But he couldn't be obviously nice to Ji Yuning, as a sudden change would arouse suspicion.
We can only take it slowly.
Having devised a temporary solution, Fang Bai asked in a calm voice, "What do you need to do?"
A chilling glint flashed in Ji Yuning's eyes. The man's feigned ignorance was clearly an insult to her: "Wash the dishes."
The kitchen has a dishwasher.
However, the original owner used the excuse of saving electricity to never let Ji Yuning use it, and always made Ji Yuning wash it by hand.
If the original owner hadn't thought that even a dog wouldn't eat Ji Yuning's cooking, the cooking chores would probably have been assigned to Ji Yuning.
Ji Yuning looked at Fang Bai, her eyes devoid of any emotion, as if Fang Bai had misinterpreted the hatred in her eyes just now.
Fang Bai hummed in agreement, her gaze sweeping over the female lead's curled-up hand. A few seconds later, she frowned. "Isn't there a performance at school next week?"
Ji Yuning didn't tell the original owner of this on her own initiative; rather, it was the homeroom teacher who called the original owner.
Ji Yuning didn't want to participate in the activity, so her homeroom teacher had to call her guardian to ask them to persuade her.
The homeroom teacher was new and didn't know about Ji Yuning's situation.
After receiving that phone call, perhaps out of jealousy towards Ji Yuning, or for some unknown reason, the original owner directly summoned Ji Yuning to her side, verbally humiliated her, and finally forced Ji Yuning to agree to perform on stage.
Ji Yuning: "...Hmm."
Fang Bai pressed on, "Have you mastered the sheet music?"
There definitely isn't.
The original owner wanted to see Ji Yuning make a fool of herself.
She knew that Ji Yuning was taught piano by the female lead's mother, and if Ji Yuning lost face, that woman would also lose face.
From then on, the original owner never gave Ji Yuning any free time, constantly ordering her around.
Where is there time to practice the piano?
"?"
Ji Yuning remained silent, unmoved by Fang Bai's sudden concern...
It wasn't out of concern; Ji Yuning became wary of Fang Bai's sudden question.
Receiving no response, Fang Bai placed his hand on the sofa, casually waved his fingers, and said, "Go play it for me."
The piano is placed in the hall.
The original owner would flick it whenever he had nothing to do.
Ji Yuning has been here for three years, and apart from wiping the dust off the piano, she has never touched it.
The original owner rarely let Ji Yuning touch her things.
Upon hearing Fang Bai's words, Ji Yuning and Wu Mei were both taken aback.
Ji Yuning quickly came to her senses.
Under Fang Bai's gaze, Ji Yuning paused for only a few seconds before walking to the piano and sitting down gracefully.
Ji Yuning placed her ten fingers steadily on the piano keys; her slender and long fingers were very suitable for playing the piano.
However, the band-aid stuck to the back of her hand somewhat detracted from the aesthetics.
After mentally reviewing the sheet music, a few seconds later, Ji Yuning pressed her fingers together and played the first note.
Ji Yuning memorized the seven-minute sheet music.
Even though she remembered it well, she hadn't played it many times, so her skills were still quite rusty. There were a few parts that weren't coordinated, and Ji Yuning even deliberately played a few wrong parts.
While Ji Yuning played the piano, Fang Bai, who knew absolutely nothing about music, listened with great interest.
She couldn't really give a critique, only that Ji Yuning played very well, with only a few places where the sound was a bit abrupt, but that didn't affect the overall effect.
However, when Ji Yuning finished playing and stood up to look at her, Fang Bai's expression instantly returned to normal. She spoke listlessly, mimicking the original owner's tone, "And your homeroom teacher still lets you perform on stage like this?"
After saying that, Fang Bai didn't even glance at Ji Yuning, but turned around and called out, "Sister Wu."
Wu Mei replied, "Miss."
“Go wash the dishes,” Fang Bai paused, then added, “You can use the dishwasher.”
Wu Mei hummed in agreement, then turned to Ji Yuning, asking with a hint of worry, "What about Xiao Ji?"
She was afraid that the young lady would make Ji Yuning do other things.
"Practice the piano," Fang Bai said to Ji Yuning, maintaining the original owner's tone, "You play so terribly, why don't you practice more?"
Fang Bai took a sip of water, perfectly portraying the original owner's shrewishness and meanness, "Otherwise, I'll be the one who loses face after the performance on stage."
