The Mountain Villa was a proper entertainment venue. Its staff were attentive and courteous without being obsequious, but the elegantly made-up woman crouching in front of him had deliberately undone a button, creating an angle that invited the imagination to run wild.
Xu Huo glanced at the small pin on her collar and gestured for her to pour him a glass of water.
The woman smiled brightly and poured the tea as he'd asked. But she then carried it over to him herself. Before it reached his lips, though, she seemed to lose her balance with the waves on the lake, and the cup tipped toward Xu Huo.
Crash! The tea was stopped by an invisible spatial barrier, and the cup fell onto the woman along with it. Hearing the noise, other staff hurried over and told her to apologize. She'd been paid to do this, but when she saw the shattered cup, her face turned pale. She bowed and apologized repeatedly, not daring to say another word.
Just then, a boat caught up from behind. Lady Lily stood at the bow with three friends, laughing from a distance.
"I told you he wouldn't fall for it." Lady Lily swung the little fan in her hand and said with a smile to the people beside her, "I'm still pretty good at reading people."
The ladies teased Xu Huo as he sat there. "A man seems to become even more charming once he's been injured. Though he's a little clueless about romance."
"He's different from the young men we usually fool around with," Lady Lily said.
The two boats drew alongside each other. Leaning against the railing, Lady Lily said playfully, "You wouldn't even catch a cup? You scared the poor, delicate girl."
Xu Huo replied with complete sincerity, "I injured