Hao Yan Che sat on the bed next to Yuan Gun Gun.

  ‘If you don’t stop crying, I’ll sew your lips together,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Yuan Gun Gun turned her back to Hao Yan Che.

  Hao Yan Che hugged Yuan Gun Gun from behind.

  ‘You’re really ugly,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘If I’m ugly, I’m ugly,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I don’t need to marry you.’


  Hao Yan Che turned Yuan Gun Gun’s face to him, and pinched her cheeks.

  ‘Who would want to marry you?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Who needs you to care?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Who are you talking to?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun didn’t want to endure Hao Yan Che pinching her face, she turned her head to the side.

  ‘You want to avoid me?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘This is my face,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Hao Yan Che pinched Yuan Gun Gun’s cheeks.

  ‘Right now, your face belongs to me,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘Why?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Because you’re my maid,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘For three years, you belong to me.’


  ‘Young master, let me go home,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘No,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Hao Yan Che poked Yuan Gun Gun’s rosy face.

  Yuan Gun Gun hit Hao Yan Che’s shoulders.

  ‘Why?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked. ‘I miss big brother Du, daddy, mummy and my small friend.’


  Hao Yan Che’s good mood soured after he heard Na Liu Ting Du’s name from Yuan Gun Gun’s lips.

  ‘That is your business,’ Hao Yan Che said coldly. ‘Not mine.’


  ‘I want to go home,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘In another three years you can leave!’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Hao Yan Che walked outside and slammed the door shut.

  Yuan Gun Gun looked at the closed door. She didn’t understand why Hao Yan Che was always cold one second and hot the next second.

  Days later, the servants suspected Yuan Gun Gun was giving Hao Yan Che the silent treatment. It made them more fearful of offending Hao Yan Che. They thought Hao Yan Che truly loved Yuan Gun Gun if he wouldn’t let her work after a small cut on her hand, he coddled her in her bedroom like she had a terminal illness. In the heat of the moment they heard him say, ‘Yuan Gun Gun, if you die, who is going to be my maid?’ Only a Hao Yan Che and naive people would believe Hao Yan Che hated Yuan Gun Gun.

  In the study room, Hao Yan Che couldn’t think and felt frustrated without Yuan Gun Gun.

  ‘Yi Tu, call Gun Gun to come here,’ Hao Yan Che ordered.

  ‘Yes young master,’ Yi Tu said.

  In Yuan Gun Gun’s bedroom, she sat on the bed, snacked and watched TV. It was the first time she had an opportunity to eat snacks since she arrived at the Hao Mansion, because she usually spent most of her days serving the scary monster.

  ‘Gun Gun, are you in there?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. She put the potato chip on the bedside table. ‘Come in.’


  Yi Tu opened Yuan Gun Gun’s bedroom door, and he walked inside.

  ‘How’s your hand?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘Good,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun got out of bed, she picked up a chair and put it next to her bed. She sat back on the bed and Yi Tu sat on the chair.

  ‘Gun Gun, did you and young master have a fight?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘No,’ Yuan Gun Gun said and wiped her greasy hands.

  ‘Honestly?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘I want to go home but young master won’t let me,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Gun Gun, do you think young master is attractive?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘He’s the most handsome person I met.’


  ‘Do you think young master is a bad person?’ Yi Tu asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun poured Yi Tu a glass of water, and she thought about his question.

  ‘Yes or no?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘No,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Do you like young master?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘I don’t hate him,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘He’s the one who hates me and bullies me.’


  ‘Gun Gun, can’t you see young master gives you special treatment?’ Yi Tu asked.

  ‘I can see he gives me special treatment,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘He’s especially cruel to me.’


  ‘Gun Gun……’ Yi Tu said.

  ‘Big brother Yi Tu, why did you come here to look for me?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Yi Tu said and rubbed Yuan Gun Gun’s head.

  ‘Since you’re here, do you want to play a game of chest with me?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Sure,’ Yi Tu said.

  Yuan Gun Gun set the chess board on her bed, and played chess with Yi Tu.

  After a game of chess ended, Yi Tu stood and accidently fell onto the bed and on top of Yuan Gun Gun. His lips landed on her forehead.

  ‘What are you two doing?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ***