Judging from what the girl said, all the scented candles in this villa were handmade by a specialist.
Lu Qianling took a deep breath…
The dominant note in the air was osmanthus, layered with hints of cedarwood and violet leaf.
The fragrance was beautifully balanced, refreshing and soothing. Whoever made these candles was clearly highly skilled.
Moreover, each floor had a different scent profile. In other words, every time you went up a level, you could feel the change in aroma.
‘Rich people really know how to indulge themselves,’ Lu Qianling thought.
Seeing that Lu Qianling hadn’t spoken, the male servant asked again, “Miss, how would you like to handle this?”
Lu Qianling came back to herself and said to the girl, “I understand. You can go back.”
The girl let out a breath of relief and quickly returned to her original position.
Lu Qianling had already figured out that the employees here were divided into ranks. The male servant was somewhat higher-ranking than the girl and was probably something akin to a butler.
So she asked him, “Who’s responsible for making the candles?”
The butler replied calmly, “Miss Su Jiu.”
Lu Qianling nodded. “Tell her to come see me when she has time.”
Although the candle fragrance was pleasant, it posed a potential safety hazard.
She planned to make a small adjustment.
The butler acknowledged with a nod.
Lu Qianling turned her head and glanced at the quartz mantel clock beside her, which was obviously worth a fortune.
The clock was shaped like a golden carriage, extravagantly ornate. At first glance, she couldn’t even make out the time. But the butler noticed where Lu Qianling was looking and immediately gave her the exact time. “It’s a quarter to six, Miss. Would you like to have dinner now?”
“Sure.” Lu Qianling nodded.
She happened to be a little hungry.
The thick false eyelashes on her eyelids felt uncomfortable. She went to the bathroom to quickly remove her makeup, then headed to the dining room.
On the long rectangular table, various exquisite dishes were already laid out. Each portion was small, just enough for one person.
Several women dressed in maid uniforms stood beside the table. On average, they were somewhat older than the girls from earlier.
The maids were all secretly observing Lu Qianling.
‘Miss is actually barefaced today. Usually, even at home, except when bathing or sleeping, Miss always wears at least light makeup.’
‘Come to think of it, the Miss actually looked quite pretty without any makeup……’
‘Miss isn’t picking at the food today. Normally, no matter how good the dishes are, she always finds a few things to criticize.’
‘Could it be that Miss especially likes today’s food? We should tell the chef to use today’s menu as a reference from now on.’
‘Miss seems to be in a good mood. Ever since that young master surnamed Song suddenly appeared, Miss always frowned during meals.’
‘She actually looks rather gentle right now.’
……
Lu Qianling had no idea that every move she made was being scrutinized under a figurative magnifying glass.
After eating heartily, she took out her phone and tapped into a search engine.
Ten minutes later, Lu Qianling had a rough understanding of her situation.
This was a parallel world where only her identity had changed.
Everything else was almost exactly the same as her original world, except that her former self no longer existed.
In this world, there was only Lu Qianling, the heiress of the elite Lu family.
Lu Qianling couldn’t help thinking of Song Moli, her younger brother in this world.
In her previous world, she had met him a few times.
Back then, she had just entered the workforce and was responsible for coordinating product advertising shoots with artists. Song Moli had been one of them.
She remembered clearly that after meeting Song Moli, she had felt instinctively that he would become famous.
For no other reason than that face.
Sure enough, less than half a year later, Song Moli exploded in popularity.
And within a year, Lu Qianling herself was rapidly promoted, becoming one of the most talked-about newcomers in the industry.
After her role changed, she no longer worked directly with artists and gradually stopped paying attention to the entertainment world.
The next time she heard Song Moli’s name was in the news that crashed social media servers.
#SongMoliCommitsSuicide
The headline shocked the entire entertainment industry and sparked intense public debate, along with countless speculations.
Now, Lu Qianling finally understood why Song Moli had taken his own life.
In the novel, the original “Lu Qianling,” who had been showered with endless love and attention, was wary of and disliked the younger brother who suddenly appeared. As a result, she made things difficult for him in every possible way.
Under “Lu Qianling’s” relentless pressure, Song Moli’s career nearly collapsed.
After losing his mother and suffering repeated professional setbacks, Song Moli ultimately chose to end his life.
All things considered, his own sister bore most of the responsibility for Song Moli’s death.
But in reality, Song Moli harbored deep hatred toward the father who had abandoned him. He had no desire whatsoever to reconnect with the Lu family, much less any interest in fighting over the inheritance.
So “Lu Qianling’s” reasons for targeting him were completely unfounded.
And if “Lu Qianling” hadn’t made life difficult for Song Moli, he wouldn’t have committed suicide. Father Lu wouldn’t have been emotionally devastated into sudden serious illness. And the male lead cousin wouldn’t have had the opportunity to seize the family fortune.
From this, Lu Qianling reached a conclusion.
Making things hard for her brother would only bring trouble and zero benefit.
Enjoying life as a wealthy heiress was clearly the wiser choice.
After sorting this out, Lu Qianling said to the maid beside her, “I’d like to take a bath.”
The maid had been observing Lu Qianling the whole time. Seeing her stare at her phone for so long had made her nervous.
‘What if Miss saw some upsetting news again? Please don’t take it out on us…’
Hearing that Lu Qianling wanted a bath, the maid felt as though she’d been pardoned and answered with unusual enthusiasm, “Of course, Miss. Would you like to use the main bathroom or the hot spring room?”
Lu Qianling thought for a moment. “The hot spring room.”
“Certainly.” The maid immediately replied. “I’ll prepare it right away.”
“Wait—” Lu Qianling stopped her.
The maid froze mid-step, looking at her nervously.
“I’ll go with you,” Lu Qianling said.
The maid relaxed. “Yes, Miss.”
After leaving the dining room, they took several more turns.
The villa was enormous. Without someone to guide her, Lu Qianling was not sure she would have been able to find her way around on her first visit.
The maid finally stopped. Lu Qianling looked at the elevator in front of her and was not particularly surprised.
A three-story villa having an elevator wasn’t unusual.
But after stepping inside, Lu Qianling silently took back that thought.
Since this was a luxury mansion, of course there would be basements.
So it was not merely three stories, but five.
Forty minutes later, Lu Qianling emerged from the hot spring room feeling completely refreshed.
This was the most comfortable bath she had ever taken.
Though it was called a hot spring room, inside was actually a white crystal bathtub shaped like a natural spring.
The water was temperature-controlled, and the maid had scattered flower petals across the surface.
Around the pool were various waterproof smart devices, all with controls positioned within arm’s reach.
With just a few taps of her fingers, she could operate the screens, sound system, lighting and even summon a pre-poured glass of red wine to appear before her.
It was indulgence taken to the extreme.
After bathing, Lu Qianling changed into a silk robe. Walking barefoot on the warm carpet, she couldn’t help letting out a contented sigh.
At that exact moment, the phone rang.
Lu Qianling picked up the phone from the marble cabinet by the door and pressed answer.
A cold male voice came through the speaker.
“This is Song Moli.”