Page 9

After getting off the shuttle cart, Xiang Changge stepped over the fallen leaves yet to be swept from the villa entrance and headed straight into the kitchen.

Sure enough, the liveliest place in the entire villa at this hour was the kitchen.

Yu Qing did not eat breakfast, but the servants did.

The enormous kitchen was filled with an array of dishes, Chinese and Western alike, with everything one could want.

Several servants were gathered around the central serving table, eating with great relish.

The moment Xiang Changge appeared, everyone in the kitchen froze.

After several seconds, someone finally spoke first, calling out with a smile, "Steward, you're here. Come eat something with us."

Xiang Changge said nothing. She merely took note of every face present.

There were people responsible for cleaning the main residence, people from the laundry room, and people in charge of purchasing supplies.

After committing them all to memory, Xiang Changge spoke in an even tone. "If I remember correctly, the staff cafeteria isn't in the main residence's kitchen, is it?"

The Yu Family occupied all of Xiushan, an enormous area. The Yu Family provided its servants with food and lodging, and their dormitories and dining areas had been assigned separately.

The main residence kitchen was only for preparing food for the owners or visiting guests. No matter what, it was not a place for servants to eat.

They had chosen to eat here simply because everything in the main residence kitchen had been prepared for Yu Qing. It was varied, lavish, and expensive, yet Yu Qing rarely ate much. With the owner not paying attention, the rats had come to steal food.

Even though food Yu Qing had not used that day would be sent to the staff cafeteria for consumption, some people simply loved taking advantage openly.

Hearing Xiang Changge's words, they looked at one another for a while. In the end, the head chef on duty that day spoke with a stern face. "Isn't it raining today? So much food is prepared every day, and it would go to waste if Miss doesn't eat it. They happened to be working over here, so I let them eat here. It's Steward Xiang's first day on the job. You can't be this heartless, can you?"

At that, Xiang Changge's cool gaze fell on the chef.

The chef, who had just been trying to put on airs, instantly lost some of his nerve.

Only then did he properly look at Xiang Changge.

When he had gone to greet her at the gate yesterday, he had been standing at the back. He had only seen a young girl who still seemed wet behind the ears, so he had not paid much attention.

Today, he realized that there was something inexplicably chilling about her presence and her eyes.

Since it was her first day at work, Xiang Changge had dressed rather formally to mark the occasion.

She wore a white three-piece suit. The lightweight jacket had an asymmetrical collar that softened some of its severity while adding a touch of refinement.

A knee-length suit skirt, paired with four-centimeter heels, and her hair tied back behind her head made her look clean, capable, and elegant.

Most striking of all were her eyes. When she looked at someone quietly, it felt as if they were not human in her eyes, but some lifeless object that could vanish at any moment.

The chef did not know why he felt that way. After being unsettled by her gaze, he gritted his teeth and puffed out his chest again.

She was just a little girl fresh out of school. Who was she trying to intimidate? If he said a few more words, she might even cry. Those feelings just now had to have been his imagination.

Looking at the chef, bloated and fat-faced from eating his fill yet still pretending to be imposing, Xiang Changge's lips curled into a cold smile. "Was the food bought with your money?"

The chef stiffened his neck.

Of course not. He was here to make money. Why would he spend his own money on food?

He knew Xiang Changge was mocking him. Gritting his teeth, he was just about to speak when she asked again, "Since when did the Yu Family become yours to call the shots?"

"Since when was it up to you to decide whether something was wasteful?"

"Who are you trying to impress by pretending to be such a generous good person?"

"Since you know Miss Yu doesn't eat much, why are you making so much food?"

"You claim to be afraid of waste, yet you keep cooking as soon as you see ingredients. So what is it? Are you afraid of waste, or are you terrified there won't be any?"

Lining one's own pockets was something seen everywhere.

Xiang Changge saw through their intentions at a glance.

Everything prepared for Yu Qing was of the finest quality. Forget buying it themselves, there were things they had never even seen before.

If it was made and Yu Qing did not eat it, would it not all end up benefiting these servants?

Yu Qing was rich and did not care about such things. When Xiang Changge had read the novel before, she had only complained a little about Yu Qing wasting things every day. Now that she was truly standing here, she suddenly realized that Yu Qing was not the one wasting things. These parasites looking to profit were.

There was clearly a staff cafeteria, and their food and lodging were not bad either, yet they still wanted to live like their masters. That was nothing but greed and ingratitude.

Seeing that the chef had been left unable to find a rebuttal, someone sitting at the table with a mouth full of grease suddenly said, "Steward Xiang really is setting three fires upon taking office. We were wrong. We just didn't want to go back out in the pouring rain, so we ate a little here. If you're going to be so strict, we just won't eat here again."

