Although Dong Yun’er was Lin Huanhuan’s personal maid, she didn’t need to sleep in the same bed. Once the other had left, the room was once again empty, with only her inside.
At last, she could review everything that had happened.
The tense expression on Lin Huanhuan’s face instantly relaxed into one of delight. “Although things turned out a bit differently than I expected, no matter what, the matter is more or less settled.”
“Ye Jinxiu might not utterly hate me, but at the very least, she should dislike me quite a lot. According to the original story, I don’t have many scenes teasing her for now. The next heroine won’t appear so soon anyway.”
“Hoo.” Lin Huanhuan let out a long breath. “Finally, I can rest for a while. I really need to vent all the pent-up frustration in my heart.”
“And as for this heart demon business, it usually only tempts me toward evil when I’m listless, in poor condition, or faced with a tough choice. In simple terms, it’s just like a harassing phone call—annoying, but not difficult to handle.”
“As long as I conquer evil thoughts with my willpower, it’s a piece of cake for me.”
Hands on her hips, Lin Huanhuan gave a triumphant cheer, then leaped straight onto the soft bed, hugging the fluffy quilt and burying her little face into a pillow made of cloud brocade.
“So comfy. I’ve been busy all day—I’m exhausted! I need a good sleep to recover.”
*****
On the other side, Dong Yun’er, who had just walked out of the room, had her face instantly darken like water.
“Deliberately nitpicking Miss, trying to figure out what really happened.”
She gritted her teeth. “Damn it, she actually figured things out with such a meaningless reason?”
In truth, Dong Yun’er had known from the start that Lin Huanhuan hadn’t swapped souls. After all, after so many years spent together day and night, if someone had swapped her soul, how could she possibly hide it from Dong Yun’er?
But the young lady she’d carefully raised wasn’t heading in the direction she’d planned, and seeing her about to escape control, how could she just sit back and watch, doing nothing?
“I’ve worked so hard for so long to guide Miss to become what she is now, and I’m about to fail because of something so useless?”
“How could that be!” Dong Yun’er’s face regained its fighting spirit. “Miss has to be the villain! Only that way can I take care of her for a lifetime.”
“Miss going down a righteous path? Absolutely not!”
She showed a chilling smile. Though it was a clear sunny day, she sent chills down anyone’s spine.
“Senior Sister Dong, can I ask you for a—”
A young junior sister came over, intending to ask for help, but caught a glimpse of the terrifying expression on Dong Yun’er’s face and was instantly frozen with fear.
Dong Yun’er switched faces at lightning speed, smiling gently. “Oh, it’s Junior Sister Li. Is there something you need?”
Seeing this, Junior Sister Li scratched her head, suspecting she’d been hallucinating last night from cultivating too late—how could gentle, kind Senior Sister Dong look like that?
“Oh, it’s like this. When I was practicing my technique here, for some reason my stomach started hurting. Senior Sister Dong, could you show me?”
“Of course, no problem. Run through the technique for me once, and I’ll see exactly what’s going on.”
A short while later, after the problem was solved, Junior Sister Li’s face broke into a broad grin, thanking Dong Yun’er over and over.
“Thank you so much, Senior Sister Dong! Without you, I’d have no idea what to do, and I wouldn’t dare ask the Elders who teach the techniques.”
“No need to thank me. We’re fellow disciples, after all—it’s only right that we help each other out.”
Dong Yun’er gave a flawless smile, and Junior Sister Li was completely touched.
“Still, I just have to thank you, Senior Sister Dong. I’ll go now. Goodbye, Senior Sister.”
“Goodbye.”
Dong Yun’er waved with a smile until the other girl disappeared from view.
“Thank goodness my perfectly crafted persona didn’t slip up—otherwise, it would’ve been a pain to explain. Next time, I need to be more careful, or I’ll get exposed and that would be trouble.”
To make her own actions easier, and to raise her young lady better, Dong Yun’er always maintained the persona of a gentle, caring big sister—her popularity even surpassing Ye Jinxiu.
There were even rumors among the disciples that serving as Lin Huanhuan’s maid was a waste of her talent—some even said she was being forced. Of course, neither she nor Lin Huanhuan cared much about those rumors.
It was exactly this carefully maintained image that let her ambush Ye Jinxiu so smoothly that day. Otherwise, she would’ve been found out long ago.
“No, Miss absolutely cannot keep going further down the wrong path. As her personal maid, I have to steer her back onto the right road and turn her back into that wretched heiress!”
Dong Yun’er gave herself a pep talk. Though she was clearly plotting something bad, the way she spoke so righteously, it sounded like she was saving the world.
As soon as she got back to her quarters, Dong Yun’er heard Lin Huanhuan’s wails coming from the room. At first, it sounded like the roar of some unknown creature and scared off every disciple passing by.
“Yun’er, where are you? I’m starving to death! Hurry and get me something to eat—I’m about to die of hunger!”
“Hmm, Miss is hungry?”
At those words, Dong Yun’er’s spirit instantly lifted. Looking up, she saw the Golden Crow already hanging high in the sky—it was already noon, time for lunch, and by her calculations, Miss was indeed due to eat.
“I’m here, Miss.” Dong Yun’er hurriedly replied, “No need to worry, Miss. I’ll get food ready for you right away—it’ll be done in no time, really!”
“Hurry up, hurry up! I feel like my stomach is about to eat my belly—if you’re slow, you’ll only see my belly left!”
“How could something like that even happen?” Dong Yun’er couldn’t help but complain.
“But this is good too. Well then, the first step in luring Miss into depravity starts with filling her belly. Let’s go!”
Reaching the kitchen, Dong Yun’er looked at the dazzling array of utensils before her, lips curving up. “What should I make?”
“No, I shouldn’t be fussing over this,” Dong Yun’er suddenly thought. “If I want Miss to go bad again, this is the way to do it! Only this way can I succeed!”
Muttering to herself, Dong Yun’er quickly prepared a heap of ingredients. Before long, she’d whipped up a table full of dishes with enticing color, aroma, and flavor, and carried them into the room.
“Miss, you must be starving—come and try these.”
Dong Yun’er filled the table with dishes, smiling warmly.
Looking as if she were about to wither away, Lin Huanhuan caught a whiff of the aroma and instantly revived, flitting over to the table as if teleporting, her eyes shining. “Wow, you made so much food!”
“Well then, I won’t stand on ceremony. Watch me eat, eat, eat!”
Like a hamster, Lin Huanhuan began wolfing down food, her cheeks bulging as she kept cramming more and more into her mouth.