It turns out that when she smiles so brightly, she's truly beautiful—far more beautiful than any photo could capture.
The person who took those photos never managed to capture her real beauty. If I were the one behind the camera...
Charles Yin's train of thought stopped abruptly at this point.
Charles Yin's narrow eyes slowly lowered.
What was happening to him?
Why would he have such a strange thought?
He actually had the urge to take pictures of Cecilia Gu?
Who was Cecilia Gu to deserve such treatment? What right did she have for him to take her photo?
She was just a vessel to bear his child, nothing more.
Charles Yin lifted his leg and walked toward the house, with Alex quickly following behind.
Cecilia Gu was happily dancing when she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.
She instantly stopped spinning and turned around to look!
As she turned, Charles Yin's face came into view, catching her off guard.
Wait... wasn't he supposed to be in Germany?
"What do you think it means to be the Yin family's young mistress? Don't enjoy the privileges of the Yin family while acting in a way that's unbecoming of the Yin family's young mistress!" Charles Yin's words were as cold as knives, cutting deeply into Cecilia's heart.
The watering can in her hand fell to the floor, water trickling out and quickly seeping into the floorboards.
Charles Yin's gaze immediately locked onto Cecilia Gu's bare toes.
Her pale toes were right there, and he suddenly felt his mouth go dry.
He'd met countless beautiful women, but this was the first time he'd ever found a woman's pale toes so uniquely attractive.
Mrs. Zhang nodded slightly. "This is the normal standard for the Young Mistress. As the lady of the Yin family, you have the right to a personal chef, a personal maid, two cleaning maids, four gardeners, two drivers, at least four bodyguards, and of course, a housekeeper assistant. I'm the housekeeper assistant. We're all on call 24/7. In a few days, Grandma Evelyn Yin will also assign two personal nutritionists to take care of your meals and daily life."
This was the space for the CEO and his wife. As the perfect assistant, Alex naturally knew when to show up and when to disappear.
Cecilia Gu was stunned—completely stunned.
She had actually researched Germany last night!
Germany was tens of thousands of kilometers away. Even for Charles Yin, a round trip would take at least two days!
Why did he leave just last night, and come back today?
What on earth was going on?
Charles Yin saw Cecilia Gu's smile freeze on her face, and a faint sense of displeasure flickered in his heart.
Was she not happy to see him come home?
Just thinking about that possibility instantly soured Charles Yin's mood.
"Wearing so little—is this how you take care of the child in your belly?" Charles Yin's voice turned cold, without a trace of warmth.
Only then did Cecilia Gu snap out of it. She hurried in from the balcony, stammering, "The weather's really nice today, and it's summer. Besides, I'm the only one at home..."
"Didn't I tell you that the new maid and gardener would be here this morning?" Charles Yin's anger began to rise. "How can you dress like this? Where's your sense of propriety?"
Just thinking that, if he hadn't come home in time, those workers would have seen Cecilia Gu like this made his anger impossible to contain. If Alex hadn't left right away and hadn't seen Cecilia's bare feet, Charles would've wanted to fire him!
His wife—how could he let other men see her looking so alluring?
"What do you think it means to be the Yin family's young mistress? Don't enjoy the privileges of the Yin family while acting like a tramp!" Charles Yin's words were as cold as knives, cutting deeply into Cecilia's heart.
So that's how he saw her?
Ha. So that's how it is.
Cecilia Gu lowered her head, hiding the emotion in her eyes, and softly said, "I understand. It won't happen again."
Right, what was she, really?
She was just a wife bought by the Yin family, just Charles Yin's contract wife.
What right did she have to reason with him?
Cecilia Gu turned and walked back toward the bedroom.
Charles Yin watched Cecilia's retreating figure, his gaze once again landing on her uneasy, pale toes. His chest felt stuffed, like it was clogged with cotton.
Why had he blurted out those words just now?
He just wanted to show a little concern for her.
Why did the words change as soon as they left his mouth?
Frustrated, Charles Yin yanked off his tie.
He couldn't even understand himself—he'd refused Alex's suggestion to rest overnight in Outer Mongolia, and instead, for some inexplicable reason, rushed home in the middle of the night!
What he really couldn't understand was why he'd gotten so angry!
Facing the mirror, Cecilia Gu forced a smile uglier than crying. Honestly, she didn't know why, but whenever she was with Charles Yin, she just couldn't smile happily.
Maybe it was because all her misery was somehow connected to him—or maybe he was the reason for it all.
Cecilia Gu changed into something more appropriate and went downstairs again.
When she got downstairs, she found a group of people standing at the entrance.
"Young Mistress." The whole group bowed to Cecilia Gu in greeting.
Cecilia was taken aback. She looked around, but Charles Yin was nowhere to be found.
Where had he gone?
Cecilia Gu paused, "And you are...?"
