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 he follow her into the kitchen?
Du Xiaoxian froze there. Noticing that water was still running, she swiftly reached out and turned off the tap.
"Are you deaf or dumb?" Irritated by her silence, Gu Nianbin raised his voice.
Frightened even worse, she lowered her head and trembled slightly. The young master was really stern.
Lanzhi followed the voice of Gu Nianbin and found Du Xiaoxian stood trembling in the kitchen. She was surprised because Du Xiaoxian was not a trouble maker at all. She was always timid and quiet. She couldn’t figure out how she would annoy the young master. She was about to go in and say a good word for her when Gu Nianbin turned over to her and said coldly, "Go out. It's none of your business.”
Lanzhi turned around and left immediately. She didn't want to get herself in trouble.
Gu Nianbin frowned at Du Xiaoxian‘s look, "Are you dumb? Why did Uncle Xiao hire a dumb person?"
Hearing him mention Uncle Xiao, Du Xiaoxian couldn't keep silent anymore. "Ma…Master, I was drinking water." Her words were hardly audible, her head still bowed.
“So you sure can speak." Gu Nianbin approached her, "Why did you drink tap water?"
"I’m used to it back home." There was no tap water at her home. She had to draw well water in the early morning to fill the water vat. To save firewood, she rarely drank boiled water. Instead, she would have a ladle of cool water from the vat to quench her thirst.
Gu Nianbin looked down at her. He could only see her eyelashes as she was short and kept her head low. They were long, dense and black, just like a pair of wings flapping all the time. Something glimmered within them like little stars. He became curious, “Raise your head.”
Du Xiaoxian raised her head accordingly in spite of fear. She had to obey to her master.
Beholding her slowly raising face, Gu Nianbin was stunned, not because of her beauty. It was her eyes… He had never seen such a pair of eyes, as limpid as a creek, as pure as the rain-washed sky. Only her dark pupils were filled with fear and her eyelashes were flapping. She was truly frightened and looked desperate to avoid eye contact with him.
Actually he saw her eyes the other night. Although it was too dark to see clearly, he was deeply impressed by her crystal-clear eyes. He felt a little bit dizzy, perhaps because of the wine. Slowly, he was permeated by a strange feeling. It was hard to tell whether it was pity or something else.
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
After talking with Gu Nianbin that night, Du Xiaoxian became less afraid of him and stopped running away when seeing him. She regarded the young master as a kind person because he smiled at her and gave her a bottle of water. She shouldn’t escape from such a kind person anymore. Nevertheless, she was still shy and stood far away. If he drew nearer, she would summon up all her courage to greet him.Gu Nianbin always held gentle smiles when seeing her. He couldn’t keep a straight face to such a poor girl. To his driver Xiaoding, it was inconceivable that their young master, who rarely smiled, smiled at the new maid. Du Xiaoxian kept the young master’s kindness in mind, but could not think of a way to repay him. In the end she chose to get up early in the morning and clean his car.Everyday Xiaoding waited for his master by the car ten minutes in advance. This morning he was shocked by the polished car with dust-free tires. He looked down and fou
Sitting in the car, Gu Nianbin pinched the area between his eyebrows and then said to the driver, "To Huafu Hospital."It was a private hospital owned by his family and located not far from their house. They soon arrived. Gu Nianbin went to the nurse station and inquired about Du Xiaoxian. He was told that she had been examined and was in the observation ward. He walked down the corridor to the ward and found that the door was slightly open. When he reached out to open it, he heard Ling scolding Du Xiaoxian, "Xiaoxian, you had crossed the line. So many people were there today and it was not your turn to stand out. You overestimated yourself. The young master's cousin is tall and strong. He could hit you down with one single punch. Weren't you afraid of being hurt?""Sister Ling, I... I didn't think too much. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't let him go upstairs. He would make the master angry, which was bad for his health." Her voice was light and s
Although the question was beyond his expertise, the doctor paused and then said, "Well...gaining weight depends on assimilation of nutrition. Therefore, a good digestion system is essential, about which I can ask the most authoritative professor in the hospital to give you detailed explanation.""Forget it," Gu Nianbin waved his hand and glanced at Du Xiaoxian, "Do you mean all she need is good rest? Will there be any sequelae?""According to the result of examination, Miss Du should be fine." The doctor was sweating in his palm seeing the boss so attentive to his maid. Should there be any problem with the little maid in the future, he might be fired any minute. He thought about it twice and added, "However, it’s not for sure. Further observation is still necessary. If Miss Du feels uncomfortable, please come to the hospital as soon as possible.""Set up a special medical record for her and pay regular follow-up visits.""OK, Presi
Du Xiaoxian got back to the Gu’s mansion at about six o'clock in the afternoon. Although Gu Nianbin wanted her to stay in the hospital one more night for further observation, Du Xiaoxian refused. Now that doctor said she was okay, then what was the use of staying in the hospital? Besides, she was afraid that the medical expense would be extremely high if she stayed overnight. It was unnecessary to spend money like this.After she was back to the Gu's mansion, Du Xiaoxian received special care, which made her increasingly uneasy. With only minor wounds on the head, she was able to work as usual. But her ladyship insisted that she should rest and asked others to prepare some nutritious food for her. She recognized that it was bird's nest and knew it was too precious for her to eat. How could she eat it? This was not something for a maid.She blushed and tried to refuse. Her ladyship was more determined, however, sitting by the bed to urge her to eat it up. At
Gu Shanshan would leave early tomorrow morning, so Gu Nianbin turned down a business dinner invitation and rushed home instead. He entered the room, only to find Xia Xiaowan sitting on the sofa, talking and laughing with his mother.Seeing him, Xia Xiaowan stood up gracefully, "Hello, Mr. Gu."Gu Nianbin nodded, "Hello, Miss Xia.""Relax, let’s greet each other by names." Fang Yaru dragged her son over and made him sit down. "It's a perfect timing to have a chat with Xiaowan. I'll go to the kitchen to check on the dishes."After she left, Xia Xiaowan smiled at Gu Nianbin, "Is that okay?""What?" Puzzled for a second, then Gu Nianbin understood and replied politely, "Oh, sure. You can address me in whatever way you like.""But my name ..." Xia Xiaowan thought for a while and said, "If you mind, you can still...""It doesn't matter," Gu Nianbin said, "There are many people sharing the same name
Several days later, the bandage on Du Xiaoxian's head was replaced by a small band-aid. In the end, only a shallow crescent-shaped scar was left on her forehead, which could not be found out when covered by hair.One night, Gu Nianbin called Du Xiaoxian to his room and told her that she would go to school tomorrow.Having forgotten this matter, she was shocked by this sudden news, "Young Master, are you really sending me to school?""Yes." Noticing her trembling thin body, Gu Nianbin waved at her and said, "Come and sit."Du Xiaoxian slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the sofa. Light from a lamp cast right on her, making the shadow of her small body looked just like a child."You're still young. Learning more is good for your future," He asked, "Are you willing to go to school?""I..." This was a big deal for her. Should she agree? Her mother hoped she could learn more and she would be happy in heav