Mu Zhilian: “I’ll head over now.”
Xu Xiuwen: “Alright, how long will it take you?”
“I’ll take the bus, probably about an hour.”
“That’s a bit too long. Never mind, where are you now? I’ll come to you.”
“Huh?”
“Stop with the ‘huh’. I’ll drive over—it’ll be faster that way.”
“Boss Xu, I’m at [XXX].”
Mu Zhilian gave him an address.
Xu Xiuwen paused for a moment, then asked, “You’re already home?”
Mu Zhilian replied with a quiet “Mm.”
“Got it. I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up, Xu Xiuwen grabbed a urea sack containing two hens and headed out the door.
Mu Zhilian lived in a slightly remote area.
It took Xu Xiuwen half an hour to drive near her place. He initially thought about parking right in front of her house but reconsidered and stopped by the roadside instead.
Once parked, he pulled out his phone and called Mu Zhilian.
Not long after, she appeared from a nearby alley, looking around nervously.
Xu Xiuwen saw her approach through the rearview mirror. Before she got too close, he opened the door, stepped out, and walked to the trunk to grab the urea sack.
Mu Zhilian ran up in small, hurried steps, head bowed, and greeted him timidly, “Boss Xu, you’re here.”
“Your place is really out of the way.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Boss Xu—”
“Alright, alright. Why are you always apologizing? I’m not blaming you,” Xu Xiuwen said, somewhat bored.
“Both hens are in the bag. Take them tomorrow and make some soup for Li Haimei.”
“Got it, Boss Xu.”
Mu Zhilian took the sack from him.
“Alright then, you can head back. I’ll get going too,” Xu Xiuwen said, waving her off before getting back into his car.
Mu Zhilian stood by the roadside, watching his car drive away. She glanced around cautiously. Seeing no familiar faces, she breathed a sigh of relief, then hurried home with the sack.
As soon as she stepped through the door, a voice startled her.
“Where were you?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Mu Zhilian froze, her legs trembling. She nearly collapsed on the spot.
Looking up, she saw the person standing before her—it was none other than her rarely-at-home husband.
Faced with Qiao’s father’s question, Mu Zhilian’s heart raced with anxiety. She forced herself to stay calm and replied, “Zhang Jie went back to her hometown. I asked her to bring me two hens, so I just went to pick them up.”
Mu Zhilian knew how petty Qiao’s father could be.
Even though he was hardly home and often out fooling around, he would fly into a rage whenever he suspected her of getting close to anyone else.
There had been several instances where he caught her chatting with a male neighbor and lost his temper.
He was about to give her and the neighbor a harsh scolding.
So, when she was questioned, her instinctive reaction was to make up a lie.
Mu Zhilan rarely lied.
She was very worried that Qiao’s father would realize she was lying.
However, Qiao’s father, confident that he knew her well, never even considered that this woman would dare lie to him.
Hearing her explanation, he didn’t suspect a thing and believed her right away.
The man snorted in dissatisfaction. “If you want chicken, just go to the market and buy one. Why spend money on an old hen? You’re really willing to splurge. Why don’t you give that money to me instead?”
Mu Zhilan, realizing Qiao’s father hadn’t caught her lie, breathed a sigh of relief.
“This chicken isn’t for me,” she explained. “It’s for my boss.”
“The family where you’re working as a full-time maid now?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t they know how to buy chicken themselves? Making you run errands for them. I heard they pay you well. Since that’s the case, give me some money to spend.”
Mu Zhilan had already guessed that Qiao’s father came back for money.
After all, whenever he came home, it was mostly because he’d run out of money playing mahjong and needed to ask her for more.
Once he got the money, he never wanted to stay at home for a moment longer.
Mu Zhilan was now working for Li Haimei’s family, who paid her a relatively high salary.
It was enough to cover the household expenses and still have some left over.
So, when Qiao’s father asked for money again, she felt the urge to hand it over immediately just to get rid of him.
The reason she wanted to do this was simple:
She had lied.
Although Qiao’s father hadn’t realized it, she still felt uneasy.
She wanted to give him the money quickly so he would leave right away.
But then Mu Zhilan suddenly thought of something:
In the past, whenever Qiao’s father asked for money, she would act stingy and only reluctantly hand over a small amount.
If she gave the money too easily this time, he might sense something was off and realize she had lied earlier.
So Mu Zhilan pretended to act as she always did, first claiming she didn’t have any money and then, with great reluctance, pulling out a small amount of cash to hand over.
