Face Blindness (32) (continued)

The assistant carefully put the ring away and told Xin Hexue, "President Xi said he'd come pick you up for lunch at noon."

Qiu Yuan stared at the ring, his brows arching sharply. "You're not getting engaged to Xi Zhengqing, are you?"

A ring on the middle finger of the left hand meant the wearer was in a relationship or engaged.

Of course they weren't engaged yet. Otherwise, Qiu Yuan would have learned about it from an invitation to the engagement banquet.

Xin Hexue didn't answer his question directly. Instead, he asked, "Why not?"

His tone was so casual, as if getting engaged to the Xi Group's heir wasn't worth a moment's extra attention. Even at his own wedding, the young man might have remained just as composed.

Qiu Yuan made no comment, but just as Xin Hexue was about to walk past him onto the set, he said, "He's certainly following you around like a dog right now, but you'd better keep it casual and get out early. Don't let things get out of hand. Otherwise, if you wait too long, even the most loyal dog will bite when it goes mad."

"Of course, there's another way you can get out unscathed." Qiu Yuan met Xin Hexue's eyes and grinned. "Find yourself a backup plan."

That last piece of advice seemed entirely unnecessary.

He looked like a cheap product trying its best to sell itself.

Xin Hexue glanced at him, then looked away indifferently and walked on.

[Qiu Yuan's Affection Points +5]

The assistant standing nearby drew salaries from both Xi Zhengqing and Qiu Yuan and had heard the whole exchange. He kept his eyes down and pretended to be deaf.

At noon, someone did invite Xin Hexue to lunch.

But when the assistant led him to a table at the restaurant, Xin Hexue discovered it wasn't Xi Zhengqing.

He had noticed something was off on the way. If it had been Xi Zhengqing, he would have driven over to pick him up himself, rather than wait at the restaurant and have a driver bring him over in a van.

Xin Hexue looked at the elegant, richly dressed woman, who had already been waiting at the table for him for some time.

The noblewoman stood and shook hands with Xin Hexue. She wore a long, dark-red corduroy dress, the diamond and agate beads on her wrist clinking together and her pearl earrings swaying gently.

She looked as though she might throw a check for five million at Xin Hexue at any moment.

"Hello, I'm Zhengqing's mother. You can call me Aunt Cheng. You're Zhengqing's boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Hello, Auntie. My name is Xin Hexue."

"I know. Come, sit down first. I don't know what you like, so I haven't ordered yet. Take a look at the menu."

Xin Hexue studied the items on the first page of the menu.

He had learned a little from Xi Zhengqing, both intentionally and unintentionally.

The Xi Family was indeed harmonious, with no messy affairs or illegitimate children. Compared with the other wealthy families in the Core District, that alone put them far ahead.

But rather than a fine family tradition, it was more accurate to say they took tradition to the extreme. The Xi Family's main branch had always paired male Alphas with female Omegas, and each couple had only two children. They deliberately used genetic screening to determine the children's genders before pregnancy, keeping the male Alpha as heir and marrying the female Omega off into another family. The cycle repeated endlessly, the pattern followed as if straight out of a textbook.

After falling in love with a Beta from the Sixth District, the Xi Family's eldest daughter had eloped. In the end, she returned to the Xi Family and was still married off into another family.

Xin Hexue put down the menu. "Auntie, what did you want to see me about?"

Mrs. Xi smiled. She had taken excellent care of herself, and there wasn't a wrinkle at the corners of her eyes. "Let's eat first. We can talk after we've eaten."

Xin Hexue lowered his head, displaying the unease of an ordinary Beta from the Sixth District. When Mrs. Xi asked, he casually picked a few dishes whose contents couldn't be guessed from their names alone.

The chain restaurant had a lovely setting. It was near District One's film and television studios and advertised itself as a "Sky Garden," with water shimmering in small fountains and greenery all around.

The food, however, could only be described as average.

The young man put down his cutlery and wiped the corners of his lips with a napkin. His gaze remained lowered, never meeting the noblewoman's eyes.

In the distance, a shrewd-looking businessman gestured. "President Pei, this way."

He had finally managed to arrange a meal with the current head of Shennong Pharmaceuticals and was convinced his project would be a sure thing after this meeting.

But Pei Guangji stopped in his tracks. He had spotted Xin Hexue.

And sitting across from him was... Mrs. Xi?

Pei Guangji's eyes darkened. He said to the man accompanying him, "Go on ahead. I have something to do. I'll be over in a moment."

The businessman murmured an acknowledgment. Not daring to object to Pei Guangji's attitude, he could only go to the private room on the other side and wait by himself.

Almost as soon as Pei Guangji saw the two eating together, he thought of the Xi Family.

Xin Hexue was very likely to be put in a difficult position.

Pei Guangji still doubted whether Xi Zhengqing had really settled his boyfriend in Pei Guangji's Halfway-Up-the-Mountain Villa, but there was one thing he didn't doubt.

The Xi Family was very good at breaking up couples.

