Chapter 12

Upon hearing Lu Yanzhou's voice, Shi Liao Liao frowned almost imperceptibly as everyone around remained still.

"Rubbish! How can I lock a smart lock? Isn't it automatic?" Lu Yanzhou walked over, and the crowd parted automatically to make way for him.

"I was talking about the wooden gate in the garden."

Shi Liao Liao suddenly realized: "I forgot."

"Remember it next time."

"Okay."

The simple exchange carried a massive amount of information, leaving everyone struggling to catch up.

Wait, does Lu Yanzhou have a subordinate now?

But that's not right; a subordinate couldn't possibly live with a higher-level being.

Bai Liye, who knew the situation, stood there with an incredulous look, glanced at the reactions around her, and spoke disdainfully: "He is Lu Yanzhou's personal manservant."

With that explanation, everyone suddenly understood.

So that was it.

Most people withdrew their gaze, only keeping an eye on the situation from the corner of their eyes.

The few who had come to cause trouble were merely C-class, with family backgrounds that couldn't compare to Lu Yanzhou's. 

They were now awkwardly standing there.

Lu Yanzhou glanced over with his usual indifferent gaze, his lips straightening slightly from their usual curve, his eyes cold: "Is there anything else?"

The few who were previously arrogant were now shaking their heads like mice who had encountered a tiger: "No, nothing."

They then pushed and shoved each other as they left.

Is Shi Liao Liao such a great person?

Of course not.

"Young Master, they just called me a pauper and looked down on the Lu family's salary."

Lu Yanzhou had intended to resolve the matter privately, but the young butler was clearly unwilling to let those people off so easily.

He was smart, knowing that he couldn't take action himself, he chose to borrow the influence of another.

The three people who had just breathed a sigh of relief turned their heads abruptly upon hearing this—

"It's not... Lu Yanzhou, he's slandering us, we never said that."

Seeing the situation overwhelmingly against them, the onlookers who were inclined to ingratiate themselves with Lu Yanzhou began to shout: "He did say it, we all heard it."

The three of them regretted it so much that their guts turned green.

Who knew that this new special recruit was Lu Yanzhou's man.

"Lu Yanzhou, look."

The leader said with a forced smile.

Only then did Lu Yanzhou look at him directly, without saying much.

His tea-colored eyes slightly shifted as he looked towards the quiet and waiting young manservant, speaking in a very light tone: "Apologize."

Apologizing to a special recruit would make them the laughing stock among their peers if word got out.

But no one dared to say no.

Compared to being mocked, they were more afraid of offending the Lu family and bringing trouble to their own clans.

"I'm sorry..."

They bowed their heads in humiliation towards Shi Liao Liao.

Lu Yanzhou raised his hand, casually adjusting his gemstone cufflinks.

"He's called Shi Liao Liao."

The group paused for a moment, then spoke again: "We're sorry, Shi Liao Liao."

As the atmosphere started to get awkward, Bai Liye, with her sharp eyes, noticed a short person beside Shi Liao Liao blushing shyly while looking at Lu Yanzhou.

She was immediately shocked!

What kind of world is this! 

Another man is competing with me for the Lu family's wealth... no, competing with me for Lu Yanzhou!

Without saying a word, she marched over in her eight-centimeter heels, blocking Gu Xuezhao who was unknowingly getting closer and closer to Lu Yanzhou.

But who would have thought... she didn't even touch the short person when suddenly he toppled over to the side, crying out "Don't!".

Bai Liye: "..."

In disbelief, she exchanged a glance with Shi Liao Liao beside her, who slowly blinked.

So Bai Liye also fell over in that direction, shouting "Don't!" as well.

She was falling towards Lu Yanzhou, but it seemed that Shi Liao Liao had anticipated this and quickly stepped in front of Lu Yanzhou to catch Bai Liye.

The fragrance enveloped her as Bai Liye's petite body leaned against Shi Liao Liao, her waist embraced by him.

Bai Liye's cheeks flushed red at her first close contact with a man.

"You..."

She called out softly, looking somewhat annoyed at the 'young man' before her.

