14 | Fourteen Roses
As she stood dazedly, the yacht suddenly rocked violently. Tang You wasn’t standing firmly and fell; her knees struck the floor heavily, and her mobile phone slipped out of her grasp and bounced away from her.
Xiao Zexing put down his fishing rod and walked over briskly.
Tang You watched, shocked, as his foot landed on her mobile phone with extreme precision.
Tang You felt that what hurt the most now wasn’t her leg, but her heart.
Xiao Zemin approached her and knelt on one knee. He squeezed her arm and helped her up from the ground.
Her arm was pinched red by his grasp.
And Tang You was still immersed in the shock of her phone's heroic sacrifice.
Ahhhhhhh she also wanted to know what was going on!
Her arms were too thin, her waist is also slight; the man's grip on her tightened, but Tang You was completely unaware. As she struggled to her feet, her attention was all focused on the phone that he had just stepped on.
She wanted to cry.
Don't be afraid, my dear phone! Mummy is coming to save you!
The instant she stabilised herself, she shook off Xiao Zexing’s hand, squatted down, and carefully picked up her phone with trembling hands.
Xiao Zexing stood unruffled in front of her, blocking her from view.
Tang You looked at her poor little phone and felt like crying.
The screen was completely black; there was a network of cracks, looking somewhat like a cobweb.
“I’m sorry, I didn't see it just now,” Xiao Zexing looked down at her and the pitifully cracked phone in her hand. “I'll have someone send you a new one when we get back.”
Tang You looked up with an expression of bewilderment.
What was important was not the phone, but the unfinished call with Zhao Manlan!
She was still trying to figure out what was going on with Xiao Weijing!
She recalled what Zhao Manlan had said on the phone just now——
“Weijing didn't go”, “He's already been taught a lesson”.
It suddenly dawned on Tang You that Zhao Manlan had apologised for Xiao Weijing not turning up for all their previous appointments. At that time, Tang You had mistakenly thought that Xiao Weijing didn’t let his family know he had gone due to his pride.
When in fact, the real Xiao Weijing had never gone to any one of their appointments from the very beginning.
The person standing in front of her now doesn't seem like he's been “taught a lesson” at all.
But he looked… really similar to Xiao Weijing.
He was able to attend Elder Xiao’s birthday banquet, play polo with Xiao Weijing, and now he even received an invitation onboard the yacht, and he was familiar with the issue between her and Xiao Weijing…
While Tang You was spacing out, Xiao Zexing leaned over and took the phone from her hand. He looked it over, then tossed it into the trash can beside him. “It's thoroughly broken, there’s no point sending it for repairs.”
He took Tang You's hand; the dimples on his cheeks flashed, “What's wrong? Why are you shivering like this? Is it very cold?”
“……it’s a little cold.”
Tang You wasn’t lying; at present, she genuinely felt cold.
Partly because of the wind, and partly because of the person before her.
He was clearly aware of Tang You's identity, while Tang You knew nothing about him.
Tang You had the sensation that she had fallen into the palm of his hand.
Xiao Zexing released her hand and smiled. “It is indeed a bit windy on the seas. Since you can't stand it, go to your room to take shelter.”
Tang You could not see anything strange from his expression.
The other party knew her identity and knew that she was Xiao Weijing's fiancée.
But Tang You could not figure out what he was.
The man in front of her had the same eyes as Xiao Weijing, and was about the same height.
The first time Tang You saw Xiao Weijing, it was at her grandfather's funeral. Back then, he had just graduated from university. He was tall and thin, in a black suit, and had a black ribbon tied around his arm. He stood next to her without a trace of a smile on his face.
Elder Xiao was a man of his words; he had promised her grandfather that he would take good care of her, so he paired her up with Xiao Weijing on his own accord.
Then, the two of them became engaged just like that.
Originally, it was only a verbal engagement. But after thinking about it by himself, Elder Xiao felt that it didn’t carry enough weight, and so he arranged for the family to have a meal together. Afterwards, he revealed it to the people around him, and soon, the matter of their engagement spread like wildfire.
