Chapter 3

Something unreadable flickered through Liu Chengxi’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to have this conversation while I’m holding these?”

My face burned. I snatched a random pair of panties and fled into the bathroom.

When I came back out after changing, Liu Chengxi was gone, though several pairs were still lying on the bed.

The connecting door stood half-open. I lingered on my side of the room, hesitated, and ultimately left it alone.

I turned off the lights and climbed into bed.

Hardly a sound came from Liu Chengxi’s room. Before long, her lights went out too.

I had expected to lie awake in an unfamiliar bed, but I fell asleep almost immediately. For the first time in years, I dreamed about the woman from my past.

When I woke the next morning, my panties were damp.

I had not dreamed about that woman in ages. This was all Liu Chengxi’s fault.

I looked toward the connecting door. It was still half-open, exactly as it had been the night before.

Her room was silent. I could not tell whether she was still there.

Thank goodness she had given me several pairs. Otherwise, there was no way I could have explained why I needed fresh panties first thing in the morning.

After washing up, I opened my bedroom door and found my suitcase waiting outside.

Someone must have delivered it at dawn.

I picked out an outfit, changed, and stepped into the hall.

The entire third floor was silent, without another person in sight.

I met the housekeeper downstairs. She appeared to have been waiting for me.

Before I could speak, she said, “Miss Liu is in the conservatory. She asked that Miss Chi join her for breakfast after waking.”

I nodded. Declining the housekeeper’s offer to guide me, I set off on my own.

When Liu Chengxi brought me back the previous night, we had passed a beautiful round glass building.

She had paused to explain that it housed a collection of flowers and greenery.

At the time, I had offered a few perfunctory compliments without looking closely.

Now, bathed in morning sunlight, the glass conservatory felt strangely familiar.

When I pushed open the door and saw the layout inside, that sense of recognition sharpened.

The villa where I had lived while studying abroad had also had a glass conservatory in its garden, though it was smaller than this one.

My suspicion, which had fallen to fifty percent, climbed back to seventy.

A table for two stood on the sunny side of the conservatory. A cup of coffee steamed on its surface, but Liu Chengxi was nowhere to be seen.

I heard movement farther inside and followed the sound. Dressed in casual clothes, Liu Chengxi was planting flowers with her own hands, rich soil smeared across her long fingers.

“Who knew the great President Liu, busy with a thousand affairs a day, still had time to garden?”

I teased her with a smile. The more suspicious I became, the less intimidated I felt.

Liu Chengxi straightened and looked over. A smile rested on her lips; she seemed to be in an excellent mood.

“Are you hungry? Let’s have breakfast.”

She went to the nearby sink to wash her hands.

As I watched her fingers weave through the running water, I suddenly remembered a tiny mole on the side of the woman’s left ring finger.

During our intimate moments, I had kissed that spot countless times.

I stared at Liu Chengxi’s left hand, searching for it.

But with water flowing over her skin and the mole hidden in such an unobtrusive place, I could not tell whether the evidence I wanted was there, no matter how hard I looked.

Instead, she caught me staring. “What is it? You seem very interested in my hands.”

I seized the opportunity and stepped closer, putting on my most innocent expression. “I know palmistry. Want me to read your palm, Jiejie?”

As if she had no defenses against me at all, Liu Chengxi held out her right hand. “All right.”

I froze. The old convention did say left for men, right for women. I could only bluff my way through. “I read palms differently from other people. I usually look at the left hand.”

Liu Chengxi studied me with a knowing half smile, then extended her left hand.

Before I could examine it, a servant entered. “Miss Liu, breakfast is ready.”

Liu Chengxi gave a mild hum, withdrew her hand, and said to me, “Let’s eat first.”

I had no choice but to abandon my investigation and follow her back to the table.

The table that had held only a cup of coffee was now covered with every kind of breakfast dish.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I asked the kitchen to make a little of everything.”

The servants withdrew, leaving Liu Chengxi and me alone in the conservatory.

Silence stretched between us. I reached for the first subject that came to mind. “Where’s Liu Sinan? Isn’t he having breakfast with us?”

Liu Chengxi calmly cut the food on her plate without looking up. “He went to the office early this morning. What, he didn’t tell you?”

I had been busy changing my panties when I woke up. I had not even looked at my phone.

“My phone’s still upstairs. I haven’t checked my messages.”

Privately, I wondered what had gotten into Liu Sinan. He usually cultivated a public image of being utterly useless. Since when had he become so hardworking?

But with my supposed fiancé gone, I had no reason to remain at the estate.

After breakfast, I prepared to head to my studio.

Liu Chengxi stopped me. “Uncle Chi told me you run a photography studio. Would the esteemed Photographer Chi honor me with a portrait session?”

My first instinct was to refuse, but Liu Chengxi named a price I could not possibly turn down.

She was obscenely generous.

I was not about to quarrel with money, so I agreed at once. “When do you want to shoot?”

“No time like the present. Today.”