November was already winter in Jingdu, and the weather was dry and cold. The cold wind that blew on everyone's faces felt piercingly painful.
The two ginkgo trees in the villa complex's courtyard gave the whole area a golden hue. From the security pavilion at the entrance, it looked as if the entire courtyard had been paved with gold.
What had puzzled her a little was that from the intersection of the villa outside the courtyard to the sentry post and then all the way to the Mu Mansion, there were rare Dharma phoenix trees planted up and down.
The straight avenue up to the mansion was mighty and majestic.
Planting a phoenix tree allegedly brought good fortune. The phoenix tree was also a symbol of auspiciousness.
In Jingdu, where ginkgo trees were planted all over the place, the phoenix trees on Mu Feichi's Tianyu Mountain were the most impressive.
She vaguely remembered from studying history that some European families had used phoenix trees to describe men.
The Green Knight medal was designed based on the characteristics of the French phoenix tree.
This kind of medal was used to reward those brave and tenacious fighters and knights who had defended the stability of France's upper classes. It was a symbol of nobility.
Mu Feichi had chosen to plant these phoenix trees on his own territory. It was obvious that although he was powerful in the bustling city of Jingdu and in the cutthroat business world, his worldliness was second to none.
As she got off the bus that had taken her to school, Yun Xi saw Han Yaotian waiting at the school gates.
In her last life, she had loved this man to death. She had done everything for him.
In this life, now, before she had enough ability to directly compete with him, she wanted to avoid him.
Because she felt as if she had to force herself to suppress the urge to kill him every second that she was in his presence.
She needed to gain more patience now, instead of trying to gratify her desire for revenge.
"Miss Yun." Han Yaotian saw her getting off the bus and walked over.
A young heiress from the affluent villa complex was taking the bus to school? She was as independent as he had imagined her to be.
"Mr. Han, do you need me for something?" Yun Xi didn't want to waste any time talking to him, so she got straight to the point.
"I came over to apologize to you for what happened at the banquet the other day. I'm really sorry for what happened. Miss Yun must feel wronged."
Showing no sympathy for Han Yaotian's humble apology, Yun Xi tugged at the corner of her mouth in a mocking fashion.
"Mr. Han, you don't have to apologize to me. Compared to me, Ms. Lin must feel much more aggrieved. Besides, the Eldest Heir has already apologized, so you didn't have to put in the extra effort of making a special trip to come see me."
She could let bygones be bygones for the Eldest Heir's sake, but that didn't mean she would do the same for Han Yaotian.
"Does Miss Yun harbor some misunderstandings about me? I always feel as if you somewhat dislike me?"
If she acted like this to everyone, then he was okay with it.
But that definitely wasn't the case. It was certain that she didn't act rudely or disdainfully toward Chen Yichen or the mysterious Young Marshal Mu. She seemed to have always acted with the cultivation and sophisticated etiquette of a lady when she was around them.
He didn't know why she was so cold to him, or why she never spoke to him courteously.
He was used to people showering him with praise, while women resorted to all sorts of tactics to get into bed with him. Everyone kissed up to him.
He found it very interesting to have met such an icy beauty who didn't bother paying him any attention at all.
Yun Xi's hands clenched her coat tightly, and the smile on her face seemed extremely stiff.
"Mr. Han is overthinking this. I am not familiar with you, so we'll just let bygones be bygones. You definitely didn't have to come all the way here just to apologize to me."
"I was one of the organizers of the event, and you were also my guest. Our lack of hospitality reflects a certain negligence."
"So what do you want, President Han?"
His apology seemed to be just an excuse to hide his true ulterior motives.
"If Miss Yun is free, could you give me a chance to apologize to you properly? This way I won't have to keep worrying about it in the future."
Yun Xi smiled coldly. "Does Mr. Han treat every guest so wholeheartedly?"
"I'm new to this world, so there are many things I haven't done sufficiently. Please be patient with me, Miss Yun."
"Okay! I'll be patient, but you don't have to do anything special for me in order to apologize. I have to go to class now, so I'll have to cut this conversation short.
"How about if I wait for you to finish school, and we can eat a meal together? Would that be acceptable to you?"
Yun Xi glanced at her classmates who were staring at her from beyond the school gates. "Let's talk about it some other day. I'm going to be late for class now."
Not wanting to continue to talk this nonsense with him, she walked toward the school speedily.
She knew that because of her perfunctory attitude, Han Yaotian would not give up so easily.
That's all right. If he wanted to wait, he might as well wait.