Chapter 7

Lu Yi told her parents that Lin Jinshen would be coming by for a visit.
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” grumbled Madam Xu, frowning. “It’s so sudden, I haven’t prepared a thing.”
“Just treat it as meeting the family, don’t get so worked up.”
“Still, it’s his first time visiting. We can’t just wing it.”
Madam Xu hurried downstairs to coordinate the menu with the housekeeper and draw up a shopping list. The flowers needed changing too, and best to do a deep clean, after years in this house, she could suddenly see a hundred imperfections.
After evaluating the workload, Madam Xu reminded Lu Yi, “Have him come in the afternoon and stay for dinner with us.”
That way, there’d still be time to prepare tomorrow during the day.
Lu Yi wanted to say it really wasn’t necessary. “I thought you didn’t like him. Why go to all this trouble?”
“You don’t understand.”
Without even looking back, Madam Xu replied, “Doesn’t matter if I like him or not, we still have to keep up appearances. No way am I letting them look down on you in the future.”
Lu Kangcheng, knowing his wife’s personality, told Lu Yi not to bother arguing. He’d met Lin Jinshen a few times, on the business front, he was an impressive young man: aggressive, shrewd, full of ideas and ability. But sending his own daughter to marry in, he wasn’t quite so sure.
This union between the Lin and Lu families would cement a powerful alliance, no downside for the Lus.
But marriage is two people, not two companies.
Whether Lin Jinshen was truly someone worthy of trusting his daughter’s future to… well, that remained to be seen.
…
Sunday afternoon, 4 p.m.
Lin Jinshen texted: he’d arrived.
Lu Yi slipped on her shoes and went out to meet him. She’d already notified security, so his car could drive straight in. From a distance, she spotted the black Bentley rolling up, raising her hand in greeting as it approached.
Lin Jinshen got out of the car, and like clockwork, that familiar flutter of nerves swept over her, tightening her throat, sweat prickling her palms.
Strictly speaking, this was only their third time meeting face to face.
In person was a different game from texting, she couldn’t hide behind a screen. When they messaged each other, she never had to see his expression, which made everything feel so much easier.
“Mr. Lin.” Lu Yi shielded her eyes from the glare and called out a greeting.
Same old suit for Lin Jinshen, though today he’d skipped the tie. He pressed his lips together, looked at her and said, “You can just call me by my name.”
“Okay, Lin…” The last two syllables stuck on her tongue, impossible to say out loud. She covered her awkwardness with a smile. “Let’s head in first.”
“All right.”
Glancing at the gifts Lin Jinshen brought, Lu Yi instantly recognized Fuding white tea. Since it’s only picked before and shortly after Qingming, and just the buds at that, the yield is tiny and the market price correspondingly high.
Before heading in, she meant to warn him that Madam Xu might have opinions about him, but honestly, they barely knew each other. She caught sight of his sharp jaw, whatever she was going to say got swallowed back down.
Crossing the threshold, Lin Jinshen called out, “Uncle, Aunt.”
He was tall, half a head above Lu Kangcheng, and even his politeness radiated a clear “outsiders keep out” aura.
Aloof and reserved, reinforcing every stereotype.
“Come in,” Madam Xu said, lips thinning as she nodded her assent. Lu Kangcheng waved him inside.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I picked up a few things,” Lin Jinshen said. His tone was deep and cool, so straightforward that even the most polite phrases sounded oddly formal coming from him.
It didn’t feel like a junior visiting elders. More like two equals exchanging pleasantries.
Madam Xu stepped over to take the gifts.
“No need to be so polite. Jinshen, come, have a seat.”
Lin Jinshen changed his shoes and followed Lu Kangcheng to the sofa in the living room.
Just one extra person, and somehow the whole atmosphere in the house shifted. Lu Yi glanced away, meeting Madam Xu’s accusatory eyes, Well? This is your pick for a husband?
All Lu Yi could do was cling to Madam Xu’s arm.
Madam Xu didn’t say much more, just told her to bring some fruit out later. Then she asked, “Did you coach him on what gifts to buy?”
“Nope. He only asked what you two liked, I had no idea what he’d actually get.” Lu Yi grinned. “So? Did the gifts pass?”
Madam Xu gave a reluctant nod. “He put some thought into it, at least.”
