The blind boss's nanny

The downstairs living room was a mess after the revelry, with the hungover young people sleeping haphazardly.

Only Xiao Gu, preoccupied with her thoughts and the shock from before, woke up early and was sitting at the kitchen bar, lost in thought, holding a glass of water.

Seeing Lu Tingzhao come downstairs, she immediately stood up, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Lu Tingzhao walked up to her, his voice regaining its usual calm:

"Xiao Gu."

"Don't tell her I was here. Just pretend... nothing happened last night."

Xiao Gu paused for a moment, then nodded subconsciously:

"...Yes, Chairman."

Lu Tingzhao didn't say anything more. He picked up his coat from the sofa, glanced one last time at the stairs, and then turned and left the villa, disappearing into the cool morning mist of Tuscany, just as he had come.

The sunlight gradually illuminated the villa.

In her room upstairs, Lin Xiaoman woke up with a headache from a hangover, only vague fragments of memory remaining of the all-too-real dream from the previous night.

She sat on the bed, rubbing her throbbing temples, her mind a jumbled mess. Last night's dream… it was so real! The details were frighteningly vivid.

Is she really that... well, that thirsty? To actually have those kinds of dreams with Lu Tingzhao...? And in the dream, he even whispered in her ear that his eyes... are healed?

What on earth is all this?!

She shook her head, trying to dispel the embarrassing images, but a strange feeling lingered in her heart.

She shuffled out of the room in her slippers, found Xiao Gu in the kitchen making hangover soup, and asked casually:

"Kotani, last night...did anyone enter my room?"

Xiao Gu was holding a soup ladle when she heard this, her hand trembled, and she almost dropped the ladle into the pot. She turned around abruptly and denied it almost reflexively:

"No! Absolutely not! I locked the door! Everyone was having a great time, nobody went upstairs!"

As soon as Xiao Gu finished speaking, her heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong. She had grown up in the Lu family manor, influenced by its environment; her mother, Aunt Mei, had always emphasized the first rule of survival:

Don't pry into the master's affairs, and definitely don't meddle. The chairman is the only master; his words are orders.

Last night, the chairman's words, "Don't tell her I was here," sounded like a royal decree to her. Her deep-seated reverence for Lu Tingzhao made even her lie sound both guilty and resolute.

She frantically apologized to Lin Xiaoman in her heart: I'm so sorry, Sister Xiaoman! It's not that I didn't want to say it, it's that I really didn't dare! The chairman is too scary!

Lin Xiaoman wondered if she was really just drunk and confused? But the feeling of that dream... was just too real.

Although she was dressed properly when she woke up and there were no suspicious marks on her body, the lingering, subtle feeling still made her uneasy.

More than ten hours later, Lin Xiaoman finally got through to Lu Tingzhao.

As soon as the call connected, she couldn't wait to speak:

"Lu Tingzhao, I can't get through to you on the phone. Where are you right now?"

A deep, steady voice came from the other end of the phone:

"I'm home. What's up, Xiaoman?"

Hearing that he was indeed home, Lin Xiaoman's nerves, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed. She paused for a few seconds before saying, a little embarrassed:

"I... dreamt about you last night. I dreamt that you... came to find me."

On the other end of the phone, Lu Tingzhao was standing by the study window. Upon hearing this, he curled his lips slightly, his tone not entirely serious:

"Oh? You dreamt about me? And then... what did we do?"

Lin Xiaoman's face flushed red instantly. She quickly coughed twice, forcibly steer the conversation back on track:

"This...this doesn't matter! I dreamt...that your eyes are healed, and you can see again."

After she finished speaking, she held her breath and waited for his reaction.

Lu Tingzhao held his phone, his eyebrows slightly raised. After a brief pause, his voice came through, tinged with regret:

"I'm sorry, Xiaoman... that really was just a dream."

He paused, his tone becoming even more desolate:

"Dangshen just told me a few days ago that my condition... might be more complicated than expected. My eyes, perhaps... really will never get better."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoman's last glimmer of hope vanished.

"Is that so..."

She responded softly, her voice muffled.

"Then you... need to cooperate well with the treatment and don't give up."

"Yes, I know."

On the other end of the phone, Lu Tingzhao gazed out the window at the vibrant scene of the manor, his eyes deep in thought. Hearing the concern in her voice, his heart softened.

Let her think for now that it was just a dream.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiaoman stared out the window for a long time, lost in thought. The phone screen went dark, but her heart remained restless.

For the rest of the journey, although she continued to travel around with Xiao Gu and the others, her smiles always seemed somewhat fleeting. She would often fall behind the group, her eyes vacant, as if she were lost in thought.

Even the usually carefree Xiao Gu noticed something was wrong and quietly asked her if she was feeling unwell. Lin Xiaoman just shook her head and said she was fine.

The group arrived at the bustling open-air art festival. The ancient stone square was filled with street performers, painters, and craftspeople.

Music wafted from every corner, noisy yet full of life.

Lin Xiaoman's gaze, however, was drawn to an inconspicuous corner at the edge of the square.

There sat an old man with a white beard, wearing a faded old shirt and sunglasses. In front of him was a worn-out felt hat turned upside down, and in his arms he held a wooden guitar with peeling paint.

His fingers glided skillfully across the strings, producing a melody that was not stirring, but rather somewhat melancholic, overpowering the surrounding noise and carrying a sense of tranquility after experiencing countless trials.

What attracted Lin Xiaoman was his tightly closed eyes.

He was a blind beggar.

As if drawn by an invisible thread, she slowly walked over and sat down on the stone steps beside the old man.

When the song ended, the old man groped for the tin can at his feet, shook it gently, and found only a few coins inside.

Lin Xiaoman seemed to be startled awake, and subconsciously took out her wallet, took out all the cash inside... euro banknotes and coins, and gently put them into the jar.

The old man seemed to sense this unusual generosity, tilted his head, and gently thanked her in English before plucking the strings again.

Lin Xiaoman continued to sit there, listening to the old man play one piece after another.

Tourists came and went, their noise rising and falling, as the sunlight slowly passed over them.