Chapter 30: A Tremor

Especially since she no longer showed any signs of flirting with the gentlemen, Liu Xiaozhi became even more wary of Tang Tian.

Liu Xiaozhi wanted to ruin Tang Tian’s reputation as quickly as possible, preventing her from interacting with the gentlemen.  She noticed that their attitudes toward Tang Tian had softened.

Half an hour later, Tang Tian started her work. Apart from being unfamiliar with the placement of the tableware, everything else went smoothly.

The male leads were here on vacation to find inspiration, so their meals had to be delivered to their rooms.

The villa had an elevator, making it convenient to move between floors.

Tang Tian went to the kitchen to collect Fu Xi and Wen Shaohan’s lunch, placing it on the food cart and heading upstairs.

Liu Xiaozhi had already gone upstairs. Tang Tian pushed the cart toward the elevator, needing to walk down a long corridor.

Along the corridor was a large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the courtyard, which was covered in a blanket of snow.

A tall, handsome figure was visible outside the window, building a snowman.

Fu Xi draped a scarf around the snowman, and his peach blossom eyes caught sight of Tang Tian’s slender figure pushing the food cart.

He brushed the snow off his gloves and strode into the villa.

Fu Xi approached Tang Tian, carrying the chill of the snow with him; she could feel his lingering cold breath.

Only when he approached did she offer a polite smile, having initially tried to ignore him.

“Mr. Fu.”

Fu Xi’s peach blossom eyes curved slightly into a captivating smile. “Wait a moment.”

Tang Tian didn’t understand, pushing her cart forward. “Mr. Fu, I’m delivering lunch for you and Mr. Wen.”  The food would get cold if she waited any longer.

Seeing that she was about to move on, Fu Xi reached out and grasped her left arm. The touch of her soft skin sent a tremor through him.

He steadied himself and languidly gestured toward the window.

Tang Tian had been struggling to free her arm from his grasp, but his gesture diverted her attention.

Following his direction, she saw the snowman he had just built, adorned with his dark brown scarf.

Fu Xi suddenly leaned closer, his peach blossom eyes slowly scanning her stunning face.

He softly asked, “Doesn’t it look like you?”

Tang Tian looked at the round snowman and the dark brown scarf, wondering how he could see any resemblance to her.

She replied rather helplessly, “It looks more like you.”

Fu Xi seemed surprised by her response, momentarily breaking into laughter.  He attempted to place his arm around her shoulder, but Tang Tian deftly avoided him.

“Mr. Fu, there should be some distance between men and women,” she said. He seemed to have a habit of putting his arm around people’s shoulders, even the old butler, acting like brothers.

But he never did that with women, except for her, and she didn’t know when this habit started.

Fu Xi stopped, but he still teased her languidly.

“When you were hinting at me before, you didn’t say that.”

Memories of the original body flooded her mind. The original body’s suggestive words caused Tang Tian’s face to flush. The original body was indeed very bold and flirtatious.

Unbeknownst to her, her shy expression was incredibly captivating.

Fu Xi stared at her intently, his heart beating uncontrollably.

“That… that was before,” she stammered, pushing the food cart toward the elevator, unwilling to engage with him further.

He wasn’t in a rush for lunch; Wen Shaohan was still waiting for his.

Fu Xi followed her at a leisurely pace, entering the elevator together. He suddenly leaned closer, tilting his head to look at her.

He said, “If you were to hint at me now, I might just agree to be your boyfriend.”

Fu Xi’s voice was lazy and magnetic, full of charm.

Tang Tian didn’t take him seriously, thinking he was just teasing her.

“A mere housekeeper like me is unworthy of Mr. Fu’s esteemed status. I won’t even dream of it,” she replied.

By the time she finished speaking, the elevator doors had opened, and she pushed the cart out.

Fu Xi followed her, surprisingly silent.

Tang Tian didn’t think much of it. Fu Xi was unpredictable and moody, and she was too tired to guess his intentions.

Wen Shaohan’s room was further down the hall, so Tang Tian pushed the cart into Fu Xi’s room first.

Fu Xi lounged on the sofa, his long arm draped over the backrest, watching Tang Tian with a relaxed yet mischievous gaze in his peach blossom eyes, concealing a hint of playful desire…

Tang Tian didn’t notice the danger hidden in his gaze. She had always been more relaxed around Fu Xi, perhaps because he was often lighthearted, leading her to lower her guard around him.