Everyone knew that Tang You was Xiao Weijing’s young fiancée.
They also knew that Xiao Weijing did not care for Tang You.
His disdain for her was so great that within two weeks of their engagement, Xiao Weijing left the country to join Xiao Zexing.
Tang You recalled what Xiao Weijing looked like the last time she saw him.
Xiao Weijing was dressed in a suit and leather shoes; his face was stern, and his lips were pressed into a cold line.
When looking at people, his gaze was as cold as ice.
He was the embodiment of the essence of a block of ice; he exuded the aura of “don’t you dare disturb me” from every pore.
After that, the two never saw each other again.
With that one fall, the skin of Tang You’s elbows and knees were scraped and bleeding. Her knees were first to hit the ground, so they had the worst injuries, and bleeding the most.
They looked rather hideous.
The medical staff quickly rushed over with the medical kit.
The two long and slender legs were propped up; cotton swabs dipped in alcohol meticulously cleaned the tiny grains of sand around the wound. When it came time for iodine to be applied to the wound, Tang You steeled herself, but still couldn’t help but suck in a small breath.
The wound wasn’t serious, and with the weather being so hot, there was even less need to bandage it. The doctor knew that the people on board were all of high status, so he issued detailed instructions, and gave her an ointment that would prevent scar formation.
Tang You listened listlessly. She was still preoccupied with the matter of the “real and fake Xiao Weijing”.
After recovering from the shock, she hadn't found the chance to ask Xiao Zexing about it.
It didn’t seem right to just hastily ask him outright, for fear that he had gotten addicted to acting, and refuse to tell the truth.
Tang You decided that she would try to catch some clues from his behaviour as well as the people around them, then press him for an answer.
At that moment, Xiao Zexing was standing in the doorway talking to Deng Jue; Hao Yun looked around curiously, then retracted his head.
Tang You didn’t know who Hao Yun was.
She didn't know any of the friends in Xiao Weijing's social circle, nor did she want to.
She watched as Deng Jue handed Xiao Zexing a plate of cherries and said something. Xiao Zexing smiled and shook his head, gently punched him on the shoulder, then walked directly over with the plate and set it on the table next to Tang You.
He sat down beside her. “What else do you want to eat?”
“I'm not hungry.”
“Do you want to play cards?”
Tang You's mind was elsewhere. She grunted casually in response, then looked at him before saying tentatively, “Brother Weijing, do you still remember what happened when we first got engaged?”
Xiao Zexing ordered the waiter to bring the card table over, then looked at her. “What about it?”
“Back then, it was our first meeting. I accidentally fell and hurt my leg,” lied Tang You calmly. She bit her lip and stammered, “You piggybacked me and brought me back.”
When she said this, Tang You's heart beat rapidly as she tried to observe the subtleties in Xiao Zexing's expression.
——There was nothing at all.
He sat casually, and patiently listened until she finished.
“You remembered it wrong,” Xiao Zexing smiled. “I’ve never piggybacked you.”
Her test had failed.
“Besides, our first meeting was not at the engagement, it was at Elder Tang’s funeral.” There was nothing unusual in Xiao Zexing's expression. Instead, he teased her, “What’s wrong? Did you lose your memory after a fall?”
Tang You smiled sweetly, “I've got my memories all mixed up.”
Her ‘devoted lover’ persona had completely collapsed.
As for how the white lotus persona was holding up, Tang You didn’t care anymore.
She analysed the situation calmly.
On the way here, the chauffeur had already said that this time, the people Elder Xiao had invited were either good friends of Xiao Weijing’s, or people of the same generation in the family.
The Xiao family wasn’t that large; first, she could exclude Xiao Zexing.
Tang You remembered that this second uncle was many years older than herself. She had met Xiao Weijing's father, Xiao Zenian, who couldn't hide his beer belly. Subconsciously, Tang You also imagined the second uncle, who was their elder, to look like that.
