Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

I picked up the hem of my kimono and, in the silent night, chased the little leather ball along the corridor.

Aunt Xijiang bought it for me last month when she went out shopping.

It is the only birthday gift I have received since I was born.

But at only seven years old, I was too short. Even when I stood on tiptoes, I could only reach Aunt Xijiang’s abdomen. No matter how hard I tried to catch up, I could only watch the ball rolling further and further away. It rolled down the steps at the end of the corridor and into the dark bushes and flowers.

Without thinking, I just jumped in. It took a lot of effort to get out among the intertwined branches and leaves.

Then I saw my little rubber ball being held by someone.

It was a boy who looked about my age. Wearing gorgeous clothes, his skin was fair, and the hand holding the small leather ball had delicate skin. At first glance, it seemed that he had not done any rough work.

I knelt down on the ground in a daze, blinked several times, and didn’t react much. Moving my gaze along the boy’s hand holding the ball, I saw his eyes, which were also slightly stunned as he looked at me.

What kind of eyes are they?

At that moment, the first thought that flashed through my mind was of eyes as captivating as Apricot Blossom, the cat that often sneaks in to nibble on my cookies. Apricot Blossom is a black cat I encountered at the beginning of the year, ownerless, seemingly accidentally finding its way into the Zen monastery’s residence. Due to a protective barrier, it couldn’t get out, so I secretly started taking care of it.

Later, Aunt Xijiang discovered this, and she even helped me buy cat food.

I tasted the cat food secretly and didn’t like it.

I don’t t like to eat Apricot flowers either.

But Aunt Xijiang said, “Nowadays, all the cats outside eat this.”

However, those gorgeously golden eyes, reminiscent of almond Blossoms, were now brimming with mist, tears uncontrollably streaming down.

I was mesmerized.

Because Xinghua never cries, and this was the first time I had seen a cat’s eyes shed tears.

Soon, he reacted first.

Fiercely wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, he rubbed his eyes until they were red. Hiding behind his five fingers, the golden pupils showed an unmistakable disgust as he glared at me.

“Who allowed you to come here?”

I snapped out of it, hands gesturing nervously in front of me, eyes wide open, stammering, “I-I came to pick up the ball. That, that one in your hand, it’s mine.”

“Bang!”

He crushed the ball with his bare hands.

The deflated remnants of the small ball were tossed at my legs. He took two steps forward, stomped forcefully four or five times, then kicked me over, grabbing my neck with force.

“I’ll kill you, you scoundrel.”

His pupils, now like snake slits, teeth grinding loudly.

I was choked, limbs struggling desperately. Suddenly, I felt a sharp mud clump beside me. With courage from an unknown source, I picked it up and hurled it at his eyes.

He was completely unguarded and took a direct hit. He screamed in pain, not only loosening his grip on my neck but also clutching his injured eye.

I seized his wrist, sinking my teeth in until the taste of thick, bloody essence filled my mouth. Only then did I release my grip. With a forceful shove, I pushed him away, scrambling back into the thicket.

As I was about to climb out and make my escape, I discreetly glanced back.

Through the layers of intertwining branches and leaves, our eyes met. He maintained the position I had pushed him into on the ground, forcefully covering the injured eye. Red blood flowed down through the gaps between his fingers, while the other eye, perfectly intact, stared at me like a venomous snake.

Under such a gaze, fear surged through me, and I sprinted away at the fastest speed of my life.

Back at the residence.

Aunt Xijiang was in a flurry when she noticed my return, and her initial delight turned into anger in an instant. She grabbed my arm, reprimanding me, “It’s so late, where were you?”

I whispered, “Just went to pick up the ball.”

“The ball?”

I lowered my head and, in an even softer voice, said, “There, there was a snake, couldn’t pick it up.”

“A snake?” Aunt Xijiang was startled, raising her voice. Realizing she was too loud, she quickly covered her mouth and led me to the bathroom. It wasn’t too late, and there was still hot water in the bathroom. As we walked, Aunt Xijiang, still shaken, kept muttering, “How could there be a snake? Right, our monastery is built in such dense vegetation. If a nest of snakes accidentally falls in and can’t get out, it’s not impossible. The ball is lost, we can buy you a new one. Next time, don’t pick things up in the deep grass. What if you get bitten? That would be disastrous.”

Once in the bathroom, Aunt Xijiang wanted to check for injuries.

Fearing that Aunt Xijiang would worry if she saw the marks from being choked on my neck, I adjusted my collar and shook my head, “No injuries.”

After saying that, to make sure she believed me, I voluntarily rolled up my sleeves and skirt.

On my slender arms and legs, there were no bite marks, at most, some scratches from the branches.

Aunt Xijiang finally sighed in relief, “Well, quickly take advantage of the hot water and wash up. Look at how dirty you are. I’ll fetch some clothes for you.”

