Seeing that Xie Heng was talking so excitedly, Lu Xi couldn’t bring herself to interrupt him.
His performance this time really surprised her… and impressed her.
Although he had suspected something when he noticed Du Jiaqi’s nervous reaction while eating, and it was a bit of a lucky guess, his actions afterward completely caught her off guard.
Her son actually had this kind of mind? Playing mind games with people?
And he even won?
No exaggeration, Lu Xi had always thought Xie Heng was the straightforward type, someone who’d solve problems with his fists. If something couldn’t be solved, he’d fight it out. If that didn’t work, he’d fight again…
Turns out, she was wrong about him.
Xie Heng could also use his brain and pull off complicated schemes.
Even without the ‘Mom Filter,’ Lu Xi had to admit, it wasn’t the thief’s fault for being tricked so quickly; Xie Heng had played on the thief’s guilt, and if it had been her in that situation, she would’ve been fooled too.
But this kid…
He can talk about it, but why can’t he stop once he starts?
While Lu Xi was eating, he kept talking. She finished her meal, and he was still talking.
“…”
She remembered when they first met, Xie Heng was a boy who spoke few words and often gave her the cold shoulder.
She now missed that time when they had that fresh, new feeling with each other.
Unlike now, where her rebellious son had lost the tough-guy persona and had become a chatterbox, making her, his Mom, unable to leave.
“Hey, are you listening?” Xie Heng suddenly felt something was off.
Lu Xi’s gaze was absent, with a hint of disdain.
Could it be that she wasn’t even listening and thought he was annoying?
Lu Xi snapped back to reality, glanced at the spirited young man, sighed inwardly, and decided not to discourage his enthusiasm.
“Of course I’m listening, and I’m listening very carefully.” Lu Xi then took out her phone, her eyes sparkling. “Come on, let’s settle the payment. How many people did you bring that day? I’ll transfer the money to you.”
Xie Heng couldn’t stand hearing about money lately.
He immediately got excited, forgetting his story, and quickly started to calculate.
“I invited 25 people that day, 85 yuan each, that’s 2,125 yuan,” Xie Heng looked at Lu Xi, deciding to take a risk. “If you want to give me a tip or something, I wouldn’t mind.”
Lu Xi ignored his greed, tapped her fingers, and transferred the exact amount to him—no more, no less.
The notification sound rang, and Xie Heng grabbed his phone to check—money received!
But no tip… not even rounding it up.
“Stingy…” he muttered deliberately, but his lips curled up, clearly pleased.
Lu Xi didn’t care. “I am stingy. Money doesn’t come easily, understand? And by the way, I’ll have to ask your Dad to reimburse me for this.”
Since the money was for both her and Xie Yizhao’s son, Xie Yizhao should at least acknowledge half of it.
Speaking of money, Xie Heng remembered that she was planning to open her own design studio. He wondered where she was with that.
He didn’t want to show too much concern, so he asked casually, pretending to suddenly remember, “By the way, how’s your studio coming along? Have you opened it?”
Lu Xi glanced at him, surprised that he even remembered.
But Xie Heng’s question reminded her, she had promised to send Lin Yun the name for the studio today.
Lu Xi no longer wanted to dwell on it. It was just a name, and as long as she liked it, there was no need to stress over it.
“How about ‘Lu Xi Studio’?” she asked Xie Heng.
Xie Heng froze for a moment.
His rebellious eyes suddenly softened a bit.
Lu Xi was consulting his opinion, did this mean that his words carried weight in her heart? At least she didn’t consider him a useless child.
The boy curled his lips into a smile and answered without hesitation, “Hmm, I think it’s good.”
“Isn’t it too simple?”
Xie Heng paused and said, “Simple is the best, and besides, your name sounds really nice.”
That last sentence was sincere, and it made him a little embarrassed. He lowered his voice intentionally, but Lu Xi still heard it.
She couldn’t help but be a bit surprised.
Her rebellious son had really grown up. He was speaking more nicely now. Lu Xi wasn’t quite sure before, but after hearing this, it seemed that way.
Lu Xi smiled. “Alright, we’ll go with that. Thanks.”
The boy shrugged, nonchalantly saying, “No need to thank me, it’s no big deal.”
After a moment, he seemed to remember something and his eyes brightened, “Is there a consultation fee?”
Lu Xi : ?
Just when she praised him for growing up and being more sensible, he’s back to asking for money?
How much does he need money?
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. No consultation fee, but if he wants money, then he’ll have to be a model for her next.
In the afternoon, Lu Xi asked him to bring the other two over to try on clothes.
It was a holiday, so it wouldn’t waste their time. She planned to get it all done quickly, letting them try all the clothes at once. If anything needed adjustment, she wouldn’t send it back to the factory but fix it herself—just as practice.
Designers don’t usually make the clothes themselves, but this basic skill was still necessary.
Fortunately, the measurements she took for the three kids were accurate. They were all tall and handsome, and they looked great in the school uniforms she designed.
Lu Xi’s arrangement was for Xie Heng to wear the autumn-winter style, while Xu Jiaming wore the spring-summer version.
She had her own considerations: the spring-summer style was fresher, with an overall light color palette. It included classic contrasting colors at the collar, the shirt hem, and the school logo, like a teenager sweating on a basketball court, drinking a bottle of lemon soda, youthful and full of energy.
