Chapter 16: It’s You

Liu Huahua’s reaction was completely different from Tang Tian’s. Since she secretly had a crush on Fu Xi, she naturally wanted to be near him. Without hesitation, she quickly raised her hand.

“Butler, I’ll watch over Mr. Fu tonight.”

Tang Tian let out a sigh of relief — as long as it wasn’t her.

But the butler glanced at Liu Huahua, who had eagerly raised her hand, then looked over at Tang Tian, who had visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Tang Tian, you’ll be watching over Mr. Fu tonight. If anything comes up, come and find me,” the butler directly appointed her.

Liu Huahua’s expression immediately collapsed. She thought she had misheard. But when she saw the slight frown on Tang Tian’s face, it confirmed she hadn’t — the butler had indeed assigned Tang Tian, not her, to attend to Mr. Fu.

“Butler…” Liu Huahua stared at him in disbelief. She had volunteered — so why was the unwilling Tang Tian chosen instead?

The butler let out a quiet sigh. “It’s time you gave up your feelings for Mr. Fu.”

So obvious — who couldn’t see it? With Liu Huahua acting like that, how could the butler possibly trust her to watch over Mr. Fu? Even if Mr. Fu had no interest in her, her presence would still be a burden to him.

Liu Huahua was furious but had no choice but to back down. She shot a resentful glare at the clearly reluctant Tang Tian — what a stroke of luck for her!

Tang Tian was completely unwilling. If it were just bringing food and drink to Fu Xi’s room, she could handle that and leave right after. But guarding the poolside while he swam? That meant staying by his side the entire time, ready to hand him a towel the moment he got out.

“Butler, can someone else do it?” Tang Tian hesitated for a few seconds, but still asked.

The butler’s tone became even firmer. “It’s settled. From now on, whenever any of the young masters swim, you’ll be the one responsible, Tang Tian.”

Tang Tian: “!” She felt like she was about to explode. How did she end up with even more responsibilities the more she tried to avoid them?

“Butler, I don’t want to do it,” Tang Tian stated flatly, clearly showing her reluctance.

Liu Huahua immediately cut in, “Butler, she doesn’t want to do it — I do!” This was an incredible opportunity; she couldn’t let it slip into Tang Tian’s hands.

The butler remained unmoved. “It’s decided. Everyone, get back to your duties.” With that, he turned and left to assign tasks to the other servants.

He vanished from Tang Tian and Liu Huahua’s sight without even a backward glance, leaving them no room to argue.

“You really lucked out,” Liu Huahua sneered at Tang Tian, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Already frustrated, Tang Tian had no patience left for Liu Huahua’s snide remarks.

She gave her a cold glance. “Still better luck than yours.”

Liu Huahua was infuriated by Tang Tian’s icy glare. “You! Don’t even think about trying to seduce any of the young masters again. If you do, I’ll report you to Sister Wu!” She was determined to get Tang Tian fired.

Unfazed, Tang Tian retorted calmly, “You’re the one trying to seduce them. If you want to, just admit it. Look how desperate you got earlier. Too bad the butler saw right through you and handed the job to me.”

Liu Huahua was so furious she nearly wanted to tear her apart. “Tang Tian! Don’t get too full of yourself! Once I catch you seducing the young masters, just wait—you’ll be fired by Sister Wu for sure!”

Honestly, Tang Tian wanted to get fired by Sister Wu. That way, she wouldn’t have to pay the breach of contract penalty and could finally escape the fate of the vicious supporting female character in this story.

“Go ahead and report me. If you can get Sister Wu to fire me, I’ll actually thank you for it.”

She had considered pretending to seduce the male leads to get herself fired, but then remembered that in the original story, as the villainous supporting character, pulling a stunt like that would only seal her tragic ending.

That’s why she’d decided to quietly wait out her contract. There were only five months left—just five more months of keeping her head down, staying out of trouble, and she’d be free.

Once she left the villa, she’d still have a sizable savings. She could open a little shop and live a peaceful, cozy life.