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes, concealing the coldness in them. "I understand."
She knew that the woman suddenly asking her to play the piano was not a good thing.
Ji Yuning knew the original owner's original intention. Although she didn't know why the woman changed her mind, her piano practice was still quite good, at least...
The wound on my hand no longer needs to get wet.
Chapter 2
Wu Mei looked at the person sitting on the sofa, sipping water from a glass. For some reason, she felt that the young lady was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Wu Mei looked up and glanced at Ji Yuning standing by the piano. Her small face was bloodless, and the dark circles under her eyes were probably caused by being punished by her mistress to stand all night. Her expressionless face showed no emotion, as if she had become accustomed to her mistress's sharp words.
Wu Mei felt sorry for Ji Yuning, but only for a moment.
She was paid by Fang Bai, but she couldn't control what Fang Bai did. She could only watch helplessly as Ji Yuning was subjected to violence.
Wu Mei awkwardly looked away and said to Fang Bai, "Yes, Miss. I'll go wash the dishes now."
After saying that, Wu Mei turned and walked towards the kitchen.
In the large living room, only Fang Bai and Ji Yuning remained.
As soon as Wu Mei finished speaking, Ji Yuning sat back down on the stool.
Seeing this, Fang Bai softly uttered two words: "Play it."
The next second, the piano music started again.
Meanwhile, Fang Bai got up and sat on the sofa a little closer to the piano, sinking into the soft cushions. Accompanied by the piano music, he had the illusion of listening to a concert.
To be honest, Fang Bai hadn't recovered from the fact that he had transmigrated into the book.
Just a few minutes ago, someone was worried about their thesis, but in the blink of an eye, they became a billionaire, a complete idiot who courted death, and even... had to support a teenager.
Although Ji Yuning doesn't need her to support her at all.
If Fang Bai remembered correctly, according to the storyline in the book, Ji Yuning was already developing her hidden power.
Soon, Ji Yuning will no longer be submissive.
Fang Bai put the cup back on the coffee table and lowered his eyes to think.
For now, if she wants to survive, her main goal is to lessen Ji Yuning's hatred for "herself".
Fang Bai found it very difficult.
Even though Ji Yuning's gaze was devoid of any emotion, Fang Bai could still see the indelible hatred hidden deep within those indifferent eyes.
The bruises on Ji Yuning's arms, the bandages on the back of her hands, her pale face...
It's all thanks to the original owner.
Some injuries are even hidden under clothing, out of sight.
"!"
Fang Bai suddenly remembered the haptic feedback he had just experienced.
They were only thinking about not making the other person wash the dishes, but forgot that the other person was injured.
With that thought, Fang Bai's gaze instantly fell on the person playing the piano.
Although Ji Yuning was playing the piano, she was thinking about other things.
When Fang Bai asked her to perform on stage, Ji Yuning knew his intentions. So even though Fang Bai deliberately didn't give her time to practice, Ji Yuning could only silently memorize the sheet music so that she wouldn't make any mistakes during the performance and thwart Fang Bai's plan.
But now Fang Bai is making her practice the piano again—
The pain in her back interrupted Ji Yuning's thoughts.
Ji Yuning's eyelashes trembled slightly, and with a gentle touch, the piano keys produced melodious sounds.
When Ji Yuning first played the piano, there was no obvious pain in her back injury. However, after Ji Yuning played it a second time, every time she pressed a key, her back injury would be pulled and aching like ants were gnawing at her.
However, this pain was nothing to Ji Yuning, since every other wound on her body was much worse.
Unable to bear the pain piling up bit by bit, Ji Yuning's brows soon showed signs of distress.
Fang Bai turned his head and saw Ji Yuning looking like this.
Fang Bai stared at Ji Yuning's tense face for a few seconds, and when he heard the distorted notes, he called out, "Ji Yuning."
The piano music stopped.
Fang Bai crossed her slender legs, sank into the sofa, and said in an extremely lazy tone, "Go back to your room."
“…”
The original owner often said such things.
Unlike Fang Bai, the original owner would say things like, "Go back to your room, I don't want to see you," and sometimes she would even make a few sarcastic remarks about Ji Yuning after saying them.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuning got up without hesitation and headed straight for the stairs.
He didn't even spare Fang Bai a glance.
The hall, which had been filled with beautiful melodies, suddenly fell silent.