STT – Chapter 2
by Little PandaCome with me, name your price.
Having known Jiang Huaixi for six years, it was true that during these six years, Jiang Huaixi had given her a great deal of care and warmth. Yet, Lu Zizheng also clearly remembered that one of the most profound humiliations of her life had been bestowed upon her by Jiang Huaixi.
Her first meeting with Jiang Huaixi was not like the “love at first sight” between soulmates often found in novels.
It was shortly after the start of the university term, just over a week after the freshman orientation gala. The September evening sun set late; when Lu Zizheng emerged from the library, the sun was still hanging obliquely halfway up the mountain. The sky was awash in crimson, and the evening breeze was striking, offering a rare sense of comfort.
She stepped comfortably down the high steps of the library, one by one, and spotted a flashy red Lamborghini parked by the roadside in front of the building. Standing beside it was a long-haired woman wearing a navy blue three-quarter sleeve sweater and black skinny trousers. She was tall and possessed an obviously uncommon temperament. The twilight halo hit her body, making her look as beautiful as a scene from a movie.
Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but secretly marvel in her heart: how much luck does one need to cultivate such a result, possessing both wealth and beauty?
As she passed by the woman, Lu Zizheng took a closer look at her. Her ink-black hair fell like a waterfall, her skin was pale to the point of being almost sickly, and her face was exquisite and cold; her entire being exuded a classical nobility. In all these years, no one’s beauty had ever made Lu Zizheng feel they could stand shoulder to shoulder with Lian Xuan. This woman was an exception. Moreover, compared to Lian Xuan’s beauty, she was more otherworldly, lacking the scent of earthly smoke and fire1.
But Lu Zizheng merely admired her secretly like this. Her steps did not hesitate or pause in the slightest as she walked straight past the car, and past her. However, something unexpected happened…
The woman reached out and grabbed her wrist, catching her off guard, fiercely…
Before Lu Zizheng could even cry out in surprise, she heard a pleasant but cold voice speak arrogantly into her ear: “Come with me, name your price.”
For a moment, Lu Zizheng was both angry and amused; it was simply baffling. She turned around, stood up straight, and looked directly at her, eyes filled with indifference, and said coldly, “Let go.”
But she heard the woman sneer: “Whatever you want, I can afford to give. Your reputation is already out there, known to everyone, so why pretend to be reserved with me now? One month—is this car enough as a deposit?”
People coming out of the library stood at the entrance watching the drama from afar, pointing and whispering about the two of them. Lu Zizheng felt her head buzzing with pain, and for a moment she was in a trance; the scene slowly overlapped with certain images in her memory. She felt dizzy and couldn’t stand steady, swaying slightly. The woman holding her arm used force to steady her.
After regaining her balance, she bit her lip, fiercely threw off the woman’s hand, took a tissue from her bag, and stood there in front of her, wiping her wrist bit by bit with great seriousness, as if it were covered in disgusting sludge.
Jiang Huaixi, due to her trance, was also somewhat stunned for a moment.
Lu Zizheng finished wiping her hands, looked up at the whispering crowd behind her, then looked at the neurotic woman beside her who had momentarily stopped moving. She smiled coldly, turned around, and walked away.
The rare good mood from just moments ago was completely gone.
On the way back to the dormitory, tears threatened to overflow several times. She bit her lip and said to herself: Lu Zizheng, what is the use of crying? Do you not yet know how malicious this world is? And so, she forced the tears back.
Later, the versions of this event spread further and became more and more outrageous; not a single one was close to the truth. Her hand hurt for three days, but even after the red marks on her hand disappeared, the scars on her heart could not heal, just like her increasingly ugly reputation…
Much later, she learned that the woman was named Jiang Huaixi. The library had been donated and built by her father. She was a rich person’s daughter.
So, could she act so recklessly and trample on her dignity?
Do so-called rich people have the capital to be so self-righteous?
Lu Zizheng didn’t understand. The once gentle and clean Lian Xuan was like this, and now the beautiful and noble Jiang Huaixi was also like this.
Lu Zizheng suddenly asked Jiang Huaixi, “When we first met, why were you so…” She hesitated, thinking of a slightly nicer phrasing, “Baffling?”
Jiang Huaixi did not answer her immediately.
The car was quiet. After driving for some distance, Jiang Huaixi finally let six words pop lightly from her beautiful, thin lips: “Because I have money, I am willful2.”
In that instant, Lu Zizheng just wanted to raise her hand and give her a fierce slap!
Sometimes, you cannot have a heart-to-heart with Jiang Huaixi, because you cannot grasp her mind.
The car soon arrived at the place where Lu Zizheng’s mother lived. Jiang Huaixi parked the car with practiced ease, then opened the trunk, lifted out bag after bag of fruits, vegetables, and raw meat, and unceremoniously handed two bags to Lu Zizheng. “He who does not work, neither shall he eat.”
