Zuo Baixuan didn't see it at all, focusing only on carefully walking to the master bedroom and opening the door. When she saw the battlefield wreckage inside, a shocked and shy expression appeared on her face, and Luan Yenan's lips already curled into a satisfied smile.
After putting down his coffee cup, Luan Yenan regained his composure and continued working on his computer while talking to Zuo Baixuan.
Zuo Baixuan bit her lip and lowered her head to ask, "Aren't you going to tidy up the room?"
Asking this question in such a hoarse voice makes it even more difficult to say.
"Later, when we leave, room service will come to tidy up. Or would you like to watch them tidy up?" Luan Yenan looked up.
Through the lenses, my gaze focused on Zuo Baixuan's flushed cheeks.
Zuo Baixuan pursed her lips, knowing that Luan Yenan was about to see right through her again.
Last night, I drank and told stories in the hope of being more open with Luan Yenan, but now I'm not open at all; instead, I feel even more embarrassed.
What kind of self-destructive behavior is this?
Zuo Baixuan resisted the urge to cover her face and walked to the kitchen. She calmly ladled out the porridge delivered by the hotel from the rice cooker, sat down at the dining table, and took a sip to moisten her throat.
After feeling a bit better, he asked, "Where are we going later?"
Luan Yenan took off her glasses and tossed her hair.
"Jiang Lingdan called me this morning."
Zuo Baixuan quickly lowered her head, realizing what she meant: "Sorry, but aren't you busy with work?"
"Busy," Luan Yenan replied.
Zuo Baixuan tightened her grip and said, "Then you don't have to come with me. I can go find her myself."
“But one of your dresses can’t be returned,” Luan Yenan said.
Why bring this up all of a sudden!
Suppressing her embarrassment and annoyance, Zuo Baixuan tried to drink her porridge slowly and deliberately.
Then she secretly looked up, trying to see Luan Yenan's exposed skin as he walked towards her.
Didn't I get any revenge on this person yesterday?
Damn it, it seems there really isn't one.
“I can buy it myself; this dress isn’t expensive,” Zuo Baixuan replied through gritted teeth.
"Chen Huanyu is with Jiang Lingdan, right?" Luan Yenan abruptly skipped over the previous topic and asked directly.
Zuo Baixuan truthfully replied, "Yes, Senior Chen came with us yesterday. Lingdan must have arranged the hotel for us."
“I haven’t been able to get in touch with Chen Huanyu. I didn’t have a chance to ask her when Jiang Lingdan called this morning. Now that she’s in Jiangcheng, I have something I want to talk to her about in person,” Luan Yennan said, sitting down opposite Zuo Baixuan and resting his chin on his hand.
But Luan Yenan is, after all, only human.
In a few movements, the weariness of not having slept all night was revealed in his eyes.
Unable to bear seeing her like this, Zuo Baixuan asked, "Why don't you take a nap? You look very tired."
"No, I'll take the last flight back to Beijing tonight and sleep on the plane. By the way, I got news this morning that the company is going public soon and we'll be ringing the bell. You have to come with us, so don't stay in Jiangcheng for too long." Luan Yenan said, her eyes blinking slowly, her eyelashes fluttering, but unable to shake off her fatigue.
Upon hearing this, Zuo Baixuan hurriedly said, "Then you should book tickets for me too, and I'll go back with you."
Luan Yenan tapped her fingers lightly on the table, slowing the pace of the conversation again. She smiled and said, "You don't need to be so ashamed that you run away just because the hotel staff cleaned up the messy room. You can always change rooms and book with your own ID."
"I didn't care about that kind of thing!" Zuo Baixuan couldn't hold back her embarrassment and anger, and it all burst out.
Luan Yenan chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and picked up his phone: "Oh, you don't mind? Then I'll have someone come up and clean it up. We'll go out after we're done."
Zuo Baixuan quickly pressed the button on her phone, biting her lip, her eyes filled with unspeakable resentment as she glared at Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
"There's no need to be so blatant in showing off our masterpiece to others!" Zuo Baixuan blurted out in anger, satisfying the lucid, perverse pleasure of the person in front of her.
Luan Yenan put down his phone with satisfaction and tilted his head to continue looking at Zuo Baixuan.
Not bad, at least they remember it was a joint "masterpiece".
Zuo Baixuan was sulking and stopped looking at her. As she finished her porridge, she mentally drew countless small circles, cursing this person.
I curse her... that she won't have any energy in bed next time!
Zuo Baixuan thought "malically".
"So, are you sure you want to come back to Beijing with me?" Luan Yenan asked again.
Zuo Baixuan answered seriously, "Yes. I came back with Lingdan because she was embarrassed to come back alone with Senior Chen, but yesterday we made it clear that it was fine for them to be alone together."
"On the other hand, the reason I agreed to skip work with Lingdan is because you haven't been back to China for too long. All the backlog of work at the company has been completed. My job is very repetitive and can be easily replaced by others. Now that you're going back, if I don't go back with you, wouldn't it be a waste of my time to undermine your work?"
Zuo Baixuan took a light breath.
Having experienced last night, it was much easier to open up than before.
But she still harbors a secret she can't tell anyone.
