The car took two turns, drove into a high-end residential area, and stopped in front of a townhouse.

Lu Haochen said, “Here we are.”

Du Xiaoxian got out of the car and looked around. There were tall trees everywhere. The shade of the trees was like a canopy, and the sunlight shone through the leaves, casting golden spots on the ground.

“Let’s go.” Lu Haochen took the lead to go up the stairs and pressed the doorbell.

No one answered. Lu Haochen pressed the doorbell again, but there was still no response. Du Xiaoxian was a little worried. “Mr. Lu, there is one inside, is there? Should you call the owner?”

“No need,” Lu Haochen directly pressed the combination lock on the door.

Du Xiaoxian was even more worried. “You can’t press other people’s lock randomly. If it malfunctions, it will be troublesome.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened with a click. Lu Haochen pulled the door and motioned for her to enter.

Du Xiaoxian stood still. “There is no one at home. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to go in like this?”

“Don’t be afraid. I’m very familiar with this family. I even know the password.” Lu Haochen coaxed and pushed Du Xiaoxian into the house.

Du Xiaoxian courteously changed into slippers at the entrance and walked to the living room to look around.

The decoration of the room was low-key yet luxurious. There was a large chandelier hanging from the high ceiling of the living room, a large impressionist painting hanging on the wall, and a large white leather sofa with black and white striped cushions on it. There was a large, bright red vase in the corner, and there were fake silk flowers in it. The curtains and sofa pillows were a set with black and white stripes.

The layout was very simple, but the details showed the owner’s luxurious taste. For example, the seemingly ordinary curtain. When the sun shone on it, it could be seen that the black stripes contained gold threads and looked very beautiful under the sun. The chandelier was also handmade in Italy. The complex crystal pendants were exquisite and sparkling.

In the days when Du Xiaoxian had been together with Gu Nianbin, she had seen a lot of luxurious things, so she was not too impressed. Instead, she found some clues and asked Lu Haochen, “Mr. Lu, is this the home of a single man?”

Lu Haochen looked at her in surprise. “How did you find that?”

“If there is a female owner at home, the color should be richer. Other than the big red vase in the corner, the rest are mostly in cool colors, which match a man’s character.”

Lu Haochen smiled and said, “I heard that you know how to paint. It seems that you’ve really learned it.”

Du Xiaoxian was embarrassed. “I only learned a little. I’m stupid and can’t remember that much.”

“Draw a painting for me when you have time.” Lu Haochen said, “Come, I’ll show you around. There’s a dining room on the opposite side of the living room, and the kitchen is behind it. There’s a sunken yard out of this door, and there’s a sunroom on the side. Turn around and we are back to the living room. We can go upstairs and take a look.” He reached out to hold Du Xiaoxian’s hand but was cleverly dodged by her. He could only laugh at himself and continue to introduce, “This is the living room upstairs, connected to the bar. On the opposite side is the bedroom, which opens to the study. The cloakroom is in the middle, and there is a large balcony in the bedroom. It is probably like this. The house is not big, so it should be easy to clean it up, right?”

Du Xiaoxian said, “It’s alright. I’ve cleaned up houses bigger than this. However, whose home is this? I haven’t seen the owner yet. Can you decide it?”

“I can decide. He is a friend of mine. He has entrusted me with full authority.”

Du Xiaoxian looked at him suspiciously. “Then, what time should I come over for cleaning every day? Is he not at home at night? Will it be inconvenient?”

“No, you can come after work. He will only return after you leave. There is nothing inconvenient about it.”

“Alright then, Mr. Lu. Don’t worry. I will definitely do my best to satisfy your friend.” Du Xiaoxian said, “Then I will start working now.”

“Wait,” Lu Haochen scratched his eyebrows. “Didn’t you say that you can cook? Why don’t you show me your skills now and let me see how good your cooking is? If it’s possible, you’ll be responsible for cooking dinner every day, and you can earn an extra five hundred yuan a month. How about it?”

Du Xiaoxian nodded without even thinking. “Alright, I’ll go cooking now!”

As soon as she arrived at the kitchen, she was dumbfounded. It was a fully automatic modern kitchen, equipped with a sink as bright as a mirror, a metal-textured curved tap, four stoves, an embedded LCD disinfection cabinet, and a double-open voice-control refrigerator…

Back when she was with Gu Nianbin, she didn’t know how to use these kinds of appliances. Now…she sighed and braced herself to walk in.

Lu Haochen followed her in and told her where things were put and how to turn on the gas, the range hood and the disinfection cabinet. The handsome, tall man spoke in a low and magnetic voice. As Du Xiaoxian listened, she was suddenly in a trance. It was as if the person in front of her was Gu Nianbin, who had a gentle gaze and looked at her lovingly.

His eyes were beautiful, as bright as the stars in the sky. His voice was pleasant and deep. He taught her seriously, but she was stupid and couldn’t learn it no matter what. He laughed at her for being a little dumb pig and she embarrassedly lowered her head. But he lifted her chin and kissed her lightly, saying that he liked the little dumb pig…

As Lu Haochen spoke, he suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with Du Xiaoxian’s gaze. She stared at him, and her gaze was gentle and nostalgic. His heart suddenly beat wildly, and his throat tightened. He was like a fish that had been thirsty for a long time. He raised his hand, trembling as he caressed her face. She closed her eyes and obediently pressed her face against his palm.

