Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Zhu Yin watched Auntie Xu enter. First, she draped a coat over the Young Madam’s shoulders and softly comforted her. Then she went to Shen Dongjun’s side and murmured something.
In the end, Shen Dongjun stormed off and slammed the door behind him.
Zhu Yin believed he was genuinely furious, because he did not even glance at her among the crowd.
Auntie Xu helped Han Qingzi into a nearby bedroom, while the cleaner went in to tidy up.
The entire procedure was handled with practiced efficiency and perfect order.
After some thought, Zhu Yin went into Han Qingzi’s room first.
Han Qingzi sat by the window holding a cup of warm water, staring blankly into space.
When she saw Zhu Yin, she forced a smile.
Zhu Yin sat down beside her and asked, “Would you mind telling me what happened?”
Han Qingzi replied softly, “It was nothing.”
She clearly did not want to discuss it. Zhu Yin sat with her for a while, then got up and went to the study.
Shen Dongjun was still in his robe, furiously working on something at his computer. He struck the keys so hard they seemed ready to spit sparks.
When he saw her, he said coldly, “Who let you in?”
Zhu Yin was more casual with him. She snapped her fingers, and a deep-blue drink wreathed in white mist appeared beside Shen Dongjun.
He said coldly, “Finally lost patience and decided to poison me?”
Zhu Yin: “…You really do look like anger has driven you insane.” If he had possessed even a little reason, he would never have spoken to her that way.
Hearing this, Shen Dongjun stopped hesitating. He picked up the glass and drained it in one gulp.
Yet it was actually quite tasty.
The study fell silent.
Half a minute later, Zhu Yin asked, “Calm now?”
Shen Dongjun’s expression shifted unpredictably. Only after a long while did he ask, “What did you give me?”
Zhu Yin found a chair and sat down. “A little drink I mixed myself. It clears the mind and soothes the nerves. Pretty effective, isn’t it?” she said proudly.
Shen Dongjun remained silent.
His reaction was an admission that the drink had indeed worked.
In an even better mood, Zhu Yin asked, “What happened between you two? Why were you fighting like that in the middle of the night?”
At her question, Shen Dongjun showed signs of flying into another rage. But the drink was still working. Each time his anger began to flare, it felt as though a basin of ice water poured over his mind and extinguished every last spark.
In the end, he only said coldly, “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Of course it does. I’m a shipper for the two of you!”
Zhu Yin was deeply puzzled. “From what I’ve observed, you like her quite a bit, and she likes you too.”
Shen Dongjun’s eyes flew wide open. “What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t like her!”
Zhu Yin: “…”
Before she could speak, he added icily, “I would never like a woman who has another man in her heart!”
Zhu Yin’s lips moved, but Shen Dongjun warned her, “We agreed last time that you’re not allowed to read the thoughts in my head whenever you please! And you can’t reverse time whenever you please either!”
Zhu Yin sighed regretfully. She was a woman of principle. Since she had agreed, she would not break her word.
All she could do was ask, “Then tell me what happened tonight.”
Given Shen Dongjun’s refusal to communicate, this was the sort of thing he would keep to himself until his dying day. He would never tell another person even if it killed him.
But the being before him had a mysterious origin and might not even be human.
She could perform unfathomable feats like reversing time. There was little point in hiding anything from her.
Shen Dongjun started to get angry again, only for another basin of ice water to drench his mind and make him shudder.
His eyelids drooped, and he said listlessly, “I saw that man send her a message.”
Zhu Yin understood at once. That man must be the idealized love Han Qingzi had secretly pined for in the past.
Shen Dongjun spoke vehemently. “What sort of man sends messages in the middle of the night to a woman with a husband? His intentions are obviously dishonorable!”
Zhu Yin first asked, “How did the Young Madam reply?”
Shen Dongjun gave a soft snort.
Zhu Yin: ?
She eyed him suspiciously for two seconds. “Don’t tell me the Young Madam didn’t reply at all.”
Shen Dongjun said coldly, “She simply hadn’t had time to reply yet.” He had seen it first.
