Chapter 38.1

Bai Manruo walked to the door of the bedroom on the third floor, clutching her blanket and pacing in place. She was thinking that staying on the third floor would keep her closer to the boss, so if the boss had an episode, she could discover it in time.

Bai Manruo knocked on the bedroom door but found there was no sound inside. She turned her head toward the study and saw that the light was still on.

The boss is actually still working this late; she works so hard. Bai Manruo’s brow furrowed slightly, thinking that in the future, she must help the boss develop healthy daily habits.

Hugging her blanket, she walked toward the study and bumped into Ji Yingqing just as she was coming out. Seeing her clutching a blanket in the middle of the night, Ji Yingqing raised an eyebrow: “This is?”

Bai Manruo’s fingers tightened nervously around the blanket as she spoke slowly: “Miss Ji, can I live on the third floor?” She really couldn’t think of a suitable reason, so she decided to just ask directly.

Ji Yingqing froze for a moment, clearly surprised by her request.

Recalling her series of unusual behaviors today—watching a movie, eating out, and shopping—Ji Yingqing lifted her eyelids slightly and gave her a deep look. She didn’t ask for a reason, but asked directly: “Which room do you want to stay in?” When she said “which room,” it seemed to automatically include her own room as well.

“Any room is fine!” Bai Manruo looked up excitedly. She hadn’t expected moving in to be this easy; she thought the boss would ask a lot of questions.

Hearing her answer, Ji Yingqing lowered her eyes slightly and thought for a while. She stopped in front of a new bedroom and opened the door: “Do you like this bedroom?”

Bai Manruo glanced at the room next door, then nodded happily while clutching her blanket: “I like it, I like it!” This room was right next to the boss’s bedroom; it was close and convenient—absolutely perfect!

Ji Yingqing’s gaze fell on her radiant, smiling face. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she said: “The room has already been cleaned. If you need anything, tell Butler Li and have her bring it over.”

Bai Manruo nodded. After placing her blanket on the bed, she couldn’t help but say out of concern: “It’s so late; Miss Ji should rest earlier from now on. Health is always the top priority.”

Meeting her beautiful eyes, Ji Yingqing agreed and spoke slowly: “Alright. Goodnight.”

Bai Manruo smiled contentedly and replied softly: “Goodnight~”

At past 1:00 AM, Bai Manruo was rolling around on the bed with her blanket, her big, bright eyes staring straight at the ceiling, completely sleepless.

The thought that the room next door was the boss’s bedroom made her feel inexplicably nervous and excited. Although she knew the soundproofing was excellent, she still lightened her movements, even making her breathing carefully quiet.

Half an hour later, still unable to sleep, she picked up her phone to browse her social media accounts. She had been so busy with other things lately that she hadn’t looked at her livestreams.

The fans in the comments were all howling for her return; some were even speculating if she had gone missing and were talking about calling the police.

Bai Manruo immediately replied to that comment: 【Darlings, I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just been a bit busy lately. I’ll be streaming in a few days, so look forward to it~】.

After replying, she posted another Weibo: [Today is a day worth remembering.] The attached photo was a picture of the pale blue sky—the same color as the clothes they both wore tonight—a tiny, subtle hint of a shared detail.

Bai Manruo turned off her phone in satisfaction, the corners of her mouth curving up as she hugged her blanket and gradually fell asleep.

In the room next door, Ji Yingqing was still awake. She sat at her desk, [unauthorized copy]her electronic screen replaying footage from the castle. Ji Yingqing propped her chin on one hand; her cold, white skin looked exceptionally pale under the flickering light.

The screen showed Bai Manruo’s every move. Ji Yingqing’s eyelashes flickered as she reached out a slender finger to lightly touch the screen, her thumb stroking the person in the video, her gaze thoughtful.

As the sky turned grey, Bai Manruo was woken up by her alarm. She reached an arm out from under the covers to grab her phone, turned off the alarm, and sat up with sleepy eyes.

She rubbed her eyes and let out a groan when she saw the time—it was only 6:00 AM! She turned off all the alarms she had set previously and crawled back under the covers to catch more sleep.

