Zhou Yichen’s expression darkened slightly—clearly, she had hit a sore spot.
Tang Xiaoman immediately realized she had been a bit inconsiderate.
He never asked her unnecessary questions, yet she had just probed into something overly personal.
“Ahem, I was just asking casually. If it’s inconvenient, forget it,” she said, starting the car to cover her awkwardness.
The vehicle drove for a while in silence.
Then, the man’s deep and pleasant voice suddenly broke the quiet.
“My first employer asked me to kidnap a girl he liked. I refused.My second employer asked me to beat up the weak and elderly. I refused again.My third employer… was the one I was just fired by.”
Compared to his previous employers, what Tang Xiaoman asked of him at least didn’t cross his moral boundaries.
Tang Xiaoman smiled faintly. “Good thing you fired them. Otherwise, how would you have met such a good boss like me?”
Zhou Yichen: “……”
He had to admit—his new boss wasn’t bad.
If only she weren’t a little too confident, she might actually be better.
They returned to the club before nine.
The bodyguards peeked around and exchanged teasing looks.
Zhou Yichen expressionlessly picked four of them and ordered them to help unload the supplies from the pickup truck.
Tang Xiaoman specifically instructed, “Bring everything to my room.”
It was fine if Zhou Yichen had already discovered her storage room full of supplies—but she didn’t want all the other bodyguards knowing too.
After the four bodyguards carried everything to the third floor and into her bedroom, she transferred them each an overtime bonus.
“Thank you, Miss Tang!” they said happily, delighted by the generous tip.
But once Tang Xiaoman closed the door, they immediately went downstairs to gossip again.
“No.07 leaned on the stair railing and teased, “Captain Zhou, we didn’t expect you to come back tonight.”
Everyone laughed.
They all assumed Zhou Yichen would be staying outside with the boss.
Only No.01 didn’t laugh.
“No.07, tomorrow after breakfast, you’re first for the interview,” Zhou Yichen said calmly.
No.07 immediately wailed, “I was just joking! And I already broke up with my ex, long ago!”
He was just messing around—he wasn’t emotionally attached.
Zhou Yichen ignored him. His deep eyes swept over everyone, silencing the room instantly.
“The nine people called out today, think it over carefully tonight. Tomorrow’s interview, I want a clear answer. Anyone who doesn’t meet Miss Tang’s requirements, leave voluntarily.”
Tang Xiaoman closed her door and stored all the newly bought supplies into her space.
She didn’t organize them immediately, instead going to take a hot shower.
After washing up and drying her hair, she opened the door again. The outside was quiet.
Wearing pajamas, she tiptoed downstairs.
A black shadow suddenly darted out, startling her.
Looking closely—it was Fubao.
Fubao happily circled her, rubbing against her legs and trying to get picked up.
“Shh.” Tang Xiaoman made a quiet gesture.
Fubao immediately became still, staring at her with round eyes.
She patted its head. “Come with me.”
She opened the first-floor storage room and went inside, with Fubao following.
She closed the door, turned on the light, and revealed a room full of supplies.
Fubao sniffed around curiously.
This storage room held everything Tang Xiaoman had stockpiled—including one ton of diesel and large, bulky items.
Previously, her space had been too tight, so she temporarily stored them here.
Now, after feeding gold, silver, and jewelry into the space, she had gained an extra 17 square meters of living area and 140 cubic meters of storage space—enough to take everything back in.
Even though it would take up space again, she still felt safer keeping supplies inside her personal space rather than outside.
Without hesitation, she transferred everything into her space and began reorganizing.
After her 80-square-meter two-bedroom expanded into a 97-square-meter three-bedroom, even the ceiling height increased by half a meter.
That alone added nearly 50 cubic meters of space.
Tang Xiaoman was overjoyed.
Previously purchased large appliances—ten freezers, five medical refrigerators, ten car fridges, twenty heaters, and twenty air-conditioning fans—had already been delivered to the club and handled by Zhou Yichen.
With more usable space and increased height and width, she finally managed to store all non-perishable items into the three-bedroom area, freeing up the valuable “static space.”
Inside the static space, she organized over a hundred cubic meters of supplies, including abundant medical equipment and medicine, feeling extremely satisfied.
The sense of security was overwhelming.
But seeing so much empty space again reignited her urge to stockpile even more.
Just as she was about to exit the space, she suddenly noticed something new—
A small garden had appeared.
Outside the living room balcony, there was now a ten-square-meter garden.
It looked like a hidden paradise, with stars seemingly embedded in the sky, yet still within reach of the ceiling height.
Even so, it was an incredible new addition.
Tang Xiaoman’s heart raced.
She quickly took out the vegetable and fruit seedlings she had bought earlier and planted three chili plants, three cucumbers, three garlic bulbs, and three tomato plants.
If these could grow successfully, it meant that even in the apocalypse, she would still have fertile land to grow fresh produce.
A place of renewal. A hope that never ends.
Too excited, she completely lost track of time.
When she exited the space, she found herself back in the storage room on the first floor.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
She had been too impatient. She should have returned to her bedroom before entering the space.
She checked the space timer—and froze.
It showed five hours and thirty-two minutes.
What?
Not only had a garden appeared, but her time limit had also doubled?
Was the space being unusually generous?
Tang Xiaoman was stunned, unable to believe such good fortune could happen at once.
She pinched herself. It hurt.
Then she laughed out loud three times.
After laughing, she suddenly felt something eerie.
Laughing alone in an empty storage room would be terrifying if someone saw it.
Luckily, it was late, and no one knew she was here—only she could open this room.
She steadied herself and walked toward the door.
Then she froze.
Wait.
Where was Fubao?
She clearly remembered it followed her in—but now it was gone.
She scanned the room again. No place could possibly hide a dog.
How could a dog just disappear?
Had it gone into the space with her?
No—that wasn’t possible. Once she left the space, living things couldn’t remain inside.
She panicked and called, “Fubao!”
“Woof! Woof!”
The barking came from outside the door.
Tang Xiaoman: “……”
It was outside?
How did it get out?
She reached for the lock and turned it.
Click—the door opened easily.
Huh?
She distinctly remembered locking it after entering.
Why did it open so easily?
An alarm rang in her mind.
Before she could process it—
A sharply defined handsome face appeared in front of her.
Before she could scream, the man spoke first.
“What were you doing inside?”