White Moonlight

“Have some water first.”

When Zhou Qishen returned, he handed her a glass of water with a calm expression, his gaze upon her extremely composed, as if he wasn’t the one who had blushed from embarrassment moments ago.

“Thank you.” Jiang Xiao took the glass and sipped water, the cup covering her partially lowered eyes. She mocked herself inwardly for overthinking. How could he possibly feel embarrassed just because he saw half of a girl’s chest? He wasn’t some innocent high school student…

Just as she was lost in thought, Zhou Qishen squatted down in front of her and gestured for her to lift her pants. “Let me see if there’s any broken skin.”

Following his instructions, Jiang Xiao set down the water glass, bent over, and lifted her leg cautiously, carefully pulling up the pant leg. The fabric grazed against the wound slightly, causing her to involuntarily hiss in pain.

“Let me do it.” Zhou Qishen took over before she could protest.

His movements were gentle and cautious, ensuring not to touch her skin as much as possible, successfully rolling up the pant leg to her thigh.

The wound in the center of her knee came into view, predictably broken with slight redness and a bit of swelling, but it was just a minor soft tissue injury, not particularly serious.

Zhou Qishen looked up at her. “I’ll go get the first aid kit.”

Jiang Xiao pursed her lips. “Thank you for your trouble.”

Zhou Qishen paused in his movements as he stood up, then chuckled lightly. Jiang Xiao looked at him with confusion.

“No need to thank me so many times.” He smiled faintly, reaching out to tousle her hair.

Watching his retreating figure, Jiang Xiao smoothed down her ruffled hair and belatedly understood his meaning. Her reaction and attitude seemed overly polite for a “married couple”.

Zhou Qishen quickly returned with a medicine box, taking out iodine disinfectant, erythromycin ointment, and cotton swabs. He kneeled down on the floor, his expression serious as he began to carefully tend to her wound.

The whole process was gentle and unhurried, each step deliberate and practiced. He even blew gently on her wound like one would to comfort a child, the warm breeze accompanying the coolness of the medicine making it oddly soothing.

Jiang Xiao broke the silence by saying, “Why do I feel like you are very skilled in treating wounds? Have you learned this before?”

Zhou Qishen didn’t look up, and explained in a gentle voice: “I have a lot of children in my family, so this is a necessary skill.”

Zhou Qishen’s father is the current head of the Zhou family, having had four wives in total. His mother, the fourth wife, is thirteen years younger than his father, causing most of the children in the Zhou family who are his age to call him “uncle”.

With seniority comes responsibilities that he must shoulder. When the younger children get into trouble and are afraid to approach adults, they often seek him out. Over time, he became proficient in handling such matters.

Jiang Xiao also thought of this, imagining a smaller version of Zhou Qishen with a serious face taking care of a group of crying children. Unable to hold back, she chuckled softly, “So, you’re the ‘child king’?”

Zhou Qishen finally raised his eyes, looking at the smiling woman with a raised eyebrow. Although he didn’t understand what was so funny about her statement, he still smirked in response. “I guess so. They all fear me.”

The children of the Zhou family are all talented, with Zhou Qishen being the most gifted among them. In the eyes of the Zhou family, who have instilled a strong admiration for strength since childhood, he naturally commands both respect and fear.

Especially as he grew older, hardly anyone dared to provoke him.

“Remember not to let water touch the wound. It should heal in two or three days.”

Unconsciously, Zhou Qishen had already finished treating her wound, bandaging her knee with sterile gauze. It looked quite professional.

“I understand,” Jiang Xiao replied.

Seeing her slightly unsteady steps, Zhou Qishen kindly asked, “Let me tidy up here. Do you need me to help you back?”

“No, I can walk by myself.” Jiang Xiao politely declined his offer, steadying herself with the table and taking a tentative step forward. Fortunately, her injury wasn’t severe; aside from some irritation when walking due to the wound, it didn’t affect her much.

Taking slow steps while leaning on the wall, she soon returned to her room.

This time, she fell asleep quickly after lying down.

*

For the next three days, Jiang Xiao stayed at Zhou Qishen’s house and didn’t go out.

During the day, Zhou Qishen went to work while she stayed home, eating, drinking, and sleeping peacefully. At night, they each stayed in their own rooms without disturbing each other, free from worries about being hit by a car or unexpected disasters, feeling incredibly relaxed.

However, she knew this couldn’t go on forever. When the brief vacation ended the next day, she would have to go out to work. Besides, she couldn’t possibly take Zhou Qishen along, regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Reality simply didn’t allow it.

Early in the morning, as she was about to call the system as usual in her mind, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Thinking it might be Zhou Qishen returning to fetch something he had forgotten, she didn’t bother to check the peephole and opened the door directly. “Did you forget something…”

But when she saw the person outside wasn’t Zhou Qishen, Jiang Xiao was stunned.

The man outside was equally surprised upon seeing her, taking a half step back and carefully confirming the apartment number. He muttered to himself, “Hmm, I didn’t get it wrong; it’s the 26th floor.”

Jiang Xiao realized and tried to remain calm as she asked, “Are you looking for Zhou Qishen?”

Yang Tingxiao looked her up and down, confirming he didn’t recognize her, and asked with curiosity, “Yes, I’m his friend. But who are you?”

“I… I’m…” Jiang Xiao hesitated, unsure how to introduce herself. She couldn’t possibly say to Qishen Zhou’s friend, “Hello, I’m his ‘wife’.”

Awkwardly, Jiang Xiao glanced at Yang Tingxiao and suddenly realized he didn’t seem to recognize her. Thinking quickly, she smiled, “I’m the new cleaning lady he hired.”

“A cleaning lady? So young and pretty?”

