Growing Fond of You, Mr Nian

“Hey, I heard that you’re thirty years old, but you look younger than that. You’re not really that old, are you? You’ve been taking good care of your skin! I think you’ll look much younger if you quit wearing this glasses…” Xiao Si reached his hand toward Luosang’s glasses and attempted to take it off.

Luosang subconsciously took a step backward and said, “I’m near-sighted, so I need the glasses. Please don’t make a fool of me. I do want to look younger, but I really am thirty already. It’s hard to tell a woman’s real age nowadays.”

“That’s true,” Xiao Si said as he punched his right palm with his left hand, “There’s a new girl in our company who’s pretty and fashionable and has this girlish voice. I thought she was around twenty, but today I asked her and found out that she’s twenty-eight.”

Luosang smiled silently.

“Take good care of your boss. He’s okay. He’ll just occasionally act like a fool,” said Xiaosi with a faint smile and a meaningful tone.

He stopped as he walked past Luosang, then turned back his head and put his mouth near her ear to continue talking with a voice that only the two of them could hear. “Next time when you wipe your boss’s private area, wipe it clean so he won’t call me over to wipe it again. I’m very busy.”

“Eh…” Luosang blushed at her temples.

‘So he called this man over just to… wipe… his…?’ she wondered.

“Don’t tell your boss that I said this; it’s our secret. He’s too sensitive about his reputation, so if he finds out, he’ll feel embarrassed.” After saying this, Xiao Si winked at Luosang with a naughty smile, then walked away.

Luosang was left speechless.

She silently prayed that Steward Wu would come back early tomorrow, as it was more appropriate for him to do the hard chores such as sponge-bathing Nian Junting.

…

Fortunately, the next morning after she got up, she saw that Steward Wu was already back.

“Luosang, thank you for your hard work last night.” Steward Wu showed deep sympathy for Luosang when he saw her chewing a dry steamed bread with two dark circles under her eyes. He clearly knew how demanding it was to take care of his Young Master at night. That was exactly how he got ill.

“It wasn’t hard. I just did what I am supposed to do,” Luosang responded. After that, she hesitated shortly and continued, “But Steward Wu, I think it’s better that you give him the sponge bath every night.”

“Okay, I get it,” Steward Wu gave her a knowing smile and replied, “I’ve heard from Sister Lan about what happened yesterday. You can’t live on steamed bread and cabbages. Later I’ll tell Sister Lan to save you some good dishes. Our Young Master isn’t a stingy person, he has just been in a bad mood since he got injured.”

Luosang’s heart was warmed when she heard Steward Wu. She hadn’t sensed that kind of warmth for a long time. “Thank you, but no need, because if Mr. Nian finds out, he’ll blame you and cut my wage. I can survive on cabbages. When I have time I’ll give you the money and ask you to buy some extra food for me. Then I can cook for myself.”

“You are just too honest,” sighed Steward Wu.

“Yes. Mr. Nian is going to the hospital for physical therapy this morning, right? I was wondering if I could take a couple of hours off to go back to where I live to pick up some clothes, as you’ll be with him this morning,” said Luosang carefully. “Can you talk to Mr. Nian for me?”

“Alright,” Steward Wu responded smilingly. He walked to Nian Junting and said something to him with a low voice.

Nian Junting raised his eyes, gazed at Luosang for a while, then nodded. He seemed to have said a few words, as his lips moved slightly.

A while later, Steward Wu came over and said to Luosang, “Young Master agreed. He also asked if you wanted a lift. This is a surburban neighborhood, so it’s not convenient to take a taxi from here.”

Luosang felt extremely flattered. “Thank you so much, but I can go on my own. There’s no reason to trouble Mr. Nian. I’ll finish my breakfast soon, so if I take off early, I can come back early too. I think there’s still some time before Mr. Nian is ready to leave,” she said.