The black Maybach glided to a silent stop at the curb.
The middle-aged driver got out first, opened a large umbrella, and quickly circled around to the rear door.
The moment the door swung open, a massive three-story villa came into Jiang Yueming’s view.
The entire building was enclosed by a gray-white stone wall covered in green vines.
Inside the wall lay a vast, neatly trimmed lawn that glowed with a faint, dim light in the night.
A straight stone path stretched from the villa’s porch, crossed the lawn, and led directly to the iron gate.
At the end of the path, a woman dressed as a housekeeper hurried toward them through the puddles, umbrella in one hand and two more in the other.
A fair, slender hand reached out from inside the car.
The driver understood at once and passed the umbrella to her before stepping back into the rain and standing perfectly still.
“Let’s go.”
Xia He took Jiang Yueming’s hand and led him onto the wet little path.
The housekeeper had already reached them, breathing hard, ready to hold the umbrella for Xia He.
But Xia He didn’t walk over to her.
She only gave a small nod, then shared the single umbrella with Jiang Yueming and headed straight for the villa.
The housekeeper froze in place, the two extra umbrellas still in her hands, unsure whether to offer them or put them away.
The rain kept falling, fine and dense, pattering softly against the umbrella.
She watched the backs of the young miss and the boy—pressed close together under one umbrella, shoulders touching.
The boy’s right arm stuck out, the sleeve of his school uniform already soaked.
She suddenly realized the young miss had done it on purpose.
One umbrella was enough.
Two people sharing one umbrella could stay closer.
She studied the boy’s back, trying to place his face.
She had never seen it at the Xia residence before.
He wasn’t the child of a business partner, wasn’t a relative, and wasn’t any of the young miss’s classmates—because the young miss had never brought a classmate home.
Never.
This was the first time.
After they had taken a few steps, Xia He glanced back.
“Aunt Chen, could you go buy some drinks for me?”
Xia He looked at Jiang Yueming. “Just a few bottles of oolong tea.”
The housekeeper called Aunt Chen paused. “Young miss, we have tea leaves at home—”
Her words cut off short because the driver beside her gave her sleeve a quiet tug.
After a brief hesitation, Aunt Chen nodded.
She watched as Xia He led the unfamiliar boy into the villa.
The front door closed, and outside the only sound left was the rain.
“You already knew?”
Uncle Lin didn’t answer.
He took the umbrella from Aunt Chen, opened it, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and put it between his lips.
“Old Lin, I’m asking you a question.”
Uncle Lin gave her a calm look.
“Knew what?”
“That the young miss brought a boy home.”
“I knew.”
“When did it start?”
Uncle Lin thought for a second. “Today.”
“Today?”
Aunt Chen was stunned.
“You mean this is the first time she’s brought him back?”
“Mhm.”
Aunt Chen glanced at the closed door again and let out a soft sigh.
“The young miss has grown up.”
She had just come on shift today and hadn’t expected to run into something like this.
After hesitating a moment, she added, “Should we tell the chairman?”
“You know the young miss doesn’t like people who tattle,” Uncle Lin said as he turned and got back into the car.
“Come on, I’ll drive you to buy the stuff.”
“Buy what?”
“Oolong tea.”
“Wasn’t that just an excuse for the young miss to get rid of us?”
“We still have to buy it.”
Uncle Lin’s tone was flat.
The two of them got in the car.
The Maybach started up slowly, rolled through the puddles, and left the Xia family villa behind.
Uncle Lin drove very slowly, slow enough that he had time to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Aunt Chen sat in the passenger seat, her mind still on what had just happened.
The only sound inside the car was the low hum of the air conditioning.
After a while, Aunt Chen spoke up to break the silence.
“Do you think,” she chose her words carefully, “that boy is getting close to the young miss… for some other reason?”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“Why?”
Because the boy looks kind of dumb, Uncle Lin said to himself.
Not dumb in the sense of low intelligence, but the kind of clumsy, helpless dumb that showed up whenever he faced the young miss.
He didn’t greet anyone when he got in the car, didn’t say thank you when he got out, and when she held his hand he went completely stiff.
Compared to those young masters who deliberately tried to get close to the young miss, he was way too unpolished.
Then again, maybe it was because the young miss was being too forward, leaving him at a loss and making him seem a little slow.
The road slipped away under the tires.
Uncle Lin remembered the things Jiang Yueming had said in the car earlier.
“Who gave this to you?”
“I bumped into it in a dream. When I woke up, it was already on my hand.”
What a ridiculous answer.
If he didn’t want to say, he could just not say it. He even brought up a dream.
Compared to those smooth-talking young masters, this boy was almost too cute in how honest he was.
At the thought, the corners of Uncle Lin’s mouth lifted slightly.
“What are you smiling about?” Aunt Chen asked.
“I’m not smiling.”
“Liar. Your mouth is turned up.”
Uncle Lin pressed his lips flat and gave a serious cough.
“All right, stop asking. No matter what the young miss wants to do, we servants,” Uncle Lin said, “shouldn’t be gossiping about our employers behind their backs.”
Aunt Chen saw that Uncle Lin wasn’t going to budge and let out a helpless sigh.
“Ugh, I’m just worried something might happen. If it does, Chairman Xia won’t be happy…”
Uncle Lin nodded in agreement. “Chairman Xia definitely won’t be happy.”
Aunt Chen hadn’t expected him to go along with her.
Just a moment ago he had said the young miss disliked people who reported things in private.
Wasn’t that exactly telling her not to meddle?
“That boy is too ordinary. You can tell at a glance,” Uncle Lin continued. “The chairman will never allow the young miss to be with someone from an ordinary family.”
Aunt Chen opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end she stayed quiet.
She knew Uncle Lin was right.
The Xia family was a prominent household in the city.
Chairman Xia would never let his daughter be with a child from an ordinary family.
This wasn’t snobbery. It was reality.
“Then what about the young miss?” Aunt Chen asked.
“You know her personality. Once she sets her mind on something, not even ten oxen can pull her back. Do you think she’ll end up fighting with Chairman Xia?”
“She will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s too much like her mother,” Uncle Lin’s voice was soft, carrying the sigh of someone who had lived through time. “Back then, her mother gave up everything for one person too.”
Speaking of the past made Aunt Chen sigh again.
“So we just do nothing? We don’t do anything at all?”
“Of course we have something to do,” Uncle Lin answered as if it were obvious.
“What?”
“Just chat with me. I’ll drive a little slower, and you can relax a little more,” Uncle Lin said matter-of-factly.
“Give the young people some time alone.”
Outside the window the light rain continued, like a hazy, endless fog.
The Maybach moved alone through the rain.
Because the two people inside did not wish to be disturbed, the rest of its journey would still be very long.