Chapter 10: Jealousy

Liu Xiaozhi’s possessiveness flared up again. She saw Mr. Pei holding the umbrella for Tang Tian. Tang Tian herself wasn’t very wet, but Mr. Pei’s upper body was soaked halfway through.

At this moment, she looked at Tang Tian with great displeasure. When she saw Sister Wu pull Tang Tian aside, she thought Sister Wu was about to scold her, waiting eagerly to see Tang Tian’s tearful, miserable expression.

But what she saw was Tang Tian smiling sweetly at Sister Wu, who gently patted her arm in a comforting way.

Liu Xiaozhi felt a suffocating frustration but dared not show it on her face. Why would Sister Wu joke and laugh with Tang Tian? Someone like Tang Tian… shouldn’t she be despised?

Since Fu Xi discovered the servants’ little tricks, he had started to pay attention to the “underlying currents” among them whenever he passed by.

It gave him inspiration for writing his next song, which he found quite interesting.

The servant standing beside him, Zheng Liyu, was about to raise her hand to brush the raindrops off his clothes, but Fu Xi stopped her—he didn’t like others touching him.

Fu Xi patted the rainwater off himself. Seeing that no new conflicts had arisen among the servants, he lost interest in continuing to watch the drama unfold.

Since the gentlemen had all gotten somewhat wet, the butler quickly ordered ginger soup to be made to ward off the chill and delivered it one by one to their rooms.

Tang Tian wasn’t very wet, so she was the only one who didn’t go into a room to change into her work uniform.

It just so happened that today was her turn to deliver fruit or other items to the gentlemen.

Tang Tian pushed the serving cart out from the elevator lobby and started delivering the ginger soup, beginning on the left side.

She knocked on Shen Yanli’s door.

“Come in by yourself.”

She pushed the door open. “Mr. Shen, here is some ginger soup for you—to help keep the chill away.”

I heard there’s a live-streamed dinner event coming up in the next couple of days. Shen Yanli and Fu Xi are going to perform, so if either of them catches a cold, it could affect their voices.

“Leave it here. I’ll drink it slowly later,” Shen Yanli said, strumming his guitar without looking up at her.

She placed one bowl of ginger soup on the coffee table, tilting the lid slightly to let the soup cool so it wouldn’t burn her mouth when she drank it later.

This small gesture caught Shen Yanli’s attention, and he finally looked up at her.

She was very beautiful, and the calm way she went about her task somehow made people feel at ease.

Tang Tian thought he was completely focused on his guitar and quietly slipped out of his room, not wanting to disturb his creative flow.

Shen Yanli hadn’t paid much attention to her before. Over the past few days, unlike other servants who might anxiously try to catch his eye or seek his notice, she had been different.

Sometimes when other servants brought in fruit and saw him playing guitar or singing, they would always speak up or applaud.

But she was tactful—she neither lingered nor made a sound when leaving, careful not to interrupt his creative process.

Over the past few days, Shen Yanli had gradually begun to change his opinion of her.

At this moment, Tang Tian had just pushed open Fu Xi’s door. Fu Xi was playing on his phone, absentmindedly leaning against the sofa.

“Mr. Fu, I’ve brought you some ginger soup.”

Hearing her voice, Fu Xi put down his phone but didn’t say a word. His gaze was arrogant as he appraised her.

Tang Tian placed the ginger soup on the coffee table. “Mr. Fu, drink it slowly.” After speaking, she turned to leave.

“Wait.” He called after her.

Tang Tian paused and looked at him, confusion in her eyes. “Is there something else, Mr. Fu?”

“Why did you come here to work as a servant?” he asked casually. Could it be that she was infatuated with one of them? Pei Jue?

Tang Tian answered truthfully, “The salary is high and the benefits are good. No matter how expensive the fruit is, they provide it without limit.”

If she weren’t the villainous supporting character in this book, who tried to stay far away from these male leads, she might have kept working here for years.

Fu Xi couldn’t imagine such an answer. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“I wasn’t expecting you to tell the truth,” Fu Xi said, clearly unwilling to believe her.

Tang Tian replied, “I’m telling the truth, whether you believe it or not.”

Fu Xi looked as if he could see right through her. “Before, your attempts to seduce the both of us were anything but innocent, as you claim.”

Tang Tian was momentarily speechless, awkward for a few seconds. Then she said, “That was then, this is now. I think differently now. Mr. Fu, you don’t need to worry about me doing anything like that again.”

