A maid with black hair and an ordinary appearance guided me through the seemingly endless corridors of the Gu mansion. One particularly noticeable thing about her figure was her large bust. Like, really large.
Ever since Gu Sheng called for her, she hadn't said a single word, which made me wonder if perhaps she was mute.
"Here we are. This is the bathroom designated for you, sir."
She said this as she stopped in front of a large black door that was no different from all the others. Apparently, she could talk and just didn't feel like making small talk.
Well, whatever. I didn't want to talk to anyone anyway. But one thing was certain: remembering exactly where the bathroom was must be a nightmare.
"Thank you. It must have been difficult to memorize the bathroom's location among so many identical doors." I thanked her with a smile, even throwing in a little compliment.
The maid's expression didn't change even an inch. She simply gave me a polite nod.
"Do you need anything else?"
"No."
"Then I'll take my leave."
Turning around, the maid walked away through the same corridor we'd come from, leaving me dumbfounded as I watched her figure disappear into the distance.
"Alright..." I muttered to myself.
The maid had simply left me alone in this unfamiliar place. I guess she didn't like me...
It doesn't matter. I can use this time to explore, and maybe I'll even find Bai Yue's room.
Before leaving, I left my hospital slippers in front of the door so I wouldn't get lost among all these absolutely identical doors. After all, I wasn't that maid. I couldn't possibly be expected to know where the bathroom was.
Left or right?
If I go right, I'll be going back the way I came, so I'll go left. The corridor I'd come through was empty, and although there were a few security cameras at important points, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about them. I think if I move underneath them, keeping myself close to the wall, I can avoid being noticed on the footage.
"The head maid is always so cold, with that arrogant air about her. Did you know she fired Aoi just because she broke one of the plates?"
"Of course I know that. I work here, you idiot, and in my opinion, she did the right thing."
"The right thing? Gu Sheng has more money than we could ever dream of, and besides, he doesn't even care about things like that..."
"..."
Before I could even turn the corner, I heard two voices approaching, which made me stop and look for somewhere to hide. The windows had velvet curtains that were thick and very long.
The place was perfect. The thick, dusty fabric brushed against my face a few times, but I didn't dare move, afraid that the slightest movement would reveal my presence.
The footsteps drew closer, and with them, the voices became clearer. Two men, as far as I could tell, talking in a relaxed and casual tone.
"She is very professional, that's true. But sometimes it feels like she's one of those machines. I don't know how to explain it."
"That's just how she is, man. You'll never see Mei smile, but she never treats anyone badly without a reason."
"Mei?... Who the hell is Mei?"
"Yeah, but what about Aoi? She was a nice girl."
"She broke a plate worth more than our salary. There was no way they could let that slide. But I heard Mei managed to find her another job, so she wasn't left helpless."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Yep. Mei doesn't talk much, but she looks after everyone. I think if she had the choice, she wouldn't have fired Aoi either, but rules exist for a reason."
"She's the only person in this mansion I trust." The other man laughed. "If Mr. Gu didn't trust her, he wouldn't have made her the head housekeeper."
The footsteps gradually faded, and the voices disappeared as they turned the corner. I waited a few more seconds before finally letting out the breath I'd been holding.
Head housekeeper, huh? That woman who brought me here seemed pretty cold... Maybe she's this Mei? Whatever. It's not something I need to know right now, but it might come in handy somehow.
I stepped out from behind the curtain, brushing the dust off my clothes.
I think I should go back. I was lucky those guards were incompetent and didn't see me, but what will happen if someone finds me and reports this to Gu Sheng?
All the fragile trust he'd placed in me could come crashing down.
Fuck, I don't even know what I was thinking when I decided to wander around snooping. It was pretty obvious that someone like Gu Sheng wouldn't have guards patrolling only outside.
Without waiting for someone else to appear in the corridor, I turned around and went back the way I'd come.
"..."
I walked for a few minutes.
"..."
I was already starting to break into a cold sweat.
How long had I been walking? It hadn't been that long, but I should have found my slippers by now.
"Sigh..." I sighed deeply.
Those guards took my slippers...
"...I'm going to have to search for them one by one..."
Fuck.
I wonder how people even use the bathroom in this mansion... No, actually, I should be wondering why the hell all the doors are absolutely identical and nobody put up at least a little sign pointing to the bathroom.
I took a deep breath, trying to push away the frustration that was already beginning to bubble in my stomach.
Complaining mentally about the pretentious architecture of rich people wasn't going to solve my main problem: I needed to find that bathroom, and fast, before someone saw me wandering around here barefoot and looking suspicious.
I approached the first black door on my right. I looked around, making sure the corridor was still deserted, and turned the doorknob.
I cautiously peeked inside, praying I'd find the bathroom on my first try. But no. It was just a large, silent room.
