“Checking in?”
“Is my little maid still burning the midnight oil?”
“No, I’m about to sleep.”
The background noise on the call was a bit chaotic, the wind howling loudly, sounding like it was coming from the bridge by the river.
“Young Master, did you go out racing again? Didn’t you say no speeding around at night to avoid disturbing people?”
“A bit too late.”
I rubbed my tired eyes and sat on the creaky single hardboard bed, staring at the pure white Jasmine Hair Tie lying on the desk. “Not safe.”
“The Little Master’s in a bad mood today, came to Liangma Bridge to catch some wind.”
“What’s wrong, Young Master?”
“What else? Had a fight with my dad.”
My fingers absentmindedly tangled in my hair as I heard dull thuds on the other end of the line, like someone kicking the metal railing with the tip of a shoe.
“He thinks I’m irresponsible, I think he’s too naggy.”
“Uncle Yan only wants what’s best for you. Young Master should understand his intentions and show some respect when needed.”
“Enough.”
A familiar mocking voice cut me off, mingling with the piercing wind.
“Young Master isn’t calling to be lectured. Say a couple of sweet nothings like last time when we waited for the subway, to make me feel better.”
“No, that kind of syrupy talk is disgusting. Besides, it’s after work hours—I’m under no obligation to serve you.”
I reached out and switched off the desk lamp, utterly drained, then lay flat on the bed staring at the cracks on the ceiling for a while before slowly spilling what was on my mind.
“Besides, whenever we argue, you always end up quietly eating the food I make without skipping a bite.”
“True, the Little Master’s never been the whining type.”
He scoffed, and the scent of cedar seemed to drift through the phone line, tickling my nose.
I curled my toes, stiff from the cold, and heard the crunch of the garbage truck crushing dead leaves downstairs.
“So…”
I slowly closed my tired eyes, and it seemed like all I could hear was his gradually steady breathing.
“When you’re in a bad mood, just remember how you bully me every day and how I swallow my pride and deal with it.”
“You’re killing me, Lin Yunxia. You know me too well.”
Yan Dong’s low chuckle came through the speaker.
“That’s why we’re the model employer-servant pair.”
“Since we’re a model employer-servant pair, then Young Master…”
For some reason, my voice was coated with an unexplainable weariness.
I stayed silent for a long time but couldn’t swallow the words burrowing deep inside my heart.
“If one day I quit, won’t you be bored without anyone to bully?”
“Quit?”
Yan Dong on the other end was stunned.
The metallic clanging sounds abruptly stopped, replaced only by heavy breathing.
“When would that be?”
“I’m not quitting. Just saying if.”
“Then I’ll mess up your next employer so you have to come back and keep mopping floors.”
His familiar teasing mixed with the wind carried through the line.
“Besides, the Contract isn’t over yet—I’m not letting you run away.”
“Then…”
A car suddenly sped past behind Yan Dong, drowning out all his emotions.
When the noise faded, my voice returned to its usual calm.
“What about marriage…”
His voice on the other end disappeared for a long while.
Only the electric hum filled the silence until I was about to drift off, when Yan Dong coldly asked, “Did you say yes?”
“Still thinking about it. After all, the money isn’t small, and I’m not really a girl, so there’s not much to care about.”
“So you’re realizing being a girl can be profitable?”
The river waves suddenly grew rougher. Changing position, I suddenly felt the pillowcase damp with a moisture I hadn’t noticed before—probably just the early spring humidity.
But my voice suddenly felt hoarse in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Of course, three kids guaranteed at 1 million each, 250,000 for every additional one. Five kids… that’s 1.5 million.”
“1.5 million? Five kids?”
The helmet slammed hard on the gas tank, enveloping Yan Dong’s bitter laugh.
“I’ll offer you 2 million. Will you sell?”
“If Young Master wants an exclusive deal, you have to sign a contract.”
Curling up on the hardboard bed, my fingertips lightly touched the phone screen, still warm as if his anger had spread through the network.
“After all, if you back out and I resell second-hand, I’ll lose 500,000 in depreciation.”
“Lin Yunxia!”
His voice suddenly spiked so sharply I froze.
“How dare you say another word?! How many times do I have to tell you—you’re human—”
“Not a debt repayment machine.”
