Chapter Thirty-Two
Su Xian and Lin Zhiyuan slept until noon, which was unusual for them. Su Xian felt sore all over, especially in one place. Lin Zhiyuan complied and had the servants take them to the bedroom, where they ate lunch in bed.
Su Xian nestled in bed when she suddenly remembered that she hadn't given Lin Zhiyuan the gift she had prepared. So, while Lin Zhiyuan went in to wash up, she secretly slipped into the living room, took out the small black velvet box from her suitcase, and hid it under her pillow.
After Lin Zhiyuan came out of the bathroom, he crawled into bed and tried to hug her, but Su Xian dodged him and said with a smile, "Close your eyes."
"What's all the mystery about?" Lin Zhiyuan asked, but he still obediently closed his eyes.
Su Xuan took his hand, opened the box, and placed it in his palm. "It's done."
Lin Zhiyuan opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows when he saw what was in the box.
"Happy birthday!" Su Xian kissed his cheek. "There's a secret to these cufflinks. Let's see if you can find it."
Lin Zhiyuan picked up a cufflink and held it up. The pattern engraved on the sapphire surface was particularly clear in the sunlight. It was a letter L and a letter S connected by a forget-me-not tassel.
"These are unique cufflinks, one for each of us."
Lin Zhiyuan was moved. He took off his cufflinks and hugged Su Xian.
"At 30, do you feel old?" Su Xuan asked mischievously.
"Hasn't my performance yesterday given you an answer yet?" Lin Zhiyuan's voice was deep and alluring, and Su Xian immediately remembered that he had called her by her name in the same way yesterday.
Su Xian coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject, "Did you grow up here?"
Lin Zhiyuan nodded. "There is a room where my mother kept my sister and me's belongings from when we were little."
Su Xian sat up straighter, blinked, and Lin Zhiyuan pinched her nose, smiling as he said, "I'll take you there."
Su Xian and Lin Zhiyuan walked up the marble staircase to the third floor and stopped in front of the last room on the west side. As soon as the heavy wooden door was pushed open, Su Xian saw a row of photo frames neatly stacked on the floor. But upon closer inspection, she realized that they were actually painting frames, and the one in front was an oil painting of a family of three.
"Is this when you were one year old?" Su Xuan sat on the ground, carefully examining the chubby face of the baby in the painting.
"Mm." Lin Zhiyuan sat down next to her.
"So cute." In the photo, he has black hair and big eyes; he's clearly a beautiful mixed-race baby. "You look more like your mother, don't you?"
"Maybe it's because he has black hair, while my sister doesn't."
Su Xian pushed aside the frame behind the painting, and in the next painting, there was an adorable blonde baby, while the black-haired baby had grown up quite a bit.
How old are you?
"5 years old."
"Your sister looked like a doll when she was little."
“I told her she would be very happy.”
Su Xian's hand continued to move, finally stopping on a portrait of Lin Zhiyuan, who was also wearing a suit, but whose face still had a bit of a childish look.
"She's 18."
Su Xian suddenly remembered something else, "Your family lives here too?"
"Want to meet your parents?" Lin Zhiyuan asked, one hand resting on his knee as he looked at her intently.
Su Xian's hand stopped on the picture frame. The afternoon sunlight shone through the window onto her, revealing her slightly flushed cheeks.
Lin Zhiyuan moved closer and whispered in her ear, "They all asked about you at Christmas and wanted to see you too."
He took Su Xian's hand, which was resting on the picture frame, and brought it to his lips. "If you'd like."
A gentle breeze rustled through the gauze curtains, rolling and unrolling like calm ocean waves, but Su Xian's heart pounded faster and faster. She turned her head, and Lin Zhiyuan quickly lowered his eyes, but Su Xian still caught a fleeting glimpse of unease in them.
"Or I could arrange a vacation for you, see what you'd like to go..."
He never knew he could be so insecure. Su Xian's heart softened, and she softly said, "Okay."
Lin Zhiyuan stared at her with wide eyes, looking somewhat incredulous and even a little dazed.
