Fang Yu was on the very brink of tears. What on earth was the matter with this headstrong young mistress? Ever since he had stepped foot inside this apartment, he had been met with nothing but unbridled disdain from Miss Yan.
Could his character truly be so deplorable?
That couldn't be right. He always helped elderly grandmothers across the winding mountain paths, and whenever he chanced upon a few stray jiao on the ground, he unfailingly handed it over to the village chief. By all rights, his moral character was beyond reproach.
A bitter sense of injustice welled up in his chest as he stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Yan Ting before darting briefly to Lin Ruofei, whose face still bore a faint, flustered pallor. "Miss, what exactly have I done wrong? Why are you so determined to throw me out?"
"Because… because…" Caught off guard by his question, a flustered look crossed Yan Ting's face. She clearly had not thought up a proper excuse beforehand. Yet just as she was about to turn to Lin Ruofei beside her for help, the words suddenly tumbled out of her mouth: "Because you terrified our dear Miss Lin!"
Fang Yu broke out in a cold sweat, utterly dumbfounded by Miss Yan's utterly baseless accusation.
Was I the one who terrified her, or the other way around? The bitter sense of injustice in Fang Yu's chest only deepened. What kind of backwards farce was this? He had been happily enjoying his shower in the bathroom when the door had suddenly swung open, and this Miss Lin had burst right in. How on earth could that be framed as him terrifying her? If anything, she had been the one who'd scared him half out of his wits.
Yet even as these thoughts raced through his mind, he knew full well that speaking any of it to this willful young mistress would be utterly futile. It would only earn him the label of a lying sophist. And so, Fang Yu simply fell silent, not uttering a single word in his defense.
"Hmph. So you're finally admitting your fault, are you?" Yan Ting let out a sharp huff at his silence, clearly assuming he was wracked with guilt.
Yet even if he were drowning in remorse, she had fully intended to send him packing all the same. Otherwise, where would Yan Ting's pride and reputation even lie?
By this point, Yan Ting had long cast aside her complaints about his lack of taste and style. She'd realized that, clad in his new clothes, he wasn't nearly as repulsive as he'd been before. In fact, his clean-cut, handsome features were a far cry from the obnoxious, posturing boys who hounded her relentlessly at school.
Hey, why not make him my decoy? Daddy had said the man was a skilled martial artist, after all. If he stayed by her side, he could save her from an awful lot of hassle and unwanted attention.
A secret snicker bubbled up in her chest, and a triumphant grin spread across her face. She looked at Fang Yu, her tone bright and playful. "I've changed my mind, young lady that I am. You're not going anywhere after all."
"Er…" Fang Yu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. There was an old saying that a woman's heart was like a needle hidden at the bottom of the ocean, impossible to fathom. But in that moment, Fang Yu realized the saying had grossly underestimated the matter. This wasn't a needle at the bottom of the ocean—it was a needle adrift in the endless expanse of the universe.
Beside her, Lin Ruofei let out a soft, amused chuckle at Yan Ting's sudden shift in demeanor. This girl was up to her old tricks again, no doubt cooking up some new scheming plan.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, a wicked grin tugged at her lips. She nudged Yan Ting's shoulder lightly, then leaned in to whisper in her ear, her voice laced with teasing amusement. "Don't tell me you've fallen for this man's good looks too?"
"Oh, shut up." Yan Ting rolled her eyes hard at the teasing, shooting her friend a sharp glare, before leaning in to murmur back in a low voice: "I'm sick to death of those boys at school hounding me. Using him as a decoy is just making the most of what I've got, that's all."
"I knew you had some sneaky plan up your sleeve. Though to be honest, he's a lot easier on the eyes than those boys at school." Lin Ruofei giggled, before her expression suddenly turned stern. She cleared her throat, and turned to address Fang Yu, who had stood motionless to the side the entire time, watching the two young mistresses whisper back and forth. "Fang Yu, I forgive you for what happened earlier. But this stays a secret between the three of us, you hear? Not a word to anyone else. Or else…" She let the threat hang heavy in the air, waving her delicate fist in his direction, her face etched with a fierce, unmistakeable warning.