After lying there for a few minutes, Bai Manruo used a sliver of reason to force herself out of bed. She patted her face hard—No sleeping! I just moved to the third floor today; I have to leave a good impression on the boss!

After a cold shower, she indeed felt much more energetic. Bai Manruo opened her door and stretched. As she looked up, she saw Butler Li passing by. Their gazes met unexpectedly, and the atmosphere grew inexplicably awkward.

Seeing Bai Manruo in a bathrobe appearing from the neighboring bedroom, Butler Li’s eyes were filled with disbelief and shock. Her gaze slowly moved to Bai Manruo’s face: “You… why are you on the third floor?”

Seeing her expression, Bai Manruo knew she had misunderstood. She hurriedly pulled her bathrobe tight: “Butler Li, don’t misunderstand. It’s not what you think.”

Butler Li’s brow furrowed as she stared straight at her, saying coldly: “I hope I’m just overthinking.” She withdrew her gaze and walked toward the study clutching her documents.

Of course you’re overthinking, but… Bai Manruo shrugged helplessly. Oh well.

She went back into her room to change and then headed to the dining room for breakfast. When Ji Yingqing came downstairs, Butler Li was reporting work beside her. Suddenly remembering something, Butler Li asked: “Miss, is it appropriate to let her live on the third floor? Although we investigated her background, still…”

Before Butler Li could ​read the original at bailiantales.com​finish, Ji Yingqing walked straight into the dining room, completely ignoring her words.

“Morning, Miss Ji~” Bai Manruo greeted with a radiant smile, walking over to considerately pull out a chair for her.

Seeing her so happy, Ji Yingqing’s mood felt exceptionally pleasant. Butler Li followed, appearing to want to continue the previous topic, but Ji Yingqing’s brow pressed down slightly as she spoke coldly: “You may go back for now.”

Butler Li suppressed her dissatisfaction with Bai Manruo and forced herself to swallow her words. She sighed slightly: “Alright, Miss.” Before she left, she gave Bai Manruo a cold sweep out of the corner of her eye.

Bai Manruo had a mouthful of crab roe bun, staring blankly at Butler Li’s retreating back. Her beautiful black eyes were full of confusion. What’s going on? How did I offend Butler Li again?

Seeing her rounded cheeks, Ji Yingqing couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She reached out and poked one: “What are you looking at?”

Bai Manruo’s attention was instantly pulled back. Her left cheek was touched by those cool fingers. With a slightly flushed face, she lowered her head to eat: “Nothing.” After chewing her bun, she picked up another and handed it to her: “Miss Ji, you should try one too.”

Ji Yingqing leaned in and took a bite. The savory flavor of the crab roe exploded in her mouth. She licked a bit of juice from the corner of her mouth: “Delicious.” As she spoke, her deep gaze rested on Bai Manruo.

Bai Manruo pulled her hand back in a slight panic and silently buried her head in her porridge. For the first time, she finished breakfast quietly, though the tips of her ears showing from under her hair grew increasingly red.

Because the move last night had been so hurried, Bai Manruo went back to her room on the first floor after breakfast to pack her clothes. Suddenly, she heard a tapping on the window. She looked up and saw a smiling Ji Jie waving at her from outside.

Bai Manruo opened the window and asked the question she’d been wondering: “How on earth did you get in? You actually managed to dodge the castle’s security system.”

Ji Jie spoke while climbing through the window: “When I was a kid, I found a gap in the garden at the back of the first floor. I used to crawl through it to play read the original at bailiantales.com all the time. I didn’t expect that after all these years, that gap is still there.”

Seeing the dirt on Ji Jie’s dress and her messy hair, Bai Manruo imagined the scene of this “Eldest Miss” crawling in and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Ji Jie pulled out a small mirror to fix her hair and snorted: “I even crawled through a dog hole for your sake. How did things go with my aunt last night? Don’t let my efforts go to waste.”

Bai Manruo didn’t understand why she was suddenly so focused on her and her aunt, but she answered: “It was fine. Everything went pretty well.”

