Chapter 15 Xu Chengyan, You Bastard

“This isn’t even my job!”

“Do you believe I can have you fired?”

Li Tingting shrank her neck and didn’t dare argue.

After starting work at the Xu household, she had quit all her previous part-time jobs. This time, it was only because Aunt Shen, someone she knew, had an urgent matter and asked her to cover for a few days. If she messed up someone else’s work while substituting, Aunt Shen would definitely be furious.

Li Tingting had no choice and quietly went downstairs to buy coffee.

When she got downstairs, she realized she had forgotten to ask what flavor to get. The coffee at this shop wasn’t cheap—just a casual cup was twenty or thirty yuan, and the nicer ones could be even more expensive.

This amount was practically her entire daily budget.

Li Tingting winced but bought the shop’s signature drink, a mascarpone latte.

Coincidentally, the usually empty elevator was packed with people. Anxious to get upstairs, Li Tingting noticed another elevator that was empty and hurried in.

As soon as she entered, she froze. “Madam?”

Ruan Yaoyao thought: 【Oh wow~ what a coincidence!】

She was just here to scout the place, not expecting to actually run into her. Seeing Li Tingting, she knew today’s drama was about to unfold.

【Hehe!】

【This damned, inescapable fate!】

A smile appeared on her face. “So it’s you. What, working part-time here?”

Li Tingting blushed. The Xu household had clear rules forbidding their staff from taking outside jobs. After all, the high salary was meant to ensure the servants devoted their full attention to the household.

“No, I’m just covering for someone for a few days,” Li Tingting hurriedly explained. Aunt Shen had been her neighbor before, and after her mother was hospitalized, she often helped bring her meals and such.

Since Aunt Shen had something urgent, she was just filling in for a few days.

She promised Ruan Yaoyao that she absolutely wouldn’t interfere with the villa work.

“Oh, covering for someone, huh.”

【Even covering a shift brought her to the second young master’s company—tsk tsk…】

Ruan Yaoyao’s gaze fell on the coffee in Li Tingting’s hand. “Did the second young master ask you to buy this? Doesn’t he usually like a coconut latte? Changed flavors?”

Maybe because it was from her crush, it felt different.

Li Tingting felt awkward, unsure how to explain.

The elevator quickly arrived, and Ruan Yaoyao urged Li Tingting to follow her and personally deliver it to Xu Chengyan.

Li Tingting: “……”

No, this isn’t for him—it’s for someone else.

But looking at Ruan Yaoyao’s enthusiasm, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She figured she might as well deliver it; if it went wrong, she could buy another cup downstairs. Though the coffee cost over twenty yuan, she could afford it.

Besides, Xu Chengyan was her male idol!

Thinking about seeing him soon, her heart felt a little sweet.

The secretary probably knew Ruan Yaoyao. Initially, seeing a cleaning lady trying to enter, he wanted to stop her. But noticing she was following Ruan Yaoyao, he assumed Ruan Yaoyao had brought her and greeted them, letting them through.

【Here it comes, the classic scene!】

Xu Chengyan stiffened, lifting his head sharply, only to see a familiar figure.

“What are you doing here?”

Although Ruan Yaoyao had nagged him a lot that day, letting him know he had “misunderstood,” it wasn’t likely that Xu Chengyan would immediately drop his prejudices.

He had only hired a private detective to find evidence proving she wasn’t lying.

“What? I can’t come? Afraid I’d find out you’re hiding some little temptress here?”

Xu Chengyan didn’t understand at first, but when he saw Li Tingting behind Ruan Yaoyao, he instantly got it.

Of course! This woman never comes without a reason—it turns out she brought this girl to him.

His already limited goodwill toward Ruan Yaoyao vanished. Xu Chengyan’s expression turned cold. “What’s this? Sending me a cleaning lady?”

What, looking down on him?

Thinking he’s just an illegitimate son, so he deserves a servant?

Ruan Yaoyao said, “Mm, ran into her on the way. Since you like her, why make her work as a cleaner? Afraid people will gossip if they see her?”

“Who likes her?” Xu Chengyan snapped.

Li Tingting froze. He likes me?!

Could it be that Aunt Shen’s urgent matter was arranged by him?

Her face reddened.

If he liked her, he could just say so—why go through such a roundabout way?

She stole a glance at him, unable to hide her joy.

Ruan Yaoyao continued, “You don’t like her, but let her into your company? And covering a shift for a few days—don’t you know Xu household rules forbid staff from outside jobs? If the housekeeper finds out, she’d definitely be fired.”

“Wasn’t she sent by you?”

“Tsk tsk tsk… passing the blame now. What, scared I’d find out?” Ruan Yaoyao chuckled. “Did you do something guilty?”

Not sent by her? Xu Chengyan realized something was wrong, and his gaze toward Li Tingting became wary.

This woman had quite the scheme. She probably thought she couldn’t use a beauty trick on him at home, so came to his company to try and win him over over time.

Xu Chengyan felt a bit annoyed.

He hated women who plotted to climb up using schemes.

“Get out!”

“Why are you being so fierce? Why scare a young girl for no reason? You scare her in front of me, then I leave, you’ll have to coax her back…” Ruan Yaoyao rolled her eyes and blocked in front of Li Tingting. “This isn’t how you pursue someone. If you like her, you should be gentle, make her happy. Otherwise, she might run off with a kid, and you’ll be in a ‘chase your wife to the funeral pyre’ scenario.”

She was happy just watching the drama unfold.

Xu Chengyan felt a headache coming.

How did this woman figure out he liked Li Tingting?
Ah, it’s a future thing—never mind.

His brother got confirmed there, fine, but why drag him into it?

The more Xu Chengyan looked at Li Tingting, the more he disliked her.

Ruan Yaoyao came only to eat popcorn and scout, gave a few subtle hints, then left the space for the young couple, smiling as she exited the office.

She even closed the office door behind her to prevent interruptions.

Of course, she hadn’t truly left, just “observing” outside.

Clearly, Xu Chengyan could still hear her voice from inside the office.

【Perfect, private space now—wonder if they kissed.】

【Too bad, someone’s tsundere won’t let me watch.】

【Can’t watch this romance live!】

…

However, what happened inside the room was completely different from Ruan Yaoyao’s guesses.

Xu Chengyan’s face was cold as he questioned Li Tingting about entering his company. No matter what her intentions were, he wouldn’t let her succeed.

Within a few sentences, Li Tingting ended up in tears.

“Xu Chengyan, you bastard!”

Li Tingting threw the coffee in her hand at Xu Chengyan, hitting him, then ran away crying.

The coffee was hot, and though she had walked a while, it hadn’t cooled much.

The hot cup hitting Xu Chengyan made him pale. Luckily, it landed on his clothes, not his face—otherwise, that would have been disastrous.

He quickly took off his clothes and went inside to rinse with cold water.

Since it was a startup company, Xu Chengyan often stayed at the office, so he had set up a small rest room with a bed and bathroom.

Outside, Ruan Yaoyao stood dumbfounded, watching Li Tingting come out so quickly, speculating on what had happened.

【Could they have quarreled?】

【Makes sense—Xu Chengyan was so tsundere. She had revealed the connection between the two, but he stubbornly refused to admit it, so no wonder Li Tingting got angry.】

【If it were her, she’d be furious too.】