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Xiang Changge frowned as her vulnerable ear was caught in someone's hand. The other person's palm was far warmer than her ear, blazing heat spreading from the point of contact. She suddenly felt as though she had been wrapped in a furnace.

She raised a hand and gripped that slender, delicate wrist. With a light press, Yu Qing felt her entire arm go numb, and all strength drained from her body.

Removing the hand from her ear, Xiang Changge stated flatly, "If I put you down, would you walk downstairs by yourself?"

Yu Qing: "..."

She wanted to firmly say that she simply refused to go, but seeing the other woman like this, if she kept being stubborn, Xiang Changge really might carry her downstairs in their current position.

She might not care about all that miscellaneous nonsense, but she still wanted to keep her dignity.

Who knew whether this woman had taken too many hormones abroad? She looked tall and lean, so why was she so strong? Yu Qing was an adult too, wasn't she?

Seeing that they were about to leave the room, Yu Qing took a deep breath. Telling herself that a wise person knew when to yield, she finally lowered her head. "I'll walk myself. Put me down!"

Xiang Changge paused upon hearing that, then turned and walked back.

Under Yu Qing's puzzled gaze, she returned to the bedside and set her down before saying, "Put on your shoes."

"..."

Yu Qing lowered her head and slipped her feet into the soft house slippers beside the bed. She did not look up, her hands at her sides clutching the bedsheets as she said darkly, "Xiang Changge, you've gone too far. I'm firing you!"

This was more than going too far. She was utterly lawless.

Yu Qing finally realized something was wrong.

Xiang Changge was her steward now. She had replaced everyone in the house with new people, and now she could even threaten Yu Qing... If this continued, everyone in the house would listen to her. Not only would Yu Qing have to listen to everything she said, she would not even be able to resist... This house might as well change its surname to Xiang.

Could she... could she be trying to seize her family fortune?

Xiang Changge said nothing. She merely picked up the shawl from the bench at the foot of the bed and handed it to Yu Qing.

Looking at the familiar shawl held out before her, Yu Qing still did not raise her head. Her voice only dropped lower.

"Isn't it too late to try and butter me up now?"

If... if Xiang Changge apologized to her now, said she would listen to her from now on and would never again overstep her bounds by forcing her to do things she did not want to do, then she... she could still magnanimously forgive her this once.

The room fell silent for two seconds. Then Yu Qing heard Xiang Changge's calm voice. "Let's go, Miss."

Yu Qing: "!"

Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. Did she think Yu Qing was joking? Did she even understand how serious this was? Yu Qing was firing her!

Yu Qing abruptly looked up and glared at Xiang Changge. "I said I'm firing you!"

Why should she go anywhere? If anyone was leaving, it should be Xiang Changge. This was Yu Qing's home!

Yu Qing sat on the edge of the bed while Xiang Changge stood before her.

Xiang Changge was already tall to begin with, so Yu Qing had to crane her neck hard just to look at her.

Meeting Xiang Changge's downward gaze, Yu Qing felt her own imposing manner weaken considerably.

Just as she was ruefully wondering whether she should stand on the bed, she heard Xiang Changge ask in an unreadable tone, "Are you sure you want to fire me?"

Yu Qing fell silent for a moment.

What did that mean? Could it be that Xiang Changge did not actually want to be her steward, so she was deliberately acting this way to provoke Yu Qing into dismissing her?

Could her ultimate goal have been to make Yu Qing fire her?

That was entirely possible.

After all, she was still so young. She surely wanted to do many things. Being a steward for Yu Qing on this lonely mountain all year round without a single day off, she must have been very unwilling in her heart.

And according to the contract she had signed with Yu Qing's parents, since they had funded her, she had to come work as Yu Qing's steward. But if Yu Qing fired her, she could leave with perfect justification.

What was more, would Yu Qing even have to pay her some money?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Yu Qing's mind.

The words "I'm sure," which had been right on the tip of her tongue, somehow refused to come out.

Xiang Changge did not insist on getting an answer from her.

Seeing her remain silent, clearly lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, Xiang Changge simply gripped her elbow and pulled her up from the bed. Half guiding, half urging, she led her into the sunroom.

Once she was seated on the sofa in the sunroom, watching the brand representatives' models display one outfit after another before her, Yu Qing leaned against the backrest and stared blankly into space, lost in thought.

Hadn't she just been talking about firing Xiang Changge? How had she ended up sitting here now?

"..."

It was not that she did not want to fire her. She simply did not want Xiang Changge's plan to succeed so easily.

