256 End of the Maid’s Day (1/2)

Being a dog person, it was impossible for Yujia to not grin upon seeing Mimi. It seemed like there was just a natural instinct within her which made her feel the urge to just run her fingers all through Mimi's fur, along with giving the cute dog a million pats and ”who's a good boy”s.

Mimi seemed to recognize her as well. Either that, or his friendly attitude towards all humans made him act the way he did. He immediately fixed his attention on Yujia and was full of doggy-kisses and tail-wagging, barely paying attention to Zixu. Maybe he just found Yujia, who was still very unfamiliar, more interesting than someone who he already knew very well.

Yujia found Mimi's energy and happiness contagious. Though she was already tired from everything she did today, being around Mimi was like being around a natural charger, replenishing all of her lost energy.

She didn't understand how people could be around dogs without giddy smiles bursting across their face.

”I love your dog,” Yujia said as she turned around to look at Zixu.

He was staring at her, not Mimi, his gaze somewhat different, in a way that Yujia couldn't quite describe. She blinked, and the gaze disappeared, replaced by his usual one. ”Hm? You do?” he asked, in a more rhetorical way.

Yujia nodded, her eyes narrowing. She considered asking Zixu about his stare, but she decided against it. Maybe she saw wrong. Or maybe she just misinterpreted him, yet again.

”Mimi is so sweet. I really missed him since the last time I saw him,” she ended up telling him, all the while petting Mimi over and over again.

”In the future, if you miss him, you can come over to visit,” Zixu carelessly replied.

”Really?” Yujia glanced up at him again.

Zixu paused. He tilted his head, then told her, expressionlessly, ”Actually, it may not be a good idea for you to visit often, considering your identity.”

”Ah. Right.” Yujia's hands froze. She straightened herself, sighing. ”You have a point.”

There was some bustling noise outside in the courtyard, which Yujia noticed after tearing her attention away from Mimi. The noise ceased after a while, and Shen Li was the one who ended up peeking in from the open doors that Mimi burst through in.

”What's going on outside?” Zixu asked.

”Young Master, they're some servants from Second Young Master's courtyard who say that they were trying to give the dog a bath, before it escaped. They wanted to know if the dog ran into your yard, considering that they heard barking…” Shen Li's words fell off when he noticed Mimi, cowering behind Zixu.

Yujia stood up, dusting off her hands. Mimi's eyes went to meet hers, a sort of pleading within his expression. He definitely didn't want to take that bath.

Zixu definitely noticed Mimi's unwillingness as well. He let out a soft breath, informing Shen Li, ”Tell them the dog is not in my room.”

”Why didn't you tell them?” Yujia questioned while Mimi fell in her arms again.

Zixu bent down and scratched the back of Mimi's ears, which the dog seemed to like. He explained, ”Mimi is stubborn enough to not take that bath if he doesn't want to. He would need a few people to drag him out, and it would be inconvenient and noisy.” He glanced at the paper windows, seeing the dimming light filtering through. ”Anyways, it's not early anymore. You should get going, through the back. Mimi can send you off.”

Standing up again, Yujia agreed. ”Alright.”

That was the end to her day with Yu Zixu.

…

Zixu sent her out of his courtyard, but he didn't follow her after that. She was still dressed like a maid, after all, and it would be strange for a young master to send off his maid. Mimi followed after her happily though, running along without a worry in the world. That was just Mimi's personality, eager to spend time with every new person he met.