During dinner, everything seemed fine. Shen Qi didn’t notice anything unusual. But when it was time to sleep, she finally realized the problem.
She had come in such a hurry that she hadn’t brought any of her own things! Would it be too late to go buy them now? Just as Shen Qi was agonizing over this, He Yining suddenly spoke up: “What’s wrong? Going shopping?”
Shen Qi stared at him in shock. No way—was this guy a mind reader? How did he know what she was thinking?
“Let’s go. I need to head out for a bit too,” He Yining said abruptly.
Shen Qi was a bit dazed. What could he possibly have to do at this hour? Never mind him—she had to hurry and get her own stuff.
Shen Qi felt that ever since she met He Yining, the thickness of her skin had grown at a visible rate. A few days ago, she was desperately hoping to escape this man, and now, upon hearing he’d offer her a high salary, she had no qualms about immediately agreeing to be his exclusive stylist. Now, her integrity was completely gone—as long as she could save money or spend less, she wouldn’t even consider a second option. What could she do? She was broke.
He Yining strode out of the room, and Shen Qi quickly followed. Xiao Chun and the others stood by the door, seamlessly falling into step behind Shen Qi.
“Um… could you just take me to the nearest mall?” Shen Qi said, bracing herself. “I’ll buy what I need and come back on my own.”
He Yining’s phoenix eyes drooped slightly, the corners pressing toward Shen Qi’s direction with a sly, charming smile, but he didn’t answer.
Shen Qi assumed he agreed, so she silently followed him into the car.
At the mall, Shen Qi got out and was about to say goodbye to He Yining when, to her surprise, he got out too.
“Xiao Chun, come along. Everyone else, head back,” He Yining ordered.
The assistants turned and left, leaving only Xiao Chun dutifully following behind.
Shen Qi said uncertainly, “Well… I’ll go in first then. See you later!”
With that, before He Yining could respond, Shen Qi darted off like a startled rabbit.
He Yining watched her retreating figure and shook his head speechlessly. She sure runs fast…
Without the boss tagging along, Shen Qi finally relaxed completely. She quickly picked out her usual items, but when it came to choosing pajamas, she hesitated.
She actually really liked these cartoon-style pajamas. But tonight, she’d be sharing a room with the boss—even if one slept in the bedroom and the other on the couch, and the distance between them was considerable, it still felt oddly inappropriate. Yet, she loved these pajamas so much—what should she do? Those soft, adorable bunny ears were just too cute…
Just as Shen Qi was struggling, a graceful hand suddenly snatched the bunny ears from her and placed them on her head, a teasing tone in the voice: “Oh, suits you perfectly.”
Shen Qi looked up sharply and saw He Yining standing beside her. He had already handed the super kawaii pajamas to the sales clerk: “Wrap this one up.”
The clerk’s eyes were glued to He Yining, so much so that she didn’t even hear his words. So handsome…
Xiao Chun cleared his throat softly and stepped in front of the clerk, blocking her view: “Please ring it up.”
Shen Qi looked up at He Yining: “I should pay for it myself…”
“Let’s go.” He Yining didn’t bother listening to her explanation and walked off.
Shen Qi glanced quickly at Xiao Chun, who was paying, and thought to herself: How am I supposed to pay him back? Pull out three hundred yuan, put it in front of him, and say, “Here’s the money for the pajamas you bought me”? That feels so weird.
Xiao Chun was fast too. After paying, he quickly caught up with He Yining and Shen Qi, and very considerately and gentlemanly carried all of Shen Qi’s other purchases.
Shen Qi kept thanking Xiao Chun, who whispered, “Let me give you a tip—don’t mention paying him back. The CEO won’t like it.”
Uh… okay…
Back at the hotel, Shen Qi sat primly in the living room, not moving, waiting for He Yining to finish up before she washed up. Soon enough, He Yining came out of the bathroom, having showered quickly, wearing only pajama pants.
At 188 centimeters tall, with perfect golden-ratio proportions, his legs looked exceptionally long. His solid, flawless inverted-triangle torso hinted at eight-pack abs, with muscles that were firm but not overdone. The V-line… the oblique lines… the biceps…
Shen Qi had meant to look away, but she couldn’t help letting her gaze sweep over him, and once it did, she couldn’t tear it away. At that moment, only one word kept scrolling through her mind: perfect…
He Yining looked up and saw Shen Qi staring at him with wide eyes. He knew exactly how good his body was—and he wouldn’t admit he’d deliberately come out of the bathroom like this… It was strange—he usually hated women throwing themselves at him, yet he loved seeing Shen Qi’s stunned expression when she looked at him.
He Yining’s lips curved into a smile: “Aren’t you going to shower?”
“Ah… ah!” Shen Qi jumped up, clutching her pajamas, and dashed toward the bathroom. Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she hadn’t brought her toiletries, so she turned back, head down, to grab them. In her rush, she smacked her head against the wall.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…” Shen Qi clutched her forehead in pain. Great, it must be red now.
“Pfft.” He Yining couldn’t help it and laughed, completely unapologetic.
Shen Qi rubbed her forehead, quickly gathered her things, and headed into the bathroom.
The bathroom was enormous. He Yining’s personal items were arranged on one side, leaving the other side empty. Shen Qi hesitated for a moment, then placed her own things on the opposite side.
On one side, there were world-class, custom-made bath products; on the other, supermarket brands. Shen Qi sighed and patted her fifty-yuan shampoo from the store: “Don’t feel inferior. You might have different price tags, but you both do the same job, right?”
Although the hotel provided high-end toiletries, Shen Qi and He Yining seemed to share a habit in this regard—they only used their own stuff, not the hotel’s. He Yining’s standards were too high, sticking to his custom line. Shen Qi, on the other hand, was stubbornly loyal to the scent of this mass-market brand.
Shen Qi quickly adjusted the water temperature and let the hot water wash over her, soaking away all the day’s fatigue. Looking at the exquisite bathtub, she suddenly felt an urge to take a nice, relaxing soak. By now, He Yining should be asleep, right? Maybe…
She listened carefully for any sounds outside. Confirming there was nothing, she cheerfully poured her body wash into the tub, tossed her hair up, and slipped into the bath, lying back comfortably.
Ah… this feels so good… Ah… so many bubbles…