Chapter 2: Anger

Ever since she had sternly rejected him, he had started making things difficult for her, constantly finding fault with her in every way possible. And now, this!

The district had recently launched a strict crackdown on vice, and he had actually assigned her to the "Human Paradise" club—a place even he dared not provoke. As a result, not only did she offend a whole crowd of powerful figures, but she also accidentally fell into an uncovered drainage manhole...

Looking at the decor of the room, Xiao Min was filled with shock, but even more so with extreme unease. A bad premonition welled up from within.

When she finally regained her senses, she was shocked to discover that her entire body felt as if it had been dismantled; there wasn't a single part that didn't ache! She stretched out her arm, and a sharp pain surged through her whole body.

She let out a grimacing cry of surprise!

However, years of life at the police academy had given Xiao Min an incredibly strong willpower. Enduring the discomfort, she stiffly lifted her feet and moved toward the bedside. Looking at the kettle on the wooden table, Xiao Min licked her parched lips.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the door...

At that very moment, the door, which had been left half-open, was pushed open from the outside with a creak.

"Yo! You’re quite tough, aren't you? You can actually wake up after that?" What came into view was a woman dressed in emerald green. Her face, which was otherwise fair and clean, was marred by a pair of slanted, upturned eyes, making her look devious no matter how one viewed her.

Xiao Min lifted her weary eyelids; it was clear the woman meant no good.

Ignoring her, Xiao Min struggled to continue reaching toward the table. The woman at the door paused, and seeing that she was being ignored, she angrily planted her hands on her slender waist.

"Hmph, so it’s you who has occupied this lady's room! What a shameless, cheap wretch."

Her haughty face was clearly filled with rage.

Xiao Min saw only the simple kettle before her; she hadn't even taken the woman's words into her ears. Right now, she was like a rhinoceros in the desert, parched to the point of smoke rising from its ears, all her ferocity ground away into nothingness.

Ignoring everything around her, she continued to move laboriously toward the table.

Although the woman in green was furious, she hadn't expected that even after such mockery, this ugly woman wouldn't even acknowledge her. She muttered to herself, wondering which eye the Mistress had blinded to bring back such a wretched woman.

However, thoughts were just thoughts; she dared not say them aloud, or the Mistress would surely cut out her tongue.

She curled her lip. She had followed the Young Miss since she was a child, and only then had she been granted the exception of having her own single room among the servants. And now, this! Her nest had been snatched away by this woman who appeared out of nowhere!

Thinking of this, the anger in her heart flared up with a "poof!"

Watching the woman struggle to reach the table and use every ounce of her strength to tremble as she poured the tea from the kettle into a cup...

Liu'er gritted her teeth in anger. This stinking girl was truly lucky; not only did she show no reaction to her taunts, but she was even thinking about drinking water. Even though she was just a maid, she was a maid by the Young Miss's side—even Steward Liu had to treat her with caution!

She took a few large strides forward, perhaps moving too quickly, and stumbled, lunging straight toward Xiao Min, who was in the middle of drinking.

No one saw the flash of calculation in the depths of her eyes.

"Ah—!" A moment later, just as she had wished, a miserable cry rang out, mixed with the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor with a "thud."

Liu'er had intended to knock the cup from the woman's hand, not only to prevent her from drinking but, more importantly, to make her fall again so she would taste the consequences of stealing her room.

She had succeeded in the first part. The cup was indeed knocked to the floor.

It was just a pity that the one who fell wasn't that cheap woman, but herself!

Liu'er's face was twisted in agony.

She looked down to see herself pressed against the shattered cup, feeling a piercing pain radiating from her palm.

Yet, the woman who had been so clumsy just a moment ago was now moving with surprising speed. Without a shred of concern for her image, she was holding the spout of the kettle directly to her mouth.

Damn it, she probably never intended to use the cup to drink at all!

Liu'er clenched her small hand, but the shards embedded in her palm sank deeper into her flesh. She let out a pained groan, her face twisting even further.

Xiao Min looked at Liu'er with an innocent expression, completely unbothered by the murderous look on the other's face, and wore a smile.

She muttered to herself, "I am Lei Feng, no need to thank me!"

After muttering, she hugged the kettle tightly again, poured the remaining tea into her mouth, and then contentedly wiped the water stains from her lips with her sleeve.

Just kidding—in this place she wasn't familiar with at all, she couldn't let the chance to drink go to waste. If that woman had smashed it all just now, she might have died of thirst in this lifetime.

Although Xiao Min guessed that she had most likely transmigrated, seeing such a vicious heart in a girl of only fourteen or fifteen made her brow furrow slightly!

Liu'er was furious, looking at that ugly woman who wore an innocent face that was clearly a blatant provocation!

On her own turf, when had she ever suffered such a big loss? If this were to spread, what would happen to her reputation?

How could she swallow this bitter pill? With eyes burning with malice, she was about to get up and lunge at the drinking Xiao Min again...

But at that moment, the sound of footsteps came from the doorway once more...

The look of rage in Liu'er's eyes changed instantly. Seeing the person walking through the door, her fierce gaze turned timid and subservient in an instant.

Xiao Min watched this wild cat retract its claws and curled her lip. People like this were clearly one way in front of others and another behind their backs! With a disdainful curl of her lip, she despised this type of maid the most.

However, Xiao Min was currently terrified that someone would snatch her kettle. She felt truly parched and knew that the woman with the slanted eyes who had entered earlier was ill-intentioned; she had merely taken advantage of the situation to let her reap what she had sown.

"Oh—Liu'er, why are you sprawled on the floor?" A pleasant female voice sounded, light and airy like an orchid in an empty valley, making one feel refreshed and relaxed.

Xiao Min couldn't help but look up. *Hiss—!* This woman was dressed in a pale pink gown, her large eyes brimming with ripples like autumn waves, as if she could see into one's heart. Beneath a delicate, exquisite nose was a pair of cherry lips. She was slightly frowning, yet it made the whole room feel filled with fragrance; one simply couldn't look away. Her refined features, paired with the soft pink attire, made the otherwise dim room instantly brighten.

This was likely the legendary "bringing light to a humble dwelling," she thought to herself.