"Miss Gu, I’ve never wanted to fight you for anything, and I’m not going to steal your man. I’m just a servant at the Young Master’s side, that’s all." She turned her face away and took a step back. "You can rest easy. A woman like me is never going to be trusted by anyone. I really can’t compete with you, because I have no need to compete with you at all!" She simply didn’t have the energy for it.

"Sister Xia, you sure know how to talk, huh. Don’t you want to know what Brother Yao and I were just talking about?" Gu Ziqian stepped forward. If she could, she really wanted to reach out and snap Xia Qingqian’s neck!

Gu Ziqian was anything but at ease inside. She kept feeling that this woman Xia Qingqian was a latent danger. The longer she stayed by Beitang Yao’s side, the more dangerous she became! She sensed that Brother Yao treated Xia Qingqian very specially. He might say Xia Qingqian was just a servant who waited on him, but she kept feeling that something was off.

"I’m not qualified to know, and I don’t want to know. Miss Gu, if the Young Master is yours, then he’s yours—no one can snatch him away, no matter how they try." Xia Qingqian gave a bitter smile as she looked at Gu Ziqian’s twisted face. Her heart lurched, and she couldn’t help but instinctively keep retreating.

"Heh, Sister Xia, you keep saying there’s nothing between you and my Brother Yao. You’re just a servant, right? Are you going to serve him all the way into his bed? Do you even know what shame is?" Gu Ziqian’s lips curved in a sinister smile, and those limpid eyes of hers turned even darker and more gloomy!

"..." Xia Qingqian was instantly at a loss for words, unable to find a single thing to say back to Gu Ziqian.

"Did I hit the nail on the head? Sister Xia, I just want to tell you, a man like Brother Yao only keeps you by his side as a tool to vent his physical lust, nothing more. Remember that, and don’t you dare have any designs on my Brother Yao!" Gu Ziqian reached out and grabbed her hair, giving it a vicious yank. "With that foxy little face of yours, you’re never going to be upright. All you’re good for is being ridden by men; you’ll never get anyone’s love!"

Xia Qingqian stared at Gu Ziqian in panic. In her eyes she saw a glint of vicious resentment, and immediately thought that Gu Ziqian was definitely not a simple person! Yes, Gu Ziqian was afraid she would steal Beitang Yao away, and she also wanted her to disappear from this world.

She simply couldn’t imagine words like that coming out of Gu Ziqian’s mouth, completely dragging down her so‑called noble status.

"Miss Gu, I’ve never said I wanted to be some vixen, and I’ve never thought about winning Beitang Yao’s love. In your eyes I’ve always been a lowly, inferior person." Xia Qingqian turned her face aside, dodging Gu Ziqian’s hand. Her jaw was pinched so hard it hurt. "Miss Gu, are you afraid I’ll take everything that belongs to you? I’ve already told you, I won’t take a single thing from you, including the Young Master."

"That’s not up to you to say ’no’ and make it ’no.’" Gu Ziqian stared at Xia Qingqian, who kept dodging her grip, and a wave of anger surged up in her chest. "You have to disappear from Brother Yao’s world. If you really offend me, I honestly don’t know what I might do. Sister Xia, you understand what I’m saying, don’t you, huh?"

Xia Qingqian retreated step by step, while Gu Ziqian pressed forward step by step!

Xia Qingqian’s face darkened. She lowered her eyes and said faintly, "Miss Gu, the power to end this isn’t in my hands, and... I can’t leave the Young Master for the time being. I can’t explain it clearly to you right now, but once it’s over, I’ll naturally disappear from the Young Master’s world and definitely won’t get in your way. Just like you said, I’m only a tool at the Young Master’s side for venting his physical lust. There’s only sex between us, no love at all. What are you so worried about? Besides, you’re the Young Master’s fiancée. Shouldn’t you be even more secure in your position?"