I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 18

Nan Xi set an alarm for herself. Three hours later, when the alarm went off, she stepped out of the laboratory and checked her phone.

Mu Xi had indeed replied to her message:

“Thank you, Young Miss. I slept well and have also had lunch.”

“I sincerely apologize for not considering your lunch arrangements in advance. Starting tomorrow, I will have the kitchen prepare a bento box for you.”

What was this?

Sending her a photo of the bread was just sharing, not a complaint that the bread tasted bad.

When she was studying abroad, she often ate bread when she didn’t have time to cook.

And the tone was so formal.

She could practically imagine Mu Xi saying these words, slightly bowing, full of respect and humility. It must be some bad habit she picked up from a housekeeping university or something.

Nan Xi typed furiously on her phone screen for a while, but in the end, she felt there was nothing more to say to Mu Xi’s reply. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and walked back to the laboratory with a dark expression.

Before she could resume her experiment, Tong An’an approached her:

“Nan Xi, I heard your alarm. Is something the matter?”

“You barely rested during lunch. If you need to leave early, go ahead. I’ll let Professor Yu know for you.”

Nan Xi shook her head, indicating that she didn’t need to leave early.

She even stayed late.

She remained until the last person walked past her, stepping lightly with reverence in their eyes before quickly leaving.

Nan Xi wouldn’t leave until all the data in her hands was recorded.

By the time she finally finished organizing everything and packed up to leave and find Mu Xi.

She opened the car door only to find that the person in the driver’s seat wasn’t Mu Xi at all, but an unfamiliar chauffeur.

Nan Xi tried her best to sound polite: “Excuse me, where is Butler Mu?”

“Uh, greetings, Young Miss.” Unbeknownst to her, the “excuse me” in her tone came off as particularly sarcastic. Combined with the rumors that this Miss Nan Xi wasn’t the easiest to talk to, the chauffeur was practically trembling. “Butler Mu is still entertaining Madam Lin with the Eldest Miss. They got so engrossed in conversation that they lost track of time, so she sent me to pick you up…”

His voice grew quieter as he spoke.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, please don’t take it out on him and dock his pay!

“…Understood.” Nan Xi rubbed her temples wearily and looked out the car window. “Please drive. Take me home.”

The chauffeur quickly complied, starting the car and heading back without daring to say another word.

Throughout the ride, though Nan Xi remained silent, her mind was anything but quiet.

This driver was speeding, unlike Mu Xi, who always drove smoothly for safety.

And if it were Mu Xi, she would have guessed that Nan Xi hadn’t eaten dinner and might have brought some snacks for the road or suggested stopping somewhere to eat before going home.

Then Nan Xi would have hesitated for a moment, perhaps making excuses about how eating in the car might dirty the seats or how outside food wasn’t healthy, but in the end, she would have agreed.

…But Mu Xi hadn’t come to pick her up at all. None of these hypotheticals mattered.

Logically, Mu Xi hadn’t done anything wrong, of course she couldn’t just abandon her elder sister and Madam Lin. But for some inexplicable reason, Nan Xi was upset.

She was even upset at herself for being upset right now.

Nan Xi’s face was stern, her brows furrowed, the sharp lines of her profile betraying her aloofness and displeasure, as if veiled by a rain-laden gloom.

To the driver stealing glances at her, her expression seemed utterly terrifying. He couldn’t help but subtly increase the speed, hoping to deliver Nan Xi to her destination sooner and wrap up his shift as quickly as possible.

……

Why hadn’t she sent a message ahead of time to say that it wouldn’t be her coming to pick her up?

Nan Xi couldn’t explain the motivation or logic behind her actions, perhaps because there was none to begin with.

Upon arriving home, she saw her sister and Madam Lin in the living room. After greeting them, she headed straight upstairs to her room, even brushing off her sister’s inquiry about dinner by saying she wasn’t hungry.

Nan Lian paused, watching her younger sister ascend the stairs thoughtfully before casting a subtle glance at Mu Xi.

Madam Lin sat across from her, engrossed in conversation, while Mu Xi stood behind her. Catching Nan Lian’s silent cue, Mu Xi gave a slight nod of understanding and quietly slipped away from Madam Lin’s side, summoning Rose to take her place before heading upstairs.

Madam Lin remained oblivious to any shift, let alone noticing that the person standing behind her was no longer the butler. She was too busy eloquently discussing the latest haute couture collection of a luxury brand this season, interjecting her own insights on fashion and trends.

But when it came to the happenings around her, she couldn’t possibly be as meticulous as she was with the fashion world.

Nan Xi shut herself in her room, poring over research materials related to today’s experiment.

About five minutes later, a knock sounded at her door. After receiving Nan Xi’s permission, Mu Xi’s voice came from outside:

“Young Miss, would you like anything to eat? A meal, some fruit, or a drink, I can bring it up for you.”

“No, thank you.”

This time, it wasn’t some ineffable moodiness. After missing dinner, Nan Xi simply no longer felt like eating, what some might call being “past hunger.”

Silence followed outside, as if Mu Xi had paused in quiet contemplation.

