Lu Xi shifted her gaze uncomfortably and turned to the mirror. She took off the earrings she had just put on, along with the rest of the jewelries she was wearing, and placed them in the jewelry box.
Next, she was supposed to grab her clothes and head for a shower…
However, Xie Yizhao was still standing nearby, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression somewhat serious. Their eyes met in the mirror, and after a few seconds of silence, it was Lu Xi who couldn’t help but laugh first.
Her laughter eased the tension in the air. Xie Yizhao’s lips twitched slightly, with a trace of helplessness in his gaze.
Lu Xi pretended that nothing had happened and said nonchalantly, “Our house, um… seems to be getting a little old, doesn’t it?”
After all, it was the house they had been living in since they got married, at least seventeen or eighteen years now.
She had noticed the poor soundproofing when she first arrived. Back then, if there were people causing trouble outside, she could hear everything from her room. But as time passed, outsiders were no longer allowed in, and even the servants spoke in hushed tones. With no more disturbances, she gradually forgot about it.
Xie Yizhao lowered his gaze and nodded.
Directly below their room was Xie Heng’s room.
He had never really paid attention before. After all, he had been the only one living here. Occasionally, he would hear Xie Heng making noise while gaming late at night, but all he had to do was clear his throat loudly or call out his name, and the boy would immediately quiet down.
He never expected a situation like this…
“Yes, it’s been a long time. I’ve gotten used to living here,” Xie Yizhao said. He had never been too particular about his food, clothes, housing, and transportation. But at this moment, he changed his mind.
They needed to move.
And the sooner, the better.
It didn’t matter where they moved, as long as their rebellious son’s room was far away from theirs—preferably at the very edge of the house, as distant as possible.
With his thoughts elsewhere, Xie Yizhao’s expression returned to its usual composed and indifferent state. He turned to Lu Xi and said, “Think about where you’d like to move. We should start looking soon.”
Lu Xi was momentarily stunned.
Then, she curled her lips into a smile, unable to suppress her amusement. So this was what it meant to be a wealthy and domineering CEO? Deciding to move houses just because their son shouted something in the middle of the night?
In truth, she had grown quite accustomed to living here. Aside from the soundproofing issue, everything else was fine. Moving at this point would feel like a hassle.
She winked at Xie Yizhao and said, “No rush. I’ll take my time picking a place. Even if we buy a house now, we still need to renovate it. It’ll take at least six months before we can move in.”
Xie Yizhao’s expression remained composed, but his fingers tapped unconsciously against his trousers.
After a moment, he said, “I own quite a few properties. I’ll show you the list sometime, you can choose one you like.”
Lu Xi : “?”
She suddenly had a question. He said he owned many properties… Just how much wealth did this man have that she didn’t know about?
Why did looking for a house sound as casual as picking out a cabbage at the market?
But she didn’t ask.
Even though they were married, she didn’t think she and Xie Yizhao were close enough for her to inquire about his assets. Before their marriage, they had signed a prenuptial agreement, which was a standard practice in high-society arranged marriages.
As such, it was understood that neither party would ask about the other’s finances or interfere in their affairs. Even in the event of a divorce, there would be no division of assets.
So Lu Xi simply smiled appropriately and nodded. “Alright, we’ll pick together when the time comes. Let’s have Xiao Heng take a look too.”
Xie Yizhao chuckled softly but didn’t comment. He didn’t see the need. In two years, Xie Heng would be off to university. Would Xie Heng still need to live at home by then? It was time for him to become independent.
However, at this moment, he and Lu Xi had the same thought.
—Since when did that kid start studying physics?
—He even stayed up late, to struggle with physics problems?
…
Lu Xi thought she must have misheard. Maybe it wasn’t ‘physics’ but a word with a similar pronunciation, perhaps the name of a video game.
Maybe “Why is physics so hard?” was actually about the game being too difficult, making their rebellious son rage in frustration.
That night, Lu Xi slept soundly.
Xie Heng, however, was up until 2 AM finishing his problems. Even after getting into bed, he lay awake for a long time.
Those physics problems, those headache-inducing formulas—they kept spinning in his head.
Recently, Xu Jiaming had been tutoring him. After assessing his level, Xu Jiaming said that he wasn’t actually bad at physics, he just hadn’t been paying attention in class or doing any practice. His foundation was weak, but his logical thinking was solid. With effort, he could improve significantly.
At the time, Xie Heng felt pretty confident and even set himself a goal : improve by 50 ranks.
It didn’t seem too hard then.
A few days ago, Xu Jiaming gave him a practice test and told him to turn it in a week later.
Xie Heng had planned to postpone and do it at the last minute.
But just earlier that evening, after they had finished dinner and gone out to play a scripted murder game, the class monitor suddenly reminded everyone, “The midterms are the day after tomorrow! Let’s all do our best and get good grades!”
Xie Heng, who had been having a great time, immediately froze.
He grabbed Song Siyang, who was closest to him. “Midterms are in two days? How come I didn’t know that?”
Song Siyang looked at him like he was an idiot. “The homeroom teacher has been announcing it every morning during self-study. How did you not hear?”
Xie Heng : “…”
Oops.
Lately, he had been staying up late doing problems and getting up early in the morning. Morning self-study was his designated nap time.
He didn’t even feel like playing anymore. He rushed home immediately. At that time, Lu Xi and Xie Yizhao hadn’t come back yet. The butler had reheated a plate of grilled oysters for him, but he ate them absentmindedly.
