Staring at the photo frame in the hand, Gu Nianbin thought to himself with a bitter smile, “Xiaowan, it has been three years, eight months and eight days. When will you come back? ”
The girl in the photo was smiling at him with bright eyes and teeth. Gu Nianbin stroked her face and sighed in a way that couldn’t be heard. Then he put the photo frame back, turned his chair, and looked out the window.
It was eight o'clock in the morning. The autumn sunlight shone through the French windows and on his body gently. Gu Nianbin stretched his arms comfortably and looked down. He found someone was sweeping fallen leaves.
It was a little girl. It seemed that her thin body could be blown away by a gust of wind. Yet, with her head down, she was sweeping carefully with a broom higher than herself.
Gu Nianbin did not know her, so he was somewhat surprised. The girl looked very small, and her lilac uniform did not fit her well. Unable to see her face, Gu Nianbin could only see her fine and soft hair tied in a ponytail hanging down. Her hair looked a bit yellow in the sunlight. Instead of being dyed, it seemed to be caused by malnutrition. He couldn’t help but frown. Why did Uncle Xiao hire such a girl? She looked like a child laborer.
When a gust of wind blew, a lot of leaves fell from the plane tree. It was an Oriental plane tree with a thick trunk and a large canopy. The tree had been planted here for more than 20 years. And every year it started losing leaves as soon as autumn started. Gu Shanshan had suggested cutting down the tree, but he did not agree because it was planted by him and Xia Xiaowan when he was 7 years old.
He still remembered the scene. The little girl, who was three and a half years old at that time, held the sapling very carefully. She asked him, “Brother Bin, when will the sapling grow into a big tree?”
He pressed the soil down with a spade and answered with a smile, “When you grow up, the tree will have also grown up.”
The little girl smiled at once, her big eyes forming two crescent moons, and put her little fat hands into the pocket. Then she said, “I’m gonna eat a lot of food so that I can grow up quickly!”
He fished out a handful of candies from her pocket and said, "You little fatty, you can’t eat any more. Don’t you remember what Doctor Liang said?"
What the little girl hated the most was being called ‘little fatty’. So she burst into tears and went to find her mother.
At that time she was a fat girl with a small round face and little chubby hands. Wearing a floral dress, she walked like a little duck.
He certainly wouldn’t let the little girl complain to her mother, so he caught up and stopped her. After trying various methods, he managed to make her laugh again....
Leaves were still falling down at their own pace. With a sigh, Du Xiaoxian stopped to look up at the tree. She happened to see a man sitting in front of the window on the second floor with a mild look and a faint smile.
Du Xiaoxian was stunned. Although it was her first day here, she had met all the people in the house except the young master. Maybe he was the young master? But she heard that the young master pulled a long face all day and was not easy to get along with. But the man looked gentle with a smile. Could it be him?
Gu Nianbin was aware that someone was looking at him. When looking back with a cold expression, he found it was the girl who had been sweeping the leaves. She must still be a child. With a little face, big eyes, and a pointed chin, she looked comely. All of a sudden, she seemed to be frightened, staring at him with fear.
Where did Uncle Xiao find such an impolite girl? Gu Nianbin frowned. Then the child laborer downstairs shivered, and fled like a frightened rabbit. She disappeared without a trace, leaving her broom on the ground alone.
Gu Nianbin did not expect to frighten her like that. He was first shocked and then found it funny. He was a silent and reserved man, so it was natural for servants to feel awe to him. However, she was the first one who ran away in fear. Gu Nianbin rubbed his chin and thought to himself, “Am I really that scary?”When he went downstairs, Fang Yaru was eating breakfast alone. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she looked up at her son and said, “Old Xiao said you got up early. Why are you so late?”Gu Nianbin smiled, but asked, "Where are Dad and Shanshan?"“Shanshan went out early in the morning. The girl has hardly stayed home since she came back. Your dad is in the garden now,” Fang Yaru said to her son with a catering smile. "Nianbin, do you still remember what I told you yesterday?"Probably because of the sunny day, Gu Nianbin was in a good mood to tease his mother. He frowned and pretended to be puzzled. "What was it?"
