My arrogant, domineering childhood nemesis suddenly went blind. He lost his job, his girlfriend ran off, and with nowhere else to go, he came to me for refuge. I took care of him for half a month, until I accidentally saw a text message on his phone. "You little faker, you're putting on quite the show." "How long are you planning to crash there?" That night, I silently swapped my cotton teddy bear pajamas for a hot, silk slip dress. 01 Mason Sterling had been crashing at my place for half a month when I accidentally saw his phone screen light up. "Has your little childhood sweetheart realized you're faking it yet?" "Half a month of playing the blind guy is enough, right?" "If you don't come back soon, the company is actually going to collapse!" The sound of running water stopped. Mason was done with his shower. A moment later, his pitiful voice echoed from inside. "Chloe, I can't get out by myself~" I marked the messages as unread, placed the phone exactly where I found it, and slowly walked over. Inside the bathroom. Mason sat on the edge of the toilet, a white towel wrapped around his waist. His head was bowed, and he was twiddling his thumbs like a wronged child. "Hearing" me walk in, his face contorted into a pout. "What took you so long? "You know I feel insecure after going blind, yet you're taking your sweet time. "I was so scared sitting alone in this dark, damp place." I let out a soft scoff. "Got it. This humble servant is here to escort the young master to bed." Only then did Mason reluctantly stand up. It wasn't until he was safely tucked into the guest bedroom that I changed out of my conservative cotton bear pajamas. I reached into my closet and pulled out a hot, sexy, silk slip dress. I put on a full face of bold makeup and knocked on Mason's door again. "I'm heading out for a bit." "Where are you going this late?" "Grocery shopping." Mason raised an eyebrow. The sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue was forcefully swallowed back down. "Grocery shopping at this hour? I'm blind, Chloe, not stupid." "Oh, so you aren't stupid..." I dragged out the syllables playfully, then went up on my tiptoes. My lips grazed the man's ear. "You're right, I'm not going grocery shopping." "But where I'm going isn't suitable for a little blind boy. "Be a good boy and wait for me at home." 02 Mason Sterling was the quintessential spoiled rich kid. My mom was the Sterling family's live-in housekeeper. Growing up, I practically lived at the Sterling estate. Since childhood, this young master had a terrible temper—volatile, arrogant, and incredibly childish. His absolute favorite pastime was bullying me. But I was no pushover. When he ordered me to massage his arms and legs, I charged him by the minute and scammed him out of his allowance. When he tried to scare me with caterpillars, I immediately snitched to his parents and claimed he was bullying his classmates. We fought our way from kindergarten all the way to high school. Our dynamic finally shifted during the summer before our junior year. We were walking home together after late-night SAT prep. Out of nowhere, he asked, "Want to kiss?" I said, "Sure." And just like that, we started dating. The year we graduated, he completely rejected his family's plans to send him to Europe for college. Instead, he applied to Boston University—the exact same school as me. I thought it was because of me, until I accidentally overheard him talking to his friends. "Chloe? I'd have to be literally blind to actually fall for her! "Please, I'm only going to Boston for Lexi!" Lexi Harper. The absolute beauty of our graduating class. Whenever our school hosted events, she and Mason were the designated co-hosts. They were everyone's golden couple. I didn't cause a scene. I just quietly changed my college application at the last minute. I blocked Mason on everything. I moved to Seattle and didn't speak a single word to him for seven entire years. Until a few days ago, when my mom suddenly called me. She told me Mason had been in a terrible car accident and completely lost his sight. "He wants to go to Seattle to relax and get away from everything. You two grew up together, Chloe. Please, help take care of him." The Sterling family had always been kind to us. Morally and logically, I couldn't say no. When I rushed to the airport, the once-arrogant heir looked like an abandoned puppy standing on the curb, gripping a white cane. "Long time no see." He froze, then replied, "Long time no see." He paused, letting out a bitter laugh. "Though I guess