Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 315 - 9, Beautiful scenery on a good day, like a dream (2 more 1)
The next day.
Shi Nian didn’t go to work. She just greeted Ye He, saying she needed to go for an interview.
After explaining, Shi Nian headed straight to Huangfu Huazhang’s castle.
Unexpectedly, Huangfu Huazhang’s castle was so quiet it seemed as though time stood still, and there was no hardship in the world. The servants quietly attended to their duties, and the hall was devoid of the crowd of ready-to-go subordinates she had imagined.
——He showed no urgency, unlike her, in rescuing Xiong Jie.
So she swallowed her original eagerness, slowed her steps, entered the castle, and gave a slight bow to the uniformly white-shirted and black-pants-clad servants: "Hello, is the gentleman available?"
Everyone in the castle, including the two she saw answering the door last time, were all slender and tall men with tranquil brows and eyes, as if they had never felt any emotional fluctuation and even couldn’t speak. If they weren’t working, one might think they were part of Madam Tussaud’s wax figure collection.
In fact, in Shi Nian’s eyes, Xia Zuo was once such a person, only after he had a bout of anger with her last time, he seemed more alive.
The servant nodded: "The gentleman just got up. He’s having breakfast at this time."
Shi Nian nodded: "I wonder if it’s convenient for me to go upstairs to see him?"
The servant unceremoniously said: "It is not convenient. Sorry, ma’am, breakfast is the gentleman’s rare relaxation time, and it’s not suitable to disturb him at this moment for any matter."
Shi Nian awkwardly nodded: "Okay. Then is it convenient for me to wait for the gentleman in the living room on the first floor?"
Only then did the servant nod slightly: "Please go ahead."
.
Shi Nian went into the first-floor living room to sit down, and the servant responsible for the first floor gently tapped the hanging copper bell at the staircase. The sound of the bell was short and crisp, notifying the servants on the second floor.
The second-floor servant, holding a newspaper freshly pressed with an iron, placed it on a tray, carried it single-handedly into the small sitting room connected to the gentleman’s bedroom, and conveyed the news of the downstairs visitor to Huangfu Huazhang.
At this time, Huangfu Huazhang was sitting in the small sitting room connected to his bedroom, wearing a pure white nightgown. A breakfast spread and a manually pressed newspaper were already placed on the table in front of him.
The sunshine outside the window was delightful, the sky an intense blue, and every window of the castle formed a picturesque scene, beautiful enough to intoxicate.
Such a fine morning, such beauty and tranquility, yet could not bring Huangfu Huazhang any joy. He had no appetite and even lacked the interest to unfold the newspaper.
Hearing she was here, just downstairs, obstructed by the diligent servants... he sat dazedly in the chair, outwardly calm and composed, but inwardly in turmoil.
He wanted to go downstairs himself to bring her up or at least have the servants invite her upstairs. But a part of him was reluctant, his mind still replaying last night, when he foolishly stood outside her house in the small street, enveloped by the night, struggling to maintain a smile and gentle words, while hearing her stiff lies.
Especially — her insincere moans that were both painful and joyful, making his heart chaotic, rekindling the urge to smash that VERTU worth 680,000!
But who could he blame? If blame was to be had, it could only be directed at himself for being too deeply involved emotionally, for being unable to resist running to her door under the cover of night, hoping to use the affair concerning Xiong Jie as a chance to see her. That way, the long, deep night would not be so unbearable.
But she didn’t know he went there, so how could he blame her for anything?
He sat there in such a daze for who knows how long. The servants knew the food on the table had already surpassed its best temperature for consumption, unable to continue serving as the master’s meal, only to become a piece of waste.
Xia Zuo also saw the gentleman in such a state.
Xia Zuo couldn’t even recall the last time he had seen the gentleman appearing so peaceful, yet truly despondent.
Back then, when the old master passed away, he had not been like this; upon hearing the tragic news of the lady, he also had not been this way.
Even he once believed that nothing in this world could make the gentleman lose his composure and calmness... but now, he realized he was wrong.
Objectively speaking, what happened last night wasn’t even a significant event, according to the gentleman’s usual temperament, it should be brushed off lightly as if dust, passed by with a flick of the sleeve. But the gentleman inexplicably lost his calm.
Xia Zuo could only sigh gently, stepping forward and softly saying, "The young lady has been here for a while. Considering the time, usually, by now the gentleman would have finished breakfast and read the newspaper. So it’s best to invite her upstairs; if she waits any longer, it would be us being discourteous."
