Gu Anyun slept straight through until noon the next day, showing no signs of getting up.
Jin Chenyue had gone to the company early in the morning. After finishing a high-level meeting, he called Gu Anyun, but as expected, she didn’t answer.
Nan Qiu received a call from Jin Chenyue, and half a minute later, she put away her phone and turned to go upstairs.
Outside the master bedroom door, Nan Qiu knocked several times, but there was no response from inside.
“Young Madam, I’m coming in.”
Nan Qiu pushed the door open and entered the master bedroom.
The room was dimly lit.
Nan Qiu walked to the bedside, and the electric curtains slowly opened at her voice command.
Sunlight from outside streamed in through the glass.
Sensing the light, Gu Anyun’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she pulled the blanket over her entire head.
From beneath the blanket came the muffled, soft complaint of a woman: “Nan Qiu, close the curtains quickly. I’m still sleepy.”
“Young Madam, there’s a very important charity gala tonight. The young master needs you to accompany him.” Nan Qiu reached out to pull the blanket away, her tone a mix of helpless coaxing and respect.
Nan Qiu was over forty, a high-quality single woman, and a senior housekeeper personally vetted and hired by Jin Chenyue under a lifelong employment system, ensuring she had no worries about retirement.
She was adept at reading people and knew exactly how to handle situations. For the three years of their marriage, Gu Anyun’s daily life had been entirely managed by her.
It could be said that in this “Yuexi Mansion,” Gu Anyun relied on Nan Qiu more than she did on Jin Chenyue.
Even now, with her morning temper flaring, Gu Anyun lazily squirmed under the blanket, protesting pitifully like a small animal.
“Mmm… Nan Qiu, I don’t want to go. I feel terrible all over.”
Nan Qiu leaned down, her warm palm slipping under the blanket to check Gu Anyun’s forehead temperature.
“Good, no fever.”
Nan Qiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then straightened up, her hands neatly folded in front of her, and gently reminded, “Young Madam, the Third Master and Third Madam will also be attending this gala.”
Gu Anyun: “…”
Mom and Dad are coming to Beicheng?!
Her morning temper instantly vanished, and the gears in her mind began turning on their own!
Gu Anyun took a deep breath and resignedly threw off the blanket.
The light was too bright, and she squinted uncomfortably.
Nan Qiu took a step forward, thoughtfully shielding her face from the sunlight.
“Young Madam, is there anything you’d like for breakfast?”
“The usual is fine.” Gu Anyun adjusted to the light, propping herself up on the bed with both hands.
The silk blanket slipped from her body, revealing a white lace nightgown with thin straps that couldn’t hide the marks on her neck and collarbone.
Gu Anyun rubbed her drowsy, beautiful eyes with her slender, jade-like fingers.
Nan Qiu took the outer robe from the hanger and draped it over her.
As for the marks on Gu Anyun’s body, Nan Qiu was used to them and said without changing her expression, “The gown for the gala has been personally delivered by Teacher Wen. She’s waiting downstairs.”
Gu Anyun got out of bed and turned toward the bathroom, her expression indifferent. “Just leave the gown.”
This meant she didn’t want to see that Teacher Wen.
Although she didn’t know exactly how Teacher Wen had offended the young madam, Nan Qiu nodded understandingly. “I understand.”
The master bedroom spanned over a hundred square meters, and there was a short distance from the bed to the bathroom.
Nan Qiu followed Gu Anyun at a leisurely pace, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. “The weather is nice today. The sunroom in the backyard has just been tended to by the gardener, and the ancient wintersweet brought back from Australia last year is in bloom. Would you like to have your meal there, Young Madam?”
Gu Anyun stepped into the bathroom without looking back, and Nan Qiu only heard her give a faint response.Her voice was naturally soft and sweet, yet it carried not a hint of emotion.
It was so cool and detached it bordered on numbness.
$
A refined life of luxury not only requires financial support but also demands time and effort.
Five minutes were spent on washing up, and ten minutes on skincare and makeup.
Nan Qiu selected three sets of high-end custom-made dresses for daily wear from the walk-in closet, each with a distinct style, and then retrieved three sets of jewelry from the glass safe.
The more luxurious and expensive something is, the harder it is to match.
But Gu Anyun was a young lady raised with exquisite care and wealth by the Gu family since childhood, so her sense of aesthetics was naturally impeccable.
Her cool gaze swept over the items indifferently, and as her eyelashes fluttered lightly, her slender, jade-like fingers gestured casually, one by one, as Nan Qiu took note.
Nan Qiu put on white gloves and personally attended to her dressing, a process that took a full five minutes.
After all these steps, by the time Gu Anyun was fully dressed and groomed, half an hour had already passed.
This timing was just enough for the chef to prepare the breakfast Nan Qiu had arranged.
$
$
The elevator descended from the fifth floor and arrived at the first floor.
The double doors opened, and Nan Qiu followed Gu Anyun out of the elevator.
They passed through a fifty-meter-long corridor, with the reception hall on the left and the main hall on the right.
The main hall connected to the dining room, with the two areas separated. Both the main hall and the dining room were part of the owner’s private living space.
Beyond the dining room was a hundred-meter-long sunlit corridor, at the end of which was the sunroom Gu Anyun frequented most often.
In the reception hall, Teacher Wen and her personal assistant were still there. Their conversation was neither too loud nor too soft, yet it was hard to ignore.
“Teacher Wen, maybe we should just go back. It seems the young mistress has no intention of meeting us at all.”
“Young Master Jin personally instructed me to ensure the young mistress tries on the gown properly before I leave. He trusts me so much, and I cannot let him down.”
“But… Steward Nan has been upstairs for so long. I think the young mistress simply doesn’t take you seriously.”
“Xiao Lai, you’re joking. I am the chief designer Young Master Jin has signed with a long-term, high-value contract. Whether the young mistress takes me seriously or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that Young Master Jin values and trusts me.”
“Ah, right, right! Teacher Wen, you’re so outstanding. It’s only natural that Young Master Jin appreciates and trusts you!”
Upon hearing this, Gu Anyun paused in her steps toward the sunroom.
Nan Qiu held her breath and stopped as well.
Although every word of Wen Xinzhi and her assistant’s conversation was true, it inexplicably gave off a “tea-scented” vibe.
Nan Qiu cautiously observed Gu Anyun’s expression…