Her revenge plan had already begun, and she wasn't sure if Luan Yenan, a competent capitalist who prioritized company interests, would agree to it.
She couldn't take that risk, so she could only selfishly continue to keep it a secret.
Their battle of wits and courage with Luan Yenan can be considered a contest of their own abilities.
Zuo Baixuan comforted herself.
Luan Yennan looked at Zuo Baixuan without a trace of dissatisfaction, his eyes showing a hint of competence: "Okay."
After saying that, she took out her phone and booked a flight for Zuo Baixuan to travel with her.
Persuading Luan Yenan was indeed very easy.
Every time I mentally prepare myself, the worst-case scenario never actually occurs.
Zuo Baixuan picked up the bowl in front of her and continued drinking the porridge.
After Luan Yenan booked the plane tickets, Zuo Baixuan's porridge was already empty.
Luan Yenan made a phone call to Jiang Lingdan.
But it was Chen Huanyu who answered the phone.
"It's funny that you don't answer your own calls but instead answer Jiang Lingdan's." Luan Yenan's tone was full of dissatisfaction.
Chen Huanyu didn't care at all: "My phone is on silent, but hers is ringing."
"Where is the person who made the elixir?" Zuo Baixuan asked, leaning closer to her phone.
"Yes, yes... I'm just a little sleepy." Jiang Lingdan's soft voice drifted out from the receiver.
Luan Yenan then informed him: "I'll send you an address. See you in an hour."
Luan Yenan chose an address that was quite close to the store where she returned the dress. After paying for the dress, she went to the restaurant they had arranged to meet.
Jiang Lingdan and Chen Huanyu arrived first.
Jiang Lingdan was slumped over the table in the private room, looking exhausted.
Chen Huanyu, wearing a hood, attempted to conceal herself from the environment.
"After we finish this meal together, we'll take the last flight back to Beijing," Luan Yenan said as soon as he entered, getting straight to the point.
"Huh?! What?! Little Zuo'er, you can't do this! I promised to take you around to play, why did you go back?" Jiang Lingdan's drowsiness was suddenly interrupted, and she abruptly raised her head.
Chen Huanyu also looked at Luan Yenan from under her hood.
Luan Yenan also looked at Chen Huanyu and said, "It's okay to travel and relax, but don't let it distract you from your work."
Chen Huanyu's eyes and expression remained unchanged, but a faint blush appeared on her face, and her legs, hidden under the table, involuntarily tightened.
Jiang Lingdan then tugged at Zuo Baixuan's hand, sobbing, "But little Zuo, how can I concentrate on being a tour guide without you here!"
"Isn't there Senior Chen? Aren't you going to take her around and have some fun?" Zuo Baixuan asked back.
“What’s so fun outside? She’s so much fun, I don’t even want to go out and play,” Jiang Lingdan whispered to Zuo Baixuan.
Zuo Baixuan looked at Jiang Lingdan with an incredulous expression, as if asking, "Are you serious?"
Jiang Lingdan didn't answer; the dark circles under her eyes seemed to say it all.
She must have been playing some fun game last night.
"I have to say, Boss Luan is really amazing." Jiang Lingdan said, while secretly glancing at Luan Yenan.
Completely different from her, Luan Yenan had already recovered most of the fatigue from the previous night before coming to the restaurant. At this moment, he was full of energy and pulled Chen Huanyu to look at documents, as if he was preparing to force countless tasks on her before leaving.
Zuo Baixuan blushed as she listened to Jiang Lingdan. She was indeed impressive, but what nonsense was Jiang Lingdan spouting?
While Luan Yenan and Chen Huanyu still had important matters to attend to, Jiang Lingdan pretended to need to use the restroom and pulled Zuo Baixuan outside, asking, "Have you officially accepted Luan Yenan now?"
Zuo Baixuan's gaze wandered.
"No way? Not yet? Little Zuo'er, what are you thinking? You two have done everything you should and shouldn't have done... Hiss, no way? She didn't mark you? Is she impotent?" Jiang Lingdan almost couldn't keep her voice down.
Zuo Baixuan looked at her with a quiet gaze.
Jiang Lingdan then took a closer look at Zuo Baixuan. Her voice was hoarse during the day, and now her walking movements were also strange.
If Luan Yenan isn't good enough, then there's no one who is.
But Zuo Baixuan couldn't say that last night she had grabbed her and wanted her to mark her, but the other party didn't.
They clearly exchanged secrets, clearly...
But when I checked again in the morning and there were no marks, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Have I truly accepted Luan Yenan completely?
He must have accepted it, otherwise even if he was drunk or had a sudden attack during a fever, he wouldn't have shouted "Mark me" in that tone and manner.
I still haven't accepted myself.
Perhaps Luan Yenan had already noticed all of this.
Zuo Baixuan looked at Jiang Lingdan and smiled, "Don't worry about us. We're too busy right now, it's impossible to have a baby right now. Let's talk about it later."
"..." Jiang Lingdan was also surprised that Zuo Baixuan suddenly brought up the matter of the child.
Tsk, why bother worrying about it? This young couple just loves their petty squabbles.
But thinking back on my experiences with Chen Huanyu during this time, what could be more fun than the butterflies in my stomach during the ambiguous period of a relationship?