Lu Zizheng silently took the bags, rarely offering a rebuttal.
Every time Jiang Huaixi came, she brought bags large and small, prepared for everything. Occasionally, when Lu Zizheng went home, she would hear her mother say things like, “Last time I said the rice cooker wasn’t working well and asked you to pick a time to buy one for me, and the very next day Huaixi brought one over.” In terms of life, Jiang Huaixi really helped her a lot. Every time she went on a business trip, she would hear her mom say, “Zhengzheng, don’t worry, Huaixi said she would come to keep me company often. If there’s anything, I’ll just ask her.”
The Jiang Huaixi who was aloof and sharp-tongued in front of her was unexpectedly obedient and considerate in front of her mother. In Jiang Huaixi’s words: “Your mother is much cuter and easier to get along with than you. The key is, she cooks a great meal. Eating someone’s food makes one’s mouth soft3—can you cook? If not, don’t ask me why I treat you differently.”
Lu Zizheng was left speechless.
Jiang Huaixi’s stamina was obviously poor. It was just a short hundred meters from the parking lot to Block B, but after carrying a few bags, Lu Zizheng could hear her light panting. She reached out to help Jiang Huaixi take two more bags, laughing, “How long has it been since you exercised? You’re panting like this after just a few steps.”
Jiang Huaixi unexpectedly said, “I think it’s better if you don’t keep your back so straight when walking.”
Lu Zizheng was puzzled. “Why?”
Jiang Huaixi laughed. “How long has it been since you exercised? Standing so straight, I can see your little belly; it’s layers of meat.”
For a moment, Lu Zizheng wanted to smash her to death with the bags in her hand.
Finally arriving at the door, just as Lu Zizheng put the key4 in the hole, Mama Lu5 quickly opened the door. Seeing Lu Zizheng and Jiang Huaixi, Mama Lu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. She reached out to take the bags from Jiang Huaixi first, saying, “Huaixi, come in quickly. Oh my, bringing so many things every time, making you spend so much money. Auntie doesn’t dare let you come for dinner anymore.”
Jiang Huaixi answered while changing her shoes, “Auntie, look, I come to mooch meals every time. If I don’t bring something over, how could I have the nerve?”
Lu Zizheng stood at the door looking at Jiang Huaixi’s two tender, white hands as she changed her shoes; they were marked with circle after circle of red indentations. For a moment, her heart felt a little damp.
After entering, Jiang Huaixi busied herself going to the bathroom first. Lu Zizheng followed her mother into the kitchen, helping her pick vegetables and assist, enjoying the rare warm time with her mother.
Lu Zizheng and Mama Lu were originally from Juzhou6 City in the province. The family had few relatives and wasn’t large. When Lu Zizheng was in junior high, her father died unexpectedly. Since then, only Lu Zizheng and her mother were left depending on each other. After Lu Zizheng went to university, she came to Linzhou7. In her sophomore year, to make it easier to take care of Lu Zizheng, her mother bought a house here and moved to Linzhou as well. Later, Mama Lu opened a breakfast shop; life wasn’t wealthy, but it was stable. After graduation, Lu Zizheng’s company was too far from home, so Mama Lu had her rent a place nearby, and she would come back to eat together on weekends when she had time.
While cutting vegetables, Mama Lu chatted about daily life with Lu Zizheng. Lu Zizheng wasn’t young anymore, so the conversation inevitably turned to Lu Zizheng’s personal life. “Zhengzheng, what kind of person do you want to find? I haven’t seen you date anyone for Mom to see in so many years.”
Lu Zizheng organized the fruit Jiang Huaixi bought into the fridge, then washed a small basket of grapes and put them by the stove. She peeled one and stuffed it into Mama Lu’s mouth to stop her talking. “Mom, didn’t you say before that you weren’t in a hurry and it was up to my own happiness?”
Mama Lu laughed. “That is what I said, but Mom is afraid your standards are too high and you’ll miss the good resources around you.”
Lu Zizheng carefully caught the grape seed her mom spit out, then smiled. “Don’t worry about it, I’m paying attention. Ah, have another one.” Saying that, she stuffed another grape into Mama Lu’s mouth.
Jiang Huaixi walked near the kitchen from outside, reached out, and took a grape, handing it to Lu Zizheng while signaling with her eyes for Lu Zizheng to peel one for her.
Lu Zizheng wasn’t willing and pretended not to see.
Mama Lu saw it and issued a command: “Zhengzheng, peel a few grapes for Huaixi.”
