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Xiang Changge picked out twelve outfits for Yu Qing, while Yu Qing chose two herself, making fourteen in total. As for Xiang Changge's "butler uniforms," from formal to casual to refined styles, she had picked out more than forty sets.

Staring at the long receipt for quite a while, Xiang Changge fell silent.

With that comparison in numbers, who was really the young lady here?

Yu Qing glanced at Xiang Changge, who was holding the receipt without moving, and frowned. "What, is there not enough credit in the account?"

The butler had access to a Yu Family account. Daily household expenses and purchases could simply be charged to that account.

The bank would also regularly transfer money from Yu Qing's account into it every month. If the limit was exceeded, she only needed to ask Yu Qing at the end of the month to settle the balance.

It could be said that the butler had considerable authority and a large amount of money at her disposal, as long as there were no problems with the monthly accounts. Most of the time, Yu Qing could not be bothered to ask about such matters. By now, she had even forgotten the monthly limit of that account.

Seeing Xiang Changge standing there silently, Yu Qing instinctively assumed there was not enough money in the account to cover the bill.

Before Xiang Changge could respond, Yu Qing turned to Aunt Yang beside her. "Go get my card and pay with it."

Xiang Changge: "..."

Although this young lady looked delicate and fragile, there were times when her presence was particularly striking.

Glancing at the models and brand representatives beside them, all gazing at Yu Qing with starry eyes, Xiang Changge stopped Aunt Yang. "No need. There's enough money in the account."

It was simply her first time seeing such a long receipt. For a moment, the numbers on it did not feel like money at all, but more like phone numbers, leaving her with complicated feelings.

Yu Qing gave Xiang Changge a strange look. Seeing that she said there was enough, she did not bother with it further.

After the clothes had been selected, Yu Qing pushed herself up using the sofa armrest. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Xiang Changge speak faintly behind her. "We picked out clothes today. When would you like to choose shoes and accessories tomorrow, Miss? I'll arrange a time with the brands in advance."

Yu Qing: "!"

There was more?

She had nearly fallen asleep while choosing clothes. Why did she have to handle something so boring and time-consuming?

"You choose them yourself. There's no need to ask me."

With that, Yu Qing quickened her pace and walked out of the sunroom.

No one had asked her when scheduling today's clothing selection, so why ask her about tomorrow? She had no desire to make more work for herself.

Afraid Xiang Changge would tell her what time she had to go pick out shoes and accessories tomorrow, Yu Qing hurried to the elevator. Only after entering, pressing the button for the third floor, and watching the doors close did she clutch her chest and let out a breath.

So tiring. This was far too tiring.

Why did she have to do these things? The old butler had never made her do them before.

Wanting only to lie in bed, Yu Qing sighed again.

Was it because this new butler was still young and had too much energy?

Maybe she should find something for her to do, like making her get some kind of certificate. That way, Yu Qing could take the opportunity to relax.

Still unable to understand why, despite finding the other woman annoying, she did not choose to fire her but instead wanted to find work for her, Yu Qing lowered her eyes. When the elevator chimed upon reaching the third floor, she had barely stepped out when the elevator beside it also announced its arrival.

Yu Qing paused in confusion. Who had followed her upstairs?

Turning back, she watched the elevator doors slowly open. A figure in a white suit, haunting her like a ghost, gradually came into view through the widening gap.

Yu Qing: "..."

Xiang Changge did not step out. She stood inside the brightly polished elevator, looking at Yu Qing outside and gently reminding her, "It's 5:40 now, Miss. In twenty minutes, at six o'clock, please remember to come downstairs for dinner."

"Or I can bring it to your room."

Yu Qing: "!"

So annoying. Was she some kindergarten child who had to eat at a designated time?

Maybe she really should fire her.

Author's Note:

Want to Raise a Pig or a Dog

Tonight's dinner was perhaps the simplest meal Yu Qing had ever seen in her life.

The menu had been drawn up by Xiang Changge and prepared by the chef. Though it was simple home cooking, every dish was light and nutritious.

At exactly six o'clock, Xiang Changge appeared punctually in the dining room of the main house, watching as the kitchen brought several freshly prepared dishes to the two-meter-long marble dining table.

Perhaps because the dishes were too simple, or perhaps because there were too few of them, the dinner looked rather meager at a glance, completely out of place on such a luxurious, oversized table.

But thinking of the lavish feasts Yu Qing usually wasted table after table, Xiang Changge did not think there was anything wrong with it.

With just three dishes and a soup, Yu Qing might not even take more than a few bites of each.

As she planned to have the nutritionist, who had been "on strike" for far too long, return to work tomorrow, Xiang Changge raised her hand to check the watch on her wrist, then looked toward the elevators outside the dining room.

It seemed the young lady needed to be invited again.

