I Am Her Secret Beauty - Chapter 67

Delicious.

It’s just that she couldn’t eat too much. Fortunately, what she was holding was a small sweet potato.

Nan Xi made a great effort to finish the entire roasted sweet potato. After eating it, her stomach felt both full and warm, with the sweet flavor lingering, making the cold wind feel less biting.

Mu Xi, who had just gotten up and hadn’t eaten anything, easily finished the large sweet potato and then told Nan Xi:

“Back in college, I always ate roasted sweet potatoes when it was cold.”

For college students, it was cheap, delicious, and even healthy. At worst, some sugar water might be added to the sweet potato, but it was still better than the “zombie meat” in the cafeteria.

The two walked along the road. The person who had been so distressed on the sports field the day before, wishing to end it all, now seemed unusually calm, not mentioning anything, only holding Nan Xi’s hand through their gloves as they walked.

Mu Xi knew that Nan Xi wasn’t as indifferent as she appeared, because the hand inside the glove would often clench tightly, only to relax abruptly when she realized someone was holding it from the outside.

Then Nan Xi would start talking as if to cover it up, chattering about anything and everything, just to divert Mu Xi’s attention.

“Hmm…”

Mu Xi struggled to respond, but luckily, Nan Xi hadn’t been speaking for the sake of getting a reply anyway.

Helpless, Mu Xi pulled Nan Xi to a stop at the entrance of an alley, wanting to tell her that she was fine now and didn’t need to be so cautious, when Nan Xi’s phone suddenly rang from her pocket.

Nan Xi glanced at the words on the screen, and her fingers tightened around Mu Xi’s once again.

She had been waiting for this call all day.

“It’s Nan Nan calling,” she told Mu Xi, pointing to the alley ahead. “It might be about family matters. I’ll go take the call.”

With that, she gripped her phone tightly and slipped into the alley, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Mu Xi silently took a few steps back, consciously retreating to a distance where she couldn’t hear Nan Xi’s conversation at all.

If Nan Xi had wanted her to listen, she wouldn’t have gone into the alley; since she didn’t want her to listen, Mu Xi wouldn’t.

A few meters away in the alley, Nan Xi pressed the screen, waiting for the person on the other end to speak.

“Miss, we’ve already checked the records at H University. Mu Xi’s name is there. There’s no record of anyone named Mu Xi at A University, no homophones or similar names either.”

Nan Xi’s heart sank, and she couldn’t help but glance toward the alley entrance. She didn’t see Mu Xi, only the steady stream of vehicles outside.

She lowered her voice:

“What about the government agencies? Can we access the records there?”

The voice on the other end sounded troubled: “I’m sorry, Miss. My clearance isn’t high enough. I’ll need to try again…”

After a pause, she tentatively asked Nan Xi: “Actually, if you want to check things related to government agencies, perhaps you could ask Madam for help. She has close ties with many high-ranking officials.”

Nan Xi, of course, knew that.

In her family, aside from herself, who was focused on research and detached from worldly affairs, Nan Nan was useless, and Nan Lian was too preoccupied with her own matters to be of help. The most reliable and useful connections naturally belonged to Nan Zhiya, who had been influential for a long time.

But. “No, absolutely cannot let Mother know. Do you hear me?”

Nan Xi emphasized: “Do not let Mother, or anyone close to her, know that I’ve asked for your help in this investigation. Please.”

If Nan Zhiya found out that Mu Xi was that scumbag alpha who had vanished into thin air back then, Mu Xi would be lucky to escape with her life intact.

“Very well, Miss.” The other party wisely refrained from asking for reasons, only confirming, “Shall I continue attempting to hack into the agency?”

“Yes. The remaining payment will be transferred to the previous account. Thank you for your hard work.”

Nan Xi waited for the other end to hang up, leaning against the cold, hard wall behind her, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Unlike her sister, she had never learned these skills from Nan Zhiya. Her ability to do shady work might even be inferior to that of Mu Xi, the butler. Suddenly diving into intelligence work was something she hadn’t quite adapted to yet.