A nightmare had startled him awake. He got up to pour himself some water and saw the screen of the phone beside Han Qingzi’s pillow light up.
[Qingzi, I admired the lotus blossoms today and remembered the photograph I took of you seven years ago.]
The contact name was one he loathed with every fiber of his being.
After that, he could no longer sleep. He stood eerily at the bedside for quite some time until Han Qingzi woke blearily and received a fright.
Then came the questioning, the exchange, and the argument.
After that, the entire Shen residence was roused, and everyone reported to work several hours early.
“…”
Zhu Yin could not stop herself. She stared at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
Shen Dongjun stared coldly back.
Zhu Yin was not afraid of his glare. Other than staring at her and radiating cold air, there was little else he could do.
She sighed. “The Young Madam has such a good temper. If it were me and you insisted on staying awake in the middle of the night to stare at me, I’d prop your eyelids open and make you stare for three days and three nights.”
Barbara trembled and hurriedly said, “Host, we’re the butler, not the villain.”
Zhu Yin studied Shen Dongjun thoughtfully.
“Barbara, don’t you think there’s something off about the male lead?”
Based on her observations over the past few days, she was certain that Shen Dongjun met every human-world criterion for an “elite.”
His looks, family background, abilities, and methods were all flawless. Countless young employees within Shen Group regarded him as their idol.
And yet, he always lost control over matters involving Han Qingzi, such as his inexplicable behavior tonight.
Zhu Yin was beginning to suspect that he suffered from some illness. But Shen Dongjun had undergone an extremely thorough examination not long ago because of his unexpected dizziness. He was in excellent health and had no mental illness whatsoever.
Zhu Yin could not understand it.
Barbara suddenly said, “I know, I know! It’s meant to show that the heroine holds a unique place in the male lead’s heart!”
Zhu Yin: ?
Barbara said excitedly, “The calm and restrained male lead only loses his reason when something concerns the heroine. What a perfect ship!”
Zhu Yin: ??
Loses his reason? More like loses his intelligence.
So this was where the difficulty of a World-Hopping Bureau mission lay.
After leaving the study, Butler Zhu Yin gave everyone an extra day’s wages as compensation for their emotional distress.
Shen Dongjun did not come down for breakfast.
Han Qingzi quietly finished breakfast alone, then announced that she was going out.
She had just risen when an icy voice came from upstairs. “You’re going to meet him, aren’t you?”
Han Qingzi sneered in return. “Yes. You’ve already decided that’s what I’m doing anyway, haven’t you?”
Zhu Yin: ?
When she passed by half an hour ago, Han Qingzi had been on the phone. Zhu Yin had heard the conversation clearly: a friend had invited her to go shopping.
While Zhu Yin stood there dumbfounded, the tyrannical CEO on the stairs erupted. “Get out! Once you walk through that door, never come back!”
Every trace of color drained from Han Qingzi’s face. She turned and left.
“Hey–”
Zhu Yin could have stopped her, but doing so this way seemed rather unfair to Han Qingzi. After all, Shen Dongjun truly looked unhinged at the moment.
Everyone else was too frightened to breathe. Each found a dark corner to hide in and pretended not to exist.
Frowning, Zhu Yin looked at Shen Dongjun, only to see him clutch his stomach in pain.
Auntie Xu emerged from a corner and whispered, “The Young Master’s chronic condition is acting up again.”
Zhu Yin asked, “What are you talking about? He had an examination just last month. He’s perfectly healthy.” A chronic condition only a dozen days old?
Confusion flickered across Auntie Xu’s face.
Zhu Yin could not be bothered to puzzle over this illogical setting. She walked toward Shen Dongjun, but before she could get close, he barked, “Don’t touch me!”
Zhu Yin smiled. “Certainly, Young Master.”
A violent wind suddenly swept in through the door. Auntie Xu and the others instinctively raised their hands to shield themselves. When they recovered, the Young Master had vanished.
Only Butler Zhu Yin remained where she had stood. Smiling, she said, “Auntie Xu, it looks like there’s nothing wrong with the Young Master’s health. Look how nimbly he moved.”