Chapter 40 "I can't bear to see you being seen by them"...
The butler dared not disobey Xu Shaoting's orders and hurriedly came out of the manor to greet him, running all the way to the guard post and leading Alpha to the front gate of the manor.
"Miss Wen, I'm afraid Chairman Xu won't be able to come back today."
Wen Jia leaned against Kai Qing's chest, her steps unsteady, a hazy, drunken smile on her face, though it was unclear what she was laughing at. She waved her hand dismissively.
“I know, that’s why I came.”
"I'm here to see if he has any other women outside."
"Does your young master usually bring other women home?"
How often do you bring one back on average?
Should she stay in the master bedroom or the guest bedroom?
Wen Jia rambled on and on, her thoughts running wild. She leaned close to the butler and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped. I definitely won't tell anyone."
Several servants stood by, heads bowed, not daring to answer, nor to look at her drunken state, nor to listen to her ramblings.
They were all secretly relieved that the young master wasn't there and couldn't hear her words.
Yu Kaiqing helped Wen Jia up and gave the housekeeper a sheepish smile. "I'm really sorry... she's drunk, very drunk, and quite difficult to handle." Then she tried to maintain Wen Jia's image as a female celebrity, "She's not usually like this."
She's really hard to handle when she's drunk. If it's just her hands and feet causing trouble, Yu Kaiqing could still stop her with her strength. But her body is very well-behaved. What's difficult to deal with is her mouth. She likes to talk nonsense without any restraint. No one knows what she will say next that will make others speechless, or whether she'll say something completely serious.
The butler maintained a respectful smile throughout, bowing slightly to her, "It's alright, Mr. Xu said Miss Wen can stay at the manor tonight."
Upon hearing this, Wen Jia's eyes lit up, and she casually tossed her handbag aside, saying, "Even if Xu Shaoting hadn't said anything, I was going to stay here."
The butler thoughtfully added, "The bathtub in the master bedroom is already filled with water for you; you can go straight there..."
Wen Jia interrupted him with a flick of her hand, "I don't want to stay in the master bedroom. Xu Shaoting isn't here, it's so boring in the master bedroom. I want to stay in the room he saved for me..."
The housekeeper smiled knowingly, walked up to Yu Kaiqing, and led them toward the spiral staircase.
The room prepared for her was cleaned and maintained by servants every day. Although no one lived there, the sheets were changed regularly. The door was opened by the housekeeper. Wen Jia walked unsteadily to the soft bed, buried her face in the pillow, and took a deep breath. The soft fabric was wrapped in a faint fragrance, and a warmth filled her nose. She exhaled the breath with satisfaction.
Yu Kaiqing looked around the room, her mouth agape. Even though it was just the second bedroom, the luxurious decor left her speechless. She glanced at the person lying crookedly on the bed and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?"
The head on the pillow nodded heavily.
Yu Kaiqing couldn't persuade her otherwise, and luckily she didn't have any plans for tomorrow. She simply dragged her out of bed, helped her take a shower, changed her into the bathrobe brought by the maid, tucked her into bed carefully, and finally tossed her her phone.
"You can sleep well here tonight. If you wake up in the middle of the night and want to go back to the villa, call me and the driver will come pick you up."
After giving her instructions, she turned to leave, but Wen Jia grabbed her hand. The latter, with her eyes half-open, mumbled three words indistinctly.
Yu Kaiqing: "..."
"Chairman Xu won't be back for several more days."
Wen Jia let out a sad "hmm," fumbled around on the sheets, found her phone, forced her eyelids open, and made a video call to Xu Shaoting without saying a word.
The default ringtone rang for almost a minute before being answered. Wen Jia looked closely and saw that the other party's screen was completely dark. She grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you turn on your camera? Xu Shaoting."
"I'm busy."
"When are you finally going to finish your work... Can't you come back sooner... I really thought you'd come back as soon as I said I missed you, you liar."
He deliberately didn't answer, but just looked at her flushed cheeks and hazy eyes on the screen, "Are you drunk?"
"No, I didn't," she stubbornly insisted.
