Anning’s pov

The next day came quicker than I had expected, I had only managed to fall asleep just as the sun began to rise and now, I still had to cater for the needs of my cheating young miss.

After taking a quick shower and changing into a new dress, I had been drying my hair when a-mei came to stand beside me.

Her eyes met mine once before she slowly moved them down my body.

My hand holding the towel paused, my heart already racing against my chest.

Why the heck was she staring at me like that? I didn’t say anything at first and just let her do as she wanted until she finally looked away from me.

"What was that about?" I asked, pulling my hair into a messy bun as I was tired of pushing it out of my face.

"I should be asking you that question." She snapped, hands crossed against her chest. "You came back quite late yesterday, why?"

I frowned at her words. When I returned here last night, I had been very sure she was asleep before I even took off my dress.

So, why does it sound like she was interrogating me or something?

"I had things to do and only returned home after doing that." I paused, walking over to my bed. "That doesn’t explain the reason you’re staring at me though."

Yes, her staring was so intense that I could feel it without me even staring at her. It was also making me feel slightly uncomfortable and I sure as heck didn’t want to snap at her this morning.

"You went to see someone, Anning. That explains the mark you have on your neck." She said, chuckling under her breath. "Marks."

I dropped the towel onto the bed and hurried to our trusty bronze mirror.

What I saw next almost made me pass out in nothing but anger, from the front of my neck down the side were covered in purple bruises.

Bruises that I recognized as hickey’s. I didn’t turn to look at A-mei again, I merely pulled my hair out of its messy bun and headed toward the door.

Wanqing was getting a piece of my mind sooner or later, what the fuck was this? If General Gu or Gu Ruiqing saw this shit, how exactly am I supposed to explain it to them?

"You have a lot of explaining to do when you get back, Tiger!" She yelled as I stepped out of the room, deciding not to respond.

Yes, she found the nickname Wanqing gave me to be cute. Not that I minded her calling me that, I just didn’t like seeing myself as a god-damned animal.

I left my room feeling even more frustrated than yesterday. I still couldn’t believe I was actually going back to serving that arrogant woman.

No, that didn’t sound right. I wasn’t going back because I wanted to, I was going back because of that stupid bet.

A bet I shouldn’t even have agreed to.

The moment I stepped into the hall leading to the main house, I could already feel eyes on me. Had they been waiting for me to arrive?

Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the servants had somehow found out. I just continued walking, pretending I couldn’t hear them or see them.

"It seems she’s finally returning back to her former position."

"I knew it. All that hardworking maid nonsense was just an act."

"Exactly. She was always the young miss’s favourite."

"I heard she cried and begged to be taken back."

I almost tripped over my own two feet. Begged? Me?

I turned my head slowly and glared at the group of maids standing near the wall. When they saw me looking, they immediately stopped talking.

Good.

Because if they had continued talking, I would’ve marched over there and asked which one of them had seen me begging.

But instead of doing that, I took a deep breath and just continued walking. I wasn’t going to make myself more frustrated today.

I had just gotten my life back together. I wasn’t about to start fighting with maids because they had too much free time.

Still...

I couldn’t help grinding my teeth.

How could they call all my hard work a facade?!

Those people had watched me scrub floors until my back ached, wash piles of clothes until my fingers turned red and serve guests until my feet hurt.

And now, suddenly, all of that had been an act?

I rolled my eyes, Wanqing had a lot of fans and people truly did enjoy talking. The closer I got to Wanqing’s room, the quieter everything became.

The servants cleaning the hallway looked surprised to see me. One of them flashes me an awkward smile and a nod before heading back to her work.

I smiled to myself before making my way to Wanqing’s room. The door was already slightly open when I got there.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and to also caution myself about Wanqing. Why? Because that woman was a female seductress.

Then, I finally slid the door open. The familiar scent of incense greeted me instantly.

Wanqing was seated at her low table that was now positioned to face the window, on the table was a variety of food which indicated breakfast had already been served.

Then, why was I here?

She looked completely at ease as she ate, one hand lazily bringing her food up to her lips.

While I, on the other hand, just wanted to strangle her. This entire arrangement was her freaking fault.

I should have been sleeping or eating sweets or doing something that wasn’t related to her. But karma truly was a bitch.

I was back to serving her, again. I pushed my thoughts to the side and bowed slightly.

"Greetings, Young Miss." I said softly but as always, she didn’t respond immediately.

She simply placed a piece of meat into her mouth and chewed slowly. I resisted the urge to scoff as I stood upright, did she by any chance forget how to speak?

After a few seconds of silence, she finally looked up and said, "You’re late."

I frowned, how could I be late? I opened my mouth about arguing with her, when I remembered where and who I was speaking to.

I swallowed my words and apologized instead, "My apologies, Young miss."

She hummed softly and returned her attention back to her meal. I stared at the side of her face as she chewed, those plump lips of hers had felt like...

Anning! I screamed at myself inwardly, shaking my head to get rid of those perverted thoughts.

"Come here." Wanqing said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I clasped my hand in front of my body and calmly walked toward where she sat.

She pointed at the spot beside her on the floor. "Take a seat."

Beside her? Had she finally lost her mind?!

"I would rather stand, Young Miss." I responded, flashing her a polite but strained smile.

Wanqing looked at me again. For some reason, the edge of her lips twitched slightly.

"Do you plan on disobeying me on your first day back?"