An Ruo recalled the science lesson her husband had sent her and smiled. "My husband used to come to Yucheng on business trips often, so this time he specially made a guide for me."
"Director An, you're married!?"
The whole room erupted in shock!
She nodded sheepishly. "Just got married recently."
"Oh my god, Director An, you married young!"
"Director An, why did you get married so young? Where's your husband from, and what does he do?"
An Ruo instantly became the center of attention, a barrage of questions raining down on her.
"This is called finding the right person early. You guys are so nosy. Why not ask me instead? I'm a living, breathing celebrity sitting right here—don't you have anything to ask?" Song Weiwei noticed the girl's discomfort and smiled. "Like about my love life?"
Qiao Yu shot her a dark look. Was she crazy?!
With that shift in topic, the crowd naturally turned their focus to Song Weiwei. After all, she was a well-known actress, and they'd been itching for juicy gossip about her for ages, especially her highly anticipated love life.
"As for me, I'm still single." Song Weiwei gave a playful grin. "Sorry to disappoint."
"Boo!"
The crowd groaned in disappointment.
An Ruo glanced at her sideways, a grateful smile tugging at her lips.
...
During the day, they filmed on location; at night, everyone gathered at the hotel for parties, with barbecue and late-night snacks aplenty.
To help everyone get to know each other better, they had dinners together every evening after work, eating, drinking, and having fun.
Someone suggested playing cards, with the losers drinking. As a complete novice, An Ruo kept hitting bad luck, but luckily Song Weiwei stepped in to drink for her, so she didn't end up completely wasted.
But Song Weiwei... had equally terrible luck, losing miserably herself. Before long, she was drunk off her feet, and Qiao Yu, with a dark scowl, hauled her away.
Without Song Weiwei to intervene, An Ruo lost several more rounds in a row. Unable to stomach any more alcohol, she made an excuse and hurriedly left.
As soon as she entered her room, An Ruo dashed to the bathroom, collapsing weakly by the toilet to vomit, her stomach churning violently. She felt terrible.
At that moment, she missed her husband terribly, her mind full of him.
With that thought, she stumbled back to bed, fumbled her phone out of her pocket, squinted to open her contacts, and luckily, his was the most recent call.
Without her by his side, the man couldn't sleep late into the night. He leaned by the window, drowning his sorrows in drink.
Suddenly, the phone on the table rang. He picked it up and saw it was his girl calling—instantly perking up!
"Why are you calling me so late?"
The people he'd sent told him the girl was having a late-night snack with colleagues at the hotel. He figured she wouldn't be done anytime soon and didn't dare call to disturb her.
He wanted her to do what she wanted, to have her own social circle. When she needed him, he'd be there; when she didn't, he'd silently protect her from the shadows.
No matter the relationship, personal space was essential.
He didn't want to pressure her too much—too much of anything backfired. He couldn't let his own obsession scare her.
On the other end of the line came a slurred, whiny murmur, a coquettish grumble. The man's eyes darkened; her voice was like a cat's paw scratching at his heartstrings, stirring a heat through his body.
After a moment, he suddenly sensed something was off and frowned slightly. "Have you been drinking?"
"Mmm..." An Ruo was unusually obedient when drunk, answering any question, responding to any request—more effective than a truth serum.
Shen Xiaoxing had seen her drunk before—soft as a kitten, prone to whining, her voice sweet and endearing.
"Who let you drink?" the man scolded in a low, stern voice. "An Ruo, with me not by your side, you're this disobedient?"
He glanced at the time—9:30. She was dead drunk with no one to look after her, and the people he'd sent to protect her were all men, ordered to stay a dozen meters away when following her.
"I was playing cards... ugh, my luck was terrible today... lost so many rounds, got forced to drink a lot..."
As the man listened, he hurried into the walk-in closet, grabbed a random set of clothes, and changed. On the phone, the girl's pitiful voice continued: "I'm so unlucky..."
"Wait for me." He instructed worriedly, "Don't hang up."
On his end, he changed into a black outfit, slipped out through a secret passage, and ordered Han Chong to prepare the fastest helicopter, ensuring he'd reach Yucheng within half an hour.
"Don't go. If I can't make it back by tomorrow morning, make sure to stall them."
Han Chong nodded. "Yes!"
The helicopter sliced through the wind, lifting off rapidly and gliding through the night sky.
The man gripped the phone tightly, listening to the girl's pained moans and the sound of her vomiting in the bathroom. His heart clenched!
Damn it!
He should never have agreed to let her come to Yucheng for this business trip.
...
Late at night, a mysterious guest arrived at the Yucheng hotel.
The man coldly slapped down a card, his words like ice. "Give me the key card for room 1203."
The front desk receptionist, seeing the black card in his hand, immediately handed it over.
"Beep!"
The card slid over the sensor, and the door clicked open automatically.
The man slipped in quickly, gently closing the door behind him, and walked slowly into the room.
All the lights were on. An Ruo had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places, especially since she was used to cuddling with her husband—she even had trouble with unfamiliar people. So she was afraid to sleep without the lights on.
The man scanned the room and finally found her in the天鹅浴缸 (swan-shaped bathtub) in the bathroom.
The girl was leaning against the tub, her clothes stained with some vomit. She was dozing off, phone still in hand.
Shen Xiaoxing crouched down, looking at her in this helpless state, and sighed softly. At least she'd remembered not to hang up.
He bent down, lifted her out of the tub, stripped off her dirty clothes, changed her into comfortable pajamas, and fetched warm water to gently wipe her hands and feet...
"Shen Xiaoxing..."
The man froze, looking up at the girl's soft murmur.
Overcome with emotion, he was about to lean in and kiss her pink lips when the girl suddenly sat up, pushed him away, and vomited onto the floor.
"..."
Shen Xiaoxing had a severe case of mysophobia. He frowned, pondered for a long moment, then decided to call hotel staff to clean up. Once it was spotless, he carried the girl back to the bathroom for a wash.
He placed her in the bathtub with water at just the right temperature, stripped off his own clothes in a flash, and stepped in, carefully washing her body.
"Kitten, what debt did I owe you in a past life?" The man bit her earlobe playfully, his voice hoarse. "Why do you torment me like this?"
She went on a business trip, got drunk, and he had to come all this way, worried sick.
And she ended up vomiting all over him!
Shen Xiaoxing's thin lips curled into a mischievous smile as he pinched her nose affectionately. "In this life, only you can put me through this."
"..."
"I'll let you off this time. When we get home, I'll settle the score properly." The man muttered to himself, carefully washing the girl until he couldn't smell any alcohol, then dried her off and carried her out.
After all this fuss, he checked the time—past 11. If he rushed back, he'd worry about her. After a moment's thought, he pulled back the covers and climbed in.
Before he could reach out to pull her close, the girl pressed against him softly, her little arms wrapping around his neck, her whole body crawling up...
Shen Xiaoxing was already used to her restless sleeping habits. He bent down and kissed the top of her head. "This isn't about not being used to the bed—it's about missing me."
He tugged the covers over them both. After a long day of company work and a night of taking care of this kitten, he was exhausted. Holding her, he could finally get a good night's sleep.