His consciousness slowly rose, as though surfacing from the depths of the sea.
Ye Li's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.
What greeted him was not the familiar ceiling of his cramped dorm room, nor the cold metal dome of the infirmary.
Instead, it was an enormous chandelier made of countless crystal pendants, so lavish it bordered on excessive.
He shook his still somewhat groggy head and sat up on a bed so soft it felt as though he had sunk into a cloud.
He looked around.
This was an enormous, luxurious room he had never seen before.
The room was more than three times as large as his previous office and dorm room combined.
A thick Persian carpet covered the floor, silencing every footstep, while rows of bookshelves made from precious wood stood along the walls, filled with all kinds of hardcover books.
Beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows lay an exquisite sky garden planted with exotic flowers and rare plants.
Where am I?
Shouldn't I be in the infirmary?
Just as questions filled Ye Li's mind, the door was gently pushed open.
A young woman with delicate features and a capable air, dressed in a well-tailored black maid's uniform, slowly approached him with a steaming cup of black tea.
She wore an impeccable, professional smile.
"Sir Ye Li, you're awake."
Her voice, like her bearing, was crisp and businesslike, without a trace of unnecessary emotion.
"I will be your dedicated personal assistant from now on. You may call me by my code name, Xiaoya."
Xiaoya?
The familiar yet unfamiliar name left Ye Li somewhat dazed.
"Xiaoya...?"
"Yes." Xiaoya set the black tea on the bedside table and bowed slightly. "Boss Giovanni felt that your previous working and living conditions were far too spartan, completely unworthy of your