Zhang Jingchan acted as if he hadn’t heard, bending down with his sweater rolled up to his elbows, arranging the edges and corners of the blanket, tucking everything in tightly and securely. Li Weiyi watched with a heart full of sourness and said: “There’s no need… I can do it myself.”

“With your clumsy hands and feet?” Zhang Jingchan’s tone was flat. “Every time I travel back, the blanket isn’t folded and the sheets aren’t smoothed either.”

Li Weiyi: “…”

After he finally straightened every wrinkle, Li Weiyi thought he would leave this time. Instead, he stood there for a while, his eyes dark and brooding, then asked: “Do you have hot water? The kettle in my room is broken.”

“Oh.” Li Weiyi didn’t suspect anything and hurried to bring over the boiled water. She also took a cup and filled it for him. “I’ve scalded both the kettle and cup twice. They haven’t been used yet.”

He glanced at her and said: “Thank you.”

The room was already narrow. Zhang Jingchan sat down in the only chair, took the teacup, lowered his head and eyes, blew on it, took a small sip, set down the cup, and sat there with a calm expression.

Li Weiyi: “…”

She had no choice but to sit on the edge of the bed diagonally across from him and say: “Why don’t you take this kettle of water back to your room to drink? I’ve had enough, I don’t need it.”

Zhang Jingchan said: “No need. I’ll leave once I finish drinking.”

Li Weiyi: “Oh…”

Li Weiyi looked down at the bedsheet, her fingers tracing a few circles. She had to make small talk: “Is your room cold?”

Zhang Jingchan had one hand resting on his leg and the other placed on the small tea table. Even sitting in such a cramped and shabby chair, he managed to project an air of commanding presence.

Then he answered: “Very cold.”

Li Weiyi suddenly didn’t know how to respond. She felt that ever since this guy Zhang Jingchan had torn off all pretense and forcibly kissed her three times, the distinguished president had already stopped caring about face.

Both were quiet for a while when Zhang Jingchan said: “You…” Li Weiyi’s phone ringtone suddenly rang. As feared, the two characters “Xu Yi” on the screen once again leaped into both their views.

Li Weiyi didn’t want to answer, but she knew this was unfair to Xu Yi. He knew nothing.

She looked up at Zhang Jingchan, hoping he would tactfully leave to avoid awkwardness. Who knew that at this moment, Zhang Jingchan picked up his teacup and drank slowly, as if the plain boiled water in his hand were premium Longjing tea. Li Weiyi looked at his slightly curved neck and felt this person had performed the phrase “turning a deaf ear” quite convincingly.

Li Weiyi still braced herself to speak: “How about… you go back to your room first?”

The phone kept ringing.

Zhang Jingchan’s fingers gripped the teacup. Without looking at her, staring at the water in his hand, he said slowly: “Li Weiyi, my water… isn’t finished yet.”

Li Weiyi closed her mouth.

She absolutely didn’t want to press the “answer” button again and face another hellish scene. The phone rang for a long, long time before finally falling silent.

Li Weiyi sighed and said: “Satisfied now?”

Zhang Jingchan didn’t answer at all. He sat steadily and drank three more cups. After confirming the phone wouldn’t ring again, he stood up and said: “I’m leaving.”

Li Weiyi was both angry and amused, watching him leave with such righteous propriety.

She lay back on the bed, looking at the several missed calls on her phone, her mood extremely complicated. Finally, she simply tossed her phone aside.

——

Xu Yi arrived at the inn entrance by car after 2 AM.

Deep in the night, the entire street was quiet without even a single dog. He didn’t get out of the car immediately but leaned back and smoked a cigarette before going to knock on the inn’s door.

The inn’s night attendant was a young woman who had long been sound asleep. Being woken up, she was initially angry, but upon seeing Xu Yi at the door, she froze.

The visitor wore a camel-gray cashmere coat with an impeccable suit underneath, refined and handsome with warm eyes and brows. A BMW X7 was parked at the door.

The attendant’s voice became several degrees more polite: “Boss, in the middle of the night, what can I do for you?”

Xu Yi smiled: “May I come in to talk?”

The attendant quickly led him to the old sofa in the entrance hall and even poured him hot water in a disposable paper cup. Xu Yi accepted it with both hands: “Thank you. I came in such a hurry because I want to ask you about two people.”

The young woman was stunned.

Xu Yi continued gently: “A man and a woman. They arrived around 10 PM last night. This is a photo of the woman.” He took out his phone showing a photo of himself with Li Weiyi and showed it to her, then asked: “Can you tell me which room they’re staying in?”

The woman hesitated: “This… we’re not supposed to say.”

Xu Yi said: “It’s alright.” He took out his wallet, casually pulled out a stack of bills, stuffed them in her hand, and asked: “How many rooms did they book?”

The woman glanced at the money in her hand and answered with lowered head: “Two rooms.”

Xu Yi smiled. He pulled out another thicker stack of bills, added them, and said in a low voice: “I arrived late. My girlfriend’s room should have two keycards. She forgot to tell you—give me the other keycard.”