Several days later, the bandage on Du Xiaoxian"s head was replaced by a small band-aid. In the end, only a shallow crescent-shaped scar was left on her forehead, which could not be found out when covered by hair.
One night, Gu Nianbin called Du Xiaoxian to his room and told her that she would go to school tomorrow.
Having forgotten this matter, she was shocked by this sudden news, "Young Master, are you really sending me to school?"
"Yes." Noticing her trembling thin body, Gu Nianbin waved at her and said, "Come and sit."
Du Xiaoxian slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the sofa. Light from a lamp cast right on her, making the shadow of her small body looked just like a child.
"You"re still young. Learning more is good for your future," He asked, "Are you willing to go to school?"
"I..." This was a big deal for her. Should she agree? Her mother hoped she could learn more and she would be happy in heaven if Du Xiaoxian agreed. But how could she accept the offer just because she got slightly hurt? She didn"t do anything to deserve this offer.
However, she was so simple that anyone could easily read her mind. Gu Nianbin had guessed what she was thinking about. But he asked anyway, "Why?"
"Because my mother said... Don"t receive a reward without making due contributions." She peeked at him and murmured.
Gu Nianbin couldn"t resist laughing because he had even guessed her answer exactly. She was only six when her mother died. It was really hard for a child to remember the teachings of her mother. "Hand me a bottle of water," He leaned on the sofa and ordered.
Du Xiaoxian was sitting in low spirits. Upon hearing the order, she immediately jumped up, grabbed a bottle of water from the cabinet and opened it for him.
Gu Nianbin took it and said, "Take another." She turned around and heard the rest of the sentence, "for yourself."
Du Xiaoxian froze for a moment. The bottle that the Young Master gave her last time was so precious for her that she only drank half of it and hid the bottle under her bed. But Lanzhi threw it away when cleaning up the room, which upset her for a long time. Now that she was offered another bottle, she wouldn"t waste it again.
"What are you waiting for? Go ahead." Gu Nianbin urged her.
She bit her lips, turned around and looked at him, "Young Master, I can"t drink this."
Gu Nianbin frowned slightly and teased her, "Because it"s poisonous?"
"No, no," She waved her hands eagerly, "How could the Young Master"s water be poisonous?"
"Because it"s not clean?"
She shook her head.
"Does it taste bad?"
"It"s delicious!" She frowned, looked at the bottle in his hand and said suddenly, "Young Master, please drink it first. I will drink what is left in the bottle. It won"t be wasted this way."
Gu Nianbin was stunned. He never thought she would say that. Drinking what was left by him...Only intimate people would share a bottle of water. But she definitely didn"t mean it this way. Looking at her crystal-clear eyes, he laughed bitterly and got an inexplicable feeling. He opened the bottle, took a sip and handed it to her, "I drank it. Here you are."
Du Xiaoxian hesitated, "Young Master, you don"t need it anymore?"
"No, now it"s yours." Seeing that she was still a little afraid, he said, "Do you want me to hold it forever?"
She took it over immediately and drank a mouthful of the mineral water that was extremely precious to her at the gaze of Gu Nianbin.
"Du Xiaoxian," He suddenly called her full name.
"Yes, Young Master." She lowered her head and bowed immediately.
Gu Nianbin found the slavishness in her. She was a maid, but she was too obedient and loyal as if she was a slave sold to his family. That was why she thought it was natural to drink his leftover water.
He stood up and pulled her over to sit down, but she kept moving her body uneasily and sat on the edge.
Seeing Du Xiaoxian looked flurried, Gu Nianbin had wanted to talk about democracy, human rights and equality with her. But he finally gave up on a second thought. She probably wouldn"t understand that right now.
"Xiaoxian," he thought for a moment and said, "You"ve been here for more than half a month, and everyone thought you did very well. You worked hard and earnestly, which was exactly what we needed. So we have discussed and decided to offer you another job. Can you accept it?"
Du Xiaoxian"s eyes lit up again. She straightened her chest and said, "I can. I"m strong and capable of handling many tasks."
"This job needs you to be meticulous rather than strong. I need a special a.s.sistant to help me with some doc.u.ments. Can you do it?"
"Emm...Sure." Du Xiaoxian was not very certain. She never hesitated for a second when the Young Master asked her to do anything. But what was a special a.s.sistant? She didn"t even have a clue.
She barely had the opportunity to pose her questions when Gu Nianbin casually picked up the bottle of water she had just drank and poured the water into his mouth.
"Young Master..." She shouted and looked at him surprisingly.
"What?" Gu Nianbin was puzzled.
Perhaps he had forgotten that this bottle was given to her. Should she take it or not?
"You want some water?" Seeing that she stared at the bottle in his hand, Gu Nianbin handed it over to her.
Du Xiaoxian blushed. She took the water but didn"t drink it. She put it aside and asked, "Young Master, what does a special a.s.sistant do? I... I don"t know."
"To help me organize doc.u.ments. It"s not difficult. I think you"re completely capable of it."
Du Xiaoxian nodded. She was afraid that the master would send her away as she knew nothing but using her great strength. However, she was praised for her hardworking and was a.s.signed to shoulder more duties. For her, nothing was better than working, especially working for the Young Master, which she had been dreamed of.
She was so happy that her eyes shone as if there was starlight inside. Gu Nianbin was in a trance for a moment before he came back to himself, "You need to take a little training before starting to work. That"s why I decided to send you to school. If you can"t read or understand the meaning, you will sort doc.u.ments into wrong categories, which will cause trouble for me. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Du Xiaoxian hesitated again. She could read, but the Young Master"s requirement was obviously higher. Was she smart enough to handle the job?
Gu Nianbin noticed her hesitation and said, "Of course, many people can do this job, but I"m looking for someone who are trustworthy. Xiaoxian, can I trust you?"
"Of course." She had no excuse for any hesitation since the Young Master trusted her so much. No matter how hard it would be, she would do her best and live up to his trust.
"Alright, take that paper bag. It"s the school uniform. Put them on tomorrow morning and I"ll send you to school." He pointed to a table.
Du Xiaoxian opened the paper bag and found two new uniforms, wine-red blouse and red-black plaid skirts. She looked at the skirt and frowned. She didn"t wear skirts much, not to mention the above-knee ones. She only had a full-length flaxen pleated skirt, which used to be her mother"s skirt and was later modified. Her mother made her this gift regardless of her illness when she was six. She couldn"t wear it anymore but had kept it as a memento of her mother.
"Any other problem?" Gu Nianbin asked.
"This skirt," She was embarra.s.sed, "is too short."
"Put it on in the bathroom to see if it"s really short."
She changed the clothes and stayed in the bathroom for a long time. Looking at her bare legs, she dared not go out. Gu Nianbin lost his patience and knocked on the door, "Xiaoxian, is everything OK?"
She kept pulling the skirt down and answered in a very low voice, "Yes..."
Gu Nianbin opened the door and saw her standing there blushing, with her hands pulling down the skirt, as if she wanted to hide into a hole under the ground.
Her legs were white like porcelain with perfect smooth skin. Gu Nianbin suddenly felt that the skirt was indeed a little short.
"You don"t have to wear it if you don"t want to," Gu Nianbin said, "It"s just clothes. n.o.body cares."
Still blushing, Du Xiaoxian lowered her eyes and said, "The clothes are very beautiful. It"s me…"
Gu Nianbin took her hands off the skirt, pulled her around in a circle and said in a low voice, "You are also very beautiful."
She lowered her head even more. Her face was burning and her heart pounding. The Young Master said again she was beautiful. Did he really have any ill intentions?
Du Xiaoxian kept looking between her feet and Gu Nianbin"s. His feet were very big in the grey soft-soled slippers. He stood there without saying a word.
It was awkward at that moment. Gu Nianbin coughed and said, "Alright, go back and take a rest. I"ll send you to school tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Young Master." Du Xiaoxian held her clothes and ran out of the room in panic.
Gu Nianbin smiled silently, leaning against the door of the bathroom. He lit a cigarette and sat down on the sofa again. He noticed that water bottle. He didn"t realize that Du Xiaoxian had drunk it before he was reminded by her surprised look.
He as a little obsessed with cleanliness. But he didn"t feel disgusted when realizing that they had shared the same bottle of water. His mind was preoccupied with a strange feeling. He picked up the bottle and took another sip. The feeling flashed back, but too fast to catch. He gazed at the water bottle for a long time. Suddenly, he came back to himself. The cigarette between his fingers was still burning. The smoke curled up, spreading in the air, twisting and changing…
Gu Nianbin suddenly lost his peace of mind…