“Hello, I’m Xu Qiushi, here to start work.”
In Xu Qiushi’s world, Xun Wenyao and the pre-military training Xu Qiuze were already considered very fair-skinned. It wasn’t until this moment that he understood what it meant to “glow with whiteness.”
Jiang Yichi’s pale skin held a luster like cold jade under the natural light. His brow bone was sharp, his eyes long and narrow, and his iris color was a shallow brown; his upward glance exuded a sense of coldness and detachment.
His build was much leaner than Xu Qiushi’s, but very well-proportioned—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long limbs. Wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, he looked exceptionally eye-catching.
While Xu Qiushi was dazed, Jiang Yichi was also quickly sizing him up. His skin is a bit dark, but his looks aren’t bad. However, isn’t he a bit too sturdy? Especially those muscles on his arms—bulging so much they fill out the short sleeves. Looks like he could punch someone ten miles away. Is he here to be a housekeeper or a bodyguard? He wouldn’t have violent tendencies, would he?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yichi’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, feeling a bit of regret for accepting Gu Chengfei’s suggestion.
“Hello, I’m Xu Qiushi, here to start work,” Xu Qiushi spoke first.
The deep male voice was slightly different from the tone transmitted through the phone speakers, but it miraculously put Jiang Yichi much more at ease. He stepped slightly to the side to make way: “I know. Come in.”
Xu Qiushi didn’t rush inside. He set down the backpack from his shoulders and pulled out a pair of new slippers, preparing to change at the door.
“What is that?” Jiang Yichi watched as Xu Qiushi unwrapped a bundled-up red plastic bag, revealing half a length of earthy-yellow plastic sole. He couldn’t help but gasp, his nose seemingly detecting a faint, pungent odor emitted by the cheap material.
“New, they’re clean.” Xu Qiushi held the slippers forward a bit, wanting Jiang Yichi to inspect them. These were a “special offer” model he had specifically picked out at the supermarket for 13.9 yuan a pair.
Jiang Yichi instinctively took a step back as if avoiding a flood or a savage beast. The disgust on his face could no longer be hidden as he pointed to the shoe cabinet in the entryway: “There are slippers inside. Pick a pair to wear. Don’t bring such ugly things here in the future.”
Hearing this, Xu Qiushi looked down at the slippers in his hand, not understanding how slippers could be divided into beautiful or ugly. But since it was a requirement from the employer, he simply followed suit.
He opened the cabinet door and took out a pair of black slippers with the most basic style. Just as he was about to put them on, he heard Jiang Yichi ask: “You don’t have an athlete’s foot, do you?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Yichi suddenly realized his question might have been too direct. What if the other party got angry and gave him two punches?
Fortunately, Xu Qiushi didn’t mind. He simply shook his head calmly: “No.”
Seeing this, the slight concern in Jiang Yichi’s heart immediately vanished. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down from his height at the man crouching on the floor changing shoes: “Then find a spot in the shoe cabinet to put your shoes. From now on, this pair is for you to wear exclusively. Don’t mix them with mine, understand?”
Xu Qiushi nodded, organized the shoe cabinet, and pointed to the small space he had cleared: “Is it okay if I put my shoes here?”
“Mm.” Jiang Yichi could tell now this man had a very good temper.
…
The two lingered in the entryway for about ten minutes before entering the living room.
Originally, Gu Chengfei wanted to accompany Xu Qiushi, but he and Xu Qiuze had an elective class to attend. The attendance points for that course accounted for as much as 70%, so he didn’t dare skip. Instead, he made an appointment with Jiang Yichi to come over for lunch.
Jiang Yichi gave Xu Qiushi a few brief instructions, letting him start by cleaning.
Xu Qiushi looked at the interior decoration; it was the kind of place he wouldn’t be able to afford to live in for his entire life. There were also many household appliances he didn’t recognize.
Seeing that Xu Qiushi wasn’t moving, Jiang Yichi followed his gaze to the robot vacuum charging in the corner of the living room. He said: “You can use the appliances in the house freely. If there’s something you don’t know how to use, look it up online yourself. Give me your phone; I’ll help you connect to the Wi-Fi.”
“My phone can’t connect.” Back at the bar, Xun Wenyao had educated Xu Qiushi on the convenience of wireless networks. Unfortunately, his ancient feature phone didn’t have the function to connect to Wi-Fi; being able to persist in sending/receiving texts and making/answering calls was its final strength.
“How can it not connect? Let me see.” Jiang Yichi reached out his hand toward him.
It was a pair of smooth, beautiful hands. The fingers were slender and straight, the nails trimmed clean and round. The joints were distinct but not overly prominent, and the skin was delicate without a single trace of labor. One look and you knew he was destined for a life of comfort.
“My phone is quite old.” Xu Qiushi took out the phone and handed it to Jiang Yichi. Two completely different hands briefly met in the air, forming a sharp contrast.
