### Chapter 146: Xiao Yu’s Reputation
“Hello, are you Xia Le?”
Looking at the message, Xia Le was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected the sender to know his name. Nonetheless, Xia Le replied anyway.
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
Xia Le had thought it might be an old schoolmate from elementary school. After all, exchanging QQ numbers once they graduated seemed pretty normal. But this wasn’t one of his old classmates.
Elsewhere, Lin Jie, sitting in front of the computer, finally broke out into a smile as he read the message. The information was correct; this really was Xia Le’s QQ number. So Lin Jie continued typing his response.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is whether or not you want to make some money.”
“Of course! Who wouldn’t?”
“Great. Take a picture of your house and the view outside with your new phone. No repeats allowed. Each picture is worth 100 yuan.”
“You’re serious?”
“Just give it a try.”
At the same moment, Jiang Kekai took out several nightgowns and other dresses from her wardrobe for Xia Yu to try on. As expected, the clothes were too big for Xia Yu.
“Well, Xia Yu, tonight you can wear this one. Wait here, let’s soak in the hot tub together.”
She gently patted Xia Yu’s head and picked up a nightgown she had tried on, then held Xia Yu’s hand and led her away.
Right now, Xia Yu’s mind was spinning.
Soak in a hot tub? What’s that? Is Xiao Ning-sister going to take a bath with me? Quickly, Xia Yu got her answer.
Because… Miss Jiang had already brought her to a floor dedicated to bathing.
Rich families sure are fancy. As soon as they entered the bathing area, Xia Yu saw six male and six female maids guarding the door. There was a male symbol on the left and a female symbol on the right. This clearly segregated the genders.
Of course, in such a large Jiang household, if anyone visits and stays overnight, especially in the bathing area, it should be proper and not cause embarrassment.
“Miss.” All twelve of the maids bowed respectfully as Jiang Kekai brought Xia Yu in, clearly well-mannered servants.
However, Jiang Kekai didn’t treat these maids as kindly as she treated Xia Yu. She just hummed a reply and started leading Xia Yu to the right side. During this, she could sense Xia Yu hesitating but didn’t seem to care, dragging Xia Yu along.
Anyway, Xia Yu will eventually have to get used to being a girl. So, she might as well help Xia Yu adapt. Otherwise, how would Xia Yu protect herself?
“Who’s that girl? Why is she so close to Miss?”
As expected, once Jiang Kekai and Xia Yu turned the corner, the maids couldn’t help but start gossiping about Xia Yu. “I haven’t heard Miss talk about having a friend like her.”
“Hold it. I remember now! One of my bodyguards said Miss was dating, and that her partner was a girl. Could it be her?”
“Dating? Girls dating each other? That seems impossible. It must just be something Miss tries out before getting bored and dumping them.”
“Yes, I agree. I’ve seen such things before. I never thought girls would be different from boys, but apparently, they’re all the same.”
Of course, outside, Jiang Kekai and Xia Yu couldn’t hear any of this gossip since they were already changing into swimwear. In Jiang Kekai’s private cabinet were her swimsuits.
Xia Yu obviously resisted changing into the swimsuit. She didn’t want to wear such shameful clothing.
But Xia Yu’s resistance was futile. She couldn’t resist Jiang Kekai’s strength, and with her still recovering, feeling weak was natural.
Thus, Xia Yu was forced into a two-piece swimsuit. Finally, Jiang Kekai helped clean Xia Yu’s hair before they headed to the warm pool area. Luckily, Xia Yu’s surgery wounds had healed, leaving only a faint red mark.
“I miss.”
Sure enough, Jiang Hanhan, Jiang Kekai’s younger sister, was already soaking in the warm water.
Seeing Xia Yu with her sister, Jiang Hanhan immediately directed a curious glance downward. Yeah, flat.
Of course, being inspected like that by Jiang Hanhan made Xia Yu feel ashamed. She silently backed behind Jiang Kekai while still holding her hand firmly.
