Chapter 18 - Raise Your Head

Gu Nianbin was a little bit dizzy after lunch. With the car window open, he leaned against the back seat and enjoyed the early-autumn breeze. The warm, dry breeze was quite comfortable, making him sleepy all the way home.

He was woken up by his driver Xiaoding upon arrival. He knocked his forehead to sober up and walked slowly towards the house. By entering the hall, he caught a glimpse of a person flashing by in distance. He narrowed his eyes, made a silent gesture to the maid Lanzhi, who came up to serve tea, and walked silently to the kitchen. It was Du Xiaoxian. To his surprise, she was drinking tap water.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was low but powerful, and seemed extremely distinct in this quiet room. Du Xiaoxian was seized with panic. She was halfway there when the young master entered the house. She was so thirsty that she rushed into the kitchen instead of going out. She shouldn’t get in his way within such a short period. Why did he follow her into the kitchen?

Du Xiaoxian froze there. Noticing that water was still running, she swiftly reached out and turned off the tap.

“Are you deaf or dumb?” Irritated by her silence, Gu Nianbin raised his voice.

Frightened even worse, she lowered her head and trembled slightly. The young master was really stern.

Lanzhi followed the voice of Gu Nianbin and found Du Xiaoxian stood trembling in the kitchen. She was surprised because Du Xiaoxian was not a trouble maker at all. She was always timid and quiet. She couldn’t figure out how she would annoy the young master. She was about to go in and say a good word for her when Gu Nianbin turned over to her and said coldly, “Go out. It’s none of your business.”

Lanzhi turned around and left immediately. She didn’t want to get herself in trouble.

Gu Nianbin frowned at Du Xiaoxian‘s look, “Are you dumb? Why did Uncle Xiao hire a dumb person?”

Hearing him mention Uncle Xiao, Du Xiaoxian couldn’t keep silent anymore. “Ma…Master, I was drinking water.” Her words were hardly audible, her head still bowed.

“So you sure can speak.” Gu Nianbin approached her, “Why did you drink tap water?”

“I’m used to it back home.” There was no tap water at her home. She had to draw well water in the early morning to fill the water vat. To save firewood, she rarely drank boiled water. Instead, she would have a ladle of cool water from the vat to quench her thirst.

Gu Nianbin looked down at her. He could only see her eyelashes as she was short and kept her head low. They were long, dense and black, just like a pair of wings flapping all the time. Something glimmered within them like little stars. He became curious, “Raise your head.”

Du Xiaoxian raised her head accordingly in spite of fear. She had to obey to her master.

Beholding her slowly raising face, Gu Nianbin was stunned, not because of her beauty. It was her eyes… He had never seen such a pair of eyes, as limpid as a creek, as pure as the rain-washed sky. Only her dark pupils were filled with fear and her eyelashes were flapping. She was truly frightened and looked desperate to avoid eye contact with him.

Actually he saw her eyes the other night. Although it was too dark to see clearly, he was deeply impressed by her crystal-clear eyes. He felt a little bit dizzy, perhaps because of the wine. Slowly, he was permeated by a strange feeling. It was hard to tell whether it was pity or something else.