“Miss Mu, you can’t fire me!” Auntie Wang hurriedly spoke up. The situation had taken a sharp turn, and her expression was stunned. There was unease in it, along with anger she had failed to conceal.
Mu Yue raised her eyes to look at her. “Not calling me Little Yue anymore?”
Auntie Wang bent over, rubbing her hands together, her face full of remorse. “Miss Mu, I’ll change! I promise I’ll change!”
“Change?” Mu Yue looked at her. “What makes you think I’ll wait for you to change? What exactly is our relationship?”
Mu Yue had never subscribed to the idea that employees were supposed to become friends or family. If she paid for a service, she expected to receive the service she had paid for—not have someone take her money while lecturing her and meddling in her life under the guise of being a friend or an elder.
She had come across plenty of bizarre people like that online before, but she had never expected to encounter one herself.
She had also taken into consideration that the housekeeper she hired had to work very early and leave quite late, so her salary was considerably higher than the market rate.
Her cleaning duties mainly covered the kitchen, living room, and dining room. There were three smart robot vacuum cleaners in the house, and a housekeeping company came every Monday to clean the entire home. Most of her clothes, shoes, and bags had dedicated cleaning and maintenance services as well. Her main responsibilities were simply preparing three meals a day and making nourishing supplements.
Mu Yue lived alone. Occasionally, Lin Xiaoxiao or Qianqian would join her for a meal, but there was no need for Auntie Wang to work herself to the bone. Earning twenty thousand yuan a month was hardly difficult under those circumstances.
Who would have thought that human greed knew no bounds? Twenty thousand a month still wasn’t enough for her. She had even planned to milk Mu Yue for more benefits.
This incident was certainly partly due to Qianqian’s mistake, but she couldn’t be blamed entirely. Auntie Wang had always seemed perfectly normal, arriving and leaving on time, and her cooking skills were decent. Who could have known that she would reveal her true colors after only a month?
While waiting for Qianqian, Auntie Wang racked her brains for a way out. But no matter how many nice things she said, Mu Yue’s cold expression did not soften in the slightest.
Her heart was bitter, and she secretly regretted what she had done. At the same time, she cursed Mu Yue in the vilest terms in her mind.
Actually, she didn’t overstep her boundaries with every employer. When she worked for an entire family, she didn’t dare say a word out of line. If the employers nitpicked or made unreasonable demands, all she could do was listen and try her best to comply. But Mu Yue paid well and made few demands, and working for her was easy. That had led Auntie Wang to assume that Mu Yue would be easy to manipulate.
“It’s all that brat’s fault!” Mu Yue suddenly spoke, staring at Auntie Wang’s face as she exposed her every thought word for word. “If I’d known she had such a nasty temper and could be so ruthless, I never would have done this! She really doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness. I only showed concern for her, and she immediately wanted to fire me and even report me. How can someone so young be so vicious? No wonder nobody loves her! She’s living in such a huge house at her age—what if some pervert breaks in during the night?”
“I… I never said anything like that!” Auntie Wang cried out in horror. How did she know what she was thinking?!
Mu Yue let out a cold laugh. “It was written all over your face.”
“Treating others kindly is a matter of courtesy and upbringing on my part. It is not an invitation for anyone to bully or manipulate me.”
Qianqian heard those words the moment she arrived. She knew that the young lady was truly furious this time. And who wouldn’t be angry in her place?
A job this easy, with such high pay—how many people would go to any lengths to get it? Yet somehow, there were always people who failed to appreciate what they had and insisted on digging their own graves. Was it really so difficult to understand their position?
What was Auntie Wang carrying on her shoulders instead of a brain? Qianqian truly couldn’t understand it. Had the woman never considered that, after this incident, no one might ever hire her again? After all, who would willingly pay someone to make their life miserable?
Twenty thousand yuan was not two thousand. Besides, even if the salary were only two thousand, no employer would allow an employee to climb all over them.
Fortunately, Auntie Wang was merely an unreasonable idiot, not a criminal. She hadn’t done anything irreversible; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Of course, this incident was also a warning. From now on, they had to be exceedingly careful when hiring people. Something like this absolutely could not happen again!
After dealing with the matter, Mu Yue didn’t reprimand Qianqian. As she always said, an employee was an employee, not a friend. If they were capable, she would keep them. If they weren’t, she would replace them. She could forgive one mistake, but if the same mistake happened again—or if there were repeated mistakes—then there was nothing more to discuss.
But when it came to safety and reliability, the one hundred percent loyal character cards from the Points Mall were naturally the best choice.
When she opened the mall, the very first items displayed were various useful and affordable protective tools that the system had just added for her. She had no immediate need for them, so Mu Yue scrolled down to the character cards. A card as comprehensive as Carter the butler’s was very expensive, but cards specializing in only one or two skills were much cheaper. A character skilled in cooking and cleaning cost only 1,000 points, while a bodyguard with max-level self-defense skills and advanced weapons proficiency cost 3,000 points.
Mu Yue thought, “I have too few points right now. If only there were an installment-payment option.”
The four systems perked up their ears, and the four systems arranged it at lightning speed.
When Mu Yue refreshed the mall, she saw that all products costing more than 500 points now had a monthly installment option. Her vacation-ruined mood instantly improved by more than half, and she sincerely praised the system. “Wonderful! Systems really are such thoughtful little darlings!”
With that, she had praised all of them. The system space immediately became as joyful as if it were celebrating the New Year.
Mu Yue began choosing the character cards. She settled on the two she had just looked at: one to handle her meals and another to ensure her safety. The two cards together cost 4,000 points, and there were two installment plans to choose from. One required 155 points per month, interest-free. The other required 80 points per month, but charged 400 points in interest.
