Chapter 24: But Blessings Must Be Given

When Mu Ruo arrived at the front door in the evening, she saw a text message from Butler Li sent at noon.

“Everyone has the day off today; there’s no one at home. Madam, you should go stay at a hotel.”

Mu Ruo was puzzled: “A day off?”

Aren’t the servants in the novel’s CEO household supposed to work 365 days a year, 24/7, at the beck and call of their employer?

But thinking it through, everyone is human, and surely they must have days off.

Since Mu Ruo was already at the door, she decided it was too late to head to a hotel.

She had never had a nanny growing up and could take care of herself just fine.

As she entered, she replied to the butler: “Why is everyone on vacation? Shouldn’t one or two people stay behind?”

Three minutes later, Butler Li replied: “It’s a company benefit of Mr. Fu’s company. Every year, employees get to vacation for a week on XX Island.”

Although the butler and housemaids weren’t part of Fu Jianzhi’s company, they still enjoyed the company benefits.

Fu Jianzhi wasn’t the kind of wealthy young master who couldn’t live without his staff, so everyone left and returned together.

Mu Ruo checked the flights to XX Island.

Oh, it’s abroad.

No wonder the staff complied so willingly with Fu Jianzhi’s demands.

The house was indeed quiet, with no one around, not even Fu Jianzhi himself.

Mu Ruo looked at the villa worth billions and mentally calculated the cost of Fu Jianzhi living there for a day. She also considered whether it was cheaper to buy or rent such a villa.

With money on her mind, Mu Ruo sat cross-legged on the sofa, tapping away on her calculator when the door suddenly opened.

She and Fu Jianzhi stared at each other.

Mu Ruo said, “Butler Li and the others are on a company trip abroad.”

Fu Jianzhi ignored her and went upstairs.

Mu Ruo, being very sensitive to smells, detected a faint scent of alcohol on him.

It was normal for someone of Fu Jianzhi’s status to have social engagements.

Mu Ruo politely asked, “Have you eaten anything tonight? Would you like me to make something for you?”

Typically, big shots wouldn’t eat anything that wasn’t from a five-star hotel chef.

Mu Ruo knew that the house’s cook used to be a head chef at a Michelin restaurant, and even simple dishes were made deliciously.

In comparison, Fu Jianzhi probably wouldn’t be impressed by her cooking.

“Don’t eat now. Prepare breakfast for me tomorrow morning,” Fu Jianzhi said. “Make noodles.”

Mu Ruo was taken aback and nodded lightly.

Fu Jianzhi suddenly glanced at her: “It’s Lu Beichen’s birthday tomorrow. What gift have you prepared for him?”

Mu Ruo completely forgot about it.

She hadn’t prepared anything for Lu Beichen.

Given that Lu Beichen was the male lead who ultimately caused her to fall and become disfigured, not giving him a coffin was already generous enough.

Expecting her to prepare something with effort was out of the question.

However, faced with the male lead’s inquiry, Mu Ruo wracked her brains: “A bottle of perfume.”

Fu Jianzhi’s lips curved in a sarcastic smile as he went straight upstairs.

Mu Ruo still needed to prepare for an audition in a couple of days and was currently studying the character and script.

She was auditioning for a supporting role with very little screen time in the movie.

However, the requirements were quite high; the role was a “vase” character but couldn’t be just an empty shell.

It was said that the director had auditioned many people but hadn’t found the actor he had in mind, and was now broadly screening new talent.

She figured Fu Jianzhi probably had breakfast around seven o’clock.

Normally, Mu Ruo would never get out of bed at seven; she would dawdle and be very late.

Since she needed to prepare breakfast, she had to get up even earlier than seven.

Mu Ruo set an alarm for six o’clock, placed her phone beside her pillow, and fell asleep quickly as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The next morning, Mu Ruo was woken by the alarm, got washed up, changed clothes, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

The cook had prepared some pre-made dishes before leaving, including handmade noodles that tasted great when boiled in hot water.

Mu Ruo adjusted the soup base, cooked two bowls of noodles, and hid two soft-boiled eggs in the noodles.

Fu Jianzhi grabbed some documents and was about to leave when he suddenly encountered Mu Ruo coming out of the kitchen. He was momentarily stunned.

He knew Mu Ruo usually didn’t wake up this early.

The comments from last night were just talk.

He didn’t expect her to actually remember.

Mu Ruo was equally stunned: “You asked me to get up to cook for you, and now you want to leave without eating?”

Fu Jianzhi: “No, I just wanted to put the documents in the car first.”

Mu Ruo didn’t believe his excuse.

People at Fu Jianzhi’s level could lie as easily as they spoke the truth.

They sat down in the dining room, and Fu Jianzhi took a bite of the noodles, eating slowly.

To be honest, the taste was quite mediocre.

It wasn’t good or bad.

Halfway through, he poked a soft-boiled egg with his chopsticks.

Mu Ruo didn’t expect him to finish the bowl of noodles she made.

Usually, the breakfast here was mostly Western-style.

For some reason, Mu Ruo suddenly recalled some disjointed novel fragments in her mind.

In the original text, the male lead was noticed and supported by someone at Fu Jianzhi’s level for a reason.

After all, there were many young people at a similar level as the male lead.

But someone like Fu Jianzhi, a benefactor, was quite rare.

The reason Fu Jianzhi supported the male lead was partly due to the male lead’s luck and the company’s innovation that caught his attention, but also—

The male lead and Fu Jianzhi shared the same birthday, which he found interesting.

Same birthday, different destinies.

Hmm.

If Mu Ruo remembered correctly, the male lead’s birthday should be today.

However, Butler Li, such a meticulous person, didn’t remind Mu Ruo.

All the household staff had been sent abroad for team building during this period.

Mu Ruo felt inexplicably that Fu Jianzhi was not only very complex but also very lonely.

Like a bottomless deep sea, seemingly charming with its blue surface, but upon deeper understanding, revealing a sense of loneliness and desolation.

“Uh—” Mu Ruo bit her lip, “I heard that eating a bowl of noodles in the morning means you’ll live a long life.”

Fu Jianzhi: “Hmm?”

Mu Ruo: “Yes, that’s the idea. Anyway, the entire year ahead will be great, with a successful career and a happy mood.”

Butler Li, such an old fox, completely avoided mentioning Fu Jianzhi’s birthday, indicating that Fu Jianzhi was very sensitive about his birthday.

Saying “Happy Birthday” directly was awkward for Mu Ruo.

If she accidentally touched a nerve and got kicked out of this multi-billion-dollar villa and lost her free accommodation and breakfast, it would be a huge loss for her.

But she had to say some words of blessing.

Mu Ruo really, really hoped that Fu Jianzhi would have a great future.