Tsukiyuki Rio gently hugged the body pillow with Gao Sijin’s photo attached, waiting to become lovers with him.
Even though Tsukiyuki Rio possessed countless memories, to Gao Sijin, they were merely strangers who had just met and shared a mutual fondness. Many things still needed to be approached gradually. For instance, intimate matters could no longer be treated as casually as before. If she suddenly initiated something like that, it would make Gao-kun mistake her for a frivolous girl.
A book called Love Guide stated that reaching that stage required going through many adjustments together.
Therefore, she had to be patient. Love wasn’t achieved overnight, but flowed steadily like a gentle stream.
She would wait until the day Gao-kun truly accepted her. Even if his memories returned someday, he would no longer be able to bear leaving her side. Physical shackles, no matter how sturdy, could never bring peace of mind. But the shackles of the heart, though invisible, surpassed everything.
“Gao-kun, why aren’t you sleeping yet? I’m holding back so painfully. My whole body feels itchy. I want to lie beside you and fall asleep holding your body.”
The entire wall of screens displayed Gao Sijin from different angles. He was currently immersed in playing computer games with Yu Qingxue, thoroughly enjoying himself. Tsukiyuki Rio could see that Yu Qingxue’s attitude toward Gao Sijin had grown increasingly intriguing lately. But at least for now, she didn’t have the audacity to defy her.
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, are you available?”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in, Morgana.”
Tsukiyuki Rio crossed her legs, which were as fair and beautiful as jade and snow. Her expression and demeanor changed depending on whom she faced. Only before Gao Sijin was she a bashful maiden waiting to bloom. But in front of others, Tsukiyuki Rio always radiated an overpowering aura of authority that silenced those around her.
Morgana walked before Tsukiyuki Rio with reverence and humility, not daring the slightest overstep. She didn’t even dare to gaze directly at Tsukiyuki Rio’s breathtakingly exquisite features. Merely stepping into Tsukiyuki Rio’s room had already drained Morgana of all her courage.
“Is something the matter?”
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, today Yu Qingxue and I went drag racing on the highway. I reported this to you previously.”
“Mm, I’m aware of this.” Tsukiyuki Rio rested her chin on her hand, her slender brows arching slightly.
“The subsequent events, I also just reported to you, Young Miss. Head Maid Yu Qingxue was the first to reach the finish line in the racing competition. But after she stepped out of the car, she was nearly killed by a sniper’s bullet. Afterward, we went to the hills to pursue the sniper and successfully killed him. At that time, the sniper claimed the Tsukiyuki Family had hired him to kill Yu Qingxue. I wanted to ask if this is true. Or could it be, Young Lady Tsukiyuki, that you truly wish to eliminate the Head Maid?”
Morgana was so tense she scarcely dared to breathe deeply. Confronting Young Lady Tsukiyuki with such a direct question was, in Morgana’s view, a profoundly impolite act.
“Morgana, I recall that you wish to become Head Maid, correct?”
“Yes, I wish to become Head Maid, so that my family can gain access to the East Asian market and become an even greater family with your power. But…”
“Over this period of working together with Yu Qingxue, you’ve become increasingly reluctant to kill her. Though you covet her position as Head Maid, you don’t wish for her death. You used to despise her constantly and yearned for her to die, because back then, you didn’t understand her. Now that you’ve come to know her, you find her an interesting person and think it’s fine to keep her around. Is that how it is?”
“Young Lady Tsukiyuki, if you are determined to have Yu Qingxue killed, I am willing to carry it out on your behalf. I merely wish to know whether you were the one who ordered the assassin to attempt Yu Qingxue’s life today…”
“It wasn’t me,” Tsukiyuki Rio said lightly. “If one day I truly need to kill Yu Qingxue, I will do it personally. I would absolutely never hire a killer, nor would I use assassination—such a disgraceful, underhanded method. I would arrange a stage and grant her a dignified death.”
Upon hearing this answer, Morgana felt the weight in her heart ease somewhat. She didn’t want any of the maids to truly die. The position of Head Maid was indeed enticing, but Morgana hoped to surpass Yu Qingxue through her own ability and make Yu Qingxue serve as her deputy—that was the method that would most deeply humiliate Yu Qingxue.
She secretly peered at Tsukiyuki Rio’s dark crimson eyes, bewitching and beautiful.
Though Young Lady Tsukiyuki said she hadn’t sent anyone to kill Yu Qingxue, could there come a day in the future when Young Lady Tsukiyuki and Yu Qingxue would become enemies?
An ominous premonition grew thicker. Morgana blinked her emerald-green eyes, already faintly envisioning the scene of mutual slaughter to come. She wanted to try to prevent it, but she felt a sense of helplessness, as if fate itself were pushing her forward.
“Young Miss, you also don’t wish for Head Maid Yu Qingxue to die, right?”
“Morgana, you seem unusually talkative today,” Tsukiyuki Rio said, slowly rising to her feet. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I naturally don’t want to kill her. I’ve shown her more leniency than the others. As long as she doesn’t cross my bottom line, I likely won’t become enemies with her again.”
“Again?”
A faint, composed, yet alluring smile passed over Tsukiyuki Rio’s lips.
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. Without Yu Qingxue, the me of today wouldn’t exist. Perhaps your current opinion of Yu Qingxue is somewhat similar to mine.”
Making her play the villain to get close to Gao Sijin, yet never allowing her to take the final step—in a certain sense, that was a form of revenge as well.
Yu Qingxue…
In different world lines, the Yu Family had once dominated the entire world. There was no need to ask how much wealth they possessed; the Yu Family was the creditor of nations across the globe, their glory unparalleled.
But they lost.
Once, the most formidable opponent Tsukiyuki Rio struggled against was Yu Qingxue. She remembered Yu Qingxue collapsing before her, drenched in blood.
Before her death, Yu Qingxue had been graceful and thanked her.
Perhaps out of reverence for her, or perhaps simply because one must collect all the cards when playing gacha games, she had made Yu Qingxue her maid in this timeline. Before Yu Qingxue could fully rise, she had brought her under her command.
She didn’t want to kill Yu Qingxue. The ideal scenario was to let Yu Qingxue serve as a sword suspended overhead, spurring her to grow ever stronger. Only in this way could she eternally hold Gao Sijin firmly within her grasp.
She wouldn’t permit Gao Sijin to come to harm, nor would she allow anyone to compete with her for him.
She simply needed to ceaselessly enjoy the happiness that wealth could bring.
On the screen, Yu Qingxue went to the kitchen, poured a glass of cola from the refrigerator, and mixed in a white medicinal powder.
“Come, Sijin, drink some cola.”
Without the slightest suspicion, Gao Sijin drank it down.
Then he fell into a deep sleep.
Until her relationship with Gao Sijin was formally established, this kind of life would have to continue. Tsukiyuki Rio slipped on her wooden clogs and went to the neighboring room to seek intimate moments with her beloved.
“Good evening, Young Lady Tsukiyuki.”
Upon entering the adjacent room, Yu Qingxue bowed with a cheerful smile.
Among all the maids, only Yu Qingxue would greet Tsukiyuki Rio with such a beaming, cheeky expression.
“You’ve worked hard today too, Qingxue. I heard you were nearly assassinated. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I, Yu Qingxue, am destined to live long. Bullets swerve around me.” Yu Qingxue pushed open the door. Gao Sijin already lay on the bed, defenseless, awaiting Tsukiyuki Rio’s favor.
“Qingxue, as long as you and Sijin refrain from kissing and sleeping together, it will be impossible for me to kill you. I will investigate today’s matter as swiftly as possible.”
“Young Miss, you are most considerate.”
