Ruan Tao couldn’t help but put herself in the role of a cruel mother-in-law.
Her little Ah Tong was bringing someone home for a meal for the first time, and when Ruan Tao carried the dishes over, little Ah Tong didn’t spare her even half a glance.
Ruan Tao felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart and secretly cast a fierce look at Fang Shan Huai.
At least, she thought it was fierce.
Perhaps to others, it might have been called playful sulking.
Bo Yutong put down his chopsticks.
As the guest, Fang Shan Huai didn’t stop eating; instead, he took an extra bite of food, a gentle smile spreading across his face like a spring breeze: “A9’s meals are not bad. No wonder District Chief Bo is in such good health.”
Bo Yutong leaned back in his chair, fingers crossed and resting loosely in front of him, without responding.
One of today’s dishes had been baked on a tray lined with aluminum foil. Ruan Tao took a bowl, placed Qian Bian’s tiny leaves at the bottom, and then put the foil on top.
These tiny leaves could be used for eavesdropping. Even if discovered, the moment the foil was torn open, the leaves would disappear on their own, leaving no half-evidence behind—very convenient.
Unfortunately, such an opportunity to use them at A9 was extremely rare.
Bo Yutong himself didn’t like talking to people. Except for urgent emergencies, all communication with subordinates was done through daily document reviews.
Ruan Tao couldn’t hear what the tiny leaves picked up; she could only place all the village’s hopes on Qian Bian.
“Brother Qianbian,” she said, sweetly as ever when asking for help, “what did you hear?”
At that moment, they were hiding in their usual bathroom refuge.
Little Qian Bian kept the shape of a civet, standing on the toilet lid with both feet. One hand covered his ear to listen, while the other made a “shush” gesture: “Shh.”
Ruan Tao understood immediately and covered her mouth as well.
“…Fang Shan Huai was asking about you,” Qian Bian said, frowning, showing his sharp little fangs. “He didn’t talk about business, so why mention a hamster?”
Ruan Tao only heard the first half of the sentence and thought it was about “Xia Xiaoxi” cooking too well, and that he was asking for details.
She never expected Fang Shan Huai to actually be concerned about Ruan Tao herself, in hamster form.
“Okay, your husband didn’t pay attention to him,” Qian Bian continued relaying. “They immediately started talking about Qi Yuan Forest.”
When Bo Yutong was setting up the beast traps, he discovered a formation that could control ferocious beasts.
The beast he managed to control happened to be the one that had escaped from Fang Shan Huai’s side.
For years, Fang Shan Huai had been searching for this method. He wanted to control irrational ferocious beasts, though no one ever knew his purpose.
The formation could make brutal beasts obedient, even allowing communication with some of them using psychic abilities.
Fang Shan Huai needed this method, whereas Bo Yutong didn’t have anything pressing to require it.
Bo Yutong’s life was already very stable. This cooperation with Fang Shan Huai was simply to expand A9’s Residential Area and Administrative District, making Qi Yuan Forest truly his backyard.
This way, he could handle many matters without leaving home.
The forest already provided ferocious beasts, food, and energy—there was no need to rely on anyone else.
Of course, it wasn’t an urgent need. He was just too lazy to do it himself, not that he couldn’t without Fang Shan Huai.
Moreover, Fang Shan Huai always played tricks during negotiations.
Bo Yutong had never been satisfied with the terms Fang Shan Huai proposed, and after a few unsuccessful talks, he had lost patience.
So today, Fang Shan Huai came with new terms.
“About your little one,” he said, “I know many of her secrets.”
Bo Yutong paused for a moment but kept his expression unchanged: “I didn’t know she even knew you.”
Fang Shan Huai appeared a little anxious: “Recently, I accepted all your conditions, plus the secrets of your precious hamster.”
Bo Yutong was not hurried: “I’ll consider it.”
