Chapter 99: Wearing a Disguise  

In a high-end apartment in A City, the spacious master bedroom remained quiet—until a cheerful and melodious ringtone broke the silence.  

On the soft, luxurious bed, a curled-up figure squirmed slightly, tangled up in the blankets. The ringing continued relentlessly, forcing the person to react. Still unwilling to open her eyes, she lazily extended an arm, groping around the nightstand for her phone.  

The curtains were still drawn, casting a dim light over the spacious bedroom. Lin Zhizhi squinted drowsily at the phone screen before answering the call. As she listened, her other hand rubbed at her eyes, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep.  

After giving Secretary Li her current address, she ended the call.  

Secretary Li had called to pick her up for the groundbreaking ceremony of an engineering project—an event she had previously agreed to attend.  

This time, her accompanying secretary was Secretary Li because Secretary Liang was currently on a business trip overseas. So, another chief secretary from Lin Zhizhi’s team, Secretary Li, had stepped in for the occasion.  

However, Secretary Li had certainly earned the nickname given to her by the company’s employees—”Teacher Exterminator.” Some employees had even gone the extra mile to clarify in their workplace gossip chat group that this wasn’t the kind of Teacher Exterminator you’d find in schools—strict, iron-fisted disciplinarians managing students with an unyielding grip. Instead, this was a corporate version—a formidable career woman who worked meticulously, demanded perfection, and tolerated no sloppiness in the workplace.  

Of course, Lin Zhizhi knew all about this nickname. After all, she had secretly joined the gossip group under an alias and lurked in the chat, casually indulging in company gossip about the higher-ups.  

Naturally, she would never admit that she was there just for the gossip. As a company leader, she had to stay in touch with her employees’ true thoughts, right? This was simply part of her hands-on management approach—an effort to understand the real sentiments of the workforce from the front lines.  

New employees, upon seeing the detailed explanation of Secretary Li’s nickname, often found it unnecessary. To them, a Teacher Exterminator was a Teacher Exterminator—whether in school or at work, the essence remained the same: strict, demanding, and merciless. After all, anyone who had endured over a decade of school life understood exactly what that meant.  

Some veteran employees, upon witnessing these naïve remarks, simply responded with:  

“Ah, youth is such a beautiful thing!”  

“Still too young.”  

“Young one, never underestimate the workplace. The waters run deep here.”  

Because, in school, no matter how strict a Teacher Exterminator was, their ultimate goal was to help students improve their academic performance. No matter how mischievous or how poor a student’s grades were, a teacher couldn’t actually do much to them beyond nagging and disciplinary warnings.

However, in the workplace, Teacher Exterminator was nowhere near as easygoing as in school. If a plan went wrong or if someone was incompetent, they would be criticized so harshly that they might start questioning their life choices. And if someone made a major mistake, once Teacher Exterminator got truly angry, there was a real chance they would lose their job.  

When Lin Zhizhi was lurking in the chat again, she saw a discussion between a senior employee and a new employee. She didn’t think Secretary Li was an unfeeling tyrant, nor the type to use her position to oppress others. However, it was true that Secretary Li was meticulous in her work, serious, and extremely dedicated.  

The opening ceremony was scheduled to start at 9:30. It was already past 7, and factoring in travel time, she needed to hurry. Secretary Li was already on her way.  

Lin Zhizhi opened her eyes and looked at the spacious bedroom in front of her. She was momentarily stunned before quickly remembering—she was now living with Lu Yi.  

When she woke up, she found herself lying in the middle of the bed, slightly closer to Lu Yi’s side. But Lu Yi was no longer there.  

Seeing that she had nearly taken over Lu Yi’s spot, Lin Zhizhi felt a little embarrassed. Did she have bad sleeping habits? Had she unconsciously pushed Lu Yi off the bed in her sleep, causing him to fall with a “thud” and wake up? Was that why he had gotten up so early?  

Being someone who usually slept until she naturally woke up—often well into the late morning—Lin Zhizhi couldn’t comprehend the idea of waking up early to go for a morning run.  

Her mind gradually cleared, but she still wrestled with the lingering drowsiness for a while before finally getting out of bed.  

Yawning, Lin Zhizhi walked to the bathroom to freshen up. Since she had wasted some time lazing in bed, she sped up her morning routine.  

Soon, she stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the dressing room, picking a formal yet sharp-looking skirt suit. After that, she sat at the vanity, did a quick skincare routine, and tidied herself up briefly.  

Since she was pregnant, even though she had custom-made cosmetics, she tried to use them as little as possible. Fortunately, she had naturally good skin, so even with minimal effort, she still looked radiant.  

Once everything was ready, she was just waiting to leave. Lin Zhizhi stepped out of the master bedroom and into the living room, but she didn’t see Lu Yi. Instead, she heard some noises coming from the kitchen.  

Walking toward the kitchen, she saw Lu Yi, wearing an apron, standing with his back to her, busy preparing breakfast.  

Lu Yi was used to waking up early for his morning run, so he had developed a fixed biological clock. This morning, after waking up on time, he found Lin Zhizhi still nestled in his arms. He held her for a while longer, enjoying her beauty with his eyes closed. Seeing that she showed no signs of waking up, he got out of bed as quietly as possible.  

Since he had woken up late today, he skipped his usual morning run. Instead, he exercised briefly in the home gym, worried that if Lin Zhizhi woke up and didn’t find him, she might feel uneasy. Afterward, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her.  

After all, breakfast was the most important meal of the day.