Chapter 92: I Did The Right Thing

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: I Did The Right Thing

The corridors of the staff quarters were unusually quiet, with only Xi Yunxui’s footsteps echoing softly against the polished floor as she made her way back to her room.

Her expression was blank, almost unnaturally so, and she kept her gaze lowered throughout the entire walk. Every time she heard a faint sound from one of the rooms or noticed movement farther down the corridor, her heart tightened, and she silently prayed that whoever it was would not come near her.

She did not trust herself to speak at the moment.

Not when her emotions were still tangled beyond anything she could sort through.

Huo Jingchen’s expression in the garden remained painfully vivid in her mind.

The hurt in his dark eyes.

The way his hand had instinctively pressed against his chest after she walked away.

The loneliness that had crossed his face when he realized she was truly leaving.

Xi Yunxui clenched her fingers.

She hated admitting it, but seeing him like that had hurt her too.

It was almost as though she had said something she would eventually regret for the rest of her life.

She had never intended to hurt him.

That was the problem.

If she had disliked him, things would have been much easier. If she had felt nothing whenever he looked at her, if his touch had meant nothing, if his words had never made her heart race, then she could have walked away without looking back.

But that was not the truth.

She was moved by him.

How could she not be?

Huo Jingchen was the eldest young master of the Huo family, a man who seemed to have everything that could make someone difficult to ignore. He was capable, composed, handsome, respected, and usually so self-controlled that even his emotions seemed carefully hidden behind an impenetrable expression.

Yet around her, that perfect composure had begun to crack.

He waited for her.

He noticed when she left.

He wanted her to stay.

He had held her in his arms and, in a voice so unlike the Huo Jingchen she knew, asked her to remain there for just a little while.

And when she tried to distance herself, he had chased after her.

Xi Yunxui might have been hopelessly dense when it came to matters of the heart, but she was not so oblivious that she could ignore all of those signs.

She knew what they meant.

Or at least, she suspected.

And perhaps that was precisely why she had run away.

Because if she allowed herself to acknowledge what was happening between them, she would eventually have to confront the one fact she had been trying desperately to avoid.

She was a maid of the Huo family.

Huo Jingchen was the eldest young master.

There was a boundary between them, one that should not be crossed simply because their feelings had begun to become complicated.

What would happen if they allowed themselves to become involved?

What would happen when the servants started talking?

What would happen when the Huo family noticed?

And even if Huo Jingchen did not care about the opinions of others, Xi Yunxui knew she would care. She did not want to become the maid everyone whispered about, the servant who had managed to capture the attention of the eldest young master.

More importantly, she did not want Huo Jingchen to become the subject of ridicule or criticism because of her.

No matter how much her heart resisted it, she knew what the sensible choice was.

They had to remain what they were.

Employee and employer.

Nothing more.

Xi Yunxui reached her door and quickly pushed it open.

She slipped inside and immediately closed it behind her, leaning against the door for a moment as she released a long breath.

Relief washed over her.

She had made it all the way back without encountering anyone.

That was probably for the best.

If someone had stopped her along the way and casually asked whether she was alright, she honestly did not know whether she would have been able to answer without her voice betraying everything she was trying to hide.

Xi Yunxui turned around and locked the door.

Then, as though the strength holding her upright had suddenly disappeared, she slowly slid down against it until she was sitting on the floor.

She drew her knees toward her chest and wrapped her arms around them before lowering her head onto her knees.

For a while, she simply remained there.

The room was quiet.

The three creatures were nearby, but none of them disturbed her.

Perhaps even they could sense that something was wrong.

Xi Yunxui stared blankly at the floor.

Maybe I really was too harsh.

The thought surfaced again.

She immediately pushed it away.

No. I did the right thing.

She had to believe that.

If she started questioning herself now, she would only make the situation harder.

A familiar voice sounded inside her head.

[Host.]

Xi Yunxui did not respond.

Her eyes merely shifted toward the translucent panel that had appeared in front of her.

The system seemed to understand that she was not in the mood for conversation.

A moment later, another line appeared.

[You did the right thing.]

Xi Yunxui stared at the words.

For some reason, the simple reassurance gave her a small sense of comfort.

I did the right thing.

Yes.

That was what she needed to remember.