Then she spoke again: “Well, if you change your mind later, please do let me know.”

Nan Xi acknowledged with a sound and returned to her reading.

Mu Xi’s footsteps faded away after another ten seconds.

Once she finished the materials, Nan Xi flopped onto her bed in frustration.

No pounding the mattress, no wailing, she simply buried her face in the blankets, eyes shut, thinking:

Was she really throwing such a tantrum just because Mu Xi hadn’t come to pick her up? Skipping meals over it?

How utterly pathetic.

Nan Xi sternly reflected on her own irrational behavior.

And then continued being pathetic.

The evidence? Clumsily sitting up from the blankets to start on the next research document.

She was the type who drowned herself in work to numb her emotions. Back when Mu Xi had suddenly vanished, Nan Xi had been so grief-stricken she nearly followed her to the grave, until she snapped out of it by burying herself in studies.

Pursuing a direct Ph.D. hadn’t been her original plan, but those years of relentless focus had earned her the degree anyway.

Had she stayed with Mu Xi, leisurely studying side by side, it might have taken her another three years to earn the title of “Dr.”

…

Rubbing her tired eyes, Nan Xi checked the time on her phone and realized it was time to shower and sleep.

Not only that, but she also spotted a message from Mu Xi:

“Little Miss, still not in the mood for dinner?”

Hmph.

Nan Xi couldn’t help but sneer. So eager to send messages now, huh? Why hadn’t she ever bothered before Nan Xi reached out first?

She replied with a simple “No,” then got up to wash up in the bathroom.

The next morning, Nan Xi saw Mu Xi in the garden.

She shot her a sidelong glance. “Sleep well last night?”

“Thank you for your concern, Little Miss. It was quite restful,” Mu Xi replied with a smile.

Nan Xi stared at her but said nothing more, simply sliding into the back seat.

There, a beautiful lunchbox was already waiting for her, presumably the bento Mu Xi had mentioned yesterday.

Mu Xi’s voice chimed in right on cue, as if giving a briefing: “Today’s lunch includes beef, fish, three types of vegetables, and a serving of cherries for dessert. I’ve asked the chef to prepare a monthly meal plan to ensure no dish is repeated within that timeframe.”

“…” For a moment, Nan Xi was at a loss for words.

After a pause, she finally spoke. “Why go through all that trouble? If I really like a dish, doesn’t that mean I’ll only get to eat it once a month?”

Mu Xi immediately pulled out her phone and opened a memo. “Please let me know the name of the dish, and I’ll have the chef increase its frequency.”

“…” Nan Xi fell silent again.

What was this? The humanity in Mu Xi seemed to have evaporated overnight. Had Nan Xi’s refusal to eat dinner the previous evening spooked her that much?

Now, she was acting like some kind of robot programmed for butler duties. Nan Xi didn’t like it.

She stayed quiet the entire ride, until they arrived at the university. Mu Xi parked in A University’s lot and bid her farewell.

Nan Xi softened slightly, about to return the goodbye, when Mu Xi added:

“Once you’ve decided, please do let me know which dish you’d like to have more often.”

“…”

Nan Xi grabbed her bag and lunchbox, her face icy as she yanked the car door open and strode off without so much as a backward glance.

Had she looked back, she would’ve seen Mu Xi sitting frozen in the driver’s seat, staring after her with a conflicted, bewildered expression, like a robot that had just crashed.

But Nan Xi didn’t see it.

This went on for three whole days.

Rarely did they exchange words beyond the necessary butler-client formalities. If Mu Xi was too busy, she’d arrange for another driver to take Nan Xi to and from work. Nan Xi silently accepted the arrangement.

Both of them, as if by unspoken agreement, felt this was how a butler and their charge should interact: polite, distant, nothing more.

Before, for whatever reason, there had always been this intangible, gauzy tension between them. The repeated teasing (mostly from Mu Xi) had often blurred the lines of who they were to each other.

“Little Miss, were you satisfied with today’s menu?”

Nan Xi would turn her head, recalling the lunch she’d had, and offer strict criticism: “Next time, I don’t want this chef cooking for me again. The pork wasn’t prepared properly.”

“Understood. My apologies for failing to meet your expectations.”

Mu Xi would respond like this, earnest in her apology, hoping for Nan Xi’s forgiveness.

Until…

On the evening of the third day, just as Mu Xi started the car to head back to the Nan residence,

Nan Xi finally asked the question.

This moment was exceptionally critical because if the question wasn’t asked before Mu Xi stepped on the accelerator, he might have pressed it too hard. That would have posed a threat to both their safety.

The butler’s safety wasn’t as important, the main concern was that the young miss would be put in danger.

The question was:

“Butler Mu, did you know… that I secretly kissed you that day?”

Finally, she had asked it. No matter what, Nan Xi felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

But the atmosphere in the car instantly plummeted to freezing point. The surface-level peace and harmony the two of them (mainly Mu Xi) had painstakingly maintained over the past three days shattered in an instant. The air pressure surged abruptly as the butler fell into silence.

Nan Xi had asked it.

She had actually gone and asked it.