Chapter 4: Stunning Beauty

Tang Tian was eating heartily when someone walked through the door.

Liu Xiaozhi saw her there as well, but didn’t look the least bit surprised.

Zheng Liyu was still puzzling over Tang Tian’s sudden change. When she entered the staff dining room and saw Liu Xiaozhi, her face lit up with joy, and she quickly walked over to speak with her.

“Xiaozhi-jie, you’re done with work?”

Liu Xiaozhi turned around with a smile. “Mr. Shen was worried I’d go hungry, so he told me to come down for a meal first.” As she spoke, she glanced at Tang Tian, who was quietly eating her food.

It was clear that Zheng Liyu had a closer relationship with Liu Xiaozhi, and Liu Xiaozhi also held more sway with the four young masters. Zheng Liyu immediately flattered her, saying, “Mr. Shen treats you so well, Xiaozhi-jie. Not like with me and… Tang Tian. The young masters are always displeased with us.”

“As long as you truly care for the young masters with a sincere heart, one day they’ll recognize your efforts,” Liu Xiaozhi comforted her, offering encouragement.

Zheng Liyu nodded seriously. She had clearly taken it to heart. “Thank you, Xiaozhi-jie. I’ll do my best to earn their trust as soon as possible.”

Liu Xiaozhi smiled at her gently. As she walked over to the refrigerator, she cast a meaningful glance at Tang Tian sitting at the table.

Clearly, her earlier words weren’t just meant for Zheng Liyu—she was also subtly flaunting the special treatment she received from the young masters in front of Tang Tian.

Tang Tian was fully focused on eating. Even if she wanted to ignore their conversation, it was impossible not to hear. She clearly understood the underlying message in Liu Xiaozhi’s words—an obvious hint that the male leads favored her, while Tang Tian herself was being coldly treated.

As for earning the trust of the male leads, Tang Tian had no intention of getting involved. She was just a servant in this villa. Once her contract expired, she’d leave without hesitation. Why would she need their trust?

Everyone had their own path. The roads she, Liu Xiaozhi, and Zheng Liyu had chosen were simply different.

The food was delicious, and in no time, she had eaten half of her meal. Beside her, the sound of chairs being pulled out rang in her ears.

Liu Xiaozhi and Zheng Liyu had chosen seats quite close to her. The two of them chatted idly without involving Tang Tian in their conversation.

Tang Tian was used to doing things alone and didn’t feel left out. After all, people naturally talked with those they were familiar with. It was perfectly normal.

After finishing dinner, she got up and strolled leisurely to the back kitchen to wash the dishes.

Zheng Liyu didn’t want to do the dishes herself and wanted Tang Tian to help her, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask directly. In the past, it had always been Tang Tian who took the initiative to wash her dishes.

By the time Zheng Liyu walked into the back kitchen with her greasy dishes in hand, Tang Tian had already finished washing and placed the cleaned dishes neatly in the sterilizer.

When she saw Zheng Liyu enter, Tang Tian gave her a calm glance, then pulled out two paper towels to wipe the water droplets from her hands.

Zheng Liyu had been standing there for a good half a minute, but Tang Tian showed no intention of offering to help wash her dishes.

“Tang Tian, don’t you want to know if Mr. Wen has a girlfriend?” she asked suddenly.

Tang Tian had just thrown the used paper towels into the trash when she heard the out-of-the-blue question. Her gaze landed on Zheng Liyu. “No, I don’t.”

Why would she care whether Wen Shaohan had a girlfriend? What a strange question.

Zheng Liyu: “…”

Shut down with just a few words, Zheng Liyu was left speechless, unsure how to continue.

Tang Tian had always seemed concerned with the personal lives of the gentlemen before, but now she was saying she didn’t want to know?

After the awkward moment passed, Zheng Liyu began to wonder if Tang Tian truly didn’t care or if she was just pretending.

“If you wash my dishes, I’ll put in a good word for you in front of Mr. Pei tonight. Who knows, maybe he’ll let you into his room tomorrow night.”

Zheng Liyu was certain that once she said this, Tang Tian would immediately take the dishes from her. So she handed them over with a sense of superiority.

She was lying to Tang Tian, of course. Mr. Pei clearly disliked her—there was no way she’d actually speak on Tang Tian’s behalf.

Tang Tian glanced at the dishes in her hand and immediately understood the real reason behind that strange question earlier—she just didn’t want to wash them herself.

“No need,” she refused without a second’s hesitation.

With that, she ignored Zheng Liyu and walked out of the kitchen.

Zheng Liyu looked shocked. She… she actually turned her down!? Just two days ago, she was trying to seduce Mr. Pei—could it be that Tang Tian no longer wanted to appear in front of him?

Liu Xiaozhi walked into the kitchen and saw Zheng Liyu holding a pile of dishes, still staring out the door. Her expression and movements froze for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Xiaozhi asked her.

