The blind boss's nanny

Not only did he fail to protect Yuanbao, but during the subsequent treatment process, he could only become a "burden" who was placed aside and waited for news.

While she and Leng Feng were busy working for Yuanbao, he couldn't do anything and even needed his younger brother's company and support.

This made him feel more self-doubt and disgusted than Yuanbao's injury itself.

Lin Xiaoman stared intently at the man before her. The dim light from the window outlined the taut profile of his face, and beneath that deliberately maintained calm lay a turbulent undercurrent.

She could feel the slight tremor in his palm and hear the suppressed turmoil beneath his calm tone.

Her heart clenched, and she instinctively tightened her grip on his hand, gently placing her other hand on the back of his. Her voice was extremely soft, yet filled with meticulous sincerity:

"Chairman, please don't think like that, and please don't blame yourself!"

Her voice was clear and firm, echoing in the dimly lit room:

"What happened today was an unexpected accident that no one anticipated! It was Lu Tingshen's madness that caused this; whether you saw it or not has absolutely nothing to do with it!"

Her tone was urgent:

"If we have to pinpoint who's at fault, it's my fault! I shouldn't have insisted on taking Yuanbao out, I shouldn't have lingered in the bathroom for so long, leaving you waiting outside alone... I failed in my responsibilities, I didn't protect Yuanbao, and I... I didn't come back to you sooner."

She raised her head, and although she knew he couldn't see, she still gazed intently at him with eyes brimming with sincerity and heartache:

"So please stop punishing yourself for this. Yuanbao needs you to pull yourself together, and this family needs you too. As for the rest... with me, with Leng Feng, and with Young Master Tingzhou, we'll handle it."

"You are important to each and every one of us, Chairman."

She spoke softly at the end, her tone full of certainty.

"You only... need our hands and eyes temporarily to carry out your will."

"We are all your eyes and hands. Now, Yuanbao's eye needs rest and treatment, but the others... are still here."

"I will always be here."

Lin Xiaoman finished speaking her mind in one breath, and the room fell into a brief silence, with only the faint sound of the wind outside the window.

She saw Lu Tingzhao's hand, which she had been holding, move slightly.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand, paused for a moment in mid-air with slight hesitation, and finally, his well-defined hand gently landed on her cheek.

His fingertips first touched the skin of her cheek, then moved upwards very slowly, finally resting on the corner of her slightly moist eye.

He touched that spot of still-wet, cold tear.

Lu Tingzhao's throat tightened. He couldn't see her expression... was it heartache, determination, or the lingering pain she shared with him?

But from her urgent, sincere, and even self-reproachful words, from her slightly trembling yet trying-to-be-steady voice, from the genuine moisture on her cheeks...

I truly felt his unique care and concern.

The man sighed almost inaudibly.

He continued to stroke her cheek, his voice gentle, yet pleading:

"Xiaoman..."

"come over."

"Let me hug you."

Lin Xiaoman's heart trembled violently. Forgetting her shyness, she immediately got up from the carpet, gently sat on his lap, stretched out her arms, wrapped them around his firm waist, and buried her face in his warm chest.

Lu Tingzhao tightened his arms around her, holding her tightly in his embrace, and gently rested his chin on the top of her head.

He closed his eyes, feeling the real, soft weight in his arms, and listening to her breathing so close to his.

In the darkness, Lu Tingzhao's arms were tightly clenched, so tightly that Lin Xiaoman could feel the suppressed tremors in his chest.

His voice came close to her ear, deep and resonant, as if rising from the abyss:

"Xiaoman, do you know... when I heard Lu Tingshen say those words, I was actually very relieved."

He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I'm glad you weren't there at that time."

Lin Xiaoman's mind flashed back to Lu Tingshen's twisted face at the end, and his vicious curse—"Everything that can be your eyes...everything you care about! I will make them disappear!"

A chill crept up her spine, but she immediately buried her face deeper into Lu Tingzhao's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his back.

No, it won't.

Her voice was muffled by his clothes, yet unusually firm.

"No one can hurt me, I'm very clever... I'm the super nanny who survived your two dismissals, numerous rejections, and countless cold shoulders!"

She tried to make her tone light and cheerful, even deliberately raising the pitch at the end of her sentences, as exaggerated as usual.

A slight smile finally appeared on Lu Tingzhao's lips.

But the smile was faint, only lingering at the corners of the lips, failing to reach the unseen depths of those eyes.

His eyes, shrouded in darkness, accentuated his sharply defined, piercing face. Within those unfocused eyes lurked a ferocious beast, ready to break free and sweep away all obstacles.

But Lin Xiaoman couldn't see any of that. She only felt his arms tighten a little more, so she continued to mutter in a light tone:

"Don't worry at all, someone like Lu Tingshen has no chance against a witty, ordinary person like me!"

Her voice deliberately rose in the darkness.

"If he dares to come within three meters of me, I'll immediately drop to the ground and start recording on my phone... to show him what 'insurance through staged accidents' really looks like, and to let him know what wickedness truly means!"

She chuckled first, the sound echoing in the empty room, sounding somewhat weak.

Lu Tingzhao did not laugh.

He lowered his head, buried his face in her hair, and took a deep breath. This gesture, akin to snuggling, instantly softened Lin Xiaoman's heart.

She had seen him aloof and indifferent, seen him strategizing and planning, seen him occasionally amused and helpless by her, but she had never seen him show such a vulnerable side.

"You're very clever."

He repeated her words, his voice low and hoarse.

"But you can only be alert by my side. Don't go out alone anymore..."

While speaking seriously, Lin Xiaoman deliberately gasped dramatically:

"Oh dear... Mr. Chairman, what you're saying sounds like you're suggesting I get a 24/7 bodyguard?"

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, mimicking Leng Feng's usual cold and hard tone.

"Shouldn't we also equip her with a walkie-talkie? Every day she'd report in the morning and evening: 'Reporting to the Chairman, the nanny Lin Xiaoman has safely arrived at the market. Potato prices are stable, and cucumbers are fresh and crisp. Requesting instructions!' Hahaha~"

Lu Tingzhao didn't take the joke seriously.