231: Chapter 231 Zou Luyao's Hobbies

Given that Zou Luyao had eaten a bit much, Zhao Xiaoshuai drove as steadily as possible along the way, avoiding making her feel uncomfortable.

"Did you always eat at the school cafeteria before?"

"Yeah, lunch was either the cafeteria or the Rixin Building, but I had to go home for dinner. That's also why it was hard for my mom to find a job, because she needed one where she could get off work on time at 5:30."

"Have you sent the text message to your mom yet?"

"Yeah, I sent it when she got off work at 5:30, but I haven't dared to look at it since."

After all, she was her only relative; she couldn't just disappear without a word.

She had earnestly explained her desire for independence and freedom, stating that she would be moving out starting today to work and earn money while continuing her studies as usual.

At the time, she hadn't dared to check her mother's reply, as she could surely predict that her mother would be furious and would never agree.

But since she was asked about it now, out of curiosity, she switched to her other account. Sure enough, every single message was full of interrogations and rebukes.

"Zou Luyao, your wings have gotten stiff, haven't they? Get your butt home right now!"

"Not replying and playing the disappearing act, huh? Just wait until I catch you, I'll break your legs!"

"You've really grown up now, haven't you? I even called your counselor to make excuses for you, and you've gone and changed classes, right? Fine, fine, fine. I'll take a day off tomorrow and go to your school to intercept you. I refuse to believe that in broad daylight, I can't find my own child!"

...

Zou Luyao could clearly feel the anger contained in her mother's words. Thinking about the scene after being caught by her mother, she couldn't help but shrink her neck.

"How about I take a few days off from school and lay low outside for a few days?"

"You'll have to face it eventually."

"That may be true, but facing it a day later might give me more courage! Maybe my mom will be easier to talk to once she calms down? Isn't there a saying, 'Escapism is shameful, but it works'!"

"You must not have watched or finished that show, otherwise you wouldn't think that way."

"We're here. Let's get out."

Getting in and out of this kind of supercar required stepping over the frame, and it wasn't exactly smooth, especially when trying to stand up.

Because Zou Luyao was a bit full, she might find it a bit strenuous in her current state, so Zhao Xiaoshuai very gentlemanly walked over to the passenger side and gave her a hand.

Her hand no longer felt icy to the touch like it did at the hospital; it had become a normal, warm sensation, which perhaps reflected the change in her state of mind.

However, she was clearly still immersed in the problem of how to face her relationship with her mother and seemed somewhat distracted. When getting out, she tripped over the side sill, nearly fell, and landed right in Zhao Xiaoshuai's arms.

"Careful."

Soft and fragrant, she had a nice figure.

"Sorry, I was distracted just now." After all, it was her own fault. Zou Luyao didn't mind this brief physical contact and followed him to her "workplace."

"Huh, why does the elevator here only seem to have four floors? Which floor do you live on?"

"All four floors are my home."

"Huh?"

When they walked from the underground garage into a lobby filled with entertainment facilities, Zou Luyao thought it was the entertainment area on the first floor of some building and even complained about how small it was.

Because she had been immersed in the "angry blows" from her mother the whole way, she hadn't even had the heart to see where Zhao Xiaoshuai had brought her, and thus didn't know that she had arrived at a villa area.

Only now did she suddenly realize that the large entertainment area from before was actually just the first floor of Zhao Xiaoshuai's house. Her first thought was: "With a place this big and four floors, how am I supposed to clean it all! I need a raise!"

Hearing Zou Luyao's adorable protest, Zhao Xiaoshuai chuckled: "The contract is already signed, and the money has already been advanced to you. If you break the contract now, you'll have to pay damages."

Zou Luyao's eyes widened, suffering the first social beating of her life.

"Alright, I'm kidding. This villa looks big, but there actually isn't much housework to do."

The floors have all sorts of advanced sweeping robots, the house has daily dust removal facilities, the heated swimming pool is fully automatic, the kitchen has a dishwasher, the bathroom has self-cleaning...

So the housekeeping work is basically just filling in the gaps; it used to be called once a week.

Under Zhao Xiaoshuai's guidance, Zou Luyao got familiar with her future workplace and found that he hadn't lied to her; there was very little work to do every day.

"I remember you said it included room and board. Where is my room? Is that room on the first floor that looks directly out into the courtyard mine?"

Although she looked at him with longing eyes, Zhao Xiaoshuai couldn't touch the room reserved for his Sister-in-law.

Her room had already been decided.

"This room was originally designed as a children's room. Although it's a bit small, it's big enough for a nanny's room."

Zou Luyao took a look and was already very satisfied.

Although it was called a children's room, it was over thirty square meters, had an en-suite bathroom, and could completely count as an independent space.

Furthermore, it was connected to a nearly forty-square-meter terrace garden, which Zhao Xiaoshuai promised she could use freely. Combined, it was bigger than the house she and her mother rented.

Watching Zou Luyao happily taking out her belongings one by one, Zhao Xiaoshuai leaned against the doorframe and asked: "Do you have any hobbies?"

The reason he only leaned against the doorframe was because he had agreed to Zou Luyao's three rules: during her working period, this was her private space, and no one was allowed to enter without permission.

Although this didn't fit her status as a live-in "housekeeping girl," considering she had never had a real private space growing up, Zhao Xiaoshuai magnanimously agreed to her wish.

Hearing the question, Zou Luyao was a bit shy, but eventually replied: "I wasn't interested in anything before. Later, in middle school, I met my good friend Xiaohong, and under her guidance, I started to like anime."

"Haha, I didn't expect you to be an anime girl."

"What's wrong with being into anime! When I was most helpless and in the most pain, that world served as my only safe haven, allowing me to hold on for so many years."

"No, no, actually I used to be into anime too."

Before entering the workforce, Zhao Xiaoshuai kept the habit of watching new anime. Later, because he really didn't have time, and because his edges were smoothed out by real life, he gradually stopped watching.

Although she didn't quite believe it, she had no way to verify it; after all, the so-called "anime culture" was just an imposed label.

Even many content creators on Bilibili who have been in this circle for ten or twenty years might not be able to answer if someone really asked them a few so-called "test questions."

As for whether one is "into anime," everyone might have their own answer.

"Also, when I would briefly visit Xiaohong's house to hang out, I used to make some voice acting and cosplay videos, like dubbing parodies or ASMR stuff. Apart from those, I don't really have any other hobbies."

Zhao Xiaoshuai's heart stirred upon hearing this.