Wang Qianru said, “Actually, come to think of it, I wouldn’t call her a friend, just an alumni. As for her… well, how should I put it… she’s really delicate. When people talk to her, they have to be careful to follow her mood, or else she’ll get angry out of nowhere.”
Lu Xi didn’t expect Wang Qianru to say that.
Lu Xi thought about it. She realized that she had indeed always been rather delicate, not fond of feeling wronged. But was Wang Qianru really that careful around her back then? She didn’t think so.
It seemed that back then, it was mostly Wang Qianru who sought her out to hang out.
At that time, Lu Xi’s circle was very lively, though most of the people were just superficial friends, the so called ‘plastic sisters’. In terms of seniority, Wang Qianru didn’t really rank high.
If she thought Lu Xi was hard to please, why did she keep seeking Lu Xi out?
Lu Xi, losing patience with hearing her out, furrowed her brows and interrupted in a soft tone, “Oh, I’m delicate too, so what?”
Wang Qianru was momentarily speechless, her eyes showing a bit of disbelief.
She was talking about the old Lu Xi, and now this new Lu Xi was suddenly saying that she was delicate too. How was she supposed to respond?
Was this poor conversation skills or intentional?
Wang Qianru suddenly didn’t know what to say.
A servant brought in some tea and snacks, and Lu Xi’s cup was a favorite, a blend of affogato that she’d recently been loving. She glanced at the elegant porcelain plate with the pastries and casually asked the servant, “What happened to the set of Huajian Diewu porcelain I bought last week? Why hasn’t it been used?”
The servant paused, clearly having forgotten.
Moreover, the Madam liked to buy these delicate trinkets, and she seemed to have bought several sets last week? She’d need to check and get them out.
Lu Xi wasn’t difficult about it, just saying to change it out tomorrow.
“Also, I’m tired of this chocolate mousse. Please tell the pastry chef not to make this again.”
Lu Xi noticed that the pastry chef had excellent skills; even trendy bubble tea from outside, he could figure out the recipe and replicate the taste. The only problem was that he couldn’t take a compliment. If she praised him, he’d happily keep making the same thing for a week, so now Lu Xi didn’t dare to compliment him anymore.
Wang Qianru listened from the side, observing Lu Xi.
The new Madam of the Xie family sure had a grand style! Someone who didn’t know would think she was Xie Yizhao’s original wife.
But Wang Qianru could understand.
After all, the real Lu Xi had been dead for so long, her son was already in high school. Xie Yizhao had found a woman who looked just like her and even gave her the same name. Was that out of deep affection, or just some rich man’s perverse interest? Anyway, such a young girl, newly married, and a stand-in for the late wife, was surely being pampered now.
Not to mention, even Wang Qianru had been shocked when she saw Lu Xi at the KC Group’s fashion show that day.
Lu Xi was simply too similar.
Now that Wang Qianru looked closer, it seemed there were no signs of cosmetic surgery. But who could be sure? There were so many people in the world who could resemble one another this closely. With just a little tweak, some makeup, and it would be hard to tell the difference.
Wang Qianru, working in the fashion industry, had seen many cases where makeup created miracles.
The servant knew to heed Lu Xi’s instructions and hurriedly said, “Should I have him redo it and bring new porcelain over for you?”
Lu Xi took a delicate sip of her coffee, her brows lightly furrowed. She said, “Good porcelain is for entertaining distinguished guests, so we don’t need it this time.”
“…”
The smile on Wang Qianru’s face faltered for a moment.
What did that mean?
She couldn’t quite gauge Lu Xi’s intentions, but the servant understood.
After returning to the kitchen, she told the others not to prepare dinner for the guest with the Wang surname, nor to ask the Madam about it, because she certainly wouldn’t have the guest stay for dinner.
Though the comment had made her uncomfortable, Wang Qianru could only pretend she hadn’t heard.
What else could she do?
Her son had taken something from someone else, and she was here to smooth things over. What could she say?
Lu Xi seemed completely unaffected as she picked up a small deer figurine, inspecting it. Thankfully, the four corners were intact, no damage—though psychologically, it irked her a bit that it had ended up in someone else’s pocket. She’d have to make sure it was disinfected properly later.
“By the way, earlier when we were talking about Lu Xi…”
Seeing she wasn’t responding, Wang Qianru had no choice but to bring up the topic again herself.
Lu Xi barely glanced at her, maintaining a calm and unreadable expression.
Wang Qianru was slightly stunned, then smiled and covered it up, saying, “No, I meant that Lu Xi from before, the Mrs. Xie from the past… But how come your names are even the same?”
Her question was quite intentional.
