Where she stood was the open space down the front entry steps of the house. People were used to calling it the front yard, which was paved with larger square tiles, including some colored patterned ones. In the middle there was a fountain, where stood a statue of a Greek bather, who held a water bottle at an angle with the water pouring down from the bottle mouth. Du Xiaoxian was startled at the sight of the statue and then she blushed immediately. She hadn’t expected that a statue of a semi-naked woman was erected here for people to see. She was too embarrassed to look at it, so she simply lowered her head.
Tall and green trees were planted all around with some flowers and plants dotted among them. The branches and leaves brought out the best in each other.
Ah Ling said, "Uncle Xiao must have told you. Your job is to clean the yard."
"Yes, he did." Du Xiaoxian stood upright with her hands hanging down. Her eyes swept over the fallen leaves on the ground.
Ah Ling pointed to the road beside the lawn and said, “The road only needs to be swept once every morning and every afternoon. But you have to pay more attention to a plane tree that loses leaves a lot. The lady does not like fallen leaves. The young lady suggested several times that the tree be cut down, but the young master disagreed. That’s why we need someone to sweep the fallen leaves.”
“Yes, Uncle Xiao told me about it.”
Ah Ling added with a smile, "Don't always say ‘yes’. Although there are many rules, you don’t need to be so humble. You are not in the old days!"
Du Xiaoxian blushed with her fingers crossed but said nothing. She grew up alone and rarely dealt with others, so she didn’t know how to get along with others. Before she came here, her second aunty had taught her how to behave. It wouldn’t go wrong to do as she said.
When Ah Ling was about to take her to the utility room to get a broom, she saw a black car coming in through the gate. After taking a good look, she ignored Du Xiaoxian and rushed into the house.
Du Xiaoxian stood still. She didn’t know who was in the car nor if she needed to stay away. When she was lost in thought, the car stopped in front of her. Then a young man got out of the car. He was handsome, but his eyes made her feel a little uneasy. The man gave her a quick glance before he walked into the house chillily.
She quietly entered the house by the side door and got a broom from Ah Ling. Before she went to work, she stopped and asked, “Sister Ah Ling, is that man the young master?”
Ah Ling glanced contemptuously into the living room and whispered, “How is that possible? He is a distant cousin of the young master. His name is Gu Niannan. He is as heartless as a wolf. Every time he comes, he not only asks for money, but also says some acid words to make the master angry. He once even made the master ill, and was punished severely by the young master. It has been some days since he last came here. He must have run out of money, so he comes here today shamelessly. Next time you see him come here, tell Uncle Xiao and the lady immediately to make sure the master won’t have to meet him. Have you got it?”
Du Xiaoxian nodded. Suddenly she heard the man raised his voice with anger, “Second Aunty, is that all? Do you think I am a beggar? The Gu’s company should have been taken over by my branch. If my grandfather hadn’t..., how could you be so powerful today...?”
Mrs. Gu sat there, and said to him calmly, “Niannan, it was your grandfather who gave up his right of inheritance, so we can be in charge of the Gu’s company today. However, we have never treated you shabbily over the years, have we? To be frank, the money you've taken over these years is more than enough to open another company.”
“Don't fool me. The market value of the Gu’s company has doubled or even tripled. What I got is nothing compared to it.”
“That’s right. But don’t you know who made it?! Nianbin is gonna come back. How about you stay for dinner and talk to him about it?”
Gu Niannan looked very bad. With an angry glance at the antique Western clock in the hall, he grunted and put the check carefully into the inner pocket of his suit. Then he left without saying a word.
Ah Ling whispered in Du Xiaoxian’s ear, “The lady is very kind, but not a duck soup. Can’t be softhearted to such a man.”
Du Xiaoxian listened to her silently. She thought, “Even a vicious man like Gu Niannan left in disgrace when he heard the young master's name. The young master must be a tougher man. But I don’t know what he looks like. What if I fail to avoid meeting when he shows up?”
Staring at the photo frame in the hand, Gu Nianbin thought to himself with a bitter smile, “Xiaowan, it has been three years, eight months and eight days. When will you come back? ”The girl in the photo was smiling at him with bright eyes and teeth. Gu Nianbin stroked her face and sighed in a way that couldn’t be heard. Then he put the photo frame back, turned his chair, and looked out the window.It was eight o'clock in the morning. The autumn sunlight shone through the French windows and on his body gently. Gu Nianbin stretched his arms comfortably and looked down. He found someone was sweeping fallen leaves.It was a little girl. It seemed that her thin body could be blown away by a gust of wind. Yet, with her head down, she was sweeping carefully with a broom higher than herself.Gu Nianbin did not know her, so he was somewhat surprised. The girl looked very small, and her lilac uniform did not fit her well. Unable to see her
Gu Nianbin did not expect to frighten her like that. He was first shocked and then found it funny. He was a silent and reserved man, so it was natural for servants to feel awe to him. However, she was the first one who ran away in fear. Gu Nianbin rubbed his chin and thought to himself, “Am I really that scary?”When he went downstairs, Fang Yaru was eating breakfast alone. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she looked up at her son and said, “Old Xiao said you got up early. Why are you so late?”Gu Nianbin smiled, but asked, "Where are Dad and Shanshan?"“Shanshan went out early in the morning. The girl has hardly stayed home since she came back. Your dad is in the garden now,” Fang Yaru said to her son with a catering smile. "Nianbin, do you still remember what I told you yesterday?"Probably because of the sunny day, Gu Nianbin was in a good mood to tease his mother. He frowned and pretended to be puzzled. "What was it?"