It suited Xu Jiaming’s temperament.
The autumn-winter style, on the other hand, was like a cool boy, inspired by the design of a windbreaker, loose, in dark colors, the zipper pulled all the way up, and wearing headphones, someone who didn’t care for anyone else.
It seamlessly connected with Xie Heng’s face, one of the school bully, smug and arrogant, as if everyone owed him eight million.
Lu Xi looked at the two boys in the mirror, smiling with satisfaction.
Although the competition hadn’t started yet, she already felt like she’d won.
That’s how confident she was.
As for the last person…
Song Siyang pouted in grievance. “I’m not happy! Why do I have to wear the down jacket? It’s so hot!”
The other two were dressed so refreshingly and stylishly, why did he have to wear something so bulky?!
Xie Heng and Xu Jiaming couldn’t help but laugh.
Song Siyang became even more aggrieved after being laughed at and loudly complained to Lu Xi.
Lu Xi crossed her arms, her almond eyes curving in a playful smile, teasing, “I asked you before, but you didn’t want to wear women’s clothes. So, do you want to wear women’s clothes instead?”
“…”
Song Siyang glanced at the black down jacket, which wasn’t actually that ugly, and weakly said, “Well, I’ll go with this then.”
Making him wear women’s clothes? What was the difference between that and running on the school playground in L-shaped strides?
Lu Xi found it funny but also a bit emotional.
Boys at this age, and girls too, seemed to dislike wearing down jackets. They hated being wrapped up too thick. How did she understand this? Because she used to be the same way.
In the dead of winter, with the cold wind howling, she’d wear a coat with stockings underneath, and that thin fabric didn’t really keep her warm. But who cared about that? She wanted to look good. Her face turned pale from the cold, but she still thought she looked so pretty, so energetic.
Those who don’t respect winter will be punished by it. Her thighs and heels had frostbite, and it was so painful. That’s when she learned to dress properly.
Fashion is fashion, but life is life. Who says you have to sacrifice health for beauty?
Students aren’t celebrities walking the red carpet, so why sacrifice warmth for style in the middle of winter? In the dead of winter, they should just wear their down jackets.
It was just right to layer it over the autumn-winter school uniform. They could take it off once they entered the heated classroom.
Lu Xi had it all planned. This down jacket could be worn by both boys and girls, even by teachers. She’d find a female student or teacher to walk the runway with them.
Just as she was about to ask the boys to take off their clothes and make some final adjustments, a servant came to tell her that Yang Yihan had arrived.
Lu Xi glanced at Xu Jiaming, smiling. “She must be here to see you. Come, let’s go downstairs to meet your Mom.”
Xu Jiaming looked at his clothes and then at Lu Xi, who clearly had some mischievous plans, lowered his cold eyes but didn’t say anything, obediently following her.
Xie Heng didn’t bother changing his clothes either. He pursed his lips in displeasure and then followed them.
Song Siyang, however, experienced the convenience of the down jacket at that moment and just took it off and walked out.
In the living room on the first floor.
The servant had just served tea to Yang Yihan. As soon as she looked up, she saw Lu Xi coming down with the three boys.
She noticed her son was wearing a school uniform with Mingli’s logo, a design she hadn’t seen before. She remembered that Lu Xi had mentioned the school uniform design competition and asked Xu Jiaming to help model. She immediately understood.
Yang Yihan glanced at Xu Jiaming and then at Xie Heng’s outfit. She nodded approvingly and said to Lu Xi, “You’ve designed it really well. I’ll definitely vote for you when the time comes.”
Lu Xi wasn’t modest. “Thanks! I think it looks great too.”
Suddenly, she thought of something and quickly pulled Yang Yihan to sit on the sofa, directing the three boys to walk from one side of the living room to the other, letting them practice their runway walk while showing Yang Yihan the effect.
Yang Yihan immediately found it very interesting, her eyes full of excitement.
The three boys : “…”
Xie Heng was the first to resist, but since there was a reward, what could he do? He had to walk obediently with a straight face, didn’t he?
Even the most rebellious of them, Xie Heng, complied, so the other two naturally followed.
The three boys walked back and forth, again and again, while the two women gave sharp comments.
Lu Xi : “Xie Heng, lift your head. You’re so arrogant usually, but now you can’t even bear to show your face?”
Yang Yihan : “Xiao Ming, don’t be too stiff with your steps. Don’t look so serious, put on a smile.”
Lu Xi : “Hey, Song Siyang, your steps are way too aggressive. Stop grinning, you’re not filming a teeth-whitening ad!”
…
The living room was too lively. The butler was the first to come over to watch, and soon, other servants gathered by the door, wearing mysterious smiles as they watched the three boys walk the runway at home.
Everyone had the same thought.
Ever since Madam came to the house, the atmosphere had been getting happier.
It wasn’t as dull as before, and they were much happier working here now.
The only ones who couldn’t be happy were the three boys who were forced into this. They couldn’t understand how things had ended up like this.
But the key was, they had already walked, and no matter what, they couldn’t just quit because of the money.
Xie Heng… no, even Xu Jiaming, being watched by people, was thinking the same thing as Xie Heng.
Five thousand wasn’t enough.
They needed more money.