Now, there was only one thought in his mind—
He was screwed.
Even when he received threats of domestic violence from Lu Xi on his phone, he wasn’t afraid.
Now, aside from the midterm exams, nothing else scared him.
He had been quite confident in himself, thinking that moving up fifty places in the rankings shouldn’t be a problem. Once the results were out, he would print his report card and send copies to Ms. Lu, his father, the butler, and all the household staff—sharing the joy and proving his strength.
That was the plan.
But the moment he pulled out this mock exam paper, he was completely dumbfounded.
Why was it so hard?!
If the actual midterm was this difficult, he’d be dead last for sure. He’d probably drop another fifty places instead. What was even the point of taking the test?!
For the first time in his life, an underachiever’s heart was filled with despair.
The next morning, he overslept. With faint dark circles under his eyes and an overwhelming sense of academic dread, he sluggishly appeared at the breakfast table.
Lu Xi saw him looking like he’d lost his soul and, for once, didn’t bother grabbing Xie Yizhao’s belt to whip him. Instead, she asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Is <Physics> really that hard?”
Xie Heng froze. “How do you know?”
Lu Xi smirked, tapping her fingers on the table. “The things you yelled last night? Your Dad and I both heard them.”
“……”
Xie Heng blinked slowly and then lowered his head in frustration, losing even his appetite for his favorite beef noodles.
Was he really that loud last night?
What else did they hear?
His mind was tangled with anxiety. He felt restless, wanting to grab his bag and leave immediately, yet he didn’t want to show weakness in front of Lu Xi. After some thought, he defended himself, “It is hard. Am I wrong? I only started learning recently, and I’ve been trying my best.”
His tone was serious. If one looked closely, they’d see that beneath his usual stubborn gaze, there was a trace of hesitation.
He didn’t seem as carefree as usual. In fact, he looked like he was lacking confidence.
Lu Xi raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not that serious. It’s just a game. If you play well, great. If not, just switch to another. There are so many tracks to choose from, why insist on this one?” She didn’t understand why he was so upset.
Or maybe… was gaming just that important to boys?
Xie Heng was about to argue, but then he paused.
Wait, was she deliberately comparing physics to a game, downplaying the situation so he wouldn’t feel so pressured?
Strangely enough, it worked.
He thought about it. Yeah, it’s just one subject. If he did poorly in physics, he still had other subjects. Even if he bombed the midterms, there was still the finals, and next semester’s exams.
He was only a first-year in high school. He had plenty of time to improve his grades.
Ms. Lu… she was really something.
She always seemed so casual, but at crucial moments, she managed to help him.
Xie Heng swallowed, rubbing his nose awkwardly. Lowering his gaze, he couldn’t help but smile. Then, trying to sound nonchalant, he said, “Got it. Thanks.”
He focused on his noodles, eating without any hesitation. He wasn’t picky about his food, finishing in just a few minutes. After wiping his mouth, he grabbed his backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and nodded toward Lu Xi. “I’m heading to school. Don’t worry—I’ll take on physics properly. I won’t lose. Just wait and see.”
Lu Xi was utterly confused.
It was just a game. Where did all this determination come from?
Wouldn’t it be better if he put this energy into studying?
She didn’t bother arguing with her rebellious son. Just as he was about to leave, she stood up lazily and adjusted his collar.
He had been thoughtful today—choosing to wear the autumn-winter school uniform.
Last night, she had won first place in a design competition. Today, her assistant would be heading to the school to finalize the contract, and soon, the uniforms would be mass-produced. But for now, it would take at least two weeks before they were distributed.
Right now, Xie Heng was the only student in the entire school wearing this uniform.
He was tall and well-built, carried himself well, and had a naturally striking presence. Dressed in her design, he looked youthful and handsome—so much so that if she didn’t know him, she’d probably do a double take and praise him as a good-looking boy.
“I know I’m handsome. Have you stared enough?” Xie Heng pouted deliberately, pretending to be annoyed, yet he stood still, letting Lu Xi adjust his clothes without moving an inch.
Lu Xi suddenly tugged his hair.
Xie Heng was speechless.
Was this because her date with Dad didn’t go well yesterday? Did Dad piss her off, and now she was taking it out on her innocent son?
Too bad he was too busy worrying about exams to care about their love life.
Lu Xi gave him a playful yet exasperated glare. “Your black hair is growing out. You should get it touched up, or it’ll look awful.”
Xie Heng was stunned.
His hair?
Touch it up?
From the day he dyed it, he had wanted to change it back. At the time, it was just to spite Lu Xi. Now, there was no need for that anymore. The blue hair felt weird to him.
But he had gotten used to it. And if she liked it, he didn’t mind keeping it. He was too lazy to bother with it anyway.
The boy pressed his lips together, running a hand through his hair. Then, in an unusually good mood, he said, “Alright. You take me, then.”
Lu Xi didn’t even hesitate. “No problem. This weekend?”
Xie Heng frowned slightly, thinking for a moment. “Sunday.”
The exams lasted three days. The teachers graded the papers quickly, so the scores would be out in a day.
By Sunday, he could walk in with his freshly printed report card, proudly show it off to her and his Dad, and then get his hair done.
What a perfect way to celebrate.
Xie Heng smugly planned it out in his head.
Lu Xi, of course, had no idea about his childish little scheme.