Jiang Yichi weighed the black blocky object in his hand and blurted out: “Which archaeological site was this antique unearthed from? Can it really be used?”
“…” Xu Qiushi wasn’t surprised by Jiang Yichi’s reaction. Since arriving in Luohai City, everyone who saw his phone would say something like that.
Nowadays, phones were being upgraded faster and faster; their shapes and functions were vastly different from the original feature phones. This “new model” from seven or eight years ago was bought by his father when he was alive, then given to Xu Qiuze. After being phased out by Xu Qiuze, Xu Qiushi kept it for his own use.
Facing someone introduced by Gu Chengfei who was also his classmate’s brother Jiang Yichi didn’t want to appear too mean. He pursed his lips, returned the phone to Xu Qiushi, got up, walked forward, and pressed the switch on the robot vacuum to demonstrate its use.
The robot vacuum cleaned the house twice a day at set times. The floors were very clean, and there weren’t many signs of living in the finely decorated house. Most things were new, even the rags. The material was soft and skin-friendly; Xu Qiushi touched them, thinking that by comparison, his face towel looked more like a rag.
Xu Qiushi used a damp rag to wipe the furniture and ornaments, then used a dry cloth to wipe them again to avoid leaving water stains on the surfaces.
The floor was laid with tiles. Paired with the PVA sponge mop he was using for the first time, mopping seemed to lose all resistance. Forget the cement floors back home that could only be cleaned with a brush; it was much easier and more effortless than the non-slip bar floor tiles, which were already easy to maintain.
Swinging his arms, Xu Qiushi soon made the floor shiny and reflective.
Sitting on the sofa watching TV, Jiang Yichi occasionally turned his gaze toward the hardworking Xu Qiushi.
The man was quick and nimble, working without stopping for a moment, not even taking a break to drink water. Most importantly, he spoke very little unlike the housekeepers who had come to apply before, who didn’t do much work but always thought about chatting, their words revolving around the idea that the workload was too high and they wanted a raise.
While Jiang Yichi was spacing out, Xu Qiushi had already washed and hung up the rags and mop. He came over and called out: “Boss.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Yichi turned his head.
“Is there any laundry that needs washing?” Xu Qiushi asked.
“Oh, it’s in the hamper.” Jiang Yichi raised his hand and pointed toward the balcony.
On the balcony, washing machines and dryers for various purposes were arranged across an entire wall. The clothes Jiang Yichi wore needed to be sorted and washed separately; underwear and socks were disposable and thrown away after one use because he couldn’t accept his underwear being touched by outsiders.
Xu Qiushi looked at the hamper. It contained one top and one pair of long pants. Looking at the latest model of the drum washing machine that hadn’t been used, he simply took the two items out and scrubbed them by hand.
In the middle of this, the ingredients ordered by Gu Chengfei were delivered to the door, followed by a phone call from him.
Jiang Yichi pressed the answer button: “Hello.”
Gu Chengfei’s boisterous voice came through: “Hello, A-Chi, let Brother Xu take the phone.”
“Can’t you just call him directly if you’re looking for him?” Jiang Yichi really wanted to pull the person from the other end of the phone and give him two slaps.
“Aren’t I worried he’s busy working? Then you’ll blame him for taking calls during work hours.” Gu Chengfei was quite thoughtful.
“Heh.” Jiang Yichi gave a cold laugh and shouted to the man carrying ingredients into the kitchen: “Xu Qiushi, come take a call.”
Xu Qiushi put the items down and returned to the living room. The hand holding the phone before him was like white jade; he instinctively wiped his rough hands on his clothes before carefully taking the thin, fashionable phone.
“Brother Xu, the stuff arrived, right? I want to eat that stir-fried pig liver, sauce tofu, and stir-fried water spinach stems you made before.” Gu Chengfei ordered dishes without any politeness.
After hearing this, Xu Qiushi turned to confirm with Jiang Yichi: “Boss, Xiao Fei says he wants to eat stir-fried pig liver, scallion-braised tofu, and stir-fried water spinach stems. Can I make these dishes?”
Seeing that Xu Qiushi didn’t overstep his bounds, Jiang Yichi’s expression softened slightly, and he nodded in agreement.
“A-Chi doesn’t eat cilantro or celery; I didn’t buy any. As for other things, I haven’t seen him particularly love anything, so just make some signature dishes. Anyway, everything you make is delicious, hehe.”
“Okay.” Xu Qiushi curled his lips into a smile and returned the phone to Jiang Yichi. Out of politeness, he still asked: “Does the boss have any food taboos or things he wants to eat?”
“Just make whatever you think is best. Just don’t put cilantro or celery.” Like Gu Chengfei said, although Jiang Yichi was a picky eater, if you actually asked him to clarify what he wanted or didn’t want, he couldn’t explain it. In the end, he would just dislike this or that, which had frequently tormented the old chef at his home.
