I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 25

Nan Xi responded with a distracted “Hmm,” lowering her head to spear a piece of broccoli from her plate without offering much reaction to Mu Xi’s apology.

Nan Zhiya continued speaking to Nan Xi:

“Make sure to rest when you’re not working. Didn’t Dr. Anna say your body is too weak? It’s best to get a check-up every two weeks.”

“How long until your heat cycle? If there’s no suitable candidate, have the butler find a healthy alpha of the right age.”

Though her words were calm, the impact on everyone else was considerable.

The diners at the table reacted with varying degrees of shock. Nan Xi, who had just lifted a piece of broccoli to her mouth, dropped it back onto the plate. It rolled twice, coated itself in sauce, and shyly buried itself among the minced meat.

Meanwhile, Mu Xi, who had been standing behind Nan Xi, blinked rapidly, wondering if she had misheard.

“Mom, did you just say… have Butler Mu find an alpha to mark me?” Nan Xi asked Nan Zhiya for confirmation. “Is this a joke?”

Nan Zhiya remained expressionless. “No, I don’t enjoy crude jokes.”

“If it’s not a joke, then it’s really crude,” Nan Xi muttered, trying to locate the lost piece of broccoli with her fork but failing to find a target.

Nan Lian, who had been silent for a while, finally looked up and offered her opinion on the matter:

“Actually, I also think you should try out more alphas, that way, you can find the right one for you.”

“Of course, even if none of them end up appealing to you, it doesn’t matter. The priority is getting through the discomfort of your heat cycle.”

At this point, Nan Lian glanced at Guan Yan. “You know, back then, Dad was precisely because-”

“Alright, alright!” Guan Yan’s face flushed, and he hurriedly cut her off. “Talk about Xixi if you must, why drag me into this?”

“…In any case, finding an alpha to help with your physiological needs has no downsides,” Nan Lian concluded.

Nan Nan silently thanked the heavens once more for making her an ordinary beta.

Nan Xi still hadn’t found the missing broccoli but refused to give up, continuing to poke around her plate without responding to Nan Lian’s words.

The scraping of the fork against the plate produced a rather uncouth sound, but no one paid it any mind, allowing the slightly grating noise to linger in the dining room.

Nan Zhiya didn’t press her for an answer and instead turned to Mu Xi. “Butler, keep an eye out. If I remember correctly, it should be about two weeks from now.”

Mu Xi took a step forward and bowed slightly. “Understood, Madam.”

Her emotions were a tangled mess. Though her stance might have been presumptuous, Mu Xi couldn’t help feeling as though an unseemly green light was shining over her head, as if she were being paraded around for the sake of humiliation.

Finding an alpha to mark the omega she had once marked… was this really…?

Ah… but Nan Xi herself had said to act as if nothing had happened and continue living as usual. Wouldn’t her own excessive sense of boundaries now be an insult to her?

Even that one night could only be summarized as an accident.

If anything, the blame lay with her, her first time exercising an alpha’s function had been on the wrong person.

Mu Xi, along with the quiet gloom in her heart, returned to her position, watching woodenly as they finished dinner before directing the servants to clear the table and tidy the dining room.

After dinner, as the family rested in the living room and then retreated to their rooms, the servants also left the common areas. Mu Xi returned to the housekeeper’s quarters.

Standing in front of her bed, she suddenly felt that perhaps she should change the bedding.

…But following that line of thought, she might as well change the sofa, the curtains, and the rug too.

There were too many things to replace, or perhaps it would be enough just to replace herself.

Ever since Nan Xi returned to this household, Mu Xi had often entertained thoughts of resigning.

What to do…

Tomorrow morning, she still had to drive Nan Xi to A University for work.

In half a month, she would also have to carefully inquire about Nan Xi’s preferences regarding alphas, then find one and bring them to her.

Mu Xi stood under the showerhead, scrubbing herself fiercely, trying to wash away the chaotic thoughts in her mind. Then she returned to bed and told herself to sleep.

Fortunately, the next morning at breakfast, Nan Zhiya casually asked about the progress at the construction site. Mu Xi immediately seized this lifeline, stating that she would check on the site after breakfast, leaving the task of driving the young miss to the chauffeur.

Nan Xi didn’t object, quietly sipping her broccoli and fruit smoothie without a word.

An hour later, Mu Xi, dressed in a suit, arrived at the construction site once again.

She had just voluntarily moved a couple of stacks of bricks when two figures rushed toward her, flashing bright, friendly smiles. “Who would’ve thought! We’d see you here again!”

Mu Xi paused, studying them for a moment before recognizing them as the two who had offered her water and struck up a conversation last time. She greeted them, “Good morning.”

“Heh, last time, after we went back, we thought it over and figured it out! You must be the Nan family’s butler! We heard the Nan family isn’t the easiest to work for, looks like they’ve sent you back here again…” one of them said with a grin.

Mu Xi frowned, displeased, and corrected him, “Madam didn’t send me. I came voluntarily.”

The two workers exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes.

Who in their right mind would voluntarily come to a construction site to move bricks in this heat? Yeah, right.

The man chuckled awkwardly. “Don’t be upset, we weren’t badmouthing your employers. It’s just that the two of us have a question we really can’t figure out…”

“What is it?”

“Could you tell us, what rank of alpha are you?” He pointed at himself. “I’m an A-rank, but I’m nowhere near as strong as you. Feels like there’s a huge gap…”

“SSS,” Mu Xi replied, walking past them with a small mountain of bricks in her arms. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work. Excuse me.”

Behind her, the two fell silent for a moment before erupting into frantic screams.

