Shi Sheng had originally assumed that being a bag carrier couldn’t be that tiring.
But she quickly realized she was wrong.
This wasn’t just tiring—this was exhausting to the point of near collapse!
Qi Ye and Wen Ke were deliberately messing with her, specifically picking out those big, heavy shopping bags to fill with stuff.
Bags containing metal, high heels, gold, silver, and diamond jewelry.
Not to mention the basic clothes, pants, and skirts—all of it was stuffed into bags or gift boxes and dumped onto Shi Sheng.
Shi Sheng held a pile of paper bags in her arms, with a rope tied around her waist, and the rope was hitched to a small cart that was loaded to the brim with shopping boxes.
She trudged forward under the weight all by herself—a sight both ridiculous and pitiful.
Qi Ye led Wen Ke ahead, paying no attention whatsoever to Shi Sheng behind him.
His tone was lazy: “Anything else you want? Just say it.”
Wen Ke covered her mouth and giggled shyly: “A Ye~ You’re so good to me.”
Hearing that coquettish remark, a flicker of irritation crossed Qi Ye’s face.
He didn’t bother hiding it, just fixed Wen Ke with a cold, indifferent stare.
After a moment, Qi Ye glanced sidelong at Shi Sheng behind him and said to Wen Ke, “Good that you know.”
Wen Ke took in every single one of his reactions.
She wasn’t stupid—she’d already figured it out back at the villa that Shi Sheng’s status with Qi Ye was definitely not as simple as a maid.
Judging from all the signs, Qi Ye cared a great deal about that woman, even to the point of using her to provoke Shi Sheng.
At that thought, Wen Ke’s nails dug into her palm so hard they nearly drew blood.
She lowered her gaze, concealing the jealousy and hatred in her eyes, and feigned a lighthearted tone:
“Is that a Western restaurant up ahead? A Ye, I’m hungry—let’s go eat, okay?”
Qi Ye raised his hand to check his watch.
Eight in the evening—long past mealtime.
So they’d already been shopping this long?
And Shi Sheng…
At that thought, Qi Ye couldn’t help but turn his head for a look.
There was Shi Sheng, dutifully clutching the shopping bags in her arms, carefully maintaining her balance to keep them from falling.
She was so focused that she didn’t even notice Qi Ye’s gaze at all.
It seemed that to her, carrying bags was just another job she needed to take seriously.
Qi Ye saw this, and the fire in his chest burned even hotter.
He let out a cold laugh, looked at Wen Ke, and said lazily, “Eat? Why wouldn’t we eat?”
“Come on, I’ll take you out for a nice meal.”
With that, Qi Ye led Wen Ke to the entrance of the nearest Western restaurant.
The two of them had come out dressed to the nines, decked out in designer labels, and the hostess at the door greeted them with a sweet smile, ushering them inside.
Shi Sheng followed behind them carrying a mountain of stuff, face covered in dust, makeup half-ruined.
She glanced at the restaurant’s sign and stopped in her tracks on her own accord.
Not gonna lie—after walking this long, she was pretty hungry.
But Shi Sheng knew perfectly well that in her current state, forget a Western restaurant—she’d get thrown out of a bubble tea shop for looking like a vagrant.
Watching Qi Ye walk in without so much as a backward glance, taking the pretty girl to dinner, Shi Sheng yawned.
Alright, gotta hand it to you, you absolute player.
So I was just a pawn in your little game after all.
Shi Sheng pulled out one of the shopping bags to use as a mat on the ground, then plopped herself down on it.
She stuffed all the bags she’d been holding onto the cart, then sat there leisurely on her makeshift seat.
Aside from being a little hungry, everything else was just fine.
Beside Shi Sheng stood a waiter who wore a sweet smile for every guest who came to dine, dutiful and conscientious.
Shi Sheng watched this waiter—from just now until this moment, she hadn’t moved an inch, and her smile was formulaic, the exact same curve lifting each time.
Shi Sheng could tell at a glance that this was a fellow struggling worker just like herself, and instantly, a feeling of shared hardship welled up within her.
Shi Sheng tried to strike up a conversation:
“Sister, working a full day at the door like this, how much can you make?”
Hearing her words, the waiter gave her a contemptuous glance: “Still more than your junk-collecting salary.”
Shi Sheng: “…”
She silently shrank back into her corner.
It seemed there were differences between workers and workers after all.
Shi Sheng glanced at the “junk” hanging on her little cart—Chanel, Dior, Bvlgari, and Tiffany—and suddenly felt she was still somewhat lucky.
If there was one thing she was good at, it wasn’t anything else—it was her mindset.
Though she was a kept bird being used by her sugar daddy as a bag-carrier and dumped at the entrance of a Western restaurant, none of that was enough to defeat Shi Sheng.
Shi Sheng pulled out her phone, planning to order herself some takeout.
It just so happened to be Crazy Thursday today.
Just as Shi Sheng was overwhelmed by the array of burgers and fried chicken options, a commotion suddenly arose not far away.
She looked up.
Not far off, a group of flashy rich kids came laughing and joking.
The one leading them had dyed red hair, a flamboyant expression, a hint of irritation on his face, and was shouting:
“Isn’t it just losing a bet? What’s there to be sore about!”
“I’ll give you my sports car, fine—today you all eat as much as you want, Young Master Wang’s paying!”
The group of rich kids all started whooping and hollering, the noise truly rowdy.
Shi Sheng covered her ears and was about to lower her head to keep ordering her takeout when Young Master Wang’s eyes swept over and landed precisely on her.
Wang Duan froze for a moment, then squinted and looked carefully to identify her.
Seeing this, the hangers-on behind him asked curiously:
“Young Master Wang, what are you looking at?”
Wang Duan ignored them.
After looking for a moment, he widened his eyes and called out directly:
“Hey! Sister-in-law!”
Hearing this familiar voice, Shi Sheng looked up in confusion.
Wang Duan rushed over enthusiastically, crouching down without any hesitation, tilting his head to examine her:
“Why is sister-in-law here? Where’s A Ye?”
Realizing who it was, Shi Sheng replied with little interest: “Eating inside.”
Hearing this, Wang Duan paused slightly, then probed: “He’s alone or…?”
Shi Sheng looked at him with amusement:
“Don’t you know Qi Ye? How could he possibly eat alone in a place like this?”
At that, Wang Duan turned his head away and cursed under his breath.
Then he stood up, extended his hand to Shi Sheng, and smiled obediently:
“Sister-in-law hasn’t eaten yet, right? Come on, I’ll take you inside to eat.”
Shi Sheng: “I’m not going.”
Wang Duan, who was usually exceptionally well-behaved and obedient, refused to go along this time:
“Don’t be like that—why not go? Don’t you want to make Qi—”
He paused, his gaze flicking to the food delivery app on Shi Sheng’s phone, and changed his tune: “Sister-in-law, in this kind of central mall, delivery drivers can’t even get in.”
Hearing this, Shi Sheng was taken aback: “Really?”
Wang Duan said without changing his expression: “Of course.”
He said eagerly: “Come inside with me, sister-in-law—I’m treating, you won’t spend a cent!”
The rich kids behind him who didn’t know what was going on also chimed in:
“Yeah, sister-in-law, if Young Master Wang says go, just go.”
Although they had no idea why Wang Duan would call this woman, who was ordering takeout at the entrance of a Western restaurant, “sister-in-law,” Wang Duan held a high status among this group of wealthy idlers, so they followed suit and addressed her the same way.
Helpless, Shi Sheng was pulled to her feet by Wang Duan.
In the end, she was still brought into this Western restaurant.