Chapter 7

The young master froze for a moment, then immediately started squirming. “Put me down!”
Lin Miao said, “Relax, I won’t drop you. Back home, I used to carry baskets of potatoes all the time, you’re much lighter than those.”
With his chest pressed against her back, the young master could hear her heartbeat. It made him a bit uncomfortable. Lin Miao had short hair, just to her ears, and from where he was, he could see her long neck. Unlike her sun-kissed face, the back of her neck was especially fair. His pale cheeks flushed red. Flustered and annoyed, he said, “Put me down, I can walk myself!”
Lin Miao found him confusing. Didn’t he say earlier that he didn’t want to move on his own?
He was so different from her rough-and-tumble little brother. Lin Miao doted on the young master, so she gently set him down and helped support him.
As the two of them descended the stairs, they ran into the doctor coming up. The doctor frowned at the sight and said to Lin Miao, “Where do you think you’re taking the young master? His health is fragile, without my approval, he shouldn't be wandering around. If something happens, can you take responsibility?”
Lin Miao wasn’t usually afraid of him. The doctor was chubby and pale, with a kind appearance, but right now his tone was stern, which made her a little nervous. She just thought a walk outside to look at flowers would be good for his mood, but the doctor had a point…
The young master furrowed his brows and snapped, “I want to take a walk. She’s just helping me. Is that a problem?”
“No problem.” The doctor immediately changed his tone. “It’s just that she’s quite young. It’s fine for her to take care of you in the room, but outside, ”
“If there’s no problem, then move. It’s just the garden. It’s fine.” The young master was clearly out of patience. Even when angry, he looked stunning and regal.
Once they reached the living room, no one else tried to stop them. The other servants didn’t dare say much to the young master.
Lin Miao whispered, “Are we not really supposed to go for a walk?”
The doctor’s words still lingered in her mind. She was afraid she might accidentally cause him harm.
“No,” the young master replied.
Seeing that he seemed upset, Lin Miao didn’t press further.
This was Lin Miao’s first time outside the living room since she arrived, her first time in the garden.
The sun was blazing.
Maybe it was because of the rain yesterday, but the sky was unbelievably clear, an intense shade of blue.
Many flowers in the garden had been knocked to the ground by the heavy rain, and the gardener was busy cleaning them up.
Lin Miao really wanted to go over and take a closer look, but she remembered what the master had told her in the car: don’t be noisy, don’t gawk at everything.
Just now, she had been the one to urge him to come out for a walk, but in front of the doctor, the young master had said it was his own idea. Lin Miao felt deeply grateful to him. She thought he was really a good person.
So she lowered her voice and said to him, “Back where I’m from, we don’t have flowers this big. We have red ones too, but not with so many petals. They taste kind of sweet and sour.”
As she said this, Lin Miao started to feel homesick. She wasn’t used to this place, everything had to be done a certain way.
She had hated school when she left, but now, she kind of missed her days before work. Back then, she went home every afternoon. If she got hungry on the way, she’d pick wild azaleas, ten or more at a time, and eat them all in one bite. Sweet and sour…
Back in the village, her brother would always be waiting at the entrance for her, ready to carry her schoolbag home.
The young master sensed her sudden change in mood but had no idea how to comfort someone, he’d never done it before.
Just then, they heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Soon after, someone came inside.
Lin Miao froze. She recognized the woman, her poster was plastered on the convenience store wall back in town. Lots of classmates had her stickers on their desks.
The woman walked toward them and said, “Xiao Yu really does look a lot better.”
The young master looked annoyed.
After finishing her comment, the woman turned to Lin Miao and gave her a dazzling smile. She reached out to pat Lin Miao’s head. “You’re Shui Shui, right? From now on, you can call me Mom too, just like Xiao Yu does.”
Lin Miao blushed, smiled shyly, but didn’t respond.
The woman sat down beside them. “I’ve got another job later. Xiao Yu, you have to listen to the doctor while you’re at home, okay? Mommy’s a bit busy right now, but once things calm down, I’ll take you to the Maldives.”
She patted Lin Miao’s head again. “You too, Shui Shui. Be good at home, and I’ll take you with us.”
Lin Miao’s face turned even redder. She thought her voice was so soft and pleasant.
The young master coldly remarked, “You could honestly compare yourself to Dayu.”
The woman’s beautiful face showed confusion.
“You pass by your house but never go in,” the young master added.
The woman burst out laughing and pulled out her phone to post on Weibo:
Just pulled an all-nighter and rushed home. My son found out I’m leaving again and said I could call myself Dayu. I asked why, and he said, ‘Because you always pass by home without entering.’
The butler had come out by then, but the woman didn’t stay long.
Lin Miao finally snapped out of her daze, still stunned from seeing a real-life celebrity. Then she realized, that was the young master’s mom. She was so busy. Lin Miao’s dad was busy too, but he still made time to come home for dinner every week. The young master’s mom didn’t even eat meals at home.
As for his dad, Lin Miao had only seen him once, on the day she arrived, and never again since.
The young master was gazing at the flowers. Lin Miao tried to cheer him up. “You should come visit my place sometime. All the flowers there are edible.”
The young master responded with a nonchalant “Mm,” quietly watching the sky, saying nothing more.
Lin Miao thought his skin was so pale it almost glowed, like he was made of stardust, so delicate, like he’d shatter if you touched him.
At her young age, she suddenly felt a fierce determination: one day, she would protect this boy no matter what.
When Lin Miao turned her head again, she saw that the young master had fallen asleep against the railing.
He really did fall asleep easily.
Her heart ached. Worried that he’d catch a chill from the breeze, she gently lifted him onto her back.
The butler rushed over, not daring to let her carry him, but Lin Miao wouldn’t let go. She carried him steadily, step by step, back to his room.
After she tucked the young master into bed, the doctor called her outside.
Lin Miao felt nervous.