Gu Nianbin started to read a book on bed after entering the room. He was quiet in nature and reading was his way to relax after a busy day working in the company. He read for pleasure and thus was not very picky with what he was reading. He was even fond of novels that Shao Boqing despised most.
After a while, he got up to get some water, only to discover that his cupboard was empty. No one was allowed to enter his room while he was away, so nobody filled the cupboard for him. He had no choice but to go to the kitchen downstairs. When walking by the dining room, he heard a sound from the side door, very slight but quite clear on such a silent night. He roughly knew who it was and thus ran after to check it out. As expected, the figure of a little girl flashed by under the dim moonlight, as fast as the wind. What was left was only a faint fragrance, which smelled like shampoo. It was faint but pleasant, lingering around him.
He stood still for a while. It seemed that he had frightened her. But on the contrary she had also frightened him. How strange she was!
He went upstairs. When he was drinking water on the terrace, he saw a figure standing straight under a tree. It was Du Xiaoxian again. Her hair, which had been tied up before, now hung down to her shoulders. It was as smooth as silk and seemed to be dyed by the late night into black. The light of the floor lamp in the low shrubs dimly illuminated her feet, allowing Gu Nianbin to spot several holes in her shoes. It was unimaginable that a 17- or 18-year-old girl wore a pair of worn-out shoes in these days. Other maids were also from poor families, but none of them was that shabby. Her sight made him even more confused. She was looking up at the sky, with an expression showing that she was preoccupied by nothing. Her eyes were ethereal, bearing some kind of hope and piety in the bottom. She stood still under the tree as if time had stopped. Watching her in the darkness, Gu Nianbin felt as if all the restless and depressing emotions disappeared and his heart was left in peace….
A week passed in a flash. Over the past week, Gu Nianbin was awakened by the sound of a broom every day. He took the alarm clock to check the time. It was five to seven am as usual. Du Xiaoxian was quite punctual. He stretched and went to the window. It was quite bright outside with the golden sunlight shining all over the land and the morning breeze blowing. He took a deep breath of fresh air, pleased by the slight sweetness.
Gu Nianbin adored early autumn mornings most because they were most comfortable and pleasant, different from muggy summer days or cold winter days.
He saw Du Xiaoxian sweeping the ground earnestly with a big broom. Leaves kept falling. A dark green curled leaf fell on her hair, but she seemed not to notice and took her time sweeping. Along with her movement, the leaf on her hair was dancing like a green butterfly.
Gu Nianbin thought she was a bit foolish. Wasn't it a waste of time to sweep the ground when leaves were falling? He remembered that other servants had always waited until the wind stopped before sweeping the ground. One of them even kicked the tree to quicken the falling of leaves.
Du Xiaoxian was entirely different from them. She was at no rush, doing her work leisurely yet attentively. It seemed that she was enjoying such dull and mechanical movements.
Yes, that was what Gu Nianbin felt exactly. She enjoyed sweeping the ground.With her eyes looking down, she was at ease without fear or panic. The scene looked quite pleasant as if she was dancing instead of sweeping the ground.In fact, Gu Nianbin could not see her expression. He even had no chance to look at her face carefully because she always ran away at the sight of him, or lowered her head like now. He could only see the top of her head, which was shimmering under the golden sunlight.Suddenly, she straightened up. Gu Nianbin dodged behind the curtains. Seeing her remove the leave on her hair, Gu Nianbin smiled silently. She finally came to realize that. But he didn't know why he had hidden himself. He was the young master. Why had he hidden from a maid?After getting changed, he went downstairs for jogging on the lawn. When going out, he coughed deliberately. As expected, he heard a train of footsteps. With a snicker, he d
"Don't be afraid of others. Everyone is equal. Although we are domestic servants, we make money honestly rather than steal anything or rob anyone. We are not inferior to others. What’s there to be afraid of?"Was that so? Du Xiaoxian was a little confused because her words were different from what her second aunt had said. According to her second aunt, people were divided into different social classes. The upper class was born to lead a rich life, while the lowest class had to suffer from cold and hunger and even sleep on the street or under a tree. Therefore, she needed to do better so that she would be born into a rich family in the next life.Ah Ling saw that Xiaoxian was in a daze and even forgot to eat the buns, so she patted her hand, only to find it as cold as ice. She then pulled her and walked her out. "Don't stay here. You need to bask in the sunlight. Your hands are too cold."When they came out, Gu Nianbin was still jogging there. D
