I Think My Words Have Already Touched Your Soul

Na'er laughed happily and buried her face in the pillow, her short silver hair spilling across it like a silver flower.

The maid stood in the doorway, watching the two children, unsure what to say.

Bi Ji came upstairs and stood in the doorway, watching the two children on the bed with a smile on her lips.

"Let them sleep. Open the connecting door. If Na'er wakes up at night and wants to find someone, she can go through the little door to find Xiaoshan."

The maid nodded, walked to the other side of the room, and pushed open a door. Behind it was a short hallway, with another room at the end. That was the room prepared for Na'er, separated from Bai Yushan's room by only this short hallway.

Bi Ji looked at Bai Yushan and Na'er on the bed and said softly, "Good night, children."

She closed the door, and her footsteps gradually faded away.

Bai Yushan lay in bed with his eyes closed, but his mind was still turning.

He recalled Bi Ji's expression earlier. That look of sorrow and dejection did not seem to come from thinking about something ordinary. That woman hid many secrets. Her identity, her origins, and her purpose were all far less simple than she made them out to be.

But Bai Yushan did not care.

Whatever secrets she had, all that mattered was that she paid enough.

Three hundred thousand a month, room and board included, and she had even provided him with a sweet-smelling, soft little tagalong.

Not a bad deal!

Bai Yushan's breathing gradually steadied, and his consciousness began to blur.

Na'er lay beside him, her little hand clutching his sleeve, and slowly closed her eyes as well.

The room fell silent, with only the chirping of insects outside drifting on the night breeze.

Early the next morning, Bai Yushan was already up, doing one-handed handstand push-ups in the garden.

His body was upside down, feet pointing at the sky, one hand braced against the grass and the other held behind his back. Sweat dripped down his forehead onto the blades of grass, making faint sounds.

Electric currents roamed constantly over his body, blue-white arcs leaping from his skin and dancing wildly all over him. Those currents burrowed into his muscles, stimulating every muscle fiber and strengthening Bai Yushan's young body.

Every inch of muscle trembled slightly under the electrical stimulation, and each contraction was stronger than the last.

Bai Yushan gritted his teeth and performed one push-up after another.

Nine hundred ninety-six, nine hundred ninety-seven, nine hundred ninety-eight...

His arm began to ache, veins bulging, but the currents only danced faster. The blue-white arcs burst across his body with a crackle, as though cheering him on.

One thousand!

Bai Yushan flipped upright and shook out his aching arm.

His clothes were soaked through with sweat, and his messy hair clung wetly to his forehead, but his eyes were startlingly bright, flames burning in his pupils.

Bai Yushan had only ever lived by one saying: talent would not give you muscles carved by a blade!

Talent was something you were born with; muscles were something you trained yourself. Without hard training afterward, even the best talent was useless. He had understood this in his previous life, and understood it even better in this one.

He switched hands and continued his handstand push-ups.

Another thousand.

After finishing, he began doing squats, pull-ups, and sit-ups. He pushed every movement to the limit and every set until his muscles trembled.

The currents danced over his body the entire time, giving him no chance to slack off.

As soon as Bai Yushan finished exercising, Na'er hurriedly offered him a towel from beside him.

There was no telling when she had woken up. She wore that white nightdress, and her short silver hair was still a mess, like a little bird's nest. Holding the towel in both hands, she gazed at Bai Yushan with sparkling, amethyst-like eyes and said admiringly, "Big brother, you're so amazing!"

Bai Yushan forcibly suppressed the upward curl of his lips and waved a hand. "Not worth mentioning!"

Although he said that, his chin tipped up slightly, and his eyes were full of pride.

Na'er said earnestly, "Na'er will work hard just like big brother and become someone really, really amazing, and then protect big brother!"

Her voice was soft and sweet, but her tone was firm. Her amethyst-like eyes looked straight at Bai Yushan, without the slightest hint of joking.

Hearing this, Bai Yushan slapped Na'er on the back of the head without hesitation.

Smack! The sound was crisp and loud.

The little girl crouched on the ground, whimpering and clutching her head, tears swimming in her eyes. She did not understand why big brother had hit her.

But Bai Yushan paid no attention to those tears.

He looked down at Na'er from above and said, "How could working hard make you amazing! I'm telling you, if hard work really helped, there wouldn't be any commoners in this world!"

Na'er raised her head, her amethyst-like eyes full of confusion.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Bai Yushan gave her no chance to speak.

He crouched down to meet Na'er's eyes and said, "Look at those commoners. Which of them doesn't work hard? They get up to work before dawn and only go home after it's completely dark. They work themselves to death all year round. Have they become amazing? No. They're still commoners."

Na'er blinked, even more confused.

Bai Yushan could not be bothered to explain. He stood up and said, "I think my words have already touched your soul, so I won't say any more."

He turned and walked toward the villa.

"Time to eat!"

Na'er crouched on the ground, stunned for a few seconds, then got up and followed him on her short little legs.

Her head still hurt, but she was not angry. She was only thinking about what big brother had said.

Hard work was useless? Then what was useful?

Na'er could not figure it out.

Bai Yushan returned to the villa, entered the bathroom on the first floor, and quickly washed up. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and wet his messy hair with water before slicking it back, though it still looked messy.

He walked into the dining room, where breakfast had already been laid out on the table.

Plain congee, soup dumplings, fried eggs, pickled vegetables, milk, and a large platter of fruit. Every item gave off steam and an enticing aroma.

Bai Yushan sat down and began to feast.

He ate a soup dumpling in one bite, a fried egg in two, and a bowl of plain congee in three. His mouth was stuffed full, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. He chewed a couple of times and swallowed, then stuffed in more.

Bi Ji sat across from him, watching him eat with a smile on her lips.

This child really did have terrible table manners.

Na'er sat beside Bai Yushan, holding a spoon in her little hand and stirring the plain congee in her bowl over and over without eating.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, her amethyst-like eyes full of confusion, and unhappiness was written all over her little face.

Bi Ji hurried to show concern for her lord.

"Na'er? What's wrong? Why so glum?"

Na'er raised her head, looked at Bi Ji, and said in her soft, sweet voice, "Big brother said hard work can't make you a powerhouse."

Bi Ji froze for a moment, then turned to look at Bai Yushan.

Bai Yushan was stuffing half a fried egg into his mouth, completely oblivious to the conversation beside him.

Bi Ji glared at Bai Yushan.

She really had paid to bring home a lord to wait on. All he did was make her lord cry. Was she paying him three hundred thousand a month just to bully Na'er?