Evening.

The afternoon classes have ended.

I returned to Master Naoya’s dormitory; he was lounging on the sofa with one leg curled up, engrossed in watching a video. I placed the notebook and pen on the coffee table. He didn’t even glance at me and lazily said, “Go heat water, I want to take a bath.”

“Yes.”

I struggled to move my swollen tongue to speak.

In the bathroom, I turned on the hot water for the bathtub. Watching the warm water slowly fill the tub, my reflection appeared in the water. With swollen cheeks, I gently touched them, instantly wincing in pain. But the thought of what I had hidden away made me rare a happy smile.

“Are you fine? I am so slow.”

Master Naoya’s asked came from outside.

I quickly suppressed the expression on my face and stammered, “I’m, and I’ll be fine soon.”

After Master Naoya entered the bathroom to bathe, I left the dormitory.

Master Naoya took a long time to bathe, especially now that he had taken a liking to videos, even watching them while soaking. So, I had plenty of time for my own bath.

I went to the cafeteria to fetch hot water.

Today it was Aunt Ju’s shift. As she handed me the hot water, she secretly slipped a steamed bun wrapped in a handkerchief into my arms.

Feeling the warmth in my arms, I jumped with joy and could only express my gratitude with a grateful smile.

She waved her hand, saying nothing.

I struggled carrying half a basin of hot water to the storage room on the first floor of the women’s dorm. I didn’t bathe first, instead, I took out the egg and beef rolls hidden among the items.

Today, after being hugged and kissed by them in the classroom, they helped me copy Master Naoya’s notes.

They were very fast at copying.

Unlike me, who needed to look up more than ten times to write a single character, they could memorize many characters with just a glance.

Afterward, they asked me to wait outside the cafeteria and bought me egg and beef rolls.

But there were conditions for me to eat.

Namely, licking their fingers and sticking my tongue into their mouths.

I complied.

So, I got the food.

I had only seen other maid sisters eat egg and beef rolls.

Unlike other maid sisters, my grandmother was a disreputable maid who once stole precious items from the master’s house, attempting to escape. She was caught, fed a curse, and the precious item was damaged. At that time, my mother was only in her teens, and until she died at the age of twenty-seven, working for the Zenyuan family, she never received a penny of her wages, which all went to repay debts, not even a tenth was repaid.

After my mother’s death, the debts naturally transferred to me.

So, I never received any wages.

I couldn’t, like other maid sisters, use money to bribe the kitchen staff to make them some different dishes for a change.

I picked up a piece of the egg and beef roll and stuffed it into my mouth.

It had already cooled.

So, I got the food.

I’ve only seen other maid sisters eat egg and beef rolls.

Unlike other maid sisters, my grandmother was a disreputable maid who once stole precious items from the master’s house, attempting to escape. She was caught, fed a curse, and the precious item was damaged. At that time, my mother was only in her teens, and until she died at the age of twenty-seven, working for the Zenyuan family, she never received a penny of her wages, which all went to repay debts, not even a tenth was repaid.

After my mother’s death, the debts naturally transferred to me.

So, I never received any wages.

I couldn’t, like other maid sisters, use money to bribe the kitchen staff to make them some different dishes for a change.

I picked up a piece of the egg and beef roll and stuffed it into my mouth.

It had already cooled.

But it’s very delicious, so delicious that I hesitate to swallow.

I took out the steamed bun that Aunt Chiku secretly gave me from my pocket and ate it with the egg and beef roll. The sensation of food on my taste buds made me happily squint my eyes.

After finishing the food, I started to take a bath.

Since I didn’t have enough strength, I could only move half a basin of water. I used it very sparingly to clean my body and then changed into clean clothes. I used the remaining clean water to wash the dirty clothes and hung them on the outdoor clothesline.

This school has very few people, and there is only one female student, a fourth-grader, who rarely returns to school.

Moreover, clothes dry quickly in the summer.

So, hanging the clothes on the clothesline on the women’s side, there is almost no chance of being discovered.

Having done everything.

I went back.

Master Naoya had just finished bathing, and it seemed like he had finished reading the current video in his hands. He looked a bit listless, picked up a new book from the shelf, and continued reading.

This new one is not ju; I don’t know what comic it is from.

Because I don’t recognize the characters.

Whether it’s about “ju” or Master Naoya, he often mentions it with his two same-grade friends.

“Come over, give me a shoulder massage.”

He’s lying on the bed, reading a new manga book.

I approach and give him a shoulder massage.

After a while, not knowing what happened in the book, he suddenly cursed harshly,

“Why hasn’t this stupid woman who always drags others down died yet?”

