The housekeeper spoke with a troubled expression.
"Sorry, Miss Shen, the young master is a little busy. He started his own business while he was still in school. Being a boss means having a lot to do, and he carries a heavy burden.
"He goes to bed later than a dog and gets up earlier than a rooster. He leaves early and returns late every day, and he doesn't eat his three meals regularly. He's probably not far from developing stomach problems.
"But that's not the point, Miss Shen. You're our young master's honored guest. If I simply let you leave like this, he'll blame me when he gets back. He might even fire me, and if I can't bring you back, he'll have me buried alongside him!"
He made himself sound increasingly pitiful, almost wishing he could squeeze out a couple of tears to suit the occasion.
Shen Zhiyi worried that she would get the housekeeper into trouble, and leaving like this really was a little inconsiderate. She had been too impatient.
Seeing that she was considering it, the housekeeper immediately continued persuading her.
"How about this? Stay another night. I'll ask the young master to come home early, and then you can tell him yourself. What do you think? You've already stayed so many days. One more night won't hurt."
After a moment's thought, Shen Zhiyi nodded. "Then I'm sorry to trouble you for another night."
The housekeeper hurriedly waved his hand.
"Not at all." As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped forward, took her suitcase, and wheeled it away as he said,
"In that case, I'll put the suitcase away for now. Miss Shen, think about what you'd like for dinner tonight. Or you could try the new dish I just learned."
Shen Zhiyi's lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, the housekeeper continued,
"We don't have to have the new dish. My crispy duck seems pretty good too. Why don't I just make both?"
He settled the evening's menu all on his own. Shen Zhiyi closed her mouth and nodded where he couldn't see, counting that as her answer.
She realized that everyone around Chi Ye seemed to have the potential to be a chatterbox. They could carry on a conversation all by themselves, continuing without even needing her to answer.
After putting away the luggage, the housekeeper sent Chi Ye a whole string of messages to let him know. He had done all he could. As for the young master, it depended on whether he had the luck for it.
He thought he really was a competent housekeeper. He had put in a great deal of effort to avoid being buried alongside the protagonist.
Chi Ye was in a meeting. They were making the final adjustments to their software. If there were no problems, they could choose a date to announce its launch.
It was an interactive app. Although it wasn't the company's flagship product, it was still the result of everyone's collective efforts. At the very least, everyone hoped it would have no problems and give users a good experience.
He had tossed his phone to Assistant Fang to hold. When he came out of the meeting room, Assistant Fang jogged over, handed it to him, and told him that a lot of calls had come in during the meeting.
When he saw that the caller was listed as the housekeeper, his heart lurched. Had something happened to Shen Zhiyi again?
He hurriedly called back, overlooking the fact that the housekeeper had also sent quite a few messages.
The last message told him to hurry home after work.
The housekeeper received his call while pondering which dishes to make. He was torn, wanting to make everything for Shen Zhiyi to try.
If the young master couldn't get her to stay tonight, the next time she got to eat his cooking might well be the next time.
"Hello, young master. What can I do for you?"
Chi Ye pinched the bridge of his nose. After calling him so many times, he was now asking what he wanted? Didn't he have that backward?
"Was there something urgent you needed when you called me all those times?" Chi Ye asked patiently.
This was precisely why he had initially refused to let the housekeeper come to the villa. He was another version of Madam Ye: fond of gossip and melodramatic TV dramas, and, most importantly, scatterbrained.
He had no idea why the old man had chosen him as the housekeeper back then. He clearly wasn't qualified.
The housekeeper had long since forgotten why he had called Chi Ye at noon. All he could think about now was which dishes to make tonight.
"Potatoes, peppers, duck, fish."
He muttered on the other end as though reciting a menu. Chi Ye strained to listen, but those were the only things he caught. He endured it.
"Didn't you have something to tell me when you called?"
The housekeeper was puzzled. "Young master, weren't you the one who called me? I'm a little busy right now. You must come home for dinner today. I'm planning to make a whole tableful of dishes."
Chi Ye hung up expressionlessly. He should have ended the call the moment the housekeeper started talking. He regretted it a little now.
Only after hanging up did he notice the messages the housekeeper had sent at noon.
They said that Shen Zhiyi had wanted to leave, that he had stopped her, and that Chi Ye should come home early tonight.
As long as Shen Zhiyi was all right. As for leaving, her house was gone. Where could she go? Was she going to... again?
At the thought of another possibility, his heart began to ache again. Since Shen Zhiyi was all right for now, he had to hurry and get all his work arranged, and think about how to get her to stay.
After a flurry of work, he left early. The weather was growing hotter, and he had switched to a summer jacket. Today, he wore a dark blue checked jacket with a white short-sleeved shirt, a fresh, clean-cut look.
He picked up his car keys and ran into the product manager on his way out. The product manager wore a suit and looked about forty.
If Chi Ye's looks and bearing hadn't been so exceptionally striking, visitors might well have greeted the product manager with,
"Hello, Mr. Chi."
The product manager discussed the issues that had come up during testing with him. Chi Ye checked the time and quickly answered his questions.
The product manager still seemed eager to continue, but Chi Ye hurriedly stopped him.
He valued employees who took their work seriously, but he also hoped they could relax sometimes. Everyone working in the internet industry was racing against time.
Once this product launched, their department should be able to take a break for a while.
Seeing Chi Ye repeatedly checking his watch, the product manager couldn't resist teasing him.
"Are you in a hurry to get home, or do you have a date?"
Chi Ye gave a short laugh. "After all those days of overtime, am I not allowed to leave early for once? All right, once you've sorted these things out, you should head home early too. We've fixed everything we can. The rest is up to fate."
The product manager was a little stunned. To think those words had come from their demanding boss. He couldn't help remarking,
"Mr. Chi, this is the first time I've seen you act human. What a rare occasion."
Chi Ye's expression didn't change as he spun the car keys in his hand and replied,
"If everyone's like a monkey that hasn't developed intelligence, what's the use of acting human? All right, I'm leaving."
With that, he swaggered out of the office. The product manager gathered his documents and went downstairs too, though one headed to the underground parking garage while the other returned to his own office.
The advantage of leaving early was that traffic wasn't so congested. Chi Ye soon arrived back at the villa. The moment he entered, he saw Shen Zhiyi sprawled on the sofa watching television. It was quite a rare sight.
She was expressionless even while watching TV. A crowd of people were roaring with laughter on-screen, while Shen Zhiyi didn't so much as blink.
Chi Ye clicked his tongue and said,
"You're pretty aloof."
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