At the sight of her, Gu Nianbin was stunned. Besides the name, the girl also looked like Xia Xiaowan.However, she was more gentle and quiet, and spoke to him softly. In a long light orange T shirt and a tight-fitting wine red coat, she looked decent and low-key and smiled a lot. When lifting her coffee cup, her little finger rose slightly. In the soft light of wall lamps, her well-trimmed fingernails were glistening without any nail polish on them.The girl was an accountant. Although she was very young, she already made herself a chief financial officer. Gu Nianbin talked with her about some financial affairs. If it had been someone else, she would have tried her best to show off her professional knowledge. But the girl in front of him spoke very skillfully. Her words were sincere, appropriate, and well-paced, making Gu Nianbin comfortable and at ease.Gu Nianbin couldn’t find any fault with her, even if he wanted to. The girl was perfectly i
The Gu family was among the richest ones in City G and had engaged in trade for generations. They had an ancestral three-yard house outside the city. Born into such a rich and large family, younger Gus, in large numbers, had led an extravagant and idle life. When it came to Gu Nianbin’s grandfather, the Gu family was just an empty shell. And his granduncle, who was then obsessed with an opera performer, stayed in the theater all day and disregarded business deals. Afterwards, he even voluntarily gave up his right of inheritance.His grandfather struggled to support the family business and passed on it to his father. At that time, it happened to be the peak period of domestic investment. Thanks to the good foundation, the Gu’s company grasped the opportunity and rose gradually. At one time, it even matched the Jiang’s company—the leader in City G.However, the Gu family was different from the Jiang family which had definite successor with only one heir for t
But how could a girl run faster than a car? When the car drove past her, Gu Nianbin looked back at her through the window. The little girl stood blankly at the roadside, and she was chewing her fingers! She was too old to do such a thing! What a freak!Xiaoding was quite puzzled. "It was a strange thing. Why did she run away?"Gu Nianbin didn't speak, but he caressed his forehead and smiled. Seeing the smile from the rear-view mirror, Xiaoding was startled. The young master rarely smiled. What happened today? Maybe the blind date was a success?Gu Shanshan bounced out of the house and said, "Thank God, you're finally back. Mom has been nagging all afternoon.""You deserve that. You were away from home too often these days." Gu Nianbin mounted the steps leisurely."Come on! She was nagging at you." Gu Shanshan took Gu Nianbin's arm and walked alongside him into the house. "What concerns her most is whether your blind da
After dinner, Gu Nianbin felt it was too stuffy in the house, so he went for a walk in the front yard. After walking down the steps, he saw the little girl, who happened to straighten up. The girl looked up and was shocked at the sight of Gu Nianbin. Dragging the broom, she ran away again. Gu Nianbin raised his hand and called out, "Hey!" However, the little girl ran as fast as a bunny, probably not hearing him. Gu Nianbin dropped his hand, not knowing why he wanted to stop her.It was in early autumn. Although it was past 7 pm, but instead of getting dark, the sky was reddish, like the color of the sunset's afterglow. He lit a cigarette and looked quietly at the tall plane tree. It seemed as if a young girl was standing under the tree with her head tilted. Then she smiled at him and said, "Brother Bin…"At that time, she was just a 16-year-old girl who started to yearn for love. One day, she came to tell him her little secret. "Brother Bin, I have a crush
As the night grew darker, everything became blurry shadows before his eyes. The plane tree swayed in the wind and shed its leaves. The next morning, leaves would pile up on the ground. Somehow, Gu Nianbin thought of the lean and small figure of the girl who dashed away from him. Then he couldn't help smiling. It seemed that she would be very busy tomorrow morning.Gu Shanshan came out of the house and asked, "Brother, why are you standing here blankly ? What are you thinking about?"Gu Nianbin took his last puff of the cigarette and flicked it far away. The butt flew across the sky in an arc and then landed on the patterned tiles.Getting no response from him, Gu Shanshan went on to ask, "Are you thinking about Xiaowan?"Gu Nianbin shook his head and asked, "What's the name of the new girl?""Du Xiaoxian." Gu Shanshan became a little curious. "Why do you care about her?""Nothing. She seems to fear me and
It was on the night of the Lantern Festival. All his family members were invited to the Xia's to celebrate the festival. After dinner, Gu Nianbin, Su Chen, Xia Xiaowan and Gu Shanshan sat together chatting. It seemed that Xia Xiaowan mentioned there were shows of festive lanterns and dragon and lion dances outside. They all heard about the lively scene, but never saw it before. As soon as Xia Xiaowan mentioned it, Gu Shanshan suggested that they should go out to have a look.However, their parents didn't allow them to go to such crowded places. Gu Shanshan was frustrated but she didn't give up. Among all the kids, she was the youngest but bravest one. She said that they could sneak out to have a look when their parents were playing cards. Nobody would discover it as long as they came back quickly.Gu Nianbin was then 18 years old and could be counted as an adult. However, he acquiesced their adventure as he saw the eagerness in Xia Xiaowan's eyes. They snea