He forcefully flips through many pages, then chuckles sarcastically, “This way of dying is really letting this woman off easy.”

I also breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he didn’t stay angry for too long; otherwise, it would be challenging to ensure that Master Tadokoro wouldn’t vent his anger on me.

He changed his posture, lying sideways on the bed, holding the manga book.

Casually flipping the pages, he said, “Come up a bit.”

“”

I thought I was hearing things.

Until he impatiently repeated it, I cautiously sat on the edge of the bed.

It was soft.

As soon as I sat down, the bed sank.

In the next moment, Master Naoya’s fluffy golden head pressed against my thigh, making the bed sink even deeper.

He still held the manga book, almost completely blocking his face. A feeble voice came from below, “Massage.”

He didn’t say it explicitly, but I understood.

I reached out, gently touching his temple, softly massaging.

The dormitory was very quiet, except for the sound of flipping manga pages; there was nothing else. In such a quiet atmosphere and on such a soft bed, I felt a bit uneasy for a moment.

Staring at the manga book cover, my vision began to blur, and I drifted into a half-dozing state, closing my eyes for a moment and waking up, then continuing uncontrollably.

When I woke up again.

Unexpectedly, Master Naoya had moved the manga book away at some point. His face expressionless, he blinked and stared at me.

My heart tightened.

He spoke, “What’s wrong with your face.”

I thought he was going to question me about dozing off, so I was stunned and didn’t react.

He reached out, pressed the back of my head down, forcing me to lower my head. Nervous to the point of not daring to breathe, I heard his cold voice, “I probably didn’t touch your face today, did I?”

Before I could say anything, Master Naoya impatiently let go of me, sat up from my legs, and said, “Go get the notes.”

Was he going to check the notes?

I tiptoed off the bed to fetch the notebook from the coffee table, secretly sighing in relief.

Fortunately, today’s class notes were all there.

But unexpectedly, after Master Naoya glanced through them, his mood became even more obscure. He sat cross-legged on the bed, still looking at the notes, not lifting his head, motioning me over with a beckoning finger.

I approached with trepidation.

He patted my cheek, his voice unreadable, “Aichina, am I being too good to you?”

A silent night.

It was already past one in the morning.

I held four or five shoujo manga, kneeling on the floor, repeatedly muttering, “I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong.”

Master Naoya lay on the bed, supporting his face with one hand, still reading manga.

He turned a page, “Your voice is too soft.”

I cleared my throat and increased the volume, “I, I was wrong.”

“Arm.”

I raised the boy’s hand, lifting it up to straighten my sore arm.

The next day.

Master Naoya didn’t stay in the dorm to read manga but went to the classroom for class. As soon as he entered, the two classmates enthusiastically approached, incessantly discussing the latest issue of the manga.

Master Naoya remained expressionless throughout, not responding to a single word.

When the class bell rang, the teacher entered the classroom.

Seeing me kneeling in my previous position, flipping through a notebook with several pages torn off, trembling while taking notes, they probably understood what had happened and dared not speak to Master Naoya.

A disdainful laugh came from the side.

Master Tadokoro raised his legs onto the desk, pressed down on my head, and then, directing his hand downwards, he pinched my cheek and patted it. While addressing me, his gaze was directed at the two classmates, “If you don’t finish all the notes before the end of the class, you can’t eat for half a month.”

The classmates trembled.

It was an unusually quiet class with no interruptions from the teacher.

As expected, I didn’t finish the notes before the end of class. I couldn’t write, having held up shounen manga pages the previous night. After the entire class, I had only written a sparse dozen or so words in the notebook.

Master Naoya expressed regret, “After all, Aichina, you have always been so foolish, not being able to do this is normal. You don’t need to go without food for half a month, just ten days. How about it? I’m still very kind to you. Be grateful to me.”

He had always been like this.

Most of my misfortune was brought about by him, but he would always say it was because I wasn’t smart enough. Then, he would punish me with a somewhat condescending attitude, offering me some small favors on top of the punishment. He would demand that I express gratitude for it.

But these negative thoughts that emerged in an instant vanished. My sluggish brain was empty, and I could only hear my hoarse voice coming from my throat, “Thank you, Master Naoya.”

He was satisfied. Rarely, during the afternoon when the sun wasn’t scorching in the physical training class, he didn’t repeatedly send me to buy water but let me rest in the shade.

“After all, Aichina, you have to work hard to build up your strength from now on. You can’t eat for ten days.”

