Chapter 3: Preposterous
The girl in the photo sat on a very ordinary sofa. Behind her was a wall of books, and sunlight slanted in from the side, falling across half her face.
She wore a cream-colored knit cardigan over a pale pink dress. Her hair was black and soft, hanging down by her shoulder.
She probably didn’t like having her picture taken. She shrank back slightly, hands resting obediently on her knees, ten fingers unconsciously twisting together.
But what caught your attention most were her eyes.
They were extremely round, extremely bright, the irises pale, like amber glass beads.
She was looking at the lens, but that gaze didn’t look like someone posing for a photo. It looked more like a little rabbit suddenly scooped up and dropped into an unfamiliar place—
caught off guard, not knowing where to put her hands or feet, timidly staring at you,
carrying a natural, completely unfeigned panic and docility.
That gaze was too clean. Clean like snow no one had ever touched.
Xie Jing stared at that photo for three seconds.
Zhou Xu noticed something was off with him. He leaned over for a look and couldn’t help letting out a “yo.”
“This little girl looks so well-behaved.”
The girl in the photo did look well-behaved.
A round oval face, chin tapering slightly but not pointy, carrying the soft curve unique to young girls.
Her nose was small and rounded, lips naturally pink without a trace of lipstick. The lower lip was a bit thicker than the upper one, slightly pouted, as if silently acting spoiled.
The deadliest part was those almond-shaped eyes—big and round, the outer corners drooping just a little, lashes thick and curled, casting a small fan-shaped shadow.
It gave her entire aura an innocent, pity-inducing quality.
The kind of pretty that made your heart go soft.
Like a kitten you happened across by the roadside, fluffy and timid, making you want to squat down and gently stroke its head.
Xie Jing ignored Zhou Xu and flipped the photo over to check the back.
Sui Nuo, nineteen years old, Second Miss of the Sui family.
Height 162 cm, weight 46 kg, current college student, majoring in Classical Philology.
Under hobbies it read: stargazing, raising succulents, making journals.
When Xie Jing saw the words “raising succulents,” the corner of his mouth twitched slightly—
the movement was too fast, fast enough to almost be ignored, but Zhou Xu saw it, and quietly filed it away in his mind.
Very quickly, Xie Jing returned to his usual cold expression.
He pulled this single photo out and tossed the rest onto the table.
“Her.”
Uncle Zhao set down his teacup and glanced at the photo,
then glanced at Xie Jing, a barely perceptible smile flashing through his eyes.
He’d lived long enough to know this Young Master’s temper far too well—he picked this girl probably not because he liked her, but because she seemed easy to control. But either way, he’d taken a liking.
Obedient, timid, nineteen.
One look told you she was a pushover.
Xie Jing hated all troublesome people and things.
Asking him to deal with some shrewd, worldly rich-family miss? He’d rather die.
And this girl—you could tell just from the photo she had no temper. Marry her, keep her at home, quiet and never causing a fuss. Saves everyone the headache.
Uncle Zhao tucked the photo away and nodded.
“As for the Sui family, the Old Master will handle the talks.”
Xie Jing stood up, stuck the cigarette back between his lips, and walked toward the door.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Uncle Zhao, voice flat: “Tell Grandpa, this is the last time I’ll listen.”
Uncle Zhao smiled and nodded, watching him leave.
After the private room door closed, Uncle Zhao slowly picked up his teacup again, muttering as if to himself: “The Sui family’s Second Miss… the one with the smallest guts?”
He shook his head and laughed.
If the Old Master found out this brat picked the easiest one to bully, he’d probably start nagging again about how “a Xie family wife needs to have some backbone” or whatever.
But it didn’t matter. Picked was picked. Was the Xie family afraid they couldn’t afford to raise one little girl?
Now this was getting interesting.