With that thought, Xiang Changge turned and headed toward the elevator.

Honestly, although it was only three floors, Xiang Changge had gotten used to using the elevator after just one day. It was fast and required almost no waiting, and now she could not even be bothered to take the stairs.

But Xiang Changge had just reached the elevator and had not even pressed the button when she saw Aunt Yang emerge from it.

Aunt Yang smiled when she saw Xiang Changge. "Miss said she'll be having dinner on the third-floor balcony tonight, and asked me to bring the food up."

Xiang Changge neither agreed nor objected.

As long as Yu Qing ate, it did not matter where she ate.

Watching Aunt Yang carry the already modest portion of three dishes and a soup upstairs on a tray, Xiang Changge did not crazily follow along to supervise a certain young lady's meal.

Because she had something more important to do.

Once Aunt Yang disappeared from the first floor, Xiang Changge immediately turned and strode out of the main house, heading for the... staff dining hall behind it.

Perhaps the chef in the staff dining hall had heard about what happened in the main house and was deliberately trying to curry favor with Xiang Changge, but tonight's staff meal was especially lavish.

Braised lamb trotters, stir-fried yellow beef, garlic ribs, along with a plate of stir-fried vegetables and fish head tofu soup. There was pork, beef, lamb, and fish, and the chef's skills were quite good. The moment Xiang Changge entered the dining hall, she felt as if she had arrived in heaven.

The enticing aroma of food rushed into her nose. How could someone who had starved for five years in the apocalypse resist such temptation? Although Xiang Changge had eaten quite a bit today, she suddenly felt as though she could eat three cows.

Unlike the other servants, whose meals were served in compartmentalized trays, she, as the butler, had a generous four dishes and a soup served on white porcelain plates.

Sitting alone at a round table off to one side, Xiang Changge first drank half a bowl of fresh, sweet fish soup to soothe her throat before launching into the food like a whirlwind.

After her ruthless and merciless round of dismissals that morning, the remaining servants had become visibly gentler and more respectful toward her. Everyone feared that one careless mistake would land them on the layoff list.

Because of that worry, no one dared to casually make small talk or try to get close to Xiang Changge. Thus, she enjoyed an exceptionally lavish dinner, at least by her standards, in peace and satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Yu Qing, who had been worried she might see that white figure again, relaxed only after seeing that Aunt Yang was still the one bringing the meal to the third-floor balcony and that no one else followed behind her.

It was not as if she was afraid of Xiang Changge. She was simply too lazy to argue with her. As long as Xiang Changge had the sense not to appear before her and irritate her eyes, that was enough.

Although it was only a little past six, the rainy weather had made the sky terribly dark.

After Aunt Yang set down the tray on the table, she switched on the warm orange pendant light over the balcony. Yu Qing, who was not hungry at all, sat curled up on the fabric sofa with a shawl around her shoulders, her gaze passing over the food on the table and settling on the garden outside.

She thought of nothing, yet it seemed as though she thought of everything.

After spacing out for quite a while, Yu Qing finally withdrew her gaze at Aunt Yang's reminder and looked at the food on the table.

When she saw the simple three dishes and a soup, Yu Qing froze for a moment and instinctively looked at Aunt Yang.

Aunt Yang lowered her eyes guiltily, but spoke with complete honesty and haste. "The menu was arranged by the butler..."

Meaning, if Yu Qing felt slighted and became angry... there was a culprit responsible, so please do not accidentally take it out on her.

Accustomed to having at least eight dishes on the table every day, Yu Qing did indeed feel a little unaccustomed when she saw this simple three dishes and a soup.

But it was not because she felt slighted, as Aunt Yang had assumed. Rather, it was the strange feeling of unexpectedly encountering a different kind of change in her life.

A few more dishes or a few fewer made little difference to her.

There was nothing she particularly wanted to eat, nor was there anything she especially disliked. When she was in a good mood, she would take a few bites. When she was not, she would eat nothing at all. That was her daily routine.

After her parents passed away, she had taken charge of the household. Tired of following the carefully designed dietary plans of nutritionists just to stay alive, she had spent the past few years indulging herself as freely as a rebellious child.

And the price of that indulgence was that she had raised herself terribly.

Both physically and mentally.

But she had not realized it... or perhaps she had, but simply did not care.

A menu arranged by the butler—

Perhaps the changes had caught Yu Qing's attention, or perhaps she was simply curious. Yu Qing examined the dishes.

Steamed sea bass, stir-fried pumpkin, lettuce with sliced meat, and yam pork rib soup. They were all very light dishes.

Yu Qing picked up her chopsticks and sampled a little of everything.

She was not actually hungry yet. She had received a glucose injection today and eaten half a small bowl of lily bulb and lotus seed congee. By her usual habits, she would not have eaten dinner at all.