Page 6

Zhou Jiayi looked at the person before him, someone he had practically watched grow up. She was even thinner than the last time he had seen her, with not an ounce of flesh left on her face, and an air of visible despondence hanging about her. He could not help sighing inwardly.

He wanted to tell her to take better care of herself, but found it difficult to say.

What good was immense wealth? Her health was poor, both her parents were dead, she had no siblings, and even her fiancé had...

Perhaps Zhou Jiayi had remained silent for too long, or perhaps the pity and sympathy in his eyes had been too unrestrained. The person sitting on the opposite sofa suddenly raised her eyes and looked over.

Those black eyes, which should have been bright and watery, were now clouded with mist, shrouded in an indelible gloom. There was not the slightest ripple within them. They were like a silent abyss, unfathomable and fraught with danger, as though they could drag anyone who looked at her into darkness.

Assistant Zhou's heart jolted at the sight of those half-lidded eyes, and he hurriedly composed himself.

As he took out several documents and handed them across, he hastily explained, "It's like this. I don't know whether you're aware that Mr. Yu and Ms. Lan previously sponsored an orphan named Xiang Changge..."

"..."

Ten minutes passed. Assistant Zhou sat silently in his seat, watching the person opposite him stare blankly at the contracts and will he had produced. After considering it, he added, "Lawyer Liu only suddenly told me about this a couple of days ago..."

He had initially thought it was a minor matter. She was only a butler, after all. But yesterday, he had suddenly received news that the butler the Yu couple had specifically cultivated for their daughter would be returning to the country today—and would begin work immediately upon graduation.

For no apparent reason, unease suddenly rose in his heart.

After much deliberation, he had decided to come tell Yu Qing about it in person as a gesture of goodwill.

After all, according to Yu Qing's parents' will, this butler would not only hold considerable authority within the Yu Family, but would also have a say in the affairs of Yu Corporation.

Because Yu Qing was in poor health, the Yu Family's business was currently entrusted to professional agents.

If this butler suddenly interfered in Yu Corporation's affairs later on—and if she happened to hold grudges—then if the butler suffered any grievance because he had failed to notify Yu Qing in advance, who knew whether she might turn around and vent her anger on him?

Seeing that Yu Qing had not spoken for a long time, Zhou Jiayi carefully added, "I heard that this butler graduated from Bribatol's Royal International Butler Management Academy with straight A's. She's outstanding in every respect. I'm sure she'll take good care of you."

Yu Qing still said nothing. She merely slowly closed the documents. After a moment, she softly hummed in acknowledgment.

"..."

After Zhou Jiayi left, the figure whose face brought to mind ice and snow that never melted atop towering snowy mountains gazed absentmindedly at the osmanthus tree outside the reception room window, its branches scattered in disarray by the wind.

After a long while, she blinked, her pitch-black, curled lashes sweeping lightly through the air.

"The person they arranged..."

Her languid voice, carrying a faint gentleness, dissolved into the air.

Before Zhou Jiayi had arrived, Aunt Yang, who had always cared for her, had already informed her that a new butler would be arriving today. She had even said that a driver would be sent to the airport at noon to pick her up, but Yu Qing had not paid it much mind.

Whether there was one more person or one fewer person in this house did not matter to her in the slightest. Nor did she need it to.

The house was so large, so empty.

There was no one she loved here, and no one who loved her.

Yet when she heard Zhou Jiayi say that this new butler had been arranged for her by her parents long ago, several threads of bitterness suddenly surfaced in Yu Qing's previously hollow chest.

Twenty-two years old, the same age as her.

Yu Qing could not help wondering whether this person had originally been intended by her parents to be her companion.

After all, they were so close in age, and because of her health, she had rarely been able to go out in the past.

But after searching through her memories, she seemed to have no impression of such a person at all. Her parents had never mentioned her either.

In the drizzling rain, a black SUV slowly drove through the gates of the estate.

Uncle Huang, the driver, watched the road ahead while unable to resist stealing glances through the rearview mirror at the young woman seated in the back.

More than the fact that someone so young had become the Yu Family's butler, what made Uncle Huang curious was the way she had rolled down the window and eagerly leaned against it, looking out at the scenery of the Yu Family estate with a wistful gaze.

Wasn't this new butler supposed to have graduated from some prestigious overseas butler academy? Why did she seem so... unreliable?

The new butler carefully admired the Yu Family's beautiful scenery for a while, then turned back and asked him in much the same way, "Working for the Yu Family must be very pleasant, right, Uncle Huang? You get to see such beautiful scenery every day."

Wasn't it beautiful? From the foot of the mountain onward, this entire mountain range had been leased by the Yu Family.