"Xu Shaoting, your bed is so comfortable."
"If you like it, you can move in right away."
"No way, it's beneath me to live with my boyfriend so early..." she murmured.
Xu Shaoting's soft chuckle came through the receiver, "Living with whom?"
"Hmm...boyfriend..." she said, lying on her side, so she seemed a little dazed and confused. She didn't even realize she had fallen into his trap, and only knew to go along with what he said.
"Why aren't you turning on your camera... What are you busy with? Are you seeing other women...?"
No one expected it to happen so coincidentally. As soon as those words were spoken, a flight attendant emerged from behind the curtain on the private jet, "Chairman Xu..."
Xu Shaoting's brows furrowed instantly; he had never been so panicked before. If she were sober, he could still explain, but now that she was drunk, even white could turn black. He quickly covered the phone receiver, lowered his voice, and spoke to the flight attendant with some impatience.
"Go back first, we don't need you here for now."
There was hardly any noise around the manor all year round, and the room was very quiet at the moment. Wen Jia pricked up her ears to listen.
Xu Shaoting is very suspicious tonight.
This was the only thing Wen Jia had been thinking about since she got drunk. The cameras were off, she spoke very little, and when asked, she said she was busy. There was also a woman's voice nearby.
She frowned, her eyelashes half-concealing her unfocused pupils, and suddenly laughed, "You cheated on me."
"..."
"I knew it, why didn't you turn on the camera? Hmm... Zhou Jingcheng was right..." She slowly closed her eyes, whether genuinely heartbroken or feigning it was hard to tell. "It's a good thing you weren't coming back today, otherwise it would have been so embarrassing to run into you..."
"..."
"You just let me move in, Xu Shaoting, what are you up to?"
"..."
On the private jet, Xu Shaoting closed his eyelids, leaned back in his seat, and let out a heavy sigh.
Half a minute later, when he looked down at his phone again, the video had disappeared, leaving only a lonely chat box. He typed a few words, patiently coaxing her, and sent it.
The next second, his fingertips stopped completely.
A bright red exclamation mark was reflected directly in his pupils.
"..."
In the bedroom, Wen Jia sighed and tossed her phone aside. She wasn't asleep; instead, she stared blankly at the ceiling.
-
Bombardier crossed the terminator, traveling from west to east, traversing a seven-hour time difference, eight countries, and the entire Eurasian continent, before finally landing at Linzhou International Airport.
It's 5 a.m. local time.
The Maybach was already waiting. Xu Shaoting slowly stepped off the plane, handing his coat to Lin Youzhe as he walked towards the car. His first words after getting off the plane were:
How is she?
"The housekeeper said that they were making a fuss in the room at first, but now they're quiet, so they must have gone to sleep."
Xu Shaoting curled his lips into a smile. "What's all the fuss about?"
Lin Youzhe pursed his lips, glanced at him, and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Just say it."
"The housekeeper said that Miss Wen called each of the maids into her room one by one and asked them questions..."
"What do you want to ask?"
"They're asking about your past relationships... and... your private life."
Lin Youzhe said this after careful consideration and polishing, because he dared not repeat the exact words Miss Wen asked, nor could the butler answer them.
At 5:30 a.m., the Maybach drove into the manor. Xu Shaoting got out of the car without waiting for the butler to open the door for him.
He hurried up the spiral staircase.
"Young master, would you like some midnight snacks?"
"No need, you go and rest."
Xu Shaoting had already stepped onto the spiral staircase. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around, crossed his arms, leaned against the handrail, and leisurely looked down at the servants.
"What did she ask you just now? Tell me exactly what she said."
When I stepped into the second bedroom, the room was completely dark, with the curtains drawn tightly, preventing even the silvery moonlight from getting in.
The sheet was slightly arched, making her appear a little smaller than usual when she slept.
Xu Shaoting hadn't changed into his pajamas; he was still wearing a black shirt, dark tie, and black trousers, looking neat and tidy. He turned on the bedside lamp and glanced down at the person on the bed.