She took a closer look and discovered that only items and cards could be paid for in installments. Her attribute points could not be divided into payments and had to be paid in full.
After the first three months, she could pay off both character cards in a lump sum, but with the second option, the interest would not be reduced.
In that case, there was nothing to debate. Mu Yue chose the first option. Completing her monthly study missions and achievements would provide enough points to cover the payments. Even if she failed to complete an achievement, she still had her tycoon points. At her current level, simply checking in for a month would give her 15 million yuan, which could be exchanged for 150 points even if she spent it all.
After placing the order, Mu Yue told Qianqian that there was no need to look for another housekeeper. Carter had already found one for her, who would arrive that evening. In addition, there would be a female bodyguard.
Originally, Mu Yue hadn’t planned to go out that day. But now that she had a monthly debt to pay, she had to take advantage of her free time and spend the money on her card.
When it came to spending money quickly, online tipping was probably the fastest option, and she wouldn’t even have to leave the house. But Mu Yue had no interest in throwing money at strangers for the time being, and she wasn’t rich enough yet to waste it. If she wanted to spend a large sum quickly without being wasteful, jewelry and accessories were a pretty good choice. They were convenient, time-saving, and unlikely to go out of fashion.
For now, she needed to eat first. Mu Yue had made Auntie Wang take away all the food she had “thoughtfully” prepared. Since Mu Yue hadn’t asked her to make it, she naturally wasn’t going to pay a single cent for the ingredients. Besides, she didn’t dare eat that food. Who knew whether Auntie Wang had added something to it?
Qianqian didn't dare to waste a single second, and rushed to book a restaurant immediately. It had to serve great food with top-notch service, and also be located near a high-end mall or a jewelry district, so that the young lady could go shopping right after her meal. As for the news that she wouldn't need to hire extra help anymore, she first let out a sigh of relief, then soon grew tense and dejected. If there was no need for her to do that work, it meant there was no need for her at all — that was a rather dangerous sign.
Mu Yue freshened up a bit before heading downstairs. When she passed the lotus pond in the residential compound, she spotted an easel but no sign of anyone around it.
Since her path led right past the spot, she wandered over out of curiosity to take a look. What she saw was a messy jumble of circles, vertical lines, dots, and jagged strokes spread across the snow-white sheet of paper, with not a hint of aesthetic appeal, looking like pure random scribbles. The sight made Mu Yue chuckle in confusion.
At first glance, it looked worse than a primary school kid's drawing, but when she shifted her gaze slightly and compared the painting to the actual lotus pond, it turned out to be surprisingly realistic. This reminded Mu Yue of Wu Guanzhong's painting, New Willows and Remaining Lotuses, which was both abstract and realistic. This painting had quite the same vibe.
Mu Yue stared at it a little longer, and couldn't help muttering, "This is pretty interesting."
"Good eye! I knew someone would appreciate it!" The missing owner of the easel suddenly popped up next to Mu Yue, sounding a little eager. "Flip back a few more pages, I've got several other pieces here. I'll show you the photos I took at the time, don't you think they turned out great?"
A pair of slender hands reached over to swipe across a phone screen. Mu Yue's gaze was drawn to them for a second, before she did as told and flipped through the sketchbook.
Sure enough, there were more paintings behind the one of the withered lotuses, all outlined in extremely simple, rough lines. They weren't minimalist, just plain unrefined, with no variation in line weight or sense of light and shadow to add to their beauty. In the paintings, there was a plump cat draped over a tree branch like it was oozing down, a stroller shaped just like a gummy candy, and two people spitting at each other so fiercely that saliva was flying everywhere — it was the style of a rage comic meme, goofy but vivid.
Mu Yue exclaimed, "This is absolutely amazing. You're the number one realist painter out there."
The drawing skill was weirdly wonderful in a way that was both terrible and brilliant, magical and full of fun. She kept flipping through the pages, until she came across an exquisitely rendered landscape sketch. In the lower right corner of the drawing was a flowing signature — Cheng Zimin?
"Hey, wait —" Her attempt to stop him came too late.
Mu Yue looked up at him, completely speechless. That was such a tease. She'd thought he was just doing abstract scribbles, but it turned out he actually knew how to paint properly?
It was then that she got a clear look at this art student's face. He had the vibe of a handsome young man straight out of a comic, the classic gentle second male lead type.
She remembered now. The second male lead in this campus romance novel was called Cheng Zimin, and just like most second male leads in old-school romance stories, he doted on the female lead, supported her silently, and when the male lead and female lead made up, he would only be down for a little while before choosing to wish them happiness. He was so perfect he seemed almost fake.
Another lovesick fool? Mu Yue gave him a few extra glances, then handed the sketchbook back to him. "I'm leaving."
Tch. She's just going like that? Boring.
Cheng Zimin stared at Mu Yue's receding back, then suddenly picked up his brush and sketched a pair of beautiful eyes under the painting of the withered lotus. The eyes on the paper held a calm sharpness that didn't belong to someone her age, just like the eyes of the girl herself — seemingly ordinary, but impossible to hide the edge she had.
"Mom, I just got the info, I bought it off the family's nanny. That girl lives all alone, no family around, I heard they're all abroad. And she's one of those daughters who was just found and brought back to the family. All she does is study, she's a total dork, people used to pick on her all the time, and she only has one friend. She's heading out right now, I'm gonna follow her. With my skills, winning a girl like that over's gonna be a piece of cake, right?"
"You can rest assured! I'll definitely get her, and the money will be mine too!"
Cheng Zimin glanced sideways at the man who was speaking. On his sketchpad, a silly-looking pig appeared, and half a second later, the pig was surrounded by cuts of divided pork. He muttered two words that were completely at odds with his elegant, handsome appearance: "Idiot."