Ji Jie narrowed her eyes to scrutinize her, then turned to see the pile of clothes on her bed. She walked over to check them: “I’ll help you move these up.”

“No need.” Bai Manruo immediately reached out to hold the clothes down. Seeing Ji Jie’s skeptical expression, she explained calmly: “Your aunt is still upstairs.”

Sure enough, at the mention of Ji Yingqing’s name, Ji Jie instinctively let go. She instructed: “Fine. I’ll leave the care of my aunt to you from now on.”

Bai Manruo pushed the clothes aside and sat down, nodding. Then, remembering Ji Jie’s situation with Xu Huanxin, she asked out of concern: “How are things with you now?”

Ji Jie knew what she was asking. She set down her mirror and sighed: “Sister Huanxin still won’t talk to me.” Before Bai Manruo could offer words of comfort, Ji Jie suddenly changed her tone and laughed smugly: “But I’ve already thought of a good way.” Her red lips curved slightly as she leaned in to stare at Bai Manruo: “But I still need one person’s help.”

Hearing her last sentence, Bai Manruo silently turned her head away, yet Ji Jie’s gaze followed her, those pale blue eyes tracking her closely. After turning her head five or six times, Bai Manruo was the first to give in, unable to stand her persistence. She spoke helplessly: “Let’s get this straight first—if it’s a bad idea, or something like the drugging incident from before, I absolutely won’t help you, and I won’t let you cause more trouble. Otherwise, I won’t be able to face Miss Ji.”

Ji Jie curled her lips in success and promised personally: “Definitely not. This matter is good for you too.”

Bai Manruo’s mouth twitched. Why do I have a bad premonition in my heart? She suddenly regretted agreeing to read the original at bailiantales.comher. But if she didn’t agree, Ji Jie would surely find someone else. If she caused trouble, Miss Ji would have to clean up the mess. In that case, it was better to agree first and stay by her side to keep her in check; that way, Miss Ji would have less to worry about.

Ji Jie napped in her room for a while and left near noon, saying she would come find her again in three days. Bai Manruo closed the window, hesitating whether to tell Miss Ji. But thinking that she had already promised Ji Jie to keep it a secret, and figuring Ji Jie couldn’t cause too much trouble, she decided to wait until that day to decide based on the situation.

In the afternoon, Bai Manruo moved all her things from the first floor to her bedroom on the third floor. She had just lain down on the sofa to rest when there was a knock at the door. Bai Manruo opened it to see Ji Yingqing dressed in formal attire; the dark green long dress made her look even more mysterious and seductive.

Her eyes lit up instantly. Snapping out of it, she asked: “Is there something wrong, Miss Ji?”

Ji Yingqing looked at her and spoke slowly: “There’s a gathering tonight. If you’re free, you could come along. If you’re not free, then…”

Before she could finish, Bai Manruo blurted out: “I’m free! I’m free!”

She was already worrying about how to stay by the boss’s side at all times—after all, she remembered her pheromones were beneficial to the boss’s condition. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, she certainly couldn’t miss it. Moreover, this was the first time the boss had proactively invited her out to a gathering. Bai Manruo felt a complex mix of nervousness and joy in her heart.

Hearing her answer, the tiny bit of worry Ji Yingqing had felt initially vanished. This was also her first time inviting someone to a gathering. Usually, she never attended these events, but she thought of what happened at the last gathering—thinking of those Omegas pestering her and other people with ill intentions made her feel irritable.

So, when the invitation to the gathering arrived as usual, a thought occurred to her. She wanted Bai Manruo to attend the gathering as her female companion, which was why she hadn’t refused the invitation this time.

When Butler Li learned that the Young Mistress was attending a gathering, her expression was one of complete surprise. Her arrival was beyond everyone’s expectations, especially the Yuan family, who were hosting. Although the Yuan family was the head of the three top-tier giants in City A, the Ji family was the true noble family hidden behind the giants—except the Ji family had always kept a low profile and never appeared in the public eye. Ji Yingqing was the most important pillar and true master of the Ji family.