In the afternoon, the golden sunlight grew increasingly dazzling, sun-drying the thawing snow until only a small amount remained piled on the high ground. Ever since all the kitchen staff were replaced, Chu Yanyi’s dining situation had been resolved, keeping his mood quite pleasant for several days straight.
He sat behind his desk, flipping an electronic hourglass back and forth in one hand, several itemized sheets sent by fashion brands spread before him, listening patiently as Housekeeper Mo reported on various affairs.
Personnel turnover in the manor had been extraordinarily swift during this period, with nearly half of the domestic servants replaced; even among those Chu Yanyi happened to see, there were plenty of unfamiliar faces.
Unhurriedly, Chu Yanyi discussed the future layout modifications of the manor with Housekeeper Mo, along with the positions to be added or eliminated, before finally scanning the profiles of the resigned servants with a beaming smile.
Every single one of these individuals carried injuries upon resignation, with the most severe case suffering a fractured spine from falling off a building due to “their own fault.”
Coincidentally enough, Chu Yanyi remembered every single one of those faces—they were all the people he had seen by the lakeside that day, the ones who had interrogated Zhou Yi.
“Are you saying there’s an issue with their resignations? Or rather… someone in the manor is out to harm them?”
This act of asking despite knowing the answer caught Housekeeper Mo completely off guard. Meanwhile, Zhou Yi, who had been sitting quietly on the carpet reading a book, raised his head, placed both hands onto Chu Yanyi’s knees, and made a gesture indicating he wanted to get some water.
Chu Yanyi smiled, bending down to pat his arm: “Go on, and brew me another cup of coffee.”
Zhou Yi rose to his feet, placing the book face down onto the plush carpet—a hand-drawn collection of fairy tales suited for preschoolers. The sun outside the floor-to-ceiling window painted half the sky red. Dropping his head, he walked past Housekeeper Mo’s side, closing the door with precise care, making no sound whatsoever.
“If that’s truly the case, I’m afraid we’ll have to call the police, Housekeeper Mo, and let them investigate what on earth is going on,” Chu Yanyi leaned against the back of his chair, sinking his entire body into the spacious seat in a languid posture. “Could it be my problem? So many incidents occurred the moment I returned home, whereas everything was peaceful and smooth while Housekeeper Mo was around.”
“…Please don’t say that. It’s normal for these people to come and go; it must be that I’m overthinking it,” Housekeeper Mo fell silent for a moment, forcing a strained smile.
Chu Yanyi leisurely took the coffee from Zhou Yi’s hand, setting the hourglass onto the desk: “That’s good then. It wouldn’t do if something happened at home while I remained entirely in the dark.”
Occupied with numerous affairs, Housekeeper Mo seemed to have no intention of lingering, taking his leave hurriedly under the pretext of other matters to handle.
Zhou Yi remained motionless throughout, his eyes fixed entirely on Chu Yanyi’s fingers holding the coffee cup. Hands tucked behind his back, he used his intact left hand to pull gently at the edge of his right glove bit by bit, only to slowly release it again.
Taking a sip of coffee, Chu Yanyi tossed the files sent over by Housekeeper Mo directly into the trash bin, tilting his head to observe Zhou Yi’s profile for a moment.
Zhou Yi kept his eyes lowered, his breathing slightly rapid, his bandage-wrapped Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
A complete inability to hide anything.
Chu Yanyi suddenly recalled the scene when he had first met this man many years ago.
Back then, the man was imperious and arrogantly grand, dressed in lavish clothes as he walked into the venue surrounded by a crowd of people. Chu Yanyi was far away and couldn’t see his face clearly, yet the sheer grandeur compelled him to ask a fellow tourist nearby: “Who is that? Never seen him before.”
The person let out a contemptuous snort without speaking, so Chu Yanyi handed her a cigarette and offered a few flattering words. Puffing on the cigarette, she casually remarked: “You’re not from Desert Planet θ, so it’s normal you don’t know. The person beside Ying Yu—the ‘white moonlight,’ you know? Kept by his side the whole time.”
“Ying Yu… the low-profile one from the Second District? Nobody has even seen what he looks like.”