She began to reflect on whether her tone had been too polite when speaking to the person earlier. Nan Zhiya had once told her not to be too courteous to those carrying out tasks.

If the other party thought she was easy to deal with and tried to cut corners, wouldn’t that be…

“Nan Xi.”

Mu Xi suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley, calling her name and startling Nan Xi so much that she bumped her back against the wall.

Suppressing the pain in her back, Nan Xi nonchalantly slipped her phone into her pocket and walked toward her. “Hmm?”

“I just wanted to check if you were still here.” Mu Xi took her hand again. “Are you done with your call?”

“I’m done.” The more she said, the more mistakes she might make.

The two walked along the uneven road. Today, their goal seemed to be simply to move forward, no destination, no reason to advance.

As for the scenery along the way, aside from the initial novelty after leaving the hotel, it had faded into the ordinary, overshadowed by their preoccupations. Neither of them glanced at the surroundings anymore, keeping their heads down as they walked.

Mu Xi stared at the tips of her own shoes, her tone flat, and suddenly spoke up just as Nan Xi was lost in thought:

“Is there something you’re hiding from me?”

“Yes.”

An instinctive admission was the most fatal.

Nan Xi’s cheeks flushed rapidly as she snapped back to reality. She really wasn’t cut out for intelligence work, Mu Xi had only asked casually, and she’d foolishly blurted out the truth.

She closed her eyes, smacked her forehead in frustration, and hunched her shoulders, wishing she could turn into an ostrich that couldn’t hear any responses, just to avoid Mu Xi’s follow-up questions.

Mu Xi was patient. “Is it about me?”

“…”

How annoying that she guessed so accurately.

Nan Xi felt completely exposed. Evading Mu Xi’s probing by playing ostrich clearly wouldn’t work. She had no choice but to resort to her most effective move:

“You’re not allowed to ask.”

“Nan Xi.” Mu Xi gave a bitter smile and reached out to cover Nan Xi’s reddened ears with her palms, warming them. “I just don’t want to be a burden to you.”

She was too easy to read, unable to hide even the slightest worry. Combined with what had happened yesterday, Mu Xi could already guess most of the story.

The thought of Nan Xi hiding in the alley, working hard to make calls just to protect her damaged mind and heart, left Mu Xi unsure whether to laugh or cry.

“You’re not a burden,” Nan Xi muttered. “Besides, it’s already beyond my capabilities. I plan to ask my sister for help after she’s done with her current tasks.”

Admitting this was a bit embarrassing, but it wasn’t the first time she’d felt embarrassed in front of Mu Xi.

“Actually, I could-”

“No, you can’t!” Nan Xi hurriedly pinched her waist, making her squirm. “Your only task is to accompany me shopping and walking. Don’t think about anything else, and don’t worry about anything else.”

She was dead serious, putting real force into her pinching.

So, Mu Xi held back her laughter, enduring the tickling sensation at her waist, and only frowned. “But when the truth comes out, I’ll have to know eventually. Isn’t that still…”

“But that way, you only have to worry once!” Nan Xi spoke rapidly, “If you start caring about this now, you’ll get a headache every time there’s any progress, who knows how many times you’ll suffer by the end! But if I investigate first and tell you later, you’ll only have to endure it once. I’ll make sure everything is fully prepared before I tell you, and I’ll bring you to the hospital before breaking the news. That way, even if you get a headache, it won’t matter…”

Mu Xi saw her own calm reflection in Nan Xi’s anxious eyes.

It was rare to see Nan Xi, who seemed to lack nothing in life, so flustered, her cheeks flushed red, her clothes crumpled tightly in her hands, and strands of hair flying wildly. The sight firmly stifled the rebuttal Mu Xi had been about to voice.

She couldn’t help but put herself in Nan Xi’s shoes. If she were in Nan Xi’s position, she’d probably think the same way.

For Nan Xi’s sake, and for the sake of her own anxious self in another possible scenario, Mu Xi nodded and said:

“I understand. Then I’ll only have to endure the headache once.”