In the sixth year of the Republic, Duan Xiaoshan fled from his hometown to Shanghai and sought refuge with his aunt, who worked as a servant at the Shao residence.
His aunt knelt at Madam Shao's feet, crying as she told her how pitiful Duan Xiaoshan was. She begged Madam Shao to take him in. She wasn't asking for much, just a meal to keep him alive.
Duan Xiaoshan kept his head lowered. In the depths of winter, he wore a ragged padded jacket and a pair of thin trousers that let the wind through. The jacket had been given to him by a refugee he'd met while begging along the road, and it reeked of something salty and sour.
His aunt tugged at him. "Hurry up and thank Madam!"
Duan Xiaoshan stared at his bare feet, caked in filthy mud and foul water, and couldn't bring himself to look up.
"Mom, why do we have to take in a beggar? He stinks!"
The child's voice was young and clear, but it stabbed into Duan Xiaoshan's heart like a knife.
He raised his head and saw a handsome, immaculate young man.
"Hurry and call him Young Master!" His aunt shot him a meaningful look.
Duan Xiaoshan instinctively tried to straighten his shabby jacket and murmured, "...Young Master."
That was what he called him for the rest of his life.
Shao Zhiting x Duan Xiaoshan
Young Master x Servant
Theme: Stay positive and strive forward