I quietly took over his words, turning my face to gaze at the only light visible in the bottomless darkness.
“Young Master’s warnings are always on my mind. That’s why I tell you these feelings no one else dares to hear.”
I curled into a tighter ball, feeling the early spring dew soaking the quilt beneath me.
“I know I have no right to be picky, but today the household robot suddenly malfunctioned and didn’t want to act obedient or sensible. Just wanted to be this petty.”
I forced a faint, bitter smile and kept my voice steady, but it trembled by the end.
“Don’t worry, Young Master. I’ll be fine by tomorrow morning…”
Yan Dong was silent for a long time.
When he spoke again, his tone had returned to its usual playful arrogance.
“Is your blind date as handsome as me?”
I was a little dazed, hesitated, then cautiously said, “No, he’s old and short.”
“Does he have the Little Master’s money?”
“Probably not either.”
“Then tell me, what does that old dude have that I don’t?”
“Maybe…”
I let out a dry laugh tinged with helpless bitterness, “His belly is two sizes bigger than yours.”
“Tch, I can’t beat that. But you’re seriously dumb—turning down a rare genius rich and handsome like me to sell yourself to that short, fat old turtle. Must be the cheap shampoo poisoning your brain.”
Yan Dong’s narcissistic rambling mixed with his usual sarcasm and arrogance made me laugh softly.
“Yeah, thinking about it like that, I really am pretty stupid.”
“Nonsense, you just don’t know what’s what.”
He kicked a stone with force, the clang echoing clearly across the empty bridge at midnight.
“How much money do you need? Just ask, the Little Master can support ten of you with ease. The Contract’s for 20 years, so just sign another 20. Besides, taking care of one kid is already a pain, five? You’d be exhausted. You know I’m right, don’t you? Better off mopping floors for forty years.”
For some reason, hearing his noisy and ridiculous words lifted my spirits a bit.
Even the cold wind slipping through the window carried a rare warmth of early spring.
“Then when I finish paying off my debt, I should be ready to be buried.”
“No worries, don’t panic. The Little Master promises to find you a feng shui treasure spot by the mountains and water. Then you’ll have a grand funeral and rest comfortably in your coffin.”
The phone in my hand had long since been set aside.
Curled up tight, I closed my eyes and quietly listened to Yan Dong’s incessant grumbling on the other end.
So strange, his voice today sounded almost like a lullaby.
“Also, I’ll burn that old second-hand electric scooter for you, so even in Hell you can deliver takeout in peace. Right, right, I’ll burn a model of my Great Penthouse too—clean up the house first so when I come down, you can serve me.”
“The Young Master is my employer…”
Drowsiness swept over my fading consciousness, and in my last moments of awareness I muttered confusedly, “I’m really the Fortune of Eight Lifetimes.”
“No, it’s the Smoke from Ancestral Tomb.”
“Alright, Smoke from Ancestral Tomb… good night…”
Before slipping into the void, a warm sigh brushed past my ear, followed by a gentle “Good night,” like melting snow in early spring.
And the last phrase that landed on my heart floated away on the midnight breeze, light as a fleeting illusion:
“No marrying.”
This Young Master really knows how to keep control.
When I opened my eyes again, dawn was breaking, the morning chill stinging my skin.
Only then did I realize I hadn’t even covered myself with a quilt last night before falling asleep.
That I didn’t catch a cold was a miracle.
I grabbed my phone, only to find it had long since shut down from a dead battery.
Yawning, I struggled to get up and plug it in. I snuggled into the lukewarm quilt and, once it powered on, saw the time.
“05:26”
Rubbing my eyes, my finger swiped across the glaring screen and I found the call log from last night.
“1:07:36”
Did we really talk that long?
Must have fallen asleep with the call still connected.
I wondered if he heard any weird sleep talk. Never mind—there’s still some time to catch a little more sleep.
“Sleepy.”
they’re so weird, the way they solace in each other feels so toxic, but also genuine, he probably also thinks she should just quit and live her life, but he’s never going to say it, cause he’s lonely, and without her his appearance would become truly wretched. if he was actually fine having her serve him he wouldn’t dislike that deadpan expression of hers, it’s just she’s incredibly stubborn.