Chapter 18: Towel

At that moment, Shen Yanli’s cold voice came from the pool entrance.

“Fu Xi, someone is looking for you.”

The instant Shen Yanli approached them, Tang Tian distinctly felt the strange tension ease.

Fu Xi returned to his usual carefree, reckless self, hands shoved into the pockets of his bathrobe. His tone was lazy, as if Tang Tian’s earlier unease had been just an illusion.

“What could anyone want with me?”

Shen Yanli came closer, his indifferent gaze briefly sweeping over Tang Tian’s uneasy, unsettled face.

“Upstairs in the study.”

Fu Xi picked up the towel lying on the beach chair and casually began drying the water from his hair.

Tang Tian wanted to stop him, but it was already too late. The towel he was holding was the same one she had used to wipe her neck and the clothes splattered on her body. Seeing him use it to dry his hair…

She remembered Fu Xi’s obsessive cleanliness. She couldn’t imagine how furious he would be if he knew that the towel he was using on his hair had already been used by her.

Since he was already drying his hair with it, Tang Tian could only pretend not to notice, not wanting to invite trouble unnecessarily.

Fu Xi put the towel down, then tilted his head and gave Tang Tian a sly smile. “I’ll come find you to play again next time.”

After saying that, his dark, inscrutable gaze swept over her bare feet, then he swung his long arm around Shen Yanli’s broad shoulder.

What Shen Yanli hated most was Fu Xi’s slacker attitude. He lifted his hand and pulled Fu Xi’s arm away.

Shen Yanli glanced coldly at him. “Don’t tease Tang Tian anymore from now on.”

“Do I look like that kind of person?” Fu Xi protested, looking aggrieved.

“You are,” Shen Yanli replied.

Suddenly, Fu Xi smiled. “Only Ge Li understands me. It really isn’t my fault. Tang Tian’s reaction behind me was so funny—I just couldn’t help teasing her.”

Tang Tian behind them: “…” Was he yelling that loud because he thought she couldn’t hear him?

“Hold back, don’t scare her,” Shen Yanli disapproved of his behavior, frowning as he urged Fu Xi to restrain himself.

Tang Tian felt as exhausted as if she had just fought a battle; dealing with Fu Xi was even more tiring than a whole day’s hard work.

She quickly tidied up and pushed the cart away from the pool.

As Tang Tian stepped out of the pool entrance, she saw Liu Huizong wiping down a vase. Yet, while cleaning, her eyes kept darting toward the pool outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Tang Tian naturally understood what she was up to. She stopped pushing the cart and cleared her throat.

Startled, Liu Huizong immediately withdrew her probing gaze and continued wiping the vase. When she turned and saw it was Tang Tian, she felt frustrated to the point of itching teeth.

Tang Tian said nothing, only meeting her with a look that seemed to see right through her.

Liu Huizong angrily grabbed the cloth and stormed off; the vase was already gleaming from her cleaning.

Frustrated, Liu Huizong threw the cloth onto the sink, blaming Tang Tian for coming too late and seeing nothing, yet still being caught by her. It was truly embarrassing.

But she didn’t need to worry much—none of the gentlemen liked Tang Tian, and surely Mr. Fu hated her the most.

Thinking this, Liu Huizong felt relieved. No matter how skillful Tang Tian was at seduction, the gentlemen would never be swayed by such a “vase” like her.

That afternoon during rest, Fu Xi was deep in sleep, his brow furrowed and veins faintly visible on his forehead, as if the dream troubling him was too overwhelming.

When he woke, Fu Xi lifted the air-conditioning blanket with a gloomy face and cursed under his breath, “Damn!”

The tissue box from the bedside table was brought up onto the bed by him. His long, narrow, peach-blossom eyes drooped low, his expression dark and intimidating.

The dream he just had… was of him holding Tang Tian’s feet. The scenes from that dream kept replaying in his mind, refusing to fade.

Even recalling just a fleeting moment from the dream made Fu Xi’s gaze grow gloomy. He pulled the air-conditioning blanket over the parts of himself he could no longer control.

