I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 54

After Nan Nan apologized profusely for a long time, Nan Xi finally calmed down a little and ate her breakfast.

Mu Xi offered to take the tray to the kitchen, as she was accustomed to doing so and wanted to do it one last time before leaving the Nan family.

The siblings understood.

Besides, she really needed to bid a formal farewell to her former colleagues.

Carrying the tableware steadily in both hands, Mu Xi went to the back kitchen and handed it over to the person in charge of cleaning. Then, she headed to the break room where the servants often slacked off.

Since she wasn’t on duty today, they were surely slacking off.

As expected, the moment Mu Xi stepped into the break room, she was shocked by the crowded scene.

Everyone grew excited upon seeing her. Knowing she was about to leave the Nan family, they crowded around her, chattering incessantly:

“I heard from Xiao Wang earlier that he saw you and the young lady acting strangely. I never thought Butler Mu would be so bold.”

“Last night, Madam and Sir talked for a long time in the study. It must have been about you two, right?”

“They probably agreed? They must have! Butler Mu is so wonderful!”

“Where will you go after this, Butler Mu? I don’t want to stay at the Nan family either. Take me with you…”

“Waaah, where will I find a manager who’ll cover for me like you did…”

The room full of betas and omegas began weeping and wailing, giving Mu Xi a headache.

Before, she might have thought it was due to her heightened emotions, but now she knew it was likely a lingering effect of her brain injury. She couldn’t afford to ignore it.

Just as she was about to speak up to stop them, Xiao Ji emerged from the crowd, her eyes red, and shouted, “Stop crying! Butler Mu hasn’t even said a word yet!”

Everyone was startled by the usually gentle Xiao Ji’s outburst and gradually stopped crying, staring expectantly at Mu Xi.

Those pairs of eyes, which had once looked at Mu Xi with reverence and admiration, or shrank in fear when caught slacking off, were now glistening with reluctance.

Mu Xi was deeply moved. She hadn’t expected to form such sincere bonds with them in just over a year.

“I really am leaving,” Mu Xi said, trying to sound composed and open-minded to lighten the mood. “Work hard until the new butler arrives. She definitely won’t be worse than me. Don’t slack off and make things difficult for her.”

But when she mentioned not slacking off, everyone fell silent, unable to make such a promise to Mu Xi.

They exchanged glances, each seeing the others’ unspoken desire to slack off.

Mu Xi couldn’t help but laugh, but after a while, the feeling of reluctance returned.

Meeting such a lovely group of people at the Nan family was truly her good fortune.

“Mu Xi, you are the best butler,” Xiao Ji broke the awkward silence, speaking up again. “Now that you’re not working here anymore, can you give us your personal number?”

“Huh? How did you know…”

Xiao Ji pouted, looking aggrieved. “Everyone has seen you switch accounts to send messages. Who knows what else you were doing? You didn’t badmouth us in your private chats, did you?”

To prove that she had never spoken ill of them, though she might have occasionally and tactfully criticized some of Nan Zhiya’s actions, Mu Xi had no choice but to add each of them as friends.

Just before this, she had urgently hidden certain items away.

The maids were finally satisfied, but due to the suddenness of the situation, they hadn’t had time to prepare any farewell gifts for Mu Xi. They suggested that Mu Xi send them her address later so they could mail the gifts to her.

Mu Xi also mentioned treating them all to a meal, and with that, the farewell was finally complete.

Before stepping out of the break room, Mu Xi glanced back at them one last time. They still looked just as sincere as before. Except for Xiao Ji, who was quietly wiping away tears with her head lowered, the others had already put on smiles, like a garden of sun-facing flowers.

Mu Xi’s gaze lingered on Xiao Ji for a moment. She had vaguely sensed something earlier, but it had all dissolved into silence.

She left the break room and returned to sit beside Nan Xi. Nan Nan was no longer on the sofa.

“If you’re so reluctant to leave them, why not stay and continue as the butler?” Nan Xi muttered under her breath.