After the bath, I lay down in bed.

Low-ranking servants shared one room, and there were twenty of us in a room. I slept on the far right next to the window. Lying on my side, I gazed at the lush branches outside the window when suddenly a furry ball crawled into my quilt.

It was Apricot blossom, sneaking in from outside.

The black cat lazily stretched in my arms, found a comfortable position, and snuggled up to sleep.

I gently stroked Xinghua’s furry head, inadvertently recalling the pair of golden eyes I saw today.

“Doesn’t look anything like an apricot, so ugly.”

I muttered quietly, holding Xinghua in my arms as I drifted into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, from the maids’ conversations, I heard about Master Naoya’s injured eyes. The head of the family had urgently sought the only spell caster capable of reversing the spell in the magic world to treat Master Naoya. His eyes were now saved and in recovery.

At that young age, my mind was preoccupied with what I would eat for lunch that day, and I was so innocent that I didn’t connect the person I encountered last night with Master Naoya.

Not long after…

The head maid from Master Naoya’s courtyard came with others, saying they wanted to choose me as the maid for Master Naoya. Auntie Yoshie stood still, stunned, as if she had lost her soul. “What did you say?”

The head maid repeated, “Hurry up and have this little girl pack her things. She needs to move before noon. Otherwise, if Master Naoya blames us, we won’t be able to escape.”

Leaving behind Auntie Xijiang, whose mind was now a blank, the head maid departed.

The maid sisters surrounded Auntie Xijiang, holding her, pinching the acupoints, squeezing the tiger’s mouth, and after a while, Auntie Xijiang came back to herself. She ignored the noisy voices of the maid sisters, her gaze fixed on me.

I tilted my head in confusion.

After breakfast, I packed my few belongings, and Auntie Xijiang escorted me to Master Naoya’s mansion.

She didn’t speak on the way.

I remained silent too.

As we neared our destination, she couldn’t control her sobs. Her crying grew louder, and she eventually squatted down, hands covering her face, crying uncontrollably.

“It’s really all my fault. If I had known that Master Naoya was here to choose a maid, I should have hidden you. After all, losing one child wouldn’t have mattered, and no one would blame us. It’s all my fault.”

I cried too out of worry.

Because, as the maid sisters told me, once you went to work in the master’s courtyard, you wouldn’t be able to see Apricot and Auntie Xijiang frequently.

So, when Auntie Xijiang handed me over to the head maid I had seen only that morning, my eyes and nose were all red.

Auntie Xijiang left reluctantly, looking back three times.

The head maid instructed the servants to close the courtyard gate and led me through the corridor towards Master Naoya’s bedroom.

I remembered Auntie Xijiang’s teachings on the way, folding my hands at my abdomen and taking small, disciplined steps.

We arrived quickly.

The head maid knelt on the ground, and I followed suit.

She gently knocked on the door twice and whispered, “Master Naoya, I’ve brought her.”

“Let her in.”

A voice came from inside.

The head maid lowered her eyes and opened the door, giving me a meaningful look.

“Okay.”

Maintaining my kneeling posture, I crawled forward. As soon as I entered the room, the door behind me closed, making me shiver, and I dared not lift my head.

The air was calm.

In the silent room, the only sound was the faint scratching of a brush against paper.

It wasn’t until my knees were numb that I heard a voice ahead.

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

I obediently lifted my head and looked at the desk in front.

The young master, dressed in luxurious traditional clothing, was sitting behind the desk, shaking the freshly written white paper. The characters on the paper were red, and whether it was an illusion or not, they seemed unnaturally crimson.

He rolled up the paper, revealing his face.

It is a very delicate and handsome face, even though he’s around the same age as me, he has shed the baby fat, and his chin is slightly pointed. However, the beauty is marred by the bandage covering his left eye. Oh, I remember now, the maid sisters mentioned before that Master Naoya’s eye was injured.

I stood there in a daze, my gaze slowly drifting towards his other eye.

“Oh.”

I instantly froze.

Master Naoya’s uncovered eye stared at me with malicious amusement, like a cold snake. He raised the corner of his mouth, baring his teeth.

“Do you want to guess what ink I use for calligraphy?”

Following his words, I hesitantly looked at the transparent box next to the pen holder, containing a thick, red ink.

I couldn’t guess.

But soon he revealed the answer.

He tossed a cherry blossom into my arms. Its soft, fluffy body, like sweet cotton candy, melted at my touch. The once dazzling golden eyes, which I used to adore like radiant suns, now looked dim, lifeless, and faded.

At that time, I had no concept of death.

All I knew was that on that day, Master Naoya laughed inexplicably loudly, and since then, the Xinghua never stole my biscuits again, nor did it slip out of my embrace or hide in the shadows as it did before. It remained quietly in my arms, not struggling, not making a sound, allowing me to hold it until it decayed and became foul.