The only person who was of the same generation as Xiao Weijing, and of similar age and looks, was his cousin, Xiao Weixi.
Xiao Weixi was also amongst the many invitees of the same generation the chauffeur had mentioned.
While Tang You was still lost in doubt, the card table had already been brought over. A few well-trained attendants set everything up neatly, and arranged the chairs.
Deng Jue brought his wife along with him. Six or seven people of both genders, whom Tang You did not know, came too. They all first greeted Tang You with concern about her leg injury.
Tang You peeked at their expressions, none of them was surprised because Xiao Zexing was standing here.
She listened carefully to what they called him; they all addressed as “brother”, without mentioning any name or title from beginning to end.
If she asked others outright, it might become a huge joke; since she was “infatuated” with Xiao Weijing, it was impossible that she would be so muddle-headed as to not even recognise him.
If such news got out, her persona will be utterly and completely destroyed.
Tang You pursed his lips and sat down.
Hao Yun’s interest was piqued; since he didn’t know how to fish anyway, he ran over and asked, “What are you playing? What do you play? Stud, draw or Texas poker?
After learning that they were playing Texas poker, he immediately shook his head to indicate that he wouldn’t be joining. He laughed as he said, “This isn’t a joke?”
He left the rest of his words unsaid.
When it comes to Texas poker, who can win against Xiao Zexing?
It is said that when it came to poker, seventy percent depended on skill, and thirty percent depended on luck.
But to Hao Yun's knowledge, Xiao Zexing had never lost even once.
Deng Jue wasn’t too bothered. There were enough players, and one less Hao Yun was one less person to guard against.
However, when the cards were dealt to Xiao Zexing, he smiled and said, “You guys play, I’ll just watch.”
Deng Jue breathed a long sigh of relief, “If Xi…”
He glanced at Tang You meaningfully, and instantly changed his term of address, “…Brother does not play, we still have a chance of winning.”
Xi?
What Xi?
Could it be Xiao Weixi?
Tang You was sharp enough to catch that one word.
It coincided with her preliminary conjecture.
Tang You suppressed her shock. She pretended to ask Xiao Zexing casually, “Are you very good?”
Xiao Zexing was drinking tea; he replied leisurely, “I’m average.”
Someone laughed, “If you say you're average, then we've all become who can’t play at all.”
Deng Jue said to Tang You, “Don't listen to him, Brother’s just being modest. In the past, he almost won the World Poker Championship. Guess how he lost? Tsk— he just didn’t want to play anymore, and took the initiative to fold.”
Tang You was dumbfounded, and asked Xiao Zexing, “Fold?”
Xiao Zexing replied very casually, “It’s just a game, so I left after I’d played enough. What's wrong with that?”
Seeing Deng Jue habitually fish out a cigarette, Xiao Zexing called out him, “Ah Jue.”
Deng Jue realised his meaning and immediately threw the cigarette into the wineglass beside him, letting it sink to the bottom. He smiled wryly, “Sorry, I forgot.”
Although they were just playing for leisure, and not betting any money, but it didn’t feel quite right to not have at least some kind of prize. The female companions at the table all took off their bracelets and necklaces matter-of-factly and placed them on the table.
Tang You wasn’t wearing any jewellery. She was just thinking about how to get someone to fetch something, when Xiao Zexing took off his watch and casually threw it on the table.
It was shiny and dazzling, and gleamed coldly in the light.
Tang You was stunned, “This is…”
“Your playing chip.”
Someone laughed, “You’ve raised the stakes so high, who will dare to win your belongings?”
Xiao Zexing still looked completely unconcerned as he sat lazily by Tang You. “What’s not to dare? It's just a game.”
Tang You had no choice but to brace herself and tell him, “Umm… I am very bad at cards. Basically, I’ve never won before.”
“It’s okay.” Xiao Zexing dismissed her worries with a smile in his eyes. “It’s more important to have fun.”