Su Xian smiled slightly, "But I didn't prepare a gift for you. What should I do? I have no experience with this."
"I have no experience either," Lin Zhiyuan answered quickly, making Su Xian's lips curl up even higher, and he became even more embarrassed.
"Um... they won't mind these things, it's just... the gifts aren't important." It was rare to see him so incoherent, and Su Xian couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I mean, the gift isn't important, what's important is you." The smile in Lin Zhiyuan's eyes was like starlight, scattering onto Su Xian's heart.
It was rare to see Lin Zhiyuan in such a predicament, but it was a pity that he turned the tables so quickly.
Su Xuan felt her face flush under his gaze, so she stood up and looked around. "Are all your things from when you were little here?"
Lin Zhiyuan walked to the wooden cabinet on the right side of the room. "These rows are all mine."
Su Xian walked straight over and casually opened the cabinet door to look around. Some cabinets contained clothes he wore when he was a child, while others contained textbooks and certificates. As Su Xian looked around, he listened to Su Xian recount his childhood anecdotes.
"These are photos taken when I was a child participating in polo matches."
Su Xian opened the cabinet and took out the solo photo. He was tall and thin, with soft black hair covering his forehead. His big eyes were looking at the camera, and he was grinning happily.
He was dressed in a full polo outfit and protective gear, holding a polo mallet, standing in front of the pony, already showing signs of his future youthful vigor.
How old is she?
"I was about eleven or twelve years old. I lost my first competition."
Su Xian suddenly remembered the photo of her in her middle school uniform that Lin Zhiyuan kept in his wallet, and an idea suddenly came to her.
She turned the photo frame around, removed the photo, and waved it triumphantly, saying, "This one is mine now. It settles the score for the photo you stole from my house last time."
"How did you know? Oh! You were looking into my wallet."
Su Xuan proudly raised her chin, "What do you mean by 'peeping'? Can't I look at your things?"
"Sure, sure." Lin Zhiyuan laughed teasingly. "Would you like to pick a few more to put in your bedroom, so you can see me anytime?"
"No way." Su Xian snorted, put the photo in her coat pocket, turned around and went to the next row of cabinets.
The books on one wall of the living room were arranged in a neat and orderly manner, a gilded mirror hung above the fireplace, and a matching gilded candlestick was placed on the mantel.
On the reddish-brown sofa, Lin Zhiyuan's mother sat at one end, wearing a gray suit and her hair neatly styled. In contrast, Su Xuan, sitting at the other end, wearing a light camel sweater and gray trousers, appeared more casual.
"I'm sorry, Miss Su. Ah Yuan spoke in such a hurry that I didn't have time to prepare properly." Aunt Lin said with a gentle smile.
"Auntie, I'm sorry for the suddenness of my arrival and for causing you trouble."
Su Xian regretted it a little when she was putting on makeup. Being brought into the manor by Lin Zhiyuan yesterday was not part of the plan. She wondered if Lin Zhiyuan's parents would also feel it was abrupt when they found out that they wanted to see her.
She picked up the saucer, held the teacup in one hand, and blew on the orange-red tea inside.
“Mom, Xiaoxian isn’t a guest, and today is family day.” Lin Zhiyuan put his teacup on the table, and Su Xian turned her head to meet his gentle gaze, which calmed her down.
Aunt Lin glanced at her wristwatch. "A-Yuan's father and sister will be back soon. Miss Su, you can have some snacks first."
Su Xian looked at the pastry stand, picked up a small cookie and put it in her mouth, then took a small sip of tea.
"Is it good?" Lin Zhiyuan asked.
"Hmm, it has a subtle lemon flavor, which goes well with this tea."
Lin Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Of these two layers of pastries, you just happened to pick the one that my mother made herself."
Su Xian turned her head, and Aunt Lin smiled broadly, "Thank you for your appreciation. A Yuan and his sister both said that this is one of the few cooking skills I can be proud of."
"You've finally agreed to take this painting back." A loud voice rang out. Su Xuan turned around and saw a tall, blond man standing by the door, admiring the painting that Lin Zhiyuan had previously had placed on the wall.
