I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 23

Mu Xi locked the door to the butler’s room and sat on the small sofa opposite the bed, continuing to space out.

So, for the next five or six days… she was just supposed to stay here with nothing to do?

To be fair, her butler’s room had everything she needed, even a fully equipped small kitchen. Mu Xi could handle all her daily necessities without stepping outside.

Though the marking process was complete, the lingering effects of her rut still remained. After injecting herself with a regular suppressant, Mu Xi curled up on the sofa and scrolled through her phone.

Soon enough, she started feeling bored and restless.

People accustomed to being busy couldn’t stand idleness, especially someone like Mu Xi, who was usually swamped with work and had no time for leisure.

Now that she actually had time to relax, she couldn’t think of any way to pass the time.

Might as well… go to a construction site and move a few bricks.

She mocked herself with the thought, though she knew it was impossible.

But before becoming a butler, hadn’t she had any hobbies for her free time?

When she first transmigrated here, she was attending home economics university. As an energetic and physically strong alpha, she used to go hiking or cycling with friends whenever she had time. There was even a phase when she was obsessed with off-roading.

Of course, none of those outdoor activities could be done inside the butler’s room.

But then another thought struck her.

If she hadn’t deliberately tried to recall, Mu Xi might have completely forgotten that she used to love art appreciation.

Not the serious, scholarly kind, just randomly pulling up a painting (preferably impressionist or abstract) and letting her imagination run wild, making up her own interpretations of famous artworks.

She wasn’t sure how she’d developed such a mischievous hobby, but since it was perfect for indoor entertainment, Mu Xi decided to embrace it. She started browsing online for obscure art pieces.

The activity was admittedly quite dull and even a bit crude. Mu Xi suspected that someone like Nan Xi, refined and cultured, would probably look down on such a tasteless pastime.

But Mu Xi genuinely found joy and satisfaction in it. There was a simple, comforting warmth to it. The only downside was that she had no one to share it with.

She kept at it, often bursting into laughter at her own absurd interpretations.

The fridge was stocked with ready-made meals and ingredients, so she cooked whenever she was hungry. The butler’s room even had a treadmill, thoughtfully provided for alphas isolating during their rut, ensuring Mu Xi could still get her daily exercise.

Just like that, three days slipped by.

When Nan Nan’s call came in, Mu Xi was sprawled on the bed, laughing at how the screaming figure in The Scream looked like a potato.

“Hello? Good afternoon, Second Young Master. How may I assist you?”

The moment she answered, Mu Xi instantly switched back into butler mode, responding reflexively.

“Butler Mu! Ahhh, I’m so sorry, but could you please bring me a change of clothes to the company? Something’s happened to mine…” Nan Nan sounded frantic, as if the sky were falling.

“!”

Mu Xi immediately sprang up from the bed, dashed to Nan Nan’s room on the second floor, grabbed a pre-matched outfit, stuffed it into a bag, then raced downstairs. She snatched the car keys from the entryway cabinet and bolted out the door.

The busy household staff stared in astonishment at the scene before them. Someone tried to call out to her, “Butler Mu, aren’t you-”

Mu Xi was entirely focused on completing her task and couldn’t be bothered to listen. “We’ll talk when I get back,” she said.

Her figure disappeared through the main gate, leaving the staff exchanging bewildered glances.

Butler Mu was indeed on leave during her rut, right? And now… she was back to work so soon? Truly, Butler Mu was superhuman.

“So impressive, still wearing her steward uniform even on leave,” someone remarked.

The others nodded in agreement.

…

Nan Nan’s unlucky streak struck again. An employee delivering documents to his office somehow managed to knock over his coffee cup, spilling it all over him.

He had an important meeting in half an hour.

In such a situation, Nan Nan didn’t dare send his assistant out to buy him new clothes. The only person he could trust was Butler Mu, who was all the way back at home.

Because every single time, she had resolved all his problems, big or small, without fail.

This time, Mu Xi lived up to her reputation, successfully delivering a complete set of new clothes to Nan Nan just ten minutes before the meeting began.

Just as he was fretting anxiously, Mu Xi descended like a divine savior, bringing him a perfectly coordinated business suit in a unified color scheme, even the leather shoes were prepared.

Nan Nan changed in the lounge and stood beaming in front of the mirror by the door.

“It really has to be you, Butler Mu. If it were my assistant handling this, who knows what kind of mess they’d make.”

Mu Xi replied calmly, “You flatter me, Second Young Master. This is simply part of my duties.”

“Ah, I was just thinking it had been a while since I last troubled Butler Mu,” Nan Nan said, adjusting his tie. Suddenly, his hands froze.

He hesitated, then turned to look at Mu Xi, as if remembering something very important.

And as Mu Xi met his gaze, the tension from being preoccupied with work faded, and the reality she had buried beneath the urgency began to surface…

Mu Xi remembered. Her composure shattered, her face stiffening like a mouse startled stiff by a cat.