Everyone knew that the current Mrs. Xie was very similar to Xie Yizhao’s original wife, but what about the person herself?
Wang Qianru had to probe first, in case saying something might offend her. If she said she knew, then it would be another matter.
Who likes being treated as a substitute? In order to marry Xie Yizhao and enjoy the luxurious life of a rich wife, even if she didn’t show it on the surface, she must feel wronged inside, maybe even hate the original wife.
Lu Xi crossed her legs, casually shaking the tip of her foot a few times, then smilingly responded, “Of course, my name was given by my parents. What do you mean by that?”
“…That’s true.”
Wang Qianru frowned slightly.
There was no point in continuing with this meaningless conversation, so she casually dropped it and said, “Although it looks a bit alike, if I had to choose, I think you, Mrs. Xie, are more beautiful.”
Lu Xi : “…”
What is this person trying to say?
She’s more beautiful than herself, huh?
“I’ve always been beautiful,” Lu Xi said calmly.
Wang Qianru was stunned again. This person… Why is she so blunt? Even if she’s pretty, isn’t that a bit too arrogant?
But Lu Xi thought that after such pointless small talk, she might as well practice the guitar for a while.
Really exhausting.
She thought Wang Qianru could say something constructive by badmouthing her, but after babbling for so long, nothing of value came out.
Lu Xi looked at Wang Qianru, her expression becoming increasingly indifferent. “What exactly do you want from me? Just say it.”
If she couldn’t guess the purpose of this visit, then she might as well have lived two lifetimes in vain.
Perhaps returning the thing was just an excuse, with other intentions in mind. Wang Qianru probably wanted something from her.
The reason for mentioning ‘the original wife’ was too obvious: to get closer to her as the current Mrs. Xie, thinking she would hate the original one, so Wang Qianru could say a few flattering words to make her happy and do things for Wang Qianru?
No… Lu Xi hadn’t realized before that Wang Qianru was such a naïve person.
Wang Qianru had been working in society for so many years, with extensive experience in the workplace. How could she come to someone’s house for the first time and ask for something so obviously?
She still went the indirect route, taking a card from her bag.
It was a stored-value card for a high-end brand beauty salon.
Wang Qianru smiled apologetically. “Although my child did it by accident, taking your things is still a mistake. This is a small token of my appreciation as a parent.”
Lu Xi glanced at the card, lazily leaning against the sofa cushions, not even moving her fingers.
“Take it back. I don’t need this. I need your child to apologize.”
Wang Qianru’s eyes widened. “Apologize? You mean for him to come here and apologize?”
Lu Xi : “Not to me, but to my son.”
“…”
Wang Qianru froze for a moment, then reacted after a while. “You mean Xie Heng?”
“Otherwise?” Lu Xi asked with a matter-of-fact tone.
Wang Qianru was taken aback by her confident expression. But isn’t that the ex-wife’s son? She was so young, playing the role of a stepmother and now calling him her own son?
It took her quite a while to recover from the shock.
Looking at Lu Xi, her expression was serious, clearly asking for Wang Qianru’s son to apologize to Xie Heng.
—Was this to make her stepson happy?
Wang Qianru frowned, very reluctant, but since she might need to come to Lu Xi in the future, she had no choice but to give Lu Xi face.
In the end, she agreed, “I’ll talk to him when I get back.”
Lu Xi nodded lightly and said nonchalantly, “Soon.”
After that, she yawned, raised an eyebrow lazily, and looked at Wang Qianru.
That was the signal to leave.
Wang Qianru wasn’t that clueless. She stood up, deliberately ignoring the beauty card, then took out a business card from her bag and handed it to Lu Xi, smiling warmly.
Lu Xi didn’t reach out to take it, only reminding her, “You can leave the business card, but take the beauty card with you.”
Wang Qianru : “…”
Her face turned a bit awkward, but she still placed the business card on the table, put the beauty card back into her bag.
After Wang Qianru left, Lu Xi picked up the business card and raised an eyebrow.
Wang Qianru was now the owner of a private design studio.
She was in her original field, after all, since she had studied fashion design.
Lu Xi suddenly felt a bit interested, stood up and went to the study. She searched for the studio’s website based on the name on the card. Clicking in, she saw the clothes they were selling this season and some of their past works.
They designed women’s clothing, and at a glance, it was full of this year’s popular elements, looking like good sales.
But to Lu Xi, it seemed too much in line with mainstream aesthetics, and the style was a bit forced. She couldn’t see the designer’s personal touch.
Lu Xi casually flipped through a few pages and lost interest.
The next day was Sunday, and the school was on break. At breakfast, Lu Xi asked Xie Heng, “Did that student apologize to you yesterday?”
