Shi Xinxin looked at the note, and tears once again streamed down her face uncontrollably. She didn't want the butler to hear the tearful sound in her voice, so she nodded with effort, "Yes, I've made up my mind, Butler. I've truly made up my mind."
Despite her heart's reluctance, she bravely wiped away her tears.
"Alright then, here are the keys to your old rental apartment. Take them," the butler said, fumbling in his pocket and handing her a set of keys.
"I'll arrange for someone to send your belongings back to you later. This way, you'll be more comfortable," Shi Xinxin nodded, tears gushing out.
Even now, after being so willful and making the butler chase after her for such a long distance, he still doted on her like his own child.
"Finally, I have a small request."
"Butler, please," Shi Xinxin was truly grateful for the time she had been cared for by the butler in the villa.
"Based on my many years of following Mister, everything Mister does has its reasons. If you saw something and misunderstood him, and if one day he comes to explain, I hope you'll give him a chance to explain for my sake."
Shi Xinxin was reminded of what had just happened when the butler mentioned it. Indeed, everything he did had a reason. Wasn't it true that he had positioned himself as a nanny yet brought her to such a high-class banquet?
Wasn't it to humiliate her? He did such things with that woman and deliberately left a door open for her, wasn't it to shatter her dreams?
It was to mock her, this lowly ugly duckling, who dared to dream of a life more noble than a white swan. His objective had been achieved. If Sheng Chenjin were here, Shi Xinxin would have truly wanted to tell him that his objective had been achieved.
Looking at the butler's earnest gaze, Shi Xinxin nodded. However, she knew very well that Sheng Chenjin would never come to explain anything to her, because what she had seen today was not a misunderstanding at all, so what was there to explain?
It seemed the butler didn't really understand Sheng Chenjin either. Seeing Shi Xinxin nod, the butler knew her decision was made and further persuasion was useless. "Go, child. Take care of yourself outside."
The butler finally uttered these words. Being a parent himself, seeing a young girl suffering so much made the butler feel deeply pained.
He didn't know what had happened, but he knew that forcing Shi Xinxin to stay now wouldn't be of much use. Shi Xinxin nodded through her tears, and finally, she couldn't help it, she threw herself into the butler's arms.
The butler held her and gently patted her back, wishing she could still be like a little girl, that this embrace could soothe her heart. But now, the butler was powerless. He could only stand by silently, watching Shi Xinxin walk out of the villa alone, dragging her suitcase.
Shi Xinxin didn't know how she got home that night. After leaving, it seemed she had missed the last bus. She walked on the suburban highway alone, dragging her suitcase for almost two hours before reaching the city.
There was still more than an hour's journey to her home. However, during this journey, the weather turned on her, and a torrential downpour began. People around were looking for shops to shelter from the rain, but Shi Xinxin had no such thought.
With a vacant stare, she dragged her suitcase, walking alone on the road. What was the rain now? Her heart had already gone from thunder and lightning to a blizzard, and now her heart was empty, with nothing left.
She returned home late at night. However, the moment she opened the door, Shi Xinxin was once again touched. The room was not covered in thick dust as she had imagined, but was cleaned spotlessly.
Although many things had been moved out, the basic furniture was still there. She glanced at the keys in her hand and remembered that it must have been the butler who brought people to clean it.
It was a pity she would never see the butler again.
Thinking of this, tears flowed uncontrollably. She entered the room, completely soaked. Water dripped from her clothes onto the floor.
"How can you be so unlucky? You escaped the villa, you should be happy." Shi Xinxin tried to lift her spirits.
But it was of no use. If she were truly happy about escaping the villa, she wouldn't have been so silent all the way, nor would she have gotten so drenched.
"You should be happy, you know? You don't have to serve that arrogant man anymore, and you don't have to revolve around him. From now on, there is no 'Mister' in your life. You don't have to call him 'Mister' anymore."
Shi Xinxin chattered on, hoping to restore her inner self. As she muttered, she locked the door, carelessly tossed her wet shoes onto the balcony, and quickly walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. The water slowly turned warm.
"Look, there's hot water here. This is your small rental apartment. It's been welcoming you for a long time. What's there to be unhappy about? Although it's not the villa, this is your own territory. You don't have to be bossed around anymore. Isn't that something to be happy about?"
She said loudly to herself in the mirror. But as soon as she finished speaking, she looked directly into the mirror and saw a disheveled woman, with traces of smudged makeup still visible on her face.
Her entire body was drenched, her hair clumped together in strands, dripping water. Her appearance at this moment was even more like the people of the lower class in society that Ye Yun had mentioned today.
Tears welled up again, uncontrollably. "Cry, just cry. Cry out all your grievances. This is your home, and no one will laugh at you anymore."
The more Shi Xinxin spoke, the sadder she became. The last few words were barely audible, and she finally crouched on the ground, hugging her knees, and sobbed uncontrollably. Why did they have to torment her like this?
They gave her feelings only to insult her like this. Was it because she had no background and liked someone that she had to be insulted? At least she wasn't as insincere as these rich people.
When she was tired from crying, Shi Xinxin stood up and went to the faucet. The water temperature had reached the usual temperature for her baths. She stood under the faucet, slowly taking off her wet clothes, and numbly washed herself.
Without even drying her hair, she vaguely stumbled to the bed and slept until noon the next day. Because she hadn't drawn the curtains when she returned last night, the room was still very dim at this time.