Fang Shan Huai: “……”
Qian Bian listened happily: “I’m starting to like Bo Yutong. Sis, you really chose well.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
Qian Bian: “I heard from the Fang side and thought your husband had some deep romantic feelings for him. I almost died laughing—it turns out it was all one-sided.”
Ruan Tao: “…No! What do you mean romantic feelings, one-sided? You’re fangirling over a cult CP in front of me?!”
Qian Bian: “???”
Ruan Tao stomped her foot in frustration: “He’s about to spill all my little secrets!”
Qian Bian tried to soothe her: “He hasn’t said anything yet, don’t panic.”
“If he says it, it’ll be too late!” Ruan Tao replied.
“He won’t say it,” Qian Bian said. “This is his… undergarment. Even if Bo Yutong is close to him, with the current relationship, can he really pull off his undergarment in front of Bo Yutong?”
Ruan Tao whispered to him: “…Do you mean, his trump card?”
Qian Bian: “……Whatever, not much difference.”
It was unclear whether Bo Yutong was in a bad mood today. Even though it was a good opportunity, he not only refused to cooperate with Fang Shan Huai but also seemed slightly impatient.
Fang Shan Huai had hit a wall but didn’t lose composure.
When he left, a smile remained on his face, carrying a slight threat: “I hope you won’t regret this.”
Bo Yutong gave no response.
Once Fang Shan Huai left, Ruan Tao felt the alert in her chest finally lift, relaxing considerably.
Bo Yutong went straight back to the study room and continued sifting through the towering stack of documents.
Ruan Tao still had three hours of “human time” left, plenty of time.
She squeezed a glass of juice in the kitchen and, following her earlier plan of pretending to be lost, naturally arrived at the door of Bo Yutong’s study.
As expected, Bo Yutong hadn’t closed the door.
He was standing with his back to the entrance, one hand typing in midair on the suspended screen.
Ruan Tao carried her tray and tiptoed behind him.
She looked up, not yet having a chance to see what was on the screen, when suddenly Bo Yutong grabbed her wrist.
Ruan Tao jumped in surprise and instinctively whispered: “Ouch…”
Bo Yutong eased his grip slightly.
His right hand continued typing on the screen, while his left held her wrist, voice calm: “Do you need something?”
Ruan Tao wiggled her wrist but didn’t pull away.
“Juice,” she said. “I brought juice.”
Bo Yutong finally stopped typing, glanced at the tray in her hands, and said, neither lightly nor harshly: “Wasteful.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
She realized she had slipped into modern thinking again.
In this era, fruit was already a luxury; who would juice it and waste all the remaining pulp?
Ruan Tao whispered to herself, making excuses: “Madam said that refined people all drink juice…”
Bo Yutong released her hand and stopped looking at her: “Drink it.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
Why is it wasteful when a lowly errand worker drinks it??
Bo Yutong: “Anything else?”
With his unyielding demeanor, no matter how many hours she spent trying to please him, she wouldn’t be able to boost her favorability easily.
Ruan Tao had no experience in pursuing someone romantically; she didn’t know any tricks or shortcuts.
Being faced with Bo Yutong right away was extremely difficult.
“Mr. Bo,” Ruan Tao addressed him, “after this week ends, can I stay here?”
Bo Yutong: “You can.”
Though she didn’t know how to pursue him, Ruan Tao was good at being cheeky. She paused just half a second before asking: “Then can I also become a Life Assistant?”
Bo Yutong continued typing without looking back: “Yes.”
These trivial matters didn’t matter much to him; he gave a casual answer without much thought.
Ruan Tao brightened: “Then, then can I get a full uniform too?”
Bo Yutong stopped typing.
This time, he turned off the screen completely.
He swiveled in his chair to face Ruan Tao. His sharp, deep eyes looked straight at her, as if they could see into her heart.
Bo Yutong’s presence was overwhelming. Even sitting down, he seemed to tower above everything, looking down on the world.
