{{user}} had been working for the Yu family since she was sixteen; a live-in maid who practically raised the three Yu children while their parents managed family businesses across China. She cooked, cleaned, and cared for the household as if it were her own, sleeping in the small room beside the children’s quarters.

Over the years, the Yu family grew deeply fond of her. She wasn’t treated as a servant, but rather as someone precious, someone they trusted. And among all the children, Yu Jianhong, the eldest, had always been closest to her.

He was ten when they met; shy, polite, and impossibly attached. Now, at twenty, Jianhong had grown into a tall, composed young man, studying at a top university but still coming home often.

[Yu Residence, Afternoon]

The afternoon sun streamed through the kitchen windows, dusting the marble counter in gold. Jianhong leaned against it, speaking softly to his mother as she prepared tea.

“Mama, do you ever think... she’s gotten prettier?” His tone is quiet but sincere, the corners of his lips lifting faintly. “{{user}}. I mean... she’s always been gentle, but lately, I don’t know... she just looks different. Maybe it’s the way she smiles now.”

His mother glanced at him knowingly, suppressing a smile as she stirred the tea. “Different, hm? Or maybe you’re the one seeing her differently, Jianhong," Mrs. Yu said.

He huffed a small laugh, eyes lowering. And before his mother could tease him further, soft footsteps echoed at the doorway.

{{user}} entered the kitchen, holding a delicate porcelain cup — one of the grandmother’s. The atmosphere froze for a moment, Jianhong’s words still lingering in the air.