Yang Xueyi, who had never even held a man’s hand in twenty-five years, felt like someone who had only ever eaten plain porridge suddenly being served a lavish imperial feast—completely overwhelmed.
The visual impact was just too much.
Yang Xueyi even forgot to breathe.
Her gaze drifted, and in the silence, she accidentally made eye contact with Ying Yun.
Although Ying Yun immediately looked away, Yang Xueyi still felt utterly doomed.
Her face started to blush uncontrollably.
It must be from nerves.
But soon, Ying Yun’s voice pulled her out of that weird atmosphere, reminding her once again that no matter how good he looked on the outside, he was a jerk on the inside—
“Yang Xueyi, control your eyes.”
Yang Xueyi wanted to roll her eyes at the ceiling.
As if she was dying to look at him or had impure thoughts.
It’s not like she did it on purpose, and is it a crime to look, anyway?
But after that tumble, Yang Xueyi’s dislocated arm was hurting again.
She thought about it and decided it was still Ying Yun’s fault.
Was it all that muscle?
There was nothing soft about Ying Yun—no cushion at all.
She felt like lying on him had done her more harm than good.
And what did this annoying guy keep in his pants pocket anyway?
It was hard and uncomfortable, pressing into her as she lay on him.
With her arm in a sling, she struggled to get up and tried to shift away from the hard object in Ying Yun’s pocket.
But as soon as she moved, Ying Yun suddenly sat up, not the least bit gentlemanly, and shoved Yang Xueyi off as if he’d been shocked.
Yang Xueyi was caught off guard and nearly hit her head on the wardrobe by the bed, but at the last moment, Ying Yun’s conscience kicked in and he reached out to steady her, keeping her from bumping into the wardrobe.
Yet even though she was the one who’d been pushed around, Ying Yun still looked at her like he’d suffered the greatest humiliation, showing no intention of apologizing. Instead, he gritted his teeth and ordered,
“Get out.”
Yang Xueyi almost laughed out of anger, “Ying Yun, you nearly made me hit my head and now you want to kick me out? Need I remind you? This is the basement nanny’s room—your room is upstairs on the second floor!”
Even if this villa did belong to Ying Yun, the nanny’s room was where she and her mom lived! Why should she have to leave?
But Ying Yun couldn’t even be bothered to keep up appearances anymore, completely giving up on reason.
He just sat on the bed, face cold, insisting, “Get out. Now.”
Fine, she could leave, but not without conditions…
Yang Xueyi glanced at Ying Yun’s torn shirt, “I really didn’t mean to ruin your shirt. Can you not make me—”
Before she could finish the word “pay,” Ying Yun cut her off coldly—
“Just get out.”
His tone was nasty, his face foul, but his ears were oddly red, and his usually icy gaze was now tinged with anger, along with a flash of embarrassment and impatience.
Was he suddenly ill?
Or having some kind of breakdown?
Ying Yun had never been nice to Yang Xueyi before, but he’d never been so weird as to suddenly claim the nanny’s room for himself.
Was pretending to be so upright every day finally too much, and Ying Yun had finally snapped?
Yang Xueyi was reluctant, but this was Ying Yun’s house after all, and his expression was so strange she was afraid of causing more trouble—or of him chasing her down for the cost of the shirt—so in the end, she could only glare at Ying Yun resentfully and walk out of the room.
Other than the nanny’s room, the rest of the basement in Ying Yun’s house was used for storage.
Standing outside, staring at the empty row of cabinets, Yang Xueyi couldn’t help but stomp her feet from the cold.
Compared to the nanny’s room, this space was huge, so even with the floor heating on, it was much colder than inside. Kicked out by Ying Yun, she hadn’t even grabbed a warm jacket.
Who knew if Ying Yun was being considerate or what, but five minutes later, just as Yang Xueyi was about to curse him, he seemed to anticipate it, opened the door, and tossed her fluffy pajamas out—
“Put them on yourself.”
Yang Xueyi, shivering, hurried to put them on and finally felt a bit warmer.
“Ying Yun! Are you planning to stay here all night?”
Yang Xueyi had no idea how long he intended to occupy the nanny’s room, so she had to ask.
But inside, Ying Yun ignored her completely.
Unbelievable!
Truly, even a gold miner can’t dig up this kind of stubbornness!
Yang Xueyi was getting annoyed herself, “Fine, you stay in the nanny’s room, I’ll go upstairs and stay in your room.”
This time, Ying Yun finally spoke.
His voice was tightly controlled, gritted out between his teeth, “Yang Xueyi! You are not allowed in my room!”
Then give me back my room!
