Page 44

She was physically present, but her mind had long since drifted away.

Yu Qing frowned slightly, replaying the events that had just occurred in the dining room over and over in her mind.

Had she perhaps been a bit too harsh with her words, leaving the other woman feeling discouraged?

It was her own overreaction.

She had already encountered far too many people who approached her with pity, offering guidance and lectures. They all shared the same common trait: using methods they deemed useful to arrange her life for her.

They didn't understand her at all; they simply couldn't grasp why she was "like this," or why she couldn't be "like that."

Forget it, no one in this world would ever understand her.

Yu Qing gave a self-deprecating smile and closed the music score.

When Xiang Changge first appeared by her side, she had thought she might be different.

She wouldn't be like the others, trying to change her using methods they felt were best.

She was just, simply, fulfilling her duties as a steward.

She could demand that she eat and sleep on time, or insist that she find some amusement to pass the time; but she shouldn't be offering guidance, urging her to find goals and joys in her life.

She could do something, but it shouldn't be for the sake of achieving some specific purpose.

Her life had long been a tangled mess of frayed threads; though it was a chaotic knot, it still existed.

But if one were to force it to be straightened out, all that would remain would be useless, broken fragments of thread.

"Perhaps I was born to be lonely, and I shouldn't hope that anyone in this world will understand me or stay by my side forever."

Yu Qing tilted her head back against the sofa, gazing into the void and murmuring to herself.

While she was lost in thought, a series of footsteps approached from afar.

Soon, a figure appeared at the doorway of the music room, knocking lightly twice: "Miss Yu, good morning. Steward Xiang sent me here for my shift."

Startled back to reality by the voice, Yu Qing froze for a moment. She turned her head to look, and saw Yao Ningran, who always carried an artistic aura, wearing a sky-blue denim overall dress today. She looked soft and bright, standing by the door with a gentle smile directed at her.

Subconsciously, Yu Qing looked past her, toward the space behind her.

Noticing her gaze, which seemed to be searching for someone, Yao Ningran assumed she was checking to see if the other two people from yesterday had come as well, so she quickly explained: "Steward Xiang said you might want to play the piano or paint today, so she only sent me over."

"Mm."

Yu Qing withdrew her gaze, lowering her eyes to stare at the music score in her hands. After a pause, she asked, as if casually: "...Where is she?"

The question, devoid of a name, left Yao Ningran stunned for a moment before she realized who Yu Qing was asking about: "Steward Xiang didn't come up; she seems to have other things to attend to."

Other things to do—does she always have so much to do?

She couldn't fathom how there could be so many things to keep her busy in such a small place.

Was there really something to do, or was it just an excuse? Perhaps there was nothing at all, but they had just had an argument—if one could call it that—so she was avoiding appearing before her.

However, did sending Yao Ningran to keep her company count as a signal of sorts—a way of lowering her head to make amends and apologize?

Yao Ningran wasn't as terrifyingly familiar as Ge Bufan, but she wasn't the reserved type either.

Seeing Yu Qing resting on the sofa, she mentioned she was here for work and truly treated it as such.

She naturally found the tools and carefully inspected every instrument in the music room, even restringing the guitar that Yu Qing had broken previously.

It was only then that Yu Qing discovered Yao Ningran could even tune instruments.

As Yao Ningran worked, she occasionally brought up topics to chat with Yu Qing about.

From the instruments she knew to the origins of music, then to the funny anecdotes about teachers and classmates from her school days, and finally to why high-end instruments were so expensive.

Sometimes Yu Qing didn't respond, but she could keep the conversation going on her own, and gradually, Yu Qing began to offer a word or two in return.

Playing the piano, discussing scores, painting, and talking about the pros and cons of various techniques—in between, the two of them even had lunch and afternoon tea on the balcony attached to the small living room.

When night fell and Aunt Gong came up to ask if they wanted dinner, Yu Qing realized that the entire day had simply slipped away.

And throughout that day, the steward who had "things to attend to" never once appeared.

Yu Qing didn't say anything on the surface. After she and Yao Ningran finished dinner and the other woman had left, Yu Qing, still sitting at the dining table sipping a cup of warm water, asked Aunt Gong, who was clearing the dishes, in a somewhat stiff tone: "Where is the steward?"