The man didn’t notice her inner turmoil.
He had assumed the foolish woman could only give him two or three hundred yuan at most.
But this time, Mu Zhilan unexpectedly pulled out five red banknotes.
Seeing this, Qiao’s father quickly snatched all the money from her hand while she wasn’t paying attention.
Mu Zhilan cried out, asking him not to take it all, but the man shoved her aside and walked away with the money in hand, swaggering as he went.
Mu Zhilan stumbled backward from the push, hitting the wall before she could stop.
When she steadied herself again, her husband was already gone.
She brushed the dust off her shoulder and was about to go inside when she looked up and saw her son standing not far away, watching her.
Mu Zhilan forced a smile. “Xiao Gang, Mom’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Qiao Gang continued to look at her with a calm gaze.
Mu Zhilan felt a jolt of unease in her heart. “Xiao Gang, what’s wrong?”
The next second, Qiao Gang said something that made Mu Zhilan panic.
“Mom, why did you lie to Dad?”
Mu Zhilan tried to maintain her composure. “What are you talking about? When did I lie?”
Qiao Gang raised his voice and demanded, “That chicken wasn’t bought by Aunt Zhang. A man bought it and gave it to you just now—I saw it. Why did you lie to Dad?”
“Let me explain…”
Mu Zhilan’s face turned pale.
She truly didn’t know how to explain.
In the end, she had no choice but to confess everything.
She told the entire story, not just about what had happened earlier but also that she was actually working as a housekeeper.
And the family she worked for was none other than Qiao Gang’s classmate, Li Ke’s, family.
Uneasily, she said, “Now you know. You’re well aware of how your dad is. The moment he sees me interacting with another man, he’ll cause trouble. I can handle that, but if he calls Boss Xu, it’ll be a disaster.”
Qiao Gang had only seen the scene from a distance earlier and hadn’t recognized who it was.
Now, after listening to his mother’s explanation, he realized it was Li Ke’s private tutor.
He breathed a sigh of relief at first, but then another thought struck him.
His mother was working as a housekeeper for Li Ke’s family?
His initial reaction was intense shame.
He knew his family was poor, but of all the families she could work for, why did she have to choose his classmate’s?
If anyone found out, how could he face them at school?
Qiao Gang couldn’t hold back and shouted, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why did you have to work for her family? Don’t you know she’s my classmate? Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me?”
Mu Zhilan could only keep apologizing.
After a long while, Qiao Gang reluctantly accepted the reality.
“You’re quitting tomorrow. Don’t ever go back to their house as a housekeeper again.”
Mu Zhilan had always been indulgent with her son.
Even if something was difficult, she would do her best to fulfill his wishes.
But this time, she didn’t listen to him.
She knew how rare and valuable this well-paying and relatively easy job was.
She cherished it deeply.
So, Mu Zhilan remained silent.
Qiao Gang repeated himself several times, but his mother still refused to agree to quit.
Enraged, he shouted at the top of his lungs and stormed into his room.
Once inside, he slammed the door shut.
He was using this act to show his mother just how angry he was.
The reason for Qiao Gang’s intense anger was simple.
Ever since Li Ke had saved him that day, he had unconsciously started paying attention to her at school.
Her every word, every action, every smile, every frown—
Each expression of hers captivated him.
Qiao Gang knew he had likely fallen for Li Ke.
But now, learning that his mother was working as a housekeeper in the home of the girl he liked, he felt utterly humiliated.
He had long known that there was a huge gap between him and Li Ke.
She wasn’t someone he could ever hope to have.
But still, he had harbored a small sliver of hope.
And now, even that fragile hope was crushed by reality.
In a fit of rage, Qiao Gang pounded his bed hard.
After a long time, he finally calmed down.
Once calm, he realized that he liked Li Ke even more.
Because Li Ke had known all along that his mother worked as a housekeeper in her home.
Yet she had never once exposed this fact in front of him.
Nor had she ever mocked him for it.
This showed that Li Ke was a truly kind-hearted girl.
Beyond that, another thought occurred to him:
If Mr. Xu was indeed Li Ke’s private tutor and needed to send chicken to her home,
Wouldn’t it have been better for him to ask his mother to pick it up directly?
Why would he personally deliver it? And at night, no less?
Could it be that Mr. Xu has feelings for his mother?
It wasn’t unreasonable for Qiao Gang to think this way.
There wasn’t much he could be proud of, but his mother was one of the few exceptions.
