Chapter 15: A Smooth Pulse

After Xing Ke left, Si Yao still went downstairs. Since Old Master Xing had told her personally to teach, she had no choice but to endure it, no matter how unwilling she felt.

When she reached the first floor, A'ni was there, her face sullen, declaring that she wanted to learn the art of tea.

But in less than half an hour, scalding hot tea splashed straight onto Si Yao’s arm.

There was no apology, not even a hint of embarrassment. As if it were only natural, A'ni said, "I can’t learn today," and brushed past her to go upstairs.

Si Yao went to the kitchen to run cool water over her arm.

A servant came over, tone sympathetic. "That’s always the way with girls raised in luxury—they’re spoiled. Just put up with it, it’ll pass."

"She was in a good mood this morning. What happened? Did she have a fight with Young Master Xing?"

The servant lowered her voice. "When Young Master Xing came down earlier, he took a tie. Miss A'ni wanted to help him with it, but he refused. She asked something about a foreign man, and he looked unhappy, slammed the door, and left."

"In front of you all?"

The servant nodded, and Si Yao was a little surprised.

Xing Jue never allowed himself to show his emotions in front of outsiders. That was something she had taught him in the past, and he had learned it well. Over the years, he’d put it to good use.

At the very least, Si Yao could never read what was on his mind.

After holding her arm under cool water for a while, her eyes looked brighter.

It seemed... A'ni had quite the time during her two years abroad.

The rules of the Xing family were notoriously unfair to women.

She just wondered if, with Xing Jue, that unfairness held true.

That night, Si Yao locked her door with calculated caution, but she didn’t sleep. A'ni was in Xing Jue’s room, making a scene, shouting at the absent Xing Jue over the phone.

By the next day, everything seemed normal.

But A'ni clearly couldn’t focus on her lessons anymore, agitated and irritable, constantly picking at Si Yao.

Si Yao dealt with her impassively, but at night, she pressed her ear to the door, listening intently.

Xing Jue still hadn’t come back.

The pampered heiress’s patience was stretched to its limits. She shouted into her phone, "Xing Jue, you’ll be begging me on your knees like a dog!"

A'ni stormed out, dragging her suitcase behind her, slamming the door so hard the whole house echoed.

The servants gathered at Si Yao’s door, asking what to do.

"What do you mean, what to do?"

"This is the first time a woman has ever lived in our house," the younger servant blurted out.

The older one tugged at her, gesturing toward Si Yao.

The young servant looked deflated, trying to make amends. "Sister Yao, I didn’t mean it like that..."

"It’s fine," Si Yao interrupted. "I certainly won’t be the mistress of this house. Everyone in Qingcheng knows that."

Ever since A'ni had changed her surname, the social circles started a wager—betting on when Xing Jue would break off his engagement to Si Yao and marry A'ni instead.

The bookmaker was Xing Jue himself.

The stakes for a single month were in the tens of millions.

Her engagement to Xing Jue, and A'ni’s change of name, had gone from whispered gossip to open scandal. With things blown this far, Xing Jue would never slap his own face. They were sure to get married, and Si Yao doubted she’d even get a proper engagement dissolution ceremony. In the end, it would all pass in a muddled haze.

Leaving the servants to their anxious discussion, Si Yao shut her door and went to sleep.

At midnight, her phone rang.

"Come pick me up." It was Xing Jue’s voice.

Si Yao was on her period and declined politely.

"K1." He said only this before hanging up.

Si Yao thought for a moment, then changed clothes and drove over.

When she arrived, Xing Jue had drunk more than usual. A haze clouded his eyes, heavy with moisture, making it impossible to tell if he was sober.

There were two familiar faces in the private room. When they saw Si Yao, they joked, "Sister Yao, you’re really well-behaved. If only we had someone like you at home."

Xing Jue followed their gaze to Si Yao and, clearly still drunk, crooked a finger at her.

After dealing with the two men, Si Yao stepped forward. The next second, Xing Jue’s long arm reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

But there was already a woman in his arms. The two were pressed together, the woman’s knee bumping into Si Yao’s lower abdomen.

On the first day of her period, Si Yao was especially uncomfortable. She clutched her stomach and whimpered softly.

Xing Jue’s grip suddenly tightened. He pushed the other woman aside and half-supported Si Yao as he squeezed over to the side. "Take her pulse."

Xu Mian snorted with laughter. "I’m only half-competent at pulse-taking—it’s nothing compared to my brother."

Xing Jue’s tone was cold. "Do it."

The room grew frosty in an instant.

Xu Mian paused, then took hold of the arm Xing Jue had forcibly pulled over.

He paused again at the touch. Everyone knew Si Yao was fair-skinned, but such whiteness was rare indeed. There was a hint of pink beneath the pale skin, and... a silken smoothness.

Blood rushed to Xu Mian’s head at the contact. He lingered for a moment, then raised his brows and murmured, "Her pulse is slippery..."

Si Yao knew nothing of medicine. She withdrew her hand and pushed Xing Jue, who was standing too close. "You’ve had too much to drink."

Meeting Xing Jue’s gaze, she couldn’t help but shiver.