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?”

“Well, It’s what I told you last night. This afternoon—”

“Oh—I remember now. You wanted me to pull some strings and transfer Shanshan back, right?”

“No!” Fang Yaru stared at him angrily, “I knew it would be like this. You forgot all my words over one night. You didn’t care about what I said at all!”

“Just a blind date,” Gu Nianbin stopped pretending and said. “Don’t worry! I’ll go.”

“Son, I’ve found an excellent girl for you this time. Besides her beauty and good temper, she comes from a decent family and has a nice education background as you do. She is definitely the best match for you. Don’t screw it up again!” Fang Yaru earnestly advised his son. “You are over 30 now. I do not urge you to get married, but you should at least take a girlfriend home for me to see. Okay?”

“Okay!” with a mouthful food, Gu Nianbin answered ambiguously. Then he picked up the napkin at hand and wiped his mouth. “I’m going to work now.”

Before Fang Yaru could say anything else, Gu Nianbin strode away with the bag handed over by Uncle Xiao.

However, he turned round at the doorway and asked, “Uncle Xiao, is the one sweeping the yard a newcomer? How old is she?”

“She’s new here. She came yesterday. Her nominal age is eighteen,” Uncle Xiao answered respectfully with his hands down.

Eighteen years old? Gosh! She looked like under fourteen!

After going down the steps, he glanced to the right. The little girl was gone, and so was the broom — she must have come back for it. The ground was very clean. Even the leaves on the lawn had also been picked up. Small as she looked, she did quite a good job.

His driver Xiaoding opened the door for him. When he got into the car, he clearly saw a small head at the corner of a wall. It seemed to have spotted him and thus retracted quickly.

Gu Nianbin leaned against the leather seat, rubbed his chin and asked, “Xiaoding, are the servants all afraid of me?”

“Er…,” Xiaoding answered with a snicker while turning the car. “More or less.”

“They are afraid of me like hell!” Gu Nianbin looked to the place where the little girl hid and stroked his chin. That new maid ran away as soon as she saw me How scared was she?

After Gu Nianbin arrived at the company, he arranged the work and spared an hour for the blind date.

He was always punctual. But when he arrived on time, the girl was already waiting there. This was good because he didn’t like waiting for others nor being waited for.

The reason why Gu Nianbin agreed to meet her was that the girl was also called Xia Xiaowan, even though the characters in Chinese was not the same as his childhood sweetheart’s. He was a little bit curious about what this Xia Xiaowan would be like.