Even though she wasn’t well-educated and had a timid personality, his mother was very beautiful.
Throughout his childhood, during every parent-teacher meeting, he had rarely seen a classmate’s mother who could compare to his in appearance.
—
Xu Xiuwen, on the other hand, had no idea that his act of delivering the chicken had already aroused Qiao Gang’s suspicion.
If he did, he might not have done it.
After delivering the chicken and returning home, Xu Xiuwen lay on the couch and began texting several of his girlfriends.
He had been so tired after returning home at noon that he had forgotten to check in with An Shishi.
When he finally contacted her, she playfully chided him.
To be fair, being a playboy required more than just charm—it demanded stamina, in every sense of the word.
To maintain harmonious and stable relationships with multiple girlfriends, one couldn’t afford to neglect any of them.
But the more girlfriends there were, the harder it became to keep memories and conversations straight. Mixing up details or letting something slip could spell disaster.
This required not only stamina but also an excellent memory.
Fortunately, Xu Xiuwen excelled in both.
He navigated his relationships with ease, effortlessly juggling conversations with multiple girlfriends.
By bedtime, Tang Weiwei had already gone to sleep.
Cheng Lu also went to bed early.
By 1:00 a.m., An Shishi was asleep too.
Only Xiao Youran remained. Her heart was entirely fixated on Xu Xiuwen, and she had endless things she wanted to say to him.
Before they knew it, their conversation had stretched until past 3:00 a.m.
Xu Xiuwen, having napped in the afternoon, wasn’t very tired. Xiao Youran, however, was clearly struggling to stay awake; her responses slowed down significantly.
He reminded her to get some rest and finally put down his phone.
After that, Xu Xiuwen picked an old movie to watch before bed.
By the time the movie ended and he fell asleep, it was already morning.
—
When he woke up, it was nearly noon.
The blinding sunlight streamed through the window, forcing Xu Xiuwen to shield his eyes with his arm.
He groggily grabbed his phone to check the time.
Then he got up, washed up, and prepared lunch for himself.
By the time he finished eating, it was already 1:00 p.m.
Xu Xiuwen drove to the company.
The front desk was unstaffed.
Seeing the empty desk made him think of Lu Xinyao.
He wondered if she had come to work today.
He turned and headed upstairs, arriving at his office door.
Pushing the door open, Xu Xiuwen stepped inside.
As soon as he entered...
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His eyes instantly narrowed.
A woman was in his office, tidying up his desk.
She had a stunning figure, her hips shapely and alluring. Because she was bent over while organizing the desk, her curves were accentuated, perfectly framed in the direction of the office door.
So, when Xu Xiuwen entered, the first thing he saw was a round, curvaceous backside.
From this angle, he could only see her back and not her face.
Since she was tidying up his desk, Xu Xiuwen instinctively assumed it was Lu Xinyao, his secretary. This put him in a good mood.
But in the next moment, as the woman turned around, revealing her face, Xu Xiuwen was so stunned that he blurted out,
“What the—?! It’s you?!”
The woman in front of him wasn’t Lu Xinyao, nor was it Xu Qian or Song Xiaomi.
It was Liu Xinran!
Xu Xiuwen blinked, thinking he must be seeing things.
But no—there she was.
Liu Xinran also seemed a little surprised to see Xu Xiuwen suddenly appear, but she quickly recovered and greeted him with a smile,
“Good afternoon, President Xu.”
“What are you doing here?” Xu Xiuwen asked, puzzled.
Liu Xinran smiled faintly. “I’m at work.”
“At work?”
“That’s right. I’m your new secretary.”
“Wait a minute! Did I hear that right? You’re saying you’re my new secretary?”
“Yes, President Xu.”
It was only then that Xu Xiuwen noticed she had been addressing him formally as “President Xu.”
“I’m the boss—how is it that I don’t know my secretary has been replaced? Who arranged this? And where is Lu Xinyao?”
His questions came rapid-fire, like a string of bullets.
But Liu Xinran remained calm, her expression relaxed.
“President Xu, this was approved by Director Hang. He’s the one who arranged it. As for your former secretary, I hear she resigned two weeks ago.”
Hearing that Hang Fei had arranged for a new secretary surprised Xu Xiuwen, though it made sense.
However, learning that Lu Xinyao had resigned shocked him even more.
Xu Xiuwen didn’t press Liu Xinran further. Instead, he immediately pulled out his phone and called the company’s finance department.