Chapter 16

Tang Xin was cast as a maid who infiltrated the female lead’s household to spy on her brother.

She felt the audition was just a formality anyway—it was a throwaway role that wouldn’t survive five episodes.

After all, her audition script only had three short lines:

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t…”

“My lord, I beg you, please believe me… Ah! Uh…!”

The last “uh” signaled her character’s death.

As a D-list actress with little work, Tang Xin returned to the villa at noon, took a long nap, and spent the afternoon practicing her lines… which, honestly, didn’t need much practice.

But she wanted to refine her acting skills.

Even throwaway roles require some effort.

As she rehearsed, she found herself laughing.

These ridiculous lines were even more absurd than she was.

“My lord, I beg you, please believe me… Hahaha!”

She clutched her chest and slowly fell to the floor, picturing the scene in her mind. The image was so stupid and absurd that she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

For the first time ever, Yue Yuze left work early and came home to find her laughing hysterically on the floor through the open door. His expression was indescribable: “…” What a peculiar idiot.

Yue Yuze stood silently, his tall figure leaning against the doorframe, watching as the woman inside alternated between seriously acting and laughing like a fool.

To be honest, he had never thought this woman could have so many sides to her. And this side of her—genuine and adorable—was unexpectedly… not annoying.

He crossed his arms, standing there so long his legs began to feel numb, yet he didn’t know why he hadn’t left. Watching her absurdly exaggerated acting, he even thought… she really wasn’t cut out for showbiz!

But as long as she enjoyed it, that was enough.

“Oh, I’m so hungry,” Tang Xin muttered, tossing the script aside and getting up. She was about to leave the room when she turned and saw the man standing at the door.

Tang Xin: “…” How long has this annoying male lead been standing there?

Suddenly, she remembered her self-directed performance just now. Her cheeks flushed red, and she glared at him in embarrassment and frustration. “You… you… Who gave you permission to spy on me here?!”

Ugh, so annoying!

“Heh.” Yue Yuze chuckled, his voice low and raspy. He straightened up and looked at her blushing face, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “Not bad acting. But what’s with this role? Only three lines?”

“None of your business!” She stomped over, shut the door, and blocked him out.

Even though her acting was terrible, having him silently watch her self-directed, clownish performance…

Did she not have any dignity left?!

Yue Yuze stared at the closed door, the smile on his lips impossible to hide. When he finally realized it, he froze for a moment, his sharp brows furrowing slightly.

…When you find someone so foolish, yet their foolishness makes you smile…

You’re really falling for them.

He raised an eyebrow and quickly erased the smile, as if trying to salvage his composure. Then he turned and left.

Embarrassed by what had just happened, Tang Xin refused to go to the dining room for dinner that evening, avoiding the awkwardness of eating with the annoying male lead. It wasn’t until after 9 p.m. that she sneaked into the kitchen to prepare something for herself.

When the butler walked in, he saw her washing a head of lettuce with seven or eight fresh leaves, taking an egg and a sausage from the fridge, chopping up a small piece of beef, and mincing it. Meanwhile, vermicelli noodles were bubbling in a pot on the stove.

“Young Madam, are you… making a midnight snack yourself?”

“Yes,” she replied, glancing at him. “The chef’s off duty now.”

The villa’s routine was like this: the chef only prepared three meals a day. Yue Yuze presumably never ate late-night snacks, so there was no need for the chef to stay late. The chef would come early in the morning and leave in the evening.

The butler was incredulous. “You… can cook?”

“Of course.” She shot him a look, then turned to take the cooked noodles out of the pot and place them on a plate. She emptied the water from the pot, rinsed it, added oil, and heated it until it sizzled. Then she added the minced meat to stir-fry, her movements skilled and methodical.

The butler was surprised. She had been in the villa for so long, yet this was the first time she had cooked for herself… and the young master had even worried she wouldn’t know how, sending him to assist her.

“Young Madam, your cooking skills are quite impressive!”

“Of course!” Tang Xin grinned proudly.

There was no way she’d admit that stir-frying noodles was pretty much the only thing she was decent at.

“Where did you learn this?”

“I…” Tang Xin started to say she had picked it up as a homebody who occasionally cooked for herself. Then she remembered her new identity. The original Tang Xin had no cooking skills, so she hastily lied, “I grew up in a poor family. Knowing how to cook isn’t surprising. I’ve even cooked for Qi Shu before. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

The original Tang Xin had indeed cooked for Qi Shu once… a bowl of instant noodles!

Instant noodles count as cooking. No problem there.

