Chapter 4, Part 4: Let's Talk
The silvery-white tip of the knife reflected a blinding white light on the table, making Lu Yingchi, who had returned to his room, uneasy. His mind was filled with the moment when Qiao Wu looked up after throwing down the knife, and a piercing numbness rose from the soles of his feet.
She has changed.
They became disobedient and audacious.
No wonder people say women are fickle and annoying.
Getting up at 6:30? She's dreaming.
Lu Yingchi glanced at the small radio in the room, smiled, and picked up an ornament from the display case without hesitation.
The room was well soundproofed, and the loud noise did not attract the attention of others.
Lu Yingchi lay down on the large bed, with only one word in his mind.
Cool!
-
The next day, Qiao Zhiyi got up according to his biological clock. Although he was no longer a housekeeper, he still heard about what happened yesterday. He was a little worried, so he decided to get up and make breakfast and take this opportunity to talk to his daughter.
I didn't expect to hear noises coming from the kitchen as soon as I went downstairs.
Although he has a small villa with his daughter, he always remembers his place and does not allow other servants to help him, doing everything himself.
Qiao Zhiyi stepped forward, and his pupils contracted slightly when he saw who was in the kitchen: "Xiao Wu?"
"You're awake?" Qiao Wu continued making breakfast. "Dad, you don't need to get up early to make me breakfast anymore. I'll make it and put it in the insulated box. You can just eat it when you wake up."
She could have eaten at the main house, but considering her father wasn't going there, she ate at home instead.
Qiao Zhiyi was stunned because he had never eaten breakfast made by his daughter. She used to think that she was born to be pampered and that these were things that maids did. She also didn't like Chinese food, so that she could show her difference and refinement.
But isn't what she's making now just Chinese breakfast?
"Are you used to getting up so early?" Qiao Zhiyi asked, suppressing his emotions.
"It's alright, he seems quite energetic."
Finally gaining control of his body and being able to experience the joy of being a normal person, Qiao Wu was delighted.
"Xiao Wu." Qiao Zhiyi helped her scoop up some noodles, his voice softening, "Dad believed everything you said before, but no matter how good the Lu family is to us, we must remember our place and not overstep our boundaries. Yesterday you..."
He hesitated before asking, "Did you threaten the Fourth Young Master with a knife?"
"Um."
When Qiao Wu threw the knife, the servants around her were stunned, and she saw it.
Qiao Zhiyi gasped, his vision blurring.
In all his years with the Lu family, let alone threatening him with a knife, he has hardly ever said anything harsh.
Xiao Wu, how dare she?
The other party was still that troublemaker, the Fourth Young Master.
Qiao Wu knew what his father was worried about. As a steward, it was really too much to bully the master of the house.
“Dad,” she said, taking a small bite of her noodles, “to me, they are more than just the host family.”
Qiao Zhiyi didn't understand.
“I grew up here, so they’re like family to me.” Qiao Wu said naturally, “I hope they’re all doing well for me, within my means.”
"But……"
"Don't worry, they'll fire me if they can't stand me, and I'll do it willingly. I'll leave the Lu family with you then." She quickly finished her breakfast and added, "You're my father, so you don't have to cater to me in anything."
Watching his daughter's departing figure, Qiao Zhiyi bit into the soft noodles in his mouth and inexplicably had the illusion that his child had grown up overnight.
When Qiao Wu arrived at the main house, it was not yet 6:30. After threatening Lu Yingchi with a knife yesterday, all the servants in the house looked at her differently today.
Although it wasn't outwardly obvious, the servants in the house actually looked down on Qiao Wu, thinking she was a good-for-nothing who only knew how to flatter and fawn.
Who would have thought that this good-for-nothing would actually fight with the young master?
Some people were frightened, while others wanted to see her make a fool of herself. How long could someone who didn't know her place and dared to climb over the head of the family stay?
Yesterday, when the fourth young master stormed upstairs, he gritted his teeth and said, "Qiao Wu, you just wait."
Qiao Wu ignored all the mixed gazes and greeted everyone as she entered the room. After confirming that no one else had returned last night, she pressed the morning bell again with her hand that hadn't been chopped off.
This time, she didn't wait for a reply, but went to the kitchen first to check today's breakfast menu.
Once inside the kitchen, she realized that none of the dishes she had planned for the night before had been made that morning.
"Is there any difficulty?" she asked.
"No." The head chef continued preparing his menu. "But it's not easy for the young lady and the fourth young master to have breakfast at home. Making those things would be too shabby. Today I specially made crab roe shumai and shrimp dumplings, roast pigeon, and Western-style caviar salmon croissant, each served with three kinds of fruit."
I get angry just thinking about that chef. Yesterday, they didn't know that breakfast was for the young lady and young master, so they just served simple vegetable dumplings and congee. If the young master and young lady are unhappy with their meal, who will suffer the consequences?