“…Wait a minute, Butler Mu, aren’t you on leave?”

Nan Nan was baffled. “It’s true I was careless and forgot, but how could Butler Mu forget too? Isn’t your rut uncomfortable?”

Mu Xi raised her hand, then let it drop. “This…”

How could she have forgotten? How could she have forgotten? Had Nan Zhiya really trained her into some kind of police dog, charging forward at the slightest command without a second thought, even if it meant plunging into an abyss?

Mu Xi was utterly exasperated. She had unlocked the steward’s quarters herself, driven here herself, and presented herself before Nan Nan.

The other members of the Nan family had all remembered she was on leave, only brainless Nan Nan had still called her. And she, even more brainless, had rushed over in a daze the moment she answered the phone.

What now?

Mu Xi could only cling to the slim hope that Nan Nan, as a beta, might not fully understand an alpha’s physiology. Maybe she could bluff her way through.

“Butler Mu doesn’t seem all that uncomfortable,” Nan Nan mused, scrutinizing her. “Ah! I get it, Butler Mu must have already marked an omega, right?”

Mu Xi: “?!”

Already feeling guilty, Mu Xi wished she could just grab the vase on the table and smash it over Nan Nan’s head to make him lose his memory.

Stubborn to the core, she still tried to defend herself: “N-no, it’s just that this rut ended earlier than usual.”

“Come on, Butler Mu, there’s nothing to hide. There are so many omegas in the house. If you’ve really found someone you like, that’s something to celebrate.” Nan Nan, however, looked as if he had already seen through her and even tried to reassure her. “In this day and age, these things are completely normal. I wouldn’t judge you for it.”

Mu Xi opened her mouth, then firmly shut it again.

Her lips felt sealed by reinforced concrete. Fine, let it be. If Nan Nan wanted to spin it this way, so be it, as long as Nan Xi wasn’t dragged into this, anything else was manageable.

She went along with it, silently acquiescing.

Nan Nan studied her for a moment, growing even more intrigued. “Hey, but which omega is it? Xiao Jiang, Annie, or Xiao Ji? I really never noticed before…”

The faces of Xiao Jiang, Annie, and Xiao Ji flashed through Mu Xi’s mind one by one.

…Trading someone else’s reputation to protect her and the young mistress’s innocence, that was something she couldn’t bring herself to do.

Mu Xi took a deep breath, her face flushing slightly as she protested, “Second Young Master, it’s none of them. But please, don’t ask anymore. I won’t say.”

Nan Nan adjusted his cuffs and started heading out. “You’re quite the responsible one, huh? Alright, alright, I won’t pry. But if you really do end up marrying one of the staff, we’ll give you a big red envelope.”

Mu Xi inhaled sharply again. “Thank you, Second Young Master.”

Nan Nan was in a hurry to get to a meeting and didn’t linger on the matter, leaving the office.

Mu Xi was left alone in Nan Nan’s office.

The moment the door closed behind him, Mu Xi began pacing anxiously around the room.

After a few dizzying laps, she still hadn’t come up with a good solution.

She was still in a state of forced reboot, her system wasn’t fully operational yet, and her mind was a complete blank.

No, she needed to find someone smart to help brainstorm.

After much deliberation, Mu Xi decided she should give Nan Xi a heads-up about the situation.

They had slept together, after all. If something like this happened, they should face it together.

Mu Xi obediently began texting Nan Xi:

“Young Mistress, I’ve left the room. I’m in Second Young Master’s office now.”

Silence stretched for twenty minutes.

Then came a single, bare: “?”

Followed immediately by Nan Xi’s call.

When she picked up, Nan Xi sounded slightly breathless. Mu Xi guessed she must have run out of the lab to make the call, or maybe she was just so angry her breathing had gone erratic.

This only deepened Mu Xi’s guilt, and her voice became as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

“What’s going on?” Nan Xi’s asked.

“No one. I won’t mention any of the maids’ names,” Mu Xi said helplessly, tilting her head back. “If they insist on asking, I’d rather resign than implicate anyone else.”

This time, it was Nan Xi’s turn to pause, her tone turning even more unfriendly. “Who said anything about resigning? Are you that eager to quit?”

“…If they absolutely must know who it was, you can say it was me. They won’t make things too difficult for you.”

“Wha… what?” Mu Xi’s grip loosened in shock, nearly dropping her phone.

“Of course, you’d definitely be transferred to work somewhere else, and then we wouldn’t see each other anymore,” Nan Xi said lightly. “So, it’s better not to mention my name so easily. If they ask you, just stand firm.”

“…”

Mu Xi didn’t know how to respond.

On the other end of the line, Nan Xi chuckled. “Don’t be nervous. That’s just the worst-case scenario. Actually, they won’t even ask, your personal life isn’t within their scope of interest.”

“Just report to me, and that’s enough.”