"Miss Jiang, I have a daughter who just graduated from college this year and hasn't found a job yet. She doesn't have a place to stay either. The prep cook in the kitchen just left, so I wanted to ask if you could let my daughter try out for this job?"
After all, the only woman she had met in this villa was Jiang Lai. The aunt knew Jiang Lai's identity couldn't see the light of day, so while she secretly despised her, she still had to treat her with utmost respect on the surface. She hoped Jiang Lai could whisper a word or two in front of the gentleman to slip her daughter in.
Jiang Lai gave her a glance and then smiled.
"Auntie, the house isn't mine. You need to talk to the housekeeper. Oh, by the way, don't put sugar in the bird's nest, and send it to my room."
After speaking, Jiang Lai went straight inside, and the aunt silently curled her lips at her retreating figure.
"Bird's nest... Such a good thing, do you even deserve to eat it?"
——
"Aren't you afraid of Shen An retaliating against you for treating him like this? After all, he's Shen Liao's brother."
Jiang Lai looked down, browsing her Weibo account, and saw an illustration the original owner posted not long ago.
It was an ocean under the starry sky, realistic yet full of artistic conception, with tiny words dotted on the shimmering waves when you looked closely.
She zoomed in, then zoomed in again.
It was Liao.
Well, the original owner really did love Shen Liao deeply.
"Her drawings are quite good."
She also had quite a few fans, over 300,000.
She had a bit of fame as an artist in the circle.
With this skill, even if she left Shen Liao, the income from drawing would be enough for her to live a worry-free life.
Yet, the original owner developed a bad habit of spending lavishly to fit into the high society circles. Her annual income from drawing wasn't even enough to buy one bag.
Moreover, the original owner was also an amateur cosplayer, creating and performing her own works, with a large group of people in the comments calling her their husband.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Last update, March 4th."
It's been more than half a year without an update now. Calculating the time, it coincided with the move into Shen Liao's house, after which the original owner didn't create anything else, completely focused on Shen Liao and the socialite circles.
Indeed, she no longer lacked money, much richer than before.
"Now her career path is clear, isn't it?"
"I can't draw, but I'm good at makeup."
"The original owner's skills are all retained, you can try them."
Drawing, huh.
Jiang Lai, following her memory, dragged a box out from under the bed, opened it, and inside was a whole set of drawing equipment.
Turning the pen, Jiang Lai silently scrolled through her phone. Soon, her attention was caught by a recruitment notice.
The "Absolute Survival" recruitment campaign, the content was the original game character Ophina. The prize, besides the cash reward, was the chance to become a signed artist for the Light-sensing Game Company, with lucrative benefits.
Ophina is a character in a novel, with silver short hair, a single eye, and tattoos on her face and arms, a mechanical arm on her right hand, the Wasteland Queen rising from the wasteland, riding her modified motorcycle across hundreds of thousands of miles of wasteland.
In the dead of night, the faint sound of charcoal pencils rubbing against paper could be heard from the room.
Under a dim warm light, the woman leaned over, drawing with focused concentration.
Little Buding knew Jiang Lai had a focus and learning ability far beyond ordinary people, so she hadn't interrupted her.
When she looked up again, the sky outside was slightly brightening. Jiang Lai stretched her stiff neck and looked at her upside-down phone.
For the whole night, Shen Liao hadn't come back.
Quite normal, he often did this before.
This was just one of the places he temporarily stayed, coming and going as he pleased, without needing to inform anyone.
On the nights when Shen Liao didn't show up, the original owner would write one little essay after another on her private Instagram. Those sweet to the core texts Jiang Lai really couldn't stand. After glancing at them a couple of times and feeling overwhelmed, she simply deleted all the content on Instagram, leaving only a picture of a birthday cake posted on last year's birthday, with the caption: Happy Birthday to Me.
After dealing with these, Jiang Lai went to sleep.
Just as she was deeply asleep, her phone seemed to vibrate for a moment. Jiang Lai frowned, pulling her head into the blanket. Soon, the phone stopped vibrating. After a while, the tightly closed bedroom door opened, and a tall figure appeared at the doorway.
There seemed to be the sound of water in the bathroom, waking Jiang Lai up. Before she could open her eyes, the bed beside her sank considerably, and soon after, her body was enveloped in a wave of heat.
"Get off."
Jiang Lai frowned and directly kicked towards the source of the force. The next second, her ankle was grabbed forcefully by a hand, which then forcibly pulled it outward.
"Jiang Lai, you have some nerve, daring to kick me?"
The man's low, raspy voice was at her ear, carrying a bit of anger and even more suppressed impulse.
Jiang Lai, sleepy-eyed, glanced at him. In a daze, Shen Liao was undoing the buttons on his shirt with one hand, a frosty look on his handsome, pale face. His thin lips were pursed, and the black eyes beneath the golden-rimmed glasses were staring deeply at her.
This damn man, what's he up to so early in the morning?
She was like a dazzling red rose, blooming unrestrainedly in front of him. Controlled by the urge to pluck, only to be pricked full of holes, leaving him both angry and reluctant to destroy it.
"Why did you hit Shen An?"
Jiang Lai, weary and sleepy, with tears at the corners of her eyes, slightly red eyes, and her voice extremely hoarse.
"He insulted me."
The young lady's voice carried some grievance and discontent, drowsily inching into his arms, her fair arms wrapped around his waist, lodging a low complaint.
"He said I spent your money, called me shameless."
Shen Liao pursed his lips, displeasure flickering in his eyes.
That kid dared to insult her?
One should give face even when hitting a dog, let alone this girl who refused to endure any losses. No wonder she would fight with him.
Shen An deserved the beating.
"Your supplementary card, take it back, I don't want it anymore."
"Keep it."
"I can make my own money, anyway, I don't want it."
With that, Jiang Lai closed her eyes.
It was already 7:30 in the morning, and Shen Liao was preparing to get up to leave, a meeting awaited.
"Please don't go, stay with me a little longer."
"I have things to do, you sleep on your own."
After saying this, Shen Liao turned over and got off the bed. Although the movement paused slightly, his attitude remained firm.
Jiang Lai watched him with a tense face.
"I was insulted by your brother, and you don't even comfort me."
"You hit him too."
Jiang Lai's eyes turned red.
"Anyway, you're not allowed to leave today. If you go, don't come back next time."