Those domineering CEO dramas really didn't lie

Ten minutes later, the car left the villa complex again.

At the same time, Shen Zhiyi finished her meal and prepared to take her medicine. Linda and the housekeeper watched her swallow all of it, then urged her to hurry back to her room and rest.

Linda also received a message from Chi Ye telling her to just keep an eye on Shen Zhiyi that afternoon. Her only task was to look after her; she didn't need to do anything else.

Linda quickly replied, "Okay," then watched Shen Zhiyi go to sleep before leaning over on the little sofa to rest.

As an assistant in the CEO's office, she was usually so busy she barely had a moment to breathe and never needed a midday nap. Now that she had suddenly been given so little to do, she actually felt a little sleepy.

Just before she fell asleep, she forced her eyes open to glance at the person on the bed. Yes, she was sleeping soundly. Reassured, Linda drifted off too.

Silence returned to the room, and the person lying on the bed opened her eyes. She slowly sat up and looked toward Linda, then took a blanket out of the cabinet and covered her with it.

The windows had all been closed. She looked at them a few times before withdrawing her gaze and returning to bed.

For the second, or perhaps the third time, Chi Ye had saved her. Although she wanted to die, she had no right to keep troubling other people.

A debt of gratitude had to be repaid.

But her heart was utterly desolate. All Chi Ye wanted was for her to agree to work with him.

She thought that this book's storyline had gone off course after all. The moment she became self-aware, this had ceased to be merely a world inside a book and become an independent little world. Perhaps everyone's ending wasn't predetermined.

She could fulfill Chi Ye's wish, then choose death afterward.

The police still hadn't found any trace of Fang Yue. They had only told her they were searching as quickly as possible. Shen Zhiyi was in no hurry. She had no thoughts of anything now.

If Fang Yue was caught, he would receive the appropriate punishment. Her home was already gone; she could be anywhere.

Her phone was on the bedside table. Linda had charged it for her earlier, and the battery was now full.

She had received several messages, all from people looking to commission woodcut art from her. But in her current state, she couldn't take any orders for the time being, so she apologized to them.

Perhaps because she had taken too long to reply, they had already found other people to hire and no longer needed her.

She emptied her mind and stared blankly at a spot ahead of her. Her life was very dull.

She had studied hard at school, then spent every day at university rushing nonstop between part-time jobs and classes.

After graduation, she had been busy earning money to repay her debts. She hadn't originally planned to end her life so soon, but that three hundred thousand had paid off the debt that had weighed on her for years in one fell swoop.

All at once, her burden had lifted, and her life no longer held much meaning either.

She had no friends and no family. She had no favorite food, no favorite sport, no favorite game, nothing she liked best.

She was utterly boring. When she learned that she was just a minor cannon-fodder character, she hadn't put up any further struggle, because that was who she was: an unremarkable person, the sort you could scoop up by the handful anywhere.

She thought Chi Ye would definitely regret asking her to work with him. It was only a matter of time.

After returning to the office, Chi Ye worked all day and even forced himself to put in some overtime. Work had piled up over the past two days, and now it was time to pay the price.

By the time he got home, Shen Zhiyi was already asleep. As he went upstairs, his gaze happened to pass over the guest bedroom door, and he lightened his footsteps as he entered his room.

Early the next morning, he had already left for the office before Shen Zhiyi woke up. An entire week passed like this without the two of them even seeing each other.

Shen Zhiyi sat on the balcony, looking at the sunshine outside. Summer had arrived. Her gaze settled on the lawn in the courtyard and the flowers the housekeeper tended.

She thought Chi Ye must have been frightened. Anyone who saw someone try to end their life twice would keep far away from that person.

But she had to repay Chi Ye, if he needed it.

Shen Zhiyi felt it was time for her to leave. She had already stayed here for a week, and staying any longer would be impolite. She could go back and clear a place in her house where she could sleep.

She had arrived with one suitcase, and she would leave with one suitcase too. After packing everything, she took her luggage downstairs.

The housekeeper was humming a tune and wondering what to serve for dinner that evening when he saw Shen Zhiyi coming downstairs with her things, leaving him rather surprised.

"Miss Shen, what are you doing?"

Shen Zhiyi set down her things and explained,

"Thank you for looking after me these past few days. I can't keep imposing on you and Mr. Chi. I'm sorry, I may not have anything to thank you with right now, but next time I'll definitely bring a gift when I visit to thank you."

Her words were courteous and polite, but her expression was very subdued. She tried to put on a slight smile.

But the tug at the corners of her mouth seemed a little strange, so she abandoned the idea.

The housekeeper froze. "Oh, but-our young master doesn't know about this, does he? Miss Shen, you were doing perfectly well staying here. Why are you leaving so suddenly?"

Shen Zhiyi was silent for a moment before replying,

"Mr. Housekeeper, I have to go home. Thank you."

The housekeeper grew anxious. Someone had finally moved into this villa, and she seemed to have quite a close relationship with the young master. Why was she suddenly leaving? He hadn't even had time to tell the old master yet.

Besides, the young master didn't even know, and Miss Shen was leaving just like that. If the young master came back and found her gone, he couldn't guarantee that the young master wouldn't make him go down with her.

"Miss Shen, how about this? Please wait a moment. I have to let our young master know. After all, you're an honored guest."

What the housekeeper needed to do was stall for time. Although the young master had been busy all week, he asked him every day how Miss Shen was doing and whether she had taken her medicine.

He also asked whether she was still throwing up and instructed him not to leave her alone if possible. So whenever the housekeeper had nothing to do these past few days, he observed Miss Shen's movements and reported every detail to the young master.

Shen Zhiyi understood the reasoning too, so she accepted the housekeeper's invitation to wait on the sofa.

There was a very large television in the living room. As the housekeeper hurried past with his phone, he switched it on and said,

"Watch some television for now while I speak to the young master. There's no hurry, Miss Shen."

He hurried away, leaving only the sound of the television coming on. Shen Zhiyi looked toward the courtyard, then pressed her lips together and watched television as she waited.

The housekeeper called Chi Ye on his phone. It rang for quite a while without anyone answering, leaving the housekeeper so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

"Young master, answer the phone! If you don't answer soon, the next time you want to see Miss Shen, you'll have to head to the airport and fly abroad to visit her."

Another while passed, and still no one answered. Exasperated by his failure to do better, the housekeeper muttered,

"Not answering calls or replying to messages at the crucial moment. Those domineering CEO dramas really didn't lie to me. Young master, in the end, you were still one step too late."

Standing in the courtyard, he began thinking of how he could get her to stay for the young master for now. As for the rest, the young master could persuade her himself when he returned.

His first priority was to do his job as housekeeper well and defend the young master's love!