Tang You lived up to expectations and lost his watch in one round.
Deng Jue was all smiles; as he reached out to take it away, he said with emotion, “I never thought there would be a time in my life where I could win something from you.”
Tang You had been mulling over Xiao Zexing's identity and was still angry at the man for deceiving her, but now that she had lost his watch, she couldn't help feeling guilty.
She tossed her cards aside and was just about to say that she was going to stop playing, when Xiao Zexing picked them up and put them back in her hands, smiling. “Why have you lost your composure so easily? Keep playing, I'll help you.”
Deng Jue called out, “What about the playing chip?”
Xiao Zexing raised his eyes at him, dimples flashing, “I’ll be the playing chip, how’s that?”
He spoke calmly, neither too fast nor too slow; even if it was an ordinary joke, when it came out from his mouth, it seemed to carry a teasingly provocative overtone.
Tang You's fingers shook, and she nearly lost her hold on the cards.
Deng Jue's wife laughed. “If others had known that the stakes were so high today, I wonder how many rich heiresses would’ve squeezed onboard.”
Xiao Zexing squeezed her cards with one hand; he studied them intently and smiled. “Youyou, you have to keep your spirits up. If you lose me, there won’t be another.”
The two people held the same deck of cards; their fingers were very close together, and were only separated by a slim span of a ring; he was so close that Tang You can feel the heat coming off him.
It was just barely perceptible.
Tang You had no choice but to chin up, sit up straight, and made herself focus.
She had not much experience playing cards, and had no confidence in herself at all. Most of the time, she listened to Xiao Zexing, and did what she was told.
After a few rounds, not only did she win the watch back, but had also amassed quite a lot.
Tang You looked dizzily at the things in front of her. She was just about to say that she would return the items, when she heard Xiao Zexing say with a smile, “If you win, it’s yours. Don't worry about it.”
Xiao Zexing stood up and carefully put the recovered watch back on his wrist. He glanced down at her with a faint light in his eyes, “I had a lot of fun today.”
After getting off the yacht, the first thing Tang You did when she returned to the hotel was to search online for photos of Xiao Weijing.
Her mobile phone was broken, and she didn’t have a spare one for the time being—but the desktop version of WeChat required her to scan the code with her mobile phone to log in. Tang You was so angry that she wanted to vomit blood.
She also couldn't remember Zhao Manlan's mobile number, and had no way to tactfully ask for a confirmation.
She could only search in vain for Xiao Weijing's name on the internet.
Soon, the results popped up.
Excluding the people with the same name, there was not much news about Xiao Weijing, and just a few photos.
Tang You stared at the computer screen for a long time and finally confirmed it.
Although the eyes and brows were similar, she could still tell that this wasn’t the person who had played cards with them that afternoon.
When Xiao Weijing smiled, there were no dimples either.
Tang You gritted her teeth and typed another name in the search bar.
Scrolling down——
There were many people named Xiao Weixi, but none of them was the one she was looking for.
As she scrolled down the search results, she suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Tang You looked through the door viewer and saw Xiao Zexing.
He had changed his clothes, but it was still his usual combination of shirt and trousers.
Tang You glanced at the wineglasses on the table, gritted her teeth and smashed one decisively. She held the bottom between her fingers, with the jagged edges facing outwards, hid it behind her back, and opened the door gently.
She put her hands behind her back, stepped back, and smiled up at him. “Why are you here at this time?”
“To see how your wound is.”
When Xiao Zexing was completely in the room, Tang You immediately closed the door and pressed her back against it. She gripped the broken wineglass and thrust it towards him in a rush, not even daring to blink.
She said accusingly, “You’re not Xiao Weijing.”
The broken wineglass in her hand waved in his direction again, “Who the hell are you?”
Tang You thought that her current posture would seem extremely shocking, and at least be able to stun the person before her.
However, Xiao Zexing only raised his eyes to look at her as he sat unperturbed by the round table. He clasped his hands together and asked, “Who do you think I am?”
