Shi Sheng swiftly brewed a cup of tea and carefully set it on the coffee table in front of Wen Ke.
“Ms. Wen, your tea.”
Shi Sheng dutifully played the role of a servant, keeping her eyes lowered and avoiding eye contact with her mistress unless absolutely necessary.
After setting down the tea, Shi Sheng felt her work was done and prepared to slip back to her room.
But just as she turned around, Wen Ke’s voice rang out from behind her again:
“Hold on. Stop right there.”
Shi Sheng: “…”
Are you serious? Just because I poured you a cup of tea, you think you’re some ancient noble lady?
Don’t maids have rights?
Though she was complaining endlessly in her head, as a working girl, Shi Sheng quickly regained her composure and turned around with a smile on her face:
“Is there anything else you need, Ms. Wen?”
“As long as it’s within my job scope, I’d be happy to help~”
Wen Ke frowned, looking at Shi Sheng with obvious displeasure.
The woman before her appeared to be around Qi Ye’s age, but her features looked very young.
Her face was slightly round, her apricot-shaped eyes were clear and bright, and when she smiled, she looked both sweet and soft.
She was the type that made people want to cherish her, yet also inexplicably made people want to bully her.
Wen Ke was annoyed—why were all the women around Qi Ye these kinds of seductive vixens?
Even the maid he kept at home was chosen to be this good-looking.
With such close proximity, if they ever took a liking to each other, wouldn’t it be like fire meeting gasoline—rolling into bed before you knew it?
The more Wen Ke thought about it, the angrier she got. She raised her eyes and looked at Shi Sheng contemptuously, then said:
“We’re both women, so don’t think I can’t see through your little schemes. If you want to seduce Qi Ye, I’m afraid you’re not qualified.”
Shi Sheng: “…?”
What the hell? Who knew this pretty lady was such a fanatical catfight enthusiast?
Shi Sheng felt as awful as if she’d been walking along and suddenly had a mouthful of shit shoved in.
Seriously, not everyone is dying to have your Qi Ye.
A rich second-generation type who throws money around to pick up girls—whether he’s called Qi Ye or Duan Ye—Shi Sheng had zero interest.
Then, Wen Ke continued to stake her claim:
“The mistress of the Qi family can only be me.”
Shi Sheng: “…”
Then what about Madam Duan?
She forcibly suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and said patiently:
“Ms. Wen, please believe me. I truly have no interest in Mr. Qi whatsoever.”
But whether Shi Sheng had interest in Qi Ye wasn’t for her to decide.
Wen Ke was thoroughly displeased and said arrogantly:
“Didn’t you say you could be ordered to do anything?”
She tilted her head and picked up her high heels from beside the sofa:
“Here. Go scrub these clean. Don’t come out until they’re white.”
Shi Sheng looked over.
—They were a pair of pure black high heels.
“…”
Scrubbing pure black high heels until they were white? This lady really knew how to make things difficult.
Shi Sheng lowered her gaze and took the high heels with good grace: “Yes, Ms. Wen.”
She carried the high heels to the washroom.
So what if she had to scrub shoes?
She’d do it.
Once Qi Ye came back and the two of them started getting all hot and heavy, Shi Sheng could legitimately sneak back to her room and slack off.
Nice.
Before long, sounds finally came from outside the villa again.
Shi Sheng paused mid-motion and instantly brightened up.
Great! You two go ahead and set each other on fire—strip down right there and dance all the way to the master bedroom!
Shi Sheng was feeling quite pleased with herself when, at the same moment, Wen Ke also stood up in surprise and hurried toward the door:
“Ah Ye! Welcome home!”
The moment Qi Ye opened the door, a strong wave of perfume hit him.
A woman’s soft body threw itself into his arms.
Qi Ye instinctively caught her, then quickly came to his senses.
He pulled the woman clinging to him away, furrowed his brows, and said impatiently:
“Why are you still here? Didn’t I tell you to leave first thing in the morning?”
Qi Ye had received a call from his older brother that morning and left in a hurry. He hadn’t had time to send Wen Ke back, so he’d told her to leave on her own after eating.
He hadn’t expected her to just stay in his house for the entire day.
Wen Ke’s gaze darted away, but the next moment she was acting coy again:
“But I missed you so much~ Doesn’t Ah Ye like me anymore?”
Qi Ye had reached the absolute limit of his patience. He shoved Wen Ke away with a dark, sinister look:
“Get out. Don’t think that just because you slept here one night, you can claim some kind of relationship with me…”
Before he could finish, he caught sight of a pair of shoes hanging by the door—shoes that belonged to Shi Sheng.
Qi Ye swallowed the rest of his words and asked, “Where’s Shi Sheng?”
Wen Ke was still feeling wronged, tears welling in her eyes.
Seeing that Qi Ye had changed the subject, she quickly picked up the thread:
“Shi Sheng… you mean that maid? She went to polish my shoes.”
Qi Ye sharply caught the words in her sentence.
His face darkened: “Maid? Shi Sheng said she’s a maid?”
The man’s expression was too terrifying. Wen Ke vaguely sensed that something was off, and for a moment, even her tears were scared back.
She said cautiously, “Th-That’s what she said.”
Hearing this, a nameless rage surged up from the depths of his heart. He gritted his teeth:
“Maid. What a fine maid… She really knows how to come up with things.”
Qi Ye shook off Wen Ke’s hand that was gripping his arm and headed toward the bathroom instead.
“Hey!” Wen Ke stamped her foot in place, gritted her teeth, and followed after him.
Shi Sheng, who had overheard the conversation outside and vaguely realized there was a misunderstanding: “…”
She scrubbed the shoes even harder.
Don’t come find me, don’t come find me, don’t come find me, don’t come find me!
Unfortunately, things didn’t go her way. The bathroom door was slammed open with force.
Shi Sheng flinched, shrinking her neck.
She instinctively turned around, still holding the pair of black high heels that had been scrubbed nearly to the point of losing their paint.
Her expression was especially innocent.
Qi Ye stared at her intently, his eyes turning red:
“Maid? You told her you’re a maid?”
Shi Sheng carefully backed up a little and gave an apologetic smile:
“I was just afraid Ms. Wen might misunderstand… I thought you two were close.”
Qi Ye was about to go mad with anger.
Him and Wen Ke being close? He and Shi Sheng had been together for five goddamn years! Why didn’t Shi Sheng ever say the two of them were close?
Did Shi Sheng even have him in her heart at all?
The more Qi Ye thought about it, the angrier he got.
After a long moment, he let out a cold laugh:
“Fine then. Since you’re a maid, you should at least fulfill some maid duties, right?”
Hearing this, Shi Sheng quickly raised the high heels in her hands to show that she was already fulfilling them.
Qi Ye: “…”
His face darkened: “That’s not what I’m talking about!”
Shi Sheng immediately hid the high heels behind her back again.
Qi Ye’s expression turned even uglier.
At that moment, Wen Ke had also walked back to Qi Ye’s side and carefully took hold of his arm:
“Ah Ye, c-can I still stay by your side?”
Her words gave Qi Ye a headache.
Damn it. Do you think you’re entitled to call me so intimately?
Who the hell do you think you are?
Just as he was thinking this, Qi Ye looked up and saw Shi Sheng.
A moment later, he broke into a smile again.
Qi Ye naturally pulled Wen Ke into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek.
At the same time, he cast a provocative sidelong glance at Shi Sheng.
“Aren’t you the servant? Perfect timing—I’m taking A-Ke shopping at the mall.”
Qi Ye said casually,
“You can follow behind and carry our bags for us.”