30: Chapter 30 First Experience of Princess Life

"Miss, I am your personal butler, Amy, and this is Lily."

Two young maids in black and white uniforms stood at the dressing room door, hands folded in front of them, bowing deeply to Su Nianyao.

They didn't look old, in their early twenties, with delicate features, skin as white as milk, and every strand of hair looking perfectly groomed.

Su Nianyao, on the other hand...

She was wearing the same T-shirt she'd been handing out flyers in all day, smelling of sweat, with mud stains of unknown origin on the hems of her jeans. Her hair was greasy and plastered to her scalp; she looked like she'd just been dug out of a trash heap.

This contrast made her feel more uncomfortable than if Chen Fan had given her a hundred million in cash directly.

"Um... no need to be so polite." Su Nianyao subconsciously shrank back, afraid to even move her hands. "Just call me Nianyao."

"Rules are rules." Amy stepped forward, her smile as precise as if measured by a ruler. "Miss, the hot water is ready. The Master mentioned that you've had an exhausting day and need a full-body spa to relax. Please allow us to help you undress."

As she spoke, Lily was already half-kneeling on the floor, reaching out to help Su Nianyao take off her shoes.

"No! Don't touch!" Su Nianyao jumped back like a startled cat. "I'll do it myself! Really! I'm not used to people touching my feet!"

You've got to be kidding.

She'd worn these sneakers for two years, the soles were worn unevenly, and there might even be a hole in her socks. Letting these two ladies, who smelled of high-end perfume, take off her shoes?

It would be better to just kill her.

Amy and Lily exchanged a glance but didn't insist. They simply retreated respectfully to the bathroom door. "Then we will wait outside. If you need anything, just press the bell on the wall."

The heavy door closed.

Su Nianyao leaned against the door and let out a long breath, feeling more exhausted than she did after a day of handing out flyers.

She looked around.

How was this a bathroom?

It was clearly a marble-clad water park.

In the center was a circular sunken bathtub, large enough to hold four or five people. The tub faced a massive floor-to-ceiling window, outside of which was the glittering night view of Jiangcheng.

A thick layer of red rose petals floated on the water's surface, the steam was misty, and the air was filled with the pleasant scent of essential oils.

Su Nianyao walked over and trailed her hand through the water.

Warm and silky.

Just then, the phone on the vanity rang. It was her three-year-old beat-up phone, the screen cracked like a spiderweb.

Caller ID: [Bai Xue].

That was her college roommate and her best friend besides Xiao Ya.

Su Nianyao hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hey, Nianyao! Are you coming back tonight?" Bai Xue's loud voice came through over noisy background sounds. "We're about to lock the doors! The dorm auntie is in a foul mood today; she was just scolding people in the hallway."

In the background, there was also the creaking sound of an electric fan spinning.

Su Nianyao glanced at the luxury bathroom kept at a constant 26 degrees, then at the fully smart toilet.

A strong sense of disconnection left her feeling a bit dazed.

"I... I'm not coming back tonight," Su Nianyao said, her voice a bit weak. "I'm staying at a relative's house for the night."

"A relative? You have relatives in Jiangcheng?" Bai Xue was stunned for a moment, then complained, "Ugh, I'm so jealous. The water was cut off in the dorm tonight, and I can't even take a shower. I feel so sticky and gross. It's so hot and we don't even have AC. When will this ever end..."

Su Nianyao's grip on her phone tightened.

A few hours ago, she had been complaining just like that.

She would walk for half an hour to save two yuan on bus fare, linger in shopping malls just for the AC, and curse the world when the water was cut off in the dorm.

But now...

"Then... you should get some sleep early." Su Nianyao didn't know what to say and hurriedly hung up.

She placed the phone face down on the cool marble countertop.

That sense of unreality surged up again. She felt like a Cinderella who had sneakily put on a princess dress, terrified that when the clock struck midnight, everything would turn back into pumpkins and mice.

Su Nianyao took off her sweat-soaked clothes and stepped barefoot into the bathtub.

The warm water instantly enveloped her body.

So comfortable.

Every pore was screaming with relief.

She didn't know what brand the essential oils in the water were, but they made her skin feel slippery, and that deep-seated fatigue evaporated bit by bit with the steam.

She leaned against the edge of the tub, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window.

Out there was Jiangcheng's most prosperous CBD, brightly lit. She used to hand out flyers there, watching the luxury cars go by and feeling like an ant.

Now, she sat in the clouds, looking down at those ants.

"Is this... the joy of the rich?"

Su Nianyao raised her hand, looking at her palms which were a bit rough from long-term labor. There were still indentations from handing out flyers today.

But these hands were currently soaking in rose water worth a fortune.

It was truly ironic.

But it also felt... really good.

After her bath, she came out wrapped in a bathrobe as soft as a cloud. Amy and Lily had already made the bed.

It wasn't a hard wooden bed, but a massive princess bed with lace curtains.

Su Nianyao threw herself onto the bed.

Her whole body sank into it.

There was a faint scent of lavender on the pillow, and the quilt was so light it felt weightless.

She rolled over and stared at the intricate crystal chandelier above her, her initially excited mood suddenly sinking.

She thought of Su Wanqing.

At this hour, her mom would have just finished her stall and returned to that dilapidated rental. To save electricity, she definitely wouldn't turn on the light and would be counting that pile of change by the light from the streetlamp outside.

That room was damp and stuffy, and you could occasionally see cockroaches.

Then she thought of Su Muyang.

Her foolish brother, who had turned himself into a wreck for some "green tea" girl, was probably hiding in some corner right now eating cold buns.

And what about her?

Lying on a mattress worth tens of thousands, bathing in flowers, with people waiting on her and serving her tea.

"Su Nianyao, you're so selfish."

She scolded herself, her eyes reddening slightly.

A strong sense of guilt gnawed at her heart like insects. Why should she be the only one enjoying this? Her mom had raised her for nineteen years, and her brother had protected her for nineteen years. They were still struggling in the mud, yet she had reached the shore first.

Su Nianyao sat up in bed and grabbed her phone.

She wanted to call her mom and have her move here immediately.

But her finger hovered over the dial button and stopped.

With her mom's temper, if she found out this house belonged to Chen Fan, she probably wouldn't come even if it killed her. She had hated Chen Fan for nineteen years; that knot couldn't be untied with just a meal or a house.

"I have to think of a way..."

Su Nianyao bit her lip, her mind racing.

This luxury couldn't be enjoyed alone.

She had to get her mom and brother in here. Even if she had to lie or coax them, she had to let them live like this.

Since Chen Fan had the means, this was the compensation he owed them.

Once she figured that out, the heavy stone in Su Nianyao's heart loosened slightly.

She picked up her phone with the cracked screen and opened the camera.

In the lens, the girl was wearing expensive silk pajamas, her damp hair draped over her shoulders, with a luxurious European-style bed behind her.

Although she wasn't wearing makeup, the lighting on her face made her look like a real princess.

Click.

She took a photo.

Su Nianyao looked at herself in the photo, her face feeling a bit hot.

What was this? Vanity?

She hesitated for three seconds, didn't post it to her Moments, but instead set the photo to private and saved it in an encrypted album.

"Just... as a memento."

Su Nianyao tucked her phone under her pillow and buried herself in the soft quilt.

That night, she had a dream.

In the dream, her mom was wearing a qipao and drinking tea in the manor, her brother was laughing while driving a sports car, and that unreliable old man, Chen Fan, was grilling lamb skewers for them.

It was so nice.

If only this dream never ended.