There was no escape.
“It’s okay, we’ll go over there.”
Jiang Kekai smiled at the little cutie hiding behind her, slowly leading Xia Yu into the water. She wanted to prevent Xia Yu, the silly girl, from slipping and falling.
Being around Jiang Kekai alone might not be so bad, but with Jiang Hanhan watching curiously, Xia Yu felt even more awkward. At times, Xia Yu just wanted to sink underwater.
This was too embarrassing. Xia Yu didn’t understand why.
Luckily, Jiang Kekai was always paying attention. She carefully looked after Xia Yu, stopping Xia Yu from diving fully into the water. After observing Xia Yu for a while, Jiang Hanhan finally couldn’t hold back her curiosity:
“Hey, were you really a boy before?”
Right, after observing Xia Yu for a long time, Jiang Hanhan couldn’t find any signs of Xia Yu being a boy in the past. Xia Yu was a shy and timid girl now. It was a sudden question, how could Xia Yu respond?
But luckily, Xia Yu was cherished by Jiang Kekai.
“Don’t mess around, asking about someone’s past like that is impolite.”
Jiang Kekai sternly looked at her sister. She didn’t want Xia Yu to think about unpleasant things. If Xia Yu did, it might cause a relapse, which would be very dangerous.
Sure enough, Jiang Kekai’s words worked. Jiang Hanhan only gave a resentful glance, then swam away.
Yes, the warm pool was spacious, and Jiang Hanhan could swim freely.
If needed, they could even ask the maids to come in and massage them. Otherwise, their wages weren’t high enough.
The light bulb left them, allowing Jiang Kekai to be more at ease. She hugged Xia Yu from the side, placing her on her lap. With the buoyancy of the water, holding Xia Yu was effortless.
Finally, Jiang Kekai planted a light kiss on Xia Yu’s face, enjoying the moment.
Indeed, being at home was the best.
After a while, Xia Yu’s face was red either from embarrassment or the warmth of the water. In any case, Jiang Kekai knew it was time to take Xia Yu back, or else her head might really overheat.
And so, Xia Yu was taken back to the room once again.
Although the time was short, Xia Yu’s arrival had spread across the entire Jiang household. Rumors traveled quickly.
Unknown to Xia Yu and Jiang Kekai, these rumors were mostly negative, like Xia Yu climbing the social ladder or shamelessly clinging to Miss Jiang. Some said maids would give Xia Yu a lesson and get rid of her.
But what method remained a mystery.
Back in the room with Xia Yu, Jiang Kekai spent her time playing on her laptop instead of going out. Her work was easily done on the laptop, which was perfect for her busy schedule.
Glancing at Jiang Kekai, Xia Yu noticed her dedication. Despite trying not to show it, Xia Yu genuinely appreciated Jiang Kekai’s concern. It was the first time she had met someone this caring.
In truth, Xia Yu couldn’t help but feel moved and drawn to Jiang Kekai.
But what could she do? Even though Jiang Kekai had repeatedly flirted with her, asking her to marry Jiang, Xia Yu dared not entertain such thoughts. Fear… she feared losing everything she had.
“What’s wrong, Xia Yu?”
Jiang Kekai glanced over at Xia Yu, noting her pensive frown. She wondered if Xia Yu was thinking about something troubling.
“Nothing… Really, Xiao Ning-sister, go back to work. Don’t worry about me.”
Despite Xia Yu’s words, Jiang Kekai sensed her distress. Indeed, keeping Xia Yu happy was a challenge. Yet, Jiang Kekai was undeterred.
Meanwhile, Xia Le walked out of the cellphone store, all smiles.
Indeed, Xia Le hadn’t expected Lin Shao to give him that much money. It truly made him ecstatic.
Immediately, he went to the store and got a new phone to take clearer photos of Lin Shao.
Now, Xia Le had a new goal: Take more pictures of Lin Shao, save money, and buy a laptop better than those of his siblings.
