Master Ye's fishing rod hovers three inches above the water—only the willing take the bait; the heartbroken head maid...

Great Sea City, the Bund, inside a certain street food stall.

"Gulp, gulp, sob sob... Don't you think, Grandpa Niu is just too much, sob sob... Gulp, gulp..."

Xia Tongxin's eyes were brimming with tears, a little sniffle running, her eyes completely red. She took a fierce swig from the beer in her hand and threw herself onto the head maid, wailing loudly.

She conveniently smeared her tears and sniffle evenly onto the head maid's clothes.

Head maid: "..."

First of all, their young lady was indeed quite pitiful. Secondly... the one being excessive probably wasn't that so-called Grandpa Niu their young lady mentioned, the excessive one should be their young lady herself.

Rewind the clock a few dozen minutes.

After letting out a sharp, shrieking sound, the head maid began to pick up her young lady, who was rolling around on the ground, wiped the tears and the little sniffle dangling before her nose clean, patted down the pink clothes and pants she was wearing...

Xia Tongxin loved pink. Not only was her hair dyed pink, but everything she wore was pink too, head-to-toe pink. Just as the madam said, their Tongtong was the cutest person in the world, a sweet, soft little cake.

But... right now, this little cake seemed a bit rebellious, having rolled on the ground imitating a cockroach, now looking somewhat grubby.

Well, no matter. Wasn't "dirty cake" all the rage nowadays? Just consider it a limited-edition dirty cake version of the little cake!

It took a long time of coaxing before the head maid finally managed to calm down her somewhat rebellious young lady. As for drinking... ah, let her drink. As long as she wasn't rolling on the ground.

The head maid wasn't particularly worried about any drinking-related problems, like stomach perforation or such illnesses...

Sorry, but their rebellious young lady's alcohol tolerance wasn't enough to support drinking until her stomach gave out. Half a bottle of beer down, and Xia Tongxin was already feeling floaty. Right before her rolling episode, she took another fierce gulp of beer for courage, which only made her topple over even faster.

It wasn't practice making perfect; her hands and brain were already starting to disobey, so naturally, the toppling speed increased.

"That's right, young lady, Young Master Niu is far too excessive." The head maid nodded while patting Xia Tongxin's back, offering constant comfort.

Their young lady had been chatting with that so-called Grandpa Niu for so long, yet she didn't even know his surname. The head maid could only abstractly refer to Ye Cheng as "Young Master Niu."

"Sob sob... sniff, sniff... You think so too, right, sob sob... gulp, gulp..."

Xia Tongxin, with tears and sniffles running, sniffled up her little runny nose, then used her adorable "superb childlike fingers" to grab the beer in front of her, taking a big gulp.

She looked utterly heartbroken.

The reason Xia Tongxin was so heartbroken wasn't because of Ye Cheng's cold attitude or his refusal to add her as a friend, but because he rejected her and then added the head maid's WeChat.

Adding it was bad enough, but he even accepted the request instantly, sob sob... Without comparison, there's no harm. But now, with both comparison and contrast, the damage was maximized.

The most infuriating part was that the head maid even got Ye Cheng's WeChat contact method and channel from her, yet she herself couldn't add him. Was there any justice in this world, sob sob...

How does that saying go?

Oh... "How dare you wear Pinru's clothes!"

The head maid's current behavior was no different from cuckolding Xia Tongxin back in the day, starring Xia Tongxin as the "incompetent, useless loli/."...

"It's alright, young lady. I have a way to help you reconcile with Young Master Niu." The head maid spoke calmly.

Upon hearing this, Xia Tongxin, who had been crying and sniveling, froze, immediately stopping her tears. Her previously red, crying eyes now sparkled brightly as she looked at the head maid who had just said she could help her reconcile, her gaze full of "hope."

"Really...?"

The head maid instinctively nodded. After all, "online romance" in a sense is just "deception," depending on whose technique is more sophisticated.

See... their young lady was lured over like this. Clearly, Ye Cheng's methods were quite advanced.

To help, the head maid naturally needed to know what exactly had happened between the two before. Xia Tongxin saw the head maid as her last lifeline, so of course, she couldn't hide anything. Not that she had the IQ or cunning to do so anyway, so she told the head maid everything.

From how they met, to the later one-on-one duel, and finally being blocked... Well, how to put it? Ye Cheng was somewhat kind, but not overly so.

The head maid considered herself experienced in judging people, but someone like Ye Cheng was a first. She couldn't determine whether Ye Cheng genuinely didn't want anything to do with their young lady or if this was just a more sophisticated fishing technique.

After all, there were plenty of "players" online, lacking other skills but full of tricks to deceive young girls. And wouldn't you know it, their young lady was a blank slate, with some intelligence but not much. If not for the family keeping an eye on her, she would have been tricked who-knows-where long ago.