Mu Xi only caught snippets:

“Holy crap, there really are SSS-rank alphas?”

“Of course there are, isn’t that S.Life recruiting volunteers at that level?”

“I thought it was just a marketing gimmick! Even if they exist, have you ever seen one? I sure haven’t…”

…

Headache.

Mu Xi silently moved bricks back and forth in stacks, a one-person army, and soon the pile she had transported formed a small mountain.

Truth be told, she hadn’t informed anyone beforehand. She’d just learned the general workflow of the construction site during her last visit, so this time she simply got to work on her own.

If you considered labor as a form of exercise, even moving bricks could be oddly entertaining.

Not really.

But as she felt her physical strength gradually draining away, Mu Xi found an unexpected sense of calm.

Most alphas enjoyed, and even needed, high-intensity exercise to burn off their abundant energy. If not for Nan Zhiya’s sudden whim one day, Mu Xi might never have discovered this activity.

Her brick mountain quickly drew attention.

Chen Yu, the site supervisor who had been sitting far away in her office, came out with tea and a towel, stopping Mu Xi just as she was about to switch to hauling bags of cement.

“Butler Mu! You should’ve told me you were coming. I was in the office reviewing blueprints.”

Whether she was actually reviewing blueprints or watching live streams of beautiful women was entirely up to her word.

Chen Yu was around thirty-five, with curly, tousled hair and deep dark circles under her frameless glasses, though her eyes were lively. She wore a shirt and sweatpants and was the chief engineer here, with her own private office.

Had she not accidentally noticed the mountain of bricks Mu Xi had already moved, Chen Yu might not have discovered her presence for a while longer.

Mu Xi smiled. “It’s fine. I was just moving a few things.”

“How could this possibly be ‘just a few things’?” Chen Yu eyed the towering pile outside with barely concealed delight, then restrained her enthusiasm. “We have workers for this, you don’t need to do it. Want some water? Or come to my office and cool off under the AC?”

She asked cautiously, “Did President Nan push for the schedule again?”

Mu Xi had a headache and wasn’t keen on the ice water Chen Yu offered. She followed Chen Yu into the office and sat down to rest.

“Madam does hope you can speed up construction. However, quality comes before speed, so there’s no need to rush too much.” Mu Xi relayed Nan Zhiya’s message with a polite smile.

Chen Yu chuckled along but cursed Nan Zhiya inwardly.

“Speed up but don’t rush”, wasn’t that just code for demanding both? Sending the butler over every other day to pressure her, even having her move bricks as a show, anyone would think she had no workers under her!

…Though, if Mu Xi could stay and keep moving bricks for her, she wouldn’t really mind.

“Haha… I’ll explain the situation to President Nan in person another time.”

Chen Yu’s eyes gleamed as she shifted the topic, eager to gossip with this seemingly good-natured, hardworking steward. “This research institute is being built for the Nan family’s third daughter, right? You must know about that, Butler Mu?”

“…I do.”

Chen Yu rubbed her hands together. “I heard that young Miss Nan is exceptionally beautiful, is that true, Butler Mu?”

“……”

“Butler Mu! Don’t look at me like that! I just have a thing for beautiful women, I’d never dare disrespect Miss Nan!” Seeing Mu Xi’s icy glare, Chen Yu quickly turned her computer screen toward her. “Look, this folder is full of beautiful women, I really just admire them!”

Mu Xi’s headache worsened.

Logically speaking, Chen Yu was a highly educated and capable senior engineer from a prestigious university, so how could she come across as so unreliable?

The problem was, if she truly just had an appreciation for beautiful women, then Mu Xi had no real way to stop her from finding ways to admire Nan Xi’s face through various channels.

After all, Nan Xi was indeed beautiful, a fact Mu Xi couldn’t deny.

Chen Yu whispered, “Actually, I think you’re quite stunning too, Butler Mu. It’s just that you’re not my type. I prefer…”

No.

If this veered into discussions about preferences, then as a steward, Mu Xi had a duty to shield Nan Xi from such unwarranted attention.

“Chief Engineer Chen,” Mu Xi cut in swiftly before she could say anything truly inappropriate about Nan Xi, adopting a serious tone. “What rank of alpha are you?”

“Huh?”

Chen Yu froze for a moment, then scratched her head, baffled by the question. “I’m not an alpha. I’m a beta.”

Perfect.

Mu Xi had planned to use rank as a barrier to stop Chen Yu from prying further into Nan Xi’s affairs, but it turned out she wasn’t even an alpha.

“In that case, my apologies, Chief Engineer Chen, but there’s no need for curiosity. Our young mistress has a preference for alphas.” Mu Xi placed a hand over her chest, feigning deep regret and sympathy. “You don’t meet her standards. My sincerest apologies.”

Taking advantage of Nan Xi’s ignorance, Mu Xi fabricated her preferences without hesitation. “If someone isn’t an alpha, our young mistress wouldn’t even spare them a glance. Terribly sorry.”

“Wait, no… I just like beautiful-”

“Thank you very much for your hospitality. The tea was excellent.”

Mu Xi left behind the untouched cup of water, pulled a handkerchief from her breast pocket, and stood to wipe down the section of the sofa she had occupied, ensuring no dirt she might have carried in would stain Chen Yu’s furniture.

Once done, she straightened her suit jacket slightly, gave Chen Yu a polite nod, and headed for the door.

“If there’s nothing else to discuss, I’ll return to moving bricks outside. As you know, construction waits for no one.”

Chen Yu watched as she went back to hauling cement bags outside, then roughly ran her hands through her hair, making it even messier.

What the hell… Why were Nan Zhiya’s people just as weird as she was?