Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After coming in, the man set down the case in his hand and began unbuttoning his suit jacket. “Would you mind, ma’am?”

Seeing him gesture toward the coat rack in the living room, I had no strong opinion either way.

“Please, go ahead.”

He took off his jacket with great care and hung it neatly on the wooden hook. I had to admit, the suit was perfectly tailored, the fabric fine and crisp. One glance was enough to tell it hadn’t come cheap.

This man was strange.

He was very young, strikingly handsome, and looked exactly like the sort of trader who would sit in a huge office on Wall Street, or some investment banking elite who made hundreds of millions by the minute. Yet he took a large pink apron from a compartment in his case and, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, looped it around his neck.

It looked completely out of place-and somehow inexplicably right.

I had to say, once this broad-shouldered, long-legged young man took off his suit, he worked quickly and well, nothing like any housekeeper I’d hired before. He didn’t just clean the visible floor. He lifted the sofa, moved the rug aside, and carefully sprayed disinfectant into the cracks.

He even propped one long leg forward, picked up the power strips and cables under the table, then turned to ask for my opinion.

“It’s rather dangerous to leave these wires underfoot. Shall I secure them along the wall for you?”

What could I say?

The new housekeeping service that had shown up at my door had a good-looking face, long legs, and was this responsible… If I kept finding fault, I was going to lose years off my life.

So I didn’t interrupt the entire time. I expressed my stance with just one sentence.

“…Please, go ahead.”

Not only was he excellent at cleaning, he was also very good at organizing. He spent quite a bit of effort tidying the books on my shelves, carefully placing the ones I loved reading at an easy-to-reach height, sorting them by category and arranging everything neatly.

I was wondering how he knew my preferences when the young man pointed at the row of bookshelves.

“The wear on the corners of the books is different, ma’am.”

…Impressive.

He worked for a full two hours, and under this high-intensity transformation, my rental apartment was quickly given a whole new look.

For the first time, I realized my little place could be so bright and tidy. From the layout of the decorations to the placement of the toothbrushes, everything was perfectly to my liking. Especially the wall clock-after being professionally refastened, it now sat in an absolutely symmetrical position at some golden-ratio point, making the whole place look even better.

Then I looked at him again. He wasn’t sweating heavily or panting. All that physical labor, climbing high and crouching low, had only left a fine sheen of sweat on his glacially cool forehead.

Once everything was finished, he packed all the tools back into his case, still as courteous as ever. “The service is complete. Please inspect the results.”

I had nothing to say. I picked up my phone and immediately deleted that negative review.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

He looked as if he was very happy.

I felt a little guilty, and also a little uncomfortable. “Stop calling me ma’am. We’re about the same age. My last name is Yu. Just call me Xiao Yu.”

Hearing that, he nodded.

“Of course, Ms. Yu.”

With that, he removed the apron, went to the coat rack to retrieve his suit, and put it on with meticulous care. Once again, he effortlessly regained the aura of a Wall Street elite.

I finally couldn’t suppress my curiosity. “By the way, do you usually dress like this?”

He adjusted his tie, his gaze sharp beneath his loose fringe. “No. I only dress like this for work.”

“Why?”

“It makes employers feel valued and improves the rate of positive service reviews.”

At that, I was somewhat surprised.

“…Are you really just a housekeeper?”

Hearing this, he gave a shy smile and left with his case.