At that moment, Shen Yanli’s cool voice came from the entrance of the swimming pool.
“Fu Xi, I need to talk to you.”
The moment Shen Yanli walked toward them, Tang Tian clearly felt the strange tension ease.
Fu Xi returned to his usual playful and carefree demeanor, hands tucked into the pockets of his bathrobe, his tone lazy and relaxed—as if what Tang Tian had sensed earlier was just an illusion.
“What good could you possibly want from me?”
As Shen Yanli approached, his faint gaze swept over Tang Tian’s face, which showed unease and uncertainty.
“Let’s talk upstairs.”
Fu Xi picked up the towel placed on the beach chair and casually dried his hair.
Tang Tian wanted to stop him, but it was already too late. The towel he had taken was the one she had used to wipe her neck and the water splashed on her clothes. Seeing him use it to dry his hair…
She remembered Fu Xi had a cleanliness obsession and couldn’t imagine the fury he would unleash if he knew the towel he was using to dry his hair had been used by her.
Since he had already used it, Tang Tian decided to pretend she didn’t know, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Fu Xi put down the towel, tilted his head, and flashed a smile at Tang Tian: “I’ll come find you to play next time.”
After saying this, his ambiguous gaze swept over her feet before he slung a long arm over Shen Yanli’s broad shoulder.
Shen Yanli disliked this careless attitude of his the most and immediately pulled his arm off.
Shen Yanli shot him a cold glance: “Don’t tease Tang Tian again in the future.”
“Do I seem like that kind of person?” Fu Xi acted as if he were wronged.
Shen Yanli: “You are.”
Fu Xi suddenly laughed: “As expected, Brother Li knows me well. It’s really not my fault—the reactions of that Tang Tian behind me are just too amusing. It’s hard for me to resist teasing her.”
Tang Tian, standing behind them: “…” Was he speaking so loudly because he was afraid she wouldn’t hear?
“Control yourself. Don’t scare her.” Shen Yanli disapproved of his behavior, frowning as he urged him to restrain himself.
Tang Tian felt as exhausted as if she had just fought a battle. Dealing with this Fu Xi was more tiring than working half a day.
She quickly packed up and pushed the cart away from the swimming pool.
As Tang Tian walked out of the pool entrance, she saw Liu Huihua wiping a vase. However, while wiping the vase, her eyes kept darting toward the swimming pool outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Tang Tian naturally knew what she was up to. She stopped pushing the cart and cleared her throat.
Liu Huihua was startled and immediately withdrew her prying eyes, pretending to wipe the vase. When she turned around and realized it was Tang Tian, she gritted her teeth in anger.
Tang Tian didn’t say anything, just looked at her with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Liu Huihua picked up her rag and stormed away angrily. The vase had long been polished to a shine.
Fuming, Liu Huihua threw the rag onto the sink, blaming herself for arriving too late and missing everything. Not only had she seen nothing, but she had also been caught by Tang Tian—how embarrassing.
Still, she didn’t need to worry. The gentlemen disliked Tang Tian the most, and surely Mr. Fu despised her as well.
With this thought, Liu Huihua felt much better. Even if Tang Tian had many seductive tricks, how could the gentlemen possibly fall for a vase like her?
During the midday break that day, Fu Xi was deep in sleep, his brows furrowed and veins faintly visible on his forehead, as if something in his dream was hard for him to control.
When he woke from the dream, Fu Xi lifted the air-conditioned blanket with a dark expression on his handsome face and cursed under his breath: “Damn!”
He grabbed the tissue box from the bedside table and placed it on the bed. Lowering his narrow, peach-blossom eyes, his expression was frighteningly grim.Just recalling a fleeting moment from the dream earlier, Fu Xi’s eyes turned dark and gloomy.
Tang Tian’s clear, deer-like eyes flashed before Fu Xi’s vision. Lately, Tang Tian… had indeed sparked a bit of interest in him.
Tang Tian had been busy working in the villa all along, completely unaware that Fu Xi had dreamed something about her.
In the evening, when the gentlemen gathered for dinner, Tang Tian entered the dining room and still stood behind Wen Shaohan, who remained unoccupied.
Sitting directly opposite Wen Shaohan was Shen Yanli. Seeing her standing behind Wen Shaohan again, a flicker of displeasure crossed his brow, though he didn’t say anything.
Like a robot, Tang Tian repeated her usual actions, not glancing around to notice the expressions of the other gentlemen.
Shen Yanli occasionally lifted his eyes to look at her, but Tang Tian, focused on her tasks, didn’t notice him glancing at her several times from across the table.
Beside him, Fu Xi appeared no different from his usual lazy demeanor, except he no longer watched with amusement or teased Tang Tian with his gaze.
“Brother Han, pass me a few pieces of that sweet and sour pork ribs in front of you.”
Fu Xi gestured with his chin toward the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs in front of Wen Shaohan.
Wen Shaohan signaled Tang Tian to take it over to Fu Xi: “Take the whole plate to him.”
Fu Xi lazily raised his eyes, looking at Tang Tian as she prepared to pick up the plate. For some reason, he frowned and clicked his tongue: “No need for you. Go get the sweet and sour pork ribs.”
He was calling for Liu Huihua beside him. Liu Huihua could hardly contain her excitement, casting a smug glance at Tang Tian. She really didn’t need to worry about Mr. Fu taking a liking to Tang Tian—it seemed Mr. Fu had completely grown tired of her.
Liu Xiaozhi smiled gently, the disdain in her eyes toward Tang Tian barely concealed. It was likely that Tang Tian had tried to seduce Mr. Fu again this morning and ended up angering him once more.
Tang Tian herself, however, didn’t sense anything amiss, nor did she feel embarrassed. She simply set the plate down. After all, Fu Xi’s dislike for her wasn’t new, especially after she had confronted him that morning.
Shen Yanli’s gaze held a hint of pity. Seeing that Tang Tian didn’t seem to feel slighted and continued with her work, he found Fu Xi’s behavior even more excessive.
Wen Shaohan also felt somewhat dissatisfied with Fu Xi’s actions. Although Tang Tian was a domestic maid, even maids had their dignity.
“Tang Tian, from now on, don’t bother with whatever Fu Xi asks you to do.”
These words weren’t spoken by Wen Shaohan or Shen Yanli, but by Pei Jue, who had been silently eating all along.
Tang Tian suddenly heard Pei Jue speaking to her and paused her work, turning to look at Pei Jue on her right.
“…Yes, Mr. Pei.”
Only when she looked up did she notice the awkward atmosphere in the dining room. Puzzled, she glanced at Fu Xi again.
Fu Xi pressed his tongue against his cheek, his narrow peach-blossom eyes shifting from Tang Tian to Pei Jue opposite him, but he remained silent.
Liu Huihua, who had been secretly gloating just moments ago, could no longer hold back her glee. Mr. Pei was actually speaking up for Tang Tian?!
Liu Xiaozhi’s surprise deepened visibly. Pei Jue… should have been the one who despised Tang Tian the most. How could he…
Shen Yanli withdrew his gaze. As for Pei Jue speaking up for Tang Tian, he didn’t seem to have much of a reaction.
Wen Shaohan broke the awkward silence, instructing Liu Xiaozhi standing opposite him: “Xiaozhi, go tell the butler that we have friends coming to the villa tomorrow. Make sure to prepare drinks and snacks.”Liu Xiaozhi was “entrusted with an important task,” and her expression grew even gentler.
“I will convey Mr. Wen’s words to the housekeeper.”