There were plenty of monitoring methods in place, covering all aspects. Fortunately, their young lady was quite the homebody and didn't like running around. When not doing anything, she'd stay at home watching cartoons. Her only hobby was playing games.

And then... a loophole was exploited.

The head maid checked the gaming records. The time Ye Cheng exploited the loophole was only a few days prior, yet their young lady had already fallen for it.

Although their young lady was a bit "naive," she had fortunately activated the "rebellious" attribute, preventing her from being completely lost to deception. At least she had some guard up against ordinary people.

But unfortunately, Ye Cheng exploited another loophole because Ye Cheng was simply not a normal person!

There are many ways to make someone remember you. Companionship is the longest confession, protection... Of course, there's also the simplest and most direct method: making them rage and lose their composure!

Ye Cheng's infuriating, inhuman gaming tactics successfully made Xia Tongxin remember him in the shortest time possible, the kind of "remembering" that had her thinking about him even when going to sleep at night. Whether she wanted to stomp him underfoot and make him call her "trash fish" a hundred times or genuinely cared about him wasn't very clear...

From the head maid's perspective, everything seemed too smooth. Either Ye Cheng wasn't a normal human, or he was a high-level player who had hooked their young lady.

Sigh...

The head maid sighed inwardly. When it came down to it, it was because those under her, including herself, weren't vigilant enough and let their guard down, allowing this loophole to be exploited.

But... calculating the time, it seemed the young lady should be entering the next stage of adolescence... romance.

Due to her status and personality, Xia Tongxin's growth and development trajectory were destined to be different from ordinary people's. Small and cute... ahem, no, that's not right. It should be overly pure. What others experienced long ago, Xia Tongxin was only just beginning to bud in her twenties.

It's like a rebellious phase, something that usually lasts about two years in middle school and then you just grow out of it. Xia Tongxin was different, excessively naive, and didn't really have that typical rebellious stage.

The noblewoman used a little trick and completely bamboozled Xia Tongxin, leaving her utterly confused. Later, Xia Tongxin got "angry" and evolved into a "delinquent loli." That's when her own rebellious period truly began.

This rebellion has lasted for several years now and still isn't over.

But progress bars have to keep moving forward. Xia Tongxin's progress bar has been stuck on the "rebellion" level for way too long. It's time to push it to the next stage. A terrifying hell-level dungeon is about to open, named... Love!

According to the head maid's deduction, their young mistress has probably entered the next stage after adolescence and rebellion. It happened suddenly and with considerable intensity; otherwise, she wouldn't have just run off to school without a word.

The noblewoman and the head maid had been wondering why Xia Tongxin suddenly wanted to study. She used to say she hated studying most of all and never wanted to go to school in her whole life.

Now she suddenly changed her mind... Turns out she didn't really have an epiphany; it's the next wave of rebellion starting.

The head maid felt it was necessary to inform their madam about this... Madam, it's bad! The young mistress isn't going to study; she's been hooked by someone, and what's more, she's actively biting the bait and refusing to let go!!!

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.

The worst-case scenario being that Ye Cheng was someone with extremely deep scheming, who targeted their young mistress for being "naive" and wealthy, and then...

"Buzz! Buzz!"

The phone vibrated continuously, rivaling a new energy vehicle!

The head maid was startled, only now noticing it was the phone inside her maid uniform apron vibrating at her waist.

"Huh?"

The head maid furrowed her brows, feeling a powerful, rhythmic force vibrating at her waist, like a bomb about to go off!

"Boss, save ten for me. I'm a student, can you give me an extra discount? I can show my student ID. My mom has a terminal illness, her last wish before leaving is to have a sip of the large-size iced black tea..."

Before the head maid could finish reading the message, an identical copy was sent, followed by continuous vibrations—a text message bombardment, worse than a phone virus.

Boss, save...

Head maid: "???"

The head maid read the messages Ye Cheng sent on her phone, silently reciting them in her mind, almost summoning Satan. Seriously, is this something a human being would actually say?

Silently, the head maid apologized to Ye Cheng in her heart... Sorry, I wronged you, Young Master Bull, for thinking you were so despicable...

The head maid finally understood. Their young mistress wasn't hooked at all; she simply jumped onto the hook herself.

It's truly "like Jiang Taigong fishing—his hook was three inches above the water, waiting for the willing fish to bite." Ye Cheng's case was even more outrageous!

Ye Cheng was just passing by the riverbank, and their young mistress jumped out of the water, bit onto Ye Cheng, and followed him home...

Head maid: "..."

"Wuwuwu, what are you looking at, wuwuwu... sniffle, sniffle..."

Xia Tongxin's somewhat puzzled voice came from beside her.

Xia Tongxin pitifully sniffled her little runny nose and glanced at the phone in the head maid's hand, which had turned into a new energy vehicle—though that wasn't the point. The point was that what made the phone act like a new energy vehicle was Ye Cheng, oh... no, it was the messages Ye Cheng sent.