Pei Guangji didn't want to see Xin Hexue humiliated and harassed by Mrs. Xi in public.

A sudden pain throbbed in his temple for an instant.

An image flashed through his mind—

In the back seat of an Aircraft.

"You're hurting me."

As the young man spoke, tears welled up and slid down his snow-white cheeks.

Pei Guangji's heart skipped a beat, and he dazedly recovered himself.

He first declined a concerned inquiry from a server. When he looked over again, the noblewoman was searching for something in her bag, while the young man sat uneasily in his seat.

Without thinking further, Pei Guangji strode over.

Xin Hexue watched Mrs. Xi, wondering what attitude he should take in a moment. If this led to a drama of him running away and Xi Zhengqing chasing after him, it would be utterly melodramatic.

Mrs. Xi finally found what she was looking for and pushed a thin card toward Xin Hexue. "This is a gift from me for our first meeting. Please accept it."

Xin Hexue said, "I can't accept this...?"

Huh?

Wasn't she going to tell me to take five million and leave her son?

Mrs. Xi smiled. "This is Zhengqing's supplementary card. There's no spending limit within District One and the Core District."

She added, "For purchases elsewhere, though, you'll have to ask Zhengqing to reimburse you, or you can contact me."

Two Alpha voices rang out at once.

"Mother!"

"Xin Hexue."

Xi Zhengqing and Pei Guangji met each other's eyes. Xi Zhengqing's previously hurried steps slowed, and he greeted him with polished courtesy. "Oh, President Pei, what a coincidence."

Pei Guangji merely nodded, his eyes fixed on Xin Hexue.

As if no one else were present, Mrs. Xi continued, "Dear, please accept this gift. I hope you and Zhengqing can get married soon."

Her gaze swept over the ring on Xin Hexue's left middle finger, and her eyes curved with a smile. "In another month, the summer sunshine will be lovely. It would be a wonderful time for a wedding. Before then, I'll have to consult the almanac and pick an auspicious day. I'll leave the rest of the wedding arrangements and the choice of wedding clothes to you young people."

With that, Mrs. Xi got up. Before leaving, she patted Xi Zhengqing on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. You two take your time and think it over. I'm going to the hospital to visit your father."

Not long ago, Xi Zhengqing had angered his father so badly that he ended up in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Because he had admitted that he was in love with a Beta from the Sixth District.

Mrs. Xi sighed softly. She hadn't been able to stop her husband, and as a result, her daughter had spent the first half of her life unhappy. This time, she wasn't willing to be her husband's accomplice again and interfere with her child's decision.

Other than her children, she had no particular interests, apart from growing a few flowers in the garden.

Mrs. Xi had once tended the roses in her garden well, until she saw four-year-old Xi Zhengqing clutching one in his hand, the thorns piercing his palm until it was covered in blood. After bandaging the wound, she had the servants dig up every rose she had grown in the garden.

From childhood, Xi Zhengqing had always seemed like a boy with little human warmth. Beneath the Xi Group heir's polished exterior, his mother could smell a soul rotting like a foul swamp.

She feared that if things continued this way, her child would head toward irreversible destruction.

But recently, things had taken a turn.

Mrs. Xi had seen a photo Xi Zhengqing shared with her. Her child had his arm around another young man, the room in the background looking warm and comfortable, and the smile on Xi Zhengqing's face was real and entirely genuine.

So rather than let the Xi Family's pattern continue, Mrs. Xi would sooner be widowed.

Wearing the perfect smile of the Xi Family's mistress, she paid the bill and left the restaurant.

Xin Hexue held the black-and-gold card Mrs. Xi had pressed into his hand and looked at Xi Zhengqing, catching sight of Pei Guangji out of the corner of his eye.

Ever since he had inexplicably received the message [Pei Guangji's Heartbreak Value +5] at the beginning, Xin Hexue had known Pei Guangji was watching from a distance, but he hadn't paid him any attention.

Xi Zhengqing suddenly let out a relieved breath, as though all the anxiety he had felt after his mother cleverly sent him away, only for him to see Mrs. Xi dining and talking with Xin Hexue alone, had vanished.

His thin lips even curved into an overly radiant smile as he took Xin Hexue's hand. Standing together, they made a picture-perfect couple.

He said to Pei Guangji, "That's how things are. Our relationship has our parents' blessing. What a coincidence to see you here today, and thank you, President Pei, for being here to witness it. Oh, we'll have to invite you to be a groomsman at the wedding. I wonder if we'll have that honor?"

Xi Zhengqing held Xin Hexue's hand as if flaunting his victory. The tiny white diamonds on their matching rings flashed under the lights, stinging Pei Guangji's eyes.

Suddenly, Pei Guangji felt as though his head were splitting.

At some point, he had silently promised to marry someone. He had even hurriedly asked someone to prepare a proposal ring for him.

He was going to get married—but to whom?

[Pei Guangji's Heartbreak Value +10]

In a luxury apartment.