Xu Qiushi thought for a moment. Gu Chengfei had ordered two vegetable dishes and one “meat” dish (though liver didn’t really count as a proper meat dish). He decided to also make braised ribs and oil-braised prawns. There were fresh prawns among the ingredients Gu Chengfei bought, and they should be cooked first.
Given the precedent with the slippers, Xu Qiushi didn’t take out the new apron he had prepared in his backpack. He directly put on the solid-colored apron hanging in the kitchen. It was a bit small, barely covering his upper body, looking like a bellyband.
In the kitchen, ovens, steamers, microwaves, dishwashers, and other appliances were all present. Fortunately, none of these were needed.
Xu Qiushi cooked at Xun Wenyao’s house during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now, after a bit of pondering on his own, he figured out how to light the gas stove and began preparing lunch.
Gu Chengfei rushed over as soon as class ended. First, he greeted Jiang Yichi: “You didn’t bully Brother Xu, did you?”
Jiang Yichi’s brow twitched. What did he mean by “bully”?
“Just a joke! You’re so touchy!” Gu Chengfei knew Jiang Yichi well and hurriedly patted his childhood friend’s shoulder for comfort before turning and rushing into the kitchen. “Brother Xu! I’ve come to help you!”
“No need, don’t stand too close. Be careful not to get splashed by the oil.” Xu Qiushi was currently sautéing the green onions, ginger, and garlic to release their aroma.
Gu Chengfei didn’t really intend to help. With his ability, not going near the kitchen was the biggest help he could give Xu Qiushi. So, he stood at the kitchen door, supporting Xu Qiushi in spirit.
“I asked A-Ze to come, but he refused to come with me,” Gu Chengfei said regretfully.
“It’s not appropriate for him to come.” Xu Qiushi approved of his younger brother’s sense of propriety. Gu Chengfei was Jiang Yichi’s friend, so of course, he could come to play anytime. If Xu Qiuze came with him, it would be a bit lacking in boundaries.
“What’s inappropriate? He’s also A-Chi’s classmate. A-Chi didn’t mind.”
In such matters, the host always has to be polite. If one takes it seriously, it shows a lack of social awareness. Xu Qiushi didn’t voice these thoughts; Gu Chengfei and Jiang Yichi were both children of wealthy families, pampered since childhood, and didn’t need to understand too much about the ways of the world.
…
Lunch consisted of five dishes and one soup. There was no time to slow-simmer a soup, so Xu Qiushi made a meatball and leaf vegetable soup. In the past, Xu Qiuze could eat two big bowls of rice just with that soup.
“Brother Xu, stop being busy and come eat!” Gu Chengfei greeted him warmly.
Jiang Yichi didn’t speak. His gaze was entirely drawn to the food on the table. The appearance couldn’t compare to the beautiful and exquisite work of his family’s chef, but it smelled good.
“You guys eat. I’m going to the kitchen; call me if you need anything.” This job included room and board, but Xu Qiushi had no intention of eating at the table. He took his backpack and went back to the kitchen.
Gu Chengfei wanted to persuade him a bit more but thought that Xu Qiushi might feel uncomfortable, so he stopped talking and turned to market the bright green stir-fried water spinach stems on the table to Jiang Yichi.
“What’s so good about vegetable stems?” Jiang Yichi understood Gu Chengfei’s taste less and less.
“Just try it.”
The water spinach stems were chopped very small. The main seasonings were millet chili and smashed garlic cloves. After being quick-fried over high heat, the crisp texture of the stems was locked in, creating a flavor profile entirely different from the usual stir-fried vegetables.
“It’s just so-so.” Even though Jiang Yichi said that, the speed at which he shoveled rice into his mouth increased significantly.
“Brother Xu’s stir-fried liver is also top-tier,” Gu Chengfei continued his pitch.
Jiang Yichi didn’t really like eating animal internal organs. His family almost never made organ-related dishes; if they did, they were mostly tonic-based preparations.
This stir-fried pig liver truly overturned his view of internal organ ingredients. Not only could you not taste the original bitterness or powdery texture of the liver, but it was also exceptionally tender, juicy, salty, and savory perfect for eating with rice.
The water spinach leaves were boiled into the soup with the meatballs. The taste was fresh and delicious. Jiang Yichi and Gu Chengfei finished it all, soup and ingredients alike, bowl after bowl.
When Xu Qiushi came out to clear the dishes, the plates on the table were basically empty. Only a few of the oil-braised prawns remained, with the shells almost entirely piled up at Gu Chengfei’s spot.
After eating, Gu Chengfei didn’t stay long and went back to the dormitory. After Xu Qiushi finished cleaning the kitchen, he came out to ask Jiang Yichi how to handle the leftover food.
“Handle it however you want. I don’t eat leftover meals.”
“Okay.” Xu Qiushi took two steps back before turning around again. “Boss.”
“What?” After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Yichi felt that the big guy, Xu Qiushi, looked much more pleasing to the eye.
Xu Qiushi hesitated for a moment and proactively asked: “Do you not like eating prawns? Or did I not make them to your taste?”