Jade Manor
Lumbering down the two-way staircase Zhang Lili rubbed her eyes sleepily. It was 1 in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly up the clear blue sky. There was a still quietude in the air, it was peaceful.
Dressed in a skimpy maroon night dress with a satin robe wrapped loosely around her, clumsily exposing one of her fair shoulders Zhang Lili looked around hazily. The dark maroon color against her white skin was extremely eye-catching, her glossy black feline eyes beautiful.
Not too far away a faint susurration propelled the groggy Zhang Lili to keep her guard up. Her muscles tensed up.
Especially after the recent incident of Liu Chenmin killing Uncle Bui and Liu Li being followed, Lili was forced to become wary of her surroundings for the safety of her own life.
She swiftly turned around running upstairs and hid herself behind a pillar. Lili's eyes narrowed at the two vague figures in the shadow, she tried to see clearly but failed.
"Ah~ Why did you drag me here? What if someone sees us here, lazing around like this.."
Zhang Lili's ears perked up when a soft female voice entered into her ears, she leaned closer to listen clearly.
From the conversation Lili could make out that the pair were servants of Jade Manor. It was Xiao Ning, a 17 year old newcomer working as a helper to pay her younger sister's tuition.
"Look what I found! This is a shocker.. You'll definitely be surprised after seeing this explosive piece of news"
Another deep female voice was heard, it was slightly louder than Xiao Ning's. She was waving a piece of paper excitedly in front of Xiao Ning's eyes.
Zhang Lili failed to recognize that person. Lili's eyes shone with interest when she heard her statement. She wanted to rush forward and snatch the paper however she stopped herself in time.
"Sshh.. What is it?"
Xiao Ning shushed the other person, she then quizzed curiously in her soft voice. It was evident that she had a thing for gossips.
Zhang Lili held her breath waiting for her to speak, she could feel her heart throbbing loudly against her chest.
"See this.. I found this in the stack of old newspapers while sorting them in the storage room"
Shoving the piece of paper into Xiao Ning's hands the excited voice explained. She had a gleam in her eyes that went unnoticed in the dark.
"Ai~ Hurry up and hide it! What if somebody else catches a glimpse of this?"
With widened eyes the Xiao Ning hastily shoved the paper in her hand before folding it in half. She was truly nervous as her tone was filled with anxiety that spoke for itself.
"Aiyya~ What are you so frightened about? She's just a fallen socialite, didn't you see the headlines for yourself? She's a tramp attempting to crawl into older and younger rich men's beds.. A gold digger!"
The girl who found the newspaper laughed, she had a mocking tone which was insulting. She was shredding Zhang Lili's reputation into bits with her derogatory remarks.
Hiding behind the pillar Zhang Lili clenched the railings tightly, her clean nails turning pale from the heavy force. Her chest heaving up and down with anger while her face turned red.
She was infuriated beyond words after being reminded of the humiliation suffered in the hands of the coldblooded man, Ethan Lee.
"Sshhh! You're talking too much.. Even if she's all that it has nothing to do with us. She's living here in Jade Manor like a princess.. Don't forget that she's our employer and we're her employees!"
Terrified Xiao Ning interjected, she hushed the other servant and her tone gradually turned stern.
She was definitely a sane person who knew better and didn't mindlessly gossip. She decided to keep a safe distance from all these entanglements to avoid unnecessary troubles.
"Even Mr Liu treats her like his own daughter so stop speaking nonsense lest you want to lose your job!"
Xiao Ning continued when the other person was dumbfounded by her words. She obviously didn't expect the soft-spoken timid girl like Xiao Ning to lecture her like that. She felt embarrassed.
Listening to Xiao Ning, who seemed to be speaking in her favor Zhang Lili's grip loosened. She took several deep breaths and averted her gaze back at the vague silhouettes in the distance.
"Hmph! Whatever.. I really admire Mr Ethan Lee, if I was in his shoes I'd also kick her out.. She's really got some guts to behave shamelessly and seduce any man with good looks and riches! Such a slut.."
Rolling her eyes, the other person harrumphed in indignation. She had a sly smile on her face.
When she opened her mouth again her tone was filled with contempt for Zhang Lili while utmost admiration spilled from her eyes as she spoke of Ethan Lee. It was revolting for Xiao Ning who had to witness such a scene.
Upon hearing such derision filled words Zhang Lili's knees went weak, she fell down with a thud startling the two servants. They ran away in fright.
Her eyes were red brimming with hot tears, she had a pained expression on her clean face that evoked pity. Her head lowered to her knees she sobbed quietly.
"Sshhh.. Someone's coming this way.."