Zheng Liyu snapped out of it, her expression turning strange as she pondered something, then asked Liu Xiaozhi, “Xiaozhi-jie, don’t you think Tang Tian’s really quiet today?”

It wasn’t that Tang Tian had been loud in the past—far from it. But she would occasionally vanish for a while and then reappear right where the chores needed doing, always with her signature strong perfume and heavy makeup. She had never once shown her bare face in front of anyone.

But today… there was no pungent perfume clinging to her. That breathtakingly beautiful face of hers looked fresh and pure, like a lotus blossom after the rain—so stunning, it seemed otherworldly.

Zheng Liyu had always known Tang Tian was beautiful, but she hadn’t realized just how awful her makeup skills were before. That incredibly lovely face had always been buried under layers of thick foundation, robbing her of her natural allure. And those caterpillar-like eyeliners… they were truly an eyesore. It was lucky she was born with such beauty—no matter how much she ruined it, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was a natural-born beauty.

Liu Xiaozhi didn’t think there was anything off about Tang Tian. “Maybe she’s just afraid Sister Wu will fire her.”

If Tang Tian kept acting up, Sister Wu definitely would have her dismissed. It made perfect sense for her to quiet down now.

“But…” Zheng Liyu wanted to say more but hesitated, unsure how to continue. Though she was on relatively good terms with Liu Xiaozhi, they weren’t close enough to share everything without reserve.

Seeing that Liu Xiaozhi was still waiting for her to continue, Zheng Liyu ultimately decided not to press her suspicions about Tang Tian.

She had originally wanted to discuss whether Tang Tian had changed her “seduction strategy,” but if Liu Xiaozhi turned around and told Sister Wu that she was gossiping behind someone’s back, Sister Wu would definitely scold her.

“I’m probably just overthinking it,” Zheng Liyu said, giving herself a way out.

Liu Xiaozhi smiled gently, then suddenly brought up the incident from the night before last. “Tang Tian probably didn’t mean to deliberately provoke Young Master Pei that evening.”

“Xiaozhi Jie, don’t defend Tang Tian anymore. She was trying to seduce Young Master Pei. She’s not simple at all—don’t be fooled by that face of hers.”

Zheng Liyu thought to herself that Liu Xiaozhi was really too innocent and kind. Tang Tian’s intentions were so obvious, yet she still defended her.

Liu Xiaozhi looked like she wanted to keep explaining for Tang Tian.

Zheng Liyu believed her, thinking Liu Xiaozhi was genuinely “fooled” by Tang Tian’s appearance.

“She just wants to use that face to seduce people. Xiaozhi Jie, you better be careful that Shen Yanli doesn’t fall for her,” Zheng Liyu whispered the last sentence, afraid someone might overhear. She knew Liu Xiaozhi had a crush on Shen Yanli.

Liu Xiaozhi knew well that Shen Yanli would never like a woman like Tang Tian, but on the surface, she still showed a worried expression.

“Tang Tian shouldn’t be that kind of person…”

Zheng Liyu grew anxious and said bluntly, “Xiaozhi Jie^[1]Jiejie/Jie – older sister/sister; used warmly and respectfully, you’re too kind. I’ll keep an eye on Shen Yanli for you, try to make sure Tang Tian doesn’t get a chance to seduce him.” At the same time, she was also trying to curry favor with Liu Xiaozhi.

Faced with Zheng Liyu’s words, Liu Xiaozhi hesitated for a long time but didn’t utter a single word of refusal.

Taking that as a yes, Zheng Liyu grabbed her to wash the dishes together, playing the role of “good sisters.”

As night deepened, it was Tang Tian’s turn to deliver fruit to the rooms of the four young masters tonight.

Before long, Tang Tian pushed the serving cart into the elevator, with Zheng Liyu following behind to deliver fruit to Pei Jue.

Neither of them spoke in the elevator. Tang Tian planned to keep silent until the contract ended, after which she would completely sever ties with everyone in the villa. To her, Zheng Liyu was just as ordinary as could be.

She had no intention of forming any close connections—not even a nodding acquaintance. Although a bit slow-witted, Tang Tian could still tell that Zheng Liyu looked down on her.

Zheng Liyu’s expression was filled with doubt, glancing at Tang Tian from time to time. But Tang Tian didn’t look at her once as she pushed the serving cart out of the elevator.

This left Zheng Liyu feeling annoyed, thinking Tang Tian was just putting on an act, playing some new game.

“Tang Tian, come with me to Pei Xian’s room first,” Zheng Liyu said, fully aware that Tang Tian had been waiting for this moment—everyone in the villa knew she wanted to seduce Pei Xian.

But Tang Tian had no intention of following her. Hearing Zheng Liyu’s words, she released her grip on the serving cart.

“You can push the cart away. I’m going to deliver fruit to Wen Xian’s room first.” With that, Tang Tian picked up one of the fruit plates and headed straight down the corridor.

The second floor was spacious. To the right were the rooms of Pei Jue and Wen Shaohan; to the left were those of Shen Yanli and Fu Xi.