Having such a beautiful young man call her "pretty lady" made Qi Qingyao feel quite good about herself. She took a deep breath and resisted the urge to let him stay, saying solemnly, "Look, I'm dirt poor over here. We're staying in a straw hut! I can't bear to let you stay here as a servant."

"But you told everyone that you hired me as your servant just now." The corners of Sijin's lips wobbled.

"Aw, you…" He was too good at acting pitiful, so she had to hang in there. She could not let him trick her. Qi Qingyao put down her foot and said, "I only did that because I had no choice. But you're acting too suspicious. No normal person would ever beg to be a servant. This guy here, for instance, he owes me money and I even saved him! He lost his memory, though, so he's paying back his debt with his body! If you don't believe me, ask him. If he has the money to pay me back, he'll be gone in an instant!"

"B-But I don't have a home to return to." Si Jin lowered his gaze.

"How about this? I'll give you some coins and you can stay the night at Baishui Town. After that, you should look for a job." It was easy bringing him in, but it was much harder to get him out. Qi Qingyao took a few coins from her can helplessly and put them in front of Si Jin.

"I don't want money." Si Jin's brow was tightly furrowed. He looked upset.

"Alright then, what do you want?" Qi Qingyao asked.

"I-I just want to be your servant," Si Jin said seriously after some hesitation.

"..." Qi Qingyao looked at him without a word and then looked around her. "You really won't leave, will you? We can't afford to pay you here, honest."

Si Jin said softly, "I don't need pay. All I want is food and shelter."

"I'm dirt broke. Look, I only have one bed-stove. I can't give you shelter." Qi Qingyao pointed at the bed, completely exasperated.

"You'll get a huge mansion and strike it rich eventually," Si Jin mumbled.

Qi Qingyao, "..."

He could tell?

She could not be bothered to debate him anywhere. "Fine. Let's make a deal. Once I can afford it, I'll hire you as my servant. How's that sound?"

Si Jin was silent for a moment, but eventually he agreed.

They even pinky-promised on it.

After that, Si Jin left with great reluctance.

Qi Qingyao watched the boy walk past the gate and disappear into the dusk.

By the time Qi Qingyao sat back down, Jiang Yeqian said, "He must have an ulterior motive."

Qi Qingyao gave a long sigh as she cleaned up the cutlery. "He must have fallen for my breathtaking looks. That's why he's so desperate to become my slave!"

Jiang Yeqian, "..."

How narcissistic could she be?!

"You think I'm narcissistic, don't you?" Qi Qingyao could tell what he was thinking, so she turned around and asked.

Jiang Yeqian pursed his lips and said nothing.

Qi Qingyao harrumphed. "I have nothing to offer, but he insists on serving me. If not my looks, what else could he be after?"

He could be after…

Jiang Yeqian thought it over, but he could not come up with anything more logical.

That boy's origins were utterly mystifying.

When he ate, he barely took any meat at all, obsessing over the rice instead. Perhaps he really was a servant, the type who usually ate rice and was not used to meat. At the same time, perhaps he was sick of meat after eating too much of it. In that case, though, he had to be from a good family. There was no way he could have slaughtered the pig so neatly, then! He looked like he was used to roughing it out. Did that mean he was not lying about his past? Did he really work as a servant for a long while?

…

After Si Jin left Qi Qingyao's house, he ran right back to Jiuli River. Once there, he stood on the bank for a long time.

Just then, there happened to be an old man fishing nearby. He glanced at the boy and went back to retrieving his fishing rod and bucket. It was getting late, and he had caught a fat, fleshy black fish today!~ He had fish to eat for tomorrow, now.

As he was clearing up and about to go home, from the corner of his eye he saw the young man abruptly leap into Jiuli River.

The old man was so shocked that he dropped his fishing rod.

"The river, someone jumped into the river!! It's a suicide!"

The old man hurried to the place where he had jumped and looked into the water. He wanted to save the boy, but… There was nothing in the river and no traces of the boy.

Shivers ran down the old man's spine.

Had he seen a ghost in the middle of the night?!

The old man scrambled back home with all his things in tow.

Not far away, under the surface of the river, an adorable little golden koi danced in the water happily.

At the same time, he thought,

'Suicide? As if…'

He just rarely left the water, and suddenly spending half a day on land left him feeling ill-accustomed. All he wanted was a quick swim or two!