Page 28

Soon, the door opened, and nearly inaudible footsteps approached from outside.

By the time Yu Qing reacted and jerked her head up, a familiar figure was already standing right beside her.

Blue-striped pajamas on a white base, black hair tied up casually, light-colored eyes—Yu Qing froze for a moment, then frowned: "Something up?" As she spoke, she instinctively pressed the sketchbook in her hands closer to her body.

Xiang Changge withdrew her gaze from the notebook, met those world-weary eyes, and offered a polite yet firm reminder: "Miss, it is ten o'clock. You should go to bed."

Yu Qing: "..."

Not this again.

"Didn't I win against you in Gomoku this morning?"

Hearing this, Xiang Changge's body stiffened for a split second, but she still replied earnestly: "Yes, which is why I did not make you get up immediately this morning."

Yu Qing was shocked: "You mean that one game of Gomoku only applies to one thing in the morning?"

In other words, this person was going to come and bother her at eight o'clock tomorrow morning too?

Xiang Changge nodded.

What else would it be?

It's not as if a single win or loss could decide several different matters.

Yu Qing pouted in annoyance; she just wanted to continue the painting she hadn't finished yet.

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

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

Yu Qing was so irritated by her stubbornness that the slightly improved impression she'd had of her earlier vanished.

Annoying housekeeper.

"Only once a day," she acted like this was some kind of video game.

Staring at the tall, imposing figure standing before her, Yu Qing pressed her pen against the paper. Actually, the way she looked when she was being sycophantic wasn't entirely unacceptable.

"I'll give you a bonus?"

Yu Qing attempted to corrupt her.

Xiang Changge raised her hand to check the watch on her wrist: "Then you may go to bed at ten-thirty."

Yu Qing: "..."

A bonus only buys half an hour?

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

Yu Qing immediately changed tactics: "Then no bonus for you. If you bother me again, I'm deducting your pay."

Xiang Changge: "..."

Sensing a moment of hesitation in Xiang Changge's heart, the system reminded her at the perfect time: "Host, what is a little money compared to the alternative? You don't want the cremation package, do you?"

Xiang Changge became firm immediately.

She straightened her back and replied with the integrity of someone who would rather starve than bow for a grain of rice: "Miss, I am not that kind of person."

Yu Qing: "?"

She... isn't?

What was she saying?

Did she even believe that herself?

She wasn't like this in the evening; had she gone off to take some secret training course?

Inexplicable and unfathomable—that was Yu Qing's current assessment of Xiang Changge.

Seeing that Yu Qing wasn't moving, Xiang Changge tucked the book she had brought into the back of her waistband, freed her hands, and took a step forward: "Have you washed up, Miss? Would you like to wash up first, or go straight to sleep?"

Seeing her look as if she were about to take matters into her own hands, Yu Qing threw her sketchbook aside and blocked her with both hands: "Wait, wait, wait, are you for real?"

Did this person have a split personality, or was she just a master of changing faces?

Xiang Changge took another step forward, providing her answer.

She stood to the side, blocking most of the light in the center of the room. Although she didn't touch her, the shadow she cast fell entirely over Yu Qing, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Yu Qing didn't know if it was from anger or fear, but she felt her heart racing.

By the time she stood resentfully in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, she still felt a bit breathless.

No, she had to find some way to get a handle on Xiang Changge.

She had seemed so easy to corrupt back in the evening; why was she so firm about her sleep schedule now? Could it be that she really wanted to fix her routine?

-

After washing up, Yu Qing's face still held a hint of dampness, making her look soft and fair.

She tucked herself obediently into the covers, leaving only her head exposed, her beautiful dark eyes fixed coldly on the housekeeper who insisted on providing pre-sleep service.

Xiang Changge heard the system squealing in her mind: "Wow, the little supporting character looks so obedient and cute like that! Ying ying ying, Tongtong wants to nuzzle her little face. Parenthesis, in the style of Xishi clutching her heart, end parenthesis."

Xiang Changge: "..."

So noisy.

Once Xiang Changge pulled a chair over to sit by Yu Qing's bed just like the night before, leaving only two warm reading lamps on in the room, she opened the book she had brought with her.

Tonight, she had brought a book of her own to provide Yu Qing with her bedtime service; reading Yu Qing's poetry the previous night had been far too boring. She had been reading for so long that Yu Qing hadn't fallen asleep yet, but she herself was already on the verge of nodding off.

