The blind boss's nanny

She took a soft breath, her voice returning to its usual gentleness, yet carrying a hint of seriousness:

"You're different..."

These words, once uttered, stirred ripples in Lu Tingzhao's heart.

He could almost feel something in his chest being gently lifted.

"Really? How come I'm different?"

He pressed on, his tone remaining calm, but if you listened carefully, you could detect a hint of barely suppressed inquiry.

Lin Xiaoman opened her mouth, almost blurting out her most genuine and rebellious thought...

Are you out of your mind?! You're sick and need treatment! I'm a professional; I can't argue with patients, especially those who pay generously!

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but her strong survival instinct and professionalism twisted them into something slightly obsequious yet not without sincerity:

"You...you are the most capable and respectable chairman I have ever met! I was in the wrong before, and it's understandable that you were angry. It's my honor to come back and continue working for you!"

As she spoke, she nodded vigorously, trying to make her point.

Lu Tingzhao: "..."

A feeling welled up inside me that I couldn't quite define—disappointment, amusement, or perhaps being speechless at her slick yet straightforward answer.

Is this all?

Lin Xiaoman lowered her eyes, forcing a straight expression, and said calmly:

"Um!"

He leaned back in his chair and stopped asking questions.

But in a corner of my heart, the phrase "You are different" keeps echoing.

That evening, Lin Xiaoman felt an unusual, bone-deep fatigue.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion from helping to move those heavy firewood during the day, or perhaps it was the temporary takeover of Aunt Mei's seemingly trivial but actually extremely mentally taxing housekeeping duties that overloaded her both mentally and physically.

She just wanted to finish washing up quickly and go to sleep.

However, from the direction of the bathroom came a faint, continuous sound of water, and some... subtle noises that were no longer unfamiliar to her, but seemed particularly long tonight.

Since their conversation, Lin Xiaoman has gone from feeling embarrassed about Lu Tingzhao occasionally "taking care of his personal needs" in the bathroom to now taking it for granted.

After all, he himself admitted that he was "normal in every other way," and now that the two of them are spending every night in the same room, some things are inevitable.

only……

Lin Xiaoman curled up on the sofa, her eyelids feeling as heavy as lead. She vaguely wondered if the chairman's recent "self-regulation" was a little...too frequent?

The sound of water stopped and started again, then stopped again. Time passed second by second, and drowsiness swept over her like a tide.

She waited for an unknown amount of time, so long that she almost fell asleep on the sofa with a blanket, but the noise in the bathroom showed no signs of abating. Instead, it subtly revealed a meaning that was different from usual.

As if guided by some strange force, Lin Xiaoman raised her heavy arm, bent her fingers, and gently knocked on the door.

"...The chairman?"

Her voice was heavy with sleepiness and indistinct.

"Do you... need any help?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all sounds in the bathroom ceased abruptly.

An abrupt silence fell.

The silence startled Lin Xiaoman out of her drowsiness, and she suddenly woke up, realizing what she had said. Her cheeks instantly burned.

A rising white mist, carrying the fragrance of cedar, billowed out. Lu Tingzhao stood behind the hazy mist, wearing only a loose bathrobe, his hair still dripping wet.

His face was expressionless, but his unfocused eyes were unmistakably "looking" in her direction.

"Come in."

His voice was hoarser than usual.

Lin Xiaoman stood frozen in place, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

"I...I was just joking..."

She tried to salvage the situation, but her voice grew fainter and fainter.

Lu Tingzhao didn't give her a chance to back out. He stepped aside to give her some space, his meaning clear.

Lin Xiaoman's heart was pounding wildly in her chest, almost shattering her ribs.

She looked at the steamy space and the tall, upright man at the door whose breathing was clearly unsteady, and her legs felt like lead.

Finally, she took a deep breath and, with a look of resignation, stepped into that humid and hot space.

The scene in the bathroom was...not quite what she had imagined. Or rather, it was more direct, more...shocking.

As the fog dissipated slightly, some "real-world situations" that she could not ignore came into view.

Lin Xiaoman's drowsiness completely vanished, replaced by a surge of embarrassment and panic that rose from her feet to the top of her head.

She immediately wanted to turn around and run away.

Lu Tingzhao, however, calmly stepped back and sat on the toilet, his bathrobe hanging open even wider.

He tilted his head slightly, "looking" in her direction, his posture so calm it was almost... composed, even carrying a silent guidance and waiting.

It's as if it's saying: You asked the question, you knocked on the door, now it's your turn.

Lin Xiaoman's mind went blank, and her face turned so red it looked like it could bleed. Standing in the steamy heat, she felt all the blood rushing to her head.

After a few seconds of stalemate, her gaze shifted between the grout lines in the floor tiles and the edge of the bathtub, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

Silence spread through the quiet space.

Lu Tingzhao seemed very patient at this moment, as if he intended to spend the whole night here.

Lin Xiaoman cursed herself inwardly, why did she have to say that extra word...?

.......

Lin Xiaoman was initially completely frozen, her mind a blank with a deafening roar.

But soon, she gradually entered a state of numbness. She blocked out all the noise of her senses and the turmoil of her emotions, treating him only as a special mission.

The goal is clear: complete it, end it.

However, with this mechanical, impatient mindset, she was always restless, unbalanced, and reckless.

But as time went on, she had to forcefully suppress the turmoil and resistance churning within her, forcing herself to slow down, and slow down even more. She had to be extremely careful and extremely patient.

Lin Xiaoman treads on thin ice with every step in a field she has never set foot in before.

Time stretched out endlessly in this chaotic realm.