She moved quickly, placing the lunch on the dining table.

Fu Xi’s suite was incomparable to her own room; it included a study, a living room, and a bedroom, all extremely luxurious.

Other gentlemen’s room layouts were likely similar.

“Mr. Fu, please enjoy your meal,” Tang Tian said before pushing the cart out of the room.

Fu Xi remained silent on the sofa, his usual lazy demeanor replaced by a dark, inscrutable expression.

Tang Tian stood at Wen Shaohan’s door and knocked a few times. Moments later, the door opened.

Wen Shaohan glanced at her and then at the food cart. “Come in.”

Tang Tian nodded and pushed the cart into the room. As she had guessed, Wen Shaohan’s suite was indeed laid out similarly to Fu Xi’s; the life of the wealthy was truly exquisite.

After a brief moment, she set the lunch on the table and said the customary “enjoy your meal” before preparing to leave.

However, Wen Shaohan called out to her, and she assumed he had something else to say.

“Do you need anything else, Mr. Wen?”

Wen Shaohan replied, “You should note down my number.”

Tang Tian froze. The butler had regulations against personal contact information exchanges with the gentlemen. Any such contact was strictly prohibited.

“Mr. Wen, there are regulations. As a housekeeper, I can’t add your contact information without permission. If caught, I could have my wages deducted, or worse, be fired and have to pay a breach of contract penalty.”

She wasn’t worried about being fired; she feared the penalty, as she didn’t have the money to pay it.

Wen Shaohan seemed to overlook the housekeeper’s rules. After a moment’s pause, he entered his bedroom and returned with a mobile phone, handing it to Tang Tian.

“I overlooked this. This phone has my contact information. If anything happens, contact me immediately. The number is 123456.”

Tang Tian hesitated to take it. After all, he was offering it with genuine intent.

Wen Shaohan noticed her discomfort and clarified, “If you’re worried about misunderstandings, just return it to me before you go back home.”

Tang Tian finally felt reassured and accepted the phone, surprised that Wen Shaohan would be so thoughtful.

“Thank you, Mr. Wen.”

Wen Shaohan smiled politely. “Go ahead and get back to work; I won’t disturb you.”

Tang Tian nodded with a smile in her eyes, seeing him in a slightly different light.

Previously, her impression of Wen Shaohan had matched the description in the story—polite on the surface but colder than anyone else.

She hadn’t expected that he could treat a mere housekeeper with such kindness, indicating his upright and generous nature.

Accepting the phone from him was also a precautionary measure, in case she found herself forgotten in some emergency situation again.

Having Wen Shaohan’s contact information would be much more efficient than seeking help from Sister Wu or the butler back home.

She gently closed Wen Shaohan’s door and pushed the cart back toward the elevator.

Tang Tian placed the cart beside the elevator, as she would need to return later to collect the dishes from Fu Xi and Wen Shaohan’s rooms.

At that moment, she noticed another food cart positioned beside the elevator.

Tang Tian planned to head downstairs and return in an hour.

Just then, a magnetic voice called out from behind her. “Tang Tian, collect the dishes.”

She halted her movement toward the elevator and glanced left, deliberately avoiding Liu Xiaozhi’s gaze as she pushed the cart toward Pei Jue’s room.

Liu Xiaozhi was responsible for Pei Jue’s daily needs, and Pei Jue was not fond of Tang Tian and preferred to avoid her.

Tang Tian was well aware of this, so she tried to stay out of Pei Jue’s way.

However, she could not refuse him now; she couldn’t very well tell Pei Jue, “Since Liu Xiaozhi isn’t here, I’m not responsible for your dishes.”

Housekeepers had clearly defined roles, and the butler had instructed that they should not disrupt the gentlemen’s moods. Aside from crossing boundaries or engaging in inappropriate behavior, it was her duty to fulfill their reasonable daily needs.

Tang Tian pushed the cart into Pei Jue’s suite and began collecting the dishes from the dining table.

At that moment, Pei Jue stood by the window with his tall, proud figure silhouetted against the open window. He seemed to dislike the lingering smell of food in the room.

Tang Tian quickly glanced at his back, thinking to herself: No wonder he’s the most fastidious of the male leads. Allowing food to be placed on the living room table must be his greatest act of tolerance.