Mo Yeji stiffened, her carefully curated innocent act breaking down, 'When did Chen Yiran get this smart?' she mused before explaining, "Why are you saying it like that Yiran? I was thinking for your fans! How could you even think I have an ulterior motive!" she started crying.
Before Chen Yiran could respond, a maid approached, carefully balancing a glass of juice on a tray. Chen Yiran's gaze flickered to the scene, catching something off.
Suddenly, Chen Yiran felt the warmth seep through the fabric of her dress, before she registered what had happened.
As the maid reached the table, she 'accidentally' tilted the tray, sending the juice spilling over Chen Yiran's lap.
A deliberate mistake.
The liquid wasn't scalding, but it was enough to stain the delicate fabric of Chen Yiran's cloth.
Mo Yeji shot up, feigning horror that she didn't take energy to perfect it, "Juliette! How could you be so careless?!" she shrieked, scolding the maid with a dramatic flair, hands flailing as if she just witnessed a crime.
Chen Yiran, however, watched the spectacle unfold, her expression unreadable. 'Mo Yeji knows this maid's name? They obviously must've conversed so many times!'
The fake concern. The overacting.
Interesting.
She slowly set down her juice and looked at the maid. Juliette straightened, her expression carefully neutral with her tensed shoulders.
"You idiot! and you dare not apologize!" Mo Yeji snapped again. She seemed more rattled than the maid.
Juliette bowed quickly, "I'm so sorry, Miss Chen," she said, but there was something off about her apology. Too rushed. Too flat.
Chen Yeji reached for a napkin, dabbing at the stain with practiced ease, her expression unreadable. She let the silence stretch, let them squirm in it.
Mo Yeji cleared her throat, "Yiran, are you okay? Do you need to change?"
Chen Yiran finally looked up, her gaze settling on Mo Yeji, cool and detached, "No need,"
Mo Yeji hesitated as if she had expected a bigger reaction, "This maid should be punished. Honestly, you're way too soft on your staff."
"Am I?" She then added, "Then I should deal with them. Yeji you should leave."
Mo Yeji blinked, "What?"
Even Juliette was shocked by Chen Yiran's conclusion.
"You said I need to discipline my staff. I want to do that now." There was no anger in her tone, no open hostility, just a quiet coldness that made Mo Yeji's breath hitched.
"You should leave, okay?" she repeated, this time softer, yet somehow more cutting.
Mo Yeji's fingers curled into fists at her sides. She had wanted something from this visit, control, leverage, something else. And now she was being dismissed like an afterthought.
Mo Yeji inhaled sharply, forcing a smile before her eyes swiped past Juliette's who seemed to be begging her for help. She grabbed her purse, "Of course. Rest well."
Chen Yiran nodded. She then watched her walk to the door. The moment the front door closed, Chen Yiran exhaled, then turned her gaze to Juliette, still standing there, stiff and silent.
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to.
"You're fired."
The maid jolted, falling on her knees, "Miss Chen, I-I didn't mean to...."
"Leave or get dragged out, Your choice."
The maid hesitated, glancing toward the door as if hoping Mo Yeji might intervene. But she was gone. Chen Yiran had dismissed her like nothing and she couldn't go down just like that. And had continued drinking her juice.
"Miss Chen, I only did what Miss Mo asked me to do!" Chen Yiran glanced at her, Juliette saw this as a sign and continued, "She paid me to pour hot coffee on you, but I didn't! I changed it to juice!"
"To think you're proud. You want me to applaud you or what?" Chen Yiran asked her, still finding the audacity of the maid high.
Juliette's face paled, "I-I thought you should know, Miss Chen. I wasn't trying to..."
"Pathetic!" she set down her glass with an audible clink, "Trying to save your own ass after realizing you're on your own! Miss Mo should've paid you enough because this is job suicide, you can't do it without an insurance."
Juliette opened her mouth, but no words came out. Chen Yiran had never said such vulgar words before. She looked desperate, her fingers twitching in her apron as if searching for an excuse.
"Miss Chen," Butler Lu interrupted them, "Miss Camille is here for your pilates class." he announced.
"Butler Lu," She stood up ready to leave, "Juliette here is fired." She tilted her head slightly, "You made your choice, and now deal with the consequence!"
On realizing it was her end, that was the highest paying job she ever had and she was about to lose it just because of her own stupidity and greed, "Miss Chen, Please..." She cried out but Chen Yiran was long walking away.
Chen Yiran walked towards the gym where she previously saw the Camille walking inside.
"Miss Chen, we need to get you back in shape," Camille said to Chen Yiran.
Wang Zichen sat in Dr. Travis Zhang's office, his expression as unreadable as ever. He was here for his routine check-up, though if he were being honest, he didn't particularly see the need for it. The only reason he still showed up was because Travis had been his doctor for years, one of the few people he tolerated in his life.
Of course, if you asked Travis, he'd say something completely different.
"You know," Travis leaned back on the sofa, smirking, "Most people look forward to seeing their bestfriend. But you? You always have this 'I'd rather be anywhere else face whenever you step into my office' "
Wang Zichen didn't react, "Every minute I waste here, I'd be making lots of Golds. And also you're not my best friend."
Travis placed a hand over his chest in mock offense, "You wound me. After all these years?" He shook his head, "Unbelievable. Now you have a daughter you want to put me aside! What is her name again?"
Wang Zichen didn't answer.
Travis smirked, "Oh, come on. I know her name. I just wanted to see if you'd say it. Wang Meiyue, right?" He let out a low whistle, "Cute name. And rumor has it..." he dragged out the words, watching for a reaction, "you were there during her birth."
Wang Zichen's jaw clenched slightly.
"Ah, so it was true," Travis grinned, satisfied, "Not only were you there, but you even went home afterward. And even carried her after she was born. Impressive."
"What are you fishing for?"
"Me, fishing? No way!" he then laughed and added, "I already have a credible source. I know everything."
Wang Zichen gave him a flat look.
"How is your relationship with Miss Chen faring? Any improvement?"
His jaw ticked as he blurted out, "She's irritable! I still can't believe she threw a pillow at me!"
"What?" Travis shouted, Wang Zichen realized what he had said, "Chen Yiran hit you with a pillow! No way! OH! this is priceless." he then lost it, he laughed so hard.
Wang Zichen exhaled sharply, glaring at Travis who didn't seem to care at the moment.
"Seriously, What did you even do?" Travis said, wiping his eyes, "I just can't..." he started laughing again, "She has transformed!"
"Are you done?"
"Not even close," Travis said, "Because I have a warning for you, new mothers? They don't just throw pillows. They escalate. They turn to momzillas. One day, it'll be a shoe, then a hairbrush, then a knife if you pissed her off that much," he shrugged, "Don't look at me like that, I've seen it happen!"
Before Wang Zichen could snap back, the door swung open and Assistant Qin strolled in, holding Wang Zichen's phone up.
"Director, Miss Chen is on the line."