Chapter 6

The Yu family’s level of wealth went a bit beyond what she’d imagined.
Who else had to drive more than ten minutes past the front gates just to reach the part of their “home” that actually had a roof?
Standing at the door of the elegant, imposing villa, one hand on the handle of her suitcase, Xiang Changge asked the system in her mind for what felt like the hundredth time, “Hey, System, tell me—under these family conditions, how can that young lady possibly feel that life is meaningless?”
The system didn’t want to respond, but it was reaching the end of its patience.
“Everyone has different goals in life. Yu Qing is a sensitive, delicate person. So what if she needs love to go on living?!”
She had no idea how popular this supporting character was outside the book. Without that popularity, the system wouldn’t even exist, and a person who was supposed to be dead and gone would never be standing here asking questions. Yet this host still dared to keep asking and asking in that impossible‑to‑describe tone. She really didn’t know what was good for her!
Unaware of the system’s internal rant, Xiang Changge remained genuinely puzzled. “But you can still live without love. It’s having no money that really kills you.”
Compared to a heart that had died, a literal, physical death was the real end.
The system couldn’t be bothered to reply. It chose to go offline.
No sooner had Xiang Changge finished her telepathic chat than two neat lines of people came pouring out from the villa’s main doors—around forty of them all told.
They lined up under the front eaves and bent at a crisp ninety degrees toward her, shouting in unison, “Welcome, Butler, to your new post!”
Right after that, an elderly woman in a wheelchair—she looked to be in her sixties—was pushed up to Xiang Changge. Smiling, she greeted her, “Hello, Butler Xiang. I’m the Yu family’s previous butler. From now on, Miss Yu Qing and the Yu family will be in your hands.”
For some reason, Xiang Changge, who had assumed she was just here to be a glorified servant, suddenly felt a weight settle onto her shoulders, as if something had been placed on them.
At the same time, the two words “Yu Qing” landed in her heart for the first time with a certain distinct heaviness.
“Beep.”
“Host successfully in position detected.”
“The main task of this plot‑rewrite mission—‘Save the early‑death supporting character Yu Qing, help her regain her faith in life, and let her live happily’—is now officially issued. Host 8802, please approach your work with the utmost seriousness and complete your mission as soon as possible.”
“If the main task is completed, the host will be rewarded with one unconditional wish. If the main task fails, the host will be struck by a falling meteor!”
“…”
In that moment, Xiang Changge’s ears and mind were filled with noise. She squeezed her eyes shut hard.
They were all so loud.
Also… when was dinner?
Certain Ge: So hungry. [sobs wildly][sobs wildly]
Certain System: [oh oh oh][oh oh oh]
Who’s going to come give our little Xiang and little Yu a pair of loving, fitting nicknames? [pretty please][pretty please]
Dinner, however, was not going to happen—at least not yet. The other staff, including Uncle Huang the chauffeur, had all gone to eat, but Xiang Changge was still standing in the study, clutching the tablet and thick notebook the former butler had given her, listening as the older woman carefully explained her years of experience and all the things Xiang Changge would need to keep in mind in the future.
She had no idea how much time had passed; her head was buzzing. At last, the study door was gently knocked.
After the former butler said, “Come in,” a middle‑aged woman in a Yu family uniform walked in.
Her gaze first fell on Xiang Changge, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes before she smiled. “Have you finished going over everything, you two? The young miss would like to see Butler Xiang.”
The previous butler nodded kindly. “More or less.”
Then she turned to Xiang Changge. “Butler Xiang, if there’s anything you don’t understand later, you can also ask Aunt Yang here. She’s an old hand in this house and has been looking after the young miss since she was small.”
Her words didn’t just tell Xiang Changge who she could go to for help in the future; they also quietly reminded her that this woman was one of the ‘favorites’ at the young miss’s side, with a deep bond between them.
Xiang Changge, however, paid no attention to the subtext. All she knew was that she finally didn’t have to sit through class anymore.
So when she followed Aunt Yang out of the study, Xiang Changge let out a long breath, rolled her shoulders, and shook out her neck, drawing three circles in the air with her head.
Aunt Yang, who had been watching her closely: “…”
A little weird, but I’m not sure yet. Let’s keep observing.
Thinking of how this woman was the butler Miss Yu’s parents had raised specially for her, Aunt Yang couldn’t help warming to her a little and explained, “Because the young miss usually gets up late, at this time she’s normally only just finished lunch and will be doing something for entertainment.”
“She spends most of her time in the music room. Sometimes she’s in the studio, and if she’s tired she’ll go straight back to her bedroom.”
“Today she’s in the music room. It’s on the fourth floor—the studio’s on the fifth, and it has the best view in the whole house…”
Talking as she walked, Aunt Yang led Xiang Changge toward the elevator.
Listening, Xiang Changge took out her phone for a quick glance at the time.
It was now a little past four in the afternoon.
In the novel, this young lady’s habit had been not sleeping at night and not getting up during the day. Even when she did get up, she only picked at her food, then went off to engage in various melancholy activities before going back to lying down again. Sometimes she wouldn’t eat anything all day.
Xiang Changge really didn’t understand the point of having nutritionists and chefs in this villa.
