In the dimly lit room, a figure stood motionless, gazing at the petite girl lying on the bed, lost in thought for a long time.
“Mmm……”
As if sensing an unfamiliar gaze, the sleeping girl’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. She looked uneasy and instinctively curled into a ball.
The figure’s lips parted slightly, but ultimately, they did nothing. Instead, they quietly left the room without waking the sleeping An Yu.
***
At the crack of dawn, An Yu opened her hazy eyes. Her long-standing routine caused her to wake naturally, preventing her from falling back asleep.
“Mmm～”
She stretched lazily. Though it was still early, An Yu had no intention of sleeping in. According to the plot described by the system, she still had to go to school.
It would be best to avoid the heroine, An Qing’s, waking hours. She was too lazy to watch An Qing’s performance of pretending to be the perfect family member. Since she would eventually be driven out of the family, it was better to start minimizing unnecessary contact with them now.
However, in the middle of the night, while asleep, An Yu had felt as though something terrifying was watching her, leaving her somewhat uneasy.
“System…”
An Yu called out softly to the system, but received no response.
Somewhat surprised, An Yu frowned and called twice more: “System, system?”
[Ah, ah? Host, I’m here!]
A drowsy voice sounded in An Yu’s mind, giving the impression that it hadn’t fully woken up.
This made An Yu pause. Could it be that the system needs sleep too?
[Host, you’re up so early… At this hour, the heroine and the family should still be asleep.]
“Mhm.” An Yu nodded expressionlessly, though she didn’t care about others’ affairs. “System, did someone enter my room last night?”
[Ah……]
The system’s voice carried a hint of awkwardness.
“System?” An Yu’s expression turned suspicious. Could her system really be incapable of handling even this small matter?
[Host, no one entered this room last night.]
As if sensing An Yu’s doubt, the system’s voice became firm and confident.
The system had just taken the opportunity to check the room’s lock—it was secured. Although it hadn’t seen anything, the system still made the guarantee.
She couldn’t possibly admit that she saw An Yu sleeping so soundly last night and couldn’t resist taking a nap herself, could she?
Ever since yesterday, her host had been looking down on her. She couldn’t show weakness. She had to make the host think she was reliable so that the host would abandon the idea of giving up and complete the self-rescue mission.
“Is that so?”
An Yu had only asked casually. She also thought she was being overly paranoid. How could someone in this household sneak in to spy on her in the middle of the night? Besides, she had locked the door.
However, the system’s behavior was truly suspicious. An Yu slowly got out of bed and walked to the door.
The door was indeed locked.
An Yu let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew……”
She took down the school uniform hanging nearby, changed out of her clothes, and put it on.
The uniform felt wonderful—comfortable to wear and aesthetically pleasing.
This made An Yu, who had only ever worn tattered athletic uniforms in the past, subconsciously linger in front of the mirror for a moment.
An Yu’s eyes were slightly open, giving her a lazy appearance. Wearing the luxurious-looking uniform, even she couldn’t help but exude a hint of youthful charm.
However, for such a petite and cute girl, any expression would likely be a bonus.
She gently unlocked the door, gave one last reluctant glance at the soft bed, and sneakily slipped out of the room.
The hallway was filled with luxurious decorations, and the dining table still bore traces of the previous night’s celebration by the family of three.
An Yu paid no attention to these things. She tiptoed to the bathroom and quickly freshened up.
Then, she returned to the dining table, stealthily picked up a leftover bread from yesterday, planning to eat it on the way. After all, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night.
“Young Miss?”
A woman’s voice came from behind, startling An Yu. She stiffened and turned around, looking somewhat at a loss.
It was a middle-aged woman dressed in a maid’s uniform, looking at An Yu with confusion.
Upon seeing who it was, An Yu relaxed. She knew this person—the An family’s maid, Wang Man.
“It really is the Young Miss. Why are you up so early? And… what are you doing?”
The moment she saw An Yu, Wang Man showed a trace of surprise. An Yu had woken much earlier than usual, and… why was she holding leftover food from last night that hadn’t been cleared away?
Everything had been going smoothly for An Yu to sneak out, but now she had run into an obstacle. Knowing that delaying further would mean An Qing waking up soon, An Yu forced a strained smile and explained:
“Good morning, Aunt Wang. The weather’s nice today, so I thought I’d walk to school.”
The school wasn’t too far, and An Yu felt her explanation was reasonable, but Wang Man still seemed skeptical.
“Then this……”
“I got hungry, and there was some ready, so I took it. This way, I won’t bother you, Aunt Wang.”
An Yu rubbed her stomach, indicating she was simply hungry. She tried her best to maintain a gentle attitude and quickly addressed Wang Man’s doubts.
Because all An Yu wanted now was to leave quickly.
“Is… that so?”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing An Yu’s words, Wang Man’s expression gradually darkened. She unconsciously clenched her fists.
The thoughts of the masters weren’t something a maid like her could influence, but……
Looking at the gently smiling An Yu in front of her, Wang Man felt a pang of heartache.
That smile looked so forced no matter how you saw it. The Young Miss, who was always chauffeured to and from school, suddenly wanted to walk today and was even eating yesterday’s leftovers.
Wang Man glanced at the traces on the table. It was clear that only three people had dined there last night.
Though she was just a maid, she understood the family’s affairs. An Yu was the adopted child, and last night, the biological daughter had returned.
Although An Yu seemed carefree, Wang Man knew she must be hurting deeply inside. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have changed so drastically overnight.
Even if she wasn’t their biological child, wasn’t this abandonment a bit too hasty?
What a good child……
“Aunt Wang? I’ll be going now……”
While Wang Man was lost in thought, An Yu tried to seize the chance to leave, but Wang Man grabbed her hand.
“Aunt Wang?”
An Yu looked at her in confusion, not understanding what Wang Man suddenly intended to do.
“Young Miss! It’s okay, it’s okay! You don’t need to worry about troubling me. If you need anything, just tell me, Wang Man. And this……”
Wang Man took the bread from An Yu’s hand and tossed it back onto the table.
“You don’t need to eat this. Wait just a moment!”
Ignoring the stunned An Yu, Wang Man hurried to the kitchen, took out ingredients, and deftly made two sandwiches. She wrapped them up and handed them to An Yu.
“Young Miss, if you’re hungry in the future, come find me. I can make anything you want to eat.”
Looking at the sandwiches offered to her, An Yu took them in a daze.
“Uh… thank you, Aunt Wang?”
She still didn’t quite understand, but it would be foolish to refuse fresh food.
“Then… I’ll be going now?”
Seeing that Wang Man wasn’t stopping her, An Yu nodded lightly and left the house.
What she didn’t know was that Wang Man watched her retreating figure with guilt in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Young Miss. This is all I can do……” Besides ensuring An Yu had a fresh meal, a maid like her could do nothing more.