☆, Discovered
Xiao Banli hurriedly walked along the path leading to the Ouyang family’s open-air swimming pool, holding a set of clothes.
“Hey, which house are you from?” As she neared the swimming pool, the guard stopped her, reaching out to block her way.
Xiao Banli quickly stopped, her head slightly lowered, saying, “I’m from the Third Master’s house. I’m here to find Young Master Que. I have clothes for him.”
“You’re that ugly maid, right?” Since Ouyang Que brought his aristocratic girlfriend home once, the atmosphere in the Ouyang family changed completely. They began paying attention to everything related to the Third Master’s household, from Xiao Fen’s mood to the flowers and plants in the Third Master’s garden. Due to a lack of staff, Xiao Banli was often called to help in the front hall. With her precise knife skills, she frequently prepared fruits and melons, and rumors about the “ugly maid” from the Third Master’s house spread throughout the Ouyang family.
Xiao Banli pressed her lips together, remaining silent.
The guard chuckled, unlocking the railing, “Young Master Que is at the innermost swimming pool. Don’t go to the wrong one.”
Xiao Banli nodded and walked toward the pool, so large it could not be described with words. It was said that the spring water here was sourced from a cave in the mountain, and the construction and manpower involved were nothing to be understated.
The closer she got to the inner pool, the fewer people there were. The pools here were all surrounded by rocks. Xiao Banli saw Ouyang Que leaning against the rocks, wearing sunglasses and lounging lazily. She walked over to the nearby clothes rack, took his dirty clothes off, and as she looked up, something seemed to fall from the right side of her face. Xiao Banli instinctively reached out to catch it, and a piece of fake skin landed in her palm. She quickly pinched it in her hand.
Xiao Banli glanced around and noticed a restroom not far away. She hurriedly walked toward it, keeping her head lowered. The restroom was empty, with no one inside. Xiao Banli let out a sigh of relief and walked to the mirror at the back. She planned to reattach the fake skin to her face.
“Mm, don’t move.”
A lazy voice suddenly came from the stall behind her, startling Xiao Banli. She turned to look at the closed door, and a second later, the voice came again.
“I asked you to bring me clothes, but look at you, you’ve lured me here instead.” The voice, low and amused, continued from the stall.
Xiao Banli clenched her hand, quickly picking up the fake skin that had fallen into the sink. She lowered her head and prepared to leave.
“Clang…” The broom and mop she had left in the corner were knocked over by her foot, immediately catching the attention of the person in the stall. Xiao Banli, terrified, watched as the door to the stall began to open.
She quickly ran toward the main door, but before she could reach it, someone grabbed her from behind. Xiao Banli panicked and tried to break free, but she was thrown against the wall.
“Why are you running?” The person asked coldly.
When Xiao Banli looked up, she came face to face with Yuan Muxiao’s face. She gasped, realizing that the voices she had heard earlier between a man and a woman were familiar. She hadn’t expected it to be Yuan Muxiao and Zhu Yuanbin.
“Ah, it’s you, Banli…” Yuan Muxiao pretended to be surprised, covering her mouth.
Xiao Banli quickly lowered her head, clutching the fake skin in her palm. “Xiao Xiu, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just came to use the restroom. Now I have to go out and bring Young Master some clothes.”
“Banli, come here.” Yuan Muxiao, hiding her hand behind her, gestured for her to wait. Then she pulled Xiao Banli around to the other side of the stall, pushed open the door, and shoved her inside. Xiao Banli squinted her eyes and obediently followed her inside.
Yuan Muxiao squeezed in after her, locking the door behind them. The small stall was now crowded with two people.
Xiao Banli still kept her head lowered, but the next second, Yuan Muxiao lifted her chin, making her look up into Yuan Muxiao’s cold, beautiful eyes.
“Banli, that ugly face on your right side, it’s fake, isn’t it?” On the lower corner of Xiao Banli’s right cheek, there was a patch missing, revealing smooth, delicate skin underneath.
Xiao Banli squeezed the fake skin in her hand. Realizing she had already been discovered, she could only nod. “It’s fake, but since I wanted to cover my face, I just wanted to live quietly and peacefully in the Ouyang family.”
“Heh, I never expected you to cover your face.” Yuan Muxiao sneered, “How could I believe that you just want to live peacefully in the Ouyang family?”
“Who knows if you’re pretending to be ugly because you can only stay in the third master’s house? Looking for an opportunity to tear off half your face and seduce the young master, seduce Lord Ouyang?”
Xiao Banli didn’t respond or argue.
Yuan Muxiao could now be with Zhu Yuanbin, but it was clear that Zhu Yuanbin had something she wanted. The problem was, Yuan Muxiao was only sixteen, and Ouyang Honghui didn’t play with underage girls.
“Tell me, is that what you’re thinking?” Yuan Muxiao pushed the silent Xiao Banli. She had always been jealous of Xiao Banli’s appearance in the orphanage. At thirteen or fourteen, Xiao Banli had been so beautiful that people couldn’t even look at her directly. As she grew older, she became even more attractive. If it weren’t for Xiao Banli always making herself look dirty, she would have been taken away by someone long ago.