His words dripped with sarcasm, accusing Xiang Changge of throwing her weight around as a steward while mocking her for being unreasonable.

Xiang Changge turned her dead-eyed gaze toward the person who had spoken.

Ignoring what he had said, Xiang Changge slowly stated, "You're in charge of purchasing supplies."

"Since you're here, bring me the daily account books later so we can go over them. I'd like to ask why Miss Yu eats so little each day, yet the food you purchase every day would be enough to feed a hundred Miss Yus."

As soon as Xiang Changge said that, the purchaser's expression stiffened, and his unease became visible to the naked eye.

Still, he forced out, "What does a newcomer like you know? The previous steward set these rules. Everything Miss Yu eats, wears, and uses has to be the best. If I buy too little and Miss needs something that isn't there, who's going to take responsibility?"

Xiang Changge let out another cold laugh. "Then tell me, what does Miss Yu use every day? What does she eat?"

The purchaser froze, unable to say a word.

The chef finally recovered. Seeing this little girl acting as if she were interrogating him, he slapped the table in anger, making it tremble. "What do you mean by this? You just started work today and you're already picking fights? Do you really think you're someone important?"

"Why not?"

Facing the nearly two-hundred-pound man's rage, Xiang Changge showed no fear. She even leisurely assessed him. "Working in a kitchen without a chef's hat or mask, no professional standards, wasting food every day, incapable of planning properly..."

After listing his problems, Xiang Changge calmly delivered her final conclusion. "You're fired."

It was like a bolt from the blue striking the chef.

"F-Fired?!"

Working for the Yu Family meant high pay, little work, and plenty of extra benefits. It was the kind of job one could not find even with a lantern, and the chef had never imagined that he might one day be fired.

Destroying someone's livelihood was no different from killing their parents.

The chef could no longer hold himself back. His huge, dark bulk charged at Xiang Changge. "Fuck you! You really think you're somebody? You're firing me? Who the hell do you think you are? Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death!"

Although she wanted him to learn exactly how the word "death" was written, Xiang Changge knew this was not the apocalypse, where order had collapsed. Killing someone meant going to prison.

So she held herself back. To prevent herself from accidentally striking him, she even folded her arms across her chest.

Just as he was about to reach her, Xiang Changge lightly sidestepped. He could not stop in time and rushed straight out of the kitchen doorway, barely avoiding a fall by grabbing the doorframe.

Xiang Changge could not even be bothered to glance at him. Taking out her walkie-talkie, she said, "Security, come to the main residence kitchen."

There was only static from the walkie-talkie. Several seconds passed without a response, but Xiang Changge did not care. She was already considering replacing every servant in the Yu Family from top to bottom.

The chef, however, grew smug.

"Security? You think security can save you? Bitch, you really think you're something!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and rushed at Xiang Changge again, intending to slap her. Xiang Changge kept her arms folded. The sharp taps of heels striking the floor sounded several times, followed by a thunderous crash.

The few people still at the table did not even see Xiang Changge's movements clearly. They only saw her dodge aside, hook over a low stool used for sorting vegetables with her foot, and toss it in front of the chef.

The chef tripped over the stool. This time, he was not as lucky as before and crashed face-first onto the floor.

Just hearing the impact made everyone feel the pain.

Xiang Changge turned to the others. "You're all fired as well."

"You violated staff rules, skipped work without cause during working hours, and stole the employer's personal property. Expect letters from the lawyers."

"As for the purchasing department, if there are problems with the account books, I'll see you in court."

Yu Qing did not get up until after one in the afternoon.

After several days of rain, it had finally stopped for a while. Once she had washed up, she gathered the outer layer of her nightgown around herself and leaned by the window, looking out at the small garden.

Her mother had loved osmanthus flowers, so the area around the main residence was planted entirely with osmanthus trees.

Because many different varieties had been planted, they bloomed at different times. As a result, the fragrance of osmanthus could often be smelled throughout the year.

At that moment, fallen leaves and crushed osmanthus flowers were mixed into the wet ground outside the window, staining the rainwater that had yet to dry. It was a complete mess.

"Just like me."

The osmanthus flowers, powerless in the wind and rain, were just like her, powerless against everything in this world.

Knock, knock, knock—

As soon as Yu Qing's murmur faded, someone knocked on her bedroom door.

Her thoughts interrupted, Yu Qing frowned in displeasure.

But she ignored it.

It had always been the same before. When Aunt Yang and the others received no response, they would know that she had not woken up yet, or that she was awake but did not want to get out of bed, and they would tactfully leave.