The Engineer Falls for His Sweet-Scented Maid - Chapter 38: Get On. We Need to Talk
His body loomed over her like a mountain, enclosing her entirely in shadow.
The clean scent of soapberry and the distinctly male smell of him surrounded her.
“You really weren’t there?” Huai lowered his head, his breath brushing her cheek.
Nianhe had reached her limit.
Her bladder was bursting, her breasts ached with fullness, and now he had cornered her outside her room in the middle of the night to interrogate her.
She was only a domestic helper from the countryside, living in constant fear as she tried to earn her keep here. Why must he bully her like this too?
Even the meekest person had a temper.
“I said I wasn’t there!” She pushed hard at his shoulders. Her eyes were red now, her voice full of hurt and anger. “Why do you keep asking me, Engineer Shen? You’re blocking my door in the middle of the night. If Auntie Liu sees us, how am I supposed to stay in this house?”
Huai froze.
He had never expected this timid creature, who usually scarcely dared breathe, to talk back to him.
Taking advantage of his surprise, Nianhe shoved his hand away and slipped past him.
“You have status and standing. You don’t have to fear gossip. I’m only a maid, but I still have my dignity!”
She ran down the corridor to the toilet without looking back.
The wooden door slammed. The lock clicked.
Silence returned to the corridor.
Huai stood in the same position.
He looked at his empty hands. They still held the warmth of her lower back.
Her defiant words, spoken through reddened eyes, echoed in his head.
I still have my dignity.
He lowered his hands and let out a long breath.
She was right. Blocking her door at this hour to ask such a thing—what was he doing?
If it really had been her, how could she dare admit it?
If it hadn’t, how was his behavior any different from a thug’s?
He stood there a while. Only when he heard water running in the toilet did he turn and head upstairs.
Inside, Nianhe leaned against the sink and gulped air.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her face was flushed as though with fever. The neckline of her old blouse was in disarray.
Quickly, she fastened every button, right up to the top.
That had been far too close.
The moment he held her, her legs had gone weak.
If she had not summoned the strength to push him away, she might have betrayed herself on the spot.
After relieving herself, she lingered in the toilet for a long time.
Only when she judged that Huai must have gone upstairs did she ease the door open and slip along the wall back to her room.
She lay on the hard bed and wrapped herself tightly in the thin quilt.
She absolutely could not be alone with Huai again.
The man was too dangerous.
He looked cold, but once he came close, there was no concealing that oppressive, aggressive force.
Early the next morning, a bicycle bell rang clearly through the compound.
Nianhe rose early as usual.
After feeding Ping’an, she handed him to Auntie Wang and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Huizhen was up early too, neatly dressed, her hair combed without a strand out of place.
She stopped at the kitchen door, glanced at Nianhe, and gave an instruction. “Nianhe, make a couple of extra egg pancakes this morning. Huai is meeting someone at the state-run café. He should eat well before he goes.”
Nianhe’s hands paused in the dough.
Meeting someone at the state-run café?
She had not been in the city long, but she knew that was where young men and women went to meet prospective spouses.
Engineer Shen was going on a marriage date.
“Yes, Auntie Liu.” She lowered her head and resumed kneading.
The dough grew smooth beneath her hands, but she could not put a name to what she felt.
A little hollow. A little bitter.
This was a good thing, she told herself.
If Huai married a city girl from a suitable family, he would stop going out of his way to look after a country maid.
There would be no more episodes like last night, with him blocking her door at some ungodly hour.
She could earn her wages in peace. Once she had saved enough, she would move out and never have to return to Liuhe Village.
Breakfast was laid on the table.
Wanshan sat at its head, reading the newspaper.
Tao and Liping had not yet come downstairs.
Huai descended in a brand-new white short-sleeved shirt and sharply pressed navy trousers.
He was already tall and striking, with stern features. Having made a small effort with his appearance, he looked handsomer still, and even some of the coldness around his eyes had softened.
Huizhen surveyed her younger son and nodded in satisfaction. “Eat up. Then get ready and go. She’s an officer in the Publicity Department, an educated woman. Don’t sit there scowling.”
Huai pulled out a chair without a word.
He picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of egg pancake.
Nianhe came from the kitchen with a bowl of hot congee and placed it before him.
“Your congee, Engineer Shen.” Her voice was perfectly steady. She did not so much as look at him.
His eyes settled on her face.
Today she had pinned her braids at the back of her head, exposing the smooth line of her neck.
She still wore the old blouse, its collar fastened with meticulous care.
She could not have looked more proper.
Remembering the way she had fought back in the corridor, her eyes red, Huai stopped with the pancake halfway to his mouth.
Had she heard he was meeting a prospective bride and decided to draw a clear line between them?
He returned the pancake to the plate. Suddenly, he had no appetite.
“Huai, why aren’t you eating?” Huizhen asked.
“I’m not hungry.” He took two mouthfuls of congee and put down the bowl.
Rising, he picked up the briefcase resting against the back of his chair. “I’ll stop by the mill first, then go to the café at ten.”
He strode out of the house and wheeled his bicycle from the courtyard.
Nianhe stood at the kitchen door, watching him disappear beyond the iron gate.
Then she returned to the sink, took up a cloth, and scrubbed the chopping board hard, pouring her inexplicable irritation into her work.
At ten that morning, soft music played in the state-run café.
Huai sat by the window.
Across from him was a young woman in a Russian-style dress.
She was pleasant-looking and soft-spoken, and kept trying to find something to talk about.
“Comrade Shen, I hear the light textile mill has been bringing in new equipment lately. You must be very busy?”
His hands were clasped on the table, but his gaze was on the street outside.
All he could think of was an old cotton blouse and an intensely sweet milk scent.
When he failed to answer, the woman lifted her coffee and took an awkward sip.
Huai looked back at her.
Respectable. Proper. A suitable family match.
Yet he felt no interest at all.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be direct: I don’t wish to pursue this.” He stood abruptly. “I have things to do at the mill. I must go.”
She stared at him. “But we’ve only been sitting here for ten minutes…”
He offered no further explanation. He paid at the counter and pushed through the glass door.
The sun outside was fierce.
He mounted his bicycle. But instead of riding toward the light textile mill, he found himself turning onto the street where the Municipal Party Committee Compound stood.
In the distance, a figure in a blue floral blouse emerged from the provisions shop, carrying a shopping basket.
Nianhe had just bought greens, tofu, and other things for lunch.
The basket was heavy. After carrying it a little way, its handle had reddened her palm. She stopped beneath a roadside tree to change hands.
She had just done so when a bicycle stopped in front of her.
Huai put one foot to the ground, his tall body blocking the harsh sunlight.
Nianhe looked up in surprise.
Wasn’t he meeting a prospective bride at the state-run café? What was he doing here?
“Get on. We need to talk.”
He looked at her, his tone allowing no argument.