Lu Zizheng: “…”
Jiang Huaixi contentedly ate the grape Lu Zizheng fed her, took an apron from the side, stood next to Mama Lu, and said obediently, “Auntie, I’ll help you. For the sake of Zizheng feeding me a grape just now, let’s cook the fish-flavored chicken legs she likes best.”
Mama Lu laughed. “Okay, let Auntie see if your cooking skills have improved, Huaixi.”
Jiang Huaixi tied up her waist-length straight hair and rolled up her shirt sleeves, revealing half of her jade-like arms. A faint smile hung on her lips; that appearance was truly beautiful enough to make one unable to look away.
Lu Zizheng still curled her lip, pouring cold water on the moment. “You’ve certainly got the look down.”
Jiang Huaixi washed the wok, fighting back without turning her head. “You’d better not eat later.”
After three days of separation, one should look at a person with new eyes8. Lu Zizheng had to admit, Jiang Huaixi’s movements were skilled; she looked quite professional. It made it hard for her to recall a few years ago when Jiang Huaixi first entered her kitchen and actually pointed at the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, asking her what they were one by one with interest.
Seeing that Jiang Huaixi was working hard at stir-frying, Lu Zizheng peeled a few more grapes and held them to her mouth. But, why were there no seeds?
“Mom, the grapes you just ate had seeds, right? Why do the grapes Huaixi is eating have no seeds?”
Mama Lu nodded. “They do.”
Jiang Huaixi answered lightly, “Oh, I swallowed them all. Spitting them out looks too ugly.”
“Mom, she said the way you spit out grape seeds just now looked too ugly!” Lu Zizheng moved a small stool, sat behind Jiang Huaixi, and finally caught a chance to badmouth her in front of her mom.
Jiang Huaixi said coldly, “Talk nonsense again and you won’t eat any of the dishes I cook later.”
Lu Zizheng grumbled, “Just because you can cook two small dishes, look at you showing off…”
Mama Lu patted Lu Zizheng’s head, laughing. “Don’t be unconvinced, Huaixi is just better than you. Otherwise, you get up and cook two dishes to show off.”
Lu Zizheng blinked and stopped talking.
At the dinner table that night, Lu Zizheng ate an extra half bowl of rice, almost clearing all the dishes—especially the ones Jiang Huaixi made. After eating, she leaned back in the chair, too full to move.
Jiang Huaixi looked at her amusingly, getting up to help clear the dishes. Mama Lu felt embarrassed. “Huaixi, look, at home your parents definitely wouldn’t bear to let you do work. Every time you come, Zhengzheng slacks off and lets you help wash and scrub.”
Jiang Huaixi carried the dishes into the kitchen. “It’s okay, Auntie. I have to thank you for giving me the chance to experience life, otherwise I’d become a ‘life idiot’ who can’t take care of herself.”
Lu Zizheng leaned against the chair, squinting slightly, watching the figures of the older and younger woman washing dishes and laughing in the kitchen. Warmth rose in her heart, but a sense of loneliness and desolation also grew out of nowhere.
Love is like a blown bubble. When blowing it, you are amazed by its beauty in the sunlight, the fantasy of it drifting in the air. Only after blowing it do you realize: the more the sun shines, the more the wind blows, and the more beautiful the bubble is, the faster it bursts. All beauty loses its trace in an instant.
So, if you don’t want the bubble to disappear, keep the bubble water in your hand. Don’t blow it.
LP: Re-translated on November 20, 2025
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 烟火 | Pinyin: yānhuǒ | Explanation: Literally “smoke and fire,” referring to cooking smoke. It metaphorically refers to the mundane aspects of human life or worldly existence. To lack it means to be ethereal or fairy-like.
- Hanzi: 有钱，任性 | Pinyin: yǒuqián, rènxìng | Explanation: A popular Chinese internet slang phrase meaning “rich and capricious.” It implies that having money allows one to do whatever they want, no matter how irrational.
- Hanzi: 吃人的嘴软 | Pinyin: chī rén de zuǐ ruǎn | Explanation: Part of the proverb “吃人的嘴软，拿人的手短” (Eating others’ food makes the mouth soft; taking others’ things makes the hand short). It means that if you accept favors from others, you cannot speak ill of them or be strict with them.
- LP: The source text contained a typo, “要是” (yàoshi – if), which is a homophone for “钥匙” (yàoshi – key). The context clearly indicates the author intended “key”.
- Hanzi: 陆妈妈 | Pinyin: Lù māma
- Hanzi: 居州 | Pinyin: Jūzhōu
- Hanzi: 临州 | Pinyin: Línzhōu
- Hanzi: 士别三日当刮目相待 | Pinyin: shì bié sān rì dāng guā mù xiāng dài | Explanation: A Chengyu from the Three Kingdoms period involving Lü Meng. It means that a person can improve significantly in a short time, so one should not judge them by old standards.
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