I'd Even Be Willing to Be His Mistress

After Lu Linyuan finished speaking and went straight to the bedroom, Cheng Li crumpled to the floor.

Auntie Liu hurried over and helped her up.

"Hurry and leave. If Mr. Lu comes out after changing and sees you're still here, he'll definitely be angry. It's my fault too. When I heard the cat crying so loudly, I should have stopped you from taking more pictures."

Cheng Li complained, "Why didn't you tell me when you saw the young master coming upstairs?"

Holding a white cleaning rag, Auntie Liu said, "If I'd seen him, how could I not have warned you? By the time I saw him, the young master had already seen you bothering the cat. But you scared me to death when you threw it just now. If anything had happened to that cat, never mind you-even I might not have been able to stay here." The thought filled her with regret. Mr. Lu would probably still hold her responsible when he thought about it later, and she was afraid she wouldn't be allowed upstairs again.

"The young master startled me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let go. I didn't do it on purpose." She had been so frightened that tears had come to her eyes. Now that she was back on her feet, she wiped them away with the back of her hand and asked worriedly, "My mom can still work here, right?"

"From what Mr. Lu said, she certainly can. But doesn't Mr. Lu dislike being called 'young master'? Why do you still call him that?"

Cheng Li looked down at her toes. "I'm used to it. My mom used to bring me over to play with the young master when I was little, and I always called him that."

"Ah, how long ago was that? When Mr. Lu got a little older, he went abroad to study. I'm afraid he's forgotten all about playing with you as a child."

"Would he? He even shared his candy with me when we were little." There was a three- or four-year age gap between them, and Cheng Li still remembered many details clearly. She had thought Lu Linyuan remembered them too.

"What do you think? Mr. Lu has met so many people and seen so much. How could he remember giving you candy when he was little?" Seeing Cheng Li lost in her memories, Auntie Liu spoke with a shake of her head.

Cheng Li was displeased to hear that. She turned and asked Auntie Liu a question.

"Auntie Liu, when your daughter was little, the old madam also told you to bring her to the old residence to play with the young master. Has she forgotten too?" Although the old madam had now assigned some longtime staff to work at the young master's villa, their experiences at the old residence weren't something they could simply forget.

Auntie Liu was taken aback. Her daughter was working now, but she still often talked about playing in the Lu Family estate, and was especially fond of asking about Mr. Lu.

"She hasn't forgotten, but she doesn't have any presumptuous ideas either. She knows her place." Those were harsh words, and Cheng Li's face flushed red, then turned pale.

Cheng Li was already on edge after offending Lu Linyuan. Hearing that, she said bluntly, "Just because she says she doesn't have any presumptuous ideas, does that mean she really doesn't? Then why did she go to work at the Lu Group?" Like Lu Linyuan, Auntie Liu's daughter was three years older than Cheng Li, so she had graduated earlier and was now an employee of the Lu Group.

Auntie Liu let go of her and said, "What's with all the barbs, child? Since Mr. Lu told you to leave, you'd better not stay any longer." Looking as though she had no wish to say another word to her, she turned and went back to work.

Cheng Li was angry. For one thing, Auntie Liu's daughter had done better in school than she had, as was clear from how she had successfully landed a job at the Lu Group. After all, a major company like the Lu Group had strict requirements. Even an ordinary clerical worker had to pass through round after round of screening, and those who made it in were hardly mediocre.

She, on the other hand, would never be able to get a job at the Lu Group in her lifetime. At the thought that she could only go to some small company after graduating next year, and that the distance between her and Lu Linyuan would grow ever greater, she suddenly felt a little envious that her mother could still work at the young master's side. If she could stay by his side, she would rather do the cleaning. The pay here was more than a little higher than what ordinary workers made elsewhere, anyway.

Once the thought arose, it was hard to put aside. But her behavior just now had already angered the young master, and he certainly wouldn't want her to stay and work here. Even though she was in the bloom of youth and wanted to stay of her own accord to do the cleaning, he still wouldn't be willing, would he?

The more Cheng Li thought about it, the more upset she became. After leaving the villa, she hurriedly took a taxi home. Her mother normally lived in as a maid while working, but now that she was on leave, she had no choice but to return to their place in the urban village. Back in the filthy, shabby neighborhood, Cheng Li wore a look of disgust. As soon as she opened the door, she told her mother what had happened that day.

"Child, how could you make trouble for me like this? You were far too careless!" Wang Xiuyu was very anxious after hearing it. She hurriedly picked up her phone and sent the housekeeper a message, hoping he could put in a few good words for her with Lu Linyuan when the time came, and that, for the sake of her many years of diligent work, she wouldn't suddenly be dismissed when she was so close to retirement.

