Chapter 5
"Master Comrade, it's time to pull out all the flowers you've painstakingly grown. Is it really okay to let her stay after this?"
The servant advised earnestly, his tone full of concern.
Yet, inside, his feelings of resentment had reached a peak.
If it weren't for Shi Liao Liao, the position of personal manservant should have been his!
Lu Yanzhou was clad in a light blue apron, inspecting the vigorously growing chives in the flowerpots while wearing gloves.
"She has just arrived here; unless she wants to be fired, why else would she coincidentally choose to plant chives in my flower garden?"
Lu Yanzhou casually fiddled with the few chives.
The servant gave a forced smile: "Even if she didn't know, she has made a mistake. Without rules, there is no square circle. She must be punished, otherwise what would the other servants think?"
Suddenly, the sky, which had been well-lit, darkened; with the naked eye, one could see the clouds gathering densely, and it looked as though it was about to rain.
Lu Yanzhou stood up, casually took off his gloves, and wiped his distinct and slender fingers clean with the handkerchief handed over by the servant.
"No rush."
The young manservant always had a stoic face and only retaliated when bullied too harshly; he really didn't seem like someone who would do something so foolish without thinking.
The servant looked at Lu Yanzhou with the same expression one might give a foolish emperor bewitched by a vixen.
Then suddenly remembered something and lowered his head to conceal his expression.
A personal manservant needs to follow his master twenty-four hours a day, even at the academy.
But Saintdon Academy, an institution that only admits elite students and where money cannot buy entry, a strictly hierarchical aristocratic school—how could Shi Liao Liao, someone of lower status who hasn't even been educated, possibly get in?
Shi Liao Liao stood under the corridor, gazing eye to eye with the hamster in her palm.
[So, I don't have to be fired for now?]
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Good news: No need to be fired.
Bad news: Can't touch the abs of nightclub male models anymore.
[If I don't do this task, I can't go back, right?]
Upon receiving the message that the delivery runner had delivered the goods, Shi Liao Liao walked outside, unable to help but ask.
The obedient Maru squatted on her shoulder: [That's right.]
Although Shi Liao Liao was an orphan in her original world, at least she felt a sense of belonging there.
Not like here where she had to conceal her gender and live cautiously.
[Do you know where the original host has gone?]
[The original host's wish was to be reincarnated as a panda. You can see her at the S City Zoo, but she no longer has the memories of her past life.]
Shi Liao Liao: "..."
The original host sure knows how to enjoy life.
[Why did she say that revealing her gender would lead to death? Does the original host have enemies?]
Maru: [Sorry, your access level is insufficient to inquire about this.]
Great, now I have to find the answers myself.
After picking up something from the security guard, the sky, which had been overcast with dark clouds, finally brewed the right mood, and a light rain poured down, drenching Shi Liao Liao with a chill to the bone.
Maru Maru quickly hid in the pocket of her jacket: "Ah, host, hurry and find shelter from the rain, be careful not to catch a cold!!"
Shi Liao Liao wiped the rainwater from her face.
"That's exactly the effect I wanted."
The independent small building in the back garden was Lu Yanzhou's favorite place to be.
It originally belonged to his mother, but it had been abandoned since her suicide. His father, who was preoccupied with researching resurrection techniques, had no time to take care of it, so it had been left to Lu Yanzhou.
He sat down on a bar stool in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, opened his laptop, and prepared to complete the thesis assigned by his teacher upon leaving school.
The rain outside the window was heavy, making the scenery all hazy.
Lu Yanzhou only glanced briefly before he was about to look away—
Suddenly, a figure broke into his line of sight.
"Hmm?"
A hint of surprise appeared in his tea-brown eyes.
Although the person was only carelessly draped in a raincoat that hardly covered anything, one could still make out the slender figure.
The little manservant seemed to have never done this sort of thing before, squatting in the flowerbed, pulling up chives one by one.
Lu Yanzhou's eyesight was very good; he could even clearly see the other's pale cheeks washed by the rain and the eyes that were squinting because of the water droplets pressing down on them.
Even though it was a man, there was a feminine softness and fragility about him, a rare case of a man with feminine features.
I heard that people who are oriented this way are very blessed.
Shi Liao Liao was energetically pulling out weeds, and although the heavy rain made it difficult for her to see clearly, and her soaked gloves were somewhat cumbersome, she persisted in removing the chives that had angered Lu Yanzhou, one by one.
Wiping the water droplets off her face, she sniffled and was about to move on to the next row.
Suddenly, the pitter-patter of rain around her ears disappeared.
Shi Liao Liao slowly looked up.
The surrounding noise seemed to pause for a moment as she met those amber eyes.
Lu Yanzhou, holding an umbrella, stood behind her silently, now looking down at her with an expression neither sad nor happy, a mole at the corner of his eye adding a hint of charm to his handsome features.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
His voice was soft and low, and even when speaking normally, it sounded like he was whispering sweet nothings. Shi Liao Liao had heard from the servants that even in Santon Academy, an all-boys school, he had quite a few admirers.
Shi Liao Liao pale face, chilled by the cold, only showed a moment of surprise before she concealed it again.
Just like before, she simply said in a low voice, "Pulling chives."
Her face showed no emotion, like that of a soulless doll NPC.
Lu Yanzhou thought to himself that she was really foolish.
Braving the heavy rain to rectify her mistake was truly unwise.
Foolish...
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
"I've gone through so much trouble to sneakily buy yeast and flour, and if you don't leave now, how am I supposed to bring back fresh chives to make chive-stuffed buns?"
"Ah, my mouth is watering. I'll pretend it's just rainwater dripping down from the tips of my hair. He probably won't notice, right?"
So, right under Lu Yanzhou's watchful eyes.
The aloof young servant boy lifted his hand to wipe his mouth.
Lu Yanzhou: "..."
Thinking she was deliberately trying to salvage the situation, the little master: "..."
"Could you share a bun with me?"
Although, but, those are chive-filled buns!!
Just as she was wondering why this young master still hadn't left, suddenly everything went dark in front of her, and something cold touched her forehead.
With some effort, she moved it aside and realized it was Lu Yanzhou's umbrella.
The young master handed the umbrella over to her and turned to place himself in the pouring rain.
"Young master..."
Shi Liao Liao stood up holding the umbrella.
Lu Yanzhou turned back, a smile lingering on his lips, still maintaining his bone-deep elegance even though he was soaked.
Shi Liao Liao's gaze became dazed for a moment.
"I'm done for; I'll never be the material for a protagonist in this lifetime."
"The male lead doesn't use an umbrella in the rain."
Others: "Idiot~"
[Me: Pretentious Man]
Pretentious Man · Lu Yanzhou: "..."
Although he scoffed, Shi Liao actually felt somewhat touched.
Lu Yanzhou didn't seem so cold-hearted after all.
Good guy Lu Yanzhou's tea-brown eyes narrowed slightly, then he suddenly spoke:
"The duty of a personal manservant is to take good care of me."
"If you let me catch a cold from the rain, you can say goodbye to this month's salary."
Shi Liao Liao, who was just feeling moved a moment ago: shocked_pig.jpg
[At this moment, a man beastly in nature shed tears]
Lu Yanzhou: "..."