In an instant, Lu Haochen felt as if millions of fireworks were set off in his heart, one after another, blooming brilliantly in the night…

Happiness came so suddenly that he almost couldn’t bear it. He kept swallowing saliva, and his breathing became hurried. Her face was in his palm, so close that he could almost see the light blue capillaries on it. The fragrance of the grass seemed to be faint but kept flowing towards him.

Lu Haochen slowly lowered his head. He watched as her face slowly enlarged in front of his eyes. He approached her little by little and touched the tip of her nose. The tip of her small nose was a little cold, and her nosewings opened and closed slightly, giving off a warm breath.

Lu Haochen’s heart was beating wildly and his mouth was dry. It was not the first time he had kissed a woman, but he had never been as flustered as he was now. He was so nervous that he accidentally touched the tip of her nose. Her pink lips were a fatal temptation. Even if he would fall into an abyss of eternal damnation after he kissed her, he was willing to!

He was about to touch her lips, but suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. He did not dare to move. The day was getting dark outside the window and darkness gradually spread like smoke.

The room darkened inch by inch. Her voice was soft. “It’s getting dark.”

He answered her in a hoarse voice, “Then I’ll turn on the light.”

The switch was right beside his hand. He turned it on, and the room was suddenly lit up. In an instant, he clearly saw the attachment in her eyes quickly disappear. She pushed him away in panic. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I, I…” She could not and did not want to explain. After so many years, she still could not bring it up, so she could only escape like a lost deer in panic.

Lu Haochen was stunned for a moment before he chased after her. He grabbed her by the entrance. “Du Xiaoxian, what’s wrong with you? Why did you run away before you even started? Do you still want this job?”

Du Xiaoxian stood there without moving. Her head was lowered, and her ponytail was tilted to one side. A few strands of hair fell down and covered her face. Her hand was in his hand, but she did not struggle. Lu Haochen suddenly felt that something was wrong. He lifted her chin forcefully. Under the light, he saw that she had actually burst into tears.

Lu Haochen did not expect her to cry. Her tears flowed silently, leaving him at a loss. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Du Xiaoxian. I didn’t do it on purpose. I…”

Du Xiaoxian shook her head and continued to cry. For the first time, Lu Haochen felt very helpless. Facing this silently crying girl, he did not know what to do with her. If he could, he was willing to pay any price to exchange for her smile at this moment, because he felt very uncomfortable now, as if someone had pinched his heart. It was a pain he had never felt before!

He tried to hug her shoulder and gently patted her back. Du Xiaoxian slowly put her head in the crook of his arm and continued to cry silently. Lu Haochen was angry again. As long as something happened to Du Xiaoxian, he couldn’t help but burst into anger. He didn’t know what was going on with him. He had always been a very calm person. However, for the sake of the girl in his arms, he had lost more temper during the last month than he usually did in a year.

No matter how angry he was, he did not dare to disturb her. He hugged her silently and patted her gently. Du Xiaoxian finally stopped crying. She raised her head and wiped her tears. Her voice was trembling. “Sorry, I lost my composure.”

She kept apologizing. It was clearly him who had crossed the line, yet she was the one to say sorry.

Pulling her into the living room, Lu Haochen asked, “Can you tell me why you’re crying?”

Du Xiaoxian shook her head. “I’m too weak.”

“Is it, because of me?”

“No, please don’t ask.” Du Xiaoxian’s emotions came and went quickly. In just a moment, she had already calmed down. “I’ll go cooking.”

Watching her walk quickly into the kitchen, Lu Haochen sat still. His face was as dark as the twilight outside the window. If she cried because of his offensive behavior, then he could be a little smug. But if it were not the case, it meant Du Xiaoxian clearly had another man in her heart. Her longing gaze and silent tears were all because of that man!

Lu Haochen felt mixed feelings in his heart. For the first time, he deeply experienced the taste of jealousy. He was jealous of a man he had never met before!

After sitting in a daze for a long time, he suddenly came round to the idea. Du Xiaoxian cried so sadly, which proved that she was no longer with that man. Now it was him who was with her. This was the most important thing. He became confident again and was determined to eradicate the shadow of that man from Du Xiaoxian’s heart bit by bit.

With this thought, his mood improved a little. He went to the kitchen and saw Du Xiaoxian standing in front of the counter and cooking, with dishes and plates placed everywhere.

He leaned against the door and said with a smile, “Do you want to hold a banquet?”

Du Xiaoxian explained to him one by one, “This piece of beef is to be stir-fried with bamboo shoots, and this fish is to be steamed. There’s also scrambled eggs with tomato, seaweed soup, boiled shrimp, garlic-seasoned cabbage, stir-fried cucumber…”

“Alright, alright,” Lu Haochen quickly stopped her. “Time is limited. Just make something simple. I’m already hungry.”

“But the owner hasn’t returned yet.”

“He will come back very late today. Only we two will eat.”

Du Xiaoxian said, “I won’t. I’ll go back home to eat. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

“Don’t bother to go back to eat. Just have dinner here.” Lu Haochen said, “Make some simple dishes. The sooner, the better.”

“Then I’ll cook noodles,” Du Xiaoxian suddenly smiled and said playfully, “I’m very good at cooking noodles!”