March 31st, Morning

I got up and tucked the quilt around my sister curled beside me before heading to wash up. Xinran had slept in my room last night but hadn’t touched me—probably worrying about my wounds.

I appreciated her concern, but honestly, my injuries weren’t that serious…

I couldn’t recall how I’d gotten to the hospital. When I woke, I was already in a bed. Keling was sobbing uncontrollably, while Mom and Xinran watched me with worry etched on their faces. They fed me meals and even followed me to the bathroom.

Seriously! I wasn’t disabled! Was all this really necessary?

Such an overreaction…

Even more unbelievable was what Mom told me: Jilianbing had stayed in my hospital room all day on my first day there. Mom kept praising her as a caring girl and told me to treat her well. It made me frown.

And she came back the next day. And the day after… Until yesterday, she’d shown up every morning for hours.

Truly unbelievable.

Frankly, I’d expected her to finish me off while I was down. Back then, if she’d just left me to bleed out, she’d have gotten exactly what she wanted—a fresh corpse from blood loss.

Yet she chose the one option I never saw coming: keeping me alive.

But I’d already pieced together why.

She probably wanted to kill me *herself*.

No outside help. Just her own hands ending me.

This guess came from her own words: she’d never killed anyone before and wanted to offer her "virgin kill" to me. That part felt true.

Thinking back, before I could see Jilianbing’s titles, none of us—not even me—had realized she was a killer. I’d only marveled at how perfectly she’d hidden it. A murderous ghost right beside us, while we remained clueless lambs awaiting slaughter.

But now I understood: she truly hadn’t killed anyone yet. No traces. No evidence…

Her pride wouldn’t allow opportunistic kills either. Otherwise, she’d never have proposed that disadvantageous condition—making me her boyfriend.

Pity her "virgin kill" meant nothing to her, while my "virgin death" would be permanent. This wasn’t a game. Death here was final. No respawns…

Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone I’d been attacked by an undead corpse. Luckily, Jilianbing had already cooked up an excuse: I’d shielded her from falling down the stairs.

Only Dad probably knew it was a lie. Some wounds clearly weren’t from a fall.

Speaking of Dad—he’d insisted I stay hospitalized for a week. Completely unnecessary… Honestly, I didn’t even need to be admitted. Only the abdominal wound was serious, stitched up with five or six sutures. The rest were trivial.

So yesterday afternoon, I’d quietly checked myself out and gone home.

Splashing warm water on my face, I winced as shallow cuts stung slightly. After drying off with a damp towel, I stuck band-aids on my left cheek and forehead.

A bit unsightly, but better than being bandaged up. Bandages gave me… well, a cringey vibe.

Glasses on, I headed downstairs as usual to make breakfast and bento. But as I approached the kitchen counter—someone was already there.

Not family. A stranger. Yet impossibly, she blended right into our kitchen, moving with practiced ease.

And that outfit… Undeniably a maid uniform.

The black-and-white dress seemed to come alive on her, layered lace elegant yet dignified. I’d only seen her two or three times before—this had to be Miss Shirley.

I took off my glasses to check her title. Yep. Miss Shirley.

But why was *she* in my house? Wasn’t she Jilianbing’s maid? Had she broken in again? To cook breakfast? What was going on?

“Mm…”

My confused mutter slipped out.

Miss Shirley turned, smiled faintly, clasped her hands before her, and bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Master Cheng.”

“O-oh. Morning…”

All my questions vanished under that maid’s greeting. A *maid*! Seeing one first thing in the morning felt like a dream.

“Would you prefer Chinese or Western breakfast, sir?”

“Uh… Congee, I guess.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment. Breakfast will be ready shortly.”

I nodded dumbly and sat down, watching Miss Shirley work. An odd warmth filled my chest.

How long had it been since I’d sat at the table, watching someone make breakfast…

That maid-uniformed back made me want to hug her from behind…

No. Nostalgia and maid fantasies could wait! Why was Miss Shirley *here*?!

“Um… Miss Shirley. How did you get into my house?”

“No need to worry. I wasn’t trespassing. I visited last night after you fell asleep. The head of household granted me permission to stay and gave me a key.”

“The head of household… my dad?”

“Yes. Your father returned home at eleven last night. He left for work shortly before you woke up this morning.”