Anyone can flatter someone. Once Qiao Wu is kicked out, won't others have a chance?
Remove the croissant.
"Why?" the chef protested. "Butler Qiao, if you want to upset the young lady and young master, don't drag us into it. Besides, we've been in this house for so many years. You just came back from abroad and don't know anything, yet you're setting the menu yourself?"
Qiao Wu looked at him coldly: "Then what do you know?"
"I know……"
The chef was immediately stumped; he really didn't know anything about it.
There are many chefs in the family, but actually only a few people eat at home. They don't deliberately mention anyone's preferences. In order to show off their culinary skills, they cook whatever is exquisite and expensive, especially now that they want to please the host.
"Butler Qiao, what kind of tone is that? Didn't you used to like these things too? You even said you wouldn't eat commoners' food. Now, what are you expecting us to feed the young lady and young master?"
Qiao Wu never cared about what her past self, who was controlled by the plot, had done; it had nothing to do with her.
But that doesn't mean she can accept it. She also understands that these people started to have ulterior motives after seeing Lu Yingchi's attitude yesterday.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Li Shun".
Qiao Wu nodded, raised his hand and moved the croissant and shrimp dumplings to the other side, saying casually, "Li Shun, you're fired."
"!!!"
Everyone who had been carefully observing the situation was suddenly stunned.
Li Shun was still holding a knife in his hand. Upon hearing this, his eyes widened as if he was about to rush over at any moment, and his voice was rough and heavy: "What right do you have!"
But Qiao Wu was not intimidated. She walked straight forward and forced Li Shun to take two steps back, and the knife in her hand was taken away.
The next instant, the knife slammed into the cutting board with a loud thud, even more frightening than the scene from the previous night, causing everyone to tremble involuntarily.
How could Butler Qiao have such great strength?
Qiao Wu didn't look at Li Shun. Instead, he took out two more servings of fruit, opened a bottle of water, and said slowly, "Yesterday I sent a document to each of you, which clearly recorded everyone's preferences and taboos."
Last night, everyone did receive a document, but considering Qiao Wu's past behavior, many people just glanced at it and didn't look at it carefully again, because the document was very, very long.
At this moment, Qiao Wu's voice became even colder under the flowing water: "The young lady doesn't eat any raw food except for fruit, and the fourth young master is allergic to peanut butter. You've made so many mistakes at the same time, what use are you? We didn't hire you at such a high salary so you could do things according to your own will."
"You're the chef and I'm the chef? I've never heard of the young lady and the others having such dietary restrictions! It's not like we haven't cooked together before, where did you get this idea from?"
Qiao Wu: "So you never proactively asked the host for feedback on the dishes, which makes your crime even more serious."
"How would I know?" She placed the freshly washed fruit on a clean plate, looked up, and said, "I fed them bite by bite when they were little. How do you think I would know?"
So many people have come and gone from this house, most of them are newcomers, and all they know is that Qiao Wu in the past was a sycophantic lackey.
Little did she know that she had such a connection with her master's family.
“Perfect.” Qiao Wu turned around and looked at the chefs and servants in the kitchen. She had only recently awakened and hadn’t had time to hold a meeting at home to deal with Lu Ning’s matter. Many people were still observing her, and she didn’t mind using this opportunity to establish her authority.
"How the master treats me is the master's business. If I'm wrong, I'll accept the punishment. Similarly, regardless of whether you submit to me or what your intentions were before, from today onwards, as long as I am still the head steward, every one of you must be thoroughly familiar with the documents I issue. If you make a mistake, you'll bear the consequences yourself. Don't come asking me why later. Do you all understand?"
She spoke in a low voice, but in a quiet environment, it made people want to bow their heads.
Everyone else remained silent, but Li Shun was furious: "Qiao Wu, you're nothing but a dog! You actually think you're the master?! What right do you have to fire me?!"
The Lu residence is so large that Old Master Lu certainly doesn't have the energy to manage so many small matters. Back then, because he trusted the old housekeeper, he always gave the head housekeeper a lot of power. However, after Qiao Wu took over, many people thought she was young and stupid, so they forgot about this matter.
Qiao Wu picked up his phone and notified the security guard, his eyes calm: "I can get the security guard to throw you out, but you can't."
When the security guards came to arrest Li Shun, everyone realized that Lu Ning had been standing at the kitchen door the whole time, and they didn't know how long she had been there.
She didn't want to get up, but she had no choice since she was woken up. She was planning to get down and smash the bell.
But when she came down, she heard from the maid that Qiao Wu was in the kitchen, so she came over. She wondered if he saw that the dumplings had been knocked over and was making dumplings here to please her.
I never expected to stumble upon Qiao Wu showing off.