Wen Jia slept peacefully, curled up on her side like a baby, breathing lightly, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, her long eyelashes tightly closed. Several hours had passed, but one cheek was still flushed pink.
Perhaps sensing the sudden light, Wen Jia subtly shifted her body. Her consciousness was only one-tenth clear, and she couldn't distinguish whether the light was real or not, thus pulling her out of her dream.
He muttered three words under his breath.
Perhaps she herself couldn't hear it clearly, but Xu Shaoting heard it perfectly.
After five days of non-stop travel in Switzerland, my mind and body suddenly relaxed in that instant.
The man stood by the bed with his arms crossed, a warm and tender emotion filling his chest, making his heart tighten and engulfing him. He gently lifted the person out of the covers.
In a daze, Wen Jia felt a deep kiss on her forehead in her sleep.
She wasn't sleeping very soundly, so she could feel the gentle touch on her forehead and her body suddenly being lifted into the air.
He slowly opened his eyes, and it took him almost a minute to regain consciousness.
By the time she could see the scene before her, Xu Shaoting had already carried her into the master bedroom.
Xu Shaoting looked at her dazed expression and chuckled, "Still half asleep?"
Wen Jia slowly reached out a hand to touch his face. "Am I still dreaming? It feels so real."
Xu Shaoting placed the person on the bed, saying, "It's not a dream."
She rubbed her eyes again, "I'm drunk, I'm probably still hungover."
Xu Shaoting kissed her, "You're awake now."
She reached out and touched his face again, blinking slowly. "Kaiqing, missing someone to a certain extent seems to really cause hallucinations..."
Xu Shaoting gently stroked the bridge of her nose. "It's not a hallucination."
Wen Jia's eyes were still sleepy, but her expression was focused, as if she wanted to imprint the man deeply in her pupils. In the past few days, she had imagined countless times the scene of him suddenly appearing in front of her, but because she felt it was impossible, she only imagined it.
Her mind was filled with a paradoxical mix of sweetness and disbelief. She made a soft "mmm" sound, hooked her arms around his neck, and sat up. She couldn't wait to press her lips to his, feeling the soft and real touch before slowly pulling away. Looking at his features so close to hers, she called his name.
He responded in a low voice, nose to nose, and as she listened, she felt a deep resonance in his ear.
Why did you suddenly come back?
"Unhappy?"
Wen Jia smiled slightly, "I'm so happy, it's just so sudden."
“Didn’t you say that if I missed you, I would fly back to see you?” Xu Shaoting stared intently at her.
She feigned hurt, "You didn't agree, I thought you wouldn't..."
"I will," he answered firmly, gently stroking her flushed face with his fingertips. "Why are you so drunk today?"
"It's all because of someone..."
Xu Shaoting deliberately asked, "Which 'someone'?"
"I hate you, you're asking a question you already know the answer to."
She moved closer to him and rested her chin on his shoulder.
A bittersweet feeling spread deep within her. The five days of separation suddenly seemed to solidify into an invisible glass wall, and when he suddenly appeared on the other side of that wall, she still felt it was unreal and hugged him tightly.
"I have no idea."
"It's all because of you."
"Because of what?" he asked intriguingly.
"Because I miss you."
"Isn't it because I cheated on you?"
"Isn't it because I bring other women home every day and let her sleep in the master bedroom?"
"Isn't it because I like to flirt with other female celebrities?"
"Isn't it because of my messy private life?"
"..."
Wen Jia lowered her eyelashes, biting her lip tightly, not daring to listen to what he was saying.
"Chairman Xu, your servants can't keep their mouths shut."
“If they had kept their mouths shut,” Xu Shaoting said, his eyes darkening, “I wouldn’t have known I was seen this way by you.”
"I'm drunk, don't hold it against me..." Wen Jia said coquettishly. She was a little more sober now, so she knew this trick was the most effective and had never failed her.
It worked; Xu Shaoting didn't pursue the matter further. However, it wasn't entirely effective because he turned his attention to another matter.
Why did you delete me on WeChat?
Wen Jia's internal alarm bells went off without warning. She didn't dare to look him in the eye. After a long pause, she stammered, "...When I'm drunk, I like to delete people to play with."