The butler’s expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this. He subtly turned his head to glance at the man standing outside the kitchen door…

Yue Yuze, dressed in white loungewear, stood tall and composed by the door. His refined and handsome features were indifferent, but when he heard the woman’s words, his charmingly sharp eyes narrowed briefly. He quickly returned to his usual calm, but his tightly pressed lips revealed a trace of displeasure.

With a signal from Yue Yuze, the butler quietly left the kitchen.

Unnoticed, the person standing behind Tang Xin had already changed.

She was still completely unaware.

Finally, after stir-frying each ingredient one by one and mixing them together, she added seasoning, tossed the vermicelli in, and continued stir-frying everything together. “Doesn’t it smell good? Hey, do you want some? There’s plenty—I can share a bit with you.”

“Sure.”

A rich and mellow male voice sounded from behind her, deep and clear.

Tang Xin’s hand froze mid-air, still holding the spatula. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with the man’s dark, deep eyes.

She pouted, turned back around with a little humph, and muttered, “Not giving you any!”

Yue Yuze: “…”

He walked closer and stood beside her, watching her puffed-up, angry face. He tried to stop himself from staring but couldn’t help it—he just kept looking at her.

In the past, he hadn’t paid much attention to what she looked like. He vaguely remembered that she was quite pretty.

But now, seeing her up close, she wasn’t just pretty—she was adorable, like a kitten. Her bangs hung low over her forehead, cut a bit short, just brushing her brows. Her delicate little face, rosy and soft, was irresistibly charming.

…Tang Xin fought the urge to whack him with the spatula!

What the hell?! Staring at me like that—do you think I’m blind?!

Finally, suppressing her frustration, she finished stir-frying the vermicelli, piled it high onto a plate, grabbed a ladle and chopsticks, and carried everything to the dining room.

As soon as she sat down, the man sat beside her—with a pair of chopsticks in his hand.

She blinked her large eyes at him, startled. “What are you doing?” She stretched her arms to shield her plate of vermicelli.

This guy… Could he actually be planning to share her food?

Does he have no shame?

Watching her protect her food like that, Yue Yuze felt a pang of sorrow… His status, it seemed, was even lower than that of the butler!

Holding his chopsticks, he pointed at the vermicelli.

“Give me half, and I’ll give you a good role. A role ten times better than being the female lead’s maid.” He sighed. He had waited all day for her, yet this infuriating woman hadn’t come to him. Instead, she stayed in her room rehearsing for a throwaway role with only three lines?

She would rather take such a role than come to him?

Wasn’t she always asking him for roles in the past?

Could it be… as Fan Bei had suggested, she no longer wanted to pester him?

Why?

Why had she changed?

Could it be… she had fallen for Qi Shu?

The thought darkened Yue Yuze’s eyes, a chill emanating from his gaze.

Tang Xin looked at his cold, menacing expression and felt speechless. What’s the deal? Just because I’m not sharing my food, you’re threatening me?

Reluctantly, she let go of the plate and slid it over, dividing the vermicelli into two portions. “Here, you take this half, I’ll take this half.”

Regardless of whether his promise about the role was real or not, it was better not to provoke the male lead, who might just end her.

It’s just a plate of vermicelli, after all.

Take it, take it, take it…

However, after being given his portion, Yue Yuze’s expression didn’t improve. In fact, it grew even darker.

He stared at her coldly. “You… When you cooked for Qi Shu, did you also… eat with him like this?”

Tang Xin stared at him—or rather, at the chopsticks in his hand.

Silver chopsticks, almost bent from his grip…

She had no idea why he was thinking such nonsense or why he asked that question. Still, she instinctively answered honestly, “No.”

For some reason, the man’s face suddenly brightened, his mood inexplicably improved.

Tang Xin: “…” Are you a chameleon?!

Sharing one plate of vermicelli between two people wasn’t a lot. Soon, they had both cleaned their portions. As she got up to take the plate to the kitchen, a maid came over to take care of it instead.

She had no choice but to leave the dining room and head back to her room.

Yue Yuze followed her.

Their rooms were both on the third floor, separated by Yue Yuze’s study in between.

“Tang Xin.”

As they reached his door, he called out to her.

“Hmm?” She instinctively looked up at him.

Standing at his door, he gazed directly at her, his thin lips curling slightly. His voice was inexplicably deeper, but still smooth and pleasant. “Come to my room later.”

With that, he opened the door and walked in.

It wasn’t until his door closed that Tang Xin snapped out of it. She immediately crossed her arms over her chest, her face full of shock as she whispered to herself, “Oh my god… Why is he asking me to go to his room late at night? Could it be he still wants to sleep, sleep, sleep… sleep with me?!”