The next moment, he handed her a box.
Cheng Buxi blinked, quite surprised. Realizing belatedly it was a gift for her, she looked up at the giver. The sun was setting, and her brother's figure was tall and imposing. His face remained expressionless, but there was an inexplicably gentle hue.
"..."
"Open it and see," he said.
Cheng Buxi was startled but followed orders.
She unwrapped the exquisite packaging, revealing a lotus-pink shoebox. Lifting the lid, a beautiful shoe surface came into view.
It was a pair of MIU MIU round-toe vintage Mary Janes.
White with black, 3.5 cm chunky heel, lazy and sweet style. Wearing them would make her look like a princess and especially lengthen her legs.
She guessed that last time, when she wore a very beautiful linen knit top outdoors, glowing in the night but with somewhat disappointing shoe-and-sock match below, her brother personally picked these for her. Perhaps it was also his first formal gift since returning?
She didn't move for a long time. Her brother wasn't sure if the gift suited her taste. "Don't you like it?"
His eyes, originally dark and brilliant, dimmed slightly.
At his questioning voice, she immediately shook her head and showed a restrained but delighted smile: "I like it."
She didn't elaborate on exactly how she liked it.
Just that she liked it. To put it bluntly, it was perfunctory.
This wasn't the first time he had given her shoes. They say giving shoes implies a hope to "walk hand in hand," and "shoe" sounds like "harmony" in Chinese. But Cheng Buxi wished it meant flying away far and high.
This pair of shoes, in her eyes, was just a beautiful torture device.
Speaking of high heels, she had a period when she was little where she envied stylish urban beauties, especially the ones wearing sky-high heels at dances.
They had exquisite makeup, slender figures, tassel earrings, fragrant perfumes, every smile and frown like a model of perfection—impeccable, exuding elegance and lady-like charm from head to toe. Most importantly, they wore sparkling high heels.
Long dresses trailing, curvy hips swaying, the sound of their footsteps seemed to dance on piano strings. But young Cheng Buxi could only wear flat Mary Janes, or worse, sneakers and canvas shoes. She even dreamed several times of wearing high heels. Finally, one day when her foster mother was out, she sneaked a pair of MB blue satin drill shoes from her shoe cabinet.
MB, Manolo Blahnik—only three stores in all of China, in Hong Kong.
Her foster mother's shoes obviously didn't fit her, but she stubbornly forced her feet in, stood up, admired herself in the mirror, thrilled. Just as she tried to take a few steps, she ran into Lu Tingzhou, who had just returned.
"Xiao, Xiaoye ge..."
Through a carved wooden door, Cheng Buxi and her elegant brother's eyes met. Her face instantly drained of color.
Compared to her timid chills, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight, Lu Tingzhou said nothing, only gently closed the door for her. His face was calm without a ripple; he asked with interest, "Koukou, do you like blue shoes?"
—
She didn't remember how she answered back then. There were too many similar embarrassing scenes... too many, countless.
Vaguely she recalled nodding foolishly at him and then biting her lower lip? Probably, yes. Because when she was little, she was even more ridiculous; when nervous, her tongue would tie, and words wouldn't come out.
Cheng Buxi was on tenterhooks for a few days, but finding everything safe and her brother keeping her secret, she put the matter behind her.
The incident of stealing her foster mother's shoes ended there. Later, at her coming-of-age ceremony, she indeed received a pair of blue MB high heels, perfectly matching the size of her feet. But she had received so many gifts back then, and after so many years, her obsession with high heels had faded most of it; she even almost forgot that little episode.
She thought there was only one pair of shoes, but then—
Her brother took another box from the back seat, and it was quite heavy.
Cheng Buxi: "..."
Before he could show a puzzled look and ask why she didn't take it, Cheng Buxi obediently accepted the thing.
It was too obvious—just from the color and packaging, she knew it was Hermès. She just didn't know which Hermès bag.
Curious yet resistant, she opened the dust bag on the spot to find a champagne-colored Hermès Birkin.
"..."
Thanks to Lu Siyu, Cheng Buxi had seen the entire Hermès bag collection. Second Sister was in the entertainment circle, notoriously snobbish and competitive, and with her prominent family background, she was a top VVIC of all major luxury brands.
Having seen so many good things, she was picky, but this particular one left no impression on her.
Why suddenly give her this...? She didn't lack bags.
She didn't voice the question, but her bewildered face already told her true thoughts.
But saying more meant more mistakes; some things, once taken seriously, were like tangled yarn—impossible to unravel. The best way was to accept silently. She said straightforwardly, "Thanks, brother."
Sure enough, her brother asked no further; instead, his gaze toward her held more contentment and peace.
~
She didn't know when her brother had become just another worldly man—giving bags and jewelry, today a watch, tomorrow a pendant. To someone with low material desires, they were just useless stones and bags for holding stuff.
She sighed inwardly, but still had to accept.
Little did she know, men of a certain age were like this. No matter how formidable in business, how charismatic and successful, when faced with a young, lovely, and energetic girl, there was always some secret unworthiness in their hearts.
Afraid that the girl in his heart would find him too old, too dull and boring, the generation gap too wide, he was constantly on alert, asking everyone around, spending money to compensate as much as possible.
In short, those who care are tired; those who don't care couldn't care less.
He was so anxious and uncertain, but Cheng Buxi didn't have these thoughts at all.
To put it bluntly, since she had said the wrong thing and been ignored, she had figured things out over time. Wanting what she shouldn't brought no good end.
In her heart, there was only her own little scale: gratitude weighs more than heaven. No matter whether her brother gave her these expensive, exquisite imported goods or not, she would always and forever respect him.
The only difference, perhaps, was that in her younger, ignorant days, she had harbored some ridiculous admiration and affection for him, but now she dared not have that at all.
Today, her brother clearly came prepared, for some reason she couldn't fathom. Could it be guilt from speaking too loudly to her at Rong Garden last time? Anyway, she couldn't see through him.
She had already received two rounds of gifts; it would be unreasonable not to offer a smile. Cheng Buxi simply took off her old shoes, put on the new ones, and hugged the newly acquired bag.
Seeing her so happy, the sincere joy spreading to her eyes, Lu Tingzhou suddenly asked out of nowhere, "Would you be angry with your brother?"
"..."
Cheng Buxi paused her admiration of the new bag, stunned for a few seconds—or more accurately, bewildered.
He had said those words not long ago, right after he came back.
How had she answered then?
—Would you be angry with your brother?
—No.
"No," she replied the same way now.
Her expression was a bit dazed.
To show loyalty, she added another sentence today: "I never get angry with my brother."
How could she say she was angry after accepting so many gifts? This bag... could buy her life, anyway.
-----------------------
Author's note: An old house catching fire is just like this, brother [evil grin]. No need to say much.
Please! Please! Collect! (screaming chicken)
Suddenly remembering Brother Ning is still soaking in the pool. [scared][melted] (ducking and running)