I don't really have a chance to 'see' you anymore." A wave of indescribable emotion hit my chest. I patted him on the shoulder. "Come on. I'm taking you home!" 03 Facts have proven that feeling sorry for a man only leads to misfortune. As the cold night wind hit me, I pulled my coat tighter and instantly snapped back to reality. The apartment was mine. The heating was mine. Why was I the one getting pushed out the door?! He should be the one to get out! Just as I turned around, preparing to storm back inside, someone called my name. "Chloe?" "Mr. Vance?" Ethan Vance had traded his usual crisp business suit for a beige athletic set. His hair was slightly damp, indicating he had just finished a night run. "Are you heading out?" Given my current outfit, claiming I was just taking out the trash would be an insult to his intelligence. I nodded. "I'm going to get a drink." "By yourself?" "Yeah." Ethan chuckled softly. "What a coincidence. I was just heading out for a drink too. Want company?" I almost laughed out loud. Going for a drink immediately after a sweaty cardio session? What a terrible excuse. But I didn't expose his lie. I just ran my fingers through my long hair. "Sure." Ethan was the newly appointed director of my department. A Stanford grad, returning from overseas. He was gentle, gentlemanly, came from serious money—the textbook definition of a high-value bachelor. The day he took the job, half the girls in the office swooned. I had observed him for a while. He arrived at exactly 8:00 AM and left at exactly 7:00 PM. He bought a black coffee every morning and hit the gym every night. His life was incredibly disciplined. Naturally, he became my "target." At the time, I perfectly timed my commutes to fake "accidental" encounters. I "coincidentally" ordered the same coffee at his favorite cafe. I even went out of my way to buy a ridiculously expensive membership at his gym. But I had only gone twice before Mason suddenly crashed into my life and ruined my plans. I had been so busy serving the blind young master lately that I had completely forgotten about Ethan. But clearly, sometimes when pursuing a man, the "cold shoulder" treatment works best. Ethan had actually taken the bait. We didn't take Ethan's car to go drinking. While we were waiting for an Uber, he glanced at me and asked, "Cold?" I gave a very calculated, delicate shiver and rubbed my arms. "A little." He smiled faintly, took off his jacket, and handed it to me. "Do you mind?" "Of course not." Our eyes met. Between adults, some signals don't require words. I draped Ethan's jacket over my shoulders and was about to speak when my phone started buzzing relentlessly. Mason: "When are you coming back?" Mason: "You aren't here and I just fell over." Mason: "I'm craving a late-night chili dog, can you grab me one on your way back?" Seeing that last text, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. He couldn't even fake being blind properly. What kind of blind person furiously speed-texts on an iPhone?! "What are you looking at? You're smiling so happily." "Just looking at a dog." Ethan stepped back into a polite, respectful stance. "A pet?" "You could say that. I just adopted him recently." A dog who fakes being blind. Worse than an actual dog. I shoved my phone into my pocket and dropped the subject. That night, Ethan escorted me all the way back to my apartment building. "I haven't seen you at the gym lately." "I've had some family stuff to deal with." "Night run tomorrow?" I hadn't expected Ethan to be this proactive, but I was thrilled. "Sure. I'm a beginner though, so I'll be relying on you to guide me." Ethan's lips curled into a smile. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow." When I walked into my apartment, Mason was sitting alone on the living room sofa. I jumped in surprise. "Why are you sitting here in the pitch black?" Mason's tone was airy and tragic. "Day or night, what difference does it make to me? "It's all just endless darkness anyway." He was getting way too into this role. Suddenly, he leaned closer to me and wrinkled his nose. "You drank?" "Mhm." "And you smell like a man." I looked down, realizing I was still wearing Ethan's jacket. I didn't expose Mason's terrible acting. I just patted his head. "So smart." "Who is it?" "Is that any of your business?" Mason froze. He looked at me, his eyes perfectly "vacant." "Do you... not want me anymore?" The question caught me completely off guard. Before I could respond, Mason kept going. "Seven years ago, you left without saying goodbye. "But I don't recall ever agreeing to break up. "Chloe, are you still my girlfriend?" 