The Beautiful Older Sister I Picked Up Is Good at Flirting - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Fanzhen remembered what Granny Ying had said—that the Fu household staff got up at six. So, before going to bed, she set an alarm and rose before dawn to wash up. She changed into her maid uniform and opened the door.
Granny Ying happened to be passing by. She looked her up and down and couldn’t help but praise, “You really are a beauty—look good in anything you wear.”
Fanzhen’s ears turned red as she gave a shy smile, her features instantly glowing with charm. “Good morning, Granny Ying!”
Granny Ying smiled and took her hand. “In a while, go with Sister E to the main building… the work there is much easier. Besides, the young miss lives in the main house. Walk around more, get your face known.”
Walk around more?
What if it turns out like the other night…?
Fanzhen thought of how she had nearly been triggered into heat by Fu Siyi’s pheromones. Her brow furrowed in concern. “Granny, I can help in the kitchen or the garden instead…”
Granny Ying gave her hand a light squeeze. Her rough fingers brushed over Fanzhen’s smooth palm, and her expression turned strange for a brief moment.
She looked down at the pale, delicate hands before her—fingertips like polished jade, soft and glossy.
Granny Ying paused, but when she raised her head again, her expression had returned to normal. She called over a maid named Chen E and instructed her, “A’e, Fanzhen will follow you from now on. The main building is big—take her around and help her get familiar so she doesn’t get lost again.”
Chen E nodded with a smile.
Just as she turned to go, Granny Ying added, “A’e, take good care of her.”
Granny Ying had served three generations of the Fu family. Aside from the madam and the eldest daughter, her status was the highest in the household. There were always new maids coming in, but she had never shown such concern for anyone else.
Chen E couldn’t help but be curious. She turned and asked Fanzhen, “Do you know the housekeeper?”
Fanzhen shook her head.
“Then why is she so kind to you?”
Why?
Fanzhen found it strange too. She and Granny Ying had only just met—so why all this special treatment?
But she was sure of one thing: Granny Ying meant no harm.
Since there was no ill intent, there was no need to dig deeper.
Fanzhen replied in her soft voice, gently steering the topic away, “Sister E, Granny Ying isn’t just kind to me. She’s kind to everyone, isn’t she?”
Chen E gave a slightly awkward laugh. “Yes, yes, that’s true.”
Seeing that she wouldn’t get any more out of her, Chen E dropped the matter and led Fanzhen through the winding corridors. As they passed the garden, the other maids were already trimming the flowers, everyone busy with their own tasks.
This was Fanzhen’s second time at the main villa. The first time, it had been too dark to see anything. Now, standing in the grand and opulent main hall, even someone from a once-wealthy background like her was stunned.
To hang tapestries like artwork rather than wallpaper—you needed a vaulted dome like the one in the Fu residence.
Still in awe, Fanzhen suddenly saw someone dash past, shouting anxiously, “Sister E, Sister E!”
Chen E had just gone into the cleaning room to fetch supplies. She rushed out at the sound of shouting. “What are you yelling about this early? Xiaojü, what did you mess up this time?”
“It wasn’t me this time—it was Sister Huan…” Xiaojü shook her head frantically as if trying to avoid blame. “Yesterday, she cleaned the study and moved the desk. The young miss was very upset… none of us dare go near now… Sister E, can you go up?”
Fu Siyi was generous to the staff, but she had a terrible temper. Most of the household feared her.
And Chen E was no exception. She instinctively stepped back. “Why should I go? The study’s not my responsibility… go find Granny Ying.”
Granny Ying arrived quickly after hearing the commotion. Her first question was, “What was lost?”
Xiaojü lowered her head, trembling. “It seems… it’s a book.”
Granny Ying frowned. “What book?”
Xiaojü stammered, unable to explain. “It was some… something in Lam language… Sister Huan said she found it under the desk and thought it was something the young miss didn’t need, so she put it on the shelf…”
From her fragmented explanation, Granny Ying guessed the truth. “How many times have I told you not to touch anything on the young miss’s desk—not even if it falls to the floor? Why won’t you listen? Where did Sister Huan put the book?”