I squatted under the tree, watching the two classmates on the training ground beaten by Master Naoya, unable to get up. My body was covered by the shade, as if an invisible big hand tightly gripped me. No matter how hard I tried to follow Master Naoya’s instructions, I couldn’t possibly receive treatment similar to that of other maid sisters.

This normal treatment was just ignoring me.

Hungry.

So hungry.

It’s already the sixth day.

Master Naoya’s two classmates run away when they see me. With no food left, I can only fill my stomach by drinking water non-stop.

At this point, I even thought that as long as someone was willing to give me food, I would do anything. I thought about the Zenyuan family, the damp and musty storage room, the hard bed with bedding, the fragrant rice I could eat after finishing work, pickles, and stewed vegetables.

There, I had adapted to how to survive.

I wake up at 4:30 every morning, start working, and without interruption, I could eat a meal.

I was weak from hunger, and my vision turned black.

I staggered to the cafeteria.

As the fragrance of food wafted through the air, I couldn’t help but swallow saliva, the burning sensation in my stomach making me dizzy. But the thought that Aunt Chrysanthemum was on duty today and I might get something to eat from her lifted my hopes again.

Aunt Ju, upon seeing me, stiffened slightly.

“Are you here for hot water? It’s in the kitchen; you can get it yourself,” she said, lowering her head to walk past me.

I gently grabbed the hem of her clothes.

“Aunt Ju.”

My voice was hoarse from the night of apologizing, and the lack of food during this time hadn’t helped my throat.

“Hmm, what’s wrong?” She nonchalantly pulled her clothes away from my grasp.

“I…” My voice was feeble, shamelessly asking, “Could you give me something to eat?”

I could see a hint of pity in Aunt Ju’s eyes, but she eventually turned her face away sternly, saying, “There’s nothing for you to eat; go away, and don’t come back.”

“Aunt Ju.”

Seeing Aunt Ju about to leave, I frantically grabbed her clothes again. Due to my panic, I ended up sitting on the ground, but I still clung tightly to Aunt Chrysanthemum’s arm. Nervous and scared, tears kept streaming down my face. “Aunt Chrysanthemum, please, just give me a little something to eat. If you don’t give me anything, I really don’t know if I can survive.”

Aunt Ju didn’t look at me. “There really is nothing.”

I couldn’t help but plead, “Aunt Ju, please.”

She tried to brush me off.

I thought of something, and a hopeful light flickered in my eyes. I grabbed her fingers and shoved them into my mouth, desperately swallowing.

She looked at me in disbelief, then pushed me away. “What are you doing?”

I couldn’t stop coughing, covering my throat. I wasn’t sure if my eyes were red, but they hurt because I had been crying during this period.

I looked at her, trying to make my gaze look more pitiful.

“I’m willing to do anything. Please, just give me something to eat.”

But she ultimately walked away.

When she left, there was no more compassion in her eyes for me. Her gaze was like looking at a rag, at garbage.

I wanted to go back to the Zenyuan family.

I returned to Master Naoya’s dorm.

Master Naoya was eating convenience store bento. There were several, with different flavors. As for the daily food boxes sent by the Zenyuan family, he had forgotten them in a corner, showing no interest.

“Oh, you’re back, Aichina,” he said, supporting his chin with one hand, a malicious smile on his face, reveling in my misfortune. “Did you fail to get food from that woman?”

“Ah, really, you’ve always been so foolish,” he said, “I can’t stand these things. Take them downstairs and throw them away.”

I carried a bunch of bento boxes and walked downstairs.

The aroma wafting from the packaging made my stomach, which was already numb from hunger, feel the unbearable burning sensation again.

It was food.

In my arms.

A lot of it, all smelling so good.

Master Naoya seemed to have only taken a few bites of each, ready to throw them away. What a waste.

My steps became slower and slower, eventually passing by the trash can and reaching behind a tall green plant. Gathering my kimono, I eagerly opened the bento boxes. Without chopsticks, I used my hands, picking up a slightly warm grilled fish, about to put it in my mouth, but my arm was suddenly caught.

I lifted my head bit by bit.

In the dark, I met eyes with Master Naoya, his triumphant golden eyes. He bent his mouth, in a pleasant mood. “I was just thinking about it, didn’t expect you really planned to eat my leftovers.”

He squatted down.

“You, why are you so stupid? But it’s not good to starve you to death like this. After all, you’re the only maid around me for now. How about this,” he smiled, “Aichina, work hard to please me like a little dog. If you make me happy, I might reward you with a mouthful of food.”

I repeated slowly, “Please.”

“Yes, as long as you are willing to personally give me your eyes…” His voice suddenly choked in his throat, the irregular and awkward heartbeat echoing in my ears.