Chapter 8: Be a pet.

“As for you…”

Jun Linqiu’s gaze suddenly shifted to Lin Yuxi. Her eyes were as cold as frost, and a flicker of undisguised chill flashed through her pupils.

“Since you’re so useless, you can be the pet here.”

Her voice was flat and emotionless, yet it made Lin Yuxi’s heart sink heavily. A wave of panic mixed with cold dread instantly gripped her.

If the lord’s words hadn’t carried such blatant malice and mockery, she might have actually felt excited and secretly delighted. After all, being a pet meant no need to work. As long as she could amuse her owner, she could eat well, sleep well, and live a stable, worry-free life.

But at this moment, Jun Linqiu’s icy tone and the disgusted look in her eyes, as if she were looking at garbage, made Lin Yuxi clearly realize: she was done for.

“……”

Her heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand. Panic made her breathing heavy and rapid. Facing the lord’s overwhelming presence and cold gaze, she opened her mouth but could only press her lips together helplessly. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

A pet!

The immense pressure made her almost unable to breathe. Her body trembled uncontrollably as instinctive fear spread through her limbs. She could feel several gazes directed at her from the side. Stiffly turning her head, she saw Lan Mo looking at her with full concern, while the other two girls stared straight at her with complicated expressions. At this moment, she felt like a clown on display for others’ amusement. Her heart was filled with bitterness and regret.

“There are rooms inside. Specific arrangements will be made for you tomorrow. You may go down now.”

Jun Linqiu’s voice sounded again. Except for Lin Yuxi, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief and headed toward the rooms. Lan Mo reached out to pull her along, but Lin Yuxi dodged sideways. Seeing the flash of surprise in Lan Mo’s eyes, she forced a stiff, fake smile and gently shook her head, signaling the other to leave first.

Lan Mo glanced worriedly at the lord, who was still reading, then at the silent Lin Yuxi. In the end, she said nothing and turned to leave.

Lin Yuxi didn’t watch Lan Mo’s departing figure. She knew her current expression must look terrible. Lan Mo couldn’t help her and might even get dragged down because of her. Facing this unknown fear, she only wanted to endure it alone and didn’t want her good friend to see her in such a wretched and embarrassing state.

The suffocating pressure that had weighed on her seemed to have dissipated at some point. If not for the cold sweat on her back and the violently pounding heart in her chest, she might have thought everything just now was merely a terrifying illusion.

Little Mo had already left. She might as well ask clearly now. Perhaps she had overthought everything and the situation wasn’t that bad.

With that thought, Lin Yuxi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, tried hard to calm her turbulent emotions, and forced a stiff smile. She carefully spoke, her tone carrying a hint of flattery:

“Lordship, may I ask what you mean by making me your pet?”

This time, she didn’t use that affected tone from earlier. Only full anxiety and humility remained.

“It means exactly what it says. Live as a pet.” Jun Linqiu continued looking down at her book without even lifting her eyelids, let alone glancing at her properly.

Lin Yuxi’s heart trembled violently. Her fingers subconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes tightly, knuckles turning white.

“Lordship, I don’t want to be a pet. I want to be a maid like them. Is that possible?” Her tone became even more ingratiating, with a trace of cautious probing.

“If you mind, then get lost!”

Jun Linqiu’s voice remained flat, but clear displeasure and disgust surged in her eyes. Although her face showed no extra expression, her words were like knives coated in ice, stabbing viciously into Lin Yuxi’s heart. The last bit of hope she held onto completely vanished with that sentence.

Lin Yuxi gave an awkward smile, but she knew clearly that she could not choose to leave. No matter how bad it was here, even if the lord despised her, as long as she wasn’t directly driven away, she could at least stay. Being a pet was still better than living outside in constant danger, at the mercy of others.

“Haha, I don’t mind, I don’t mind at all! Being Lordship’s pet makes me so happy I can barely contain it. How could I possibly mind?” She forced the corners of her mouth up into an especially strained smile.

Jun Linqiu’s gaze returned to the book page. Her expression didn’t change at all, as if she had already anticipated her reaction and felt no surprise.

“Then, Lordship, I’ll go down first.” After saying this with an awkward smile, Lin Yuxi prepared to turn and look for Lan Mo.

“Wait.” Jun Linqiu’s voice suddenly rang out. “Animals don’t have the right to sleep in rooms.”

Lin Yuxi’s footsteps halted abruptly. An indescribable sense of humiliation spread from the bottom of her heart. She forcefully suppressed her surging emotions, turned around, and maintained her ingratiating smile as she asked:

“Then may I ask, Lordship, where should I sleep?”

“……”

Jun Linqiu did not answer. After a few seconds, only the sound of a page turning could be heard as she casually flipped through the book, as if she had completely ignored Lin Yuxi.

Lin Yuxi stood stiffly in place, at a loss, unsure whether she should ask again. What did this mean? Was she deliberately making things difficult for her?

“Lordship, may I ask where I should sleep?” After hesitating for a long time, she steeled herself and asked again. Her heart was full of anxiety, afraid the lord would continue ignoring her, yet even more afraid of receiving deeper humiliation and torment.

Jun Linqiu seemed annoyed by her repeated questioning. She finally raised her head, her disgust completely unconcealed:

“Are you so stupid that you don’t even know where you should sleep?”

“I…”

Lin Yuxi opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but she bit her lower lip hard and swallowed the words. She lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling on the smooth white porcelain floor. Her mind was in chaos. After a moment, as if she had made up her mind, her fist hanging by her side tightened slightly before slowly loosening.

She steeled herself, moved her stiff legs, and slowly walked to Jun Linqiu. After hesitating for a second, she slowly squatted down and lay prone at her feet.

The faint, cool fragrance from the lord lingered at the tip of her nose. Beneath her was a soft carpet. Before she could even relax a little, a sharp pain shot through her side.

“Hiss—!”

She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain and turned her head. A fair, smooth foot with bright red nail polish was slowly retracting. There was no need to guess—it was that foot that had just kicked her viciously.

“Get lost to the side!”

The intense pain made her eyes instantly redden. Tears overflowed uncontrollably. The overwhelming grievance, combined with the undisguised disgust in the other’s tone, stirred up a strong resentment in her heart.

Weren’t you the one who told me to act like a pet!

But she only dared to complain in her heart. On the surface, she didn’t dare show the slightest neglect. She immediately forced a smile.

“I’m sorry. I’ll move right away.”

Rubbing her aching waist, she obediently shifted to the corner of the wall. Leaning against the cold wall, she slowly sat down, curled her legs up, hugged her knees with both arms, and buried her head deeply inside.

Waves of pain continued to assault her from her waist, constantly stimulating her tense nerves. Grievance fermented wildly in her chest. She buried her face even deeper, silently lamenting her miserable situation.

It hurts so much… If only I hadn’t done those unnecessary things back then, would things have turned out like this?

But she had only wanted to live a little better. Lin Yuxi, oh Lin Yuxi, how could you be so clever that you ended up outsmarting yourself? How could you be so unlucky…