Mu Xi smiled and checked the time. “Aren’t you going to work today?”

“Didn’t we agree to move in together? I’ve already asked my professor for leave,” Nan Xi replied matter-of-factly, though it was unclear when they had settled on cohabiting.

Mu Xi skipped over the details and simply accepted it as settled. “Are you really sure about moving out?”

“Yeah, I was already planning to find a place of my own. I can’t live with Mom and Dad forever, I still need a sex life.”

“…”

Mu Xi pressed her lips tightly together, relieved that Nan Nan had already left.

Otherwise, Nan Nan, who seemed intent on freeloading at the Nan residence indefinitely and had no sex life to speak of, would surely have started another argument with her.

After exchanging a few more words, they returned to their respective rooms to pack their belongings.

Mu Xi had always considered her lifestyle simple and assumed she wouldn’t have much to move. But as she gradually gathered all her belongings from every corner, rows of suits, leftover fruits and drinks in the fridge, the bedside lamp she hadn’t used in ages, she realized with a start that two large suitcases were nowhere near enough. It turned out that in just over a year, she had accumulated so many traces of her life here.

Mu Xi had never regarded this housekeeper’s room as her true home, but now, viewing it from a detached perspective, she found it wasn’t so easy to separate herself from it.

She had to borrow another suitcase from Xiao Zhang, who happened to be passing by, along with two large bags, and even then, she barely managed to fit everything in.

With the help of two maids, Mu Xi moved all her belongings to the living room and waited for Nan Xi to come downstairs.

After ten minutes with no sign of her and no reply to her messages, Mu Xi decided to check on her, even though they had agreed earlier to pack their own things separately.

Nan Xi’s door was wide open. Before even stepping inside, Mu Xi saw her sitting amidst piles of clothes, slowly folding each piece and placing it into her suitcase.

Her folding technique wasn’t clumsy, it seemed her five years abroad had indeed taught her self-reliance, as she’d claimed. But to Mu Xi, who came from a professional housekeeping background, the pace was painfully slow. It dawned on Mu Xi that not everyone had learned professional organizing skills, and she hurried in to help.

“Are you already done packing?” Nan Xi asked, somewhat reluctant, as if afraid Mu Xi would think her incompetent. “I can manage on my own. Just give me… twenty more minutes.”

As if that were possible.

Mu Xi brushed it off with a smile and headed into Nan Xi’s room to help her pack.

If her own lifestyle could be described as simple and frugal, then Nan Xi’s was the kind of life she wouldn’t dare to live even if she earned money for a lifetime.

After coming across the fourth designer bag still in its unopened packaging, Mu Xi finally couldn’t hold back any longer: “How many bags do you even have?”

“Bags? Those were gifts from others. I don’t really like bags. If you like them, you can take them,” Nan Xi said indifferently, glancing over. “I probably have more jewelry. It’s in the cabinet next to the vanity.”

Mu Xi carefully packed the bag, making sure it wouldn’t get crushed during the move, then went to find the jewelry Nan Xi had mentioned.

Nan Xi didn’t wear much jewelry on a daily basis. At most, she would match a necklace to her outfit. She avoided wearing too many accessories on her hands, as it would interfere with her experiments.

Because of this, Mu Xi had underestimated Nan Xi’s jewelry collection, assuming that the “cabinet” she mentioned would only occupy one shelf at most.

But when she opened the cabinet door, Mu Xi was nearly blinded by the dazzling reflections of gemstones and precious metals.

“…”

She had severely underestimated the Nan family’s wealth. This wasn’t just a cabinet, it was a dedicated jewelry cabinet. While its exterior appeared plain and unassuming, the inside was a treasure trove. Rows of exquisite jewelry sat quietly in their designated spots, and in one corner, three gold bars were stacked together.

Mu Xi thought to herself, with a mix of emotions, that if these were her belongings, she would definitely put a lock on the cabinet.