With delicate features even prettier than a porcelain doll and those slightly upturned, clear black eyes, the visual impact blurred her vision, making her feel a bit dizzy.

The next second, as her cheeks grew redder, the usually expressionless young manservant suddenly curved his lips into a smile, bringing his face to life.

She slowly leaned towards the girl in her arms, and just as the other party closed her eyes in embarrassed annoyance, she missed her cheeks and whispered close to Bai Liye's ear,

"The same 'don't' from others sounds seductive and enticing."

"When Miss Bai says it, it's like she's playing 'Fight the Landlord'."

Bai Liye, thinking he was going to kiss her: "..."

Lu Yanzhou, whose hearing was very sharp, covered his mouth with his fist pretending to cough, but in reality, the corners of his lips were quietly turning up.

On the other side, Gu Xuexiao, who had fallen to the ground without anyone to help him up, felt somewhat embarrassed and could only shakily stand up on his own.

"You jerk!"

Bai Liye, feeling mocked, pushed Shi Liao away and left angrily in her high heels.

"You shouldn't make girls cry."

Lu Yanzhou teased from the side.

Shi Liao Liao looked back calmly: "You're mistaken, Miss Bai isn't crying."

Without giving Lu Yanzhou a chance to continue speaking, he turned his head to look at Gu Xuexiao.

"Are you alright?"

Gu Xuexiao, looking somewhat disheveled with his head down, forced a not-so-pleasant smile upon hearing this: "I'm fine."

Then he walked up to Lu Yanzhou, lifted his delicate face with long eyelashes trembling slightly, and said earnestly, "Thank you for helping me."

The amusement in Lu Yanzhou's eyes had not yet faded as he heard this and raised an eyebrow.

When did that happen?

"Need help with something?"

Shi Liao Liao could tell by his expression that the man probably hadn't even noticed Gu Xuezhao's presence just a moment ago. 

She immediately walked over to Gu Xuezhao and said, "Your clothes are dirty, go clean them up."

Looking at Shi Liao Liao's indifferent expression, Gu Xuezhao suddenly felt ashamed.

Is she saying that I am dirty and not worthy of getting close?

So you think the same way.

Her gaze dimmed, she ignored Shi Liao Liao and turned around to leave.

Watching her slender back, Shi Liao Liao pondered over her look just now, when she heard Lu Yanzhou's faint remark from behind: "That's rude."

Shi Liao Liao: "..."

[You're quite rude yourself, kid. Don't think I didn't see you just now wanting to step back.]

Lu Yanzhou thought to himself that it was because the other person's about-to-pounce demeanor had scared him.

"Give me your contact information; next time the door is unlocked, you'll need to go back and lock it."

He didn't want any small creatures sneaking in quietly.

Shi Liao Liao nodded respectfully, unlocked her phone, and handed it over.

Lu Yanzhou bent down to add his own account using her phone. 

As he was about to exit, he unintentionally glanced at Shi Liao Liao's username—

StealingYourPantsToSell

Lu Yanzhou: "..."

Just as explosive as her personality.

"Go back, it's almost time for the dance."

Lu Yanzhou didn't want to foolishly twirl around in the dance floor, holding some lady's waist and being watched like a monkey.

"Fine."

Despite having just arrived not long ago, Shi Liao Liao no longer wanted to stay here.

The gazes from all directions made her feel uncomfortable.

Ignoring the looks from all around, the two of them headed towards the exit together.

"The car keys were left with the waiter for safekeeping. Please wait here for a moment; I will go get them."

[Stay right here and don't move, Yanzhou~ I'm going to buy you some oranges]

After saying that, she turned and left.

Watching Shi Liao Liao disappear into the night, Lu Yanzhou stood still and quietly looked up at the night sky.

The moon was covered by clouds, and only a few scattered stars were visible in the sky, which was very dark.

Lu Yanzhou's fingers at his side curled slightly.

"So slow..."

Thinking this, he started walking in the direction Shi Liao Liao had left.

Meanwhile

A sneaky, skinny figure hid behind a column, holding a key in hand, quietly watching Shi Liao Liao enter the old storage room.