“I mean it’s very quiet,” Nono said. “Weren’t you the one who told Professor Manstein that in Chinese slang, ‘big’ meant quiet? That’s why he kept telling students in class, ‘Be big, keep it big, even bigger…’ He thought it was funny, showing that he understood the slang.”
Lu Mingfei silently covered his face. He figured someone would eventually tell Professor Manstein that it was all nonsense. He had even enrolled in Professor Manstein’s class—he wondered if he would fail.
“Let’s go to the spring and soak our feet?” Nono said.
After she spoke, she hopped out of the car barefoot, only wearing her socks. Lu Mingfei followed her, stumbling through the autumn meadow, following the sound of the flowing water until they reached the lakeside spring. The only light source was the headlights of the Bugatti behind them, reflecting off the water and making the surface look like it was coated in silver. Nono found a rock to sit on and noticed Lu Mingfei curiously looking her up and down.
“What are you looking at?”
“I was wondering…” Lu Mingfei said honestly, “if you want me to turn around before you take off your socks.”
Nono made a face at him and pulled out a small pair of scissors from her bag. She cut her stockings at the ankle, exposing her bare feet.
“It’s cold; you have to be brave!” Nono said.
“As someone who once swam in the Yangtze River in winter, a bit of cold water on my feet is nothing,” Lu Mingfei said, picking a rock to sit on and removing his socks.
They looked at each other and slowly put their feet into the spring together. The cold seemed to seep through every pore, climbing up their spines, and they both shivered at the same time. While doing this, they stared at each other’s faces, trying to catch any amusing expressions. Despite their best efforts to endure it, their mouths still twitched on one side.
“You were just pretending!” They both pointed at each other, bursting into unrestrained laughter.
“After a while, it will warm up, but if you stay too long, it’ll get cold again. We have to leave before it gets too cold,” Nono said. “Did you really swim in winter?”
“Not a chance, I hate the cold,” Lu Mingfei hugged his arms, “Cold winds freeze me to death; tomorrow I’ll make a nest.”
“You are so brave, risking your life for a gentleman.”
“No, I am shedding tears to match the beauty.”
As Nono said, after the initial cold, their feet gradually warmed up as blood concentrated to warm them. Lu Mingfei began to feel a bit more comfortable.
“What’s up with Caesar, anyway?” He started a casual conversation with Nono. “He invites us to the ball, gives us attitude, makes such a big deal out of it with all those guests, and we could eat all the lobster we wanted. Just to see us make fools of ourselves? I was terrified seeing those roses at the door; even Finger said they were for me.”
“Roses?” Nono looked up at Lu Mingfei and laughed out loud.
“Those roses weren’t bought for you; they were bought for me,” Nono said. “That banquet wasn’t organized for you; it was a celebration for me. Actually, it was I who invited you to the party. Caesar just said he wanted to talk to you face to face.”
“So it wasn’t Xiang Yu inviting guests; it was Consort Yu hosting!” Lu Mingfei nodded like a pecking chicken, feeling grateful for the beauty’s kindness. “I even thought it was a Hongmen Banquet and specifically brought Finger along as my Fan Kuai!”
“I wasn’t planning anything good for you either, so why are you so happy?” Nono rolled her eyes at him.
“I am not,” Lu Mingfei said, his face a little red—thankfully, it was dark.
“Why are you blushing?” Nono asked.
“I’m just… in high spirits!” Lu Mingfei said loudly, mimicking Yang Zirong charging up the mountain to fight a tiger.
“I’m teasing you. It’s too dark—I can’t even see you.” Nono said.
Only then did Lu Mingfei realize his guilty conscience. The strong light of the car’s headlights shone from behind him, and Nono hadn’t even glanced at him.
“I invited you because I’m not used to hanging around Caesar’s lackeys,” Nono said. “I know Caesar put a lot of thought into it, but it just felt weird. Everyone was there to see how cool the two of us are. I had to accept his gesture, and smile while his lackeys wished me happiness and treated me as Caesar’s rightful fiancée. The whole night, there wasn’t a single fun person.”
“Fiancée?” Lu Mingfei was stunned. The word “engagement” sounded so heavy it made his heart skip a beat.
“Today’s my birthday.” After a moment of silence, Nono mentioned it casually. But her voice was so soft, like a breeze that was easily overlooked.
“Happy birthday!” Lu Mingfei blurted out.
Then he froze—he was unprepared, completely unprepared.
He had once stood in line for an entire morning to buy Chen Wenwen a signed CD, eagerly gifting it to her, and in return, she gave him a polite “thank you.” He was content and didn’t care that her desk was also filled with a Swarovski crystal pendant and other unknown gifts. To him, standing in line for that important day was nothing. He didn’t expect his gift to be the best; just good enough was fine. He had low expectations of himself.
He never thought about asking when Nono’s birthday was, and even if he had, why would he give her a gift? They weren’t that close yet—there was no reason. And at that time, whatever he gave would be compared not with Swarovski pendants, but with Tahitian pearls or limited-edition Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, brought by a blonde-haired Caesar in a supercar…
But now, without any reason, Nono had just told him, while he was barefoot, not even wearing socks.
Besides this dry “happy birthday,” the best he could probably do was fold the white handkerchief in his suit pocket into a little boat and let it float over.
He quickly reached into the pocket of his suit… only to find that the handkerchief had already been used to wipe his mouth when he and Finger were wolfing down lobsters.
“Got it,” Nono said calmly.
“Caesar really went all out for you, huh?” Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but be impressed. “It was a bit too grand, no wonder I thought it was like a bride selection.”
“But I didn’t like it, and I couldn’t refuse his gesture,” Nono said. “He’s very stubborn; if he puts in the effort, he wants you to appreciate it.”