Tang Tian was enjoying her meal when someone walked through the door.
Seeing her there, Liu Xiaozhi showed no sign of surprise.
Zheng Liyu was still puzzling over Tang Tian’s changes. When she entered the staff cafeteria and spotted Liu Xiaozhi, she smiled happily and hurried over to speak with her.
“Sister Xiaozhi, are you done with work?”
Liu Xiaozhi turned around with a smile. “Mr. Shen was worried I’d go hungry, so he told me to come down and eat first.” As she spoke, she glanced at Tang Tian, who was quietly eating her meal.
It was clear that Zheng Liyu was closer to Liu Xiaozhi, and Liu Xiaozhi had more influence in front of the four gentlemen. Zheng Liyu immediately flattered her, “Mr. Shen is so good to you, Sister Xiaozhi. Not like me and… Tang Tian—we’re always being criticized by the gentlemen.”
“As long as you genuinely care about the gentlemen, they’ll eventually sense your sincerity,” Liu Xiaozhi comforted her, offering encouragement.
Zheng Liyu nodded earnestly, taking the words to heart. “Thank you, Sister Xiaozhi. I’ll work hard to earn the gentlemen’s trust as soon as possible.”
Liu Xiaozhi gave her a gentle smile. As she walked toward the refrigerator, she cast a meaningful glance at Tang Tian sitting at the dining table.
Clearly, her earlier words weren’t just for Zheng Liyu—she was also subtly showing off in front of Tang Tian how differently the gentlemen treated her.
Tang Tian was focused on her meal, but it was impossible not to overhear their conversation. She understood the implications behind Liu Xiaozhi’s words—hinting at the preferential treatment she received from the male leads, while Tang Tian herself suffered their cold indifference.
As for how to win the trust of the male leads, Tang Tian had no interest in participating. She was just a servant in this villa. Once her contract expired, she’d leave without a second thought. What use did she have for the gentlemen’s trust?
But everyone had their own path. Hers was different from Liu Xiaozhi’s and Zheng Liyu’s.
The food was too delicious. In no time, she had already finished half of it. The sound of chairs shifting came from beside her.
Liu Xiaozhi and Zheng Liyu chose to sit close to her. The two chatted casually, not bothering to speak to Tang Tian.
Tang Tian had always been used to keeping to herself, so she didn’t feel isolated. After all, it was natural for people to talk to those they were close to.
After finishing dinner, she stood up and leisurely walked to the back kitchen to wash her dishes.
Zheng Liyu didn’t want to wash her dishes and thought about asking Tang Tian to do it for her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it directly. In the past, Tang Tian had always volunteered to wash her dishes.
When Zheng Liyu walked into the back kitchen with her greasy bowls and utensils,
Tang Tian had already placed the cleaned dishes into the sterilizer. Seeing Zheng Liyu enter, she gave her a calm look, pulled out two tissues, and wiped the water droplets from her hands.
Zheng Liyu stood there for half a minute, but Tang Tian showed no intention of offering to wash her dishes.
“Tang Tian, do you want to know if Mr. Wen has a girlfriend?”
Tang Tian had just tossed the tissues into the trash bin when she heard this strange question. Her gaze fell on Zheng Liyu across from her. “I don’t.”
Why should she care whether Wen Shaohan had a girlfriend? What a strange question.
Zheng Liyu: “…”
Stunned by her blunt reply, Zheng Liyu didn’t know how to continue.
In the past, Tang Tian had always been very concerned about the gentlemen’s romantic lives. Now she was saying she didn’t want to know?
After the awkwardness passed, Zheng Liyu began to wonder whether Tang Tian’s claimed indifference was genuine or not.”If you wash my bowl, I’ll say a few good words for you in front of Mr. Pei tonight. Maybe tomorrow night, Mr. Pei will let you into his room.”
Zheng Liyu knew that once she said this, Tang Tian would definitely take the bowl, so she handed it over with a condescending attitude.
She was lying to Tang Tian. Mr. Pei disliked Tang Tian so much; she wouldn’t help Tang Tian speak in front of Mr. Pei.
Tang Tian glanced at the bowl and utensils in her hand. So that’s why she suddenly asked such a strange question—she didn’t want to wash the bowl.
“No need.” She refused without hesitation.
After saying this, she ignored Zheng Liyu and left from the back kitchen.
Zheng Liyu showed a surprised expression. She… she actually refused!? She just tried to seduce Mr. Pei two days ago. Does Tang Tian not want to appear in front of Mr. Pei anymore?
Liu Xiaozhi walked into the back kitchen and saw Zheng Liyu holding the bowl and utensils, still looking outside the door, while her movements and expression were frozen.
“What’s wrong?” Liu Xiaozhi asked her.
Zheng Liyu snapped back to reality, pondering with a strange expression, and asked Liu Xiaozhi: “Xiaozhi, do you think Tang Tian is unusually quiet today?”