“I asked Lin Youzhe, and he said you didn’t delete him.”
"..."
She muttered, "I told him to resign a long time ago, but he wouldn't listen..."
"What?"
“…It’s nothing,” she said with a forced smile, quickly changing the subject, “When did you decide to come back?”
"When you said you missed me for the first time today."
"Well..." she pondered, "weren't you already on the plane when I video-called you?"
"Where did this woman come from?"
The room remained quiet for a while.
"Airline stewardess."
He never had the habit of proactively explaining things to others, but at this moment he readily admitted, "It's arranged by the childcare company. If you're not happy about it, I'll use men next time."
“…I’d be happy to,” she said, picking up the water glass from the bedside table and taking a sip discreetly. “Girls are meticulous…”
"What do you think it is?"
Wen Jia choked back sobs, "I can't say it."
Xu Shaoting mercifully refrained from asking further questions, and gently stroked her soft hair with one hand.
It was the touch he had longed for countless times.
Wen Jiajiu was fully awake. She crawled into bed, peeked out with her eyes, and asked, "Have you finished your business?"
"Not yet," he said truthfully.
"So you rushed back here today especially for me?"
"Um."
"Is it just for me?"
“Yes,” Xu Shaoting answered firmly. He took off his watch, placed it on the bedside table, and looked at her intently. “So I will be going back soon.”
Wen Jia's joy was short-lived, quickly turning to disappointment: "When?"
"Maybe tomorrow."
That night, the two didn't go to sleep until they saw the morning light filtering through the gauze window. Since the last time, there had been a small box in his bedside drawer, but it still hadn't been used.
It wasn't a time when she was absolutely safe, and he didn't want her to take any risks. It was also too hasty; he wouldn't allow their relationship to start so hastily and end so abruptly.
Despite this, Wen Jia still repeatedly stood on the clouds, in every corner.
Her voice was broken and fragmented; she opened her mouth, but the man kissed her again, and she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window,
She pleaded, almost in tears, "Someone's passing by outside..."
“One-way glass,” Xu Shaoting chuckled softly, “I can’t bear to see you being seen.”
In the end, she couldn't even recover. Her eyes were closed, her consciousness was scattered, and she was sobbing and panting in his arms. Xu Shaoting patiently stroked her back and gently kissed her forehead, cheeks, and lips. Only when she finally recovered did he carry her to the bathroom to clean up.
He kissed every inch of her body, leaving no spot untouched, so only he could see the faint pink hickeys scattered across her pristine white skin.
Clothes were scattered haphazardly on the ground.
The chill of early winter and the faint morning light could neither blow away nor dispel the spring-like glow inside the room.
-
Xu Shaoting did not leave early the next morning, but stayed with her until she woke up naturally.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Wen Jia stirred her brain, still groggy from a night of drinking, and her body, which ached so much it felt like it was about to fall apart. She reached out to touch something beside her, and surprisingly, she didn't miss. However, the man grabbed her wrist instead.
"Miss Wen, where are you touching?"
Wen Jia was startled and opened her sleepy eyes to look at him. She saw him propping himself up on his arm, staring at her with a faint smile.
She shrank back into his arms, snuggling close to his chest, "It's my first time."
"The first time what?"
"You were still there when I first woke up."
Xu Shaoting reached out and brushed her hair aside, his eyes dark and unfathomable. "I'm leaving this afternoon."
She sighed, "It hasn't even been a day yet..."
“There’s nothing I can do,” he coaxed her in an extremely gentle tone, “Be a good girl and wait for me to come back when I’m done with my work.”
He sighed, "If you didn't have a job, I really wanted to take you with me."
He held her tightly in his arms, and Wenjia nestled against him, as docile as a cat.
Neither the person nor the cat was willing to let go first.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Things shouldn't be rushed. Chairman Xu is a man whose restraint is written all over his face; let them have some time to relax first.
But we're about to do it anyway, so you two just have to be a little more patient...
This chapter was cut a lot again, you can use your imagination to fill in the gaps (crying).
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