It was a landscape painting, which Lin Zhiyuan said he acquired at auction last year, but he hadn't brought it back to the manor yet.
Uncle Lin strode over, and Su Xuan stood up and grasped his outstretched right hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Su,"
Su Xuan replied in English as well: "Me too."
Uncle Lin nodded slightly, walked to Aunt Lin's side, kissed her cheek, and then sat down on the sofa.
"It seems that only Miss Su can persuade this young man to give up this painting."
Su Xian smiled upon hearing this.
"Grace hasn't come back yet?"
"Coming, coming, Dad." A slightly hoarse voice came from outside the door, and a tall figure walked in.
"This is my sister Grace, and this is Su Xian," Lin Zhiyuan introduced.
Grace hugged Su Xuan and said with a smile, "You're so beautiful."
"She just said you looked like a doll when you were little."
"Thank you." Grace hugged her happily again. "Tell me about some of your TV dramas later, I haven't watched them yet."
"OK."
Aunt Lin also stood up. "Are you hungry? Let's go eat first." She took Su Xian's hand and walked towards the dining room.
The restaurant's flat ceiling is ivory white, decorated with neatly arranged hexagonal frames containing pale gold flowers. Intricate laurel wreaths surround the ceiling, and portraits of various figures adorn the red walls. An exquisite crystal chandelier hangs above the long dining table, illuminating the entire room in a golden glow.
Uncle Lin sat in the main seat, Su Xian sat next to Lin Zhiyuan, and sat opposite Aunt Lin and Grace. The servants distributed the roasted foie gras with figs and bread slices from the tray to everyone in turn.
"Brother, you've given paintings to Mom and Dad again. When will it be my turn?"
Lin Zhiyuan took a sip of champagne, put down his glass, and said, "Post-Impressionism is easy to find. You should visit museums more often to appreciate Boucher's work."
“It doesn’t have to be Boucher, Rococo is fine too.” Grace hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I can also accept Baroque.”
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you. But whether or not I give it to you depends on how much you're willing to pay."
Grace's smile froze on her face as she complained, "Can you still call that a delivery?"
Su Xian smiled and listened quietly to everyone's conversation, only chiming in when Lin Zhiyuan brought up the topic of her.
The conversation shifted from oil painting to Grace's studies, and then to the dinner party that Aunt Lin was hosting at the estate the next day. Since Uncle Lin returned, they had switched to English; fortunately, Su Xian's English was quite good when she was in school, so basic communication wasn't a problem.
Lin Zhiyuan's family was very friendly, but Su Xian still felt a little out of place, and it wasn't a language problem.
She knew very little about art, charity, or their routine business decisions.
Su Xian held her knife and fork. The grilled king crab legs on the plate emitted the aroma of garlic and cheese, but she suddenly lost her appetite.
A maid poured pale golden white wine into a crystal-clear glass, and Su Xian forced herself to avoid looking at the tempting liquid. She lowered her eyes, cut a piece of crab meat, and chewed it blankly. In this situation, she couldn't continue drinking.
"Why don't you bring Miss Su along tomorrow, A Yuan?"
Su Xian looked up and stared blankly at Aunt Lin, only to hear her continue, "It's right here in the manor, so you can learn and take a look. You can help me in the future."
"Then the older brother takes over Dad's job, and the older sister-in-law takes over Mom's job, right?"
Hearing Grace's words, Su Xuan's face flushed, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Don't talk nonsense," Lin Zhiyuan said lightly.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Grace glanced at her father, Uncle Lin, who was chuckling. So Grace mustered her courage and continued, “Are you not going to take over your father’s job? Or are you just unable to find a wife?”
Lin Zhiyuan coughed lightly, ignoring Grace, and said to his mother, "Xiaoxian rarely gets a break, so I've already arranged to take her on vacation tomorrow."
Aunt Lin nodded, "Alright, you two go out and have fun." She looked at Su Xian, "Next time you come to England, let A Yuan take you to stay at the manor for a few more days."
Su Xian smiled and agreed.
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