In the past, Tang Tian wasn’t exactly noisy, but she would disappear occasionally. When she reappeared at the work site, the overpowering perfume scent and heavy makeup were never absent; she never appeared with a bare face in front of anyone.
Today… Tang Tian’s body didn’t carry the pungent perfume scent. That breathtakingly beautiful face was as pristine as a lotus flower after rain, stunningly ethereal.
Zheng Liyu knew she was beautiful, but she didn’t realize Tang Tian’s makeup skills were so poor before. Such a beautiful face was overshadowed by heavy makeup, reducing its impact by two points. Those caterpillar-like eyelashes… unbearable to scrutinize. Fortunately, she was naturally beautiful; no matter how she messed up, it couldn’t hide that she was a beauty.
Liu Xiaozhi didn’t think Tang Tian was acting strangely: “Maybe she’s afraid Sister Wu will fire her.”
If Tang Tian continued to act up, Sister Wu would definitely fire her. It’s normal for her to choose to quiet down.
“But…” Zheng Liyu wanted to say something but hesitated to continue. Although she had a good relationship with Liu Xiaozhi, they weren’t close enough to share everything.
Seeing Liu Xiaozhi still waiting for her to continue, Zheng Liyu ultimately didn’t question Tang Tian further.
She originally wanted to discuss with Liu Xiaozhi whether Tang Tian had changed her “seduction strategy.” If Liu Xiaozhi reported it to Sister Wu, saying she gossiped about colleagues behind their backs, Sister Wu would surely scold her.
“I must be overthinking.” Zheng Liyu gave herself an excuse to step down.
Liu Xiaozhi smiled gently and suddenly mentioned what happened the day before: “What happened the night before, Tang Tian probably didn’t intentionally anger Mr. Pei.”
“Xiaozhi, don’t speak for Tang Tian anymore. Tang Tian deliberately tried to seduce Mr. Pei. She’s not simple; you must not be deceived by her face.”
Zheng Liyu thought Liu Xiaozhi was really naive and too kind. Tang Tian’s seduction intent was so obvious, yet Liu Xiaozhi still spoke for her.
Liu Xiaozhi pretended she wanted to continue explaining for Tang Tian.
Zheng Liyu believed it, thinking Liu Xiaozhi was truly “tricked” by Tang Tian’s appearance.”She just wants to use that face to seduce people. Xiaozhi, you should be careful that Mr. Shen might be tempted by her.” Zheng Liyu’s voice dropped especially low for the last sentence, afraid of being overheard. She knew Liu Xiaozhi had a crush on Shen Yanli.
Liu Xiaozhi knew Shen Yanli wouldn’t like a woman like Tang Tian, but on the surface, she showed concern.
“Tang Tian probably isn’t that kind of person…”
Zheng Liyu grew anxious and spoke bluntly: “Xiaozhi, you’re too kind. I’ll keep an eye on Mr. Shen for you and try not to give Tang Tian any chance to seduce him.” This way, she could also curry favor with Liu Xiaozhi.
Faced with her words, Liu Xiaozhi hemmed and hawed for a long time but didn’t utter a single word of refusal.
Zheng Liyu took it as her agreement and pulled her along to wash dishes, acting like “good sisters.”
Night deepened, and tonight it was Tang Tian’s turn to deliver fruit to the four gentlemen’s rooms.
Soon, Tang Tian pushed the food cart into the elevator, and Zheng Liyu followed her inside. The latter was responsible for delivering fruit to Pei Jue.
Neither of the two in the elevator spoke. Tang Tian planned to work until the contract ended, after which she would sever all ties with the people in this villa. For her, Zheng Liyu was just an ordinary colleague, nothing more.
She not only wouldn’t become close friends but didn’t even intend to maintain a nodding acquaintance. Though Tang Tian was slow-witted, she could still see Zheng Liyu’s disdain for her.
Zheng Liyu’s expression was puzzled, glancing occasionally at Tang Tian beside her. Until Tang Tian pushed the cart out of the elevator, she never looked at Zheng Liyu once.
This made Zheng Liyu feel somewhat displeased, thinking Tang Tian was putting on a show and playing new tricks.
“Tang Tian, come with me to Mr. Pei’s room first.” Zheng Liyu knew clearly in her heart that Tang Tian was waiting for this moment. The whole villa knew she wanted to seduce Mr. Pei.
Who knew Tang Tian had no intention of following at all? Hearing Zheng Liyu’s words, she released her hands from pushing the cart.
“You can take the cart. I’ll go deliver Mr. Wen’s first.” After saying this, Tang Tian picked up one of the fruit trays and walked straight toward the corridor on the right.
The second floor was spacious. Going to the right led to Pei Jue and Wen Shaohan’s rooms, while the left led to Shen Yanli and Fu Xi’s rooms.