Chapter Twenty-Nine

The next morning, Luan Mingfeng groggily got out of bed, half-closing his eyes as he walked into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, and the water droplets on his face sobered him up a bit. Suddenly remembering what had happened the night before, he broke out in a cold sweat. He had truly drunk himself into a stupor, actually letting her apologize to Zhao Jian.

He didn't even bother to dry himself off before rushing out of the bathroom and picking up his phone to call Zuo Xutong.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hey, where are you?"

"At the company." Zuo Xutong arrived at the lab at eight o'clock and was conducting battery tests.

"I'm sorry, I drank too much last night," he paused slightly, then asked softly with a hint of probing and caution, "Um... are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Zuo Xutong's tone was unusually calm, without any discernible emotional fluctuation.

Luan Mingfeng even suspected that his memory was faulty. Could it be that nothing happened last night, and it was just a dream?

Anyway, he finally felt relieved and said with a smile, "I have a dinner party this afternoon, and I'll inevitably have to drink a few drinks. Can you come and drive me?"

“President Luan, I think what you need is a driver, not an assistant,” Zuo Xutong said bluntly.

Luan Mingfeng certainly had a driver; he was only doing this to create an opportunity for the two of them. So he ignored her suggestion and continued, "It's hard to get a taxi there. Come with me."

Before the other party could respond, he made arrangements without further explanation: "I'll pick you up from the company at four o'clock this afternoon."

In the afternoon, when Luan Mingfeng saw Zuo Xutong, she looked perfectly normal. Her expression and tone when she spoke to him were impeccable. Luan Mingfeng stared at her face for a long time but couldn't find any clues. Could it be that she didn't care about what happened last night at all?

In his memory, Zuo Xutong was a person with extremely strong self-esteem. But that was seven or eight years ago; now, she had long since developed a deep and calculating nature, never showing her emotions.

Luan Mingfeng drove a blue-gray SUV today, and Zuo Xutong fell asleep against the window after getting in. She didn't get home until after 3 a.m. last night and was back in the lab at 8 a.m. sharp, only getting a little over three hours of sleep in between. The reason she was working so hard was to finish the project before Chao Ma.

After the car left the city, it drove smoothly through the mountains for another hour. When she woke up, she found herself on a mountaintop, surrounded by mountains. They were on a winding mountain road on their way down.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

“Macedonia Resort.” Luan Mingfeng said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead and gripping the steering wheel, “We’ve already left Longjin City.”

Zuo Xutong looked at the sun gradually setting in the west and frowned slightly: "My eyesight isn't very good, and I'm not good at driving at night. I can manage on flat ground, but if it's a dark mountain road, I suggest you buy more insurance before you get in the car."

"Don't worry, we're not going back tonight," Luan Mingfeng said casually.

"Not going back? Then why did you bring me here?"

"Everyone brought their partners, I can't just come here all alone."

"You have so many girlfriends, why do you have to choose me?"

“Those are all in the past. I’m single now.” Luan Mingfeng emphasized the second half of his sentence, but unfortunately, the other person only noticed the first half.

“You’ve probably forgotten, haven’t you? I’m also a thing of the past for you,” Zuo Xutong said.

Luan Mingfeng remained awkwardly silent for a while, then said helplessly, "I had no choice back then."

Zuo Xutong nodded and said from the bottom of her heart, "I never thought I would thank your parents one day. If they hadn't insisted on sending you abroad, how could we have broken up right after graduating from university?"

Luan Mingfeng's face suddenly darkened, and he turned to stare at her: "You mean, you're actually quite glad you broke up with me?"

Zuo Xutong smiled and patiently explained, "Don't misunderstand, what I mean is that it's a good thing for you to leave me sooner rather than later, since I'm neither gentle nor considerate and not good at understanding people."

She felt like a schizophrenic, her attitude towards Luan Mingfeng constantly oscillating between dislike and ingratiation, because he held the guillotine of power, and that blade hung over her head, ready to fall at any moment. If she didn't demonstrate a high degree of cooperation, she feared she would never have a chance to rise above her circumstances.

After hearing her words, Luan Mingfeng's expression indeed brightened. Zuo Xutong sneered inwardly. This world was too distorted, forcing honest people to develop the ability to be eloquent and flattering. She herself had now reached a state of invulnerability and equanimity.

Yes, what does face matter? She couldn't understand why she had valued it so much before. It's intangible, colorless, and invisible; you can make others grateful without spending a penny. Why hide it away like a treasure? Why not just give it to them? It's a highly profitable business! Now, her only task is to please Luan Mingfeng so he'll allow her free access to the lab.

It was almost 6 p.m. when we arrived at our destination. Macedonian Mountain Lodge is built halfway up a mountain. It is a three-story castle-style hotel connected to a large organic farm behind the mountain. There is a small garden outside the hotel, and several exquisite tents are scattered on the lawn in front of the garden.

"You can camp here?"

"That's provided free of charge to guests by the hotel. The altitude here is quite high, and you can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. If you're interested, we can go in for tea and watch the sunset later," Luan Mingfeng said with a smile.

“I’m not interested,” she quickly replied.

After having dinner with a group of strangers, Zuo Xutong went her separate ways. Only then did she start thinking about where to stay for the night.

As if reading her mind, Luan Mingfeng said calmly, "Our room is upstairs."

When Zuo Xutong went upstairs, she found that he had only booked one room. It was an executive suite, which had a bedroom and a living room, but there was only a double bed in the bedroom. Even if Zuo Xutong was stupid, she understood his good intentions in tricking her into coming here.

