Her answer made Pei Jue raise his eyebrows, seemingly caught off guard.
He calmly looked her up and down. “Why refuse?”
Tang Tian met his gaze with confusion. “Why can’t I refuse?”
Pei Jue was taken aback, the sternness between his brows softening slightly. “Have you heard of the Wen Group?”
Tang Tian carefully searched the original host’s memories and the story’s content but found nothing. It seemed that Wen Jinchu indeed had little presence in the plot.
“No.”
Upon hearing her answer, Pei Jue’s expression remained unchanged as he continued. “The Wen Group has a market value of nearly two trillion dollars, and he is the one in charge.”
Tang Tian couldn’t help but feel envious upon hearing such an astronomical figure, but aside from envy, she harbored no other thoughts.
“Mr. Wen is indeed outstanding,” she complimented accordingly.
Pei Jue asked her leisurely, “Any regrets?”
Tang Tian shook her head. “Mr. Pei, rest assured. Since some time ago, I have had no thoughts about you or the other three gentlemen, and I certainly won’t have any thoughts about your friends.”
She had no intention of repeating the original host’s tragic fate in the story, so her tone carried urgency, fearing that Pei Jue might think she still hadn’t given up.
Pei Jue stared at her calmly, as indifferent as ever. “You may leave.”
Tang Tian immediately turned and left his room. She wasn’t at all surprised by Pei Jue’s question, given her exceptional looks, which could easily be used to climb the social ladder by attaching herself to wealthy heirs.
She believed Pei Jue was warning her, telling her not to harbor any delusions of climbing high—at least not by targeting his friends.
Tang Tian went down to the kitchen on the first floor and returned the cart to its place. It was almost time for her to clock out, so she headed to the punch clock station just as her shift ended.
After clocking out, she ran into Song Yu.
Song Yu quietly pulled Tang Tian aside. “Earlier… Xiaozhi was scolded by the butler. She cried.”
Tang Tian was surprised. The butler was fond of the female lead, Liu Xiaozhi—how could he bear to scold her? There didn’t seem to be any major mistakes tonight, did there?
Song Yu continued, “I heard the butler was warning Xiaozhi, saying she behaved inappropriately in front of the gentlemen’s friends, making them uncomfortable.”
Before Tang Tian could respond, Song Yu whispered, “During tonight’s gathering, I saw with my own eyes that Xiaozhi’s eyes turned red in front of Mr. Shen and Mr. Wen, tears welling up as if she was unhappy about the two gentlemen inviting so many girls to the villa party.”
Song Yu, who had likely been holding this in for a while, poured out everything to her in one breath.
Tang Tian noticed Song Yu’s gossipy little eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle before regaining her composure. “Don’t gossip about such things in the future. It’s not good.”
If Liu Xiaozhi found out Song Yu was gossiping about her, she would definitely find a way to get rid of Song Yu.
Song Yu nodded vigorously. “I only told you, Sister Tang Tian. Why would Xiaozhi act like that?” She couldn’t understand it.
Tang Tian simply replied, “She has her reasons. Go back and get some rest early.”
She couldn’t explain to Song Yu that Liu Xiaozhi was the female lead in the story, and among the four important male leads, the female lead didn’t want to give up on any of them.
Today’s gathering was filled with so many of Liu Xiaozhi’s “rivals”—all wealthy, beautiful heiresses. Liu Xiaozhi wasn’t just jealous; she was also overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, as the gap between her and the wealthy girls at the party was simply too vast.Liu Xiaozhi’s true “rival in love” was never the original body, but rather the wealthy, beautiful, and well-connected young women who matched the backgrounds of the four male leads.
Tang Tian saw things clearly. Several wealthy young men had asked for her contact information tonight, and the reason she refused without hesitation was because she understood just how important the concept of “matching social status” truly was.
She possessed only beauty, without any exceptional skills. After leaving the villa, she would merely be a small employee or the owner of a tiny shop.
She and these pampered, privileged young men lived in two completely different worlds. Moreover… an overly beautiful appearance would attract the covetous eyes of predators.
Without the ability and luck to distinguish good from bad, without the willpower to resist temptation, and without the means to protect herself, such striking beauty could easily lead to being ensnared in schemes and dragged into the abyss.
Tang Tian’s luck had never been particularly good, and now she had transmigrated into the body of a tragic, villainous female supporting character. The only thing she could do was stay far away from these powerful, privileged young men.
Even if one of them could elevate her status overnight, she would not waver in the slightest.
She dared not trust anyone lightly.
