June weather was unpredictable—sunny one moment, pouring rain the next.
Tang Tian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the downpour outside, her mind blank as she drifted into a daze.
It wasn’t until the sound of car horns echoed outside and hurried footsteps echoed through the villa that she turned to look.
Liu Xiaozhi and Liu Huihua, along with a few others, each held an umbrella. Liu Xiaozhi looked anxious, seemingly worried that the gentlemen might get caught in the rain.
Tang Tian had initially thought they had enough people and hadn’t planned to move, but Liu Huihua spotted her.
It wasn’t that Liu Huihua had particularly sharp eyes—it was just that, at a glance, Tang Tian stood by the window, watching the rain outside. Her eyes seemed distant, making her look like a beautiful, delicate sculpture, too striking to ignore.
Except for Liu Xiaozhi, who was solely focused on the four gentlemen, everyone else had noticed Tang Tian, though their gazes didn’t linger on her for long.
Liu Huihua, however, couldn’t stand her leisurely demeanor. Even if there were enough people to shield the gentlemen from the rain… so what?
“Tang Tian, come quickly—there’s still an umbrella here,” Liu Huihua raised her voice, urging Tang Tian to join them in shielding the gentlemen.
Tang Tian didn’t refuse. As she spoke, she made her way toward the villa’s entrance.
“You go ahead first. I’ll follow behind you.”
Seeing she had succeeded, Liu Huihua stopped giving her a hard time, opened her umbrella, and stepped into the pouring rain.
Tang Tian walked out the door, picked up two umbrellas hanging on the rack outside the villa, and opened one of them. Raindrops slid down the umbrella, blending into the heavy rain outside.
The servants ahead hurried forward, and Tang Tian wasn’t far behind—just a few steps away.
She tilted the umbrella slightly to the side and looked up at the gloomy sky. It seemed the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon.
Several expensive luxury cars were parked not far away. Wen Shaohan was the first to step out. Liu Xiaozhi, who was closest to him, hesitated, almost wishing she could split herself into several people, unwilling to let the other servants shield the gentlemen.
Just as Zheng Liyu was about to step forward with her umbrella, she saw the driver from the car had already rushed ahead, holding an umbrella over Wen Shaohan’s head.
The driver shot them a reproachful look—why were they so slow? He had already gotten out of the car, yet no one had come to shield Mr. Wen from the rain.
Wen Shaohan, gentle by nature, didn’t get angry or upset even though he had gotten a little wet.
Liu Huihua and Zheng Liyu understood the driver’s reproachful look and immediately felt wronged. It wasn’t that they were slow—it was Liu Xiaozhi’s hesitant actions that had made them uncertain.
Wen Shaohan had only taken a few steps toward the villa when he spotted Tang Tian lagging behind. The scene from two nights ago, when she had bumped into him and her hand had brushed against him, seemed to replay before his eyes.
Tang Tian noticed him looking her way. “Mr. Wen.”
Wen Shaohan gave her a slight nod and walked past her.
“Tang Tian, come here.”
The window of the luxury car ahead rolled down, revealing half of Sister Wu’s face from the passenger seat in Tang Tian’s line of sight.
Tang Tian quickly walked over. “Sister Wu.”
Sister Wu looked at the servants crowded around Shen Yanli’s car and was nearly furious. What were they all doing there? Coincidentally, the only umbrella in the car had been left behind at the company by the driver.
Tang Tian glanced into the back seat—Pei Jue was inside.
“Sister Wu, I brought two umbrellas. I’ll share one with you, but I’m afraid Mr. Pei will have to use the other one alone.”Sister Wu’s irritable temper was instantly soothed upon hearing this. Tang Tian outside the car didn’t look at all like someone with that kind of intention—she was truly beautiful. If not for her poor background, Sister Wu might have actually considered signing her.
But she only dared to think about it in her heart. If she really signed Tang Tian, the tangled interests would be too complicated. Just the fact that Tang Tian had once been a servant in this villa made it absolutely impossible for her to enter the entertainment industry.
“Alright.”
