“What if that person did something really, really awful to you and the people close to you?”

Mu Yao still wanted to get to the bottom of it. He felt Nangong Ruihui could at least point him in the right direction.

“Then forget.”

Nangong Ruihui stood up from the bathtub. That was how she always did things. Meaningless kindness was just a waste of time. If someone had crossed the line, then forgetting them was absolutely the best way.

“Master, I’ll listen to you...”

“Don’t overthink it.”

She slid the bathroom door open. Wrapped in a bath towel, Nangong Ruihui stood behind Mu Yao. Even when she went in to bathe, she hadn’t forgotten to bring her chest binder. Her size was honestly not small. She couldn’t let Mu Yao notice.

Through the door, she could see Mu Yao’s shadow sitting on the floor. The moment she opened it, Nangong Ruihui braced him with her legs. Otherwise, if he leaned back even a little, he’d get a full view.

“Ruihui, you’re done washing up?” Mu Yao stood up and patted his skirt.

“Hm?”

“Master... you’re done washing up?”

“Yeah. Come on, to my room.”

She rubbed Mu Yao’s little head and led him straight to the bedroom. She wanted to relax a bit.

Mu Yao really wanted to say that Nangong Ruihui’s skin was amazing. She was fierce as hell when she beat people up, yet there weren’t any obvious muscles on her arms. She felt a little different from other boys.

Since he’d been given an extra cat tail, it definitely couldn’t just be for decoration. The mischievous Mu Yao kept using “tail-swat attacks.” Nangong Ruihui didn’t feel any pain, but holding back her laughter was getting hard.

“Ah~~”

The moment she entered the room, Nangong Ruihui flopped straight onto her bed and enjoyed the indescribably smooth touch of the silk quilt.

“Yaoyao, come sit on my back~” Nangong Ruihui called lazily, her eyes slightly closed.

Instead of going forward, Mu Yao backed up. Was Nangong Ruihui already starting to have ideas about him? It was still morning! Ahhh! And she was even telling him to climb on top of her. That was obviously suspicious!

Then he thought about it again and decided it made sense. If she wanted to do something bad, she should be on top of him, not asking him to get on top of her. With that thought, Mu Yao regained his confidence. Before Nangong Ruihui could urge him again, he took off his new shoes, climbed onto the bed, and straddled the tops of her thighs.

“Master, do you want me to give you a massage?” Mu Yao asked smartly, already placing both hands on Nangong Ruihui’s back.

“Good, you catch on fast. Start. I’m dead tired after running five or six kilometers just now.”

Mu Yao’s massage skills were nothing short of amazing. The last time he kneaded her a little, it had felt so good she could barely breathe. All the energy she’d spent in a day had instantly come back.

Being the student council president was exhausting. She was much busier than ordinary students. Right now, the student council lacked members who could carry out the duties Nangong Ruihui was supposed to handle, so a lot of things had to be done personally by her.

For example—

Mediating conflicts between students, handling reports submitted by the various student council groups, making time for dorm inspections, and beating up little punks who bullied other students.

And there was much, much more besides that. Most importantly, her grades couldn’t slip either. It was practically a position only someone outstanding in every area could take.

Yingshengya Academy had more than five thousand students. It really wasn’t easy for one person to handle every big and small matter. Recently, Nangong Ruihui had been looking around the academy for students who could help her. Progress had been pretty slow.

...

At that moment, outside Nangong Ruihui’s room, Xingzi was carrying a tea set to wash when she heard some rather disharmonious sounds.

“Ah~ ahh~ Yaoyao’s hands feel sooo good~”

“Hehe~ of course it feels good. I’m a pro!”

Xingzi froze. What exactly were those two doing in there...?

And that wasn’t even the end of it. Just as Xingzi shook her head and got ready to leave, it started again inside—

“Master, is here okay?”

“Ah, maybe not there. It’ll be really ticklish.”

“It’s fine. Once the ticklish part passes, I promise you’ll feel great~”

“Th-then go slower...”

Now Xingzi really couldn’t stay put. She had to go in and see what her young lady and the girl who came this morning were doing. The butler had said maids had the right to check on their master’s daily life.

Knock knock—

Xingzi knocked twice, but the people inside didn’t hear a thing. The two of them were fully into it.

“Young Master Ruihui, I’m coming in.”

The door was only half-closed, so Xingzi pushed it open at once. The air instantly froze. There were no disheveled clothes, no intimate whispering. Mu Yao was giving Nangong Ruihui a massage! Aside from the posture being a little questionable, nothing they were doing had crossed the line.

Damn it! She really had overthought it!

“Do you need something?” Nangong Ruihui frowned. The moment Xingzi came in, Mu Yao stopped.

“I... I... I’m just taking the cup. Sorry for disturbing you, sorry~”

Awkwardly, Xingzi quickly cleared away the glass on Nangong Ruihui’s bedside table, the one with barely two sips missing, then turned and left, closing the door behind her.

“Hoo~” Xingzi let out a breath.

This was more like it. Nangong Ruihui had always kept herself clean and proper. Inviting someone home to flirt and fool around was obviously unrealistic. She’d acted too impulsively. She hadn’t expected it to be a massage. Besides, Mu Yao wasn’t even a boy, so there was no problem.

In the afternoon, it was time for Mu Yao to clean with the maids. He took on half the work on the second floor. He should be able to finish around sunset. Then he could hand Nangong Ruihui a satisfying result, and today’s maid experience card would expire.

There wasn’t anything especially unbearable about being Nangong Ruihui’s maid. Aside from having to call her Master and wear that embarrassing catgirl maid outfit, Mu Yao couldn’t really feel any superior attitude from her. They still got along the same way they usually did at the academy.

Clatter—!!

Distracted, Mu Yao accidentally knocked over a piece of porcelain with his cat tail. It wobbled twice, then crashed to the floor. Hearing the sound, Nangong Ruihui came out of her room. Xingzi also rushed over with a mop in hand.

“Ah! This is the valuable blue-and-white porcelain the family head just had someone win at auction last week!”

The moment Mu Yao heard that, it felt like a bolt from the blue. Even if he sold himself, he couldn’t pay that back. It was over...

Looking at Xingzi picking up the porcelain shards in front of him, Mu Yao lost all strength and collapsed onto the floor in a duck-sit.

“What are you getting so worked up for? It’s just one porcelain piece. If it’s gone, we’ll buy another. Yaoyao, you didn’t cut your fingers, did you?” Compared to the blue-and-white porcelain, Nangong Ruihui was more worried about Mu Yao. She crouched down and checked his fingers one by one, pinching each gently.

Mu Yao was a careful person. Nangong Ruihui had already guessed most of it. It was the cat tail’s doing. If anyone really had to take responsibility, it should be her fault. This wouldn’t have happened with a normal maid outfit.

“I... I’ll pay for it. How much is it?”

Stubborn as ever, Mu Yao only wanted to compensate for it. Even if he couldn’t afford it now, he could pay it back slowly. This had happened because of him.

“Who said I want you to pay for it? Are you rich?!” Nangong Ruihui wiped away the tears gathering in his eyes and raised her voice.

“Master... wuwuwuwu—”

He couldn’t control his feelings anymore. Nangong Ruihui’s words, all of them on his side, moved him completely. He threw himself into her arms and started sobbing.

“But from now on, you have to be my maid for life.” Nangong Ruihui’s lips curled up. Watching Mu Yao go from despair to hope and then back to despair again was truly a wonderful process~

“Huh?!—”

Xingzi: “Wait?!—”