“You’re actually clear on that?”
“If he’s so low-profile… why is his partner out making public appearances?”
“Spoiled, that’s why. Besides, even if he comes out in public, nobody knows who he actually is.”
“Why not look into it?” Chu Yanyi asked out of curiosity.
The person scoffed: “Who dares to? Do you?”
Chu Yanyi stayed silent, but the person seemed to have gained an appetite to talk, her gaze resting maliciously on Chu Yanyi’s groin with a frivolous tone: “So no matter how low-profile someone is, they still need to satisfy those needs. But Alphas like us shouldn’t even dream about it.”
That night, it was said that Ying Yu’s lover was in a great mood, spending money like water, so much so that even ordinary guests like Chu Yanyi had their bills waived.
Truly an extravagantly generous hand.
Chu Yanyi thought absently, finishing the coffee sip by sip. Setting down the cup, he uttered calmly: “Too much sugar was put in.”
Zhou Yi remained standing on the spot with zero reaction. Only after Chu Yanyi repeated himself did he seem to snap back to reality, hurriedly picking up the empty cup to brew another one for Chu Yanyi. He hadn’t taken two steps before being called back by Chu Yanyi.
“What are you dazing off for?” Chu Yanyi spun the hourglass with his finger. “Housekeeper Mo isn’t here right now; if you have something to say, say it directly.”
Zhou Yi bit his lip, his gaze subconsciously falling onto the files inside the trash bin. He swiftly shifted his gaze away, bowing his head, his fingers clutching his hem forcefully.
Chu Yanyi didn’t speak either, casually playing with the hourglass retrieved from Ying Yu’s office with great interest.
It was not until he flipped the hourglass back to its starting position for the third time that his coat hem was pulled lightly by someone.
Without lowering his head, Chu Yanyi tapped Zhou Yi’s knee with his cane: “What? Did something happen?”
The hem was abruptly pulled taut, trembling continuously along with Zhou Yi’s movements. Chu Yanyi tilted his head slightly, his gaze bright and gentle, a smile on his lips: “It’s fine. Speak when you’ve thought it through; if you don’t want to speak, you don’t have to.”
Zhou Yi’s eye sockets turned red. Biting his lip in silence, he used sign language to admit his mistake to Chu Yanyi.
“What did you do wrong?”
Zhou Yi pointed at the stack of files inside the trash bin, despair in his eyes.
Chu Yanyi pressed his index finger against Zhou Yi’s trembling lips, his ring resting right against Zhou Yi’s chin: “You did do something wrong, but not because of this. I told you before, you can handle those people as you wish; your personal grievances have nothing to do with me either. Do you know where you went wrong?”
“During work hours, you aren’t focused enough.”
Before the words fully landed, Zhou Yi snapped his head up—first in shock and confusion, followed by a peculiar emotion surging into his heart.
He had already envisioned his outcome: being despised by Mr. Chu, driven away, or even executed. After all, as a slave causing harm to free citizens, it would impact the master’s reputation. He didn’t even know why he had done it himself, yet a voice constantly whispering by his ear was like a venomous snake coiled around an apple, enticing him relentlessly.
That voice said: “Those people deserved it. You only need to obey Mr. Chu’s words. They aren’t Mr. Chu, and did Mr. Chu ever forbid you from doing it?”
“Giving you a chance to make amends,” Chu Yanyi let out a soft laugh, tapping Zhou Yi’s knee once more with his cane: “Right now, I need a new cup of coffee.”
Zhou Yi sniffled blankly, immediately using the table for support as he stood up to head outside.
Seeing his panicked flurry, Chu Yanyi let out a sigh, stopping Zhou Yi once again.
“You didn’t take the cup.”
Only Chu Yanyi remained in the study. Resting his chin on his hand, he opened an untouched document folder. Pressed underneath sheet after sheet were the fruits of Zhou Yi’s writing practice over this period. Initially, he was merely made to copy standard fonts, after which Chu Yanyi found several copybooks for him to imitate the handwriting of “renowned masters.”
It couldn’t be said to be identical, but after this period of time, it was sufficient to pass off as real.