The smell of mold and dust invaded my nostrils. The faint light from the corridor barely illuminated heavy furniture covered with white sheets, looking like motionless ghosts in a dark cemetery.
Definitely not the bathroom. I quietly closed the door.
One down.
I took two steps to the left and tried the next door. The doorknob turned with a very soft creak. I opened it a crack, hoping I'd finally find the bathroom.
But I was wrong again.
It was an absurdly empty room. There was no covered furniture, no curtains on the large windows, not even much dust accumulated on the floor. The solid wooden floorboards glowed faintly under the outside lighting, smooth and untouched.
"Rich people have some weird habits when it comes to collecting useless space..." I muttered under my breath, closing the door with a muffled click.
I moved on to the third door, already feeling a cold sweat forming on my forehead.
I turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and...
"Finally..." I sighed, feeling an imaginary tear of pure emotion roll down my face as I locked the door behind me.
Inside, it looked like something straight out of a movie.
The bathroom was made entirely of white marble, so bright that it nearly blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes.
Once my vision adjusted to the brightness, I finally realized just how huge this bathroom was. I think it was three times larger than the hospital room I'd stayed in—and that room had already been pretty damn big.
I stepped into the bathroom, which looked more like a ballroom, while staring at my reflection on the marble floor.
"My God, why does it have to be this damn big? Even my footsteps echo!"
In the center of the empty room was something resembling a pool, surrounded by steps. Right above that "bathtub," the ceiling had a strange fixture. Could that be... a shower?
"Being rich is fucking crazy..."
After closing the door behind me, I began taking off my clothes. After all, there was no way I could take a shower while wearing them.
As the fabric slid off my skin, the cold air seemed to caress my body. I like the cold, so to me, it was actually a rather pleasant sensation.
After taking off those clothes that barely covered my body anyway, I tossed them onto the floor nearby. Gu Sheng had said he would provide me with new clothes, so I really didn't need these anymore.
Standing at the edge of the bathtub, I stared at the crystal-clear water filling it. Then I looked around a few times, but couldn't find the shower controls.
"Or... How the hell do I turn this thing on?"
I frowned and looked around the bathroom, but couldn't find any faucet, valve, or anything that looked like it could turn the water on.
The bathtub is already full. Maybe that's not how this works?
I mean, nobody leaves a bathtub full of water if nobody's going to use it, so the maids must have prepared it for me already.
"Hmm... Must be."
Just as my toes were about to touch the water, the door suddenly opened.
The sudden noise made me spin around to face the source of the disturbance.
'This was a bad idea...' I thought as my foot slipped on the smooth marble and I lost my balance.
For a moment, I felt my body tip forward.
"Ah, sir!"
I heard a female voice scream as the floor approached in slow motion.
But it was so slow that I had enough time to admire my reflection in the marble and even brace myself with one arm to keep my face from kissing the floor.
Conclusion: my agility is so high that I'm comparable to a certain speedster hero.
"What are you doing here?" I sat down on the floor and looked up at the newcomer.
It was the same maid from before. She had a slightly incredulous expression—obviously, she was the one who had screamed a few seconds ago. In her hands, she carried a towel, some neatly folded clothes, and on top of everything else, a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo.
"S-sorry, sir. I startled you." She straightened her posture, desperately trying to sound professional again, but still didn't dare raise her eyes. "My return is in accordance with Master Gu's orders. He asked me to deliver new clothes and a towel. The soap and shampoo are complimentary."
The way she was avoiding looking at me was almost funny. Maybe she didn't want to embarrass me, or perhaps she simply didn't want me to think she was a pervert.
But I don't care about the reason. I want her to look at me.
Not that I'm an exhibitionist... Okay, maybe a little, but look at my appearance. For someone who had been ordinary his entire life, I'd be crazy if I didn't show off this nearly perfect body.
And besides, although this unknown woman had an ordinary appearance—wearing that black-and-white maid uniform—she gave off a different kind of charm from the other women I'd seen.
"I'll leave these things here. You can take them after I leave." Under my watchful gaze, she crouched down and placed the shampoo, soap, and clothes on the floor one by one. "Nobody uses this bathroom, so the floor is clean and your clothes won't get dirty."
"Okay."
I instinctively nodded and answered, but my real focus was on her breasts, which seemed to push forward when she crouched down.
It didn't seem intentional, and in a way, that only made the sight more exciting.
"Miss Maid, could you help me with a few things?"
The maid's shoulders tensed, and she quickly raised her eyes to look at me, only to avert her gaze again, her face turning red.
"Mr. Bai, it isn't part of my duties to assist you with any complications you may have while bathing." She spoke politely, but the refusal in her tone was obvious.
I was already expecting that answer, and although a few impure thoughts had genuinely crossed my mind, that wasn't what I wanted.
"Does that mean you can't teach me how to turn on the shower?"
"Ah?!"