Lu Yi smiled.
When she brought over the cut fruit, Lin Jinshen and Lu Kangcheng had already started on tea, chatting away about it. She caught Lin Jinshen explaining the art of brewing aged tea; sounded perfectly legit, like he’d done this a thousand times. Dad even had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Most young people these days aren’t into tea,” Lu Kangcheng remarked.
“My father loves it. I guess I picked it up from him,” Lin Jinshen replied.
Lu Yi sat nearby for a while, and when she heard her father launch into “Making good tea is just like living a good life,” she decided that was her cue to leave. She knew once they got started on tea philosophy, it’d last hours. She went to see if Madam Xu needed help.
Madam Xu, after a quick glance at the living room situation, raised her brows. “That’s it? Your dad’s caved already?”
“You know Dad, he judges people by how they make tea.”
Madam Xu kept her eyes down, not revealing much, letting out a small huff, as if to say, she was not so easy to impress.
Honestly, it wasn’t that hard.
At dinner, Madam Xu couldn’t resist grilling Lin Jinshen. When she found out that dinner for him was always plain, rarely carbs, never greasy, plus he ran every morning and went to bed at eleven on the dot, she was practically starry-eyed. All the healthy living advice she’d nagged Lu Yi with for years and been ignored, now she’d finally found a like-minded soulmate.
Lin Jinshen’s routine and habits matched Madam Xu’s health philosophy to a tee.
“Real healthy living is about adapting to nature, yin and yang in balance. Go against that and you’ll get sick in the long run, young people don’t believe it, but wait till they’re old, then it’ll hurt.”
That last jab was obviously aimed at Lu Yi.
As Madam Xu would put it, how bad could a health nut really be?
The meal was lively; everyone relaxed and cordial, except Lu Yi, who ate quietly, feeling like an outsider in her own home.
Before Lin Jinshen arrived, her parents had been full of doubts. Once they met him, not a word of complaint, especially about the marriage. No pretentious airs, just calm and sincerity.
All that worrying for nothing.
A guy as uptight as Lin Jinshen, never mind his age, actually fit in perfectly with her parents; it was more like peers meeting than son-in-law and in-laws.
After dinner, Lin Jinshen prepared to leave.
“Yiyi, go walk him out,” Madam Xu said pointedly.
Lu Yi braced herself. “Okay.” She changed her shoes, called out a farewell to her parents, and went out with Lin Jinshen, one after the other.
Night had fallen. The moon was already floating in the sky, nearly the fifteenth, shining full and round, its silver light brushing the treetops and falling, untouched, across both their shoulders.
The driver had pulled the car around and was idling at the curb.
Right before getting in, Lin Jinshen turned back to her. “Lu Yi.”
It felt just like being called on in class, Lu Yi’s stomach did a flip. She tamped down her nerves. “Yes?”
“…” Lin Jinshen hesitated. “There’s not much of an age gap between us. You don’t have to be so formal.”
“…Oh. Got it.”
She hadn’t meant to be, it just slipped out automatically.
Lin Jinshen continued, “Are you free next week to have dinner with my parents?”
Meeting his parents, going to the Lin family home.
One Lin Jinshen was nerve-wracking enough. A whole house full of them? She could already picture what a trial that day would be.
But fair is fair. He’d just met her parents, now it was her turn to meet his.
“All right.”
No point putting it off, a day was coming, whether she liked it or not. Lu Yi lifted her lashes and said, “You can ask your parents when they’re available.”
“Okay.”
“Go on in, then.”
The visit to the Lin house was confirmed the day before.
On a weekday, Lu Yi picked out something classic and conservative to meet the elders, subtle makeup, simple, and elegant.
Her hopes of leaving work on time were dashed by a last-minute meeting. She texted Lin Jinshen to say something had come up, and she’d be about half an hour late, she’d drive over herself.
Lin Jinshen didn’t react to the message. He casually notified the family he’d be late, then got back to work.
By the time he finally finished, it was late. He noticed she still hadn’t replied, so he called. No answer.
He put away his phone and met the driver’s questioning glance in the mirror. Was he heading straight home? He paused, then told the driver he could clock off, he’d drive himself.
His navigation wasn’t set for the Lin family estate, but for Lu Yi’s company. He planned to pick her up first.
