Chapter 17: The LX of LX Capital

No one knew how much time had passed before a flicker of emotion appeared in Qin Yu’s eyes, like ripples stirred across the calm surface of a lake by the wind.

“Yes.”

He was a man of few words; his response was as plain and dry as ever. Fortunately, Lin Xi was already used to this.

Still, his answer didn’t surprise her.

“Did my uncle tell you?” she asked.

“No.” Under her fervent gaze, Qin Yu felt a strange pang of guilt. He shifted his neck and averted his eyes.

Their roles had reversed in an instant. It was clearly he who used to press her with such questions.

“So when did you find out?” she continued.

“Not long after you arrived here,” he admitted.

At that time, Lin Xi’s uncle had told the family elders that he was taking her abroad for treatment. Qin Yu followed that lead, and it didn’t take him long to find her.

“So you came the day I was discharged?” Lin Xi’s tone was certain, leaving him no room to evade. “I saw you.”

Qin Yu fell silent, his expression darkening. After a moment, he confessed, “Yes. I knew you could finally take off your hearing aid, but I didn’t know if everything had gone smoothly. I wanted to know the result as soon as possible, so I flew over.”

“I see.” Lin Xi fought to steady her racing heart, her smile growing brighter. “I’d never been sure I’d really seen you, but now I know.”

Qin Yu was momentarily stunned, then he smiled, his gaze holding a hint of approval. “Not bad. After all these years, you can still coax the truth out of me.”

She gave a slight bow, as if in gratitude. “All thanks to your guidance back then. I owe what I am now to you.”

Her sincerity was tinged with a touch of irony.

Qin Yu lowered his head a fraction, meeting her eyes. “Are you angry?”

Lin Xi shrugged.

It wasn’t anger, not exactly. She was surprised, certainly, and there was some other strange emotion churning inside her—a feeling she didn’t wish to examine too closely. With a gesture, she invited him, “Come on, let me treat you to dinner.”

Qin Yu raised his eyebrows in surprise. He’d expected her to sulk again, but she actually seemed to be in good spirits.

Lin Xi took him to the copper hotpot restaurant she’d mentioned before. From their table by the window on the first floor, she could see her school.

The owner knew her well by now and sent over several complimentary side dishes.

During the meal, as Lin Xi picked at her food, she asked, “Third Brother, when are you heading back to Beijing?”

“When are you going back?” he replied, unhurriedly turning the question back on her.

“Probably the day after tomorrow.” She needed to hurry back and find a job.

She wasn’t very familiar with the domestic market and would need to do her homework.

“Perfect. I’ll take you to the airport in New York when you leave.”

“You’re not going back?” Lin Xi looked up in surprise. Hadn’t he come here together with her?

“I have work and need to stay in New York for a couple more days.”

As he spoke, he took out his phone and placed it on the table, pushing it toward her. “Give me your number. I’ll contact you early the day after tomorrow.”

Since Lin Xi had returned to China, they’d only communicated through Cheng Si, their go-between.

She stared for a moment at the little charm hanging from his phone, then set down her chopsticks. “What’s your password?”

“I haven’t changed it,” Qin Yu replied.

She paused, a little taken aback, then lowered her head and entered her own birthday.

Several years ago, she’d used Qin Yu’s phone to play games. His password had been complicated, so she’d asked if she could change it to something simpler.

Qin Yu had told her to do as she liked. So she’d set it as her birthday.

Lin Xi admitted to herself that back then, she’d had her own little motives. As for now, she only felt awkward.

It would make sense if he hadn’t bothered to change it out of laziness, but it had been seven years—surely he’d changed phones by now. He could have reset it at any time. Why was he still using this one?

Noticing that she’d unlocked his phone, Qin Yu’s lips curved and his brow relaxed.

—

When Lin Xi got out of Qin Yu’s car again, her uncle was much calmer this time. “Where have you been? It’s so late.”

“I ran into Qin Yu when I left the hospital. We had dinner together.”

“Oh~” That single syllable was laden with meaning.

Lin Xi froze slightly as she bent to change her shoes. She glanced at her uncle standing beside her. “What’s with that look?”

He smiled. “Just my usual face.”

“He still cares about you a lot, doesn’t he? It doesn’t seem ordinary.”

“That’s because my brother asked him to keep an eye on me.”

Having changed her shoes, Lin Xi straightened and walked inside.

Her uncle shook his head and followed. “I’m not so sure about that.”

With pointed curiosity, he asked, “Isn’t Third Qin’s company called… what was it? LX Capital? Just look at those initials.”

From ahead came her cool, indifferent reply: “First of all, when he registered that company, my brother hadn’t even asked him to look after me. We barely knew each other then.”

“And secondly—” She deliberately paused and turned to smile at her uncle. “LX stands for Lux, it's an international unit of illuminance.”

Her uncle was left speechless.

A unit of illuminance—what possible connection could it have with Qin Yu’s financial firm?

He wanted to argue further with this girl, but she had already disappeared into the elevator.

—

Meanwhile, Qin Yu returned to the restaurant.

Seeing him come back, the owner quickly rose to greet him. “Mr. Qin. I’m so sorry I couldn’t say hello earlier.”

Qin Yu nodded. “It’s nothing. You’ve worked hard all these years.”

The owner was flustered. “Not at all! I should be thanking you. Without you, I’d still be undocumented here, unable to find work. I might have starved by now.”

“By the way, seeing you and Miss Lin together today was a real surprise.”

In the past, Qin Yu had visited, but never eaten anything.

When Lin Xi wasn’t around, he liked to sit by the window and stare out. When she was, he’d stay in a private room at the back.

He came once or twice a month, never failing.

The owner had always wondered what the relationship between these two really was. Mr. Qin had opened this restaurant for him to run, never taking a share of the profits. He even had ingredients flown in from China and brought in several chefs from home—incurring such high costs just so Miss Lin could eat well.

The owner still remembered Mr. Qin’s instructions that day: Miss Lin couldn’t handle spicy food, didn’t like scallions or cilantro, loved yellow pea cake, and so on. Afraid he’d forget, Mr. Qin had written it all down—a whole page—and insisted Lin Xi must never find out.

They seemed so familiar, so why couldn’t they meet?

Qin Yu didn’t explain. Before leaving, he signaled his assistant to leave the owner a sum of money.

When the assistant caught up with him outside, Qin Yu hadn’t gotten into the car.

Hesitating, the assistant followed, not daring to ask questions.

A few minutes later, the door to a psychological clinic across the street was pushed open from outside.

Dr. Xu was inside with his assistant, sorting through patient files. Hearing the sound, he looked up. “Hello.”

“Is this gentleman a former patient of mine?” Dr. Xu thought the man looked familiar, but couldn’t place him.

“Have we met before?”

Blocking the sunlight that streamed in, the man came to a stop and finally replied, “I came here once before. We also spoke on the phone. I’m… Qin Yu.”

Dr. Xu’s eyes widened in surprise.

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