Tang Tian’s clear, doe-like watery eyes flashed before Fu Xi’s mind. Recently, Tang Tian had indeed sparked a bit of his interest.

Meanwhile, Tang Tian was busy running around the villa, completely unaware that Fu Xi had just experienced a dream about her.

That evening, the several Eldest Young Masters were dining first. Tang Tian entered the dining room and still stood silently behind Wen Shaohan, who had not been claimed by anyone.

Facing Wen Shaohan directly was Shen Yanli. Seeing Tang Tian again standing behind Wen Shaohan, Shen Yanli’s brows furrowed with a fleeting displeasure, though he said nothing.

Tang Tian moved like a robot, mechanically repeating her usual actions without looking around or paying attention to the expressions of the other Eldest Young Masters.

Shen Yanli occasionally lifted his eyelids to glance at her, but Tang Tian was focused on her tasks and didn’t notice that Shen Yanli had looked her way several times.

Next to him, Fu Xi maintained his usual lazy posture, but unlike before, he no longer watched the scene as a spectator, nor did he cast teasing glances at Tang Tian.

“Han Ge, bring me a few pieces of that sweet and sour pork ribs on your plate,” Fu Xi said, nodding toward the dish in front of Wen Shaohan.

Wen Shaohan signaled to Tang Tian to serve the whole plate over to Fu Xi: “Bring the entire plate to him.”

Fu Xi lazily raised his eyes and looked at Tang Tian, who was about to pick up the sweet and sour pork ribs. For some reason, he frowned and clicked his tongue. “You don’t need to do it. You bring the ribs over yourself.”

He was calling out to Liu Huahua, who was beside him. Liu Huahua’s heart leapt with excitement, and she glanced triumphantly at Tang Tian. It was clear she had no reason to worry that Mr. Fu would be interested in Tang Tian—judging by Fu Xi’s reaction, he was completely and utterly fed up with her.

Liu Xiaozhi smiled gently, but the disdain in her eyes toward Tang Tian was barely concealed. It was likely that Tang Tian had tried to seduce Mr. Fu again this morning and ended up angering him.

Tang Tian herself didn’t sense anything wrong, nor did she feel embarrassed. She simply put down the sweet and sour pork ribs. After all, Fu Xi’s dislike for her wasn’t new, especially after she had confronted him that morning.

Shen Yanli’s gaze carried a hint of pity. Seeing that Tang Tian didn’t seem to feel embarrassed and was still busy with her tasks, he thought Fu Xi’s behavior was even more excessive.

Wen Shaohan also felt somewhat dissatisfied with Fu Xi’s actions. Although Tang Tian was a housekeeper, even housekeepers deserved dignity.

“Tang Tian, no matter what Fu Xi asks you to do in the future, just ignore him.”

This wasn’t Wen Shaohan speaking, nor Shen Yanli, but a voice from the quietly dining Pei Jue.

Tang Tian suddenly heard Pei Jue speaking to her, so she stopped what she was doing and looked to her right at him.

“…Alright, Mr. Pei.”

Only then did she notice the somewhat awkward atmosphere in the dining room. Feeling uneasy, she glanced again at Fu Xi.

Fu Xi pressed his tongue against his cheek. His long, narrow peach-blossom eyes first glanced at Tang Tian, then fixed on Pei Jue across from him, remaining silent.

Liu Huahua, who had just been quietly gloating, now found herself unable to laugh anymore—Pei Jue was actually speaking up for Tang Tian?!

Liu Xiaozhi’s expression of surprise deepened. Pei Jue… was supposed to be the one who disliked Tang Tian the most. How could this be?

Shen Yanli withdrew his gaze, showing no particular reaction to Pei Jue speaking up for Tang Tian.

Wen Shaohan broke the silence and instructed Liu Xiaozhi, who was standing across from them: “Xiaozhi, go tell the butler that we have friends coming to the villa tomorrow. Prepare some wine and snacks.”

Given this “important task,” Liu Xiaozhi’s expression softened noticeably.

“I will pass Mr. Wen’s message on to the butler.”