Page 28

Soon, the door opened, and barely audible footsteps approached from outside.

By the time Yu Qing realized what was happening and abruptly looked up, a familiar figure was already standing beside her.

Wearing blue-and-white striped pajamas, her black hair tied up casually, her eyes pale—Yu Qing froze for a moment, then frowned. "What is it?" As she spoke, she unconsciously pressed the sketchbook in her hand closer to herself.

Xiang Changge withdrew her gaze from the sketchbook and met those world-weary eyes. With polite firmness, she reminded her, "Miss, it's ten o'clock. You should go to bed and rest."

Yu Qing: "..."

Why is she at it again?

"Didn't I beat you at Gomoku this morning?"

At that, Xiang Changge stiffened for a moment, but still answered earnestly, "Yes, which is why I didn't make you get up right away this morning."

Yu Qing was stunned. "You mean that one game of Gomoku only applied to one thing this morning?"

So this woman would come bother her again at eight tomorrow morning?

Xiang Changge nodded.

What else would it mean?

It wasn't as if one measly win or loss could decide several things.

Yu Qing pursed her lips in annoyance. Right now, she just wanted to keep working on the picture she hadn't finished.

"Then let's play two more rounds. If I win, you can't tell me when to go to bed tonight or when to get up tomorrow morning."

Xiang Changge shook her head. "We can only play once a day."

Her inflexible attitude ruined the slight improvement in Yu Qing's opinion of her from not long ago.

Annoying housekeeper.

And they could only play once a day? What was this, some kind of level-clearing game?

Staring at the tall, imposing figure standing before her, Yu Qing tapped her pen against her hand. Actually, her fawning side wasn't entirely unbearable.

"How about a bonus?"

Yu Qing tried to corrupt her.

Xiang Changge glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Then you can go to bed at ten thirty."

Yu Qing: "..."

A bonus only bought her half an hour?

No, it was already past ten. That wasn't even half an hour.

Yu Qing immediately changed tactics. "Then you're not getting a bonus. If you keep bothering me, I'll dock your pay."

Xiang Changge: "..."

Noticing Xiang Changge waver for a moment, the system promptly reminded her, "Host, what's a little money? You don't want the cremation gift package, do you?"

Xiang Changge immediately firmed up her resolve.

She straightened her back and replied with the air of someone whose integrity couldn't be bought for a pittance, "Miss, I'm not that kind of person."

Yu Qing: "?"

Is she not?

What is she even talking about?

Does she believe that herself?

She wasn't like this at all this evening. Did she secretly take a course?

Baffling and impossible to read—that was Yu Qing's current assessment of Xiang Changge.

When Yu Qing didn't move, Xiang Changge tucked the book she had brought behind her back, freeing up a hand, then stepped forward. "Miss, have you washed up? Would you like to wash up first or go straight to bed?"

Seeing that she looked ready to do it herself, Yu Qing was so startled she flung down her sketchbook and held both hands up in front of her. "W-wait, you're really going to do it?"

Did this woman have a serious case of mood swings, or did she have a split personality?

Xiang Changge took another step forward, answering her question without a word.

She stood beside the bed, blocking most of the light from the room's central fixture. She hadn't touched Yu Qing, but her shadow fell over her, pressing down with an oppressive force.

Yu Qing couldn't tell whether she was angry or scared; all she knew was that her heart was beating fast.

Even after she stood furiously brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, she still felt a little short of breath.

No, I have to find some way to get Xiang Changge under my thumb.

She'd seemed so easy to bribe this evening. Why was she so set on making Yu Qing go to bed now? Did she really intend to change Yu Qing's whole routine?

—

After washing up, Yu Qing's face still looked slightly damp and dewy, soft and fair.

She obediently slipped under the covers, leaving only her head exposed. Her beautiful dark eyes stared coldly at Housekeeper Xiang, who insisted on providing her with a bedtime service.

Xiang Changge heard the system squeal in a shrill voice in her mind: "Aww, the supporting female lead looks so obedient and adorable like this! Tongtong wants to nuzzle her little cheeks so badly! Parenthesis: holding her heart like Xi Shi, parenthesis closed."

Xiang Changge: "..."

So noisy.

