Chapter 1

The day I met Jiang An was the most desperate day of my life.

My father had fallen at a construction site and broken his leg. My mother was working three jobs while caring for him, and the strain finally made her collapse. I was already preparing to drop out of college and find work when Jiang An appeared.

He said he needed a campus housekeeper and asked whether I was up to the job.

“You can count on me, sir! Laundry, cooking, mopping, scrubbing toilets—I can do it all!”

He laughed. “You won’t need to mop or scrub toilets.”

After a pause, he added, “And don’t call me sir.”

“Of course, Jiang… classmate.”

Just like that, I landed an extremely well-paid job.

My generous Boss Jiang advanced me three months’ salary: a total of one hundred and eighty thousand yuan, exactly enough for my father’s surgery.

From that day on, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to serving Boss Jiang.

He owned an apartment near campus and told me I could use the kitchen whenever I liked. So every morning, I got up at six, prepared a lavish breakfast, and delivered it to the entrance of his dorm.

I washed every item of clothing by hand, ironed each one, folded everything neatly, and put it away. Twice a week, I brought him desserts made precisely to his tastes—low-fat, low-sugar, and paired with at least four kinds of fresh fruit.

Whenever he planned dinner with friends, I booked the venue and ordered the dishes in advance.

Everyone at the university mocked me for being a hopeless lovesick fool with no self-respect.

But I was only doing my job. What was wrong with that?

One afternoon, Boss Jiang told me he was having dinner with his roommates again.

He texted, “They want drinks. Find somewhere quiet. Reply when received.”

I tapped out a response: “1.”

Then I began looking for a suitable restaurant.

Once I had made the reservation, I sent him the address and private-room number. “Do you need me to call a car?”

“No. I’ll drive.”

“But you’ll be drinking, won’t you? I can arrange a designated driver.”

Jiang An sent me a voice message. “Forget it. Come along and drive me home afterward.”

“Okay.”

To meet Boss Jiang’s professional requirements, I had obtained my driver’s license the year before.

He climbed into the passenger seat and immediately closed his eyes to rest. I picked up his three roommates at the campus gate.

The moment they saw me, they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

“Lin Wanyue, you’re coming too?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m driving you there, then I’ll pick you up when you’re finished and bring you back.”

One of the boys clicked his tongue. “You… you’re simping way too hard. Seriously, girl, you don’t have to do this.”

Jiang An suddenly lifted an eyelid. “Lin Wanyue, why are we still sitting here? Waiting for a ticket?”

I apologized at once and pulled into traffic.

Jiang An had ordered me to keep our employer-housekeeper arrangement secret.

“Money changing hands invites the wrong kind of speculation,” he had explained. “If some rumor gets out, it won’t be good for either of us. It’s easier to let everyone think you’re a simp. You get your salary, I get your services, and neither of us loses.”

Naturally, I agreed without reservation.

Jiang An was my boss—and an exceptionally generous one. Whatever he said was right.