The crowd finally dispersed, "Get in the car." Zhou Mingchen opened the car door and pushed Xia Lu inside.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she kept massaging her cheeks, realizing that maintaining a high-level and polite smile for a long time was not an easy task. If she kept it up any longer, her cheeks would start cramping.
"Where are we going now?"
"Home," Zhou Mingchen said without looking at her.
"Home? Whose home?"
"Our home."
"Ah..." Xia Lu suddenly became alert, "It can't be so soon... But all my stuff is still at my place..."
"Your stuff?" Zhou Mingchen chuckled, "You won't need those things anymore."
Zhou Mingchen's villa was located in the suburbs, backed by West Mountain, and it was very tranquil around.
Xia Lu got out of the car and almost dropped her jaw in shock.
In fact, she had previously imagined what kind of house a person like Zhou Mingchen would live in. Luxurious and splendid were a given for the wealthy, and that was no surprise. But the current situation was far different from what she had in mind.
"This is..." She slowly uttered a few words, unable to believe the dark house in front of her was his home.
"I've said it before, our home."
Zhou Mingchen parked the car by the roadside and walked towards the front gate.
"Are you joking?" Xia Lu still couldn't believe it.
Although it was late at night, the street lights in the neighborhood were still on, so it wasn't too dark. But the villa in front of her was like a black hole, with not a single light shining and even its contours were hard to make out.
Xia Lu followed Zhou Mingchen into the yard, and for some reason, she felt very eerie around.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah!" Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle, frightening her into a scream.
"Keep it down, don't disturb the neighbors," Zhou Mingchen said with annoyance.
"Oh... I'm sorry..." Xia Lu apologized in a soft voice.
She turned on the flashlight on her phone and pointed it towards her feet, only to find that it was the wildly growing branches of the plants in the yard reaching into the walkway and catching her.
She untangled the grass branches, hurried her steps to catch up with Zhou Mingchen, and lightly tugged at the hem of his suit jacket.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Mingchen was also very sensitive to the touch.
"I... I'm a little scared... It's too dark here..." Xia Lu explained softly.
Zhou Mingchen didn't speak again.
He opened the door, and the inside was no better than the outside, still pitch dark.
"Clang! Click!"
Finally, the lights came on.
Having been in the dark for too long, Xia Lu hadn't yet adjusted to the sudden brightness and suddenly felt a tickle in her throat, "Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough~"
Zhou Mingchen was much smarter. He directly took a mask out of his pocket and put it on his face.
"This house..."
Xia Lu covered her mouth and finally saw the full picture of the room. All the furniture was covered with white cloths, and the dust on the floor was probably three inches thick. This was clearly a house that had been uninhabited for a long time.
"It seems you have a heavy task ahead," Zhou Mingchen looked at her with a teasing expression in his eyes.
"What?"
Xia Lu hadn't reacted yet when Zhou Mingchen had already walked to the center of the hall.
"Welcome, from now on, this is our home, and you are the mistress of this house. I think you have seen the situation, so clean up as soon as possible."
Clean up? As soon as possible? Xia Lu's mind was full of question marks. Was he treating her like a part-time worker?
"However, you needn't bother with my bedroom—I don't like others touching my things. Your bedroom is on the second floor, first room on the left." Zhou Mingchen finished speaking and walked towards the staircase, turning back to see Xia Lu still standing at the door.
"What, you're not starting now? Do you not plan to sleep tonight?"
Putting down the cloth, Xia Lu wiped the sweat from her forehead. Two hours had passed, and she hadn't even completely finished cleaning the hall. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to clean the entire house even if she stayed up all night.
Zhou Mingchen entered his room and hadn't come back out. She wondered if he was already asleep.
"Never mind." Xia Lu tossed the cloth aside and turned to go upstairs.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Xia Lu woke with a start, draped on her clothes, and came to the door. "Who is it?"
"Who else could it be." Zhou Mingchen said in a low voice.
Xia Lu tightened her coat, covering her chest, and placed her hand on the doorknob. She gently opened the door and peeked out her head. "Is there a problem?"
"Breakfast at seven o'clock tomorrow morning - pancakes with maple syrup, toast with unsalted butter, bacon, fried eggs, seaweed salad, milk, kiwi juice, and for after the meal I want blueberries. Oh, and don't forget to cook red bean soup; I'm taking it with me tomorrow."
"What?" Xia Lu only saw his lips moving and couldn't remember what he said.
Zhou Mingchen frowned.
Xia Lu quickly realized, "Actually, I was trying to say... I can't cook..." She interlaced her fingers and nervously rubbed them against each other.
She had been well taken care of by her mother since she was small. After starting school, she had always eaten in the cafeteria; let alone cooking, she had hardly ever entered a kitchen.
Zhou Mingchen crossed his arms. "So, are you expecting me to cook?"
"No, no," seeing his raised eyebrow, Xia Lu quickly waved her hands, "I will... try to cook..."
Zhou Mingchen gave her a look and turned to leave.
"What kind of devil is this guy... always so fierce and terrifying..." Xia Lu lay on her bed and set her phone alarm for six o'clock, pulling the covers over her and trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible.
"I will not let you off so easily. I will avenge my son sooner or later!"
Suddenly woken up by a nightmare, Xia Lu grabbed her phone. "Six forty?!" It was clearly set for six o'clock yesterday.
It was only then that she realized that today was Sunday, and the alarm was set for weekdays.
"Oh no!"
She quickly dressed and rushed out the door.
Fortunately, the hallway was very quiet. It seemed that Zhou Mingchen hadn't woken up yet; there was still time.
Xia Lu arrived at the first floor, and the scene before her had changed drastically from the night before. The floor-to-ceiling windows along the wall filtered the morning light through the shadows of the trees outside, casting countless faint patterns on the floor; pushing open the sliding door that led to the backyard, she could hear the clear chirping of birds; the tree groves that looked quite terrifying last night were now emitting a fresh fragrance, increasing the concentration of negative ions around her.
The once dark and gloomy villa had transformed overnight into a place that lifted the spirit—magical, indeed.
"You still have time to daydream here, which means my breakfast must be ready."
The devilish voice came from behind her, and Xia Lu turned around to see Zhou Mingchen, dressed in home attire, descending the stairs and heading straight for the dining room.
"No, no, no," she hurried forward to block his path, "Breakfast... is not ready yet, but it will be, very soon, I promise!"
"You go and wash up first... or rest next door for a while; I think the air in the yard is quite nice."
"Hurry up; don't dawdle," Zhou Mingchen glanced at her and turned into the living room.