Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Song Yuan’s heart pounded, half from fright, half from the sight of Gu Jingchi.

A strong, warm hand rested on his shoulder, and Song Yuan felt a tickle at the back of his neck, even sensing the heat radiating from Gu Jingchi.

The person who had been cornering Song Yuan had long since vanished, and the security guards, as useless as ever, had caught nothing.

Gu Jingchi asked him, "Are you alright?"

Song Yuan snapped back to reality, pausing for a second. "...Yeah."

The hotel manager, upon learning what had transpired, immediately rushed over.

News of a stalker at the hotel would be terrible for public relations—it would not only damage the hotel’s credibility but could also incite panic.

But since the incident had already occurred, and in front of so many guests, their best course of action was to minimize the negative impact on the hotel’s reputation.

The manager, observing Song Yuan’s refined demeanor and Jiang Ming’s clear-eyed youth, surmised they were college students visiting Nan City and offered compensation tailored to students.

"We sincerely apologize for the unpleasant experience. We can offer you a complimentary suite upgrade as compensation. Would that be acceptable?"

"Just refund the room," Gu Jingchi interjected, giving him a look. "And call the police."

"This..." The manager hadn’t anticipated such a firm stance and instinctively felt that this person was not to be trifled with. As he frantically tried to devise a solution, he failed to notice the hotel’s regional manager approaching, shooting him a stern glare.

The manager walked towards Gu Jingchi, speaking in a conciliatory tone.

"A refund? Right away, right away!"

"Call the police? Absolutely, absolutely! I will fully assist the police officers, retrieve surveillance footage, and help apprehend the culprit."

...

Once inside Gu Jingchi’s car, Song Yuan was shielded from the chaotic sounds outside.

The sudden quiet brought a sense of calm to his heart.

With the three of them together, Jiang Ming sat on pins and needles.

It wasn't his imagination; this feeling... it seemed to have started back at the hotel.

It was an instinctive dread, etched into his DNA, the panic and racing heart that arose when facing a large predator, making Jiang Ming instinctively want to flee.

Gu Jingchi was terrifying today!

Jiang Ming regretted relying on online hotel reviews. He never expected that a seemingly high-end hotel, highly recommended by many, would have such poor security, allowing Song Yuan to encounter such an incident.

He should have asked friends who had traveled to Nan City for recommendations.

Jiang Ming:

Could he still hang out with Song Yuan after this?

The moment the car stopped, Jiang Ming shot out like a ballistic missile.

Song Yuan turned to look at the fleeing Jiang Ming, instinctively telling Gu Jingchi, "He might have been scared."

He didn't know what he was explaining.

But he seemed to fear Gu Jingchi might take it the wrong way.

Such a strange impulse.

As Gu Jingchi got out of the car, hearing Song Yuan speak to him, the fingers resting by his side twitched uncontrollably, then he nodded slightly.

"Yeah."

It was late at night, a weekend, and coincided with a large anime convention in the adjacent exhibition area.

With this triple whammy, nearby hotels were completely booked.

The front desk regretfully informed them that only two rooms remained.

"But one is a twin room, split into east and west sections with a connecting corridor. Since few guests require this layout, it’s still available. It’s essentially two rooms in one."

Not too bad, Song Yuan thought. He and Jiang Ming could share the twin room, and Gu Jingchi could have a single—perfect.

"What do you think?"

Gu Jingchi lowered his eyes, saying nothing.

Compared to Song Yuan and Gu Jingchi’s composure, Jiang Ming’s reaction was far more pronounced.

There was no way he was sharing a room with Song Yuan now!

Between sharing with a friend and sleeping on the floor... he knew the difference!

"Oh! Uh... I just remembered, I have, um, insomnia! I can only sleep alone!"

Song Yuan looked at him in surprise.

His gaze seemed to say, "Then how did you manage dormitory life?"

Jiang Ming scratched his head, "Hahaha, it just hit me."

Song Yuan: "..."

"Can I have my own room?" Jiang Ming quickly added, worried Song Yuan might misunderstand. "But you can come over to play games!"

Song Yuan didn’t overthink it. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Jiang Ming grabbed his key card and, relieved, scurried back to his room.

"Gu Jingchi, I guess we’ll have to share the twin room."

Expecting an objection, Song Yuan was surprised when Gu Jingchi replied instantly, "Yeah."

Their room was indeed as the hotel front desk had described: very large, divided into east and west sections by a wide corridor.

What was called a wide corridor was actually more like a living room, complete with a sofa, appliances, and a massive floor-to-ceiling window. Drawing back the curtains revealed a panoramic view of Nan City.

What surprised Song Yuan most was that, even at this hour, there were still night cruises on the Nan River.

A bridge spanned the river, connecting its two banks, and beneath it, several brightly lit cruise boats slowly glided by.

It was a sight he’d only seen in geography books, and Song Yuan, fascinated, pressed himself against the window to watch.

"Want to ride one?"

Song Yuan’s senses and thoughts seemed to slow at that moment, everything in slow motion, Gu Jingchi’s words echoing in his mind.