What surprised Chu Yanyi was the increase in Zhou Yi’s writing speed; soon, he was able to complete the tasks assigned by Chu Yanyi ahead of time. Chu Yanyi then instructed him to pick a few books he liked after finishing his writing, purely to pass the time.
He activated the virtual screen, where several different handwriting styles were arranged, among which were mixed a few of Ying Yu’s. He wondered if Zhou Yi still remembered or could recognize them.
With that thought in mind, he looked past the virtual screen, offering a bright smile to Zhou Yi, who had just stepped through the door.
The cup in Zhou Yi’s hand trembled slightly.
“By the way, do you like watching racing?” Chu Yanyi rose to his feet leaning on his cane. As the weather turned warmer, the pain from the old injury on his leg had diminished slightly, though he still needed his cane to walk properly after all.
Unsure of his meaning, Zhou Yi shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.
Chu Yanyi sat on the sofa on the other side, turning on the projection. He hadn’t kept track of that racing team’s schedule, but a notification happened to pop up announcing a match, so he wanted to check out the live stream of these races Ying Yu had once been obsessed with.
Toying with the hourglass in his hand, he waved at Zhou Yi.
Holding the coffee, Zhou Yi sat gently on the carpet at Chu Yanyi’s feet. His entire body was stiff beyond belief; relying almost entirely on sheer willpower, he locked his gaze onto the screen.
“Keep me company for a bit.” Chu Yanyi rested his cane against Zhou Yi’s back, leaning down to take the coffee.
The massive roar of engines erupted, indicator lights turning on sequentially. The flags waving in the spectator stands were bright and glamorous, and crew members roared loudly while pressing their earpieces.
The environment simulated by the virtual screen made one feel as if they were right there in person. Zhou Yi’s breathing gradually turned rapid. Clenching his fists tightly, he stared intently at the several cars on the racetrack.
Chu Yanyi was completely clueless about the rules, only understanding rankings and speed. He tilted his head, looking at Zhou Yi’s fully focused profile: “Who do you think will win? There’s a reward if you guess correctly.”
Zhou Yi pondered with a furrowed brow for a moment, raising his left hand to point at one of the cars belonging to the team Chu Yanyi had acquired.
“Don’t talk nonsense just to flatter me,” Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. That car’s rank wasn’t near the front, looking even inferior to another car from the same team, and the laps were already nearly halfway through.
Yet Zhou Yi firmly indicated it would definitely be this one.
So he observed with great interest as well. The race turned out to be quite dramatic: the top two cars suffered a crash, and in the end, it really was this car that continuously overtook several vehicles through a series of bends, crossing the finish line first.
Zhou Yi straightened his back, abruptly grabbing his trousers, grinning broadly at Chu Yanyi.
Chu Yanyi smiled as well.
“Pretty impressive. I’ll have to think about what reward to give you. Do you like cars quite a bit?” Chu Yanyi held Zhou Yi’s right hand, feeling the twisted, raised scar tissue through the glove bit by bit: “Want to go see it live in person?”
Zhou Yi looked at him, shaking his head in a daze. Mr. Chu didn’t seem particularly interested in these things. He dropped his eyes, exposing half the bandage on his nape, adopting an obedient posture.
Chu Yanyi adjusted his glove properly for him, woke up the voice assistant to swap the content on the virtual screen, where several tall models similar in stature to Zhou Yi were displaying various outfits.
“I was just picking out clothes for you. I think these sets are quite nice, especially the one in the middle.” Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow at Zhou Yi: “Which one do you prefer?”
Zhou Yi continued to look at him blankly, uttering a foolish, raspy “ah” from his throat.
Whatever Mr. Chu says is fine.
“Send all these sets over,” Chu Yanyi said softly to the screen. The merchant on the other end didn’t dare say much, nodding immediately in agreement.
Chu Yanyi closed the screen with a sigh: “When I take you out in a few days, try to be a bit smarter—at the very least, look smarter than Chen Ke.”
Looking at Zhou Yi’s dazed expression, a trace of a smile slipped across the corners of his lips: “Forget it, don’t overthink it. I will teach you.”