Sister Wu got out of the car and took the umbrella Tang Tian handed over. Opening it, she suddenly thought of something and said to her, “Go and bring Pei back to the villa. Don’t let him get caught in the rain.”
Tang Tian was very puzzled. Pei Jue was tall and could easily walk back to the villa alone with an umbrella. Why did she have to hold the umbrella for him? Wouldn’t that mean she’d get soaked?
Before she could voice her thoughts, Sister Wu had already walked through the rain toward the villa alone.
Tang Tian sighed inwardly. If she got soaked, she got soaked. She could just change into her work uniform when she got back.
She walked to the left rear door of the car and lightly tapped on the window twice.
“Mr. Pei, Sister Wu asked me to bring you back to the villa.” She made sure to emphasize that it was “Sister Wu” who had asked her to come, lest he think she had ulterior motives or was trying to get close to or seduce him.
The rear car door opened, and Pei Jue’s cold, stern face appeared under her gaze. His well-tailored, expensive suit made him look elegant yet intimidating, even more so to those who saw him.
He was very tall, and standing in front of her, the sense of oppression was overwhelming.
Tang Tian raised the umbrella in her hand, barely managing to cover his head, but… the slanting rain directly drenched her.
Pei Jue glanced down at her, reached out, and took the umbrella from her hand. He held it between the two of them, tilting it slightly toward her side.
Tang Tian’s expression was one of surprise. She looked around herself—the pouring rain only soaked a small corner of her clothes, while Pei Jue… in just this short time, half of his black suit pants looked as if they had been washed by water.
“Mr. Pei, Sister Wu said you shouldn’t get caught in the rain.” She wondered if Sister Wu would dock her wages for this.
He held the umbrella and walked back to the villa with her in silence.
Since the space under the umbrella wasn’t large, she couldn’t stand too close but also couldn’t stand too far away—otherwise, both of them would be soaked. It was a tricky distance to manage.
He stood very close to her. Besides the smell of rain, Tang Tian could also catch the faint, cool fragrance on him.
Over there, Liu Xiaozhi was standing under Shen Yanli’s umbrella, shyly leaning closer to him. When she looked up, she saw a man and a woman walking nearby. The tall, handsome man was shielding Tang Tian under his umbrella, barely letting her get wet at all.
Liu Xiaozhi’s face was filled with astonishment. Was Mr. Pei actually holding an umbrella for Tang Tian?!
Shen Yanli saw it too but didn’t show any surprise, as if it were perfectly normal for Pei Jue to do such a thing.
When Fu Xi got out of the car, the rain was even heavier. He cursed under his breath about the “damn weather” and followed Liu Huihua back to the villa.
At the villa entrance, Fu Xi complained, “It was clear and sunny one moment, and now it’s raining out of nowhere.” He hated rainy days the most, but at least he hadn’t gotten too wet.
Liu Huihua, who had been holding the umbrella for him, was drenched from head to toe. Feeling too embarrassed, she told Sister Wu and went back to her room to change.
Among all the servants, Tang Tian was the one who had gotten the least wet.
Tang Tian watched as Pei Jue changed his shoes. He was almost soaked through on one side. Sister Wu called her aside.
Tang Tian thought Sister Wu was going to dock her wages because Pei Jue had gotten half his body wet.”Sister Wu, could you deduct a little less?” she immediately tried to “bargain,” even though the salary was generous, it couldn’t withstand too many deductions.
Sister Wu was taken aback by her question, then realized what she meant and couldn’t help but laugh at her. “What are you thinking? Am I the kind of unreasonable person?”
“Mr. Pei getting wet wasn’t your fault, so your wages won’t be deducted. Don’t worry.”
Tang Tian visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Sister Wu.”
“I called you over to tell you that I’ll let bygones be bygones regarding past matters, and I won’t test you anymore. But… you really can’t have those kinds of thoughts again.” Sister Wu balanced kindness with authority.
Tang Tian quickly nodded, not even knowing when Sister Wu had tested her before. Still, this was good news—no one wants to work in an environment where they’re constantly under suspicion.
“I won’t,” she promised.