They called it a lease only because mountain land could not officially be bought or sold, but who in City A did not know that the entire Xiushan belonged to the Yu Family?

From inside the car, as they passed through the dark green Chinese tallow tree grove, washed by the rain until it gleamed with a crystalline sheen, they could even see from afar the two rows of perfectly trimmed Buddhist pines lining the road near the mountaintop.

Hearing Xiang Changge's words, and unwilling to offend his future superior, Uncle Huang smiled for the sixth time and replied, "Yes, working for the Yu Family is very pleasant."

Heaven knew that since picking up this future Yu Family butler from the airport, she had asked him similar questions six times already.

Right after they had introduced themselves, Steward Xiang had asked, "Uncle Huang, did you buy that suit yourself, or was it issued by the Yu Family?"

Uncle Huang had patted the hem of his suit honestly and answered, "It's a uniform. It was issued by the butler."

Before Xiang Changge arrived, the Yu Family had originally had a butler, one who had served since the Yu couple were still alive.

However, that butler was elderly. After accidentally taking a fall last month, she formally resigned, leaving the position of Yu Family butler temporarily vacant.

The household staff had been guessing whether they would recruit a new butler next. The requirements for a Yu Family butler would certainly be high, but everyone still harbored hopes and was eager to try for the position.

Who would have thought that before any recruitment notice was even posted, a new butler would descend from the heavens?

"An issued uniform? That's great. The quality of these clothes looks excellent. Working for the Yu Family must be very pleasant, right, Uncle Huang?"

At the time, Uncle Huang had thought she was merely trying to indirectly inquire about the Yu Family's benefits, so he agreed and briefly introduced them.

But when she saw the car he was driving, she asked again, "Working for the Yu Family must be very pleasant, right, Uncle Huang? This car looks like it performs well."

Then, after he handed her a bottle of spare mineral water kept in the car, the new butler gulped down more than half the bottle and said once again, "Working for the Yu Family must be very pleasant, right, Uncle Huang? There's even unlimited free water to drink."

Uncle Huang: "..."

During the ride, he had received a call from the Yu Residence asking whether they should prepare his work lunch today. Somehow, she overheard the call and sighed, "Working for the Yu Family must be very pleasant, right, Uncle Huang? They even provide lunch."

In the thirty-minute drive from the airport to the Yu Family estate, Uncle Huang had gone from sudden realization, to utter confusion, to being filled with curiosity.

Once they reached the mountaintop, the car passed between the Buddhist pines on both sides of the road and through an enormous black wrought-iron gate before finally entering the... outer grounds of the Yu Family villa.

When Xiang Changge had read that novel before, she had noticed that there were quite a few descriptions of the Yu Family residence, likely meant to emphasize just how wealthy the male lead's fiancée truly was.

But when those words unfolded as a real scene before her, Xiang Changge still could not stop herself from grinding her teeth.

The Yu Family's wealth was a little beyond her imagination.

Who needed to drive for over ten minutes after entering their front gate just to reach the front door under a roof?

Standing before the elegant, luxurious villa, one hand on the handle of her suitcase, Xiang Changge asked the System for who knew how many times, "System, tell me—how could the young lady possibly think life is boring with family circumstances like these?"

The System did not want to respond, but it was reaching the limits of its patience.

"Everyone has different pursuits in life! Yu Qing is sensitive and delicate. So what if she needs love in order to keep living!"

It had no idea how popular this supporting female character was outside the book. Otherwise, it would not exist, much less would someone who should have died thoroughly be standing here asking questions. And she even dared to keep asking, asking, asking in that indescribable tone—how ungrateful!

Xiang Changge did not know about the System's inner complaints. She was utterly puzzled. "But you can live without love. Without money, you really can't live."

Compared to dying inside, physical death was the ultimate death, wasn't it?

The System could not be bothered to answer. It chose to go offline.

Just as Xiang Changge finished communicating with the System through brainwaves, two neat lines of people streamed out of the villa doors. There were probably more than forty of them in all.

Beneath the eaves before the villa entrance, they lined up and bowed sharply at ninety degrees toward her, shouting in unison, "Welcome, Steward, to your new post!"

Then, a woman in a wheelchair who appeared to be in her sixties was pushed before Xiang Changge. Smiling warmly, she greeted her, "Hello, Steward Xiang. I am the Yu Family's former butler. From now on, Miss Yu Qing and the Yu Family will be entrusted to you."

For no reason she could name, Xiang Changge, who had thought she was only coming here to work as a servant, suddenly felt her shoulders grow heavy, as though something had settled upon them.

At the same time, the two words "Yu Qing" struck Xiang Changge's heart for the first time with a certain weight.