Xiao An stood there blankly at the door, while Tan Ji approached and said, "Young Master, please come in."
Xiao An looked at the man in front of him. He seemed to be the butler of the house, but he was also handsome and dashing, no different from the rich young master on the street.
He looked down at himself; his shoes had a hole in the side, and unless you looked closely, you could only vaguely see the rough edges of the fabric sticking out, but his toes could feel it. Sometimes, if he accidentally touched the bottom, it was icy cold.
Zhao Yi was far more outstanding than he had imagined. He was tall and handsome, and his eyes were full of love when he looked at Jiang Bai. Even the butler here was so nice. Xiao An immediately felt that he had been too ignorant before.
He gritted his teeth, looked at Jiang Bai's slender neck and waist, paused for a moment, and then continued walking forward.
Tan Ji led the person to the reception room, had a maid pour him a cup of tea, and then went to the study shared by Zhao Ping'an and Zhao Xile to find Jiang Bai.
Jiang Bai was tutoring his two children when he looked up and saw who it was. He asked in surprise, "Tan Ji, what brings you here?"
Tanji cleared his throat awkwardly and replied, "The boss sent me to check on the situation and see if there's anything I can help with."
He phrased it euphemistically, but in reality, Zhao Yi had Tan Ji come to monitor Jiang Bai and Xiao An.
Zhao Yi regretted leaving almost the next second, but he didn't want to continue arguing with Jiang Bai in front of outsiders, so he gritted his teeth and left anyway.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the first thing he did was send Tanji over.
Tan Ji was initially confused, but upon seeing the boy in front of him, he vaguely understood something and came over to ask Jiang Bai what he meant.
Jiang Bai said, "Arrange an empty room for the child who came with me to stay in for now."
"Dinner..." Tanji asked hesitantly.
"Ask him what he wants to eat, make it for him and bring it back to his room." Jiang Bai hesitated for a moment, then said, "We won't eat with him, in case he and the children feel uncomfortable."
"Okay." Tan Ji nodded, wrote down a few dinner menus with Jiang Bai, and then left.
When he told Xiao An Jiang Bai's exact words, Xiao An didn't react at all, only staring blankly for a moment.
Tan Ji couldn't help but think: How could such a child drive Zhao Yi to run away from home?
Could it be that Zhao Yi is annoyed by Jiang Bai's control and is looking for trouble?
-
After dinner, Jiang Bai played the nine-linked rings with the children for a while before putting them to bed.
She had barely lain down when the door opened quietly, and a male voice asked in a low voice, "Sister Jiang, are you there?"
Jiang Bai quickly sat up, put on a coat, and said coldly, "Who is it?"
She lit the kerosene lamp, and Xiao An's face appeared in the doorway.
Xiao An noticed that the buttons on her clothes were not yet fastened, and her eyes darted away. Her cheeks flushed, and she whispered, "It's me, Xiao An."
Jiang Bai asked with a frown as he buttoned his shirt, "Why did you come here?"
As she spoke, she peeked out the door and asked, "Where's the maid?"
Usually, a maid would stay outside her room to keep watch at night, but for some reason, no one was there today.
Xiao An looked in the same direction as her, nervously clutching her sleeve: "I don't know, there was no one there when I came over."
"How did you know this was my room?" Jiang Bai's face was still sour as she asked.
Xiao An rolled her eyes three times and said, "I found out by asking around."
"Who did you ask?" Jiang Bai hadn't been with this group of people in his courtyard for very long, but Jiang Bai held several of their indentures in his hands, so they shouldn't have betrayed him.
Xiao An said hesitantly, "I don't want to tell you."
Jiang Bai sighed, wanting to have a serious talk with him, but turned to look at the bed and said, "Let's go outside."
Xiao An asked, "Can't we say it here?"
Jiang Bai answered softly, "Xiao Le is still sleeping here."
She didn't come home last night, and Zhao Xile missed her terribly. She had already planned to sleep with her mother, and while playing games just now, she pretended to be half asleep and lay on the bed without getting up.
Jiang Bai could see through her little scheme, but the child was still young and needed someone to sleep with him, so he acquiesced.
Zhao Xile had originally planned to have a long talk with Jiang Bai by candlelight, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep immediately. Her face was flushed and she had a smile on her lips, probably having a sweet dream.
Xiao An didn't see Zhao Xile, but after Jiang Bai said that, he shrank back and hurriedly recalled whether he had said anything inappropriate.
Jiang Bai didn't see his expression clearly. He put on his clothes and shoes and walked out.
Xiao An asked, "Where are we going?"
"The study," Jiang Bai replied coldly.
Xiao An sensed an impending storm and followed Jiang Bai reluctantly.
Jiang Bai entered the study, sat in his usual spot, and had Xiao An sit opposite him. He stared intently at her and asked, "Who sent you?"
"What? Who?" Xiao An looked up in a panic. "Sister Jiang, you were the one who agreed to let me come here."
Jiang Bai patiently shook his head: "No, who sent you to get close to me?"
“Nobody did,” Xiao An raised her voice, “so you think I approached you with ulterior motives, that I was being manipulated by someone?”
"Otherwise what?" Jiang Bai asked, pursing his lips.
"I...I really mean it..." Xiao An's voice choked up a little, "I truly admire you and want to stay by your side."
Jiang Bai felt no emotion upon hearing this, and simply said, "Xiao An, since you feel that you are an adult, you should take on the responsibilities that an adult should bear."
“In fact, there are quite a few people who admire me, like me, and love me. They all approach me intentionally or unintentionally, but they are not like you.” Jiang Bai frowned, his tone filled with doubt and confusion. “Your behavior is simply incomprehensible.”
"That's because I don't know what I can do to get you to accept me," Xiao An quickly replied.
"Why should I accept you?" Jiang Bai was even more puzzled. "Does it mean that I have to accept someone just because they like me? I'm not a bodhisattva."
Xiao An said, "None of them are as sincere as I am..."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out," Jiang Bai scoffed at his words, and said, "Who told you to work at Li Xinxiang's factory?"
Xiao An paused for a moment, then slowly recalled and said, "It seems I overheard someone chatting by chance."
"And who told you my identity?" Jiang Bai pressed.
Xiao An frowned, avoiding Jiang Bai's gaze, and instead looked down at the ground: "They are villagers from nearby villages who came to collect milk."
Li Xinxiang's cattle farm also accepts individual customers. People living nearby love to go to her farm to get a basin of milk. They bring their own equipment, and a basin costs only a few coins. It's also a good way to nourish their children.
Jiang Bai nodded: "I understand."
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