Xiaojü hunched her shoulders. “While she was organizing the bookshelf… she accidentally knocked over the whole wall of books… now it’s mixed in…”
Granny Ying recalled Assistant Fang once mentioning a partnership with Italy. They used the Lam language there. Fu Siyi wasn’t fluent, and though the company had translators and legal staff, she liked to review things herself.
That book was likely her Lam language textbook.
Granny Ying scolded, “If you know it’s mixed in, why haven’t you found it yet?”
Xiaojü looked distressed. “Granny Ying, we don’t even know what Lam looks like… all those foreign letters look the same to us…”
Granny Ying thought for a moment and issued a command: “Everyone, start searching.”
Huo Fanzhen strategically tried to disappear into a corner. A whole room of people searching for one book? Wasn’t that a bit much?
Then suddenly, Granny Ying called out, “Zhenzhen, come help too.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Fanzhen followed the group upstairs. When she reached the study entrance, she realized how ignorant she had been.
The Fu family’s study was more like a private library—an entire separate building, with a spiral staircase and towering, wall-sized bookshelves.
Each wall of shelving was filled with books. Just one shelf held hundreds of volumes. No wonder that once a stack was knocked over, the book was instantly lost in the chaos.
The maids clambered up and down the ladders, searching. For those who couldn’t recognize Lam script, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Lam script resembled other European languages—composed entirely of letters—but it had distinct features: slanted writing and special tails on the capital letters.
Huo Fanzhen climbed the spiral steps and began scanning from the top shelf downward.
From inside the study, Fu Siyi’s cold voice could be heard faintly through the partition.
“All right, stop standing around. You can go now.”
In contrast, Sister Huan’s voice was tearful and full of despair. “Miss, please… don’t fire me… my daughter is sick and needs surgery—I really need this job… Miss, I’m a Beta. It was so hard for me to have a child—she’s my everything… please don’t let me go…”
Fu Siyi paused. “When did I say I was firing you? I just meant… someone else will clean the study from now on. That’s all. Go now.”
“Miss…”
Sister Huan’s lips quivered, as if she still wanted to plead, but Granny Ying stepped forward and gently stopped her. She patted her on the shoulder. “Sister Huan, go help out in the kitchen.”
Sister Huan gave a faint response and left with her head bowed.
Fu Siyi’s lashes drooped slightly as she silently watched the frail, sorrowful figure disappear beyond the doorway. After a while, she asked softly, “What’s wrong with Sister Huan’s daughter?”
Granny Ying sighed. “Sigh… she has a brain tumor. They need to do surgery to see if it’s benign or malignant… Betas already have a hard time conceiving. Sister Huan had her daughter at 45. The whole family was overjoyed… who knew this would happen…”
Fu Siyi’s long lashes trembled slightly, and then she fell silent.
After a moment, she slowly looked up. “Granny Ying, tell Assistant Jiang to contact the best neurology hospital and schedule surgery for Sister Huan’s daughter as soon as possible. The cost… take it from my personal account.”
Granny Ying was sincerely happy for Sister Huan. “All right.”
That’s just how the young miss was—hard on the outside, soft inside. Though her temper was bad, whenever someone was in trouble, she would always help generously. That’s why the staff truly respected her.
By the bookshelf, Fanzhen was crouched down searching. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sister Huan walk out of the room, head hung low, looking utterly defeated.
Over the past few days in the Fu household, aside from Granny Ying, Sister Huan had been the kindest to her. Fanzhen couldn’t stand to see her like this.
She wanted to find the book quickly.
Just then, she turned and her eyes suddenly lit up.
On the third shelf in the middle, a book with a red spine had a line of Lam script.
Among the entire shelf, it was the only one in Lam.
This must be the one, she thought.
But the next second, she hesitated.
Right now, she was supposed to be a Beta from a rural village in Yuan country—with no education, no family.
If she just pulled out the book, how could she explain knowing Lam?