He said he only saw Shi Xinxin emerge alone from the banquet hall and did not see Sheng Chenjin's figure long after he drove away, so he didn't know what had happened.
The butler was bewildered. What was the situation now? Had she not waited for Mr. Sheng? That shouldn't be the case; after Miss departed, he had received a call from Mr. Sheng, who should have arrived long ago.
Instinct told the butler that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. He quickly ran back to the villa and headed towards Miss's room. When he reached Shi Xinxin's door, the room was already locked from the inside.
The butler, out of politeness, did not use the spare key. Instead, he knocked on the door from the outside, "Miss, what happened? Miss, tell me quickly, Miss, Miss, please open the door."
The butler anxiously knocked and inquired from outside, while inside, Shi Xinxin was already sobbing uncontrollably. She tried hard to suppress her emotions, but it was to no avail; tears continued to stream down her face.
From the moment she returned to her room, Shi Xinxin began to change her clothes. She didn't care how ruined her makeup was; all she cared about was taking off everything that Sheng Chenjin had given her.
After changing into her own clothes and emerging from the bathroom, she heard the butler's inquiries. No, she absolutely could not open the door now; if the butler came in, he would surely stop her.
"Miss, Miss, please open the door. Didn't you go to the party? What happened? Where is Mr. Sheng? Why didn't he come back with you?" the butler persisted, after all, it was Miss's room.
Moreover, she had returned looking so distressed. The butler didn't want to rush to know the answer; he just wanted to comfort her and understand the truth of the matter.
Shi Xinxin refused to say anything. Although she felt greatly wronged this time, she had no right to complain because what that person said was all correct. As for Sheng Chenjin's whereabouts?
She didn't know how to answer that question either. Should she tell the butler that he was in another woman's bed right now? It sounded like such a ridiculous answer, and here she was, crying again, such a weakling.
Shi Xinxin mercilessly wiped away her tears, pulled all her clothes out of the wardrobe, and haphazardly stuffed them into a suitcase, taking her most cherished few toys.
The sound of the butler knocking drew the attention of the household servants. They were all worried that something had happened to Shi Xinxin. Should they break down the door? But the butler wanted to wait a little longer.
Just moments ago, he could still hear the sound of things being packed from inside the room, but now there was no sound at all. He asked everyone to remain calm and try to persuade her again. Just as he was about to knock, the door was suddenly pulled open by Shi Xinxin.
In front of everyone, Shi Xinxin was wearing her usual clothes, dragging a suitcase behind her. Although her tears had been wiped away, her eyes were still noticeably red and swollen.
Everyone was stunned. Taking advantage of their daze, she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the butler, then quickly went downstairs. "Please help me give this letter to Mr. Sheng. Tell him that I will faithfully abide by the agreement written on the note. I hope he will also keep the requests I made on it."
Before the butler could react, Shi Xinxin had already walked out of the villa. She didn't ask the driver to take her into the city, as this was no longer her home, and never had been.
Dragging her suitcase, she walked briskly alone on the only avenue in the villa leading to the main gate. The butler, after a moment of processing Shi Xinxin's words, looked down at the letter in his hand. Two large characters stood out prominently: "IOU."
The IOU stated that Shi Xinxin would repay the interview fee she owed Sheng Chenjin in full within her lifetime. However, due to personal reasons, Shi Xinxin had to breach the contract early and move back to her previous apartment.
If Sheng Chenjin was dissatisfied with this, he could double the interview fee. As long as Sheng Chenjin agreed to her requests, the butler was greatly surprised. During this period, he had personally witnessed how Mr. Sheng had learned to care for Shi Xinxin.
He never expected Shi Xinxin to still remember the interview fee. On the lower half of the note, two words stood out clearly: "Miss's requests." Her demands were not many, only two.
The first was that due to her work, Shi Xinxin could not repay large amounts each month, but she guaranteed that she would transfer money to Sheng Chenjin's account every month and hoped he would not rush her too much.
The other point was that Sheng Chenjin could pursue the debt from Shi Xinxin in any way he wished, but she hoped to never see Sheng Chenjin in person again. Otherwise, she would refuse to repay the remaining debt.
The butler's jaw nearly dropped when he read the last point. They had been fine before. While they might not have been inseparable, when he secretly watched them dance, the look in Miss's eyes as she gazed at Mr. Sheng was that of a young girl in love.
Why would she now say such harsh words? Repaying the money was a minor matter; these demands clearly indicated she never wanted to see him again in her life. What had happened?
Had Mr. Sheng confessed his feelings to Miss and been rejected? But even if rejected, there was no need to be this angry. He felt that Shi Xinxin had been wronged. After reading the note, he quickly went downstairs and ran after Shi Xinxin.
"Miss, Miss, please wait." Due to his age, the butler knew he couldn't catch up to the young Shi Xinxin and could only call out to her, hoping she would stop and wait for him.
"Everything I wanted to say is explained in the letter. Just hand it to Mr. Sheng," Shi Xinxin replied, turning back to the butler and speaking loudly.
"Miss, please wait, I have something to say to you." Hearing this, Shi Xinxin stopped in her tracks. The butler had always treated her well; he was the kindest person in the villa, apart from Aunt Yun.
Thinking of the butler's advanced age, Shi Xinxin's heart softened. She turned around, leaving her suitcase where it was, and ran towards the butler alone.
"Butler, what do you want to tell me?"
Just as the butler had said, no matter how Shi Xinxin opposed Sheng Chenjin, she remained soft-hearted. She cared for everyone around her, so for Shi Xinxin, the most effective method was a ploy of feigned suffering.
"Have you truly thought it through?" the butler asked Shi Xinxin, holding the note. For Mr. Sheng, this money was not a major issue. Mr. Sheng wanted to keep her simply to spend more time with her.
Now that Shi Xinxin was determined to leave the villa and leave Sheng Chenjin, the butler knew he wouldn't get a clear answer, but he still wanted to ask Shi Xinxin if she had truly made up her mind.