The old man stood up and called out, "Shuiqin."

A few clicks of heels on the ground echoed at the doorway, and then the figure in the blue dress appeared gracefully.

The old man said, "Miss Shi will be with you from now on. If there's anything she doesn't know, you need to be patient. Also, arrange for her to stay in Zone B, and arrange a car to help her bring her luggage over."

Shi Lan had already gotten up to go out with Shui Qin, but upon hearing the old man's words, she immediately stopped. "Do we really have to stay here?"

The old man looked surprised, seemingly not understanding why Shi Lan asked that question.

Shi Lan pursed her lips and said, "It's like this, I have a friend who is stranded outside, and I'm very worried about him, but I don't have his contact information. In order to avoid missing out, I have to stay there and wait for him. If the condition for working here is that I have to live here, then I'm sorry, I can't accept this job."

The old man was very surprised. She had already toured most of the house with Shuiqin. The old man believed that anyone with eyesight should know that the salary for staying here must be quite high. Judging from her attire, her family background should not be very good. This job would be enough to greatly improve her quality of life. However, she gave up such a good condition for a friend she had not contacted for a long time. This was really unbelievable.

Shi Lan knew that others wouldn't understand her thoughts, but what could she do? Her only purpose in coming here was Haoze. Everything she did was to wait for Ning Yuze, help him resist or even eliminate the evil, and change his fate of becoming an evil puppet.

The old man was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Alright, since you insist on doing so, then..." He paused, then said, "I respect your wishes, but you need to pay attention to the work hours and not be late."

When the old man first spoke, Shi Lan was prepared to fail the interview. But to her surprise, the old man agreed to let her stay.

Shi Lan was extremely grateful and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you for your understanding."

The old man waved his hand and said, "Alright, if you can, you can come to work tomorrow. Shuiqin will explain the specifics to you."

Shi Lan nodded and left with Shui Qin. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the old man tilted his head slightly when he spoke. Although it was not easy to notice, Shi Lan was always perceptive and noticed that the old man frowned when he said the last sentence.

Does this mean that he didn't actually want to stay, but had to stay for some reason?

Shi Lan glanced suspiciously at the old man rubbing his ear and discovered that there was a tiny thing inside his ear.

Shi Lan frowned. What was that?

Shuiqin led Shilan through the large mansion, giving a brief introduction to the houses. Then, pointing to the third floor, she said, "That's where the young master lives. He doesn't like others getting close, so please don't come up unless necessary."

Shi Lan looked up curiously at the corridor on the third floor. The simple black and white color scheme was somewhat cold, which was different from the grand and ancient feel of the two floors below. However, if you looked closely, you could feel a faint elegance from the partitions on the walls and the furnishings on them.

This is perhaps a reflection of his own taste.

Shi Lan glanced at the calligraphy and painting near the stairwell, pursed her lips, and wrote with steady strokes, the ink and color just right. The painting depicted blooming lotus flowers, dragonflies visiting, and a frog perched on a lotus leaf in the distance, watching intently.

Shuiqin was explaining the matters she was responsible for when she noticed Shuiqin's gaze lingering on the painting. She said, "This is the young master's sketches. Isn't it very good?"

Shi Lan nodded, "That's indeed good."

The composition and color selection of this painting are all very appropriate, but why make such a beautiful watercolor painting so murderous?

Shi Lan was puzzled, but none of this concerned her. Those were things for those in power to worry about. She was just a lowly maid, and her job was simply to clean and earn a little money.

After walking with Shuiqin for a while, Shi Lan's legs ached. When she returned to the rest area reserved for the domestic helpers who worked there, she felt like her feet didn't belong to her anymore.

Shuiqin was clearly used to this kind of life. She drank a cup of honey water to soothe her throat and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Shi Lan then asked about the working hours and made an excuse to leave.

After leaving the sprawling mansion, Shi Lan went straight to the convenience store.

Because it was her day off, she came to work with her replacement colleague. Her colleague was surprised to see her. Shi Lan told him that she was quitting. Her colleague carefully advised her that if she quit now, the boss might not pay her for the month.

Shi Lan smiled slightly and then called her boss.

The boss was equally surprised to learn that his honest and hardworking employee had quit, and rushed over as fast as he could.

Upon seeing Shi Lan, he didn't even wait for her to speak before he bluntly said, "Shi Lan, your sudden resignation is putting me in a difficult position."

Shi Lan could tell from his face that he wanted to renege on his debt, so she said directly, "Boss, I've worked here for more than twenty days. I know it was wrong of me not to tell you beforehand, which allowed you to take advantage of me. But how much work have I done for you for free before?"

Shi Lan stared at him coldly and said, "It's been at least half a month, hasn't it?"

The boss snorted and said, "I was just saying that. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. I didn't force you."

Shi Lan chuckled, "But you know my situation, you know I can't lose this job, so even if I don't want to, I have no choice but to accept it." She stepped forward and said, "Isn't that right?"

The boss's expression changed slightly.

Shi Lan tilted her head back, brought her mouth close to his ear, and whispered, "Two groups fought a few days ago. I wonder if your imposing brother-in-law was involved?"

The boss's face completely changed color.

Shi Lan turned her head to the side, seemingly muttering to herself, "Or he might still be alive. Things are tense right now, he probably doesn't have much money. If he knew you had three chain convenience stores, he wouldn't have to worry about the cost of his escape."

Shi Lan spoke softly, her expression innocent, just as she had said before that she was very willing to help.

The boss felt increasingly cold inside.

His wife's family didn't know he owned these stores. Shi Lan's threat was like a poisonous thorn piercing his most sensitive and fearful spot.

Thinking about the methods his domineering brother-in-law and strong-willed wife would take if they knew about this, the boss wanted to back down but hesitated because there were other people present. He worried that if things went wrong, others would follow suit, and then he would be unable to control them in the future. But if he didn't back down, he could tell that Shi Lan was not joking this time. She opened the door to do business and was only after money. He didn't want to completely break ties with an orphan girl like Shi Lan who had no ties to her family.

Shi Lan stared at him, watching his pupils constrict and his lips twitch, as if he wanted to speak but didn't know how to start. Suddenly, she smiled.

"Boss, I won't make things difficult for you. Just give me half a month's salary, and consider the extra days as me paying for other colleagues to cover for me for a few days. You can use those days to find someone to replace me. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

At this point, the boss had no choice but to agree.

Knowing that Shi Lan was giving him face in front of his colleagues, the boss wasn't one to be overly concerned with saving face, and he immediately accepted the offer.