Pampered and Kept by a Gloomy Younger Lover - Chapter 1

The magnificent ocean-view hotel was as warm as spring inside. Most of the staff had just been transferred here for one purpose: to ensure a perfect birthday banquet for Qin Zhuyu, the sole heir to the nouveau riche Qin family.

Qin Zhuyu and her entourage had just disembarked from a cruise ship.

Dressed in finery, the young ladies and masters noisily crossed the red carpet laid at the hotel entrance, leaving a few temporary employees to clear up the mess.

The freezing winter wind made knuckles stiff, not to mention the sleet falling today. Working outdoors in such weather made it easy for inexperienced workers to meet with accidents.

Wen Qian, a temporary worker, was moving flower baskets with her colleagues.

Having skipped breakfast, Wen Qian was both cold and hungry. Having just finished another part-time job, her mind and body were numb. She followed her companions mechanically, her legs moving in a daze; when faced with the variable of a staircase, she failed to react in time.

As she was about to tip over, a pair of warm hands caught Wen Qian’s shoulders faster than her colleagues could.

“Careful,” a remarkably gentle female voice came from behind.

Steadying herself with the person’s support, Wen Qian looked back and finally saw the face of the woman with such a beautiful voice.

First to catch her eye was the woman’s smooth, waist-length black hair. Her face, framed by the dark tresses and a white collar, stood in stark contrast to the frigid weather.

Despite the biting wind, she remained smiling, the corners of her brows curved downward. Her bright eyes held a soft warmth, and her features were so gentle they lacked any hint of aggression; together, they formed a woman as pure and elegant as a lily.

She was the kind of woman who made one feel warm at a single glance.

Urged by her companion, Wen Qian snapped back to reality, her ears flushing red as she whispered, “Thank you.”

“It’s alright. Here, take this.”

The woman shook her head slightly and pulled a slender box from her coat pocket, tucking it into Wen Qian’s pocket. “Apply medicine to chilblains promptly, or it will be very painful when they flare up again next year. Be good.”

Having said that, the woman herself gave a shy smile.

Before entering the hotel, she even helped them steady a tilting flower basket.

Watching the woman leave, Wen Qian refused to look away until that slender silhouette disappeared completely. Only then did Wen Qian ask the receptionist sitting nearby, “Who is she?”

“Her?” The two receptionists looked at each other. One of them said with a sneer, “Just someone who licks the boots of one heiress after another and ends up without even a status.”

The malice in her words was undisguised.

Wen Qian clenched her fists, forced a smile, and patiently continued to ask, “And her name?”

“Wen Zhao! Why are you walking so slowly!”

Just as Wen Zhao stepped into the noisy suite, she heard a half-joking accusation from one of the “fair-weather friends.”

These people only dared to speak their true thoughts in such a tone.

Wen Zhao lowered her gaze, her straight, thick eyelashes casting a shadow that looked like a soft grey cloud beneath her eyes.

She said to Qin Zhuyu, who was at the center of the crowd, “I’ll go see how the cake preparations are going.”

The atmosphere here was too boisterous; Wen Zhao didn’t like it.

Wen Zhao came, and Wen Zhao left.

No matter how long she stayed by Qin Zhuyu’s side, she could never get used to Qin Zhuyu’s circle of friends. But having promised Qin Zhuyu, Wen Zhao would not break her word.

Just as she stepped out the door, Wen Zhao covered her nose with both hands and sneezed several times in succession. After days of accompanying Qin Zhuyu’s self-indulgent itinerary, Wen Zhao had unfortunately caught the flu.

Qin Zhuyu hadn’t noticed, and Wen Zhao didn’t care.

Accompanying the staff as they wheeled the cake—which was taller than a person—into the presidential suite, Wen Zhao positioned herself by the door, trying her best not to mingle with the crowd of young masters and ladies.

A beautiful girl wearing a crown encrusted with diamonds looked at Wen Zhao with dissatisfaction.

Wen Zhao signaled the staff to draw the curtains, then placed her hand on the master light switch by the door. She gave Qin Zhuyu a reassuring look, tilting her head slightly; her gentle gaze carried an air that brooked no argument.

Qin Zhuyu pouted, but she still pressed her palms together in front of her face, bowed her head slightly, and closed her eyes to make a wish.

She was being obedient.

The corners of Wen Zhao’s mouth curled up slightly. With a flick of her finger, the massive room was plunged into darkness, leaving only the flickering light of a few candles on the cake.

The friends turned on their phone flashlights and waved them around to create an atmosphere.

Wen Zhao let out a faint laugh. These people weren’t annoying every single moment.

