Standing in the luxurious and spacious living room, Du Xiaoxian was so nervous that she didn't know where to place her hands and feet. She lowered her head and looked down at her tattered cloth shoes. Although the shoes were old with a few small holes on the surface, they were clean and even the blue cloth was washed to the point of looking white.
Xiao Bonian looked at her up and down. She wasn't tall, and was extremely thin. She stood there like a junior middle school student. Her hair was fine and smooth but slightly yellowish, and she seemed to be malnourished. She was pretty and clean, and had the look of an honest girl.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen." The little girl was very nervous and her voice was timid.
Xiao Bonian smiled gently and said, "I'm the housekeeper here. Just call me Uncle Xiao. Don't be nervous. The Master and Ladyship are always nice to servants. The young lady is easy to get along with. But the young master has some special rules that you need to remember. The young master likes to be quiet. You should stay away from his room. If he doesn't call anyone, try not to appear in his sight. Also, you can't enter his room or mess with his things without his order. And there is nothing else. Other servants here are also good-tempered. You should get along well with them in the future."
"Yes, Uncle Xiao, I understand."
"You have just come here and have no prior experience. So you just start by cleaning the yard. There is a parasol tree in the front yard. When autumn comes, leaves fall everywhere. The Ladyship doesn't like that. Make sure you do a good cleaning job."
"Yes, Uncle Xiao, I remember." She hung her head, and her voice always sounded timid.
"Ah Ling, take Xiaoxian to her room and find a uniform for her."
"Yes, Uncle Xiao." The maid named Ah Ling had been here for almost five years. She smiled at Du Xiaoxian and bent down to pick up her luggage. Du Xiaoxian rushed to snatch it. "I, I'll do that myself."
"It’s okay. I’ll take it for you." Ah Ling felt a little pity for her when she saw her thin and timid appearance.
Du Xiaoxian insisted on taking back her luggage from her hands. Ah Ling said jokingly, "Xiaoxian, is there any treasure in your bag that you keep such a close eye on it?"
Du Xiaoxian's face flushed instantly, and her voice was as low as a mosquito's. "No."
Xiao Bonian smiled and said, "She's new here and so young. Don't tease her. Ah Ling, take good care of her in the future."
"Don't worry, Uncle Xiao. I’ll take care of her."
Du Xiaoxian followed Ah Ling and peeped around. When she first came in, she kept her head down. Now that she saw everything, she felt as if she was dreaming: High carved hall, clear Italian crystal chandelier, magnificent European furniture and marble floor as clean as a mirror. Not daring to breathe, Du Xiaoxian walked on tiptoes, afraid that she would leave footprints on the clean floor.
Ah Ling took Du Xiaoxian to the servant’s room. She pointed to an empty bed and said, "You will sleep here from now on."
It was a one-meter-wide single bed with a light-colored sheet. There was a blue quilt on it. Although it was not a new one, it was already very good for Du Xiaoxian. They were at least better than the bed and quilt in her home.
Just as she was about to bend over and get her luggage under the bed, Ah Ling stopped her and pointed to the wardrobe by the wall and said, "That’s your wardrobe. You can put your things in it."
Du Xiaoxian was stunned, not expecting to have a wardrobe of her own since she had been given such a good bed. After a moment of hesitation, she walked over and opened the wardrobe. It was empty, and there was a good smell of wood. She gently touched the wood plate with her hand. It was very smooth, really good. There was no burr at all so clothes would not get worn out.
"What are you dazing for? Put all your clothes in the wardrobe!"Ah Ling urged her. "I'll get you a uniform so that you can change your clothes." She added.Du Xiaoxian turned to look at her with an embarrassing smile. She whispered: "Thank you, Sister Ah Ling."When Ah Ling brought her the uniform, Du Xiaoxian had paced all her clothes in the wardrobe. She didn't have much clothes, and they only occupied a small corner of the wardrobe.Ah Ling pulled the curtains around the bed and asked Du Xiaoxian to change her clothes. She sat on the chair at the table, telling her the rules and terms of employment: maids got up at six in the morning; they could only use the public restrooms. Breakfast was at 6:30, lunch at 11:00, and dinner at 5:00. If you were late, there would be no dishes.You could take one day off each week: you could stay in the room or hang out. On your birthday, the master and the lady would give you red e
Where she stood was the open space down the front entry steps of the house. People were used to calling it the front yard, which was paved with larger square tiles, including some colored patterned ones. In the middle there was a fountain, where stood a statue of a Greek bather, who held a water bottle at an angle with the water pouring down from the bottle mouth. Du Xiaoxian was startled at the sight of the statue and then she blushed immediately. She hadn’t expected that a statue of a semi-naked woman was erected here for people to see. She was too embarrassed to look at it, so she simply lowered her head.Tall and green trees were planted all around with some flowers and plants dotted among them. The branches and leaves brought out the best in each other.Ah Ling said, "Uncle Xiao must have told you. Your job is to clean the yard.""Yes, he did." Du Xiaoxian stood upright with her hands hanging down. Her eyes swept over the fallen leaves on