Even the term "Miss" was corrected several times by the gentleman. Initially, he just called her "Mr. Shi," later changing it to "Miss Shi." That day, the gentleman specifically gave him a look and said: "Calling her by her full name is too distant; it’s the way one addresses strangers. Change it from now on."
Xia Zuo was momentarily at a loss and could only ask, "Sir, what should I call you?"
Turning his eyes to the azure sky outside the window, the gentleman squinted with a serene smile: "Since she calls me ’Sir,’ you should call her ’Miss.’ No names needed, it sounds intimate, and ’Sir and Miss’ make a pair."
.
Huangfu Huazhang finally came back to his senses, raised his eyes and looked at him quietly, slowly saying, "Yes, the people below have already told her I was having breakfast. It’s past breakfast time, and if I delay meeting her any longer, she will know I’m upset."
He smiled wryly, "Xia Zuo, I really wanted her to know I was upset; but I still feel I shouldn’t let her know I’m upset."
The gentleman’s back-and-forth contemplation made Xia Zuo frown involuntarily, bowing slightly, he said gently: "Sir, you always hide your emotions well; no one can guess whether you are happy or upset. Not even those around you, myself included."
Xia Zuo’s tactful words made Huangfu Huazhang smile faintly: "Yes, I understand. But she’s not like everyone else; she’s the girl I’ve been waiting for twelve years."
He turned his head to look out the window, his elbow resting on the armrest, fingertips supporting his forehead: "Xia Zuo, how many twelve years do we get in life? Especially the best twelve years of my life."
Xia Zuo lowered his head.
He understood; to the gentleman, Shi Nian was different from everyone else. Back then, the man facing her was not the William Ford who later concealed his feelings, but just an ordinary man in white, seated beneath the mist of flowers.
No identity, no name, even confined to a wheelchair, expressionless.
Yet she insisted on walking under his window every day, showing him her most sincere smile, without even knowing if he was behind the window.
The gentleman, who grew up in loneliness and abandonment, was so proud, yet had to yield to this cold and harsh world. Everyone either despised him or revered him, but no one ever gave him an unguarded, almost transparent smile. Only his little girl, the one he initially scorned, then subconsciously looked forward to seeing every day.
Xia Zuo nodded: "Sir, you change your clothing first, and I will personally go downstairs to invite Miss up."
"No need."
Huangfu Huazhang finally let out a long breath, as if his inner struggle was resolved by Xia Zuo. He got up joyfully. His posture and the speed of his movements didn’t resemble a steady 35-year-old man but rather a lively 20-year-old young man.
"I’ve kept her waiting so long already; how can I make her come upstairs and wait for me to change? I should dress and go down directly."
Saying so, he walked briskly into the dressing room, yet he still held the door, quietly asking his valet: "Today, it’s best not to wear formal attire; otherwise I’d look too old-fashioned... Besides formal wear, what should I wear? It shouldn’t be too casual, but not too serious either."
From this view, even his silhouette was full of ease and joy.
Seeing the gentleman like this, Xia Zuo could only sigh quietly.
.
"Ding dong..."
A copper bell hanging in the stairwell outside the first-floor living room rang softly. The servant in the living room understood, walked silently to stand by Shi Nian’s side, and clearly whispered in a voice only she could hear: "Sir will be down in five minutes, please prepare yourself, Miss."
Shi Nian couldn’t help but smile, "What should I prepare for?"
She had seen such bells in British dramas before and didn’t expect that Huangfu Huazhang’s castle still preserved the traditional customs of European nobility in this age.
Shi Nian, smiling, stood up, walked to the door, and stood beside the servant: "Should I be standing here, bowing to wait for the gentleman to come down?"
The servant was slightly embarrassed but still nodded solemnly: "No need to bow, just stand respectfully at the stairway and wait."
Shi Nian couldn’t help but cover her mouth with her hand, smiling. She felt like she had time-traveled, accidentally becoming a medieval shepherdess in a trailing gown, who wandered into an Earl’s castle, and then stared dazedly as the god-like handsome and majestic Earl descended the stairs gracefully, bursting into her line of sight, and into her heart...
She couldn’t help but shake her head at herself: too into the scene, must take half a step back.
The stairs lightly creaked, and Huangfu Huazhang came down slowly in a long light brown Merino wool coat, with a classic patterned scarf of the same color around his neck. The thin red lines in the pattern brought a glow to his eyebrows and eyes.
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[Second morning update]