04 Girlfriend? The word felt burning hot. It rolled around on my tongue before I finally swallowed it down. I let out a soft laugh. "Are you saying you want to pursue me?" "Can I? Can we keep being together?" "Of course." I leaned in, my warm breath brushing against Mason's ear. "But... it depends on your performance." Mason's Adam's apple bobbed. "What kind of performance?" "I happen to like good boys." In truth, I really did love Mason back then. During the confusing rush of puberty, he was the only boy occupying my thoughts. We held hands secretly in crowds and kissed in the quiet shadows. During the year we dated, I gave him endless patience and affection. Childhood sweethearts. I truly believed we were going to make it to the end. Until that summer, when he told his friends: "I'd have to be crazy to actually fall in love with the maid's daughter. "Besides her pretty face, what part of her even acts like a girl? "Look at Lexi—she's so sweet and obedient. If I wasn't worried about distracting Lexi from her SATs, do you think I would have picked Chloe?" The irony was, after Mason's car crash, the "sweet and obedient" girl dumped him immediately. That night, I slept terribly. I had disjointed, fragmented dreams. I dreamt of our elementary school sports day. I fainted from low blood sugar, and Mason sprinted over and put me on his back. He was a scrawny kid, but he stubbornly refused to put me down. Eventually, his legs gave out, and he collapsed holding me right at the clinic doors. Under the blazing sun, we looked at each other and laughed like two complete idiots. I dreamt of being bullied by older boys. He tried to fight them off and ended up getting beaten black and blue. Wincing through the pain, he still tilted his chin up and bragged to me, "You should see the other guys!" During my senior year, I stayed at the Sterling mansion, and the young master personally tutored me in math. When I couldn't grasp a concept, he'd mock me, saying my brain was full of concrete. I'd give him the silent treatment, and he would shower me with feather-light kisses from my forehead down to my nose. Every kiss was a soft, silent I'm sorry. I cried in my sleep. Eventually, I woke up with wet cheeks. Maybe even now, I still didn't understand. How did two people who cared about each other so much end up like this? I woke up with a pounding headache. The inexplicable melancholy carried all the way to work. In the elevator, Ethan stood impeccably dressed in his tailored suit. With his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked like the epitome of refined restraint. But I wasn't in the mood to chat, so I just gave a polite nod. The moment I stepped into my office, Ethan texted me. Ethan: "Didn't sleep well last night?" I yawned and typed a careless reply. Me: "Yeah, ran into my crush last night. Was too excited to sleep." Ethan: "Is that so? That crush is a very lucky man." Ethan: "I accidentally bought an extra coffee. Want it?" Me: "Accidentally?" Ethan: "Alright, I bought it specifically for you. Will you do me the honor of drinking it?" Before I could text back, my office desk phone rang. Ethan's professional, authoritative voice came through the line. "Chloe, come to my office for a moment." I hung up, and a coworker leaned over. "The boss wants to see you first thing in the morning?" I faked a heavy sigh. She patted my shoulder sympathetically. "Good luck." I smiled, grabbed a random file to look busy, and walked over. I gave a very professional knock on his door. Seeing me walk in, Ethan smiled and handed me a paper bag. It was from the cafe he frequented. I didn't take it immediately. I smiled and asked, "Does this count as an abuse of power?" "The coffee doesn't. Using work as an excuse to get you into my office does." "Is this a classic Ethan Vance tactic?" "It's my first time trying it, so I'm a bit rusty." Only then did I take the cup. I looked down and took a sip. Iced Americano. The bitterness made me frown slightly. Back when I was trying to catch his attention, I had bought a few of these. But compared to black coffee, I heavily preferred lattes. Not planning to force myself to drink something bitter, I pressed my lips firmly against the rim, leaving a perfect lipstick mark. I set the cup back down on his desk. "I'll leave a little marker and store it here. It'll give you a few more excuses to abuse your power." Ethan clearly hadn't expected such a bold move. He raised an eyebrow, then let out a low chuckle. The way he looked at me held ten times more interest than before. Right before I clocked out, Ethan texted me again. Ethan: "See you tonight?" I tapped my fingers on the desk, waited a few minutes, and replied: "OK." 05 "You're going out again?" I had just changed into my running gear when Mason blocked the door, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Where are you going tonight? Don't tell me you're buying groceries again." "I'm going running with a friend." "Friend? Guy or girl?" Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh. "As far as I'm aware, you haven't won me back yet." Mason froze. I reached out and tapped a single finger against his chest. "So, don't act like a jealous, neglected husband demanding a status report." Mason looked annoyed. "But you said you'd give me a chance." "I did. That's why you need to be a good, obedient boy. Understand?" As I was about to leave, Mason suddenly spoke up. "Chloe, did I mention this? "My blindness was caused by a blood clot pressing on my optic nerve. "It might fully heal, or it might be permanent. It depends on luck." Hearing that, I nearly laughed right in his face. The young master was actually using his brain. A blood clot pressing on the nerve. Depends on luck. What a perfect excuse to give himself a way out whenever he needed one. I feigned immense joy. "It can be cured?! That's amazing!" Before Mason could respond, I kept pushing. "So are you planning to stay here until you're fully healed, or are you heading home in a few days?" Mason's face went rigid. "Chloe?" "I'm really running late! We'll talk when I get back!" I ignored him and walked straight out the door. Downstairs, Ethan was already waiting for me. "Sorry, I'm late." "I just got here too." Ethan smoothly handed me a bottle of water. As I took it, our fingers brushed against each other before slowly sliding apart. The air was thick with tension. Ethan cleared his throat softly. "You didn't finish your coffee earlier today." "I know. What did you do with it?" "I poured the coffee out." "What a waste." "I kept the cup." I looked up at him. He smiled faintly. "I couldn't bear to throw it away." "A man like you, getting attached to a paper cup?" "I have plenty of cups. But there's only one with a certain someone's lipstick mark." I tilted my head, looking straight into his eyes. He held my gaze, completely unapologetic. I knew it. Ethan was hooked. After that day, I ran with Ethan every single night. Sometimes we talked about work, but mostly we talked about our lives. On weekends, we started grabbing dinner together. Spending so much time with Ethan meant I inevitably started ignoring Mason. One day when I got home, he suddenly asked me. "Did you get a boyfriend?" I didn't hide it. "I'm currently seeing someone, yes." "But you promised me." "I promised I would let you pursue me. I never said no one else could." "That's cheating." "Young master, you literally live in my apartment. You have the ultimate home-court advantage." Mason stormed back to his room. He slammed the door so hard the walls shook. That night, I went for my usual run with Ethan. My argument with Mason had clearly messed with my head. Several times when Ethan spoke to me, I was completely zoned out. "Tired?" I forced myself to focus. "Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping well." "Stress from work? You're making me feel like I'm failing as your boss. "Tell me what's wrong. Let's see if I can fix it." "A subordinate can't sleep at night. How does the boss plan to fix that?" "Does the subordinate have any suggestions?" I pretended to think hard. "The boss personally coming over to tuck me in sounds like a pretty good start." Ethan laughed and stopped jogging. "How did I not realize earlier that you were such a little fox?" "So... do you like foxes?" Ethan's smile faded as he slowly leaned in closer. I didn't back away. Our noses brushed. "I want to kiss you. Can I?" "Are you always this much of a gentleman?" He let out a low laugh, and finally closed the distance. As I tilted my head up, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow hiding on my apartment balcony. I narrowed my eyes, but I didn't stop the kiss. When we finally pulled away, Ethan's eyes were hazy as he stepped back into a respectful distance. "What are you looking at?" He followed my gaze up to my apartment. There was no one there anymore. Just the curtains swaying slightly in the dark night. I shook my head. "Nothing."
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