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Did she open it and take a look?

Right in front of this painting, if she had just gently turned the page, she would have seen that one piece she didn't even know why she had drawn...

Did she see it?

Probably not. As a housekeeper, how could she possibly pry into her employer's secrets?

Even if that secret was merely a sketchbook she had forgotten to put away, left sitting on the bay window.

Yu Qing flipped through the sketchbook. The previous page looked exactly as it had when she had just finished it; it didn't seem any different.

Then again, if she had only taken a look, what kind of trace would she have left behind?

Even the tablet, which she remembered leaving on the nightstand, had been placed neatly on the cabinet surface.

She never locked these electronic devices. If Xiang Changge had just given it a light swipe, the guide on dog care she had been reading last night would have appeared right before the other woman's eyes.

If that happened, she would know that Yu Qing was being hypocritical—saying she didn't want a pet, while secretly studying and preparing for one behind her back.

Thinking of this, Yu Qing felt her back grow hot.

Xiang Changge was standing right behind her.

If she had seen those things last night, what would she say?

Was she here now because she wanted to talk about them?

With various thoughts surging in her heart, Yu Qing could only rely on playing the piano to calm her mind all morning; she didn't even have time to sink into her usual melancholy state.

In that brief moment, after a multitude of thoughts had passed through her mind, Yu Qing heard Xiang Changge say in a voice no different from usual, "It's eight o'clock, Miss. It's time for you to eat breakfast."

Yu Qing: "..."

That's it?

"Oh."

For once, Yu Qing didn't say anything more. She simply rose from the piano bench, crossed her arms, and walked past Xiang Changge at the door without looking aside.

This time, it was Xiang Changge who was stunned.

She glanced at the weather outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the music room again.

The sun hadn't risen from a different direction today, so why was Yu Qing being so obedient? She didn't even say she had no appetite or didn't want to eat; she just went along with it as soon as she was reminded.

"A bit strange."

Xiang Changge said to the system.

After a strenuous analysis, the system replied: "...Strangely cute?"

Xiang Changge: "..."

She really wanted to send it off for a virus scan.

-

This "strangeness" of Yu Qing's lasted for quite a while.

The two of them stepped out of the elevator one after the other. The housekeeper was setting breakfast on the long dining table, and beside Yu Qing's place setting, there was another set of bowls and chopsticks.

Those belonged to Xiang Changge.

It wasn't that she wanted to freeload off Yu Qing's breakfast; she was mostly worried that Yu Qing would just go through the motions and eat a little bit, failing to meet the food intake standards required by the system's mission.

She was doing this to better supervise the work.

Yu Qing didn't say anything when she saw it; she sat down and began to bury her head in the millet porridge in front of her.

Xiang Changge sat down as well.

Usually, she was very focused when she ate, but she felt that something was off with Yu Qing, making her lose her appetite.

She asked the system for confirmation in her mind: "Is Yu Qing feeling depressed right now?"

The system replied after two seconds: "It's fine. The index is within the normal range."

After thinking for two seconds, Xiang Changge reached a conclusion—

It was probably because she had slept so well last night; this was a sign of Yu Qing being well-rested.

With that, Xiang Changge began to eat with peace of mind.

She really ate with great gusto.

In every sense of the word.

She ate so heartily that even a boiled vegetable seemed like the ultimate delicacy in her mouth.

When others watched her eat, they felt her movements were appetizing, unconsciously making them lose their own inhibitions and develop a huge appetite.

The brine Ge Bufan had made last night was still left over. The few peeled and halved marinated eggs on the table were made using that brine, and they were delicious whether eaten with porridge or on their own.

Xiang Changge ate one half at a time, feeling the savory brine fragrance fill her nose while the egg white remained springy and delicious.

The food on the plate disappeared rapidly.

Just as there were only two halves of the marinated eggs left on the plate, Xiang Changge suddenly remembered something and glanced at Yu Qing.

She saw that the person who had been eating millet porridge was still eating millet porridge.

How could she eat so much yet seem like she hadn't eaten at all?

What if she kept eating, but the system determined she hadn't met the requirements?

"Is your bowl a bottomless pit?"

Xiang Changge asked sincerely.