With that, she ignored how Fu Xi looked at her and turned to leave his room.

Fu Xi didn’t stop her, but a faint smile played at his lips. He didn’t take her words seriously—just assumed she was afraid of being fired and had come up with an excuse.

Leaving Fu Xi’s room, she pushed the cart to Wen Shaohan’s door. His door wasn’t fully closed; there was a crack left open.

Tang Tian knocked lightly. From inside came Wen Shaohan’s voice.

“Come in.”

She carried a bowl of ginger soup and stepped into Wen Shaohan’s room.

“Mr. Wen, have some ginger soup first.” She placed the bowl on the table beside Wen Shaohan.

He glanced her over. “Mm, I’ll drink it later.”

Tang Tian nodded and was about to leave when he called out, “Wait.”

She felt a little dazed—why was everyone calling her back one after another today?

“Help me apply some medicine,” Wen Shaohan said.

Tang Tian blinked. “Apply medicine? I didn’t hear you were injured.”

She didn’t ask how he got hurt, but instead asked, “Where’s the medicine?”

Wen Shaohan studied her intently, his gaze sharp and deliberate…

“The drawer over there, at the bottom.”

Tang Tian walked over, bent down, and pulled open the drawer to take out the medicine inside.

It was a medicated patch; she glanced at the instructions—it was for sprains and muscle strains.

Wen Shaohan unbuttoned his shirt, his movements filled with a certain allure. From behind him, Tang Tian could see the muscles tense as he lifted his shirt.

The way he took off his shirt was… teasing, almost like a scene from a movie.

On his pale back, Tang Tian spotted the bruised area.

“Is it here?” She was careful not to apply it in the wrong spot, so she gently touched the bruised area with her fingertip. She felt his body stiffen instantly. She thought maybe she pressed too hard, but it was just a light touch. Perhaps the injury still hurt.

Wen Shaohan stayed still for a few seconds before saying, “Yeah, that’s the spot.”

“Okay, I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

Then, she tore open the medicated patch and gently pressed it onto his bruised area. Her warm palm pressed down on the patch, and as she pulled her hand back, her fingertip accidentally brushed against his skin. His body stiffened noticeably again.

Tang Tian hadn’t noticed this little detail; she thought she had pressed too hard, causing him pain.

“Sorry, I pressed too hard,” she said apologetically.

After a moment, Wen Shaohan’s voice deepened, “It’s okay.”

He put his shirt back on while Tang Tian threw the used patch paper into the trash and returned the remaining patches to the drawer.

When he turned around, Wen Shaohan had already buttoned his shirt and looked at Tang Tian.

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Tang Tian replied, “No trouble at all. I’m going to deliver the ginger soup to Mr. Pei now.” The soup would be cold if she delayed any longer.

Wen Shaohan showed no other emotion on his face. Helping him apply the patch seemed like a perfectly normal matter—no flirtation, no embarrassment.

This was a big change from before when she would deliberately act coquettishly. It seemed she really had reformed.

“Go ahead.” He continued flipping through the book in his hands.

Tang Tian left Wen Shaohan’s room and knocked on Pei Jue’s door.

“Mr. Pei, the butler asked me to deliver some ginger soup to you.” Unlike the other three male leads, she always made a point to emphasize that she wasn’t acting on her own to enter his room.

“Come in.” The voice outside was always cold and curt.

Tang Tian pushed the door open and stepped inside, carrying the ginger soup toward the coffee table.

Pei Jue seemed to have just finished showering; his body was still wrapped in a light mist of water vapor. He appeared to favor wearing formal attire, but even now in casual clothes, it was a shirt-style outfit—refined and elegant. He was perfectly handsome, far more attractive than many male models in fashion campaigns.

“Thank you for earlier.” She placed the ginger soup on the coffee table and, after a moment’s thought, decided to thank him properly.

Pei Jue rarely tore his gaze away from the computer screen. “Thank me for what?”

Tang Tian said, “I didn’t get very wet, but you… half of your body is soaked.”

“You came to pick me up, no need to thank me,” Pei Jue said coldly, then avoided her eyes.

Tang Tian didn’t say anything more. She quietly left Pei Jue’s room, feeling a little better about him—after all, among everyone, she was the least drenched.

And just now, when she thanked him, he clearly explained the whole situation. That surprised her quite a bit. After all, he was born a favored son of heaven, surrounded by admirers. For him to be so clear-headed and self-aware was truly rare.