Although I really wanted to turn around and flip Yan Dong off, my professionalism clearly wouldn’t allow me to do that.
Yan Qi-jie reached out and poked the baby who had long since fallen asleep in my arms, then suddenly pinched my cheek lightly. “No matter what, Xiaxia worked hard today~”
Even though I’d been a girl for eleven days now, I still wasn’t used to this kind of intimacy between girls. I just straightened up a bit and put on my usual gentle smile. “It’s my job. I should do it.”
In stark contrast to my restraint, Yan Qi-jie always had a warm smile on her face. As soon as I finished speaking, she teased me, “This little one is really shy. If she can fall asleep in your arms, Xiaxia, that means you’re already a qualified mom.”
“Yan Qi-jie, I’m only a college freshman…”
“That’s fine, that’s fine, you can have kids first. Then when you’re looking for a job, you can use endless maternity leave as your ace in the hole.”
Yan Qi-jie didn’t know about my past, so she could make suggestions like that, but I understood my own situation better than anyone. I just habitually shook my head. “I prefer being alone.”
“Hey, Xiaxia, really not going to consider it? I know quite a few quality guys, I can intro—”
“Stop, sis, what are you doing?” Yan Dong, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa gaming, finally interrupted Yan Qi-jie, clearly getting annoyed by her chatter.
“Dongzi, you’re still here?”
“This is my home, sis, where else would I be if not here? Since when did you become a matchmaker?”
“Xiaxia, you could just be my sister-in-law! Dongzi might be a bit off in the head, but at least his face is decent…”
“Sis, keep talking nonsense and I’ll go tattle to Granduncle!” Yan Dong glared at her, annoyed, and blurted out the real reason for today’s ridiculous situation. “You snuck out today just to go to the underground band and mess with the power!”
“……”
I couldn’t decide whether to call the two of them birds of a feather or partners in crime. I really couldn’t help but worry for Duo Duo, having such an unreliable mom and uncle.
“Dongzi, you’re too much! Don’t go saying things like that. I’m leaving now, bye~”
“Mm, let me help Yan Qi-jie carry the baby down.”
“No need to trouble yourself, Xiaxia. I can do it myself.”
I handed the sleeping Duo Duo over. The milky scent of the baby, wrapped with the lingering Cedar Scent, filled the air as I breathed. Suddenly, the Lavender Scent on Yan Qi-jie’s body drifted over. She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Xiaxia, are you and Dongzi dating?”
I shook my head in confusion, frowning helplessly at the gossip burning in those sly eyes.
It was one thing for Bai Shuyu to say something like that without knowing the situation, but Yan Qi-jie clearly knew I needed to work as a Debt Repaying Servant for twenty years…
“Then Xiaxia, you have to work hard~” Seeing my face still full of confusion, she suddenly chuckled. “You’re so clueless, Xiaxia. Dongzi has never let anyone else touch his mom’s old things. You’re the first, you know.”
Before she left, she pointed to the Head Tie on her head. Only then did I realize what she meant. I stared blankly at the tightly shut security door, lost in thought, until the game console sounds rang out several times behind me.
“What are you spacing out for?” Dusk filtered through the floor-to-ceiling window, outlining Yan Dong’s silhouette with a fuzzy edge. His long legs took up most of the sofa, and he still looked as nonchalant as ever.
It seemed Yan Dong hadn’t heard Yan Qi-jie’s whispered words to me just now. “Didn’t Housekeeper Lin say today was your day off? I’m not keeping you for dinner.”
The day he tied the Head Tie on me, he told me not to lose it. I’d thought it was just his usual empty threat, but I never expected the Jasmine Hair Tie in my hair was actually his mother’s old thing.
Why would he give this to me?
Is it really like Yan Qi-jie said—because he likes me?
Based on what I know about Yan Dong, that’s basically impossible. For one thing, he knows about my past, and besides, the Head Tie incident happened on February 1st—there’s no way it’s about liking me.
If it’s not because he likes me, then what is it?
I looked up at that familiar, mocking face. The pure white jasmine petals on my hair swayed gently with my movement. Suddenly, the person in front of me felt a little unfamiliar, so unfamiliar I couldn’t guess what he was thinking at all.
Forget it, what am I even thinking? Since when did I start worrying about these weird problems like a real girl?
“I should get going too. I won’t disturb you, Young Master.” Meeting his eyes, my tone was as calm as ever, as if nothing had happened just now.
“Oh, go ahead.” He replied absentmindedly, then suddenly remembered something and cleared his throat. “Hey, could you stop calling me Young Master all the time? It sounds weird. It’s a modern society—I’m not some old-school landlord.”
Seems this Young Master has a pretty high opinion of himself. He’s been drinking my family’s jasmine tea for free this whole time and never paid a cent, and every time he dirties my suit and makes me take it to the dry cleaner, he’s never once offered to pay the cleaning fee. Now he still has the nerve to say he’s not an old-school landlord?
“But you insisted I call you Young Master on my very first day here. You kept telling me to use your title while working, so I’ve remembered it ever since.”
“Huh? Did I really say that?”
I couldn’t help pulling the corner of my mouth into a helpless smile, my voice turning a bit colder. “Of course a heartless Young Master like you wouldn’t remember what you said.”
“You… never mind, call me whatever you want. Just don’t embarrass me when we go out on the 14th.”
“Okay. The 14th?”
“I didn’t tell you? On Valentine’s Day, I’m meeting my Enemy.”
“What can I do if Young Master gets blocked at the door by his Enemy?”
“Cut the nonsense. Just behave yourself that day. Don’t let people think I mistreat my Employee. And…” He frowned, staring at the Strawberry Hair Clip in my hair. “Wear the hairpin I gave you before.”
“……”
Why is he still hung up on that…
That Princess Hairpin worth 1,100 yuan is supposed to be sold second-hand. If I wear it too long and scratch it up, how am I supposed to sell it?
I ignored him, quietly closed the security door, and stood in the hallway, craning my neck to look at the floor number while calculating the loss from not delivering food today. Suddenly, Yan Dong opened the door and shoved something into my jacket pocket.
It felt like Peppermint Candy, warmed by his body heat. The elevator’s mirrored walls reflected our slightly distorted figures. He raised his eyebrow at the me in a women’s suit. “Hey, Lin Yunxia, today…”
“Young Master, the elevator’s here.” I stepped into the cabin first, catching a glimpse of his moving lips as the metal doors closed.
I suddenly remembered, when I was cleaning his room this afternoon, the dog-eared page 57 of The Stranger was left open, right where Meursault said: “In this life, you should never act fake.”
At this moment, the two of us—one inside, one outside the elevator—were just like the prisoners in the book, blinded by the scorching sun. Maybe we’re both living under Meursault’s blazing sun, each wearing our own mask just to get by.
***
“Thank you.”