Yu Qing, who had been stealing glances at Xiang Changge every now and then to help get the porridge down: "..." What was that supposed to mean?

Hearing this, Yu Qing looked at the half-bowl of porridge she had left, then looked at Xiang Changge, who had already finished her second bowl: "Did you fast-forward?"

She didn't think she was eating that slowly; wasn't eating just about taking it one bite at a time?

Xiang Changge didn't reply, only painfully sliding the two halves of a braised egg toward Yu Qing: "It's definitely hard to eat if you just have plain porridge; you have to eat some side dishes."

With crystal shrimp dumplings, garlic lettuce, steamed eggs, tofu, and more spread across the table, she was just holding a bowl of porridge; she really didn't understand the tastes of the wealthy.

Yu Qing: "..."

She had always been a light eater, and the reason she ate so little wasn't because the food was bland, but because she simply didn't want to eat.

Yu Qing suddenly felt that her earlier hesitation and anxiety were actually meaningless. If Xiang Changge had really seen that she had accidentally drawn her in her sketchbook, she would surely have asked her directly why she was drawing her, or perhaps commented on whether the drawing was ugly or just not good.

The tablet was the same.

She could already imagine the scene; she would likely use a tone so polite it bordered on passive-aggressive to say to her: Since you've already prepared yourself, Miss, I'll go bring the dog back for you right now.

Yu Qing took a forceful bite of the braised egg, eating it without tasting a thing.

Having finally finished a bowl of porridge, Yu Qing watched as Xiang Changge pulled a tablet out of nowhere and began asking about her daily schedule.

"We haven't started on the accessories we discussed last time; should we have the brand representatives come over today?"

"Or would you like to go with me to check out the golf course in the back? I sincerely suggest you consider converting it into a pasture."

"How did you feel about those three temporary workers yesterday? Do you need them all to come keep you company today?"

"Or perhaps you'd like to take the helicopter out for a spin? Although it's overcast today, there are no signs of thunder or wind; the weather should be quite comfortable for an outing."

"..."

Yu Qing felt like there were a thousand ducks quacking in her ears; her head was spinning.

Yu Qing closed her eyes and covered her ears: "Xiang Changge, you're so annoying."

She didn't want to do any of these things; she just wanted to be left alone in peace.

Xiang Changge closed the tablet and shrugged: "Then is there anything you would like to arrange, Miss?" As long as she didn't just lie there motionless and wallow in melancholy, she could do whatever she wanted.

Yu Qing lowered her hands, her expressionless face revealing a deep sense of despair, much like a college student who suddenly realizes they have eight papers due tomorrow but it's already midnight.

"Is it absolutely necessary to do something?"

There was no color in Yu Qing's eyes, her voice listless.

"Yes," Xiang Changge said earnestly, "People must do something. It doesn't have to be anything meaningful, but you must do something."

Because people are not stone or wood; if a person stops doing things, they will eventually turn into stone or wood.

"Read a book, play the piano, go out for coffee—never mind, scratch that, you can't have coffee—go to the library to borrow a book, find a game to play... in short, just do something."

You have to let yourself perceive that you are alive, that you are vibrant.

"If you can't think of anything, Miss, you can call those three temporary workers from yesterday."

Xiang Changge offered her suggestions: "Yao Ningran can keep you company while you paint or play the piano, you could learn to make pastries with Ge Bufan, or take photos with her—of course, you could also talk business with her."

"I think the braised dishes Ge Bufan makes are quite good; she has potential. You could discuss a partnership with her and start a braised food business."

"You don't have to overcomplicate it; you can talk about chain stores later, but opening a small shop together would be nice. Furthermore, if you find it too much trouble, you could just invest in her."

Yu Qing pursed her lips.

Even though she maintained a silent and uninterested appearance, she was listening to every word Xiang Changge said.

"I'm not short on money; why would I need to earn so much? Don't you know I have more money than I could spend in several lifetimes? Money is the most useless thing to me."

"..."

Xiang Changge took several deep breaths, suppressing the inexplicable anger rising in her heart.

When she spoke again, Yu Qing felt that Xiang Changge's voice carried a hint of gritted teeth: "I know you aren't short on money, but Ge Bufan is. If you partner with her, she earns money, and you find something to do—isn't that a win-win?"