Staring at the photo frame in the hand, Gu Nianbin thought to himself with a bitter smile, “Xiaowan, it has been three years, eight months and eight days. When will you come back? ”The girl in the photo was smiling at him with bright eyes and teeth. Gu Nianbin stroked her face and sighed in a way that couldn’t be heard. Then he put the photo frame back, turned his chair, and looked out the window.It was eight o'clock in the morning. The autumn sunlight shone through the French windows and on his body gently. Gu Nianbin stretched his arms comfortably and looked down. He found someone was sweeping fallen leaves.It was a little girl. It seemed that her thin body could be blown away by a gust of wind. Yet, with her head down, she was sweeping carefully with a broom higher than herself.Gu Nianbin did not know her, so he was somewhat surprised. The girl looked very small, and her lilac uniform did not fit her well. Unable to see her
Gu Nianbin did not expect to frighten her like that. He was first shocked and then found it funny. He was a silent and reserved man, so it was natural for servants to feel awe to him. However, she was the first one who ran away in fear. Gu Nianbin rubbed his chin and thought to himself, “Am I really that scary?”When he went downstairs, Fang Yaru was eating breakfast alone. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she looked up at her son and said, “Old Xiao said you got up early. Why are you so late?”Gu Nianbin smiled, but asked, "Where are Dad and Shanshan?"“Shanshan went out early in the morning. The girl has hardly stayed home since she came back. Your dad is in the garden now,” Fang Yaru said to her son with a catering smile. "Nianbin, do you still remember what I told you yesterday?"Probably because of the sunny day, Gu Nianbin was in a good mood to tease his mother. He frowned and pretended to be puzzled. "What was it?"
At the sight of her, Gu Nianbin was stunned. Besides the name, the girl also looked like Xia Xiaowan.However, she was more gentle and quiet, and spoke to him softly. In a long light orange T shirt and a tight-fitting wine red coat, she looked decent and low-key and smiled a lot. When lifting her coffee cup, her little finger rose slightly. In the soft light of wall lamps, her well-trimmed fingernails were glistening without any nail polish on them.The girl was an accountant. Although she was very young, she already made herself a chief financial officer. Gu Nianbin talked with her about some financial affairs. If it had been someone else, she would have tried her best to show off her professional knowledge. But the girl in front of him spoke very skillfully. Her words were sincere, appropriate, and well-paced, making Gu Nianbin comfortable and at ease.Gu Nianbin couldn’t find any fault with her, even if he wanted to. The girl was perfectly i
The Gu family was among the richest ones in City G and had engaged in trade for generations. They had an ancestral three-yard house outside the city. Born into such a rich and large family, younger Gus, in large numbers, had led an extravagant and idle life. When it came to Gu Nianbin’s grandfather, the Gu family was just an empty shell. And his granduncle, who was then obsessed with an opera performer, stayed in the theater all day and disregarded business deals. Afterwards, he even voluntarily gave up his right of inheritance.His grandfather struggled to support the family business and passed on it to his father. At that time, it happened to be the peak period of domestic investment. Thanks to the good foundation, the Gu’s company grasped the opportunity and rose gradually. At one time, it even matched the Jiang’s company—the leader in City G.However, the Gu family was different from the Jiang family which had definite successor with only one heir for t
But how could a girl run faster than a car? When the car drove past her, Gu Nianbin looked back at her through the window. The little girl stood blankly at the roadside, and she was chewing her fingers! She was too old to do such a thing! What a freak!Xiaoding was quite puzzled. "It was a strange thing. Why did she run away?"Gu Nianbin didn't speak, but he caressed his forehead and smiled. Seeing the smile from the rear-view mirror, Xiaoding was startled. The young master rarely smiled. What happened today? Maybe the blind date was a success?Gu Shanshan bounced out of the house and said, "Thank God, you're finally back. Mom has been nagging all afternoon.""You deserve that. You were away from home too often these days." Gu Nianbin mounted the steps leisurely."Come on! She was nagging at you." Gu Shanshan took Gu Nianbin's arm and walked alongside him into the house. "What concerns her most is whether your blind da
After dinner, Gu Nianbin felt it was too stuffy in the house, so he went for a walk in the front yard. After walking down the steps, he saw the little girl, who happened to straighten up. The girl looked up and was shocked at the sight of Gu Nianbin. Dragging the broom, she ran away again. Gu Nianbin raised his hand and called out, "Hey!" However, the little girl ran as fast as a bunny, probably not hearing him. Gu Nianbin dropped his hand, not knowing why he wanted to stop her.It was in early autumn. Although it was past 7 pm, but instead of getting dark, the sky was reddish, like the color of the sunset's afterglow. He lit a cigarette and looked quietly at the tall plane tree. It seemed as if a young girl was standing under the tree with her head tilted. Then she smiled at him and said, "Brother Bin…"At that time, she was just a 16-year-old girl who started to yearn for love. One day, she came to tell him her little secret. "Brother Bin, I have a crush