Chapter 185

Page Forty-One: Lin Ziyè’s Past

Mother asked, “Can you earn money as a maid too?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qíngfēi’s eyes rolled.

“Otherwise, why would they travel across the ocean to work in a foreign country? Hiring servants is something only the wealthy can do. Forget about Fànnī and her level of maids, even the service fees from general household management agencies have skyrocketed!”

At this point, this nouveau riche who was fishing for an ulterior motive narrowed his eyes.

“So, will Sister Wēi be willing to work at my house? I can offer you higher income than now, along with five insurances… uhgh!”

As usual, the financial assault didn’t work on Mother, who silently pinched Xiao Qíngfēi’s face, shaping it into a circle, square, and then a Rulox triangle.

Thinking about how to call Líng Xiǎoyè out alone, I spoke to Xiàlù.

“Hey, aren’t you going to attend the professional maid course?”

She waved her hand, “No, Shopkeeper Shēnyáng said that each of our personalities is unique, there’s no need to trim us into the same shape.”

A refreshing way of putting it.

The经营理念 of Kamehameha is completely different from here. Natural traits give maids different attributes. Shopkeeper Tortoise uses their most natural side as a selling point. If Peach Cat is a meticulously prepared French gourmet meal, then Kamehameha is various raw dishes.

Only, Xiàlù clearly makes people uneasy.

“Líng… Your fiancé doesn’t agree with this idea?”

“The shopkeeper values us maids, while Zǐyè values all kinds of maid outfits. Today’s training is just to make everyone in the store better match their clothes… People are slaves to their clothes, that’s almost his philosophy. Can you imagine a maid café displaying maid outfits with text explanations like this?”

Xiàlù’s tone was helpless, completely lacking her usual defiance and arrogance. She was also exhausted by her fiancé’s illness.

Xiao Qíngfēi sighed, “He actually prefers clothes over people? Neither me nor my sister are that twisted!”

Mother asked, “How did he become like this? People don’t just… become psychologically twisted without reason, right?”

Xiàlù hesitated, then said, “I only heard rumors. It’s said he had a personal maid when he was young, but one day, that maid disappeared, leaving behind a warm maid outfit.”

“Suddenly disappearing and leaving only clothes?”

Mother was surprised by this inexplicable phenomenon.

“Yes, but it’s not over. When he asked his father about the maid, he was told that no maid was ever hired in the family.”

Feeling uneasy, Xiao Qíngfēi shouted, “Wait! Is this a horror story?”

“This is what the Lin family told me, it happened before I met Zǐyè. Even if I ask him, he won’t tell me anything. So the truth can’t be verified.”

“No, maybe it can.”

I propped up my chin and asked, “When did this happen?”

“It might have been over a decade ago, I’m not sure.”

I asked again, “Was his mother already dead back then?”

“I guess so, after all, Aunt passed away when he was very young… Wait, how did Sister Lingmèng know that Zǐyè’s mother had passed away?”

Oops, I let slip a secret.

But it wasn’t a big deal. I continued, “That’s not important. What matters is that I have a way to find out what happened back then. Can you bring Lin Zǐyè over?”

I wasn’t just talking nonsense. Ordinary people found strange things could be explained through spells. Disappearance wasn’t a problem; it could be achieved with pre-prepared teleportation devices. The key questions were who did it and why.

“Mysterious behavior, but it might not be possible now, he still has classes—”

“Don’t lie to me, he can graduate without attending classes just like you. Bring him over, we can discuss this somewhere quiet.”

Xiàlù glanced at Líng Xiǎoyè again. Her ambiguous words led me into uncharted territory. She didn’t know how to react, so she asked, “Sister Lingmèng, what do you know?”

I narrowed my eyes and replied, “Everything you want to hide now.”

“…Come with me.”

Leaving Mother and Xiao Qíngfēi at the café, Xiàlù led me into the changing room. This long, windowless room contained dozens of maid outfits.

“…Why here?”

Xiàlù pressed her phone and answered without looking up, “No one comes here before shift change. Isn’t this the ideal place to talk?”

“Do you have any secret spots nearby?”

“This is the fifth floor. Even I can’t have a spot in the upper floors.”

Soon, Líng Xiǎoyè twirled in.

“Rei-chan, I’m here~ Oh, Miss Lingmèng is here too?”

She always seemed excited.

“Can’t you calm down?” Xiàlù covered her forehead.

“No, as long as I wear the maid outfit, I have endless energy.”

She spun to me like a ballet dancer and asked, “So, why did you call me here? Do you want to wear the maid outfit too, Miss Lingmèng?”

“When talking about your childhood maid…”

Xiàlù kept observing my reaction.

“…No reaction, you really knew Zǐyè was Xiao Ye.”

“I told you, I know everything you want to hide.”

Líng Xiǎoyè then became somewhat reserved. She blinked and asked, “What? Am I exposed? When did you notice?”

Xiàlù speculated, “Probably from your sister, children’s words can’t be trusted. You told her to keep it secret, but she blabbed it out. But no one believes in transformations anyway.”

Líng Xiǎoyè asked, “Is it Risa who told you?”

“No, I’ve been investigating your case myself. Thinking about it, there’s a lot to talk about today… Can you go out, Xiàlù?”

“Huh? Why do I have to leave?”

Líng Xiǎoyè also held Xiàlù’s arm and said, “It’s fine, Rei-chan. She knows everything about me.”

“Since you insist… Okay.”

I raised three fingers.

“There are three things I need to say. First, about that mysterious fortune-teller who changed you. I want to know where she is.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help with that.”

“You just give me the ring, it’s actually a transmitter. I’ll figure out how to trace it… No need to hide it. I just want to meet her.”

Líng Xiǎoyè thought for a moment, took off the ring, and handed it over.

“Secondly, about the maid you saw as a child, I can help you understand what happened, but you can’t keep anything from me.”

“Who is she?”

“She might be your mother, Líng Xīmí.”