"Ah. I was so stupid. This kind of life wasn"t so bad. In fact, it"s perfect. This is freaking heaven. Why the h.e.l.l did I not indulge in this in my past life? I"m such a moron."Yan Qing Shan was currently basking in the soft sunlight, greedily taking in the beauty of gardens surrounding her as if it was for the first time. The past days have been truly blissful for her, thus her lamenting above. It was also a blessing that Housekeeper Liu had already dealt with her absence from university. She no longer had to worry about it and only think of enjoying her little break.
At first, the changes she showed scared the servants of Ying Yue Garden. Yan Qing Shan especially found Housekeeper Liu Ying"s flabbergasted expression thoroughly funny. And this expression of his seems to automatically appear whenever she"s around.
Qing Shan was glad that despite her being eternally indifferent to them at the start, they had now warmed up to her. She can now converse happily with the maids, whom she found to be pure and quite simple-minded people. Qing Shan also developed particularly close ties with the gardener Uncle Shen, with whom she discusses the future of her beloved garden about; and the cook Auntie Rong. She was quite stunned when she found out that Auntie Rong was also Zi Jue"s nanny since he was a baby.
Because of this, she had developed a hobby of staying in the kitchen to help Auntie Rong out, while also gossiping about Zi Jue. At first, the old lady was skeptical of her. But when she proved to her that she truthfully wanted to get to know Zi Jue better, Auntie Rong conceded. In actuality, she just pestered the old woman until Yan Qing Shan grew on her. In the process she had also gotten herself a motherly figure in Auntie Rong, to which she had no qualms about.
Though Auntie Rong would nag at her sometimes, Qing Shan found it endearing. For someone like her who was an invisible ent.i.ty in that cold place called her family home, the old lady"s concern was a lethal shot of warmth. Not to mention, Auntie Rong makes wickedly delicious dumplings. The very dumplings which she had thrown her dignity for.
Qing Shan still s.h.i.+vers whenever she remembered acting like a spoiled brat just to have Auntie Rong make her those dumplings. Though the old lady indulged her, she still could not believe she was capable of such feat. Her aloof and indiferrent reputation crumbled for good.
"But those dumplings are totally worth it, ah."
Yan Qing Shan smiled sweetly to herself as she looked forward to her days in Ying Yue Garden, to her days with these people she had already acknowledge as family. It didn"t matter that they were servants. It didn"t matter if at first, they took care of her because Zi Jue asked them to. These days, she could feel their sincerity. Qing Shan realized that be it now or in her past life, they really did treat her with honest and utmost care. It was another of those that she had overlooked in the past.
"Truly like their master. Sigh. This time I won"t ignore them anymore and properly reciprocate. They are my people now."
Qing Shan silently vowed as she breathed in the fragrance of the flowers.
"Miss Yan, I brought you some rose tea and sakura cakes."
She heard the soft voice of the maid, Meili, who was setting down the food she brought at the gla.s.s table of the gazebo. Qing Shan nodded at her and smiled.
Meili was the first person she had interacted with after her rebirth. Thus, she had kept a valuable impression of her. The girl was lively and honest. Also, she seems to have acquired an attachment to her and had become fiercely loyal.
"Xiao Lili, haven"t I told not to call me Miss Yan anymore. If saying Qing Shan is uncomfortable, then let"s compromise with Miss Shan."
Qing Shan said warmly.
"En. Understood, Miss Shan. I figured you"d be in the gardens reading at this time. So I thought why not bring you something to eat and drink. You tend to forget these things when you read ah."
She chuckled at this rant of the little maid. Well, she did have a point there.
"Thank you so much for your concern. Xiao Lili is the sweetest."
Meili blushed at her words but nevertheless, her smile grew wider.
"Oh right. Your master, when is he coming home? I thought he"ll only be away at Country M for five days? It has already been a week. Why isn"t he here yet?"
Qing Shan inquired. She could ask this to Liu Ying, however she ought to give that poor housekeeper a break lest his flabbergasted look really become permanent.
"About this, I don"t know for sure miss. It"s housekeeper Liu Ying who has contact with the master."
Qing Shan nodded at this. It was well within her expectations.
"I see. Nevermind then. I just have to wait. Hopefully, he didn"t meet any mishap."
She said absent-mindedly. Qing Shan had not seen Zi Jue yet. She was curious to see him in this life.
"Don"t worry, miss. Master will surely go home any day now. Especially if he knew that you are already missing him so. I"m sure he"ll fly right back."
Qing Shan almost choked on her tea. Her? Missing Zi Jue? Where did that come from?
"Miss him? How do you say so?"
The little maid looked at her, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Haven"t you noticed yourself miss? You have been asking about master repeatedly for the past days. If that does not mean you miss him, then I don"t know what else it means."
Qing Shan wanted to refute Meili but her innocent look as she said those words was enough to stop her. She really couldn"t shatter this young lady"s views.