As the gathering was about to end, Wen Jinchu adjusted his glasses and placed the wine glass in his hand onto the tray offered by a servant. Lost in thought, he lowered his gaze and stared intently at the servant before him.
The servant holding the tray was Liu Huihua. Under Wen Jinchu’s gaze, she grew flustered, thinking he had taken a liking to her.
“May I have your contact information?”
Wen Jinchu’s voice was gentle and magnetic, something few of the opposite sex could resist.
Liu Huihua secretly rejoiced, convinced of her own charm. Although she didn’t recognize the man before her, anyone attending this gathering was either wealthy or influential.
Just as she was about to agree, she suddenly remembered the butler’s notification to the servants half an hour earlier: they were not allowed to exchange contact information with guests, even if requested, no matter who it was.
After weighing her options, Liu Huihua couldn’t be sure whether Wen Jinchu truly liked her. If she gave him her contact information, it would mean giving up her current job.
“Sir, there’s a rule here that forbids privately exchanging contact information with guests.”
The servant’s refusal was no different from Tang Tian’s, except for the look in her eyes… which was worlds apart.
The maid before him gazed at him with reluctance and admiration, while Tang Tian… her gaze was straightforward, devoid of any impurity or desire.
Wen Jinchu maintained his gentle facade: “It’s alright.” Without waiting for the maid’s reply, he walked away first.
Liu Huihua watched Wen Jinchu’s departing figure with lingering reluctance, filled with regret. Why did such a rule suddenly appear? It had ruined her chance.
Half an hour earlier, Tang Tian was busy at the fruit bar when the earpiece in her right ear buzzed with the butler’s voice. The butler had notified all servants that they were not to exchange contact information with guests, even if requested.
When Tang Tian heard this, she was stunned. This new rule… was exactly the same excuse she had used to refuse someone’s request for her contact information earlier that evening.
Even after the gathering ended, Tang Tian still couldn’t make sense of it. Could it really be such a coincidence?
Before leaving the villa, Wen Jinchu caught sight of Tang Tian bustling about in the distance. Surrounded by wealthy and attractive men and women, she stood out the most, capturing attention effortlessly.
He glanced at the butler beside him: “Butler…”
Just as Wen Jinchu was about to speak to the butler, he noticed a man approaching Tang Tian from behind. Tall and strikingly handsome, it was Pei Jue.
“Tang Tian, go brew a bowl of hangover soup and bring it to my room.”
Tang Tian was silently tidying up when she suddenly heard Pei Jue’s voice. Looking up, her eyes were filled with confusion.
“Mr. Pei, right now?”
Pei Jue rubbed his temples, the elegant curve of his neck accentuating his Adam’s apple as it bobbed slightly. “Yes, now.”
After speaking, he didn’t linger and headed toward the elevator leading to the second floor.
Tang Tian replied to his retreating figure, “Alright.” For a moment, she sensed something was off, but… she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
She placed the last glass on the cart and pushed it toward the kitchen, still pondering how the newly announced rule could be such a coincidence.
For now, she had no time to dwell on Pei Jue’s unusual behavior toward her. She needed to brew a bowl of hangover soup for him in the kitchen.
Nearby, Liu Huihua was still gazing longingly at Wen Jinchu. The wealthy, handsome man she had almost won over had slipped away. Why couldn’t that wretched rule have been announced a little later? It had cost her a promising match.
“Did you call for me just now, Mr. Wen?” The butler stepped in, blocking Wen Jinchu’s view of Tang Tian’s retreating figure.Wen Jinchu met the gaze of the butler before him, who remained neither subservient nor arrogant. He hadn’t expected a mere butler to possess such clear and sharp eyes, as if they could see right through his thoughts.
Wen Jinchu spoke gently and politely, “It’s nothing. I’ll take my leave first.”
The butler nodded to him with great courtesy. “Feel free to visit again when you have time.”
The butler watched as Wen Jinchu got into the back seat of the car, and it wasn’t until the vehicle had driven away from the villa that the smile on his face gradually faded.
As the butler turned to go back inside, he glanced a few times at Liu Huihua, who was still looking out, and his expression grew even more serious.
In the kitchen, Tang Tian had already finished preparing the hangover soup. Just moments earlier, the chef had already clocked out for the day. By the time she arrived, the chef had even changed out of his uniform.
So, she took it upon herself to prepare it. After finishing the hangover soup and placing it on a tray on the cart, she made her way to the second floor.
Standing outside Pei Jue’s room on the second floor, Tang Tian knocked twice. “Mr. Pei, your hangover soup is ready.”
“Come in.”
Hearing his response, Tang Tian opened the door and entered. No matter how many times she came in, the cool-toned decor of his room gave her a sense of coldness and loneliness.
In simpler terms, it felt chilling from head to toe.
She had no desire to stay in his room a second longer than necessary. Placing the hangover soup on his coffee table, she left as quietly as possible, just as she always did.
She didn’t want to draw Pei Jue’s attention. He didn’t care for her, and even a second’s delay made her fear he would think she was trying to seduce him.
“Wait.”
Pei Jue’s deep voice came from behind her. Tang Tian thought he was about to find fault with her again, wondering if she had done anything out of line.
Could it be that he had discovered she had borrowed his milk last night? Surely he wasn’t that petty—it was only half a bottle of milk.
He asked, “During the gathering, did any guests ask for your contact information?”
Under the light, Pei Jue leaned back in his chair, elegant in posture, with his long legs crossed. Even as he questioned her, he still didn’t look at her.
Tang Tian hadn’t expected him to ask about this and answered truthfully, “Yes, that did happen.”
Only then did Pei Jue turn his head slightly, his gaze meeting hers. “What was your first impression of him?”
Tang Tian was puzzled. “Which gentleman are you referring to, Mr. Pei?”
From the afternoon until the gathering was about to end, several men had asked for her contact information over those few hours, and she had rejected them all with the same excuse.
Pei Jue didn’t seem surprised by her answer.
“Wen Jinchu.”
Someone surnamed Wen? Tang Tian remembered—it was the man who had helped her pick up the cake spoon in the hallway.
She thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t have much of an impression.” She didn’t even have a clear memory of what he looked like.
Pei Jue watched her as she recalled, her expression serious, as if she wasn’t lying.
He spoke slowly, his tone measured. “No impression…”
Tang Tian nodded. “At the time, in the hallway, the cake spoon fell off the cart, and that gentleman helped me pick it up. Afterward, he wanted to add my contact information, but I refused.”
Pei Jue stared at her intently for several seconds. “You refused?”