Maybe the author had just wanted to boost the employment rate.
Everything in the Yu household was top of the line. The elevator was smooth and fast; hardly two seconds after they stepped in and pressed the button, they had already arrived on the fourth floor.
The door to the music room was open. The moment Xiang Changge stepped out of the elevator, she heard a low, extremely sorrowful melody. She couldn’t tell what piece it was, only that every note made her heart feel weighed down.
Rubbing the spot over her heart, Xiang Changge let out a quiet sigh and asked in her mind, “System, I feel a little sad now… Does this count as a workplace hazard?”
System: “…”
Can’t hear you. Did 8802 say something?
As Aunt Yang led her down the corridor, the piano music grew clearer and clearer.
By the time they stood at the music room door, a thin figure was framed in Xiang Changge’s view.
In the spacious music room, a black grand piano sat by the floor‑to‑ceiling windows like a protagonist under a spotlight.
At that moment, a woman in a white long dress and beige shawl, her black hair cascading down her back, sat on the piano bench with her back to the door. Her slender fingertips danced over the keys like the feet of a performer, treading out a stream of notes.
Outside the spotless floor‑to‑ceiling windows, the sky was thick with clouds and rain.
The wind carried the rain—sometimes drifting past like mist, sometimes lashing about like the leaves of the distant trees, scattered and torn.
With that rainy backdrop and the sorrowful piano music, Xiang Changge, who had been in a perfectly good mood a moment ago, suddenly felt a little depressed herself.
Aunt Yang, however, was completely used to it.
They stood in the doorway for a while. When the woman at the piano paused after a short passage, Aunt Yang finally knocked lightly and called, “Miss, Butler Xiang is here.”
The room was wide and open. The piano notes came with their own echo—and so did the human voice.
Xiang Changge saw the person inside freeze for a moment at Aunt Yang’s words before slowly turning around.
The first thing Xiang Changge saw was her profile, and then her full face.
[Melancholy was her talent. Words like ‘Lin Daiyu’ and ‘sickly beauty’ seemed to have been born for her.]
For some reason, that exact line rang in Xiang Changge’s mind.
Her face was scarcely larger than a palm. Under the chandelier’s glow she was so pale she was almost translucent, yet the lack of color didn’t dull her beauty at all—if anything, it made it more breathtaking.
She looked like a wounded dragonfly, fragilely perched on a human fingertip.
At the sight of her, people instinctively felt the urge to soften their breathing, afraid that breathing too heavily might scare her away.
Her dark brows and eyes, whether from physical discomfort, a troubled heart, or both, had long been knit with an unbroken thread of worry.
The faint ring of unhealthy red around her eyes erased the sense of world‑weariness she exuded and left onlookers with only the impression that she was heartbreakingly pitiful.
Her bloodless lips were like rose petals that had lost their color. When they moved, a voice flowed out like a stream at the foot of a snow‑capped mountain, still carrying shards of un‑melted ice.
“Xiang. Chang. Ge?”
Her voice was a little hoarse.
It was like a butterfly, dazed by the rain outside the window, stumbling and tumbling straight into Xiang Changge’s arms.
“Yes.”
On reflex, Xiang Changge raised a hand to rub her tickling ear.
What a strange feeling.
The sensation of a paper‑thin character turning real was something she still wasn’t used to.
Aunt Yang, tactful as ever, took her leave and closed the music room door behind her, leaving the newly appointed employer and butler face‑to‑face.
Looking at the woman at the doorway, whose answer had been as concise as could be, Yu Qing frowned slightly.
Was someone with so little tact really the butler her parents had carefully prepared for her?
After a brief silence, Yu Qing, forcing herself to be a bit more patient because of the other woman’s identity, spoke again. “I’m Yu Qing.”
Xiang Changge nodded. “Hello, I’m Xiang Changge.”
“…”
The air went quiet all at once. Separated by some distance—one sitting, one standing—they stared at each other in silence.
Xiang Changge herself didn’t feel much of anything, but the system, watching from the sidelines, was about ready to climb the walls.
“Watashi’s dear host 8802, what are you doing! This is Yu Qing—your mission target Yu Qing, the one your whole little life depends on! The data doesn’t say you’re the taciturn type at all. Say something! This is your boss. Your life!”
What kind of new employee was this, standing in front of their employer and being this stingy with words? Who was really the boss here? Did she not want the job anymore?!
Boss.
Right—eight hundred thousand a month!
The key phrase in the system’s ramble finally triggered something in Xiang Changge. She snapped back to the reality that her beautiful future life was entirely pinned on the person in front of her.
With that realization, it was as if her meridians had suddenly been opened. Xiang Changge walked forward a few steps and, like a student reciting from a script, began to present her information to Yu Qing.
“Boss, let me introduce myself.”
“I’m twenty‑two this year. I graduated three days ago from the Royal International Butler Management Academy in Bribatol. I’m 173cm tall, weigh 55kg, and my measurements are…”
“Wait.”
Listening to her, Yu Qing found her gaze had unconsciously drifted down from Xiang Changge’s face. She quickly cut her off, forcibly lifting her dark eyes back up to that bright face.