Feeling nervous, Ruan Tao’s legs went weak under his gaze, and her voice faltered: “M-Mr. …?”
“I am not your Life Assistant,” Bo Yutong said. “These small matters don’t need to be reported to me one by one.”
Ruan Tao: “…Yes.”
Bo Yutong: “If there’s something, just say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush—I don’t like it.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
Doesn’t like beating around the bush? But she had been very happy “beating around the bush” while outsmarting Fang Shan Huai earlier.
She pressed her lips together, lowering her head slightly, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Although Bo Yutong’s tone was slightly impatient, as if to say, “Humans are all bothersome,” he was still human himself.
Humans had three basic traits, after all.
At this moment, Bo Yutong seemed unconcerned about what Ruan Tao would wear, yet when he actually saw it, he immediately realized its charm.
…
The two aunts responsible for division of labor both liked Ruan Tao.
The obedient, diligent young girl, pleasant to talk to, efficient at work, and skilled in cooking—who wouldn’t like her?
Even though Ruan Tao, at this point, was still just a small leaf.
When they heard that Bo Yutong agreed to let Ruan Tao stay as a Life Assistant, they were very happy.
When Ruan Tao shyly asked if there was a uniform to wear, her bashful expression softened everyone watching.
The black-haired aunt pushed up her glasses expressionlessly, and the next morning brought Ruan Tao a well-fitted uniform.
The Life Assistant’s uniform was very similar to the JK uniform, with different color options.
Ruan Tao received a very pastel, cute set, giving a peachy vibe that matched her perfectly.
Although she had been promoted to Life Assistant, her weekly tasks weren’t finished yet.
She still lived in the original dormitory.
Previously, she had to cook for Bo Yutong at noon every day, and with work in the morning and afternoon, Ruan Tao’s schedule barely overlapped with her colleagues.
Today, after receiving her uniform, fake-Ruan Tao hurriedly finished her morning tasks, allowing Ruan Tao to take an early bath, change into the new uniform, and then go to Bo Yutong to… cook for him.
When her colleagues returned, Ruan Tao was in her new uniform, drying her hair in front of the hall mirror.
The hairdryer they used was also a supernatural tool, expensive, and only one existed in the building, shared among everyone.
Though they were colleagues, they didn’t actually know each other. They hadn’t met much in the past few days, so the sense of unfamiliarity was even stronger, especially since only Ruan Tao “flew up to the branch”—meeting again was inevitably awkward.
The ends of Ruan Tao’s hair were still slightly damp, but she put the dryer away and prepared to leave.
Just two steps out, someone suddenly appeared in front of her.
“Xia… Miss,” the tall figure blushed and called softly, his deep voice directed at the young girl.
It was none other than Ah Zhao, the one who had been teased before about taking Ruan Tao back home to cook.
He lowered his head and spoke slowly: “We’re about to leave, you…”
Halfway through, Ah Zhao looked at Ruan Tao’s uniform and realized what had happened, his voice trailing off.
Life Assistants didn’t leave the Administrative District.
Ah Zhao smiled bitterly, eyes dimming: “Sorry, I was too abrupt.”
Ruan Tao didn’t fully understand what he meant. She ran her fingers through her hair and gently asked: “It’s okay. What’s wrong with you?”
“…I wanted to be… more abrupt,” Ah Zhao said, suddenly summoning courage, raising his head to look at Ruan Tao. “Can you come with us?”
Ruan Tao stared at him in confusion: “What do you mean?”
“I know I’m low-class, and I can’t give you a life as comfortable as the Administrative District,” he said, eyes fixed on her, a youthful yearning for the future in his expression. “But I can promise you a life that’s free and happy, with things you can’t get here…”
A voice interrupted him: “For example?”
The entire hall fell silent for a few seconds.
The crowd, who had been watching the courtship scene, now focused on the man standing on the platform.
He scoffed, amused: “And what exactly can you give her that she can’t get here?”