"By the way, should we try to prevent Liu Qingyue from getting close to Su Cheng in the future?" asked Xuan Ying, bored in the car.
Zhao Yan pondered for a moment before nodding firmly. "I think we should prevent it."
"But isn't she just a commoner? And she just protected Su Cheng!" Xuan Ying replied, confused.
"Because Liu Qingyue is kind to everyone," Zhao Yan explained. She paused, then continued, "And her kindness is irresponsible. We shouldn't overlook that."
"I don't quite understand, but I think I get it a little," Xuan Ying furrowed her brow, clearly puzzled by Zhao Yan's words. But she quickly added, "Though Liu Qingyue seems pretty amazing to be able to send that jerk Eddie flying."
Zhao Yan continued to explain, "I asked the class academic representative about this specifically this afternoon."
"The one who persuaded the class president at lunch today?"
"Yes." Zhao Yan elaborated, "She told me that Liu Qingyue's kindness isn't something special for Su Cheng, but how she treats everyone. This kind of kindness comes at a very low cost to her."
Zhao Yan paused, then continued, "And Su Cheng is lonely. Being treated like this by Liu Qingyue, he will definitely fall into a 'beautiful misunderstanding' and suffer, constantly wondering 'Does she like me?' and interpreting her actions through that lens."
Zhao Yan looked thoughtful, then suddenly remembered something and went on, "She called it the 'spotlight effect'. Su Cheng will focus on himself and subjectively over-interpret Liu Qingyue's kindness. At the same time, through 'self-fulfilling prophecy', he'll reinforce this assumption, and ultimately pluck up the courage to confess."
"I see. So in the end, Liu Qingyue will reject Su Cheng," Xuan Ying said, suddenly understanding.
"Yes. Now that we know this, we absolutely must prevent Su Cheng from experiencing this kind of hurt."
...
Ji Family Villa
This was an estate of the Ji family, home to Ji Qingyi and over twenty staff members, half of whom were Ji Qingyi's personal maids.
Of course, in addition to these, there were also professional nutritionists, medical personnel, kitchen staff, drivers, and so on.
The rules for servants in the Ji household were extremely strict. Unless specifically summoned, servants were absolutely forbidden from appearing before the master or guests.
If anyone was negligent, someone would definitely suffer the consequences.
As this mansion did not have a butler, the most senior staff member - Ji Yuewu - was in charge of overall management.
Therefore, she had to personally and closely supervise everything, including Ji Qingyi's diet, lifestyle habits, daily routine, receiving guests, hospitality, security, bodyguards, and so on. She had to personally attend to it all.
Ji Qingyi was a strange person. Unlike other wealthy young ladies who dressed in flashy, luxurious clothes, she was rather plain. However, due to being instilled with the principles of rulership from a young age, her aura commanded respect. Even dressed in simple clothes, she couldn't conceal the powerful presence she exuded, making people feel awe and trepidation in her presence.
Once, a desperate criminal who wanted revenge on the Ji family attempted to assassinate Ji Qingyi. But when he came face to face with her, he turned pale with fright, immediately intimidated by Ji Qingyi's aura.
This demonstrates how powerful her presence was. Even a determined criminal who had mentally prepared himself was affected the same way. This was because her aura could overwhelm one's spirit.
At the mansion gate
4:30 PM.
There was still an hour before Ji Qingyi would return home from her club activities.
A short-haired girl with an expressionless face walked up to the mailbox and retrieved all the letters inside. Then she entered the villa.
She was Liu Qingyue, except that the aura that made people want to get close to her had disappeared, replaced by an air of coldness and aloofness, giving the impression of keeping people at arm's length.
Well, her name now was Ji Yuewu.
After entering her bedroom, she sat at her desk with the thick stack of letters in hand. She opened them one by one, placing them on the table and piling up the contents. For unimportant ones, she merely glanced at them, while important ones required careful reading and note-taking.
This was because when Ji Qingyi returned, she needed to verbally report their contents.
But in the next moment, her expression changed drastically, turning gloomy as she looked at the signature on the letter in her hand - Mr. and Mrs. Aidi Van Francis.
Ten minutes later
After reading all the letters, Ji Yuewu stood up and threw all the letters in her hand into the trash can.
Then she walked towards the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror, took off her school uniform and thigh-high stockings, exposing her body's curves to the air. Then she slowly walked towards the shower.
The sound of water splashing echoed as she showered. Her figure was curvaceous and her posture graceful. If one could ignore those cold eyes, everything else was pleasing to the eye.
She only had about half an hour to bathe. After finishing, she dried her hair, put on underwear and white pantyhose, and finally donned a black and white long-skirted maid uniform. Her job required her to maintain a dignified and elegant appearance.
If one could ignore her cold face and eyes, everything else was perfect.
After getting dressed, she first went to the courtyard to check on today's pruning. As she inspected, her expression remained icy cold, without any emotional fluctuation.
After finishing the inspection, she went to the kitchen to check on the maintenance of kitchen utensils and food hygiene, directing others to clean all the tools thoroughly.
She performed this series of actions in one smooth flow, without any pause. As she did these things, she showed no sign of impatience, as if she were doing the most ordinary tasks.
This was her job.
After checking her work, she turned and left the kitchen, went to the tea room to prepare tea, and then walked towards the main door of the villa.
Although her steps were not hurried, she walked extremely fast, almost like a gust of wind.