Xie Heng, eating beef noodles, froze for a moment. “Who?”
Lu Xi saw his confused expression and smiled. “The person who took my little deer. His Mom came the day before yesterday, and I told that student to apologize to you… Didn’t you ask him to come over to return something?”
Xie Heng : “Of course it was me! Was it that guy named Du Jiaqi?”
Lu Xi thought for a moment. It seemed that Wang Qianru had introduced him that way the other day. She nodded and, suddenly curious, smiled at Xie Heng. “Tell me, how did you find out?”
Without surveillance, and in just one day, he figured it out. Was he some kind of young detective?
Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at him, and Xie Heng felt inexplicably shy, turning away with a grimace. “It’s simple, like this, and then that, and then like this and that…”
“…” Lu Xi rolled her eyes.
He’d even learned how to tease her now.
Lu Xi : “Forget it, if you’re not going to tell me, I’ll go ask Xiao Xu. He definitely knows.”
Xie Heng : ?
Wait, why wasn’t she asking him more? It was just a joke, and now she was going to ask Xu Jiaming?
How boring.
The boy ground his teeth in frustration.
It was him who figured this out! Why should someone else take credit? He wasn’t about to let that happen.
Xie Heng cleared his throat, deliberately putting on an impatient face, and began explaining the situation to Lu Xi.
That day at the claypot rice shop, Du Jiaqi’s nervous and panicked behavior made him very suspicious.
Anyway, there was no other way at that point, so he thought he’d try starting with this guy.
His method was simple : psychological manipulation.
No evidence? Then he had to figure out a way to trick the thief into confessing.
And the school forum, a platform full of fake news and gossip, was just the right place for this kind of thing.
Xie Heng had posted something with a very provocative title : [Shocking! A top student did this in someone else’s house! I almost called the police!]
That title had been suggested by Xu Jiaming, and it was really effective.
In less than half an hour, there were almost a hundred replies.
Of course, Xie Heng didn’t reveal the details of his family matters in the post. He just said that he had attended a gathering at the Xie family’s place, and by accident, had captured something terrible in the flower room. He wanted to share it but was worried it would ruin the person’s reputation at school, hoping the person would admit their mistake voluntarily. There was still time.
Everything was vague and carefully concealed, with no key information given.
The onlookers didn’t understand, but the thief would certainly know exactly what was going on.
That evening, Xie Heng figured the post had spread enough, so he directly confronted Du Jiaqi with a big move.
After the evening study session, Xie Heng had arranged for several of his basketball teammates, some guys around 1.8 meters tall, to block the entrance of Class 2B.
It looked like they were there to collect a debt, like a group of tough guys.
They stood there with dark expressions, not moving even when the teacher tried to intervene. They didn’t cause trouble, but just stared at the students walking by, making them nervous. And Du Jiaqi, the scaredy-cat, was forced to walk out last.
Xie Heng slapped his shoulder, using his height to guide him forward with a laugh: “Senior, be careful on your way home. Watch out for any little trinkets that might trip you.”
Du Jiaqi was trembling, so scared by the group of younger students that his legs were shaking.
Xie Heng felt it was almost time. The guy didn’t seem brave, and he probably wouldn’t last much longer before he came to confess.
But to his surprise, the guy was so pathetic he went home and cried to his Mom, asking her to take responsibility for him!
Mama’s boy!
What a loser!
Xie Heng spoke with great excitement, not even bothering to eat anymore. After finishing his story, he casually wiped his lips, adding, “It wasn’t even difficult. Just a little bit of effort, and it was settled.”
Lu Xi blinked and praised him with a loud “Wow!”
She stood up and lightly hugged Xie Heng, her tone full of happiness. “My little genius is amazing and so smart!”
At first, Xie Heng thought Lu Xi’s “Wow!” was really over-the-top and fake.
She didn’t need to force a compliment if she didn’t mean it.
But to his surprise, she came over to hug him…
Her tone seemed so sincere.
The boy’s face instantly turned red.
He felt embarrassed being hugged by his Mom at his age.
Fortunately, Lu Xi quickly let go of him and returned to her seat, smiling and continuing her breakfast.
The warm sunlight shone through the window, and her expression was bright and relaxed. She was clearly in a good mood.
Xie Heng’s confidence skyrocketed. He was so happy; originally, he didn’t want to say too much, as it might make him seem immature, bragging about solving a small case. But since she seemed to enjoy hearing it, and thought he was great, he’d reluctantly share a little more.
Xie Heng began explaining his thought process, his ideas, speaking in great detail. He could probably write a whole report on it.
Lu Xi: … This rebellious child talks so much, how can I get him to shut up?