Nan Xi must not have taken these with her when she went abroad. Otherwise, wouldn’t she have been mistaken for a smuggler at airport security?

Some of the gemstones on the jewelry were so large that Mu Xi had never even seen plastic imitations of that size on shopping apps. No wonder she had never seen Nan Xi wear them, such extravagant and flashy styles didn’t suit Nan Xi’s personality. They were probably gifts from others as well.

Mu Xi put on the gloves she had prepared earlier and began carefully taking Nan Xi’s treasures out of the cabinet to pack them away.

Meanwhile, Nan Xi continued folding her clothes at a leisurely pace.

Holding a necklace in one hand and a ring in the other, Mu Xi decided that once she finished packing these items, she would contact the Nan family’s bodyguards to upgrade the security level for the move.

As she passed by Nan Xi, her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the clothing in Nan Xi’s hands.

The familiar yet unfamiliar color and style made her break into a fit of coughing, as if she had choked on her own breath.

“What’s wrong?” Nan Xi set the garment aside and stood up to pat Mu Xi’s back gently. “That’s strange, you didn’t seem to have a cold this morning.”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Mu Xi coughed until her face turned red before finally catching her breath. Without waiting for her voice to return to normal, she pointed at the clothing on the bed. “This… why are you keeping this…?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this seemed to be the very same piece, if it could even be called clothing, that Nan Xi had worn on a certain night long ago, when she had barged into Mu Xi’s butler’s quarters to cause trouble.

And Mu Xi distinctly remembered that it should have met a glorious demise. During her sensitive periods, she often struggled to control her strength, and the fabric of this… garment was far too delicate.

With quick reflexes, Mu Xi snatched it from the bed and unfolded it.

…From the collar down to the crotch, a long tear remained, a clear sign of being ripped apart. Besides that, there were numerous other small holes scattered around, likely picked open by fingers.

“You!”

Mu Xi’s already flushed face grew even redder. She grabbed the garment and made to throw it in the trash, but Nan Xi wrapped her arms tightly around Mu Xi’s waist from behind, refusing to let her go.

“Why do you want to throw it away? I’ve kept it for so long!”

Though Nan Xi wasn’t particularly strong, she stubbornly held on. Once Mu Xi stopped struggling, Nan Xi even tried to snatch the treasured clothing back from her. “It’s so full of memories! How can you be so unromantic? Don’t you think of me when you see it?”

Of course, she did.

…How could she not? Every inch of it was vivid and precise, the images far too clear.

Mu Xi took a deep breath. “But it’s already ruined.”

“Exactly, and you’re the one who ruined it. I haven’t even made you pay me back yet,” Nan Xi complained, then her eyes lit up. “Mu Xi, after we finish moving, you can make it up to me by picking out a new one, one you like.”

“No…”

“Wait, not to pay me back, but to get one for yourself. I want to see you wear it.”

“!!!”

Mu Xi’s hand trembled, and the ruined garment slipped from her grasp.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she bent down to pick it up, carefully brushed it off, and solemnly returned it to its original owner. “You should keep it properly,” she said gravely.

As soon as Nan Xi took it back, Mu Xi hurried off to pack her skincare products, not daring to linger a second longer.

It took the two of them over forty minutes to finally pack up Nan Xi’s belongings. Considering future visits back to see Nan Zhiya and the others, they didn’t clear everything out.

Looking at the living room, now filled with a staggering three times more items than her own, Mu Xi realized that with Nan Xi’s wealth, she didn’t really need to pack or organize anything at all. Buying a whole new set for the new place was probably the norm for people of her status.

Maybe she just enjoyed the feeling of moving together, wanting to experience the ritual of packing up and leaving with her own hands.

After all, Guan Yan had indeed done wrong, and Nan Xi must have been upset with him.

The driver had been waiting outside for some time, and so Mu Xi and Nan Xi left the Nan family home where they had both lived for so long.

