Chapter 299
Now, looking at the maid outfit in Xia'er’s hands, Aivina felt a bit stuck.
What should she do? She had never worn anything like this in her entire life...
“Do you need help changing?”
Xia'er, dressed in a slip, took a step forward, causing Aivina to instinctively take two steps back. Maintaining her impassive expression, she said, “You look perfect already. Your disguise as a maid is seamless…”
“Are you too scared to wear it?”
Xia'er narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of provocation glimmering in her gaze.
Xia'er knew very well that many of Aivina's earlier commands were merely to satisfy her own whims.
Though Aivina was putting on a good front, Xia'er could still sense the excitement in her demeanor, reminiscent of a child dressing up a doll.
Now, it was time for Aivina to “repay her debt.”
That was just how Xia'er was; she couldn't stand losing even a little.
Hearing the words “too scared” and seeing Xia'er’s challenging look, Aivina instinctively retorted, “Who says I’m scared?”
As soon as she said that, Aivina caught sight of Xia'er’s intrigued expression and realized she had fallen into a trap.
Aivina pursed her lips, reluctantly stepped forward, and snatched the maid outfit from Xia'er’s hands.
Hmph... She was just letting her have it. If she used her “psychologist” abilities, Xia'er would forget all about this, and she could even make her wear the maid outfit indefinitely.
Yes, it was just her letting her have it.
After shaking off some of her frustration, Aivina walked past Xia'er and headed straight for the changing room.
When Aivina finally opened the door after changing, Xia'er was already dressed in her usual elegant dress, sitting on the sofa.
Hearing the door open, Xia'er turned to look and saw Aivina standing at the entrance of the changing room, wearing the maid outfit, her cheeks slightly flushed.
The black hair and dress made her skin appear even fairer, and the rosy cheeks combined with her lowered head added a playful charm to the scene.
The highlight of the moment was Aivina’s downturned mouth and her clearly defiant expression.
“Pour the tea, Aivina.”
Xia'er didn’t hide her smile, waving her hand toward Aivina.
For someone born with a silver spoon in her mouth, a true noblewoman, to say such a thing was probably unprecedented—especially while making her wear a maid’s outfit.
Who would believe that?
Was this what Aivina had just experienced?
To be honest, it felt pretty good.
Aivina’s hands trembled slightly as she poured a cup of red tea for Xia'er, placing it in front of her before stepping aside, her mouth tightly shut.
“What’s the proper phrase for this situation? Teacher Aivina?”
Xia'er feigned confusion as she looked at Aivina, who was now staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact, her face nearly crimson.
It was hard to tell if she was angry or embarrassed.
“P-please… enjoy your tea… Miss Xia'er…”
A voice as soft as a whisper escaped Aivina’s lips. Upon hearing it, Xia'er nodded in satisfaction.
However, she didn’t intend to tease Aivina too much; just a little “punishment” would suffice to ensure Aivina wouldn’t dare to overstep again.
Just as she took a sip of the tea, she suddenly felt a slight tremor in her body.
Turning to look, she found Aivina biting her lip, staring at her with tears welling in her eyes.
It seemed that this “humiliation” had deeply upset Aivina.
Since arriving in this world, Xia'er had lived a life of a commoner, and to her, a maid outfit was nothing significant.
But for Aivina, who had always been a noble, it seemed that her aristocratic dignity had been insulted.
Realizing she might have gone a bit too far, Xia'er quickly set down her teacup and walked over to Aivina, softly saying, “Alright, it’s over. I’ve seen the demonstration. Thank you, Aivina.”
But Aivina, on the verge of tears, turned her face away, keeping her head down as she said, “Is there anything else you need… Miss Xia'er?”
Xia'er: “…”
This Aivina...
If you say she can’t handle it, she can indeed wear the maid outfit, and even in a fit of anger, she didn’t use her extraordinary abilities to resist.