Xia Tongxin didn't see much else, but she saw Ye Cheng's profile picture and name, and then... she cried even more sorrowfully.

"Gulp, gulp... Wuwuwu, you evil cow, wuwuwu..." Xia Tongxin took a swig of the beer in her hand, clenched her little fist, and "ferociously" punched the head maid's evil assets in front of her.

Splat!

Bouncy bouncy~~~

Head maid: "..."

Fortunately, the head maid reacted quickly. Realizing the messages were all repeats, she took a screenshot, set Ye Cheng to 'Do Not Disturb,' exited, and started reading Ye Cheng's messages.

Xia Tongxin, small and curled up beside her, watched the head maid's phone with eager eyes.

"Um, young mistress, it seems Young Master Bull has taken the bait, I... Huh, young mistress?"

Before the head maid could finish her sentence, her phone was snatched away. Then... she watched helplessly as her young mistress, seeming somewhat anxious, opened the transfer interface and coolly started sending money to Ye Cheng.

The first amount was 500,000!

"Payment failed. Maximum single transfer amount is 20,000 yuan!"

This was the head maid's phone, and naturally, it was linked to the head maid's account. The head maid didn't have special transfer privileges like Xia Tongxin; she was just an ordinary user with a 20,000 yuan limit per transaction. Due to the head maid's good credit and transaction history, she had a daily limit of 300,000 yuan.

Seeing 500,000 didn't work, Xia Tongxin immediately went back and initiated a new transfer to Ye Cheng, hitting the maximum limit—not a cent more, not a cent less—20,000!

"Payment successful. Pending recipient acceptance."

20,000 was sent.

Just like that, the head maid's bank account decreased by 20,000.

"Payment successful. Pending recipient acceptance!"

"Payment successful. Pending recipient acceptance!"

"Payment..."

...

"Payment failed. Insufficient balance!"

Only when the "Payment failed" prompt popped up did Xia Tongxin stop tapping her finger, a look of confusion in her eyes—small eyes, big confusion.

"Huh? Why is there insufficient balance?" Xia Tongxin pouted her little mouth, her small hand continuously tapping the screen, trying to refresh and transfer again.

Head maid: "..."

Because that was her card.

Wuwuwu... Young mistress, you transferred all my dowry savings over, wuwuwu...

The head maid's heart was bleeding. Although these were all expenses that could be reimbursed later... watching the money in her wallet get swiped out like this, the head maid still couldn't quite hold it together. This was money she had saved up bit by bit, wuwuwu...

And then Xia Tongxin swiped it all away in less than a minute, wondering why there was no money left... as if 300,000 was nothing...

Luckily, Xia Tongxin was quite experienced when it came to spending money. She quickly figured out the problem: the money in the bank card currently linked to the head maid's account was all gone. But no problem, just switch to another card!

Silently, Xia Tongxin selected another bank card, and then... continued transferring money to Ye Cheng.

Head maid: "???"

Wuwuwu, my money, wuwuwu...

So the question is, why was Xia Tongxin sending money to Ye Cheng?

Because Xia Tongxin didn't see much else; she just saw Ye Cheng saying his mom had a terminal illness. She got terribly worried, and what followed was her familiar money-transfer combo.

In the head maid's view, Ye Cheng's obviously exaggerated plea for sympathy was just him messing around—no one would actually fall for it. But then... her young mistress took the bait.

"Young mistress, stop transferring. Young Master Bull is just joking..." The head maid, though her heart was bleeding, tried her best to remind her young mistress in a calm tone not to persist in this delusion.

But then...

"Shut up!"

"I forbid you to speak of Grandpa Bull that way!"

"Wahhh, didn't you hear what Grandpa Niu said? His mommy is sick, it's a terminal illness, wahhh... sniffle, sniffle... And then you said Grandpa Niu was joking! Who would joke about their own mommy like that, you wicked cow!!!"

Xia Tongxin, in a rare display, was extremely angry and serious, pointing at the head maid and hurling a stream of "trash talk."

The head maid: "..."

"Wahhh, Grandpa Niu is so pitiful, wahhh..." Xia Tongxin cried while continuing to transfer money using the head maid's phone, only to fail as the maximum limit had been reached.

"Wahhh, Grandpa Niu..."

The intense emotional rollercoaster, combined with the "a lot" (a full bottle and a half) of beer Xia Tongxin had drunk, successfully caused her to "burn out" before she could even finish her sentence.

Thud!

Xia Tongxin's head slammed onto the table in front of her, knocking her out cold. At a speed visible to the naked eye, a bump swelled up on her forehead.

The head maid: "..."

"AAAAAHHH, YOUNG MISS!!!!"

Once again, the head maid's sharp, piercing shriek echoed through the hotel...

...

Meanwhile.

In the hotel.

Inside the bathroom.

Splish-splash, the sound of running water kept coming, steam filled the air, and two figures could faintly be seen moving about...

Splash...