Only when she actually stepped out of the Nan family’s gate, carrying her own suitcase, did Mu Xi truly feel the reality of leaving.

Her career as the Nan family’s butler had come to an end.

She didn’t know if she would ever work as a butler again. If not, then her career in that role was over.

Standing by the car door, Mu Xi looked back at the main building of the Nan family estate. The household staff were crowded at the windows, waving goodbye to her, each hand waving vigorously.

She had once cherished this place more than her own home, tending to it with care. Yet, it turned out that leaving was just this easy.

One foot stepped over the threshold, then the other, and this chapter of her life came to a close.

Nan Xi waited quietly for her to get in the car, saying nothing, though she too gazed at the home where she had lived for over a decade.

For her, this was a place she could return to anytime, so her feelings weren’t as profound as Mu Xi’s.

Their luggage was transported in two separate vehicles, while the two of them rode together in one car.

The house in the west of the city was nearly an hour’s drive from the Nan family’s residence in the east. The driver took a route bypassing the potentially congested downtown area, and the scenery along the way was pleasant enough to slightly ease Mu Xi’s melancholy over leaving.

Nan Zhiya always prioritized efficiency. She had already taken care of everything the night before, and the domestic staff at the new residence had been informed to prepare for their arrival.

The Western-style house was truly beautiful, like those flower-bedecked homes frequently depicted in European oil paintings, yet distinct in its own right. Its overall Rococo style stood out uniquely among the surrounding buildings, with pristine statues and fountains elegantly arranged around it. The garden, which Nan Nan had long coveted, was designed in a cloister-like layout, its color palette and style harmonizing perfectly with the architecture while holding its own charm.

At first glance from afar, Mu Xi felt it must belong to someone of refined taste and elegance. Nan Zhiya’s thoughtful gesture felt as gentle and soft as the house’s color tone.

When Mu Xi and Nan Xi stepped out of the car, the butler was already directing several staff members to quietly and orderly carry their luggage inside.

Mu Xi could tell at once that this butler was the strict type, meticulous in her work and unwavering in her professionalism.

Perhaps driven by a subtle sense of professional rivalry, she discreetly observed the butler a few times, trying to gauge her management style from the reactions of the other staff.

Most importantly, she hoped this would make her first interaction with the butler go more smoothly.

She needed to tell her: “We’d like to arrange our luggage ourselves.”

The butler glanced up at her, her expression unreadable. “Hello, I’m Emily, the butler here.”

She said, “Miss, there’s quite a lot of luggage. It might not be easy for you and Miss Nan to manage on your own.”

Mu Xi knew it wouldn’t be easy, but there was that one item among Nan Xi’s collection… she really didn’t want anyone else to see it.

She’d rather put in extra effort herself than risk giving the staff a strange impression right from the start.

Nan Xi could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her face. She pulled Mu Xi closer and whispered, “Why not just take that piece of clothing out first?”

“And then carry it in my hands?”

“Put it in a bag, a bag.” Nan Xi lifted the bag hanging from her wrist, demonstrating that it could still fit one lightweight garment. “Don’t waste time here; we have other things to do.”

Mu Xi asked curiously, “What things?”

She had thought moving was the main task for the day.

Nan Xi leisurely took out her phone, said “Wait for it,” and dialed a number.

Mu Xi could hear the voice coming from Nan Xi’s phone, the person on the other end was Nan Lian, and her first words were:

“Good morning, Nan Xi. I hope you’re not calling to trick me into coming back this time.”

“Of course not, sis,” Nan Xi laughed. “They’ve offended me too. I’ve moved out.”

None of the housekeepers or staff around them looked up.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, that’s how it is. Are you at the company? How about Mu Xi and I come see you this afternoon? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Nan Lian caught the key detail: “Mu Xi? Butler Mu?”

“Yep. Mom found out I was having an affair with her, and Dad exposed us.”

Nan Lian let out a scornful chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Fine, come on over.”