Substitute Girlfriend Contract (GL) - Chapter 6

“Mmph—mm, ugh—”

Tao Anyu smacked the woman’s back hard, braced her knee, and with great effort finally managed to push her off.

A few devil-costumed maids rushed over in a panic, propping the woman up as she staggered to her feet. She held her forehead, shook her head to clear it, then shoved away the maid trying to steady her. Pointing straight at Tao Anyu, she declared loudly, “Back off! Let—hic—let my beloved consort attend me tonight!”

Beloved consort? Attend her in bed?!

Tao Anyu’s brow twitched. She stared at the woman, utterly speechless. This one had to be completely wasted.

Sure enough, one of the maids hurried over and bowed apologetically. “Sorry, Miss Tao. President Lu wasn’t in a great mood today and drank a little too much. She’d actually booked a dinner banquet to host you—”

“It’s fine, really. No need to panic.” Tao Anyu quickly helped steady the woman and reassured her. “If she’s upset and wants to drink her troubles away, that’s normal. No need to force the dinner. I only came today because Mr. Kong reached out to me.” She glanced back at the drunken mess now belting out Peking opera, her lips twitching before she added with a polite smile, “Since the general manager’s not up for company tonight, I’ll come back the next day.”

With that, Tao Anyu turned toward the door.

“Miss Tao!” The maid chased after her.

“What is it?”

“It’s so late, and this villa’s out in the suburbs—it’ll be hard to get a taxi. Please, let me have our driver take you home.”

She had a point. Tao Anyu smiled. “In that case, I’ll trouble you for the ride.”

The maid grinned, took off her little horned headpiece, and as they walked, she said, “My name’s Tian Qiurou. You can just call me Xiao Tian.”

Under the light, Tao Anyu gave her a look: small face, pointed chin, and big watery eyes. She seemed like an easy person to talk to, someone reasonable.

Tao Anyu chuckled. Who would’ve thought that crazy woman had such a proper, considerate girl working for her? Amusing.

“Alright, Xiao Tian, no need to be so formal. I’m Tao Anyu—everyone just calls me Taozi.”

“Got it, Taozi-jie.” Tian Qiurou nodded quickly, then pulled open the heavy glass door and gestured left. “This way. Wait here a moment while I call the driver.”

“Sure.”

She had barely made the call when another maid came running out in a flurry, glancing around before spotting Tao Anyu on the lawn. She slapped her thigh and sprinted over.

“Miss Tao! Miss Tao!”

Tao Anyu hurried to catch her. “Don’t rush, don’t rush. What happened? Just say it slowly.”

The maid gulped down air, finally catching her breath before grabbing Tao Anyu’s shoulders. “You’d better go back inside—President Lu is yelling for her consort to attend her! If you don’t, I won’t even have a job tomorrow!”

…

Tao Anyu swallowed hard and slowly turned to Tian Qiurou, who bit her lip and gave her a guilty little blink.

“Miss Tao!” The maid suddenly dropped to her knees, clutching Tao Anyu’s leg and wailing. “Please have mercy on me! I’ve got elderly parents and young kids depending on me. I was just supposed to accompany President Lu to drinks tonight, but then I got dragged here to play a maid. I didn’t even do anything wrong! I don’t want to get fired, boohoohoo…”

…

Even Tian Qiurou looked uncomfortable now. She knew her boss’s temper—if Tao Anyu refused to go back, this poor girl really might lose her job by morning.

“Miss Tao… maybe…” Tian Qiurou trailed off, clearly torn.

“Miss Tao! I swear I’ll be forever grateful if you help me out this once!” The kneeling maid cranked up the volume, pouring fuel on the fire.

Tao Anyu pressed her fingers to her brow and let out a long sigh. She turned to Tian Qiurou with a small smile. “Sorry, Xiao Tian—could you call the driver again and tell him not to come?”

Tian Qiurou nodded gratefully and made the call.

“Miss Tao, you’re my savior!” The maid clung even tighter to her leg.

“Don’t be so dramatic. At most I’m your older sister, not your… savior-parent.”

“Then you’re my savior-sister!” the maid declared at the top of her lungs.

…

Well, I can be your sister without the whole “savior” thing, Tao Anyu thought wryly. Then again, in a way, I guess I am “giving her a new life.” Fine. Savior-sister it is.

Helping her up, Tao Anyu asked, “Is your boss still on her drunken rampage?”

The maid shook her head. “She just threw up and is lying in bed now.” Then she added, “Miss Tao, you can just go right in. The villa’s security is fully automated. Your info’s been entered—just scan your iris.”

“Alright.”

“It’s already ten. I need to get home. My mom’s waiting for me to boil her medicine.” The maid took off at a run. “I’ll go change first. President Lu’s all yours, Miss Tao!” And she vanished.

Left standing there in the biting night wind, Tao Anyu suddenly felt like the biggest idiot alive. She glanced around at the hideous pumpkin lanterns and the eerie blue-lit pool, hugging herself against a shiver.

“Taozi-jie, I should be heading home too, so…” Tian Qiurou started softly, then hesitated, darting her eyes around.

Uh-oh. Don’t tell me there’s something else weird coming. “What is it?” Tao Anyu asked warily.

Tian Qiurou hesitated again. “No one usually lives here. President Lu just dropped into D City unexpectedly yesterday, so… there’s no staff in the villa. Everything will be up to you…”

…

Wait. Did she mean—

Tao Anyu blinked, slowly turning to take in the sprawling villa, the little forest and the private lake.

So this entire estate had no servants… and she was supposed to handle it all?!

No way was ten grand a month going to cut it. She’d need a raise—minimum.

Checking her phone, Tian Qiurou smiled. “Taozi-jie, I really have to go. President Lu’s actually a good person. Here, I’ll give you my number—call me if you need anything.” She scribbled it down on a memo pad and handed it over. “Bye, Taozi-jie!”

“…Bye.” Tao Anyu stared blankly at the paper, feeling the wind cut even colder.

Damn it.

She stomped her foot, exhaled toward the front door, and trudged back inside.

Every light in the place blazed bright.

Climbing the staircase, she finally found the drunken CEO passed out in a tiny corner room on the third floor.

Tao Anyu sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over to study her. The woman’s eyes were closed. She has a long lashes, her face flushed bright red and her breath was thick with alcohol.

“Bad mood, huh? Bad enough to drink yourself like this?” Tao Anyu lay down beside her, twirling a strand of her softly curled hair with a sly smile. “Even when I’ve been so low I wanted to die, I’ve never drunk this much. You know why?”

Up close, she noticed the woman’s skin was surprisingly pale—not the result of skincare, but the kind of pale that seemed baked into her very genes.

The longer she looked, the more she couldn’t resist. Tao Anyu reached out and gave her cheek a playful scrape with her fingers. Ha—so satisfying.