Hadn't she sent Yao Ningran to keep her company? Didn't that mean she was trying to make amends?

And she had given her enough face by letting the girl keep her company for a whole day of music and art, which meant she had accepted the gesture—so why was she still hiding?

"The steward?" Aunt Gong thought for a moment. "I heard she drove out this afternoon. She said she had something to take care of and would be back late tonight."

"Oh, right, when Aunt Yang handed over the shift, she said the steward had instructed us to make sure you eat on time."

"She went out?"

Yu Qing, who had assumed the other woman was just hiding somewhere in the house, looked up sharply at Aunt Gong: "Where did she go?"

Aunt Gong was a bit bewildered by the question.

"That... I really don't know."

She hadn't seen Xiang Changge since she arrived for her shift; if she hadn't heard it from Aunt Yang, she wouldn't even have known the steward had gone out, let alone what she was doing.

Yu Qing set down her water glass, the remaining water sloshing inside the glass.

Where could Xiang Changge have gone?

What could be so important that she had to head out herself?

Yu Qing looked toward the window, just as a bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky, bringing a momentary flash of silver light.

The sky had been overcast since this morning, a clear sign that a heavy rain was coming; why would she still run out?

She couldn't be... running away from home, could she?

Was it really necessary? She had only spoken a bit harshly to her; she didn't seem like such a fragile person, so why would she run off?

Various thoughts swirled in Yu Qing's mind as she stood up and returned to the third floor.

The small living room on the third floor faced the villa's ornate front gate, allowing one to take in the situation at the entrance at a glance.

Yu Qing stood on the balcony, looking down at the night view outside. The night wind, heavy with moisture, blew toward her, and the dark clouds roiled in the sky; the heavy rain that had been brewing all day was about to fall.

And yet, Xiang Changge had not returned.

At this moment, the "runaway" Xiang Changge performed a sharp drift, parking a black Bentley in the empty space beside a pile of trash in the dark of night.

The system watched her maneuvers, its operating memory fluctuating wildly: "8802, can you be a bit more careful? If you scratch the car, my baby Yu Qing will have to pay for the repairs."

Hearing this, Xiang Changge mimicked Yu Qing's tone from the morning and replied: "It's fine, money is the one thing she has the most of."

System: "..."

Fine, that was hard to argue with.

Stepping out of the car, Xiang Changge surveyed the surrounding environment.

This was considered the old district of City A; the streets were dilapidated, and there were no new high-rises, though it did have a strong sense of daily life.

Various shops were open in the vicinity, their neon signs flickering as night fell. However, perhaps because of the impending heavy rain, there was hardly anyone on the street.

Xiang Changge walked out from the street corner, and after only a few steps, she saw the bookstore in the distance.

That was where the female lead worked part-time tonight.

Xiang Changge raised her hand to check the time on her watch; it was only a little past seven. She had arrived a bit early; the female lead wouldn't get off work until nine.

Xiang Changge looked around, finally choosing a burger joint that offered a view of the bookstore entrance. After going inside and ordering two combo meals, she began eating her burger while keeping her eyes on the bookstore door.

While she was staking out Chu Keke, the system in her mind was humming a tune similar to a mermaid's song while sculpting its own dog body.

"For a puppy, fluffy fur is key. Tongtong, I must have the softest dog fur so that baby Yu Qing can't keep her hands off me."

"As for the face, it must be the cutest, so that when baby Yu Qing sees me, she'll want to kiss me, wanting nothing more than to gobble me up in one big hug."

"The tail also needs to be extra fluffy."

"And the eyes, they must be round and sparkling, like black grapes under a spotlight!"

"Hmm, the paw pads must be pink, of course. La la la, la la la~"

Ever since Xiang Changge left Xiushan and took the system to buy puppy supplies, it had been making these sounds in her head.

It had taken her only one afternoon to go from being unaccustomed to it to being used to it.

Now, she could automatically filter out that bizarre electronic noise, focus on savoring the burger in her hand, and offer a critique: "They were a bit stingy with the salad dressing."

As usual, whenever the bookstore owner had business that required him to go out, Chu Keke would help look after the shop.