The following day, which was a Saturday, marked the first week of Yin and Mu Rong's employment at the district offices. On Saturdays, the offices opened later and closed earlier, granting employees extra time to wake up and to return home earlier.
Mu Rong, having slept soundly that night, enjoyed the warmth of her bed, as the morning sun's rays filtered through her transparent curtain. Aware that it was almost time to head to the offices, she muttered to herself about the tiredness and curiosity of the day's events, especially considering Rama's unsettling glances she had received from him throughout the week.
"I wish I couldn't find him at work," she murmured, her lips expressing weariness as she rolled in her bed before deciding to face the day.
Getting out of bed, she wore her house sandals and headed to the bathroom for a refreshing start. The previous night, Mok Dan and Mu Qing had informed her about Mr. Sai's plan to start assigning some accounting duties to her after the first month.
And on top of that, Marquis, whom she called godfather since her childhood had provided a number of training references around town that Mu Rong could decide to use during her free time, adding excitement and hope to her night's sleep.
After refreshing up, she dressed up well, packed her bag and got out of her room and went around the house greeting her younger siblings and the house workers. Her parents had already departed for their shops and they would be able to have a big time all together the next day when everyone would be off duty.
She asked the maids to have her breakfast as she was out of time and quickly walked out of the house a little fast towards the main road to rent a cart.
Once she had spotted her usual driver, she walked towards his cart and ordered him to take her to her regular restaurant that was near the district offices but away from the main streets of the town.
The ride was smooth with Mu Rong calculating the little time she had in between getting to the restaurant and to the district offices which were just a few meters away from the restaurant if a short cut was to be taken.
After reaching the restaurant parking area, Mu Rong paid the driver and swiftly got out of the cart and entered into the restaurant diverting to the corridor that led to a number of private dining rooms. She was an esteemed customer and many staff at the restaurant were familiar with her so no one stopped her for any inquires.
The private room was a little further away at the very end of the hall with a very warm and bright ambiance, adorned with a view of fresh flowers and vegetables through low windows. Mu Rong upon reaching the private room she had booked, pushed the doors open slowly and paused for a while as a radiant smile escaped from her lips, her cheeks blushing even more as her eyes saw him.
"Hi," she greeted Bi Lai, a merchant from the Three Heavens Kingdom, whom she had encountered months earlier in the local market. Their occasional meetings at the restaurant, coupled with letters, had discreetly nurtured their relationship.
"Hi," Bi Lai replied, looking at her with a warm affection and extending his hand to help her sit. With her favorite breakfast already ordered, they shared a sweet but short moment of happiness amid their busy schedules.
Meanwhile, Yin, already at her desk, pondered Mu Rong's absence, considering their usual routine of passing each other's houses during their daily commutes. That morning, Yin had passed by Mu Rong's house to fetch her but was surprised to be informed that Mu Rong had had already left her house.
Lu Zheng, noticing Mu Rong's half-hour delay, approached Yin for an explanation.
"Good morning miss." He began the conversation with Yin and went on to ask about Mu Rong's absence from work. Yin almost blushing, composed herself well and stood up to show her respect for Lu Zheng as her senior in rank.
They had discussed earlier on about maintaining professional conduct so nothing was new or shocking between them about how each was supposed to treat the other.
"Good morning sir, Mu Rong must have fallen ill but I am sure she is on her way, please give her a few more minutes. She will be here."
"Alright. Let me know once she arrives. I need to speak with her."
Lu Zheng walked away wondering again wether Mu Rong must made a mistake with one of the record entries or she created up her own record to cover up for some. If that was the case, then it needed to be ironed out sooner before his father found out about that error.
Yin after seating down, sighed out and covered her face with her palms for a few seconds and got back to her files.
Anzim, who had strategically been observing the couple from a corner, was not satisfied with the scene he had witnessed between the two. He stuck around a little longer in different positions pretending to be busy but almost everyone who saw him could understand what he was upto.
After minutes of Hanging around and gathering no concrete information, Anzim walked away, heading to Rama's office to inform him of what he had witnessed. For Anzim, it might have seemed like the start of a new romance, but for Rama, it was a charade under a perfect disguise.
Glancing at his clock, Rama inquired if Mu Rong had arrived and Anzim, recalling the multiple times Mu Rong had already turned down his friendship offer throughout the week, made a suggestion to Rama knowing it would be his first chance in witnessing Mu Rong suffer for rejecting him.
"Sir, she hasn't. Should I tell her to come to you before starting her duties?" Anzim suggested, wanting Mu Rong to face challenges with Rama.
"That would be nice. Block her from accessing her desk and instruct her to come to me," Rama instructed, sensing the emotions that were running through Anzim as he quickly left Rama's office to promptly position himself at the front of the offices, ready to intercept Mu Rong.