"Master Lin." Xue Cong greeted Lin Xuan Qi and quickly wiped the mud that was on her face with her sleeve.
Lin Xuan Qi nodded, acknowledging her, and said, "Be careful not to hurt yourself. Prepare one more portion for dinner; we have someone new joining the mansion."
"Yes, Master Lin." Xue Cong glanced and noticed that there was another person that came back with Lin Xuan Qi and Lee He Song.
The young master seemed to have fair and smooth skin.
And those eyelashes....
There was something off with the young master, she thought instinctively.
She quickly snapped out of her own thoughts and got to work.
Xue Cong hurriedly went to the kitchen and shouted for Yue Jie and Yue Xin to help her.
Liu Shi Shi raised an eyebrow at the interaction between Xue Cong and Lin Xuan Qi.
There might be something going on.
Her senses were rarely wrong.
Lin Xuan Qi led Liu Shi Shi to her room, which was in the same building as Lee He Song's room.
He left Liu Shi Shi on her own and went to the main hall to wait for dinner.
As he took a sip from his teacup, he recalled what he had seen earlier.
It was an exciting day for him, witnessing another side to the life in Hong Feng City.
Maybe he would have a chance to go deeper and research more about all these brothels.
Yes, it would be for research. He thought to himself silently.
After a while, Xue Cong came into the main hall and said, "Master Lin, dinner is ready."
He nodded and proceeded to move to the dining hall.
Xue Cong lowered her head, glanced at Lin Xuan Qi and stopped herself from asking about the new person that had joined the mansion.
She thought that it was best for Lin Xuan Qi to speak when he wanted.
That was what her parents had taught her.
With this thought, she followed him closely behind to the dining hall.
Lin Xuan Qi, who was unaware of what she was thinking about, sat down at the table and waited for Lee He Song and Liu Shi Shi.
"Master Lin." Yue Jie and Yue Xin greeted him.
They kept looking out at the entrance of the dining hall after that.
Yue Jie and Yue Xin were curious about the new person whom Xue Cong had mentioned.
It didn't take long for them to know the answer.
Lee He Song entered the dining hall with Liu Shi Shi.
And to everyone's surprise, Liu Shi Shi was dressed in a white dress, with silk embroidery that was different patterns of flowers on the collar and sleeves.
She looked pretty in it, which was a huge contrast to her young master look earlier.
If it wasn't for her long eyelashes, Lin Xuan Qi might not have recognized her.
"Let me introduce to you, Liu Shi Shi.
"Shi Shi, this is Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin.
"Liu Shi Shi will be joining us from today onwards, helping Master Lee in the security and also education."
Lin Xuan Qi stood up and introduced her.
Xue Cong shook her head twice to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.
"Come, let's sit down and enjoy the welcome dinner for Shi Shi."
Lin Xuan Qi said and sat down on his seat.
Before the others could make a move, Liu Shi Shi purposely sat beside Lin Xuan Qi.
She picked up a cup in front of her, filled it with wine from the wine bottle on the table and proposed a toast to Lin Xuan Qi.
"Thanks for the dinner, Master Lin. I will try my best to fulfill my duty."
As she did so, she brought her cup nearer to Lin Xuan Qi.
So close that Lin Xuan Qi could smell the nice faint jasmine scent of perfume that she was wearing.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and he quickly picked up his cup and drank from it.
Lin Xuan Qi wasn't used to it, and his ears reddened immediately.
Liu Shi Shi returned his toast, finished the cup of wine in a mouthful and glanced over at Xue Cong.
It was her turn to be surprised when she saw the expressions of Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin.
She had expected some reaction from Xue Cong but didn't expect Yue Jie to have any reaction.
The intrigue was getting deeper.
Xue Cong bit her lower lip and kept quiet.
What was Liu Shi Shi's relationship with Master Lin? She thought in her mind, over and over again.
Yue Jie locked her eyebrows with worries in her eyes.
If Liu Shi Shi was the lady owner of the mansion, things might be different soon.
Being brought up in an official's family, she knew the powers that the lady owner of a clan wields in matters of running the mansion.
Lin Xuan Qi had treated her and her sister more like someone who really cared for them.
She desperately didn't want any of it to change.
Yue Xin was younger, and her response was much simpler.
She looked up to Lin Xuan Qi and hoped he could help get revenge for her father.
And if Lin Xuan Qi got mesmerized by Liu Shi Shi, he might not want to help her later on.
Liu Shi Shi tried very hard to keep her laughter inside.
She wondered how far she could go to make them jealous of her.
And on top of that, she also wondered what Lin Xuan Qi had to be so attractive to Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin.
He had a knack for poetry; she acknowledged that.
If it wasn't for his talent in poetry, she wouldn't have agreed to join the mansion.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan Qi also had his own idea.
It was time to get back at Liu Shi Shi for what happened in the brothel earlier.
He ate the sumptuous meal prepared by Xue Cong quickly and waited.
When the others were also done, he stood up and said, "It's such a happy occasion tonight, why don't we..."
Lin Xuan Qi glanced over at Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin.