Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“I—I-I-I… Butler Jiang… I…”

“Oh.” Jiang Yao suddenly cut off Jing Yan. “I forgot to make a call. Are you in a hurry? If not, I should…”

Jiang Yao pulled out his phone, shaking it slightly to signal he needed to make a call first.

Jing Yan was drenched in nervous sweat. “Th-then you go ahead. I can wait a moment.”

Jiang Yao nodded in thanks, then dialed a number right in front of Jing Yan. “Hello…”

When the call connected, Jing Yan’s smile vanished. He realized Jiang Yao was using his personal phone—so this wasn’t work-related.

And at this late hour—no, almost dawn—who would he need to contact?

Jiang Yao’s smile was sweet, his voice gentle. He turned slightly away, arms folded as he listened, indicating this was a private conversation, one he needed to shield from Jing Yan.

“Yeah… got here a while ago,” Jiang Yao murmured to the person on the other end.

Jing Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Yao’s tone softened further. “Sorry, I was just attending to Mr. Shen. I’m about to shower now. Let’s grab a drink sometime.”

Jing Yan’s chest tightened with a dull ache. Jiang Yao had just promised someone else a drink, rejecting his own unspoken invitation.

He couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but he could see Jiang Yao’s animated expressions, his eyebrows dancing with delight. This call was clearly making him happy.

Jing Yan’s courage for confession shriveled by half.

“A *kiss*?” Jiang Yao suddenly said.

Jing Yan’s heart nearly leapt out of his throat! A *kiss*? What—?!

Jiang Yao’s posture shifted, turning completely away from Jing Yan. From his body language, this wasn’t a good sign. Moreover, as Jiang Yao turned, he distinctly glanced back at Jing Yan.

On guard.

He was on guard against *him*!

Because of this call?

A spark of anger flared in Jing Yan’s heart.

Jiang Yao: “Sir, I consider that kiss an accident. I don’t mind… Please don’t take it to heart…”

His fingers brushed his earlobe, rubbing it. The ear was an alarming shade of red, as if sensing his own shyness and embarrassment, needing self-soothing.

Was he flirting with someone else?

Jing Yan’s heart iced over, unsure. He lowered his head with a self-deprecating laugh, reaching for the bottle beside him and chugging half its contents.

Jiang Yao: “I have to hang up now.”

The other end seemed to protest.

Jiang Yao: “…Mhm. Just an accident. I don’t blame you.”

*No* blame. The wine bottle in Jing Yan’s hand thudded dully onto the carpet.

Jiang Yao heard the sound of the bottle hitting the floor and turned to pick it up for Jing Yan. He looked puzzled, silently asking Jing Yan what was wrong.

Jing Yan remained silent. After bidding goodnight to the person on the phone and hanging up, Jiang Yao said, “Mr. Jing Yan, it’s quite late now. What did you want to tell me earlier?”

Country G was a city that never slept. The outdoor lights and moonlight spilled in like rain, outlining the two figures in the living room with graceful contours.

Jing Yan’s shadow slumped like a dejected large dog, while Jiang Yao stood tall and straight, hands clasped in front of him, poised and elegant, a faint smile playing on his lips, like a graceful Ragdoll cat.

Jing Yan: “I—I just wanted to say it’s late. Butler Jiang, you should rest early.”

“Alright.” Jiang Yao’s eyes crinkled into half-moons as he said understandingly, “You seem to have something on your mind.”

Jing Yan’s heart began to pound. He wondered if Butler Jiang had noticed his admiration for him. If so, he would take one last chance to…

“Whenever you feel like talking,” Jiang Yao’s next sentence dashed Jing Yan’s hopes again, “you can always come to me.”

Jing Yan’s voice was hoarse: “Okay…”

“Goodnight, Mr. Jing Yan.”

“Goodnight…”

At four in the morning, Jiang Yao returned to his room. He slowly closed the door, shutting out the living room light behind him.

System: [How are you?]

Jiang Yao: “Exhausted.”

Jiang Yao tugged loose his bathrobe belt, and the robe immediately puddled at his feet like a small white mountain. He then removed his towel, standing stark naked in the room.

“My back’s a bit sore.” Without turning on the light, Jiang Yao walked to the window and stood before the mirror, examining himself under the moonlight. There was a red mark on his lower back where he’d been grabbed.

“Mr. Shen has quite the grip,” Jiang Yao muttered. The lurid red marks from those large hands were impossible to miss, stretching from his lower back to his hips—leaving little to the imagination.

System: [What are you going to do? He seems… uh, very much wants to sleep with you. What if the world collapses?]