"Mom, shall I supervise them and record the whole process for you tomorrow?" Gu Shanshan said with her eyebrows raised to Gu Nianbin."You're not much better!" Fang Yaru pointed her finger at her daughter, "You are well past twenty. Your friend Su Anqi has married and will be a mother soon. What about you? Why don't you learn from her?""Fine." Unlike Gu Nianbin, Gu Shanshan behaved more freely in front of her mother, "She got married at 30 and had a baby at 31. I will do the same. Satisfied? It's still early cause I'm only 26 now.""What?!" Fang Yaru choked with anger and glared at her, "You are really my enemy from previous life!"Gu Guangxian said to his wife with a smile, "Don't be so harsh to her. I don't believe you can bear the departure when she really gets married someday.""Are you sure?" Fang Yaru said, "I wish she would get married and move out as soon as possible. I can't wait to get rid of this noisy girl
Gu Nianbin was busy with his work all the morning. It was almost noon when Zhou Ting called to remind him that it's time for the appointment with Xia Xiaowan. He put down his pen, took his coat from the hanger, and walked out while taking on the coat.He was always punctual to time. Like last time, Xia Xiaowan was already waiting there and waved to him gently upon seeing him."Have you been waiting for a long time?" Gu Nianbin asked."No, just for a while." Xia Xiaowan replied with a smile.A waiter served the menu and they made order respectively. To his surprise, Xia Xiaowan ordered pork chop instead of steak which was more popular among girls.Xia Xiaowan noticed his surprise and explained, "I preferred pork since childhood, especially streaky pork. Very delicious.""Don't you think it’s greasy?""No," Xia Xiaowan showed her hands and said, "I’m a heavy meat-eater. Fortunately, I never get
Xia Xiaowan smiled gently with a blush on her fair face. She said teasingly, "To be a backup is a great chance for me."Gu Nianbin laughed, "You are interesting.""More interesting than the other Miss Xia?"Gu Nianbin was about to speak when the waiter came to serve the table. He kept the dishes orderly and asked, "Mr. Gu, do you want to use the wine you stored here last time or…"Gu Nianbin turned to Xia Xiaowan, "What do you prefer?""I have to drive later. Please give me a glass of mango juice.""No wine, then. Give me a glass of cucumber juice please.""Yes sir. Just a moment, please." The waiter nodded and left with a professional smile."You set a good example for us to keep off wine before driving," Gu Nianbin said with a smile.Xia Xiaowan sliced her pork chop and said, "It’s better to call me a submissive person. I myself wonder why I have been so obedient to
Gu Nianbin was a little bit dizzy after lunch. With the car window open, he leaned against the back seat and enjoyed the early-autumn breeze. The warm, dry breeze was quite comfortable, making him sleepy all the way home.He was woken up by his driver Xiaoding upon arrival. He knocked his forehead to sober up and walked slowly towards the house. By entering the hall, he caught a glimpse of a person flashing by in distance. He narrowed his eyes, made a silent gesture to the maid Lanzhi, who came up to serve tea, and walked silently to the kitchen. It was Du Xiaoxian. To his surprise, she was drinking tap water."What are you doing?"His voice was low but powerful, and seemed extremely distinct in this quiet room. Du Xiaoxian was seized with panic. She was halfway there when the young master entered the house. She was so thirsty that she rushed into the kitchen instead of going out. She shouldn't get in his way within such a short period. Why did
His voice softened. "Why are you afraid of me?"Gu Nianbin's amiable manner gradually calmed Du Xiaoxian down. Although she was still timid, her voice was slightly louder. She replied honestly, "Uncle Xiao said that the young master liked to be quiet and didn't like being disturbed by the presence of others. He told me to keep away from you."Gu Nianbin couldn't help laughing, "You call that ‘keep away’? You ran away at the sight of me like a fleeing mouse. I’m wondering how repulsive I look!""Oh no," Du Xiaoxian explained hastily. "The young master is good looking. It’s just that I’m afraid…"Gu Nianbin was stunned again. She said he was good looking, but she was so afraid of him. Then why did she have the nerve to say that he was good looking? It was really strange…"Then don't be afraid of me or hide from me anymore," Gu Nianbin said, pointing to a case of bottled water in the corner. "Can you carry it?"
Gu Nianbin took a bottle of water from the cabinet with one hand, and stretched out the other to pull her up.Du Xiaoxian blushed and quickly got up. She was about to dust her clothes, but her hand stopped in the air. She smiled at him embarrassedly."What's the matter?""Your room is very clean, and there is no dust at all," said Du Xiaoxian.Gu Nianbin handed her the water bottle and said, "Take it. Drink the bottled water instead of tap water from now on. Understood?" Er... drink the bottled water? Du Xiaoxian dared not to take the bottle. This was for the masters only, and servants drank barreled water. She heard that even barreled water cost 20 yuan each. It was too expensive, so she often drank from the tap. Anyway, it was sterilized and wouldn't cause loose bowels. But now the young master asked her to drink bottled water. Well…Seeing that she didn't take the water, Gu Nianbin opened the bottle an