When Tang Tian said those last few lines, her expression and tone were unusually serious, as if… she wasn’t joking at all.

Liu Huahua froze, then quickly recalled Tang Tian’s past behavior and became convinced she must be plotting something—maybe planning to drag her down too when the time came…

“I’m not falling for your tricks.” Unable to outargue her, Liu Huahua turned away with a belly full of resentment.

Tang Tian thought of having to watch over Fu Xi tomorrow, and her head began to ache. Fu Xi… that mouth of his was notoriously sharp. She didn’t know when it started, but he seemed to have developed a taste for teasing her—as if he found it amusing.

As for the butler saying she also needed to watch over the other three gentlemen, Pei Jue, Wen Shaohan, and Shen Yanli rarely came down to swim, so there wasn’t much to worry about there.

Tang Tian turned a corner and made her way back to the bar, preparing to wash the tray she had just used.

At that moment, Song Yu walked into the poolside bar. She looked like she had something on her mind. When she saw Tang Tian rinsing the tray, she quickly approached and, without hesitation, told Tang Tian everything Liu Xiaozhi had confided in her the night before.

Though Song Yu wasn’t very experienced in the world, Tang Tian was someone who had genuinely helped her. Liu Xiaozhi’s goal had been clear—to make her isolate Tang Tian and see her through a biased lens.

As Song Yu spoke, she kept a close eye on Tang Tian’s expression.

She had expected Tang Tian to be furious. But surprisingly, Tang Tian’s face remained completely calm, unchanged from beginning to end.

“Tang Tian-jie…” Song Yu thought she was too stunned to react.

Tang Tian turned off the faucet and placed the cleaned tray onto the drying rack.

“Song Yu, what Liu Xiaozhi said is actually true.” Though it was something the original character had done, in a way, she was that person.

Song Yu was dumbfounded, shocked by her straightforward admission.

“Tang Tian-jie, I’m sure you must’ve had your reasons, or maybe there was a misunderstanding…”

But Tang Tian said, “I really did try to seduce a few of the gentlemen before. I wanted to gain immense wealth, to achieve a leap in social status.”

Song Yu was at a loss for words. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Tang Tian continued, “But later I realized it was impossible. So I gave up. Now I just do my job properly and no longer harbor any foolish hopes toward any of the gentlemen.”

Her voice was clear and steady as she openly admitted that she had indeed once tried to seduce them.

“So no, I didn’t have any hidden motives, and there was no misunderstanding.”

Song Yu said, “…Tang Tian-jie, the past is the past.” As long as she no longer tried to seduce the gentlemen now or in the future, there’d be no risk of being dismissed.

Tang Tian hadn’t expected Song Yu to respond that way—she thought Song Yu would distance herself, but to her surprise…

After hearing what Tang Tian just said, Song Yu became even more certain that Tang Tian-jie was a good person.

“Besides, the gentlemen have power, wealth, and fame. They’re tall and handsome. Whether in the entertainment industry or the business world, they hold significant influence. Who wouldn’t like them? Who wouldn’t want to win their favor? How many people could honestly say they wouldn’t be tempted?”

The more Song Yu spoke, the more she understood why Tang Tian-jie had once tried to seduce them.

Tang Tian chuckled lightly. “You’d better not let a third person hear you say that. Otherwise, they’ll think the two of us are scheming together to seduce the gentlemen.”

Song Yu quickly glanced around. Fortunately, the poolside bar was empty aside from her and Tang Tian-jie.

“In any case, I’ll always be on your side, Tang Tian-jie,” she said, regardless of what others might say.

Tang Tian hadn’t expected that a small act of kindness just a few days ago would lead to making a true friend.

She gave Song Yu a radiant smile. “Thank you.”

The sheer beauty of that smile hit Song Yu like a shockwave. Her eyes widened involuntarily, and she held her breath, afraid that even the slightest movement would disturb the breathtaking vision before her.

To Song Yu, Tang Tian-jie looked perfectly matched with any of the gentlemen. She had never seen such a stunningly beautiful woman—Tang Tian-jie was truly dazzling.