“Is this the reason you didn’t let me ask before?”
Back at the barbecue place, Penelope had tried several times to question Jin Can’er about the topic she was curious about, but every time, she was interrupted by Su Mengdie.
To be honest, she was quite angry at the time.
But Su Mengdie had shot her a look, saying she would explain once they got home.
Now, having listened to her explanation, Penelope finally stopped her gentle stroking, allowing the already blushing Su Mengdie a moment to catch her breath.
“Yeah… At that time, Can’er suddenly didn’t feel like the person I knew at all.”
Su Mengdie pulled up the strap of her nightgown from her arm.
The smooth fabric brushed against her burning skin, bringing a touch of coolness and reviving her body a little.
The Young Lady really doesn’t know how to show any tenderness…
This is her body, after all!
“Is it possible that she only has… oh, no, that she only holds hostility toward you, the Young Lady, and opens up to Su Mengdie, her close friend?”
The Young Lady pinched her chin and thought for a moment, quickly spotting the flaw in Su Mengdie’s judgment.
She felt Can’er was dangerous purely because, from her perspective, she sensed Jin Can’er’s hostility.
But Jin Can’er wasn’t close to the Young Lady to begin with, so not wanting her to know family matters was completely normal, wasn’t it?
“I… I guess that’s possible?”
With the Young Lady’s guidance, Su Mengdie realized this blind spot.
But if Jin Can’er really didn’t like the Young Lady, why had she stuck to her all day?
Clinging to her when she wanted, and kicking her away when she wanted to know more—this was pure, unfiltered playgirl behavior!
And clearly, this wasn’t the Jin Can’er Su Mengdie knew.
“Young Lady, I still think you should be careful… If you really want to ask, how do you plan to talk to her?”
Out of concern for safety, Su Mengdie decided to screen the Young Lady’s wording first.
“Hmm… Why am I a special person?”
Penelope tilted her head, looking at Su Mengdie with a puzzled face.
“Young Lady… That’s like a clueless dummy asking a girl who’s already confessed to you, ‘Why did you confess to me?'”
Su Mengdie commented with exasperation.
Thank goodness she asked!
Otherwise, what if Jin Can’er misunderstood?
Would she think, ‘Su Mengdie really is self-absorbed. If I’d known she was this dense, I’d never have befriended her…’?
Su Mengdie shook her head hard and quickly advised the Young Lady to rethink her words.
“Young Lady, why don’t you think about it again?”
“Then, what do you mean by a special person?”
“Someone who can see my underwear?”
“What makes me special?”
***
Time ticked by, and before they knew it, it was time to rest.
However, every way Penelope thought of to ask the question was rejected by Su Mengdie, one by one.
Now she understood another reason why the Young Lady couldn’t make friends.
“Young Lady, why don’t you just be straightforward? Just say you want to know what she meant by special.”
“Oh~”
“It’s getting late, let’s get to bed early.”
Seeing her agree so readily, Su Mengdie finally relaxed a little.
But just as she turned off the bedside lamp, the quiet room was suddenly filled with the crisp sound of knocking at the door.
What’s going on?
Did the Head Maid come for a nightly inspection right to the Young Lady’s door?
Su Mengdie glanced at Penelope, still unsure how to explain, when Penelope weakly said to her,
“Su Mengdie, someone’s knocking.”
“I heard, but shouldn’t you go open the door at this hour?”
Since when does a maid lie in bed and let the Young Lady go open the door?
The world really has turned upside down!
“But I’m already lying down, sealed in by my blanket, I can’t get out~”
Penelope clutched the blanket tightly, refusing to get up.
Until a familiar voice came from the door.
“Su Mengdie! I know you’re in there, get out here right now!”
Along with the shout that squeezed through the door crack, the knocking grew even more aggressive.
Looks like tonight, she wouldn’t let Penelope off until she saw her…
“Young Lady, hurry up, I’ll go with you.”
“Fine, fine, the Head Maid is really something. If there’s something to say, why not say it earlier instead of waiting until people are asleep~”
“Maybe it’s something urgent…”
After turning on the room’s main light, Su Mengdie put a coat on herself and the Young Lady, then let the Young Lady open the door.
The knocking abruptly stopped.
Wearing nothing but a pure white, gauzy nightgown, the Head Maid first bowed to the ‘Young Lady,’ then looked at ‘Su Mengdie,’ who opened the door.
Right now, Penelope looked completely half-asleep, her eyes barely open.
But the Head Maid didn’t scold her, nor did she object to the two of them being in the same room.
She simply handed her a letter.
“This is from the Chief Steward. Make sure to destroy it after reading.”
After handing the letter to Penelope, the Head Maid gave her a final bow, wished her good night, and returned to the room next door.
“The Chief Steward wrote a letter, not to the Young Lady, but to me?”
After closing the door, Su Mengdie looked at the letter in Penelope’s hand in confusion.
The letter’s wax seal bore the Owl Seal—the exclusive mark of the Chief Steward.
When she was little, the Chief Steward was like a second mother to her.
Whenever her mother went out, it was the Chief Steward who took care of her at home.
If her mother was too busy to feed her, the Chief Steward would feed her with her own milk.
Though her memories of the Chief Steward were hazy, she was sure she was a gentle person.
As she grew older, she saw the Chief Steward less and less, and after the Chief Steward retired, they lost contact completely.
This was the first letter she had received from the Chief Steward since Penelope took over the Jinzhi Family, and it marked their renewed connection.
Su Mengdie was desperate to know what was inside, and Penelope had no interest in reading someone else’s letter, so she handed the letter to Su Mengdie and went to bed.
“Su Mengdie, remember to burn the letter after reading it, good night~”
“Mm, good night~”
Su Mengdie picked up the letter, turning it over and over in her hands.
With excitement, she sat down at the dressing table and broke the wax seal.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Most of it was filled with meaningless pleasantries, but when she got to the end, Su Mengdie’s hand suddenly started trembling uncontrollably.
“Y-Young Lady! Young Lady, something’s wrong!”
In a flash, Su Mengdie rushed to the velvet bed, shaking Penelope hard with the letter clutched in her hand.
“Stop shaking me, just say what you need to say! If it’s nothing, I’m going to spank you!”
“I… I’m about to be expelled from the family by the Chief Steward!”