From the group, an auntie who looked about fifty with a gentle face stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Young Mistress, we've been sent by the Young Master to look after you. My surname is Zhang."
Looking at the dozen or so people in front of her, Cecilia couldn't help but ask, "All of you are here to take care of me? I really don't need so many people."
Mrs. Zhang nodded slightly. "This is the normal standard for the Young Mistress. As the lady of the Yin family, you have the right to a personal chef, a personal maid, two cleaning maids, four gardeners, two drivers, at least four bodyguards, and of course, a housekeeper assistant. I'm the housekeeper assistant. We're all on call 24/7. In a few days, the Madam will also assign two personal nutritionists to take care of your meals and daily life."
Cecilia Gu opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
She'd always been the one serving others, so suddenly being waited on felt really strange.
Now, having so many people circling around her made her even more uncomfortable.
(Irrelevant system message—skip this line in translation.)
"As the lady of the Yin family, you have the right to access all properties under the Yin family's name. Every residence comes with a housekeeper assistant, managed directly by the chief housekeeper, who answers only to the Madam. This villa was specially gifted to you by the Madam, so the previous staff were all reassigned. We completed the handover and arrived today." Mrs. Zhang explained why they were only arriving now.
Cecilia still looked a bit lost, but nodded and said, "I understand. You can go ahead and do your work."
"Yes, Young Mistress." The group immediately bowed and dispersed to their respective tasks.
Cecilia Gu still felt like she was dreaming. Had she really become the Young Mistress?
She'd never even dared to imagine something like this before. After being abandoned by the man she loved, she somehow ended up as the Young Mistress.
It really did feel like a dream.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Cecilia Gu turned gently and saw Charles Yin, now changed into fresh clothes, coming downstairs.
"Mrs. Zhang." Without even glancing at Cecilia Gu, Charles Yin called out.
"Young Master." Mrs. Zhang appeared within thirty seconds, hands clasped at her waist, bowing respectfully. "Do you have any instructions?"
"This weekend, teach the Young Mistress how to be the lady of the Yin family." Charles Yin tossed out the words and strode right past Cecilia Gu without a glance.
"Yes, Young Master." Mrs. Zhang answered respectfully.
Cecilia Gu turned to look at Charles Yin's tall, upright figure as he walked away, a wave of annoyance flashing through her heart.
But she couldn't even tell if she was annoyed because he wanted her to learn the rules, or because he was ignoring her.
As soon as Charles Yin left, Mrs. Zhang turned to face Cecilia Gu: "Young Mistress, during breakfast, I'll teach you proper dining etiquette. Half an hour after breakfast, we'll begin with social manners. At four in the afternoon, you'll learn the art of tea, and in the evening it's dance lessons. Since you're pregnant and shouldn't do strenuous movements, we'll switch to piano lessons instead."
What? So much to learn?
Cecilia Gu wailed inwardly.
If she'd known being a rich family's Young Mistress was this exhausting, she would've never agreed to it!
Sure enough, the rest of the day was spent with Mrs. Zhang tirelessly teaching her.
If Cecilia Gu showed even a hint of impatience, Mrs. Zhang would patiently repeat things over and over. Seeing that Mrs. Zhang was about her mother's age and still had so much to say, Cecilia felt a little guilty, so she forced herself to keep learning.
By the end of the day, Cecilia Gu was dizzy and exhausted, but she really had learned a lot.
At least next time Charles Yin took her to a dinner party, she wouldn't be clueless about all those strange utensils.
When Charles Yin walked in, this was the scene before him.
Cecilia Gu sat at the piano, her face scrunched up, tapping stiffly at the black and white keys with her little hands.
But her eyes still shone with determination. No matter how many times Mrs. Zhang corrected her, Cecilia would stubbornly start over again.
"Young Mistress, that's enough for today. Once the Young Master returns, you can have dinner and rest." Mrs. Zhang sighed—this Young Mistress was tough, very much like the Madam in her younger days, but a bit slow. Even such a simple piece was hard for her to play.
Cecilia's eyes sparkled with fighting spirit. She looked up at Mrs. Zhang and said, "Charles Yin isn't back yet, so I'll practice a couple more times."
"Young Master." The maid at the door noticed Charles Yin and bowed her head in greeting.
Charles Yin handed what he was carrying to the maid and walked over to Cecilia Gu.
Mrs. Zhang bowed respectfully, then stepped aside.
Cecilia was a little surprised—how did Charles Yin get back so quickly?
Charles Yin sat down beside Cecilia, took her fingers in his hand, and said, "Relax! If you're this tense, you'll never play the piano well. Let me show you."
He released her fingers, and his long hands gently touched the keys, pouring out a stream of beautiful music.
Although Cecilia didn't really like Charles Yin, she had to admit—when he played the piano, he was truly elegant and charming.