To welcome Madam Xiao, the father, son, and Tiffany dressed in their finest early Saturday morning and headed to the airport in full force. Since the dispute over the violin, Xiao Fengtai had not spoken a single word to Xiao Zhizhong. It was only Tiffany’s constant stream of witticisms along the way that prevented the atmosphere in the car from dropping to the freezing point.
"Cousin is incredibly popular at school," Tiffany said, suddenly steering the conversation toward him. "Every girl in our class likes him. It’s a pity, though..."
"A pity for what?" Xiao Zhizhong couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Fengtai turned his head to give her a look.
"A pity his standards are too high! He doesn't fancy a single one of them!" Tiffany’s cat-like eyes curved into crescents, her smile innocent and charming, coaxing a faint smile from Xiao Zhizhong.
Xiao Fengtai let out a silent, cold sneer and shifted his gaze back out the window, missing the meaningful look Tiffany shot him.
Madam Xiao’s flight arrived on time. Although she was nearly seventy and had just endured a long-haul flight, the old lady still wore a thin, meticulous layer of powder on her face, her silver hair pulled back tightly into a flawless bun. She wore a long qipao of black silk velvet and held a very slender silver cane in her right hand. As she walked, her back was ramrod straight, her poise transcendent.
The moment Madam Xiao stepped out of customs, Xiao Zhizhong stepped forward to support her arm. "Mother, it was a long journey. You must be tired."
Madam Xiao frowned slightly but did not pull away. "I am a person of leisure. You youngsters have your own affairs to attend to; there is no need to make such a fuss every time I arrive."
"It is rare for you to visit; we are only doing our duty," Xiao Zhizhong replied with a slight bow, his posture respectful yet intimate—no biological son could have done better.
"Kenneth, come walk with your grandmother," he called Xiao Fengtai forward. Upon seeing her grandson, the old lady’s smile finally gained a bit of warmth.
"You’ve grown taller again." She looked Xiao Fengtai up and down. "Has preparing your university applications been exhausting lately?"
"Not at all," Xiao Fengtai replied readily. "Writing the personal statements myself is quite interesting. Writing and revising helps me figure a lot of things out."
The grandmother and grandson went back and forth, both perfectly aware of the subtext in each other's words. Xiao Fengtai had been revising his application materials until the early hours of the morning for three consecutive days; despite the dark circles under his eyes, he still pretended to be full of energy. He grinned at Madam Xiao, who merely arched an eyebrow and turned her head away.
Xiao Fengtai thought his grandmother’s petulance was almost cute. Even now, he felt their argument was no big deal. Previously, with half the globe between them during video calls, communication barriers were inevitable. Once they sat down for a heart-to-heart talk, whatever needed to be resolved would naturally be settled.
Right—he glanced at Tiffany, who was being uncharacteristically well-behaved behind him—he also needed to plead with his grandmother to send Tiffany back to Europe.
When the group returned home, Xiao Fengtai waited for the right time to knock on his grandmother’s door, only to be stopped at the entrance by a servant. Tiffany had actually beaten him to it, finding Madam Xiao first.
"Step aside," he said coldly. "You should know that Grandmother won't mind me interrupting."
"The Madam has business to discuss with Miss Xiao." The maid’s smile was humble and kind, but she stood her ground, unmoving. "The Madam specifically instructed that no one is to disturb her meeting with the Miss—especially you."
On the other side of the door, the two ladies of the Xiao family, separated by more than half a century in age, sat facing each other at a table. They stared silently at the black cube positioned between them.
Heavy breathing, low laughter, intimate whispers... the sound of something clattering to the floor was piercingly clear even through the electronic static.
It was more than just piercing. Madam Xiao closed her eyes in despair. At that moment, the sound waves took on physical form, like a steel awl—precise and ruthless—driven deep into her heart.
The pain was sharp and bone-chilling at first, and though it mellowed with the passage of time, it would never disappear. It would eventually become a part of her memory, a part of her body, causing her unbearable agony with every breath and every movement.
The moment her daughter, whom she had raised in the palm of her hand, knelt before her for the sake of a man, she had felt this pain for the first time, and she had been tormented by it every day for the rest of her life. Madam Xiao suddenly felt the entire situation was so absurd it was almost comical. Why was the same story repeating itself with her grandson?