Therefore, she had chosen a book that interested her tonight.

As soon as Xiang Changge lifted the book and opened it, Yu Qing's gaze fell upon the cover.

"...Suiyuan Shidan?"

Yu Qing froze, followed by disbelief: "You're going to read me a cookbook?"

If she had to read something, fairy tales or fables would have been fine, so why a cookbook? Was she trying to awaken her appetite in the middle of the night, or did she want to bore her into a stupor?

Xiang Changge lifted her eyes from the book.

Under the warm glow of the lamps, the coldness that usually clung to the person on the bed softened quite a bit.

Her eyes were clear and distinct, and when she wasn't wearing that dead-fish expression devoid of joy or sorrow, she actually looked quite well-behaved.

"Does the young lady wish to hear something else?"

Xiang Changge asked in return.

Yu Qing realized what was happening: "I want you to leave."

She didn't want to hear anything at all.

Don't even think about trying to make this situation seem reasonable; the moment she found an opportunity, she would definitely force Xiang Changge to do things she didn't want to do as well.

Yu Qing chose to close her eyes.

Seeing this, Xiang Changge began her work.

"..."

① "Shark fin is a delicacy among seafood. To prepare shark fin, one must first soak it in clear water to rehydrate, then simmer it in a rich broth. The broth must be made by boiling an old hen, ham, and dried scallops to ensure the shark fin absorbs the flavor... slurp." /Note

Xiang Changge's voice was actually slightly low, and when devoid of emotion, it carried a hint of indifference—the kind of mature, cool-headed tone often described these days.

But as she read the recipe in a languid tone while swallowing her saliva, Yu Qing didn't feel any of that "cool-headed" vibe at all; she only knew that the woman seemed incredibly hungry.

② "Crab is a delicacy of the Jiangnan region. The method for cooking crab is best steamed, not boiled. When steaming crab, one must use ginger slices and scallion segments to remove the fishy odor, steaming only until the shell turns red... slurp... It is best enjoyed dipped in ginger vinegar for a superior flavor." /Note

In her mind, a crab was placed in a steamer. As the steam rose, it slowly turned red and cooked through, the sweet, fresh scent of seafood gradually filling the air.

The crab meat was sweet, tender, and after being dipped in the sauce... wait, what was she thinking about?

Yu Qing couldn't take it anymore. She snapped her eyes open and glared at Xiang Changge: "Can you be a little more serious?"

Regardless of anything else, wasn't she supposed to be working? Could she please have a proper attitude? Why was she reading a cookbook as if it were something delicious?

Xiang Changge felt a bit bewildered. She lowered the book again and looked at Yu Qing, her light-colored eyes filled with a few traces of confusion.

How was she not being serious? She was reading very carefully and rigorously; there were no mispronounced words or skipped lines, so why was the young lady dissatisfied?

Looking at the questions in Xiang Changge's eyes, Yu Qing closed her own, her voice as cold as the wind on a snowy mountain: "Don't read yourself into a state of hunger."

Xiang Changge: "..."

"Thank you for your concern, Miss. I am a little hungry, but I'm fine. However, if you could fall asleep sooner, I would be able to go have a late-night snack sooner."

So, rather than simply worrying about whether she was hungry, it would be more practical if she just went to sleep.

"I am not concerned about you!"

Yu Qing was so angry she sat up in bed. How could this person still not understand sarcasm?

The two were positioned with one on the bed and one on the chair; since the bed was slightly higher than the chair, they were now able to look each other in the eye.

Their gazes met—one was confused, the other was stifled with anger.

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

She closed the book, looked around, and finally found the poetry collection she had read the night before among the few books in the corner of the nightstand.

"If the young lady doesn't want to hear this one, shall I read this one instead?"

"..."

She just chose to back down like that?

Yu Qing, who had been annoyed at being forced to sleep while listening to content she wasn't interested in, felt the stifled anger in her chest suddenly dissipate.

Lying back down, Yu Qing turned over, facing away from Xiang Changge, her gaze falling vaguely into the distance without focus.

Was her tone a bit too harsh just now?

Would she be hurt by her?

But it seemed like she was the one who couldn't understand her meaning first, and her replies had sounded a bit snide as well.