Tang Tian knew she was an ordinary person; she did not possess the protagonist’s halo. Therefore, she would not make any choices lightly.
Song Yu’s room was next to hers. Watching Song Yu’s door open and close, Tang Tian finally returned to her own room.
As Tang Tian lay in bed after her shower, drowsy and on the verge of sleep, the scene of Pei Jue ordering her to make hangover soup flashed through her mind…
It seemed Pei Jue was guarding against her very closely. Specifically asking her to make the hangover soup was likely an excuse to call her into his room and warn her not to harbor any greedy thoughts toward his friends.
Yawning, she fell asleep shortly after, as if nothing that had happened today could cause her any inner turmoil.
July remained a rainy season, with morning mist mingling with a fine, continuous drizzle.
Early in the morning, the servants in the villa were already bustling about.
In the dining room, Tang Tian stood behind Wen Shaohan, just as she had in previous days.
Liu Huihua, standing behind Fu Xi, was distracted. She was beginning to regret rejecting that gentleman last night—what a rare opportunity…
Fu Xi glanced somewhat displeased at Tang Tian standing behind Wen Shaohan. He had arrived earlier than Wen Shaohan, so why did she insist on standing beside him?
Observing her clean, efficient movements and posture, devoid of any of her previous flirtatiousness, it didn’t seem like she was infatuated with Wen Shaohan…
Shen Yanli, who was enjoying his breakfast, had heard from Fu Xi that Wen Jinchu had approached Tang Tian for her contact information at last night’s gathering and was refused.
Learning that Tang Tian had rejected Wen Jinchu was quite surprising to him. Wen Jinchu’s family background and looks were outstanding, and he had no scandals to his name. Few members of the opposite sex would refuse his advances.
Yet Tang Tian had done just that. Shen Yanli recalled how, in the past, Tang Tian had subtly flirted with them. Even after being reprimanded by the butler, she remained undeterred, continuing to posture and flirt in front of them.
Frowning, Shen Yanli lifted his gaze to Tang Tian across the table. She was lowering her eyes, secretly yawning, showing none of the meaningful glances she used to send his way.
Just as Tang Tian was about to yawn again, her eyes met the man opposite her, and she noticed Shen Yanli staring at her with a somewhat complicated expression.
She was puzzled. Why was he staring at her like that? As far as she could recall, she hadn’t communicated or interacted with Shen Yanli in the past couple of days, nor had she made any seductive gestures or moves toward him.Shen Yanli shifted his gaze away, and Tang Tian finally felt relieved, thinking she had once again offended the Shen family’s young master.
Another busy day passed, and this day seemed especially fast. By the time Tang Tian had a moment to relax, it was almost time to leave work.
She hurried to the backyard, picked up a flowerpot, and was about to head inside when she heard Liu Xiaozhi’s voice. She paused, searching for the source of the sound.
The cool night breeze after the rain brushed against her. Tang Tian gazed toward the unlit lawn.
Liu Xiaozhi stood facing away from her, with another tall figure standing before her.
Tang Tian strained to see through the darkness to identify who it was.
“…Sister Wu wants to dismiss me, Mr. Shen… please help me. I don’t want to leave the villa.” And I especially don’t want to leave the gentlemen.
Liu Xiaozhi naturally dared not voice that last thought. Yesterday, the manager had only reprimanded her, but unexpectedly, Sister Wu approached her midday, saying they were considering dismissing her and advising her to prepare mentally.
Liu Xiaozhi didn’t know things would escalate to this point. She urgently sought out Mr. Shen, tearfully pleading with him to help keep her employed.
Shen Yanli merely frowned, without promising anything.
“Because of yesterday’s gathering?”
Liu Xiaozhi nodded: “I… I just had some personal matters, not as the manager assumed—that I harbor ambitions toward you.”
As she spoke, she dared not even raise her head.
Whether she had other intentions, Shen Yanli knew well. He didn’t expose her; to him, whoever served as a maid was the same.
Only… that day when he was drunk, he vaguely remembered pressing someone beneath him. After sobering up, he said he would compensate her.
Shen Yanli had no habit of breaking promises. He said: “Do you remember the compensation I mentioned that day?”
Liu Xiaozhi had nearly forgotten that incident. When he mentioned “compensation,” she pinched her fingers, recalling the time she impersonated Tang Tian.
“I remember.”
He said: “Consider it compensation for that time.”
Liu Xiaozhi slowly nodded.
Tang Tian couldn’t hear clearly. Seeing it was Liu Xiaozhi and Shen Yanli, she focused on her tasks, moving flowerpots back and forth, no longer looking toward where the two stood.