"It's too stuffy inside, I'll sleep outside." With that, she grabbed a pillow from the bed and quickly fled the room, not even bothering to take the blanket.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the lawn was deserted. Zuo Xutong chose the most secluded tent. To avoid mosquito bites, she didn't turn on any lights. In the complete darkness, she sat in the tent, gazing at the inky shadows of the distant mountains. She was surrounded by greenery, and the croaking of frogs rose and fell. The mountain night was a bit chilly, so she could only hug her pillow for warmth. After a while, drowsiness came over her. She crawled into the tent, using the pillow she had managed to snag as a pillow, and lay down on her side.

In her hazy state of consciousness, she suddenly heard a rustling sound of footsteps. She opened her eyes and saw a dark figure standing outside the tent. She was instantly wide awake, all sleepiness gone.

Zuo Xutong sat up in surprise. Just as she was about to ask who was outside, the dark figure spoke first: "Finally found you."

Luan Mingfeng lifted the tent flap. The space inside was cramped, so he had to bend over and squeeze in. He then sat down next to her, but had to lean slightly, his shoulder inadvertently brushing against hers. In the crowded tent, their breaths mingled, creating an eerily suffocating atmosphere.

He didn't speak, but turned to look at her face, his eyes filled with an uncontrollable longing, like a beast ready to pounce at any moment.

"You know what? I've never been able to forget you all these years." His hand climbed up to her face.

Before Zuo Xutong could utter a sound, his kiss pressed down on her, silencing all her voices. She tried to push him away, but found herself unable to move at all. His arm was like a heavy lock, tightly binding her. She suddenly remembered the laboratory he had locked, and could only slowly close her eyes and take a deep breath.

After a few seconds, she struggled to free one arm and pressed down on the hands that were roaming freely over her body, suppressing the urge to slap him. She remained in that position, like a still statue, until her heart was as calm as a meditating monk, before she calmly said, "Mr. Luan, I haven't showered for half a month. The skin's metabolic cycle is 28 days. If you like rubbing my dead skin so much, I'll scrub you clean with a bucket of it next time I shower."

Unexpectedly, after hearing her words, the other person not only did not let go, but also buried his head in her neck and laughed: "Zuo Xutong, are you deliberately trying to disgust me? Why are you still the same as before? Every time you don't want to be intimate with me, it's either because you have your period or you haven't showered. I used to wonder why your period came so frequently, two or three times a month. Do you have any other new tricks?"

Luan Mingfeng chuckled, his body trembling as he leaned on her shoulder, making her feel itchy all over. Her patience was on the verge of collapse. She knew that Luan Mingfeng was no longer the innocent boy he once was, and that she could easily become the prey of this master womanizer.

When he stopped laughing and leaned closer, she hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, um, I don't like having sex in the wild. How about... I go back and take a shower first, give me the room key, and I'll call you when I'm done." Of course, this was undoubtedly a delaying tactic. In this godforsaken place, if he tried to force himself on her, given his family's influence in the area and their previous ambiguous relationship, even if it went to court, she would have no way to defend herself.

She could fawn over him, flatter him, and be insincere with him, but she had absolute boundaries that could not be crossed. Besides, how could one let the same branch trip them up twice, especially one so rotten it was blackened?

“Okay.” Luan Mingfeng readily agreed, letting go of her arm. He thought to himself that she couldn’t escape tonight anyway, since she couldn’t even hail a taxi in this godforsaken place.

Zuo Xutong took the room key from Luan Mingfeng, forced a smile that could barely be called gentle, got up, crawled out of the tent, and headed towards the hotel. Her pace quickened, until she almost ran into the hotel. The room was on the third floor. Once outside the elevator, the corridor was eerily quiet, save for the sound of her hurried, heavy footsteps.

She found the executive suite, quickly swiped her card to open the door, and went straight to the bedside table drawer, where the car keys were indeed kept. Seven years had passed, and his bad habit hadn't changed.

Without a second thought, Zuo Xutong grabbed her car keys, closed the door, and rushed to the elevator. When she reached the elevator, she saw someone press the button for the first floor. Her heart pounded. What if Luan Mingfeng came upstairs at that moment? They would definitely run into each other. Thinking of this, cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She glanced around and quickly hid in the nearby emergency exit, peering through the glass window of the emergency door to observe the situation.

A moment later, the elevator doors slowly opened, and Luan Mingfeng stepped out, a faint smile playing on his lips. Watching his retreating figure, Zuo Xutong's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Forcing herself to remain calm, she disregarded her fear and turned without hesitation, running down the stairs. Reaching the lobby, she lied, claiming she had found a room key, tossed it to the front desk, and then ran out of the hotel, sprinting all the way to the parking lot.

With trembling hands, Zuo Xutong pulled out her keys, opened the car door, engaged the handbrake, and started the car. Although her body was shaking, all her movements were swift, clean, and seamless.

As the car drove out of the Macedonian mountain resort, she saw her pale face in the rearview mirror and realized that her palms were sweaty as she gripped the steering wheel. Her phone kept ringing, and she only slowly answered it five kilometers out of the resort.

"Hey, where did you go?" Luan Mingfeng hissed on the other end of the phone.

"Excuse me, Mr. Luan, something urgent has come up at home. I have to go now. Can I borrow your car for a bit? You can take a friend's car home tomorrow," Zuo Xutong said politely. The person on the other end of the phone nearly vomited blood in anger: "Zuo Xutong, you…"

Before Luan Mingfeng could finish speaking, Zuo Xutong hung up the phone and turned on the car's music. The soothing male bass voice blended with the sound of the car's engine, making her feel relaxed.