"I’ll be an adult in eighty-nine days." Even transcribed through a low-quality recording device, Xiao Fengtai’s voice was the unmistakable, clear, and bright tone of a youth. Her daughter had also possessed a voice as sweet and crisp as an oriole’s; when she stood in the center of the choir on Sundays, the congregation’s eyes couldn't even focus on the priest.
The muffled laughter of a strange young man, blurred whispers... they were naively planning a future, renting a house in America, buying a car. The young man seemed slightly older than Xiao Fengtai. Xiao Fengtai was acting spoiled, demanding that the man give him better grades after he became a TA.
The small red light flickered out, and the room returned to silence. Madam Xiao and Tiffany looked at each other; for a moment, neither spoke.
Finally, Madam Xiao was the first to break the silence. "Does anyone else know?"
She was expressionless, staring intently into Tiffany’s eyes, taking in every minute twitch of the girl’s features. Tiffany had come prepared, but under the crushing weight of Madam Xiao’s aura, she began to stammer involuntarily. "N-no."
"Very good." Madam Xiao suddenly smiled, her intimidating gravity vanishing as she transformed into the image of a kind grandmother from next door.
"Tiffany, you have done well." She leaned forward slightly and grasped Tiffany’s hands on the table, squeezing them firmly. "You have done very well."
Tiffany was dazed. "What?"
The old woman’s eyes were terrifyingly bright. "This recording has saved Kenneth, and it has saved the Xiao family. I truly didn't misjudge you—of all the girls in this family, you are the most clever and sensible."
The old woman’s hands were soft and dry. Tiffany had never had such intimate contact with Madam Xiao before. She was a young girl after all; she became lightheaded under Madam Xiao’s enthusiastic praise, forgetting the fact that she had never been given a second glance before.
"I'm so glad I didn't let Grandmother down," she replied, her face flushing. But as she spoke, something felt off. "But Grandmother, if Cousin is gay—"
"He is not gay," Madam Xiao interrupted sharply. Her grip suddenly tightened; Tiffany gasped in pain and instinctively tried to pull away, but she couldn't withdraw her hands.
"Leave the rest to me. I will handle it." Seeing Tiffany’s startled expression, Madam Xiao softened her tone. "During the Republican era, it was common for young masters of wealthy families to keep opera singers. It was merely a temporary diversion; they would return to the righteous path sooner or later. What Kenneth is doing is nothing—the headpieces and jewelry my father bought for those people are now sitting in museums on the Mainland."
Her tone was so matter-of-fact that Tiffany, as if hypnotized, nodded along in a daze and believed her.
Grandmother was right. How could her cousin be gay? How could a cousin so handsome, so brilliant, with such a vast and promising future, not like women? If he truly were gay, wouldn't her years of pursuit have been in vain?
"You completed the task I gave you so well, it would be wrong not to reward you," Madam Xiao continued. "Would you like to go to Rome to shoot the Chanel Spring/Summer campaign?"
Tiffany let out a cry of surprise, her small face turning a deep pink. "Thank you... thank you, Grandmother!"
Madam Xiao smiled. "Pack your bags. You’ll depart in two weeks. I’ll have Kenneth request a leave of absence from school for you."
"Okay! Whatever Grandmother says!" Tiffany agreed instantly.
After the girl left in high spirits, Madam Xiao sat alone in the room in silence. She toyed with Tiffany’s miniature recorder in her palm for a moment, then lifted the lid of the teapot and gently dropped the recorder inside.
The small plastic square fell into the steaming tea with a splash. After a brief sizzle of electric current, it returned to silence.
Once her emotions had settled, she rang the bell to call in her confidant who was waiting outside.
"Search Tiffany’s room and keep a close eye on her these next few days," she said calmly. "She said she didn't keep a copy, but I don't trust her."
The servant acknowledged the order and was about to leave when she called out again. "Arrange a meeting for me with that Chinese teacher. Don't let Xiao Zhizhong find out."
She stared at the recorder submerged at the bottom of the teacup, her gaze dark and somber.
"I want to see for myself exactly what kind of man has Kenneth so utterly bewitched."
***