Once Xiang Changge had dragged a chair over and sat beside Yu Qing's bed, just as she had the night before, leaving only two warm reading lamps on in the room, she opened the book she had brought.

Tonight, she'd brought her own book to read to Yu Qing at bedtime. Reading Yu Qing's poetry the night before had been terribly boring. She'd been about to fall asleep herself before Yu Qing even dozed off.

So tonight, she had chosen a book she was interested in.

As soon as Xiang Changge raised the book and opened it, Yu Qing's eyes fell on the cover.

"...Suiyuan Shidan?"

Yu Qing froze, then stared at her in disbelief. "You're going to read me a cookbook?"

If nothing else, she could read a fairy tale or a fable. Why a cookbook? Was she trying to whet Yu Qing's appetite in the middle of the night, or bore her into a deep sleep?

Xiang Changge lifted her eyes from the book.

Under the warm light, the chilly air that usually clung to the woman in bed seemed to soften.

Her eyes were sharply defined, dark against white. Without that expressionless, fish-eyed stare, she did look quite obedient.

"Would you rather hear something else, Miss?" Xiang Changge asked.

Yu Qing came back to herself. "I want you to leave."

She didn't want to hear anything.

Don't think you can make this seem reasonable. When I get the chance, I'm going to make Xiang Changge do something she doesn't want to do, too.

Yu Qing closed her eyes.

Seeing that, Xiang Changge began her work.

"...Shark fin is the finest of the sea delicacies. To prepare it, first soak it in clear water, then simmer it in rich stock. The stock should be made from an old hen, ham, dried scallops, and the like, so that the shark fin can absorb the flavor... slurp."

Xiang Changge's voice was a little low, and when she spoke without emotion, it carried a hint of indifference—a mature, alluring voice, as people called it these days.

But as she read the recipe in a lazy drawl and swallowed her saliva, Yu Qing didn't feel a trace of allure. All she could tell was that Xiang Changge seemed ravenous.

"Crab is a delicacy of Jiangnan. When cooking crab, steaming is preferable to boiling. Add ginger slices and scallions to the steamer to remove the fishy smell, and steam until the shells turn red... slurp... Dip the meat in ginger and vinegar for an even better flavor."

In her mind's eye, Yu Qing saw a crab placed in a steamer. As the steam rose, its shell slowly turned red, and the fresh, sweet smell of seafood gradually filled the air.

The crab meat was sweet and tender. Dipped in sauce and vinegar... Wait, what am I thinking?

Yu Qing couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly opened her eyes and glared at Xiang Changge. "Can you read properly?"

She was supposed to be working, wasn't she? Couldn't she at least act professional? Why did she make the recipes sound so delicious?

Xiang Changge looked puzzled. She set the book down again and looked at Yu Qing, a trace of confusion in her pale eyes.

How was she not reading properly? She was reading very carefully and precisely. She hadn't skipped or misread a single word. Why wasn't the young lady satisfied?

Looking at the question in Xiang Changge's eyes, Yu Qing closed her own for a moment. Her voice was as cold as a mountain wind. "Don't read until you work up an appetite."

Xiang Changge: "..."

"Thank you for your concern, Miss. I am a little hungry, but it's fine. Still, if you could fall asleep soon, I could go eat my late-night snack sooner."

So instead of simply asking whether she was hungry, Yu Qing would do better to go to sleep early. That would be more practical.

"I'm not concerned about you!"

Furious, Yu Qing sat up in bed. Why couldn't this woman understand sarcasm?

One was on the bed, the other on the chair. The bed was slightly higher, so they were looking each other in the eye.

They stared at each other: one confused, the other frustrated.

After a moment, Xiang Changge was the first to lower her head.

She closed the book, glanced around, then found the poetry collection she had read the previous night among the books in the corner of the bedside table.

"If you don't want to hear this one, shall I read this one instead?"

"..."

She's just going to back down like that?

Yu Qing had been annoyed at being forced to go to bed and listen to something she wasn't interested in. But the frustration gathered in her chest suddenly dissipated.

Back under the covers, Yu Qing turned over, facing away from Xiang Changge. Her unfocused gaze drifted into the distance.

Was I a little too harsh just now?

Could I have hurt her feelings?

But she was the one who acted as if she couldn't understand what I meant. And her reply did sound a little sarcastic, too.