At the sight of her, Gu Nianbin was stunned. Besides the name, the girl also looked like Xia Xiaowan.However, she was more gentle and quiet, and spoke to him softly. In a long light orange T shirt and a tight-fitting wine red coat, she looked decent and low-key and smiled a lot. When lifting her coffee cup, her little finger rose slightly. In the soft light of wall lamps, her well-trimmed fingernails were glistening without any nail polish on them.The girl was an accountant. Although she was very young, she already made herself a chief financial officer. Gu Nianbin talked with her about some financial affairs. If it had been someone else, she would have tried her best to show off her professional knowledge. But the girl in front of him spoke very skillfully. Her words were sincere, appropriate, and well-paced, making Gu Nianbin comfortable and at ease.Gu Nianbin couldn’t find any fault with her, even if he wanted to. The girl was perfectly i
The Gu family was among the richest ones in City G and had engaged in trade for generations. They had an ancestral three-yard house outside the city. Born into such a rich and large family, younger Gus, in large numbers, had led an extravagant and idle life. When it came to Gu Nianbin’s grandfather, the Gu family was just an empty shell. And his granduncle, who was then obsessed with an opera performer, stayed in the theater all day and disregarded business deals. Afterwards, he even voluntarily gave up his right of inheritance.His grandfather struggled to support the family business and passed on it to his father. At that time, it happened to be the peak period of domestic investment. Thanks to the good foundation, the Gu’s company grasped the opportunity and rose gradually. At one time, it even matched the Jiang’s company—the leader in City G.However, the Gu family was different from the Jiang family which had definite successor with only one heir for t
But how could a girl run faster than a car? When the car drove past her, Gu Nianbin looked back at her through the window. The little girl stood blankly at the roadside, and she was chewing her fingers! She was too old to do such a thing! What a freak!Xiaoding was quite puzzled. "It was a strange thing. Why did she run away?"Gu Nianbin didn't speak, but he caressed his forehead and smiled. Seeing the smile from the rear-view mirror, Xiaoding was startled. The young master rarely smiled. What happened today? Maybe the blind date was a success?Gu Shanshan bounced out of the house and said, "Thank God, you're finally back. Mom has been nagging all afternoon.""You deserve that. You were away from home too often these days." Gu Nianbin mounted the steps leisurely."Come on! She was nagging at you." Gu Shanshan took Gu Nianbin's arm and walked alongside him into the house. "What concerns her most is whether your blind da
After dinner, Gu Nianbin felt it was too stuffy in the house, so he went for a walk in the front yard. After walking down the steps, he saw the little girl, who happened to straighten up. The girl looked up and was shocked at the sight of Gu Nianbin. Dragging the broom, she ran away again. Gu Nianbin raised his hand and called out, "Hey!" However, the little girl ran as fast as a bunny, probably not hearing him. Gu Nianbin dropped his hand, not knowing why he wanted to stop her.It was in early autumn. Although it was past 7 pm, but instead of getting dark, the sky was reddish, like the color of the sunset's afterglow. He lit a cigarette and looked quietly at the tall plane tree. It seemed as if a young girl was standing under the tree with her head tilted. Then she smiled at him and said, "Brother Bin…"At that time, she was just a 16-year-old girl who started to yearn for love. One day, she came to tell him her little secret. "Brother Bin, I have a crush
As the night grew darker, everything became blurry shadows before his eyes. The plane tree swayed in the wind and shed its leaves. The next morning, leaves would pile up on the ground. Somehow, Gu Nianbin thought of the lean and small figure of the girl who dashed away from him. Then he couldn't help smiling. It seemed that she would be very busy tomorrow morning.Gu Shanshan came out of the house and asked, "Brother, why are you standing here blankly ? What are you thinking about?"Gu Nianbin took his last puff of the cigarette and flicked it far away. The butt flew across the sky in an arc and then landed on the patterned tiles.Getting no response from him, Gu Shanshan went on to ask, "Are you thinking about Xiaowan?"Gu Nianbin shook his head and asked, "What's the name of the new girl?""Du Xiaoxian." Gu Shanshan became a little curious. "Why do you care about her?""Nothing. She seems to fear me and
It was on the night of the Lantern Festival. All his family members were invited to the Xia's to celebrate the festival. After dinner, Gu Nianbin, Su Chen, Xia Xiaowan and Gu Shanshan sat together chatting. It seemed that Xia Xiaowan mentioned there were shows of festive lanterns and dragon and lion dances outside. They all heard about the lively scene, but never saw it before. As soon as Xia Xiaowan mentioned it, Gu Shanshan suggested that they should go out to have a look.However, their parents didn't allow them to go to such crowded places. Gu Shanshan was frustrated but she didn't give up. Among all the kids, she was the youngest but bravest one. She said that they could sneak out to have a look when their parents were playing cards. Nobody would discover it as long as they came back quickly.Gu Nianbin was then 18 years old and could be counted as an adult. However, he acquiesced their adventure as he saw the eagerness in Xia Xiaowan's eyes. They snea
Gu Nianbin started to read a book on bed after entering the room. He was quiet in nature and reading was his way to relax after a busy day working in the company. He read for pleasure and thus was not very picky with what he was reading. He was even fond of novels that Shao Boqing despised most. After a while, he got up to get some water, only to discover that his cupboard was empty. No one was allowed to enter his room while he was away, so nobody filled the cupboard for him. He had no choice but to go to the kitchen downstairs. When walking by the dining room, he heard a sound from the side door, very slight but quite clear on such a silent night. He roughly knew who it was and thus ran after to check it out. As expected, the figure of a little girl flashed by under the dim moonlight, as fast as the wind. What was left was only a faint fragrance, which smelled like shampoo. It was faint but pleasant, lingering around him.He stood still for a while. It s