By the time Bai Suqing returned home, it was exactly 11 o'clock. No one but Zhou Fu remained in the living room, and he seemed to have been waiting for her.
"Uncle Zhou," Bai Suqing smiled bashfully and greeted him. Zhou Fu didn't seem like he was going to respond, just standing there with a deadpan look, so Bai Suqing was thinking she would go upstairs and rest.
"Miss Bai." Zhou Fu suddenly addressed her from behind.
"Hm?" Bai Suqing turned her head to look at him with an innocent face.
Zhou Fu didn't have any expression on his face when looking at her. "Didn't you say you wanted to wash the dishes? Madam didn't know that Miss Bai had such a hobby of washing dishes, she was surprised. Madam was also guilty for not noticing your hobby even though Miss Bai had already stayed in the house for a few days. Miss Bai must have had a hard time enduring your hobby, so Madam has decided to let you wash all the dishes in the house in the future so you won't suffer anymore."
Bai Suqing's face turned ugly for an instant, but she had no choice but to pull up a smile in front of Zhou Fu. "Oh I understand. I'm very grateful to Madam."
Zhou Fu walked to the kitchen and bowed slightly. "Then Miss Bai please go in. I'll wait for you to finish washing the dishes because I return to the employee's villa to rest."
Bai Suqing gripped her bag tightly and marched into the kitchen. What came into her field of vision was a huge, red round pan, typically used to bathe babies or young children. Inside the pan were dishes piled so high they almost spilled out, submerged in water so oily that there was a layer of white floating on the top. The unpleasant scents in the air mixed together to form a disgusting smell.
She clenched until her fingers turned white, knowing she had to endure to refrain from showing any suspicious actions to Zhou Fu. She asked, "Were there any guests in the house today? Why are there so many dishes?"
Zhou Fu didn't change his expression, replying lightly: "There weren't any guests. When Madam learned that Miss Bai had this hobby, Aunt Li had just finished cleaning the kitchen. Madam was so worried you might be unhappy that there weren't any dishes to wash, she had all the maids bring back their dishes after they ate."
The maids' dishes?!
Bai Suqing almost couldn't conceal the green tint to her face. She squatted down urgently before the pile of dirty dishes, turning her back to Zhou Fu to ask: "Where are the gloves?" So oily and disgusting, it was normal that a young woman would be reluctant to touch it.
Zhou Fu responded, "My apologies, Miss Bai. Aunt Li is responsible for the kitchen and said that gloves might restrict your movement and slow you down, so there aren't any available." He took a glance at the watch on his wrist and continued, "Miss Bai, please do hurry. My working hours end at 11 o'clock and it's already 11:05 now."
Bai Suqing held the fire in her heart and even began to shake with rage. Both her hands were trembling and she touched the dishes. In France, no matter how poor they had been, she had never been made to wash dishes!
Mu. Ru. Lan!
Resentment burned fiercely in her eyes. Despite Zhou Fu's consistent mentions of Madam, Madam, Bai Suqing continued to persist in placing all the blame on Mu Rulan.
……
The next day Zhou Yaya was absent from school. The fact that Liu Silan High School had one less student didn't affect anyone.
In the afternoon, when classes were over, a brand new black racing car parked in front of the school. An expensive car appearing in the road wasn't anything new to the students, but the owner was obviously unaware of the rules of Liu Silan. He blocked the cars behind him and caused trouble for the others.
However, still oblivious, the man dressed in black casual wear got out of the car.
Zhou Sulun took out his phone, unable to wait before calling the person he'd thought about nonstop since the day before. The image of the pitiful white lotus remained emblazoned in his mind and wouldn't budge, like she needed someone to protect her. He thought he must have fallen in love at first sight with Bai Suqing.
After getting a response from her, Zhou Sulun kept his phone in his hand and leaned on the car to wait for her. He was so deep into his own thoughts that he didn't notice the sound of the frustrated honks behind him.
When Mu Rulan and a few other members of the student council were walking out of the school gates, they saw a car parked illegally. One road was available in connection to Liu Silan's parking lot, which was where students could wait for their drivers. Another allowed for cars to drive past and park their cars briefly just outside the school so students could quickly access the school. However, this black car was parked in the latter, which blocked the other cars from passing through, causing a long line to form behind it.
Mu Rulan looked at Zhou Sulun, her eyes squinted in a friendly manner. Then Mu Rulan turned her head to look at Chen Qing, who immediately understood and pushed up his glasses to step forward.
"Sir, you can't park your car here. If you're waiting for someone, please park in the parking lot." Although he was only in 12th grade, he didn't lack confidence.
Zhou Sulun was displeased at having his thoughts interrupted, taking an irritating glance at Chen Qing. He then turned his head to look at the long line of cars behind him and he pulled the car door open to sit back at the driver's seat.
He started the car and slowly drove the car toward the school. As his gaze accidentally brushed over Mu Rulan's figure, he was suddenly stunned.
Through his window he could see an angel-like young girl with her head tilted slightly to the side as she listened to the people speaking from behind her. At the corner of her mouth was a pure, gentle smile. She was surrounded by other students, her white skirt swaying in the breeze, the sunshine filtering dazzlingly down around her like a holy light…
Bang! The car scraped against the corner of the wall. He had spaced out while looking at the beauty before him.