Still coming home so late… But at least he came back.

Lately, both parents were swamped. They spent most days at the hospital. Before, Dad always made it home by seven, even when busy. Now he was barely seen.

“…Lots of overtime lately, huh.”

“Yes. With the recent string of murders, hospitals and morgues are overwhelmed.”

“Huh? Murders?”

“Yes. For your safety, I’ll escort you after evening self-study.”

“That’s really not necessary…”

“No. It’s the young mistress’s order. Until your wounds heal, I’ll remain here to care for you.”

Miss Shirley placed a delicate breakfast before me, her tone leaving no room for refusal.

“She also asked me to relay a message.”

“What is it?”

Miss Shirley didn’t speak immediately. She closed her eyes for three silent seconds. When they opened—

*“Hohoho~ Master Cheng, you checked out early? Such a disobedient boyfriend. Your wounds aren’t healed yet—I’ve been so worried~ So I sent Shirley to look after you… Consider it compensation for tricking you with a maid at the café last time. After all, my maid-obsessed darling… you can’t resist them, can you? Hohoho~ If you can’t control those urges, Shirley can help. But a warning: she’s not just my maid. She’s my mentor too. Trying to force yourself on her won’t end well… Hohoho…”*

*Cough! Cough!*

I nearly spat out my congee!

Incredible! She’d perfectly mimicked Jilianbing’s voice, her expression—even the creepy laugh. Like the girl herself stood there!

Miss Shirley, you’re too versatile!

“That’s the gist of it.”

I glanced awkwardly at her still-smiling face. “I-I’m not like that…”

Miss Shirley gave a knowing smile, as if reading my thoughts. “Don’t worry, Master Cheng. Even if you have… expectations of maids, I won’t look down on you. In fact, I’m relieved… Of course, if needed, I can assist with your physiological needs manually.”

*“Cough! Cough! Cough!* No thanks!”

No wonder Miss Shirley and Jilianbing felt similar—that calm demeanor, that smile. Like copies.

Ah. Because she was Jilianbing’s mentor…

No wonder she was the 【Perfect Head Maid】.

“Brother? Who are you talking to…?”

“Hm? Keling? You’re up early today.”

Keling had walked in. Since when did she rise this early?

“Waaah~ Maid-chan~!”

*Pitter-patter-pitter-patter.*

She dashed over and hugged Miss Shirley around the waist, spinning in circles with sparkling eyes.

“Oh my, Miss Keling. So energetic this morning.”

Right. Keling loved maids too… She’d even bought a maid outfit online and worn it for me a few times. I’d banned it later—too lethal (adorable).

“Mm! Shirley woke me up!”

So *that’s* why Keling was up early… Wait. Miss Shirley had been in the kitchen this whole time. When did she wake Keling?! Do maids have clones?!

“Hehe. If you’d like, I can wake you every day.”

“Wow~ That’d be amazing! Keling *loves* maids! Brother loves them too~”

“Serving the young masters is my honor.”

“You’re so amazing, everyone loves you, Shirley~ Too bad you’re not *our* maid…”

“You may treat me as your family’s maid.”

“But won’t your real owner miss you?”

“The young mistress isn’t my owner. And other maids will care for her in my place. So please, Miss Keling—use me as you wish.”

“Really? Yay! Keling will be super happy if Shirley’s our maid!”

“Hehehe… I’m delighted to serve both young masters.”

“…”

…They were both smiling warmly, yet an inexplicable pressure hung in the air. Their words felt layered with hidden meaning…

Watching them interact so… intimately? I suddenly felt my presence fading—just like back in class.

Mumbling that I was full, I grabbed my bag and headed for the genkan.

As I slipped on my shoes to leave, a voice stopped me.

“Wait a moment, Master Cheng.”

“Hm?”

Miss Shirley approached, straightened my collar, tucked a clean handkerchief into my pocket, and pressed a bento into my hands. Her smile was radiant.

“Safe travels, Master Cheng.”

Wow. So dazzling… This was a maid’s healing power…

“A-ah. Thanks.”

I’d taken about five steps from the front door when a sinister aura suddenly seeped from the house.

…Going back now might reveal something terrifying.

Somehow, home didn’t feel peaceful anymore…

Please let this be my imagination…