She had protected herself from unnecessary rumors. She had protected Huo Jingchen from being dragged into gossip. She had maintained the boundary that should have existed between an employee and her employer.

It was the sensible decision.

The correct decision.

So why did her chest still hurt?

Why did remembering Huo Jingchen’s expression make her heart ache as though she had done something cruel to him?

Xi Yunxui lowered her eyes.

"Knowing I did the right thing doesn’t make my heart hurt any less."

Her voice was quiet, almost weary.

The system did not immediately respond.

Xi Yunxui let out a tired sigh and rested her cheek against her knees.

"I almost wish I wasn’t this rational."

She gave a faint, humorless smile.

"If I were a little more foolish, maybe I wouldn’t have to think about all of this."

She knew that was not true.

Even if she abandoned all reason, reality would remain unchanged.

She was still a maid.

He was still the eldest young master.

Their positions were too different, and the consequences of crossing that line would not disappear simply because she wanted them to.

Still, knowing all of that did nothing to ease the ache in her chest.

At some point during her quiet struggle, the three creatures had gradually gathered around her.

King C stood on one side, Biyu was perched nearby, and Hui sat close to Xi Yunxui with her little ash-grey body pressed against the floor.

All three stared at her.

Their usual mischief had disappeared.

They had never seen Xi Yunxui look like this before.

Even when she was exhausted from work or irritated by the Huo family’s endless problems, she usually complained, laughed, or found something to occupy herself with.

This was different.

She looked completely dejected.

King C exchanged a glance with Biyu before turning back to her.

"Xi Yunxui..."

His voice was unusually careful.

"Are you alright?"

Xi Yunxui lifted her head.

The concern on his face made something inside her soften.

She managed to give him a small smile.

"I’m fine."

King C clearly did not believe her.

Neither did Biyu.

Hui quietly moved a little closer.

Xi Yunxui looked at the three of them for a moment before her smile faded.

Without saying anything else, she lowered her head and buried her face against her knees again.

The creatures remained around her.

No one spoke.

The room settled into silence once more.

Minutes passed.

Perhaps it was only a few minutes.

Perhaps it was much longer.

Xi Yunxui eventually lost track of time.

She simply sat there, allowing her thoughts to wander until the ache in her chest gradually became something she could bear.

She could not remain like this forever.

Whatever she felt for Huo Jingchen, whatever confusion existed between them, she still had a life to live.

She had work to do.

She had responsibilities.

And she had a system that apparently had no intention of allowing her to become an emotional wreck in peace.

With that thought, Xi Yunxui suddenly straightened.

The three creatures jumped slightly.

King C nearly stumbled backward.

"What are you doing?!"

Xi Yunxui ignored him.

She stood up and dusted the wrinkles from her clothes, smoothing her sleeves before lifting both hands to pat her cheeks several times.

Enough.

She took a deep breath.

"I’m a maid of the Huo family."

Her voice was firmer this time.

"I have a job to do, and I need to do it properly."

King C blinked at her.

Biyu tilted her head.

Hui watched her quietly.

Xi Yunxui nodded to herself.

"That’s right. Work first."

She had made her decision.

Whatever happened with Huo Jingchen, she would deal with it later. For now, she would focus on what she could control.

Her duties.

Her system.

Her cultivation.

And, unfortunately, three troublesome creatures who seemed determined to make her life anything but peaceful.

As that thought crossed her mind, Xi Yunxui suddenly remembered something.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"The mountain."

She had almost forgotten about it.

The system had given her an entire mountain as a reward when her cultivation level advanced.

An entire mountain.

Xi Yunxui had been so caught up in everything happening at the Huo residence that she had barely had the opportunity to properly investigate it.

Her expression gradually became more thoughtful.

I should find some time to check it out.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Or whenever she could find a moment when no one was bothering her.

There had to be something useful hidden there.

And after everything that had happened today, Xi Yunxui suddenly felt that discovering exactly what the system had given her might be a much better way to occupy her thoughts than worrying about Huo Jingchen.

She glanced at the three creatures.

"Tomorrow, we’re going somewhere."

King C immediately became interested.

"Where?"

Xi Yunxui smiled faintly.

"I’ll tell you when we get there."

For the first time since returning to her room, the heaviness in her expression eased slightly.

Whatever tomorrow brought, she would deal with it when it came.