If Xiang Changge did not want to be a steward, she could have discussed it with Yu Qing. Yu Qing was not short of money for any breach-of-contract fees. But how could she deliberately force Yu Qing into getting angry at her?

If that was what she intended, Yu Qing definitely would not let her have her way so easily.

If she wanted to resign, she had to discuss it nicely with Yu Qing and beg her. Otherwise, there was no room for negotiation.

Hmph. If Yu Qing fired her, would she have to pay some sort of compensation? Money did not grow on trees. She would not spend that money.

"Miss? Eldest Miss?"

Yu Qing's thoughts had been running wild until the familiar voice reached her ears. Only then did she blink and come back to herself.

Turning her head, she found the person she had just been thinking about standing beside her, bent slightly at the waist as she asked, "Did you like anything from that last batch?"

Yu Qing: "..."

What had the last batch even looked like?

Seeing Yu Qing's vacant eyes, Xiang Changge knew there had been no point in asking.

She turned to the smiling person in charge beside them and said, "Set aside numbers one, five, six, and twelve in Miss Yu's size."

The person in charge hurriedly wrote them down.

Yu Qing: "..."

So what exactly was the point of her being here?

After picking through another two rounds without much interest, Yu Qing yawned and was about to stand up to return to her room and lie down when she heard the person in charge beside her say, "Steward Xiang, would you like to pick out more clothes for yourself?"

Yu Qing, who had been about to rise, shifted into another position on the sofa.

Noticing her movement, Xiang Changge looked over and subtly raised an eyebrow.

The eldest miss had no interest in picking out her own clothes, but she was interested in watching someone else pick clothes?

Still, having an interest was a good thing. Xiang Changge wanted her to come into contact with more outside matters and people.

"Could Eldest Miss help me choose two steward outfits?"

Xiang Changge looked at Yu Qing as she asked.

Yu Qing lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at her. "What's there to choose? Just take everything you like."

Though she said that, while the models were changing clothes, Yu Qing still looked Xiang Changge over several times, considering what would look better and suit her more.

When Yu Qing looked toward Xiang Changge, Xiang Changge was checking information on tablets with several brand representatives.

At one meter seventy-three, plus four-centimeter heels, she might have stood out among ordinary people. But among the brand representatives and the models, all of whom were at least one meter seventy-eight, her height was not what made her conspicuous.

Every one of those brand representatives was more exquisitely dressed and polished than the last, and their heels were no lower than seven centimeters. Xiang Changge, meanwhile, wore no makeup, yet she still drew the eye at first glance.

Her hair was pinned up, revealing her entire face.

Her facial contours were smooth and flawless, her brows naturally shaped, her nose high and elegant, her lips slightly pursed... When she was not smiling and merely looked at someone quietly, perhaps because of her light-colored eyes, she possessed a wild beauty filled with aggression.

Yet when people looked at her, the first thing they noticed was not her face, but that quiet, profound aura around her.

Her body looked slender but not frail. She had a narrow waist, long legs, and a straight back. The hand holding the tablet was clearly jointed.

Yu Qing recalled that this very person had just held her in her arms as easily as if she were a child.

At the time, there had been no gap between them. Their body heat had passed through the fabric, and Xiang Changge's slightly cool ear had been caught in Yu Qing's palm.

Yu Qing was a little dazed.

It was only when the person she had been staring at slightly turned toward her that Yu Qing fluttered her lashes and looked away.

She had the feeling that everything about Xiang Changge was filled with a mystery that made people want to explore.

Her thoughts, her actions, her—

Yu Qing picked up the glass beside her and took a sip of the warm water inside, doing her best to ignore the sudden curiosity rising in her heart.

She was just a lawless steward with hidden schemes. Yu Qing was not curious about her at all.

It had to be because Yu Qing interacted with too few people that she had looked at her a few extra times.

Xiang Changge did not know what Yu Qing was thinking. She had only looked over a few times because she was afraid Yu Qing, with her weak constitution, would not be able to sit here for too long.

Seeing that her complexion was still fine, Xiang Changge said nothing and merely quickened the pace of choosing clothes.

Perhaps choosing clothes for Yu Qing earlier had somewhat cured her indecisiveness. Or perhaps Yu Qing's words, "Just take everything you like," had given her confidence. In any case, Xiang Changge became far more decisive when choosing clothes for herself.

But just as she finished selecting the ones she wanted on the tablet, Yu Qing beside her listed seven or eight numbers with dead-fish eyes and an impatient expression.

After Xiang Changge noted them down and compared the numbers to the ones she wanted, she found that there was quite a bit of overlap. She said nothing and chose to take them all.