Yixing was considered a top-tier exhibition company. Their recent data had been stellar, their projects and business model ranked them among the elite in the industry, maybe number one in the country.
He hadn’t known much about it until after meeting Lu Yi, when he’d researched her firm.
He parked at the curb. Just as he was about to call her, his phone lit up, Lu Yi was calling first.
He answered. On the other end, her voice was low, almost hushed: “Mr. Lin?”
He replied, sounding impatient: “Yeah.”
Lu Yi was still in a meeting, her phone on silent. The second it ended, she checked her phone and saw multiple missed calls. Guilt and nerves nearly crushed her, she hurried to call back.
“Sorry, I was in a meeting and didn’t check my phone. I’m just about done here. I’ll drive over now, should be there by seven.”
Normally, that’d be doable.
But with rush hour traffic and the wait to get out of the parking lot, she couldn’t be sure.
“Come downstairs.”
“Huh?”
“I’m parked outside your building.”
“On my way!”
Learning he was waiting downstairs, Lu Yi grabbed her bag and rushed out, giving a quick goodbye to her colleagues, if they needed her, just text.
In the elevator, she stared at the floor numbers as they plummeted, nerves jangled.
She looked back at her missed calls. His first one was forty minutes ago. Had he been waiting at least forty minutes for her?
Outside, she spotted his flashy Bentley right away. Forgetting to put on appearances, she half-jogged over, opened the back door, only to find it empty. Lin Jinshen was in the driver’s seat, turned toward her, his cold gaze as impassive as ice.
Inside, the air between them was thick with awkwardness as they stared at each other.
“…”
She didn’t dare treat him like a chauffeur. Quietly mumbling an apology, she got out and slid into the front seat instead.
After her dash, she was flushed, breathless. All she could say was her apologies, she couldn’t tell if he was mad. His face was an emotional blank as always. Turning toward him, maybe a bit too close in her hurry, she blurted, “Sorry, I had my phone on silent during the meeting and missed your calls… I genuinely apologize. Are you upset?”
Lin Jinshen wasn’t angry, mostly just a little impatient from waiting.
But her sudden closeness caught him off guard, her messy hair clung to her pale forehead, her longing eyes shone with a hint of apology, full of luminous heat.
His throat tightened. Like he’d been scalded, he averted his gaze.
He couldn’t see her, but her delicate, sweet scent drifted over, everywhere, inevitable, distinctly Lu Yi.
He pressed his lips together, and discreetly shifted away as if drawing a line between them.
His voice was sharper, colder: “It’s fine.”
He started the engine and merged onto the main road.
Lu Yi, sensing the chill in his tone and the way he’d physically edged away, like she was some kind of contagion, fell silent too.
She remembered last time, when she fell, and his hand had briefly tensed, barely touching her for less than a second as he steadied her.
Since then, they hadn’t so much as brushed sleeves, unless you counted the time they sat on the same side of the table for dinner.
And as far as she knew, the rumor mill said he’d never once dated a woman. Was it a physical issue, or something psychological?
She hadn’t wondered before, but now she couldn’t shake the suspicion.
She scrunched her long, slender brows in thought.
Sure enough, traffic was brutal. Lin Jinshen drove with steady patience, braking and accelerating so smoothly that the passenger barely felt a thing.
While the car was stopped, he caught her puzzled look. “Is there something you want to say?” he asked.
She swallowed, barely, deciding there was no point in being shy. “I do have a question. I think it’s better to ask before the wedding.”
“Ask,” he said, one hand atop the wheel as he turned to face her.
“Mr. Lin, do you find physical contact uncomfortable?”
“Why would you ask that?” He frowned slightly.
Lu Yi didn’t mention what just happened, just her suspicions, and her choice: “I’m not against a marriage of convenience, but only if both parties are honest and upfront about everything.”
Marriage in name only?
His face grew colder, but he said nothing. His eyes told her, Go on.
Lu Yi braced herself: “Mr. Lin, is it psychological… or physical?”
For the first time, she saw a flash of real emotion on his face. He looked suddenly forbidding, his gaze storm-dark. His lips curled in a hard line, almost spitting out every word: “Miss Lu”
“Do you think I’m… incapable?”