When she arrived at the Ouyang family, she decided that if Xiao Banli was her biggest obstacle, she would find a way to get rid of her. But she never expected that right after the training, Xiao Banli’s right side of her face was ruined, just as she had hoped.
Who would have thought that Xiao Banli’s face was only fake damage?
“Yuan Muxiao, my thoughts are simple. I just want to stay and survive in the third master’s house. I haven’t thought about anything else.” Xiao Banli said with a hint of impatience.
“Oh? Is that so?” Yuan Muxiao stared at Xiao Banli for a long time. “Then, Banli, could you do me a favor?”
Xiao Banli pursed her lips, neither nodding or shaking her head.
Yuan Muxiao continued, “If you don’t agree, I’ll tell Zhu Yuanbin that your face was fake damage. He’ll definitely come looking for you. You don’t know, he’s told me many times that it’s such a pity your face was ruined.”
The fake skin in Xiao Banli’s palm was already wrinkled from being clenched tightly. Yuan Muxiao’s words hit the most fearful part of her. If Zhu Yuanbin found out she had deceived him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“What do you want?”
“It’s simple. You make sure Ouyang Que moves me to serve by his side.” Yuan Muxiao said without any shame.
Xiao Banli immediately furrowed her brows, almost blurting out the question, ‘Isn’t your goal Ouyang Honghui?’ In the end, Xiao Banli swallowed the words, narrowing her eyes.
“I don’t have that ability.”
“You do, Banli. You have to believe me, you can do it. I want to leave Zhu Yuanbin, but he won’t let me go. The things he promised me, he’s never done. Now that I want to leave him, the best way is for another master to personally request that I serve them.” Yuan Muxiao said through gritted teeth.
Xiao Banli looked at her. “There are so many masters, why does it have to be Ouyang Que?”
—
Xiao Banli returned to the poolside, but Ouyang Que was no longer in the pool. The new clothes had already been taken away, and only the wrinkled old clothes remained hanging on the clothes rack.
After taking them down, she retraced her steps. Oddly enough, when she entered earlier, there had been at least some people in the pool. She knew they were the young masters and misses from the other main families of the Ouyang family, so she had kept her head lowered even more. But now, the pool was empty, and the vast space felt a bit eerie. Her steps quickened.
“Seems you’ve really grown bold, using women to elevate your family’s status in the Ouyang household.”
As she approached the bushes near the door, a mocking voice came from within. Xiao Banli’s steps paused. That voice… it felt oddly familiar. She crouched down and peeked through a gap in the bushes.
Sure enough, standing before her was Ouyang Que, leaning against a tree trunk. There were several men and women standing in front of him, all dressed elegantly. Their posture, with hands on hips, clearly conveyed their master-like demeanor.
“You talk big. Teiris was clearly my good friend before, so how did she end up as your girlfriend? And now you’re using her, making sure your mom gets treated well, huh?” It was the same girl who had spoken earlier, raising her head haughtily as she questioned the silent Ouyang Que.
Ouyang Que lazily glanced at Ouyang Huihui. “Huihui, I have the right to have a girlfriend, but I didn’t use her. She came to my house on her own request. You can ask her.”
“You’re lying. She even got you a job at the Ouyang Group. How could you have done that before? My dad wouldn’t even look at you. When your artist father left, he refused to sign you over to my dad to take care of. My dad was furious. How could he ever have let you work at his company?” Ouyang Huihui gritted her teeth.
Ouyang Que pressed his lips together and stared directly at Ouyang Huihui. “The Ouyang Group is not your father’s company. I share the Ouyang surname too. I’m just here to get some air, but you all barge in. What are you trying to do?”
“Ouyang Que, don’t get too full of yourself!! Your dad is never coming back. Your family is just barely surviving with you and your mom. You should save yourself the trouble,” Ouyang Huihui said angrily. She held a grudge against Ouyang Que, who seemed like an unkillable steel figure. The worst part was, he had caused a huge fight between her parents last time, and her father nearly made her mother sick in bed.
Ouyang Que sneered. “Barely surviving is still surviving. Huihui, you should worry more about your little sister.”
“Ouyang Que!!”
“Young Master, you’re here?” Just as Ouyang Huihui was about to lash out, this abrupt voice interrupted, and everyone turned to look at Xiao Banli, who had stepped through the bushes.
“Who are you? What are you doing here? Get out!” Ouyang Huihui pointed directly at Xiao Banli.
Xiao Banli lowered her head and replied, neither servile nor arrogant, “Miss, sorry. Young Master wore the wrong clothes, so I’m here to change them for him.”
“Oh? Hmph, such an ugly maid.” Ouyang Huihui raised her eyebrows and glanced at Ouyang Que with a smug expression. “Your family is only worthy of this kind of maid.”