“Is Miss Qin thinking about how to marry Wen Zhao?” someone suddenly shouted, and low laughter immediately rippled through the room.

Wen Zhao lowered her eyes and remained silent.

As expected, these people were annoying more often than not.

With one person leading the way, the others surrounding Qin Zhuyu joined in the teasing. So many people actually managed to clap in rhythm, chanting in unison, “Marry Wen Zhao, marry Wen Zhao.”

The ill-tempered Qin Zhuyu did not speak up to stop them. Under the candlelight, Qin Zhuyu’s face turned red rapidly.

Wen Zhao sighed softly and cleared her uncomfortable throat. But in the next moment, the words of protest caught in her throat.

A pair of hands wrapped around her waist.

The newcomer’s palm brushed against the left side of Wen Zhao’s waist before one hand was withdrawn.

Wen Zhao stiffened in shock, but relaxed once she caught a familiar scent. A highly aggressive perfume scent wrapped around her arrogantly—just like the owner of this scent, who never listened to reason.

Just as a scent fades until it disappears, the recovered Wen Zhao no longer feared the newcomer’s unreasonable behavior. Wen Zhao moved her arm backward, forcing the person to distance herself.

Click.

The lights of all sizes in the presidential suite turned on. The noisy crowd instinctively closed their eyes against the glare.

Once their eyes adjusted, every gaze fell toward the door where Wen Zhao controlled the switch.

Silence.

After seeing the face of the person behind Wen Zhao, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Qin Zhuyu stood up abruptly, her bracelets and bangles clashing with a sharp metallic sound. Without a doubt, she did not welcome this uninvited guest.

Wen Zhao looked at Qin Zhuyu helplessly, her gentle gaze urging Qin Zhuyu to calm down and not lose her composure.

“Miss Zheng, it’s rare for you to return to the country. Why didn’t you go home to see your family first?” With Wen Zhao’s reassurance, Qin Zhuyu swallowed her anger and responded with relative decency.

The newcomer was a travel-worn Zheng Miaoning.

The daughter of the current wealthiest man.

Tearing off the mask of politeness with her would do the Qin family no good, which was why Wen Zhao was unwilling to let Qin Zhuyu do something foolish.

Having failed to provoke Qin Zhuyu into an outburst, Zheng Miaoning looked down, but only saw the top of Wen Zhao’s fuzzy head. She realized it was Wen Zhao’s doing.

Her long-repressed anger surged. Zheng Miaoning’s face was cold as she slowly scanned everyone in the room. Everywhere her gaze landed, someone found a way to avoid her eyes.

Finally, Zheng Miaoning’s gaze fell back on Qin Zhuyu, her aura overbearing. “You want to marry my girlfriend and didn’t bother to notify me?”

The hotel employees, who had been trying to stay inconspicuous, could no longer help themselves; they tilted their heads to exchange looks with their colleagues.

Wasn’t it said that Wen Zhao was just a ‘licker’ for these heiresses? How is it that one after another, they either want to marry her or are rushing back overnight to claim ownership?

The teasing friends were even more terrified. They didn’t even have the mind to exchange glances; they were all wondering how to make Zheng Miaoning forget their faces.

Qin Zhuyu’s hands hanging at her sides had already clenched into fists.

Wen Zhao thought to herself that this was bad. She pushed Zheng Miaoning’s petty words to the back of her mind, forcefully broke free from Zheng Miaoning’s arms, and walked quickly to Qin Zhuyu’s side.

“There, there.” Wen Zhao smoothed the ends of Qin Zhuyu’s hair and pried her fingers open, wrapping her warm palm around Qin Zhuyu’s hand.

Zheng Miaoning stood at the door, unmoving.

From the moment Wen Zhao abandoned her to go to Qin Zhuyu, Zheng Miaoning’s overbearing aura dissipated by more than half. She stood rooted to the spot, refusing to move.

The hem of her inner knit dress was still stained with mud from the rain. The chill she brought from outside had not yet melted into the warm interior. Her luggage was still thrown in the car; she had done nothing else but rush here immediately upon leaving the airport.

But Wen Zhao went to Qin Zhuyu’s side.

She would actually choose Qin Zhuyu over her?!

Her clothes were wet; shouldn’t Wen Zhao scold her a bit and then immediately take her to change?

Zheng Miaoning frowned and stared at Wen Zhao, her eyes filled with an accusation she hadn’t even noticed herself.

Wen Zhao finally looked at her.

Zheng Miaoning raised her chin haughtily, waiting to receive her own comfort—the treatment would surely be much higher than what Qin Zhuyu got!

