Wen Zhiyu was completely stunned.
Her luck was just too good.
If anyone else saw this, they would think she had pushed Qiao Nianxi into the water.
Qiao Nianxi’s arms broke the surface of the water as she struggled desperately, opening her mouth to call for help but only gulping down mouthfuls of water instead.
Clearly, she couldn’t swim.
Her princess dress, now soaked, suddenly became very heavy, dragging her body toward the bottom of the lake until the top of her head was about to disappear.
Wen Zhiyu stamped her foot, bit her lower lip, set down her tray, and jogged over.
She couldn’t swim either, so she found a wooden stick and extended it toward Qiao Nianxi.
“Hurry, grab the stick!”
Having held the tray for so long, her arms were as soft as noodles, unable to guide the stick accurately into Qiao Nianxi’s hands. She nearly poked her several times.
Wen Zhiyu’s hair stood on end as she hastily explained.
“Nianxi, dear young miss, you saw it—it wasn’t me who pushed you in, and I’m not trying to poke you on purpose. I’m trying to save you.”
Qiao Nianxi: Glub glub, glub glub…
Wen Zhiyu took that as her agreement and hurried to rescue her.
“Help! Someone help! The young miss has fallen into the water!”
The servants noticed the commotion and shouted loudly.
Wen Zhiyu shuddered. She really wanted to run.
The current situation was far too disadvantageous for her.
But if she left and Qiao Nianxi got hurt even more, would the author have her executed for it?
Footsteps approached from afar, and Wen Zhiyu turned around joyfully. “She fell in the water! Hurry, pull her out!”
When she saw Lin Haoze, she was a bit dumbfounded.
No way.
“Qiao Nianxi, even heaven can’t stand to see you occupying Zhizhi’s place. Are you willing to leave now?”
Qiao Nianxi: Glub glub, glub glub…
Wen Zhiyu’s face was covered in black lines. She wanted to kick Lin Haoze into the water.
“Hurry up and save her, or we’re both dead!”
She extended her tender, fair arm and commanded Lin Haoze.
Her face was too sweet—there was absolutely no intimidation factor.
Lin Haoze felt the person in front of him looked somewhat familiar, and the voice was familiar too.
“You…”
He stepped forward, ready to take a closer look.
Wen Jingming ran over, drenched in sweat, and without a moment’s hesitation, jumped into the lake. He quickly pulled Qiao Nianxi out.
“Nianxi, wake up. Don’t scare your brother.”
There was a slight tremor in Wen Jingming’s voice.
When Qiao Nianxi had first returned, he had been resistant.
By the principle of first impressions, he had preferred the previous sister.
Wen Zhiyu had a willful personality, but that was harmless. After all, no matter what mistakes she made, he would always clean up after her.
Because she was his sister.
But then Wen Zhiyu had actually poisoned Qiao Nianxi. Watching Qiao Nianxi lying pale-faced in bed, barely clinging to life, the bond of blood deep within him had been successfully awakened.
Qiao Nianxi coughed up a few mouthfuls of water and regained consciousness.
“Thank goodness. Nianxi, how did you fall into the water?”
Qiao Nianxi’s vacant gaze slowly swept across the people around her. Her slender fingers trembled as she pointed at Wen Zhiyu, and a faint voice emerged from her throat: “She…”
The look Wen Jingming shot over was fierce and menacing.
Wen Zhiyu edged her body to the side, staring back with wide, innocent eyes, her wrist nearly shaking into a blur.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I had nothing to do with it. Young Master Wen, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Miss Qiao.”
At the critical moment, Qiao Nianxi rolled her eyes back and successfully fainted, her body going limp in Wen Jingming’s arms.
Wen Zhiyu was about to panic. Qiao Nianxi had chosen the worst possible time to faint.
What was even more terrifying was that Wen Jingming enunciated her name word by word.
“Wen…… Zhi…… Yu.”
“You didn’t learn your lesson from last time, and now you’re bullying Nianxi again.”
Her identity was exposed.
Wen Zhiyu was on the verge of tears but none would come.
Lin Haoze’s face lit up with delight. “Zhizhi, it’s you?”
“Seize her.” At Wen Jingming’s command, the servants surrounded Wen Zhiyu.
“Brother, I’m really innocent!” Wen Zhiyu glanced at Qiao Nianxi, who still showed no signs of waking.
She bit her lip and decided to make a run for it, but Lin Haoze, caught up in his excitement, grabbed her wrist and refused to let go.
“Let go, you idiot!”
Seeing people coming to grab Wen Zhiyu, Lin Haoze shielded her.
“Jingming, now is not the time to punish Zhizhi. Your priority is to take Qiao Nianxi to see a doctor. I believe in Zhizhi—she’s not a bad person.”
Wen Jingming gritted his teeth, carried Qiao Nianxi away, and shot Wen Zhiyu a vicious glare before leaving.
The crowd dispersed.
Wen Zhiyu’s legs went weak, and she crumpled toward the ground. Lin Haoze caught her and asked with concern, “Zhizhi, are you okay?”
No, she was not okay. Not at all.
She had come for a part-time job, worked half a day, earned no money, and been branded as the culprit who pushed Qiao Nianxi into the water. It would be strange if she were fine.
She pushed Lin Haoze away, steadied herself, took off her mask, and stripped off the servant’s uniform.
“I should go home.”
She looked listless, like a kitten that had been wronged.
“I’ll walk you.”
Lin Haoze caught up.
“Da-mei.”
Wen Zhiyu walked forward, feeling the burning gaze behind her. She turned to look, and Lin Haoze looked like an abandoned big dog.
Seeing her turn around, his dejected face bloomed into a brilliant smile.
“Don’t go against Qiao Nianxi anymore from now on.”
“Why? Zhiyu, she took everything from you.”
Wen Zhiyu shook her head.
No, everything rightfully belonged to Qiao Nianxi—she was the darling of the book.
Lin Haoze was probably the only outlier in the book, never having liked Qiao Nianxi.
“She did nothing wrong. I’m the one who took what wasn’t mine.”
Wen Zhiyu waved at him, didn’t look back, and left directly.
The big orange cat dragged its plump body, chasing after her with relentless meows, each one more pitiful than the last.
Wen Zhiyu had no choice but to stop, scoop up the big orange cat, nuzzle against its body, and bury her delicate pale face into its soft fur.
“Big Orange, I’m sorry, I can’t take you with me.”
The big orange cat meowed, as if asking why.
“Be good and listen to Qiao Nianxi. She’ll treat you well.”
Her palm smoothed over the fur the wind had ruffled, and finally, steeling her heart, she stood up and left.
Behind her, the big orange cat’s cries turned shrill.
Wen Zhiyu walked faster.
Leaving the villa, checking the route, boarding the bus—she didn’t look back.
The big orange cat appeared in the bus’s rearview mirror, growing smaller and smaller.
Wen Zhiyu didn’t notice. Back at the apartment, she collapsed onto the sofa, drained of all strength.
Her eyes stung, a hint of grievance welling up, tears swirling at the rims.
Having finished his work, Li Moyuan took a moment to check his messages.
The S app was silent—no messages from his little fairy. That in itself was unusual.
He was used to the barrage of messages from his little fairy, as if she spent her entire day doing nothing but waiting to chat with him.
He lowered his gaze, his fingertips tapping absently at the edge of the screen.
Clicking into Gu Lin’s messages, the signal wasn’t great—a photo was stuck loading, taking forever to appear.
What followed was Gu Lin’s message, which instantly killed his interest.
“Mom, I’m busy.”
“There’s no way I can go on a blind date. Qiao Nianxi was pushed into the water by Wen Zhiyu.”