too?”
“Mo Tao?” Qian Wei was a bit surprised. “Why bring him up? He’s Mo Zixin’s cousin, there’s no way he’d be competition for you, you don’t need to worry about him.”
Lu Xun lowered his head. “Precisely because he’s her cousin, that’s exactly why it matters to me. If Mo Zixin grew up around Mo Tao her whole life, and he happens to be far more outstanding than me, it’s natural she’d unconsciously use her cousin as a benchmark when choosing a boyfriend. What if he’s really impressive…” He trailed off, glancing at Qian Wei with an expression that seemed rather melancholy and anxious, clearly holding back something he wanted to say.
Ah! Qian Wei never would have guessed! For all his usual arrogance, even Lu Xun had days like this, pitiful and vulnerable! It really was true — no matter who you are, whoever falls in love first ends up the weaker party! How true that turned out to be!
But seeing someone as proud as a peacock like Lu Xun show this kind of vulnerable side left even Qian Wei, who was usually the one being bullied by him, feeling a wave of sympathy. She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mo Tao’s got nothing on you! You’re miles ahead of him, seriously — I alone could rattle off a hundred reasons why you’re better than Mo Tao.”
Lu Xun, however, wasn’t satisfied with this answer. He gave a noncommittal hum and pressed further. “So specifically, how am I better than him?” He gave Qian Wei a small smile. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never lose. I want to better understand my strengths and weaknesses compared to Mo Tao, so I can be better prepared.”
Mo Tao, for the sake of her future paycheck, forgive me!!
“Um…” Qian Wei stammered. “First of all, your build is better than Mo Tao’s — you’re taller than him, and your physique is better too, he leans more toward the slender, gentle type, but you’re not like that at all. Look at you, your abs and V-lines are so well-defined, and that lower back — he definitely can’t match that anytime soon. Second, you’re also more striking-looking than him. Mo Tao is handsome too, but in a normal, standard-good-looking-guy kind of way; you’re different, you’re the type that could hold your own next to a celebrity. Third — Mo Tao has those peach-blossom eyes, and he’s outgoing and cheerful, which easily makes him the type who becomes ‘everyone’s friend’ and could be seen as a universal boyfriend figure — makes people feel a little insecure. You, on the other hand, come across as more reserved, indifferent to everyone, so your relationships with women probably seem cleaner. Fourth… fourth…” Qian Wei genuinely couldn’t come up with any more.
Lu Xun stared at her, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Didn’t you say you could name a hundred reasons I’m better than him?”
“This…” Qian Wei thought fast. “You know, Mo Tao is technically my boyfriend after all. Even though rationally I know he’s got no chance against you, emotionally, I just can’t bring myself to list out his flaws so publicly.” She put on a troubled expression. “You understand, right? Love makes people blind to flaws.”
Perhaps annoyed that he hadn’t actually gotten his full list of a hundred advantages, Lu Xun’s mood instantly soured.
Qian Wei asked carefully, “Are you upset?”
“Not at all, I’m quite happy.” Lu Xun flatly denied it, but his face had gone remarkably long.
Qian Wei thought of the line from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber — before she died, Zhang Wuji’s mother told him that the more beautiful a woman is, the more she lies, and vice versa. It seemed the more beautiful a man was, the more he liked to lie too…