Yang Xueyi rubbed her hands for warmth, planning to just make do on the first floor for now, when she heard a loud “bang”—Ying Yun violently opened the nanny’s room door.
No explanations, no words, Ying Yun rebuttoned all the buttons that were still hanging on his shirt.
Though he looked a bit disheveled, his aura was so strong that even in messy clothes, he still looked perfectly proper.
But his face was extremely unpleasant.
He was the one who kicked Yang Xueyi out and insisted on staying in the nanny’s room, but now he looked like the room had somehow sullied his noble young master aura.
Ying Yun looked like he’d suffered some great humiliation, his ears still red, and even his cheeks and eyes a bit flushed.
Could he actually be sick?
“Ying Yun…”
Yang Xueyi instinctively reached out to touch Ying Yun, but his reaction was extreme.
“Don’t touch me.”
He dodged her instantly, as if reflexively, his expression cold and his voice low and warning, looking at Yang Xueyi like she was a virus.
“Don’t you have a staff dorm? Why are you still living at home instead of moving out?”
Because she quit her job, there was no more staff dorm…
But Yang Xueyi couldn’t say that, so she forced a casual tone, “I dislocated my arm recently, so it’s inconvenient to stay in the dorm. You’re an orthopedic doctor, so I feel safer living here with you.”
At her answer, Ying Yun just curled his lips, “I’m not that free.”
“Yang Xueyi, stay away from me. Go back to your staff dorm right now.”
He rudely threw down this line, didn’t spare her another glance, and, not even bothering to wait for the elevator, strode up the stairs and left.
Psycho!
Yang Xueyi checked the time—Ying Yun had only occupied her room for maybe ten minutes.
What was that jerk up to?
Yang Xueyi went back to her room and checked the layout and her things—nothing seemed out of place.
But remembering Ying Yun’s weird behavior as he left, just to be safe, Yang Xueyi decided to turn on the air purifier—who knew if he’d brought in some virus!
She flopped onto the bed in a huff, but soon rolled over and struggled to sit up again.
Damn Ying Yun.
He’d left his strong, lingering scent all over her bed!
She didn’t know if it was job stress, hormonal imbalance, or harassment from Li Liming, but for the past year, Yang Xueyi had been plagued by insomnia.
She’d seen doctors, gotten prescriptions, tried melatonin and every kind of sleep aid she could, but nothing really worked.
Whether she slept well or not was up to fate.
Insomnia wasn’t a huge deal, but it wasn’t nothing, either.
After a year of this, even though Yang Xueyi was young, sometimes she was exhausted during the day and dreamed of just getting a good night’s sleep.
Now, lying in bed, the scent clinging to her nose made her feel like Ying Yun was right beside her.
Her mind was a mess, as if she really was sharing the bed with Ying Yun—so unlucky!
Her plan to scare Ying Yun away by pretending to chase him had clearly failed completely.
She didn’t know why, but it seemed Ying Yun didn’t believe for a second that she could genuinely like him.
Yang Xueyi snorted to herself—at least that jerk had some self-awareness.
But what now?
Yang Xueyi was a little anxious.
Sooner or later, her resignation would come out, and if Ying Yun let it “accidentally” slip to her mom, the consequences would be unimaginable…
That jerk Ying Yun was so difficult, and after just a few days in his house, he was already telling her to get lost…
Ugh!
If only she didn’t have to live with Ying Yun!
At this moment, Yang Xueyi couldn’t help but recall the scene in Hokkaido when Ying Yun kicked her out of the wedding chapel.
Now, after all these years, he was kicking her out of the nanny’s room and threatening to make her leave the villa.
In that sense, Ying Yun was at least consistent—ten years ago he wanted her gone, and ten years later, he still did.
Yang Xueyi knew all too well that Ying Yun hated her.
For ten years, he’d made things hard for her, giving her the cold shoulder, probably hoping she’d get the message and leave.
But poverty was a crime sometimes—it made it impossible to hold your head high.
Yang Xueyi also wanted a place to call her own, so she’d never have to worry about being kicked out by some arrogant jerk, unable to say a word in protest.
She didn’t want to stand helplessly outside the nanny’s room, trying to coax this neurotic young master to come out.
Just recalling the way Ying Yun looked at her—as if even one more glance would contaminate his vision—made Yang Xueyi furious.
In his eyes, she was probably no different than a piece of trash dumped in the wrong bin outside.
She didn’t understand how someone as hateful as Ying Yun could exist, and why she had to be stuck living with him for ten years!
Yang Xueyi really, really, really, really hated Ying Yun!
But maybe because she spent so much energy cursing him in her heart, she eventually wore herself out.
Even though her bed still smelled like Ying Yun, Yang Xueyi drifted off into a muddled sleep.