No one could quite read the young master's icy, unsmiling disposition. Wang Xiuyu was genuinely worried about losing her job. Without it, she would have no income. What would she do about her daughter's tuition and living expenses, and her husband's medical bills and care costs? All of that took money.

"Mom, can I work for the Lu Family after I graduate?"

"The Lu Family?" Wang Xiuyu sent her message and came back to her senses.

"Yes. It's not like I could get a very high salary working somewhere else anyway. I'd be better off with the Lu Family. If I worked there long enough, I'd still get the five social insurances and housing fund, and my pension wouldn't be any less than what ordinary people like us get." All of that depended heavily on the Lu Group's vast wealth. Everyone who worked for the Lu Family received excellent benefits, which was why some people stayed for decades. Plenty even worked there from their youth until retirement.

Wang Xiuyu frowned when she heard that. "What are you thinking? You'd be cooped up in that little world every day, and it's not a respectable job to tell people about. It wasn't easy for you to go to university. Once you graduate, find a proper job. That would sound better when arranging blind dates for you too. How can you be so muddleheaded as to want to be a maid? If you become a maid so young, how am I supposed to find you a match later? What young man would still sit down and talk to you after hearing you're a nanny or maid in someone else's home?"

"I don't want to go on blind dates with those ordinary people. Not one of them is good enough for me."

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. It's impossible. I won't agree to it. Just look at your own status and the young master's. Are you a match?" How could Wang Xiuyu fail to see what was on her daughter's mind? She laughed at her for indulging in a fool's dream.

She wanted to fly onto a branch and become a phoenix, but what kind of woman hadn't the young master seen? And how could the Lu Family possibly allow a maid's daughter to get close to him?

Cheng Li's face burned with embarrassment at her words. After a long while, she spoke.

"Of course I know I'm not good enough to be the young master's girlfriend or wife. If I can't be his girlfriend, being his mistress is fine too, as long as he agrees." After saying that, her face filled with longing. "If I could become the young master's woman, even without a proper status, I'd surely have a good life, wouldn't I? I've had enough of living in a dump like this." In her mind, she had already begun imagining herself going to luxury stores on Lu Linyuan's arm.

Wang Xiuyu stared at her, dumbfounded. She had never imagined her daughter would say such a thing. She was already unwell, and now she was so angry that her chest hurt.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can you say something like that? You sound like a slut!"

"Mom, why are you so conservative? Haven't you thought about it? If I get a job paying three or four thousand a month, how am I supposed to take care of Dad's health? Once you retire, you won't have such a high salary anymore. I'm thinking about this family too!" The more Cheng Li spoke, the more justified she felt. She even reached out and patted her mother's chest, trying to calm her down.

"How can that be acceptable? Your dad and I both hope you'll find a good man to marry and have a family of your own."

Cheng Li gave a soft laugh. "Then have you ever thought about which man would want me, given Dad's condition? In today's society, everyone's very practical."

Wang Xiuyu fell into thought and found herself at a loss for a reply.

"And even if you won't think about me, won't you think about my younger brother? He's still in high school. Where will the money for his university come from?"

"But..."

"I can use these next few years to latch onto the young master and save up more money. Then Dad, my brother, and you can all live without a care. Since ancient times, people have laughed at poverty, not prostitution. Who cares where your money comes from?"

"But how would you get close to the young master?" Wang Xiuyu asked instinctively.

"That's why you have to help me. I offended the young master today, so you must plead with him for me and get him to forgive me. What happened to the cat really was an accident, and nothing happened to it anyway. Plead with him properly, explain the reason, then tell him that I'll be in my fourth year of university next year and have nowhere to intern and can't find a job. I know I can't get into the Lu Group, so I want to stay and work as a maid for the Lu Family. It doesn't have to be at the young master's villa; it could be somewhere else in the Lu Family, taking it one step at a time. He probably wouldn't let me stay at his home, but the old residence, Miss Lu's place, or even his uncle and aunt's place would be fine." She coaxed Wang Xiuyu along, actually persuading her despite her initial fierce opposition and even getting her to consider whether it was possible.

Seeing her mother remain silent, Cheng Li kept talking beside her. "Mom, think about it carefully. Where will the money for my brother and Dad come from? My brother does better in school than I do, so he'll definitely get into a better university. Good universities all cost money, and he'll need living expenses and decent clothes. Do you want him to be outdone by others?"

At the mention of her son, Wang Xiuyu's resolve completely wavered.

"Let me think..."

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry. I still have a year before I graduate." With that, Cheng Li got up, poured her mother a glass of water, and brought it to her.