A day’s work ended smoothly, without any ripples.
Finally admitting the feelings in her heart, as the end of the shift approached, Lu Weizhu headed toward the changing room to change clothes, while Bai Yun stood outside.
She listened carefully to the rustling sounds inside the changing room, feeling inexplicably nervous.
“……”
Grasping the skirt of her maid outfit tightly, Bai Yun took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
“Ahem, ahem…”
After coughing twice and clearing her throat, Bai Yun loosened her grip on the skirt.
She adjusted her collar and hair.
“Weizhu, um, do you want to leave together this afternoon?”
Bai Yun extended an invitation.
Her tone was a bit flustered, timid even, completely lacking the usual steady and reliable demeanor she usually displayed.
“Weizhu? Are you there?”
Bai Yun reached out her hand, almost touching the door handle, but then abruptly pulled back.
Timid and hesitant, this version of herself felt strange.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Yun-jie, your voice was a little quiet just now. I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Inside the changing room, Lu Weizhu heard Bai Yun’s voice.
She had just taken off her maid outfit and was holding a shirt, ready to put it on.
Through the crack of the door, she caught sight of Bai Yun’s silhouette.
“Uh, ah, it’s nothing, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to leave together after work…cough cough! cough cough cough!”
Bai Yun was so nervous she started coughing violently, choked by her own saliva.
“Yun-jie, what’s wrong? Why are you coughing?”
“Cough, cough…It’s nothing, ha…I’m fine, just choked a bit.”
Bai Yun bent over, clutching her throat, never expecting herself to have such a clumsy day.
“…Be careful, Yun-jie…”
Inside, Lu Weizhu felt a bit speechless, yet worried about Bai Yun.
She quickly changed her clothes and pushed open the changing room door.
“Ah, I’ll be careful. Um, about what I said earlier, Weizhu, could you think about it?”
Fidgeting with her hands, Bai Yun looked anxiously at Lu Weizhu, now dressed in short sleeves and long pants.
Lu Weizhu remained silent, slightly puzzled.
She scanned Bai Yun from head to toe.
For some reason, she felt Yun-jie had been acting strange these past few days—not doing anything weird per se, but her tone was completely different from the Bai Yun she remembered.
“Yun-jie, you’ve been acting a little strange lately. Is it your period?”
Lu Weizhu’s eyes were full of concern as she looked at Bai Yun.
She worried about Bai Yun’s health, afraid something might be wrong.
“Eh, eh?”
Bai Yun’s eyes widened.
She hadn’t expected such a response.
If it hadn’t been Lu Weizhu, she probably would have snapped.
But since it was Lu Weizhu, she only felt embarrassed.
Her legs pressed tightly together, Bai Yun lowered her head slightly.
She felt really frustrated.
“No, that’s not it. So, can we leave work together today, Weizhu?”
Denying Lu Weizhu’s suggestion, Bai Yun was fixated on leaving work together.
She had finally mustered the courage to ask and didn’t want to be rejected so easily…
Unfortunately, rejection seemed inevitable.
“Ah, sorry…I’m going to deliver a gift to a friend today.”
Lu Weizhu scratched her head apologetically, her face full of regret.
“Sorry, Yun-jie. Let’s leave together tomorrow.”
Although she wanted to take a walk with Bai Yun, considering the need to please Bai Lu, Lu Weizhu had to painfully decline. “…i…”
Bai Yun stood rooted in place, her hands hanging limply by her sides.
Rejected!?
A deep sense of helplessness enveloped her, and Bai Yun’s entire spirit sagged.
“…Um…I’ll go first. Yun-jie, next time I’ll treat you to dinner to make up for it.”
Seeing Bai Yun’s dejected expression, Lu Weizhu felt a pang of guilt.
Carrying an embroidered gift bag, she said goodbye and left the café.
“…Sigh…the feeling of being rejected…so powerless…”
Inside the café, Bai Yun sat dazedly in her chair.
But her sadness soon vanished.
“But next time I get to go to her house, maybe that’s a good thing?”
Bai Yun blinked.
She thought to herself, this time she definitely wouldn’t run away.
Meanwhile, after leaving the café, Lu Weizhu strolled down the street, scrolling through Bai Lu’s Friend Circle.
She scrolled down to a post from several years ago where Bai Lu was flaunting her family’s Zhuangyuan.
On a whim, Lu Weizhu took the images from the post and searched them in a browser.
Unexpectedly, the search revealed the location.
Most likely, this was Bai Lu’s home.
Well, it had to be said—
Bai Lu was truly wealthy.
Her house was so extravagant it could be easily traced.
“Hope she’s home…”
Lu Weizhu looked down at her phone.
She hailed a taxi, gave the address, and got into the passenger seat, squinting her eyes.
She was a little car sick, but it wasn’t too bad to bear.
After dozing for a while, she opened her eyes again.
It was already quite dark.
They had arrived in the suburbs.
The taxi stopped beside a white wall.
Lu Weizhu got out and paid the fare.
“Two hundred yuan, so expensive.”
Looking at the payment record on her phone, Lu Weizhu felt a bit pained.
Reluctantly glancing at the record a moment longer, she began to look around.
The white wall was long, stretching beyond sight.
Every so often, a spherical lamp sat atop the wall.
Through the wall, Lu Weizhu could see trees and some creeping ivy.
Crickets chirped in her ears, making her nervous.
“It’s fine…it’s fine…I’m just delivering something, then I’ll leave.”
Lu Weizhu rubbed her mouth and walked slowly along the wall.
After about five minutes, she finally saw the main gate.
The iron gate was adorned with elaborate Dragon and Phoenix Pattern engravings.
Two Security Pavilions stood at the entrance, with two Strong Security Guards on duty.
Their black uniforms looked imposing under the dusk light.
“…”
Lu Weizhu swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“Hello.”
Approaching one of the guards, Lu Weizhu looked at the expressionless man.
She opened WeChat on her phone and deleted all messages sent to Bai Lu marked with a Red Exclamation Mark.
“What business do you have here?”
“I’m looking for Miss Bai Lu. Is she here?”
Lu Weizhu tried to stay calm.
Her tone was steady, and although her clothes weren’t expensive, they were clean and neat—nothing like a beggar or someone asking for favors.
The female Security Guard scrutinized Lu Weizhu carefully.
“I know her. Look, she’s on my Friend List.”
Lu Weizhu showed Bai Lu’s profile in her Friend List.
“Please wait a moment.”
After scanning Lu Weizhu’s face once more, the Security Guard jogged away.
Lu Weizhu looked around, finding no place to sit, so she stood quietly in place.
The night wind tousled her hair, and she felt a chill.