Jiang Yao: “I’ll find a way to earn enough money and leave before Mr. Shen falls in love with me and the world collapses.”

The system sighed: [What if the world collapses? The higher-ups already told me you’re too good-looking and have a thorny personality, warning me not to partner with you. I should’ve listened.]

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely earn enough for your electricity bill. Now, I need to sleep.”

Jiang Yao collapsed onto the bed, naked, lying face down on the dark gray sheets. The clouds parted, and the moonlight grew brighter, illuminating his body inch by inch, from his back to his hips to his long legs.

…

The next day.

At seven in the morning, the sky was clear and bright. Jiang Yao, dressed in a suit vest, his long legs straight, appeared refreshed in the backyard, holding a hose and watering the lawn.

“Good morning, Butler Jiang.”

Jiang Yao: “Good morning, ma’am. Have you had breakfast?”

Maid: “Yes, I have.”

Jiang Yao smiled: “Could you please call the gardener for me? We need to discuss the Christmas tree for the holidays.”

Maid: “Of course.”

A Butler’s Day.

At a quarter past seven, Jiang Yao drank a cup of coffee and ate toast slathered with rich peanut butter, along with a vegetable salad, at the head of the dining table in the servants’ quarters.

At half past seven.

He contacted the tutor coming at nine to tutor Master Jerry. The tutor, a young professor from Oxford, had agreed on weekly lessons with Jiang Yao a few days prior.

Jiang Yao had promised a helicopter transfer for the tutor, who should be arriving soon by now.

Thus, at a quarter to eight, Jiang Yao stood in Jerry’s room.

“Young master, it’s time to get up.”

Jerry turned over sleepily, catching a glimpse of a tall figure standing by his bed in his peripheral vision, and immediately screamed in fright: “Ahhh!”

The silk sheets slipped off Jerry’s body. The sixteen-year-old master, accustomed to sleeping naked, revealed his morning erection as the covers fell away.

Jiang Yao didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “Looks like you’re wide awake already.”

Jerry: “…”

Jerry glanced down at himself and immediately shouted, “Jiang Yao! You bastard!”

—

At eight o’clock.

Master Ian woke up. Fu Xiaoen had only returned to his room close to five in the morning. Jiang Yao and Jenny arrived with fresh clothes to help the young master get ready.

Ian no longer seemed as afraid of Jiang Yao—perhaps he had realized the “demon” wouldn’t actually harm him.

“It hurts a little,” Jiang Yao said, locking eyes with the three-year-old before glancing at the tiny hand mercilessly pinching his cheek. “Master Ian, please have mercy on me.”

The little hand only squeezed tighter. Jenny burst into laughter. Normally, she would have immediately taken Ian into her arms, but today’s scene was truly rare: “In the three years I’ve cared for the young master, this is the first time I’ve seen him act so unruly.”

“…”

Left with no choice, Jiang Yao picked Ian up, supporting his little bottom as he helped the young master use the toilet.

System: [He didn’t even cry—and he hit you!]

Ian slapped Jiang Yao, as if scolding him for daring to remove his diaper.

Jiang Yao, with a red cheek from the toddler’s strike: […Yeah, won’t mess with him.]

At nine o’clock.

After taking care of Ian, Jiang Yao’s morning had only just begun. He still had many tasks to handle before clearing his afternoon.

Master Dero wanted to buy a yacht in Country G, budgeted at 80 to 100 million euros, and had requested Jiang Yao’s company.

After making a note of it, Jiang Yao turned and bumped into Shen Mo’s secretary.

Secretary Song gave Jiang Yao a strange look before taking out something. “From the master.”

It was a velvet jewelry box, its texture exquisite—as soft as a baby’s skin. Jiang Yao opened it to find a gemstone brooch inside.

Secretary Song: “Put it on.”

Jiang Yao: “This…”

Cartier jewelry, shaped like a moon—a symbolic jewel. Jiang Yao remembered this brooch was part of a set, matching its counterpart, the Sun God brooch.

A famous paired set. The set was worth twelve million euros, with the moon brooch alone priced at five million.

The billionaire’s courtship tactics fully showcased his spending power.

“Why give this to me?” Jiang Yao asked.

Secretary Song gave a knowing look—as if saying, *Why? Don’t you know?*

Jiang Yao thought for a moment before suddenly realizing: “Oh! Mr. Shen must know I’m accompanying Master Dero to buy a yacht, so he gave me a luxury item to show my status! Perfect! I was worried that being foreigners, both Master Dero and I might get questioned!”

Secretary Song: “…What?”