The blind boss's nanny

He finally just sighed, with a resigned helplessness, and stepped aside half a step.

"...Get out of here immediately after you're done tidying up."

"Yes! Yes!"

Lin Xiaoman felt like she had been granted a pardon. She lowered her head and continued to pack quickly, wishing she had eight hands.

Lu Tingzhao walked straight to the bathroom, leaning on his white cane.

Squatting on the ground, Lin Xiaoman finally put the last pair of scissors into the toolbox. Listening to the sound of running water coming from the direction of the bathroom, she let out a long sigh of relief.

She patted her still slightly flushed cheeks.

Well, at least... the tools were put away properly, and no safety incident occurred.

As for other "safety incidents"... well, that's not her area of ​​expertise.

However, it was caused by her.

The hum of the vacuum cleaner echoed in the empty bedroom. Lin Xiaoman was bent over, her palms sweating as she gripped the long metal handle.

The plush brush head rolled over the dark gray carpet again and again, all the mess had been cleaned up, but she still mechanically repeated the action...

It's as if by doing this, the images in your mind can be sucked away as well.

The sound of water stopped.

The water droplets tapped against the tiles, the intervals between them becoming longer and longer.

Immediately afterwards, a suppressed groan, short and heavy, rolled from deep in the throat, came from the bathroom, which was then drowned out by the sound of a more violent flow of water.

Lin Xiaoman's fingers tightened unconsciously.

The next second, the vacuum cleaner bumped against the bed leg with a dull thud. She hurriedly turned it off, and the sudden silence only made the faint sounds in the bathroom even clearer.

This shouldn't be happening.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath.

Of course she knew what Lu Tingzhao was doing inside.

Practice makes perfect, but she never expected the second time to come so quickly.

She has been good at taking care of people since she was a child. After graduating from university, she did all kinds of domestic services and met all kinds of clients.

But that basic security mistake was one I made for the first time.

"Lin Xiaoman, where is your professionalism?"

She cursed herself in her heart.

Lu Tingzhao is blind; she should always keep this in mind.

Instead of leaving him here alone because of my own momentary embarrassment.

Finally, the room was cleaned up again, and the noise from the bathroom stopped.

Lin Xiaoman, holding Lu Tingzhao's pajamas, gently turned the doorknob.

"Chairman, I'm coming in..."

no respond.

Lin Xiaoman pushed open the door and went in. Steaming white mist rushed out first, carrying the refreshing scent of cedarwood from the shower gel.

Lu Tingzhao stood in the misty steam, his lower body wrapped in a bath towel, his wet black hair plastered to his forehead, still dripping water.

His face was expressionless, even colder than usual.

Why haven't you left yet?

"Chairman."

She tried to make her voice sound steady.

"Would you like to take another bath? I'll run the tub..."

"Need not."

He didn't "look" at her; he simply turned his head slightly to listen in her direction.

Silence lingered for two seconds in the damp room.

Then, he suddenly spoke, his voice low and scrutinizing:

Aren't you scared?

Lin Xiaoman's ears suddenly felt like they were on fire.

In the air that she deliberately ignored, besides the cedar shower gel, there was a faint, damp scent of musk.

At this moment, it seems even more intense.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she forced herself to concentrate and picked up the dry, soft, thick bath towel beside her.

As she had done countless times before, she tiptoed and gently draped the large bathrobe over his broad shoulders.

The fabric absorbed most of the water droplets from the skin, but the residual dampness still transmitted body temperature through the thin fabric.

Her fingers moved to his waist, preparing to fasten the belt...

A hand with distinct knuckles suddenly covered her wrist and gripped it tightly.

His palm was very hot, pressing against the thin skin on the inside of her wrist, making her heart tremble.

"My question just now,"

A man's voice came from above, deeper and more imposing than before.

"You haven't answered yet."

Lin Xiaoman instinctively tried to break free, but he held her wrist even more firmly.

Her gaze was forced to be fixed on him... The collar of his bathrobe was slightly open due to his earlier movements, revealing a small patch of his firm chest muscles. Water droplets slid slowly down the hollow of his collarbone and disappeared into the deeper shadows.

The firm, resilient touch that lingered on her fingertips when she wiped them was now magnified infinitely, burning her nerves.

She had to look up at him.

He stood too close; his tall, imposing figure almost blocked most of the overhead light, enveloping her in his shadow.

Backlit, she couldn't see his exact expression, only the deep contours of his eyebrows and eyes, and his penetrating gaze that, even out of focus, remained sharp.

Lin Xiaoman took a deep breath, and his scent filled his lungs more clearly.

She softened her voice, trying to make her tone sound professional and earnest:

"Chairman, regarding what happened just now... I believe it was entirely my fault. As your... personal assistant, I shouldn't have left in that situation, leaving you to handle it alone. So, I think I can't just walk away."

She didn't specify which incident it was, but they both knew the answer.

The man's handsome brows furrowed slightly.

In the backlight, Lin Xiaoman seemed to catch a fleeting look of surprise deep in his eyes, so fleeting it was almost like her imagination.

After a brief silence, Lu Tingzhao's Adam's apple bobbed, and when he spoke, his voice carried a frank yet awkward emphasis:

"Lin Xiaoman, there's something I feel I must tell you..."

He paused.

"...Besides being blind, I am also blind."

He spoke slowly and clearly, word by word.

"In every other respect, he is a perfectly normal, adult man."

Lin Xiaoman nodded quickly, almost without thinking.

She certainly agreed with this statement, and even considered it a matter of course. In her professional training and work creed, "employers have no gender" was a fundamental principle.

She has cared for clients of all ages and genders; physical care is simply part of her job.

But at this moment, a belated realization also arose in her heart:

Precisely because Lu Tingzhao is blind, many of her behaviors and subconscious boundaries seem to be diluted.

She can approach and touch more naturally, without the instinctive sense of distance she feels when facing healthy men of the opposite sex.