Yang Tingxiao raised an eyebrow, skeptical. Eventually, he came to a conclusion: it seemed Zhou Qishen had impure intentions.

Though that’s what Yang Tingxiao thought, he kept his thoughts to himself and explained, “I’ve been abroad for a few years and just returned yesterday. I thought I’d ask him to lend me a car to drive around.”

Understanding his situation, Jiang Xiao didn’t dare let him in without caution. She suggested, “Why don’t you give him a call so I can confirm?”

Yang Tingxiao was sensible and straightforward. Immediately, he called Zhou Qishen, “Hey, Brother Shen, I’m at your place. Your cleaning lady wants me to call you to confirm.”

Listening to the man’s words, Jiang Xiao was somewhat surprised. The man before her had a good appearance, dressed maturely and gracefully, with a pair of black-framed glasses resting on his nose. She had thought he was at least thirty-five years old, but he turned out to be younger than Zhou Qishen?

“Well, please talk to him.” Yang Tingxiao handed her the phone.

Under Yang Tingxiao’s scrutiny, Jiang Xiao couldn’t help feeling nervous. She cleared her throat and said softly, “It’s me.”

“The lady of the house turned into a cleaning lady? That’s not a profitable trade.”

Through the phone, Zhou Qishen’s voice sounded somewhat muffled, but his familiar teasing tone remained as mischievous as ever.

“Oh, I’ll let him in.” Ignoring his comment, Jiang Xiao rolled her eyes and then handed the phone back to Yang Tingxiao, taking a few steps back to let him enter the apartment.

Who would have expected that Yang Tingxiao was quite tactful, maintaining gentlemanly manners as he declined, “I won’t come in. Could you please help me get the car keys from his room?”

He then described the car model and the exact location of the keys.

“Wait here a moment,” Jiang Xiao considered the situation—being alone together wasn’t quite appropriate—so she nodded for him to wait outside and closed the door before heading to Zhou Qishen’s room.

This was the first time in the past few days that Jiang Xiao had entered his room. It was decorated in shades of black, white, and gray—simple and ordinary at first glance, yet undoubtedly expensive. Even an inconspicuous item in the corner was branded, likely costing at least five figures.

Without lingering, Jiang Xiao went straight to the walk-in closet, stealing glances at it from the doorway. Three walls were lined with custom wardrobes, predominantly filled with formal suits and some casual wear. As she looked further inside, she was surprised to find an entire wall dedicated to a collection of sneakers.

It was evident he was someone with strict requirements for appearance, both in taste and style, surpassing that of most men.

The watch and car keys were placed together in a transparent cabinet with dividers, neatly organized. Jiang Xiao scanned the area and quickly found the car keys Yang Tingxiao needed.

Before leaving, Jiang Xiao’s gaze was suddenly drawn to a decorative painting on the wall.

It depicted a scene using traditional Chinese aesthetics, with a composition of dense foreground leading to sparse background, rendered in light ink washes, exuding extreme beauty.

In the foreground, a wooden arched doorway led to a large camphor tree. A young girl in a white skirt swung on a swing, her hair dancing in the air, smiling brightly with youthful vigor. The infectious joy made Jiang Xiao involuntarily smile along.

However, she couldn’t quite make out the girl’s facial features clearly.

In a single man’s bedroom, hanging a painting centered around a young girl was indeed suspicious. Could it be his first love or something?

Jiang Xiao’s mind wandered through myriad thoughts, but because she was in a hurry to deliver the car keys, she only glanced at it briefly before dismissing it.

After all, it was Zhou Qishen’s privacy. No matter how curious she was, she couldn’t overstep boundaries and inquire rashly.

Handing the car keys to Yang Tingxiao, her task was satisfactorily completed.

Yang Tingxiao took what he wanted and turned to press the elevator button. A short while later, the doors opened, coincidentally meeting a middle-aged woman carrying a large bag of fresh groceries.

As one went out and the other came in, they brushed past each other.

This floor only housed Zhou Qishen’s household, so out of caution, Yang Tingxiao stopped and casually asked, “Are you the auntie hired by Mr. Zhou? I came to pick something up, but it seemed no one answered the doorbell.”

Aunt. Wang nodded in acknowledgment, assuming he was Zhou Qishen’s friend. Upon hearing that no one was home, a hint of confusion crossed her face. “That’s odd. Mr. Zhou’s girlfriend is at home.”

Pausing for a moment, Aunt Wang continued to explain to herself, “But it’s possible that Miss Jiang didn’t hear it. Shall I open the door for you?”

“Girlfriend?”

This answer surprised Yang Tingxiao a bit, but upon further thought, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Glancing at the tightly closed door, Yang Tingxiao smirked subtly and declined her offer, “No need. I’ll come back next time when Zhou Qishen is home.”

Finding the Porsche 918 Spyder he sought in the underground garage, Yang Tingxiao opened the car door to sit inside but paused. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl he had just met seemed familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t match her face with anyone from his memories.

Impatient by nature, he always sought immediate answers to his questions. So, he dialed Zhou Qishen’s number again, getting straight to the point, “Hey, Brother Shen, what’s with the secrecy between us? Girlfriend is a girlfriend, and you actually lied to me saying she’s a cleaning lady.”

Zhou Qishen’s tone was as calm as ever, devoid of any ripples. “I didn’t say that.”

At these words, Yang Tingxiao slowed the rotation of the car keys in his fingers, pondering for a moment. Indeed, it wasn’t Zhou Qishen who had said that, but that little girl.

It dawned on him suddenly, drawing out the conversation, “Ah, I see now. So, the young lady isn’t willing to be named.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. When Zhou Qishen  spoke again, his voice held a faint tone of annoyance, “None of your business.”