The hotel lobby was noisy. Lin Xi glanced at the torrential rain outside the window. Duan Yiheng pressed down on their suitcases and made a decision: "Let's go to a hotel further away." He was about to turn around when Lin Xi grabbed his arm.
"Never mind, let's just make do for one night," Lin Xi tried to appear natural and not embarrassed. "The weather's terrible, and it's not safe on the road."
Duan Yiheng gripped the handle of the suitcase: "Let's go then, that couple just came down."
Lin Xi had already seen them; they looked like college students. After completing the formalities, the four of them went upstairs together. Lin Xi felt uncomfortable being stared at by the girl and raised her hand to adjust her long hair.
The girl moved closer to Lin Xi and whispered in her ear with a smile, "Your boyfriend is so handsome."
Her voice wasn't quiet, and there were other people in the elevator, all looking at Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng.
"We're not—"
"Thank you." Duan Yiheng put his arm around Lin Xi's shoulder from behind, interrupting her denial.
The girl smiled like an aunt, unable to resist glancing at Duan Yiheng several times. Her boyfriend, a little jealous, pinched her chin and turned her back.
Lin Xi's damp shoulder pressed against Duan Yiheng's chest, feeling his warmth seep onto her face.
The couple's room was on the 11th floor. After exiting the elevator, they turned right, walked through a corridor, and finally stopped at the second-to-last room at the end.
The door was ajar, and someone was tidying up inside.
The girl said, "My friend is tidying up our things. You can call someone to clean after you go in."
Duan Yiheng had already told the front desk about this. He glanced at the boy, who handed him the payment QR code, which Duan Yiheng scanned to complete the transaction.
The couple received a "huge sum," their eyes gleaming with excitement, though they tried their best to suppress it. They said goodbye, and just then, the housekeeping staff came upstairs.
Duan Yiheng glanced at his watch and said, "Lunch ends at 2:30 here, we still have some time, shall we go to the cafeteria?"
Lin Xi was already starving and readily agreed. The two went downstairs again to the buffet. Duan Yiheng went back and forth several times, picking up all of Lin Xi's favorite foods. She was taken aback and stared at him.
"What's wrong? Is it not good?"
Lin Xi shook her head: "It seems like everything is my favorite."
Duan Yiheng chuckled: "We've eaten together many times, I know what Sister Mei's cooking is like. You prefer sweet and sour, and you can also eat slightly spicy food."
Lin Xi hummed in agreement: "You prefer bland food."
Duan Yiheng: "It's a habit I developed when I was little." He couldn't change it now.
The two chatted as they ate, afraid of saying something that might cause an awkward silence. Especially since they would be alone in the room later, they unconsciously tried to find something to talk about.
"We were lucky today; someone was willing to give up their room. When you came back, you looked hesitant, and I thought there weren't any rooms available," Duan Yiheng chuckled. It was clearly the power of money.
He echoed, "You were lucky."
The negotiation went smoothly, and Lin Xi agreed to a room.
"Before..." Lin Xi hesitated slightly, "people misunderstood our relationship. Why didn't you explain?"
Duan Yiheng asked her, "You wanted to explain that I'm your boss and you're my secretary?" Lin Xi was speechless; she understood.
Explaining would only cause more gossip. After dinner, the two returned to their room. The cleaning staff had already left. They swiped their cards to open the door, and the air was filled with a faint mixture of disinfectant and fragrance.
Silence and awkwardness followed.
This hotel was considered one of the best in the area, but the good rooms were all on the upper floors. The young couple were still students, so they chose a room on the eleventh floor—a middle floor with a clear view of the entire floor.
In the center was a 1.8-meter-wide bed, and to the south was a narrow two-seater sofa and a coffee table. Opposite the coffee table against the wall was a desk. The bathroom was right by the entrance, and Lin Xi stood in the hallway outside, a full-length mirror behind her.
Lin Xi took two steps forward: "I don't know if this sofa is suitable for sleeping?" The room was dimly lit, so Duan Yiheng turned on all the lights and drew the curtains halfway open in front of the French windows. The torrential rain blurred the view outside.
Hearing Lin Xi's question, he turned and said, "Lie down and see."
Lin Xi knew it was impossible just by looking, but since Duan Yiheng had said so, she had no choice but to lie down. She found it fit her height perfectly. But it was too narrow.
Duan Yiheng walked over, looking down at her: "Is it comfortable?" Lin Xi shook her head. Duan Yiheng held out his hand to her: "Get up."
Lin Xi offered her her hand, and he pulled her up. "If you mind, I can sit on the sofa."
Duan Yiheng said. Sit all night? How could she stand that? Now that they were inside, Lin Xi stopped being coy: "It's okay, this bed is big, we can each have half."
Duan Yiheng's gaze passed over her shoulder and landed on the bathroom glass on the north side of the bed. "I'm going out for a smoke."
He waved his phone and cigarette pack at Lin Xi. "You go take a shower first."
Lin Xi had been thinking about how to bring up the topic of showering since she entered the room, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Duan Yiheng mentioned it.
"I'll try to be quick."
"Okay." Duan Yiheng replied, opening the door and leaving. He went to the elevator corridor separating the east and west sides; at the end was the smoking area, where several people, men and women, were sitting on the sofas.
Duan Yiheng went in, feeling in his casual pants pocket—no lighter.
He shook his head and chuckled, his thoughts returning to the room, when suddenly a flame appeared before his eyes. Duan Yiheng glanced sideways as a strikingly beautiful woman smiled and lit his cigarette. "Sir, please."
Duan Yiheng took a half-step back, his expression turning cold. "No need."
"You and that lady aren't a couple, are you?" the woman asked with a smile, making it clear. Duan Yiheng pretended not to understand her purpose, maintaining his composure, his gaze concealed as he left the smoking area.
Half an hour later, Lin Xi called, and Duan Yiheng returned to the room.
She had wet hair and wore a white lace-trimmed round-neck loungewear set. A unique jasmine scent filled the air—Lin Xi's own shampoo fragrance.
A few strands of hair clung to Lin Xi's fair, jade-like neck. Duan Yiheng's fingertips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to brush them away.
Alone, a man and a woman, Lin Xi avoided his gaze and said softly, "I'm going to dry my hair." Duan Yiheng responded, opened his suitcase, and prepared clothes for his shower.
Ten minutes later, only the ends of Lin Xi's hair were still slightly damp. She came out of the bathroom and said to Duan Yiheng, "Go take a shower, I'm going out for a walk."
"Don't go out," Duan Yiheng stood up to stop her. "There are all sorts of people in hotels, I'm worried."
Especially after showering, with her face so fresh and clean, there's no guarantee someone wouldn't get their hands on her. Lin Xi stopped and slowly turned towards the bedside.
Duan Yiheng chuckled, "You rest first, do you think I'm afraid you'll peek at me showering?"
"Who's peeking at you showering?" Lin Xi retorted hastily, "You can't see through the glass." She could only make out a blurry silhouette, but that was embarrassing enough.
Duan Yiheng went into the bathroom, a smile still on his lips, but as the steam filled the air, his smile vanished.
The small bathroom, smaller than their bathroom at home, was filled with Lin Xi's fragrance. She took off her clothes there, closed her eyes, and washed her hair, the shower gel lathering on her body.
Duan Yiheng, his eyes closed, was filled with lewd thoughts. He let out a soft sigh and turned down the water temperature.
Lin Xi lay on one side of the bed, her back to the glass wall. Hearing the sound of water, the tips of her ears silently turned red.
After a while, the bathroom door opened, and she abruptly closed her eyes…pretending to be asleep.