Tang You did not reply; she pursed her lips, still gripping the broken wineglass.
Her entire being exuded a fierce warning. She leaned in his direction again and said, “Cut the crap, tell me.”
Xiao Zexing finally stood up, and Tang You looked on in horror as he clasped his hand around her wrist effortlessly.
Tang You didn't have time to react; she only felt her wrist grow limp, and the broken wineglass fell from her grasp.
Before it hit the ground, Xiao Zexing caught it steadily by its base and threw it into the bin beside him. He said disapprovingly, “Don't play with such dangerous things.”
In that instant, Tang You finally felt the gap between the two of them.
From Xiao Zexing’s point of view, she was actually impossibly weak.
She simply did not have any ability to fight back at all.
Whether in terms of physical strength, or other aspects.
“What are you afraid of?” Xiao Zexing lowered his eyes to look at her. He released his grip and let go of her, then teased, “What? Surely you don’t think that I’ll eat you?”
He deliberately placed emphasis on the word “eat”, lingering over it.
Tang You had the vague impression that he was implying something else, but she couldn’t really put her finger to it.
Xiao Zexing sat back down, slowly poured a cup of tea, placed it in front of the empty seat next to him, and poured another cup for himself.
His dimples flashed in the light, making him seem all the more mild and harmless. “Youyou, sit down, let's have a good chat.”
Tang You can only sit down stiffly.
Her nerves were tense.
In the white porcelain cup, the green tea leaves are spread out; a light fragrance wafted from the cup.
She took a sip—it was astringent.
There was a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Tang You wasn’t used to drinking tea; she set the cup back down.
Xiao Zexing waited for her to put down the teacup before saying calmly, “I didn't expect that you would realise it only now.”
This one sentence provoked Tang You to nearly explode.
How could Tang You have thought that he was not?
From their very first meeting in the restaurant, their conversation had gone so smoothly. Afterwards, at Elder Xiao’s birthday banquet, the polo club… there had never been any obstacles in their communication. In addition, with his looks, Tang You had no reason to suspect anything at all.
Tang You tried to salvage her dignity, and said in a noble and cold tone, “That's because I’ve been observing you in secret.”
“Oh?” Xiao Zexing was very intrigued. “Then, through your observations, who do you think I am?”
Tang You was a little afraid of how he was currently looking at her, and she looked away uncomfortably.
She had never met such a difficult person before.
This person was like an old fox. He clearly knew that she had mistaken his identity, but concealed it from her, and said nothing. It felt like he was just watching a child play around, smiling as he watched her perform, letting her run wild and make trouble…
He knew everything, but he said nothing.
When she thought about all the eager attentions she had lavished on him before, and the way she acted meek and docile, Tang You felt like she couldn’t breathe.
——What ‘Affectionate White Lotus’ persona; in front of him, it was all ruined.
It was no wonder that all her efforts at pretending to be pitiful did not successfully increase his feelings of disgust. She had been pretending in front of the wrong person from the very beginning.
Tang You stared at him, trying to detect any sign of something amiss from his face, “Xiao Weijing has a cousin, called Xiao Wei Xi, only half a month older than him. He is now living in Vancouver, and rarely returns to China.”
Xiao Zexing was in no hurry to speak. He drank his tea, slowly and leisurely.
Completely calm.
Tang You rushed out in one breath, “I’m guessing that you are Xiao Weixi.”
Hearing her finish, Xiao Zexing's hand paused momentarily before gently setting down the teacup.
His smile deepened and his dimples surfaced, “Youyou, you're much smarter than I thought.”
The author has something to say:
Due to the strong reactions, I have to explain——
If Youyou got to know that he is the second uncle, and Xiao Weijing’s elder, it would be impossible for her to continue speaking honestly.
She would only hide.
The second uncle’s character setting is that of an “old fox”. The person he wants is not yet at hand, so how could he possibly let Youyou distance herself from him? QAQ