Chapter 54: Working For Free
Anning knew she had been mean to that guard, but why should she feel guilty? She had no idea who he was, they just met and he was being too friendly for her liking.
She stared at the older woman before folding her arms under her breasts.
"You don’t get to speak to me that way." Anning said calmly. "I’m not insecure of anything."
Lanzhin looked at her as though she had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
Anning ran her tongue over her lower teeth. She literally didn’t know what to say anymore. She had no idea what this woman wanted from her.
People here treated her like shit and I’d she didn’t defend herself? What exactly would they see her as?
A saint?
She opened her mouth to argue but Lanzhin had already stepped out of her room, closing the door and then saying, "Follow me"
Anning was a bit adamant about it all but still obeyed.
The two women walked deeper into the servants quarters without another word. The further they went, the worse the place began to look. Not to forget the awful smell of something close to a dead animal.
The atmosphere definitely wasn’t all extravagant and glittery, but people still lived here.
Several maids glanced at her briefly as they walked past her, most of them dressed in their inner wears. Somewhere in the distance, she could see someone washing something. The smell of cooked rice drifted through the air alongside the faint scent of soap and mold.
It wasn’t unpleasant but that didn’t mean Anning liked it. Anning felt as though this was where actual humans were living and the people back at the Gu residence were actually some kind of alien.
Eventually, Lanzhin stopped in front of a wooden door located at the end of the corridor. Without waiting for anything, she pushed it open and stepped into the room.
Anning followed her inside.
The room wasn’t particularly large, sunlight filtered in through a single narrow window, illuminating the floating specks of dust that drifted lazily through the air. Anning could even see mold forming on some part of the wall. Some portions of the wood had small scratches and cracks in a few places.
The room itself contains very little. There was a small cabinet pushed against a wall, a table position beneath the window with two sleeping beds arranged opposite one another. Neither of them looked comfortable!
Anning stood in the center of the room and slowly looked around. Back home, her room had never been anything luxurious, she wasn’t some rich heiress living in a mansion.
But she had decorated it in a way that made it feel like home. Her clothes would have been scattered on the floor, her blanket all rumpled and a pile of books she’d never finished reading by the corner and her charger was always tucked beneath her pillow.
She liked seeing some things in a room but what she was currently looking at made her stomach churn.
"You’re... quiet?" Lanzhin mumbled, snapping Anning out of her thoughts.
"What?"
"I’m talking about your room and maybe your roommate too." Lanzhin said with a frown on her lips.
"It’s not exactly perfect." She responded with a shrug, her eyes still moving around the place.
Lanzhin let out a loud snort and said, "That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said all day."
Anning decided not to respond as her gaze landed on the second sleeping area. Slowly, she turned around to face Lanzhin.
"Why are there two beds?" She asked.
Lanzhin looked at her for a moment before answering, "Because you’ll be sharing this room."
Anning froze, "What do you mean by I’m sharing?"
"Yes, you are"
"No."
"Yes."
Anning ran her fingers through her hair then said, "I don’t sleep besides stranger’s."
Lanzhin immediately rolled her eyes at Anning’s words, "What exactly do you think you are? A princess?"
"No, but—"
"Then stop complaining!"
Anning scoffed, looking horrified.
"You can’t just force me to stay in a room with someone I’ve never met before." She complained.
"I absolutely can and I am." Lanzhin responded, shrugging.
"This feels weird." Anning muttered.
Lanzhin pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "There’s nothing wrong about sharing a room."
"I didn’t say it was wrong, I said it was weird." Anning corrected her.
Ignoring her entirely, Lanzhin stepped further into the room.
"The other person staying here is currently working. You’ll meet her later." Said Lanzhin.
"What if she’s weird?" Anning asked, still looking unconvinced.
"But what if you’re the weird one?" Lanzhin fired back.
Anning rolled her eyes at Lanzhin’s words and said, "I am not weird."
The older woman didn’t respond to her words after that. The silence however felt louder than words and it left Anning feeling mildly offended.
"Listen carefully. The girl staying here is quiet and just keeps to herself. She’s not always one to behave out of line." Lanzhin said after a moment.
"That’s...good?" Anning replied, sounding a bit uncertain.
"But she does finish the fights." Lanzhin added soon after.
"What?" Anning asked, blinking.
Lanzhin folded her arms against her chest before explaining, "Timid people aren’t always harmless. She dislikes conflict but if you push her too far she won’t hesitate to retaliate."
The warning only made Anning more curious.
"Interesting, where does she work?" She asked.
With a blank expression on her face Lanzhin replied, "That’s none of your concern."
Anning narrowed her eyes on the old woman. Now, it was definitely her concern.
"Whatever happens between the two of you," Lanzhin continued, "I will not involve myself in it."
"Why are you saying that like she might rip my heart out of my chest?" asked Anning.
"Do you not know yourself?" Lanzhin snapped, raising a brow at Anning.
Anning felt like Lanzhin was just out to get her. She opened her mouth to complain again but Lanzhin cut her off.
"If you dislike this arrangement so much, perhaps you should have accepted the Young Miss’s generosity without demanding your own room."
That instantly made Anning forget what she wanted to say. She knew Lanzhin wasn’t wrong though.
She particularly hated when people were right. Seeing the expression she had on her face, Lanzhin nodded once.
"Good, it seems even you are capable of remaining silent." She said,
Anning glared at her, she blatantly ignored it.
"You have some time to settle in. Afterwards, return to the Young Miss’s chambers."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward the door.
A few seconds later, the room fell completely silent.
Anning remained standing in the middle of it. Then she walked toward the sleeping mat/bed without a cover and when she sat down, she felt it sink under her weight.
For a few moments, she simply stared at the opposite side of the room. Then reality began hitting her one problem at a time.
She looked down at herself and realized the clothes she had on weren’t even hers. The shoes weren’t hers either. Even the rook technically wasn’t hers to complain about.
Anning frowned. Her eyes then moved to the cabinet that was open, there wasn’t anything inside for her.
She didn’t have any personal belongings, no spare clothes. No blankets... not to forget undergarments.
Anning’s face darkened. She had spent so much time worrying about other people that she hadn’t stopped to consider the most important issue.
She owned absolutely nothing. Not even a small piece of jewelry.
The realization irritated her far more than it should have. Anning dropped backward onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
A few moments went by before another thought entered her mind and it had her eyes widening slightly.
Wait.
"I’m working here." She said softly, already sitting upright. "Am I getting paid?"
The question wasn’t for anyone in particular as she stared at the wall. A few seconds of silence went by before anger exploded across her face.
"Hold on! I’m working here, for free?!"
