The Man in the Black Sweater - 3.1: Flirting With the Wrong Person

Early in the morning, Luo Xu was already ready. Brimming with energy, she ran out into the garden to watch the old butler tend the flowers, chatting with him idly.
She sat on a low stool, twirling a blade of wild grass in her hand, swinging it back and forth, occasionally squinting up at the sky outside the courtyard wall, watching flocks of birds fly away.
“Ah, I left the shears inside.” The old butler patted his head and turned toward the tool shed.
Luo Xu chuckled, stretched her legs out, crossed them, propped her hands back, and tilted her head up to face the sunlight.
December in S City wasn’t too cold. Even when a chilly breeze blew through, it was softened by the sun, hardly a threat.
Footsteps came from the other side. Luo Xu straightened her posture and looked over.
In the morning light, a man jogged toward her. He was wearing a white tracksuit, his hair slightly damp with sweat. Luo Xu narrowed her eyes, secretly wishing the tracksuit were a little thinner—then she could get a glimpse of his chest muscles.
“What are you staring at?” The man was about to head inside when he spotted her sitting in the courtyard, so he turned his head toward her.
Caught red-handed, Luo Xu wasn’t flustered. Instead, she blinked and smiled. “You’ve got a really great body.”
His toes pivoted toward her, his tone dropping low. “Did water get into your brain?”
Luo Xu was baffled. What was with this guy? Being complimented on his body by a woman made him act like he’d been offended—how bizarre!
The old butler came out of the tool shed with the shears. Luo Xu was just about to complain, saying some rude jogger had barged into their place, when the butler smiled at the man.
“Sir, back from your morning run? Breakfast should be ready in the kitchen.”
Luo Xu’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. This… this was Pei Yan?!
She had just flirted with… Pei Yan?
Pei Yan shot her a cold glance, as if she were some shameless woman.
“T-this, I can explain…” Watching him stride inside, Luo Xu couldn’t help but jog after him.
“Wait, don’t misunderstand my character!”
She absolutely wasn’t the kind of woman who would flirt with her nephew’s uncle while carrying her nephew’s child!
Luo Xu’s legs weren’t short. She caught up to Pei Yan on the stairs, reached for his sleeve—he dodged, and she went tumbling, falling to her knees on the solid wood steps.
Thud. The perfect kowtow position for New Year’s greetings.
Both froze—one numb from pain, the other startled.
Pei Yan reached down and yanked her up. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Tears welled in Luo Xu’s eyes, but she still clung to him, earnestly explaining, “I’m face-blind. I didn’t mean it just now…”
“I asked if you hurt yourself.”
“It hurts, but I still have to say this—I’m face-blind, not a lovestruck idiot.”
Pei Yan let go. “You’re face-blind and a lovestruck idiot.”
Luo Xu pressed her lips together. “Just face-blind. Lovestruck idiot… doesn’t quite apply.”
Pei Yan, standing above her, glanced at her knees. “Go put some medicine on it. Don’t come chasing after me again.”
“…Oh.” Luo Xu released his sleeve, rubbing her knees as she walked down.
Pei Yan glanced once more at the spot she’d knelt. Luckily, it hadn’t left a dent.
After breakfast, the two of them shared a car to the Pei family estate.
Luo Xu gazed with great interest at the scenery outside, comparing it to New York in her mind, secretly hoping S City would come out on top.
“Your face-blindness—were you born with it?” Pei Yan set down his phone and asked.
Luo Xu turned back. “Yeah.”
“Is it that you can’t see people’s faces clearly, or you just can’t recognize them?”
“I can see fine, I just can’t recognize.” Luo Xu immediately gave an example. “Like, I know Brad Pitt is ridiculously handsome, but the next time I see him, I might still mistake him for Schwarzenegger.”
Pei Yan: “You don’t need to prove your lovestruck level with examples.”
“It’s face-blindness,” Luo Xu corrected.
“Then why can you recognize the butler and Aunt Chen, but mistake me?” he pressed.
Luo Xu grew nervous. Here it comes. He’s finally suspicious of me.
“We’ve been with the butler and Aunt Chen for a whole week. I see them so often it’d be hard not to remember them.”
“Lie.” Pei Yan shot her a glance, utterly certain.
Luo Xu licked her lips. So dry.
“…Fine, I can recognize them because I know the house only has the butler and Aunt Chen—one man, one woman. It’s easy to guess who’s who.”
“So if they were in a crowd, you wouldn’t recognize them?”
“…Right.”
Pei Yan nodded, not pressing further.
“You don’t think I’m an idiot, do you?” Luo Xu tilted her head to look at him.
“It’s a condition. Sure, it involves the brain, but it’s not enough to prove you’re an idiot,” Pei Yan said seriously.
Luo Xu sat up straighter. “Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it really doesn’t sound like it…”
Up front, the driver was struggling not to laugh.
….

The car drove into the Pei residence. Looking at the increasingly vast and grand landscape, Luo Xu couldn’t help but lash out at Tang Huang in her heart. What kind of “working-class family” lives in a place like this? Absolute nonsense.
The driver parked the car in the garage. Luo Xu stood at the entrance, nervously clasping her hands together. The intricate patterns on the door were about to be drilled through by her gaze, and the guilty bubbles in her chest were already about to rise to her throat.
“What are you standing there for?” Pei Yan pushed open the door and saw her still frozen in place.
“Ah, coming.” Luo Xu ducked her head and hurried to catch up.
She had seen houses in New York’s Upper East Side, but compared to the Pei residence—well, you could say poor people’s homes all looked alike, but the rich each had their own way of being extraordinary.
“Is that Tang Sancai?” Luo Xu pointed at a decorative vase nearby.
“What’s your understanding of Tang Sancai?” Pei Yan glanced at the thin white porcelain vase and asked.
“Famous, pretty, porcelain.” Luo Xu gave three keywords.
Pei Yan almost asked if she was even Chinese, but remembering that in terms of nationality, she technically wasn’t, he just told her, “That’s blue-and-white porcelain, not Tang Sancai.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Do you have a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Baidu it.”
Luo Xu: “……” Was that contempt or just pure impatience? She hoped it was the latter.
Pei Yan led her inside. The imposing architecture overwhelmed her wandering eyes, gradually filling her with a kind of reverence.
“Look at that, speak of the devil and he shall appear—here comes the young master!” A loud voice rang out, making Luo Xu’s heart tighten.
“You’ve been so busy lately, not even coming home to see me and your father.” A slightly older voice followed, with laughter and gentle reproach, warm and pleasant to hear.
“I was away on business for a few days. How’s your health?” Pei Yan sat down.
“Good, very good.”
Luo Xu raised her head slightly and met a pair of cloudy but bright eyes.
“So this is Tang Huang’s girlfriend?”
The old lady seemed to have been watching her all along, her gaze openly scrutinizing. In her eyes, with Luo Xu’s looks and bearing, she could perhaps pass for a servant in this house. As for a young madam? Hardly.
“Yes, that’s her.” Pei Yan lifted his teacup. Seeing Luo Xu still standing there blankly, he asked, “Why are you still standing?”
Luo Xu fumbled, hands and feet uneasy. “Hello, my name is Luo Xu.”
“Sit.” The old lady lifted her chin, pointing to the seat farthest away from her.
Luo Xu sat down, bracing herself under the examination.