Soon, she arrived at the main entrance of the mansion.
The main entrance was a castle-style building, with doors made of wooden planks and stone lions guarding both sides.
The stone lions were male and female, in pairs, with the male on the left and the female on the right, conforming to the yin-yang principle of male left, female right.
At this moment, the door was already open, with five maids standing on each side. As she arrived, all ten immediately bowed.
Ji Yuewu nodded expressionlessly, then stood in the middle waiting.
Shortly after, a Rolls-Royce limousine drove in.
As the Rolls-Royce came to a stop, a maid respectfully opened the car door, and a tall girl with extraordinary demeanor and aura stepped out.
She was wearing a school uniform and looked about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Her hair was not overly styled, falling down her back like a black waterfall. Her facial features were beautiful, her skin as white as jade, with a striking mole at the corner of her left eye. But her expression was calm, showing little change. As she walked, her steps were light and her posture upright, every movement exuding an air of elegance.
This was the mistress of the mansion - Ji Qingyi.
"Young Miss, welcome back!" All the maids bowed in unison.
Ji Qingyi nodded slightly, then stepped into the villa, with Ji Yuewu following behind.
Two maids walked in front, Ji Qingyi in the middle, and Ji Yuewu quietly following behind, not saying a word.
Upon entering the villa, Ji Qingyi went to the tea room. A maid poured her a cup of tea, then quietly retreated. Her movements were very skilled.
Ji Qingyi sat at the tea table, drinking tea.
As she drank, her expression remained cold and indifferent. She only took small sips before putting the cup down, not continuing to drink.
Ji Yuewu stood behind her, waiting for instructions from her young mistress.
After a long while, she finally spoke, "The tea today seems to have an extra flavor compared to usual. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuewu's heart skipped a beat. She knew her young mistress had noticed her distraction while preparing the tea. She immediately bowed deeply and replied, "I apologize, Young Miss. It was my negligence. I'll prepare a new pot right away!"
"No need," Ji Qingyi said calmly. "Are there any visitors today?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Aidi Van Francis will arrive at the mansion at 8 PM tonight."
"The Van Francis couple?" Ji Qingyi frowned upon hearing this. Her brow furrowed in deep confusion, then after pondering for a moment, she asked, "So, you warned Eddie using my name?"
She immediately analyzed the issue at hand. Logically, if they wanted to visit, they should go to the main family residence, not come here.
Unless Ji Yuewu had intervened in the school matter using her name today, she couldn't understand why she would come to visit her.
As expected,
"I'm sorry. I overstepped my bounds!" Ji Yuewu apologized with her head lowered, "I shouldn't have taken matters into my own hands!"
"It seems... you really value that child named Su Cheng, to the point of using my name to handle his affairs."
Ji Yuewu's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected that by revealing just a bit of information, Ji Qingyi would already guess her intentions. She then explained in a low voice, "Young Miss, you misunderstand. Everything I did was for the Ji Family."
"So..."
Ji Qingyi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and asked, "For the sake of the Ji Family, you used my name to help an outsider against our own people?"
Ji Yuewu remained silent with her head down. She dared not argue, and she couldn't break through her young miss's rigid mindset. She could only respond with silence, knowing that only the young miss herself could break through such matters.
Having grown up together, Ji Yuewu was very familiar with her young miss's personality.
She knew that Ji Qingyi wouldn't punish her for this incident.
"Forget it."
Seeing that Ji Yuewu didn't speak up, Ji Qingyi didn't pursue the matter further. She waved her hand and said, "Then can you tell me what reason there is to protect this child at all costs?"
Ji Yuewu raised her head upon hearing this, and after a moment's hesitation, she said, "His future value is beyond imagination. Perhaps... we might need his help in the future."
"Undoubtedly a fantasy."
Ji Qingyi sneered and said, "Besides giving me brief amusement, what other value does he have?"
"..."
Ji Yuewu remained silent.
Because her young miss had already started raising flags, what could she do?
"Things without practical value are not worth wasting time on for me."
Seeing the person she valued being disparaged like this, Ji Yuewu also felt a bit emotional. So she spoke up, "He will join your club next week. I think the club will definitely liven up then, and perhaps you might change your opinion of him."
"Is that so? It seems he holds some spiritual value for you," Ji Qingyi remarked indifferently.
Ji Yuewu's heart trembled, but she still pressed on, "I want to ask the young miss for a favor."
"Speak."
"Please give him a bit of pressure."
"Are you challenging me?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"It seems he really has some kind of magical charm, making you willing to defy me, and even asking me to motivate him. Do you believe in him that much?"
"Turning the impossible into possible, he is a miracle. That's my evaluation of him."
Ji Yuewu replied, her voice firm and clear.
This actually surprised Ji Qingyi a little, not only at how much Ji Yuewu valued Su Cheng, but also at how highly Ji Yuewu praised this Su Cheng.
It's worth noting that having grown up together, this was the first time Ji Yuewu had praised someone so highly.
However, she couldn't rule out the possibility that Ji Yuewu had become foolish from playing with electronic devices.
After all, ever since she started using electronic devices a few years ago, she could feel an intangible barrier and a deep-seated generation gap between them.
Thinking of this, she grew even more averse to electronic devices.
"Is that so? Then we'll wait and see."
In the end, Ji Qingyi agreed. She chose to believe, but only a little.