“Miss Zheng.” Wen Zhao was helpless.

Qin Zhuyu was still clutching her arm tightly. Wen Zhao patted her out of habit and continued, “If the ‘girlfriend’ you just mentioned refers to me, I only wish to say: please do not spread rumors about me.”

“Between us, it has always been a relationship of strangers.”

Her tone was Wen Zhao’s usual gentleness.

Yet the words spoken were like a sharp arrow, piercing Zheng Miaoning’s heart. Before she could even react to how much it hurt as her heart was torn open, Zheng Miaoning instinctively retorted.

“Of course it’s not you.”

“Wen Zhao, who doesn’t know how pathetic you looked chasing after me back then?”

As the malicious words left her mouth, Wen Zhao didn’t seem hurt at all. Instead, she looked relieved. “That’s good then. It was my own wishful thinking.”

“You’ve finished making your wish, right?” Wen Zhao looked at Qin Zhuyu.

The arrogant girl felt immense satisfaction and nodded good-naturedly. “I’ve finished.”

Even if she hadn’t, Qin Zhuyu wouldn’t say so. She wouldn’t give Wen Zhao another chance to move back toward Zheng Miaoning.

Wen Zhao wiped her hands with a wet wipe, then took Qin Zhuyu’s hand to wipe it as well. She picked up the cake knife and handed it to Qin Zhuyu. “Then let’s cut the cake.”

The cake she had Qin Zhuyu cut was, of course, not the giant one, but another smaller, more exquisite one.

The first piece of cake cut was stuffed into Wen Zhao’s hand by Qin Zhuyu.

Wen Zhao was patient and gentle with her; whenever something good happened, Qin Zhuyu thought of Wen Zhao first.

Wen Zhao took it but didn’t eat it. Her cold hadn’t recovered yet, and she didn’t want to eat anything cloyingly sweet.

When she looked up, Wen Zhao noticed that the person at the door was gone. Her thick lashes fluttered rapidly for a moment before she regained her composure.

Qin Zhuyu’s patience only lasted through cutting two or three pieces of cake. Picking up her and Wen Zhao’s portions, Qin Zhuyu bumped Wen Zhao’s arm and winked at her.

Wen Zhao wanted to say that leaving the guests behind was impolite. But today was the birthday Qin Zhuyu was celebrating for herself. Wen Zhao shook her head with a light laugh, indulging her anyway.

Following Qin Zhuyu to another slightly smaller suite, Wen Zhao carried the cake toward the window. Qin Zhuyu followed behind her with a “da-da-da” sound of footsteps.

“Why open the window when it’s this cold?” Qin Zhuyu asked, puzzled.

Wen Zhao’s hand on the window frame paused. She looked at her and asked thoughtfully, “Will you be cold? If so, I won’t open it.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” Wen Zhao opened the window halfway and raised her arm to feel the wind direction. Then, Wen Zhao reached out and moved Qin Zhuyu to the side.

Qin Zhuyu: “?”

“The wind won’t blow on you here,” Wen Zhao explained opportunely, using her free hand to wipe away the cream near Qin Zhuyu’s mouth.

Qin Zhuyu kept staring at her, so Wen Zhao had no choice but to eat the cake in small bites.

After sitting here for a while, Wen Zhao would have to rush back to City B with Qin Zhuyu to celebrate her real birthday.

The view outside the ocean-view hotel was excellent. Sitting by the window, Wen Zhao could see the churning deep ocean, the dark beach, and the sports car at the entrance that belonged to Zheng Miaoning.

Wen Zhao stared out the window, lost in thought.

Qin Zhuyu put down her cake plate, walked softly behind her, and found the endpoint of her gaze.

“You can’t leave me yet,” she said ominously.

Wen Zhao looked up at that moment. From an overhead angle, Qin Zhuyu saw Wen Zhao’s soft eyes clearly. At this angle, Wen Zhao was breathtakingly beautiful. Even the messy, dim light didn’t affect her beauty; she didn’t need to find the right angle or lighting. When Wen Zhao gazed at you tenderly, when Wen Zhao’s lake-like eyes held only you, your own eyes would naturally cast a holy glow upon her.

“I know. I will keep my promise.”

But the term of the promise is almost up, Wen Zhao.

Wen Zhao’s words did not dispel Qin Zhuyu’s worries. Moreover, Zheng Miaoning had actually returned to the country at this moment.

Qin Zhuyu stubbornly looked away and gave a huff, neither light nor heavy. A sense of crisis spread from her heart to her limbs.

As if following Qin Zhuyu’s mood, a childhood chilblain that was only a tiny bud began to flare up.