Lu Ning wondered blankly: When did Qiao Wu become so cool?
And when did you feed her?
Although she didn't really like those foods, she was too lazy to tell a bunch of people who didn't care about her, so she just avoided them during meals.
But... Qiao Wu remembers.
Having finished tidying up, Qiao Wu's expression had softened considerably. He carried breakfast to Lu Ning and asked, "Does your wound still hurt?"
"I told you I'm not in pain!" She paused, then realized what she meant and followed Qiao Wu to the restaurant, wailing as she went, "No, I'm in a lot of pain, so much pain that I can't go to school! Ask me for leave!"
With a clatter, Qiao Wu placed the plate on the table and turned back with a beaming smile: "What did you say?"
For no apparent reason, Lu Ning suddenly thought of the knife stuck in the cutting board that hadn't been pulled out yet, and she didn't dare to say anything.
"Eat up, the driver is already waiting." Qiao Wu said, turning to leave.
Lu Ning didn't want to eat alone in such a big restaurant: "Where are you going?"
"Wake up your uncle."
"!!!"
Lu Ning decisively picked up the shumai and followed.
Seeing her following closely behind, Qiao Wu chuckled and asked, "Why are you following me?"
Lu Ning's gaze swept around: "Morning exercise."
She doesn't know how to deal with Qiao Wu yet, but does Lu Yingchi not know?
Regardless of who gets the better of whom, this show is sure to be entertaining.
Qiao Wu could have predicted that Lu Yingchi would not react to Chen Ling. He was pushed to the limit yesterday and hadn't managed to chop off his hand, but he wouldn't just sit and wait to die. Not only that, he would also lock the door from the inside so that no one could get in.
But Qiao Wu didn't care about that at all. She went straight to the floor where Lu Yingchi's room was located, rummaged around behind a giant anime figure that was as tall as a person outside the door for a while, and took out a key.
Lu Ning: "???"
How did Qiao Wu know there was a key here?!
In that instant, Lu Ning's thirteen years of perseverance shattered.
She thought Qiao Wu only listened to her and was her most loyal lackey, but Qiao Wu actually had a key to Lu Yingchi's room!
Qiao Wu was closer to Lu Yingchi.
She's someone else's dog too!
Compared to Qiao Wu's recent change to being a bit fierce and disobedient, this realization was even harder for Lu Ning to accept.
So... the food might not be being fed to her, but to that stinky pig Lu Yingchi!
Lu Ning was so angry that her hands started to tremble. Before she could say anything, Qiao Wu had already opened the door and gone inside, so she could only follow immediately.
Ha, she wanted to see just how far these two would kiss behind her back.
Qiao Wu knew the layout of Lu Yingchi's room perfectly. Instead of going into the bedroom immediately, she turned on the stereo in his study. This man knew how to enjoy life; his stereo system cost several million yuan and the effect was quite good, making people feel as if they were there.
Including eerie, chilling, melodious, and mournful ghost music.
Lu Ning got goosebumps all over, thinking to herself, "What kind of childish method is this? Would Lu Yingchi be afraid of this?"
Ten seconds later, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the bedroom next door: "Holy shit!!!"
Lu Ning was so startled that she dropped her shumai.
Qiao Wu, who was waiting at the door, knocked gently: "Lu Yingchi, what's wrong?"
"Yes...yes..." Lu Yingchi didn't finish his sentence, and finally urged urgently, "Get in here!"
Qiao Wu then pushed open the door.
The bedroom was pitch black. Lu Ning, who was watching the drama unfold, peeked out and saw a large, bulging lump in the corner of the bed, shaking.
"Ha." She couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Lu Yingchi, you have really good lung capacity."
She felt strangely at peace; looking at it this way, Qiao Wu's methods towards her were actually quite gentle.
Hmph, she's still closer to Qiao Wu.
Upon hearing this sound, Lu Yingchi abruptly threw off the blanket covering his head.
He clutched a pillow tightly in his hands, his face pale and still in shock. His sluggish mind finally came to its senses.
Only Qiao Wu in this world knows what he is afraid of.
"6:40." Qiao Wu turned off the music and opened the curtains with the remote. "Not bad, you have time to have breakfast at home today."
Her body was warm from the sunlight, but Lu Yingchi, in his dazed state, felt ice-cold all over.
This woman is terrifying.
His voice was hoarse and trembled slightly with vulnerability: "Qiao Wu, I'm going to kill you."
“Well, before that…” Qiao Wu glanced at him, who was huddled at the head of the bed, and raised an eyebrow. “Stand up and talk first.”
Lu Yingchi: "..."
The room was instantly filled with Lu Ning's unrestrained laughter.
Lu Yingchi had never lost face like this before. He closed his eyes tightly, his chest heaving violently.
From today onwards, this family will have Qiao Wu but not him!
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