A luxury BMW was parked at the end of an old street in a small town.
A girl in shabby jeans stood in front of the car door expressionlessly, clutching an equally shabby suitcase.
A middle-aged man was sitting in the driver's seat. He looked at the girl standing outside from the corner of his eyes and frowned, seeming dissatisfied with her shabby ensemble.
"Get in the car," he barked.
The girl didn't flinch despite the harshness in the man's voice.
She calmly opened the door and got in the back seat.
"I'm Bill Jenkins. From now on, you're going to be my daughter. Although we're not biologically related, I'll arrange for someone to train you. You'll become a decent Jenkins lady in no time."
As the man spoke, he started the car and zoomed out of the small town.
In the river-view villa, as soon as Maria Jenkins got out of the car, she saw a middle-aged woman standing at the gate.
Judging from the woman's uniform and demeanor, Maria guessed that she was a servant.
"Mr. Jenkins, Miss Jenkins, welcome back. Lunch is ready."
Bill turned to Maria and said, "Since you're new here, Lily will show you around. You have to behave once you step inside this house. Don't even think about bringing your old bad habits to the Jenkins family. Do you hear me?"
Maria nodded indifferently, still as expressionless as a porcelain doll.
"Come with me," Lily said flatly, turning around and entering the house.
Maria didn't say anything. She quietly picked up her old suitcase and followed Lily into the house.
Lily then showed Maria around as she was told to. As soon as they climbed the stairs to the third floor, Maria caught a glimpse of an expensive-looking piano through the crack of a half-open door.
Maria couldn't help but stop in her tracks to take a closer look.
Lily noticed her reaction. She rolled her eyes, thinking that Maria was nothing but a country bumpkin. "That's Miss Vivian's piano room. She's the apple of Mr. Jenkins' eye. She's talented, beautiful, and famous! In fact, she's a celebrity! Do you know what a celebrity is? Do you have TV in your village?"
As she talked about Vivian, Lily looked proud. She thought she could spike envy in Maria.
To her surprise, Maria didn't bat an eyelash. In fact, she looked a little impatient.
"Where is my room?" she asked indifferently.
Lily pulled a long face and begrudgingly led Maria to the guest room on the first floor. The room was quite small, with only a single bed in the corner, a simple wardrobe, and a desk with a chair. There was no room for anything else.
"You'll be staying here," Lily said briskly.
Then she opened the door to the bathroom next to Maria's bedroom and asked, "Do you know how to use the shower?"
Maria didn't want to waste her breath with the arrogant servant, so she just nodded wordlessly.
Seeing that Maria didn't say a word, Lily sneered in exasperation. "Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins live on the second floor while Miss Vivian lives on the third floor. You'll stay here on the first floor. Don't go wandering around, or else you might get lost."
Her tone was harsh. Obviously, she was prejudiced against "country bumpkins" like Maria.
"Okay," Maria replied in her usual indifferent tone.
"Anyway, just stay in your room. I'll call you at meal times. And try not to make any noise. I live next to you and I haven't slept well recently. I'd hate to be woken up in the middle of the night!"
After saying that, Lily turned around and stormed off arrogantly.
Finally left to her own devices, Maria locked the door and proceeded to unpack her things.
She pulled out an old laptop and set it on the desk.
As soon as she turned it on, a chat box popped up.
"Master M, still open for business?"