Xiao Xun saw that he had to change his shoes to enter, and now he was so embarrassed that he could 'dig out' a three-bedroom apartment with his feet.
The reason was simple: he hadn't washed his feet since he started staying overnight at the internet cafe. Even if his socks weren't torn, they could stand on their own when taken off.
As for the smell, it was even more indescribable – a perfect 'biological weapon.'
Perhaps sensing Xiao Xun's predicament, Mu Jiahe turned around and said, "It was my oversight. I've been living alone in this house since I bought it. You can come in with your shoes on! I'll get you some daily necessities after work tomorrow."
Only then did Xiao Xun heave a sigh of relief and walk in.
Mu Jiahe began to introduce Xiao Xun to the rooms and facilities in the villa, such as the gym, home theater, library, hot spring bathroom, laundry room, and maid's quarters. There were two floors above ground and four floors including the basement.
Even the maid's quarters were a two-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen. The only drawback was the lack of windows.
There were independent small gardens in both the front and back. The refrigerator in the kitchen was full of fresh produce and snacks. Supermarket staff came regularly to replace the ingredients with the freshest ones, so there was no need to go out specifically to buy them.
Mu Jiahe pushed open the door of the room adjacent to the backyard on the first floor, turned on the light, and said to Xiao Xun, "This will be your room from now on."
The room before him was also fully equipped, with facilities better than those in a typical four-star hotel room.
The carpet underfoot was very soft, and stepping on it felt like walking on clouds.
Xiao Xun felt the room was very quiet, so he asked Mu Jiahe, "With such a big house, is it just the two of us?"
Mu Jiahe explained, "There are housekeepers, but they don't live here. They are only responsible for cleaning specific areas."
The meaning was clear: in this vast house, there were only the two of them, a man and a woman, alone.
Xiao Xun was in a dilemma. He hated being alone in a room with a woman the most, especially his boss, whom he didn't know very well.
Although this room was tens of times larger than the previous one, he felt like he had just escaped from the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's lair.
Mu Jiahe, unaware of Xiao Xun's thoughts, continued, "My bedroom is on the second floor. Remember to make breakfast before you go to work tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now. Good night!" With that, she left.
Xiao Xun stared blankly at the spacious room. After a long while, he came back to his senses, quickly went to the bathroom, took off his shoes and socks, and washed his socks. He hadn't showered for a long time, and his body had a smell.
He adjusted the water temperature and took a bath in the large bathtub, almost falling asleep from the comfort.
He woke up abruptly, feeling a surge of panic. If he had drowned in there, no one would have come to save him.
Thinking of this, he quickly dried himself, emptied the bathtub, and returned to bed.
The mattress was moderately soft, and the duvet looked large but was very light. When he put it on, it felt like covering himself with a giant swan feather.
He took out his phone and saw that it was already four in the morning. He set an alarm.
Perhaps it was because the bed was too comfortable, or perhaps it was due to a tiring day, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.
At this moment, even if someone came to slap him twice, he wouldn't wake up.
An ear-piercing sound rang out. Xiao Xun skillfully reached out and pressed the off button, then continued to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "I'm dead, I'm dead, I slept too comfortably and overslept."
Saying this, he quickly got up and put on his clothes. The bed was too comfortable, and he was reluctant to leave the duvet.
After getting dressed, he walked barefoot to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and looked at the dazzling array of food. He took out eggs, bread, milk, lettuce, and luncheon meat.
He made a sandwich, fried four sunny-side-up eggs, and then heated two cups of milk.
He placed the prepared breakfast on the more than ten-meter-long dining table, then ran back to the bathroom to wash up.
Apart from not having his own change of clothes, everything else here was readily available.
After changing, he glanced back at the bed with reluctance, thinking: If only I could just stay at home like this!
When he arrived at the dining room, Mu Jiahe was already sitting there, eating the breakfast Xiao Xun had just made.
Moreover, she looked completely unwearied, full of energy, with no dark circles under her eyes, and she had even put on delicate makeup.
This made Xiao Xun very curious. Doing all this would take an hour or two. She hadn't slept at all, wasn't she tired?
"Why are you looking at me? Sit down and eat! This isn't... the old society, and you're not my slave."
Xiao Xun forced a smile to hide his awkwardness and sat down on the chair opposite Mu Jiahe. "President Mu, you're quite humorous."
Mu Jiahe took a sip of milk, looked up at Xiao Xun, and said, "Don't call me President Mu when we're at home. It feels like bringing work home. Just call me..."
She tapped the table, thinking, "Never mind, call me whatever you want! Just don't call me old."
Xiao Xun jokingly said, "President Mu, look at you, you provide me with food, lodging, and a salary. Am I being 'kept' by you?"
Mu Jiahe replied without looking up, "If you didn't have to handle system issues, cook, clean the house, and drive me, then you would be kept by me. But now, you are just exchanging your labor for the compensation you deserve."
Hearing Mu Jiahe's righteous words, Xiao Xun felt even more uneasy.
After breakfast, Xiao Xun drove Mu Jiahe to the company.
On the way, they asked each other many questions about the company. Xiao Xun was also very sensible and did not ask any questions involving company trade secrets.
After parking the car, Mu Jiahe took the initiative to take out her phone and add Xiao Xun as a friend. "Remember to pick me up after work." With that, she got out of the garage and entered the private elevator.
After Xiao Xun parked his car, he also got into the elevator. Since it was peak commuting hours, only company executives could park here. It was normal to encounter people, and soon the company's high-level circle spread the news that Xiao Xun had arrived in the CEO's car.
When he returned to the original technical department floor, as soon as he got out of the elevator, he was stopped by barrier tape. The construction team was setting up scaffolding.
He then remembered that the place had been blown up last night.
When he went to the conference room for the morning meeting, all the directors were whispering to each other. When Xiao Xun entered, they suddenly fell silent, making it hard not to suspect that they were talking about him behind his back.
He sat down next to Director Liu. Director Liu glanced at the executives who were looking in their direction intentionally or unintentionally and said in a low voice, "Director Xiao, what happened at the company last night?"
"I don't know either. Has the police department issued any announcements?"
Director Liu looked at Xiao Xun in surprise. "You don't know? I heard you were at the company last night!"
"My dear sir, I was at the company last night, but I didn't do this. How could I possibly know?"
Director Liu was still persistent, with a determined attitude to get to the bottom of it. "But the incident happened in your technical department. You..."