If you say her noble dignity is a bit too heavy, she was still reluctant to change out of the maid outfit because of Xia'er’s earlier provocation, fearing being looked down upon...
What a tangled mess!
No one is perfect; at least this little quirk of hers was rather endearing to Xia'er.
Because the way she looked now was genuinely cute, though her expression of grievance was a bit hard to bear.
But trying to coax her back to normal would be quite a challenge.
“By the way, Aivina,”
Xia'er seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, “Do maids get subjected to ‘unspoken rules’?”
“What ‘unspoken rules’…”
Aivina kept her head down, her voice lacking energy.
“Like being treated by their masters…”
Xia'er gently lifted Aivina’s chin and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
Caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Aivina froze, her previously moist eyes unable to hold back, and a tear fell.
Realizing she had lost her composure, Aivina quickly stepped back, turning away to wipe her eyes, saying, “U-Usually, no… To avoid suspicion, many male nobles use male servants. Only some unscrupulous nobles and wealthy merchants…”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Your voice sounds a bit hoarse.”
At that moment, Xia'er perfectly provided Aivina with an escape, “If you’re not feeling well, you should go change back.”
“I do feel a bit unwell… cough, cough…”
Aivina, with her back to Xia'er, pretended to cough a couple of times before quickly heading toward the changing room.
It took a full ten minutes for Aivina to emerge from the changing room.
By then, her expression had returned to its usual impassiveness, and she was back in a simple dress.
If it weren’t for the slight redness still lingering on her eyelids, Xia'er would have thought nothing had happened.
They both tacitly avoided mentioning what had just occurred, and after taking turns to freshen up, the emotionally turbulent Aivina lay down on the bed, feeling drowsy.
Xia'er wrapped her arms around Aivina, and at that moment, the tension that had gripped Aivina for nearly an entire day finally relaxed. In a vengeful manner, she clung tightly to Xia'er, burying her head in her embrace, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
So that’s why Aivina in the simulation slept for so long… It turned out she had been running around all day and then had been brought to tears by herself…
Moreover, in the simulation, she had even made Aivina handle the banquet preparations for the next day, and Aivina had complied without complaint, even though she was exhausted.
Xia'er gently stroked Aivina’s hair, feeling a bit helpless, and slowly closed her own eyes.
At that moment, she too desperately needed rest.
...
The next day, at six in the morning, Xia'er woke from her slumber.
This sleep had been sufficient for her, and she felt much more refreshed.
In the simulation, her movements had been a bit too loud, waking Aivina. Now, Xia'er gently untangled her arms from around Aivina, but still accidentally stirred her awake.
“Xia'er…?”
Aivina squinted her eyes slightly, her dark purple irises still hazy with sleep, murmuring Xia'er’s name.
“It’s not dawn yet… Just go back to sleep.”
Xia'er reached out to gently rub Aivina’s head, and only after she closed her eyes again did Xia'er continue to get up and change into a new outfit.
After ordering breakfast, Xia'er went to the study to read until Aivina finally woke up at eight-thirty. After having breakfast, she came to the study to find Xia'er.
Today, Aivina still needed to negotiate about the demolition of the gem mining area and also arranged to help Xia'er obtain the list. It wouldn’t be long before the list would be in Xia'er’s hands.
However, before Aivina went to the negotiation, Xia'er asked her for the names of the person in charge of the Western Railway Company and those nobles she would be negotiating with.
Xia'er had no personal grievances against them, but they had caused Aivina distress.
She simply remembered their names, nothing more.
After all, Xia'er wasn’t the type to hold grudges.
On the third, nothing much happened, except that Adele sent over some more documents, and Aivina’s negotiation failed again.
This time, Aivina had no intention of reclaiming the mining area; instead, she aimed to push for an early payment of compensation, but that path remained fraught with difficulties.
The railway construction hadn’t even begun, and trying to wrestle a piece of meat from those politicians was no easy feat.
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