While Shi Liaoliao was reeling from the words “wages gone,” only Wanwan poked her wet head out from the raincoat pocket: 【Ah! Host! Doesn’t the male lead’s meaning imply you can stay now!!】
He had just mentioned “the duties of a personal manservant”—didn’t that mean Shi Liaoliao could continue in the role?
Shi Liaoliao hugged a basket of leeks, her nonexistent balls aching faintly.
Someone, please hold me; I’m about to shatter.
【I’d rather be fired…】
Wanwan mercilessly exposed her: 【If you’re fired, you’ll have no job. No job means no wages. How will you survive without money?】
Shi Liaoliao stood up with the basket, a faint, enigmatic smile tugging at her lips: 【Who says I have no money? Truly wealthy people keep their riches hidden—like me…】
Wanwan was baffled.
Come to think of it, the previous butler was at least her biological grandfather. Having worked for the Lu family for so many years, he might have left Shi Liaoliao a massive inheritance.
【Two kidneys are worth at least 1.8 million—when have I ever flaunted them?】
Wanwan: 【………You’d better keep hiding them.】
Shi Liaoliao returned with the leeks. While taking off her raincoat under the eaves, she encountered the gardener who had shown her the way earlier.
The gardener glanced at the leeks by her feet, his wrinkled face twisting into a clear sneer.
“Picking leeks, eh, Little Shi?”
Shi Liaoliao seemed to notice him only then, slowly turning her gaze toward him.
“No.”
The old gardener looked puzzled as he glanced at the leeks in her hand.
Shi Liaoliao: “Digging your grave.”
The old gardener: “”
His face turned pale, then flushed with anger, nearly choking on his breath.
“Pah! A pretty boy selling his ass. Don’t think climbing into the master’s bed puts you above us. You’ve probably got some filthy disease.”
The old gardener’s once-kindly face twisted into a grimace as he spewed vile insults, pointing at Shi Liaoliao’s nose, emboldened by the lack of witnesses.
Note the key phrase.
‘Emboldened by the lack of witnesses.’
Shi Liaoliao sighed: “Truly, Wu Zetian becoming a widow made me lose Li Zhi.”
Since arriving in this world, she had suppressed her true nature, playing the part of an expressionless cross-dressing expert as per the original host’s personality.
But now…
Shi Liaoliao slapped the old gardener right across the face!
The blow sent the old man’s dentures flying, landing in the muddy ground outside.
The old man slowly looked up, disbelief written all over his face.
“Out of money, old man. Time to cough up some coins.”
Flexing her wrist, Shi Liaoliao bared her teeth at him.
Her lower teeth, to be precise.
The gardener: “”
“Have you… lost your mind?!”
The denture-less old gardener slurred, utterly dumbfounded, never expecting this person he’d dismissed as a pretty boy would dare hit him.
No sooner had he spoken than another crisp slap landed.
This time, it successfully knocked the old gardener’s wig clean off.
Wanwan commented sharply: 【Dropped a whole set of gear, just no coins.】
Looking down at the old man kneeling on the ground, his cheeks swollen high on both sides, Shi Liaoliao smiled for the first time in front of others.
“Don’t talk to me about respecting the elderly.”
“When I lose it, I’ll even take on old men.”
The little manservant, already strikingly beautiful, now seemed like a demon in the old gardener’s eyes.
“You… you…”
He dragged himself backward, face filled with terror.
Shi Liaoliao raised an eyebrow: “Who do you think you’re looking down on?”
“A cute top is still a top.”
Then, with impatience, she reached out a hand.
“Quick, either cough up the cash or get ready for a spanking.”
The old gardener trembled, his lips quivering as he clenched his buttocks.
What a beast!!
Watching the old man hobble away as fast as he could, Shi Liaoliao smiled contentedly at the wallet in her hand.
[See, Testicle, I’ve got money now.]
Wanwan: [………If I remember correctly, I think my name is Wanwan.]
Taking out all the cash inside and tossing the wallet away, Shi Liaoliao shrugged nonchalantly: [Your surname is Testicle.]
Wanwan: [ ]
Is it still possible to switch hosts now?
Clearly, it wasn’t.
Rubbing her face, Shi Liaoliao returned to her expressionless state, carrying her small basket as she headed to the servants’ kitchen to make steamed buns.
Wanwan couldn’t help asking: [Shouldn’t we worry about that old man? What if he reports us?]
Shi Liaoliao shook her head: [He won’t. The old man initially thought I’d definitely be fired, so he brazenly pulled out all the flowers Lu Yanzhou planted earlier. Once he realizes I’m fine, that becomes leverage against him. After all, he pulled the flowers himself, not me.]
Wanwan felt reassured.
Personal manservants held a higher rank and could live in a separate room with a shower, though the space wasn’t large enough for a toilet—they still had to use the communal bathroom. But Shi Liaoliao was quite satisfied.
After showering and changing into clean clothes, she planned to use the toilet before kneading the dough that had already risen.
The floor where male servants lived had a small kitchenette where they could cook separately, but the Lu family chefs were exceptionally skilled, so most men preferred not to cook.
Now, with rain falling and Lu Yanzhou back home, most servants were busy, leaving Shi Liaoliao as the only idle one.
Who would have thought that shortly after entering the bathroom, she encountered someone unexpected.
The young man, now wearing a light brown wool sweater, stood outside the door at some point, his presence brightening the dim surroundings.
Under Shi Liaoliao’s astonished gaze, Lu Yanzhou stepped inside.
Shi Liaoliao: ?
[What are you doing here??]
Lu Yanzhou met the little manservant’s gaze calmly.
He just couldn’t understand.
How could the little manservant, with his slender physique, call him small.
So he decided to come and see firsthand.
Walking to the urinal, Lu Yanzhou looked at Shi Liaoliao, who remained frozen in place.
“Not coming over?”
Shi Liaoliao: “I’m pooping.”
Then she headed toward the inner stalls.
[Declined politely. Who wants to pee with you?]
[Looks decent on the outside, but feels a bit perverted. Who in their right mind comes to the servants’ floor specifically to pee?]
Lu Yanzhou, who only wanted to reclaim his masculine dignity but was mistaken for a pervert: “ ”
When she came out, Shi Liaoliao didn’t see Lu Yanzhou and assumed he had left, satisfied as she headed to the kitchen.
Then…
She saw Lu Yanzhou again.
Lu Yanzhou sat on a high stool, looking down at Shi Liaoliao’s dough basin, seemingly curious but restrained by his upbringing, not touching others’ belongings, just quietly observing.
Shi Liaoliao couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Young Master… aren’t you busy?”
[Isn’t the academic pressure at Saint Dun Academy heavy!!? Why are you here!!? How can I eat chive-filled buns with you around!!]
Lu Yanzhou seemed to be in a good mood.
Slender fingers tapped the iron basin, his voice gentle: “No rush, the paper the professor assigned is quite simple.”
Shi Liaoliao couldn’t resist: “Can I test you?”
Seeing her earnest expression, Lu Yanzhou felt a flicker of interest and gave a slight nod.
“Please use the terms ‘oldest,’ ‘second oldest,’ ‘third oldest,’ ‘fourth oldest,’ and ‘fifth oldest’ to form a sentence.”
Lu Yanzhou slowly blinked.
Before he could speak, Shi Liaoliao quickly said: “Time’s up.”
“The correct answer is—”
“Fifth oldest said to fourth oldest that third oldest’s second oldest is too big.”
Lu Yanzhou: “…”