24 – A bit more effort today, eight more male models tomorrow
After her foot injury healed, Xie Yurao threw herself back into training.
“Your recent practice sessions have been going smoothly, well done.”
At least the performance for the celebration wouldn’t be a problem anymore, and Xie Yurao felt relieved.
The seemingly frivolous and playful young lady was actually quite serious about this.
Jiang Mingci smiled and said, “The young lady learns very quickly, almost catching up to my years of training.”
This wasn’t flattery—it was the truth.
Jiang Mingci was a professional, and he had watched Xie Yurao progress from stepping on his feet at the beginning to moving with ease now, making remarkable strides.
Xie Yurao looked at herself in the full-length mirror, gently wiping her slightly damp, glowing cheeks with a towel.
Then she smiled carelessly.
“One extra effort today, eight more male models tomorrow.”
“It’s all about bearing the burden now for a better life later.”
Jiang Mingci: “…”
Seeing his stunned expression, Xie Yurao blinked, not shying away from her fickle nature.
Using the young lady’s unreasonable logic:
Her heart was just broken into many pieces, and each piece had fallen in love with a different person.
Wait…
Xie Yurao suddenly realized something was off.
Where was her first male model?
Although Xie Yurao wanted to give every handsome man and beauty in the world a home.
But in her own home, there was only one person.
“Where the hell has Tan Shen been lately?”
Xie Yurao couldn’t help but furrow her delicate brows.
While she had been focused on dancing lately, had this useless bodyguard started slacking off and wandering around?
“Bodyguard Tan,” Jiang Mingci thought for a moment. “He’s been at the villa the whole time.”
Xie Yurao turned her head. “How do you know?”
Jiang Mingci smiled gently. “This morning, I saw him climb a tree to help the maids retrieve a kite stuck in the branches.”
Xie Yurao: “?”
Xie Yurao had always been good to the young maids. As long as they did their jobs properly, they were allowed to play in the backyard garden.
The backyard was spacious, and they occasionally flew kites.
After all, she found the sight of a group of pretty girls chattering and flying kites quite pleasing.
But,
who allowed Tan Shen to watch?!
Xie Yurao immediately felt uncomfortable and stomped downstairs in her high heels.
She grumbled angrily, “That dog Tan Shen, sneaking off to watch the maids fly kites behind my back. He must be having a great time, right? I’ve raised so many pretty little maids, and he gets to enjoy them all by himself.”
Chen Yi saw her coming down and smiled warmly. “Young lady, are you done with dance practice? I just made some white fungus and lotus seed porridge. Would you like—”
“No.”
Xie Yurao cut her off, then asked angrily, “Where’s Tan Shen?”
“Mr. Tan… It’s already eight in the evening. He should be in his room.”
As soon as Chen Yi finished speaking, Xie Yurao headed toward the backyard.
The young lady rarely came to this area and spent a while wandering around before finally finding where Tan Shen lived. She banged heavily on the door.
“Who is it?”
A deep, cold, and clear male voice sounded from inside.
She hadn’t heard his voice in days, and it somehow sounded quite pleasant.
Xie Yurao shook her head, reminding herself that she was here to settle a score and shouldn’t be swayed by his charm.
The cunning little fox’s eyes flickered as she stood silently, planning to scare him to death when he opened the door.
But, as it turned out, the door opened outward?!
“Ah…”
Xie Yurao was smacked in the forehead by the door with a “thud.” She bent over, clutching her forehead, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.
“Tan Shen!”
Tan Shen froze, clearly not expecting her to show up at his door late at night.
He frowned slightly, reaching out to lift her drooping head. “Why didn’t you move when I opened the door?”
Xie Yurao would never admit she wanted to scare him—that would sound utterly foolish.
Flustered and angry, she retorted, “You hit me, and now you’re blaming me for not moving…?”
The man cupped her chin, applying slight pressure to make her look up.
His dark, profound eyes gazed down coolly.
Xie Yurao stared directly into his eyes, her breath catching for a moment.
The man before her had just showered. His collar was slightly damp and open, his black hair wet and dripping, his brows and eyes carrying a hint of moisture, giving him a sharp, icy elegance.
“It’s a bit red,” he said with a furrowed brow.
Xie Yurao hummed softly, tilting her face up. “Then blow on it…”
Tan Shen: “…”
His cold eyes fixed on her face, as if he were about to snap at her any second.
But after another glance at her reddened forehead and her watery, fox-like eyes, he silently held back and released her.
His voice was indifferent. “I’ll get some ointment for you. Wait here.”
It would be strange if the young lady actually obeyed.
So when Tan Shen bent down to retrieve the ointment from the drawer, he saw that the little fox who had been at the door was now sitting on his bed.
She swung her fair, delicate legs, looking around his room with her head tilted.
After surveying it, she couldn’t resist offering a summary.
“How is your room even smaller than my bathroom…”
Tan Shen: “…”
He couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Compared to the man’s handsome, cold appearance, the room seemed unworthy of him.
It was small and simple—just a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a chair. Nothing more.
Xie Yurao, momentarily distracted by the dog man’s physique and looks, completely forgot she had come to settle a score.
Instead, she asked, “Do you want to move upstairs and live with me?”
“No,” Tan Shen replied dismissively.
Then, lowering his voice with displeasure, he said, “Who said you could sit on my bed? Get down.”
It wasn’t that Tan Shen had any particular cleanliness habits or forbade others from touching his bed.
On the contrary, he had no such habits at all.
But seeing her sitting where he slept made him deeply uncomfortable.
“Go sit on the chair,” Tan Shen said.
Xie Yurao glanced at the chair by the desk. “It looks hard. I don’t want to sit there.”
“…”
Tan Shen truly wanted to throw this little troublemaker out.
Seeing his cold, reluctant expression, Xie Yurao grew unhappy too.
“You can fly kites with the maids, so why can’t I sit on your bed?”
Her temper flaring, she kicked off her high heels, pulled back the covers, and burrowed inside.
“Not only will I sit on your bed, I’ll sleep in it too!”
Tan Shen: “??”
Tan Shen: “…”
His expression darkened as he watched her disappear under the covers, only a tuft of fluffy, long curls visible.
Leaving aside whether flying kites and sitting on beds were even related…
Tan Shen looked down at the lump on the bed, his tone icy as he retorted, “Xie Yurao, who flew kites with them?”
A muffled voice came from under the covers. “Everyone saw it. Don’t try to deny it.”
Tan Shen: “…”
The kite had gotten stuck in a tree, and the maids, worried it would ruin the scenery and upset the young lady, had asked him to retrieve it. Did that count as flying kites together?
What kind of unreasonable logic was this?
Tan Shen had no choice but to relent. “Come out first and apply the ointment.”
Xie Yurao finally emerged from under the blanket.
She had beautiful long, wavy hair like seaweed, now tousled into a mess. She leaned in like a female ghost and commanded him, “Apply it.”
Tan Shen suppressed his anger and impatiently pushed aside the little ghost’s messy long hair.
He lowered his gaze coldly, but his eyes paused for a moment.
The palm-sized face before him was exquisitely delicate in every way—curled lashes drooping slightly, skin fair and tender, lips strikingly red, like a little enchantress who could steal one’s soul.
He remained silent for a few seconds before shifting his gaze away.
Unscrewing the ointment, he dabbed a bit on his fingertip and applied it to her forehead.
When she wasn’t speaking, she actually looked quite well-behaved.
But just as he thought this, he heard her call out.
“Little Tanhua~”