Chapter 2

Butler Young Master (2)

Following the male lead to the dining hall, all heirs were required to dine together there. Unless they were ill, anyone missing the meal would go hungry.

Moreover, everyone had to arrive within the designated time.

Huo Shu wasn’t the last to arrive, but he was close. The long dining table was already surrounded by numerous heirs, most around Huo Shu’s age with males predominating and females being scarce.

Everyone carried an air of noble elegance; their movements refined like royalty.

The entire dining hall was luxuriously decorated. The Huo family truly lived up to their reputation as the top elite family in Qi City, having established their own commercial empire.

“Oh, even a bastard gets to choose a butler?”

As if witnessing something amusing, a young man in aristocratic school uniform approached with unhurried steps. The Huo family members were all exceptionally good-looking, and this one before them had an angelic face, though the malice in his eyes was completely unconcealed.

Huo Shu seemed accustomed to such situations, continuing forward as if he hadn’t noticed.

“Truly a lowborn breed from a lowborn woman. Now you won’t even greet me when you see me?” The young man was from the Huo collateral line, named Huo Liuzhou. Among the numerous heirs, he wasn’t particularly notable, with academic results consistently ranking at the bottom.

His greatest jealousy was directed at Huo Shu.

In the Huo family, only Purebloods of Direct Lineage had single character names, while all collateral branches had to include numbers in their names.

Huo Shu, a mere bastard, even had a name superior to his own, this naturally fueled Huo Liuzhou’s envy.

Huo Shu paused slightly in his steps, finally looking at him properly. The bones in his sleeves tightened, showing faint bluish traces.

Yet the next moment, he lowered his gaze and addressed, “Brother Liuzhou.”

The nearly adult male lead had learned to control his emotions. Even when facing someone cursing and insulting him, he could calmly offer greetings.

“Enough.” Huo Ye, seated at the front of the dining table, spoke coldly.

The onlookers immediately averted their gazes and obediently took their seats at the table.

Aside from the bastard Huo Shu, Huo Yuan had three children two sons and one daughter. The speaker was one of them, the second son Huo Ye.

Beside him sat the third daughter Huo Jing, and next to her was the only collateral branch member among the popular heirs Huo Yixun.

Huo Shu took his seat at the very end, the position he had always occupied. Completely inconspicuous, with no presence whatsoever.

He seemed oblivious to others’ hostility, focusing entirely on his meal.

Standing apart from everyone else, as if existing in a different world.

This was the last scene Jiang You witnessed before heading for her own meal. Withdrawing her gaze, she followed the leader to the dedicated dining area for butlers.

Located right next to the main dining hall, it contrasted sharply with the heirs’ luxurious setting. The butlers’ cafeteria was plain and ordinary, requiring queuing for meals and finding seats. Mealtime was limited to just ten minutes, and they had to finish before their respective heirs.

Jiang You was already starving. Before she could even sit down with her food tray, several butlers approached her direction.

They clearly meant trouble.

She hastily took two bites, not even having time to swallow properly, when her tray was knocked to the ground.

“Clang.”

The stainless-steel tray hit the floor, splashing a few drops of food soup onto her trousers.

“Oh, sorry.” The one who had deliberately bumped into her was a butler serving some collateral heir, offering an utterly insincere apology with a malicious smile.

Jiang You had anticipated this.

Huo Shu was the least popular among all heirs, being a bastard who lived each day as if treading on thin ice, constantly fearful. Though the book didn’t elaborate much on his tragic past, one could easily imagine how difficult his journey had been.

Correspondingly, as Huo Shu’s steward, her treatment would be the same as his.

So, Jiang You didn’t even consider hiding, allowing them to knock her meal tray to the ground.

“It’s fine,” she swallowed the food in her mouth and said calmly without haste.

The group didn’t press further. Mealtimes were short, and they knew time was tight. They could only glare at her fiercely before moving ahead to eat.

Jiang You crouched down to pick up her tray, and in her peripheral vision, a pair of legs appeared.

She lifted her gaze and met eyes as gentle and refined as jade.

“Are you alright?”

Receiving the kindness emanating from this person, Jiang You froze for a moment but quickly returned to her usual composure, shaking her head calmly. “I’m fine.”

Her memory was good, and within two seconds, she recalled whose steward he was.

He was the steward of Huo Jing, the third daughter of the main lineage’s Huo Yuan. His surname was Li.

There was very little description of him in the text. Jiang You only knew that, in the end, he eloped with Huo Jing.

Steward Li handed her a chocolate bar. “Take it back with you. You’ll get hungry during the night shift.”

Jiang You wanted to refuse, but noticing the curious glances from those around her, she reluctantly accepted it.

“Thank you.”

This Steward Li was famously kind-hearted. Most stewards had received his favors at some point, so a single chocolate bar was nothing out of the ordinary.

They had no further interaction. Jiang You left the cafeteria and waited outside the heirs’ dining hall.

She was the first to arrive. The late summer night breeze blew, dispelling some of the stifling heat. Moonlight skimmed the treetops, and the streetlights cast a hazy glow.

Tap, tap.

The sound of leather heels hitting the ground reached her ears. Before Jiang You could look up, she caught a faint, delicate fragrance.

Soon after, light, unhurried footsteps approached, and she heard Steward Li say, “I’m late, my apologies.”

A moment later, a clear, cool female voice replied, “It’s fine.”

Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Jiang You’s mind drifted, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the nearly melted chocolate in her pocket.

It wasn’t until a familiar figure passed by that she snapped back to attention.

Huo Shu didn’t so much as glance at her way, walking off without a word.

Jiang You followed him.

They arrived at his residence.

A two-story standalone villa with pitifully few green plants in the yard. Aside from her, the steward, there were no other servants.

The young man’s figure was slender, clad in a thin white shirt with bloodstains soaking through the cuffs. He stopped in the living room, deftly and skillfully cleaning the wound with practiced ease before applying a bandage.

“Young Master, do you need my help?” Jiang You took a step closer and asked.

She didn’t know what had happened to him in the dining hall. The wound appeared to have been cut by a sharp object she thought was a shard of porcelain.

Huo Shu didn’t even lift his eyelids. After rolling down his sleeves, he ignored her completely, as if she were air.

Jiang You was used to it. She stood quietly to the side, muttering to herself inwardly.

The wound isn’t deep. It’ll be fine once the bleeding stops. I just never thought eating a meal could result in an injury. The Huo family is truly dangerous.

Soon enough, Jiang You learned who had caused the wound.

“My young master was worried that Huo Shu might not have any medicine, so he specifically sent me to deliver some.”

The visitor was the steward of the collateral family member Huo Liuzhou. Like his angel-faced young master, his eyes were full of disdain and mockery, clearly looking down on Huo Shu.

His real intention wasn’t to deliver medicine. While heirs could scheme against each other in secret, open conflict was forbidden. That was why Huo Liuzhou, after injuring him, had to send medicine as a formality.

He tossed the medicine down and left, unwilling to stay a second longer, as if the place were crawling with filthy maggots.

Jiang You glanced at the healing balm lying on the floor, then looked up at the young man opposite her whose expression hadn’t changed at all throughout. She bent down to pick it up and asked, “Young master, would you like to apply for it?”

This time, Huo Shu didn’t ignore her words. He replied indifferently, “Throw it out.”

With that, he turned and went upstairs.

Jiang You followed the order and threw the healing balm out of the villa.

Apart from being taciturn, aloof, and unapproachable, her employer didn’t have many faults.

This kind of job was quite satisfactory.

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