"Ride... ride what?"

Gu Jingchi replied, "The yacht."

Oh, that.

Song Yuan’s face flushed like a tomato. He didn't know what he was thinking, and he found it strange that such odd thoughts were popping into his head.

Was it because he had seen too many fan arts with intense "X-tension" at the anime convention today?

"Well, maybe... I’ll go when I have time. Yeah!"

The air suddenly fell silent, as if the world had been paused, freezing them in place.

"I’m going to shower!" / "Do you want to shower first?"

They spoke in unison, then fell silent simultaneously.

Song Yuan wished he could dig a hole and bury himself. He had never experienced anything so awkward.

Even more awkward than accidentally kissing Gu Jingchi last time.

This interlude had quite an impact on Song Yuan; he just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"I—I’m going back to my room!"

Back in his room, Song Yuan paced back and forth, adding dozens to his WeChat step count, before finally calming down.

Somehow, the recent conversation kept replaying in his mind, his face growing hotter, his thoughts distracted.

He entered the bathroom, stripped, and stepped into the shower. Steam filled the shower stall, dampening his eyelashes.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and the entire world turned into a hazy white. In the mist, he saw Gu Jingchi, and himself.

Just like the cliché plot of the original story, he and Gu Jingchi were in an arranged marriage. Two people who had been on different parallel lines briefly became important figures in each other's lives.

But the ending of this story was different from the original; he and Gu Jingchi were still together...

Song Yuan realized he seemed to prefer this imagined storyline—it was warm and comforting, like a fairy tale.

The thought lasted barely a second before Song Yuan suppressed it.

No, no, what was he thinking!

He quickly dried himself and draped a towel over his hair.

He must have been too tired from setting up his booth today, and then startled by the stalker; his nerves were overstimulated, causing him to overthink.

Yeah!

Stepping out of the shower, he couldn't find his clothes in the dry area.

Then he remembered—his luggage was still at the previous hotel!

He took out his phone, hesitated for a while, then sent a message to Gu Jingchi.

Gu Jingchi finished showering, blew his hair halfway dry in the dry area, then pushed the door open.

Picking up his phone, he found the screen flooded with messages.

"Bodyguard: Mr. Gu, when I returned, I ran into young Jiang in the hallway. He’s already gotten his luggage."

"Bodyguard: Young Song’s luggage is still with me. I just knocked on his door, but there was no answer."

With a puzzled frown, Gu Jingchi opened his chat with Song Yuan.

"Gu Jingchi, are you asleep?"

"A bit awkward, but I just showered and have no clothes. [crying]"

"Is there any way to get my luggage?"

"Waaah~"

Due to the earlier incident, both of them had been flustered; even Gu Jingchi, usually so composed, had forgotten about it.

With a sigh, he asked the bodyguard to bring the luggage over.

Once the luggage arrived, Gu Jingchi was relieved that he and Song Yuan were in the same suite, so Song Yuan didn't need to open the door for him.

Pushing open Song Yuan’s room door, he placed the luggage on the bathroom floor. As he waited for Song Yuan to get his clothes, he was slow to realize that the bathroom in their suite had semi-transparent glass.

Through the frosted glass, Song Yuan’s silhouette was visible, his body’s outline incredibly clear in the misty steam.

Nan City was humid and hot, and it was even hotter near the bathroom.

The muggy steam made Gu Jingchi’s head swim. He quickly averted his gaze as if he had touched an electric fence.

"Gu Jingchi?" Song Yuan pressed against the glass. "Are you there? I can’t see you."

If you could see out, that would be a problem.

Gu Jingchi frowned.

He wondered if Song Yuan was doing this on purpose.

Did he have no sense of boundaries with anyone? If Gu Jingchi hadn't come to see Song Yuan today, wouldn't Jiang Ming have been the one to deliver the clothes?

Gu Jingchi placed Song Yuan’s clothes on the open suitcase, quickly returned to his own room, and then sent Song Yuan a message.

"Your clothes are outside your door. Get them yourself."

Song Yuan heard the receding footsteps and inwardly complained.

It was just a simple favor, and Gu Jingchi wouldn't even help. How petty.

Song Yuan had good reason to suspect that Gu Jingchi was deliberately teasing him when he was at his most "vulnerable."

Not daring to open the door completely, he stretched out his arm to grab the clothes. Once he had them, he sent ten "angry bunny" emojis before haphazardly pulling on his clothes.

Just as he finished dressing, his phone vibrated.

"Ming: Yuan Yuan, wanna game? The new dungeon just updated. Let’s do quests together."

Song Yuan checked the time; it was only nine o’clock.

"Song Yuan: Let’s play!"

Song Yuan opened his door, deciding to go to Jiang Ming’s room to play games.

Before leaving, he specifically glanced at Gu Jingchi’s door.

Closed, not a sliver of light, as cold as the tone of his message.

Jerk.

Song Yuan decided not to speak to this petty tease for at least an hour.

Clearing three dungeons in an hour—what a satisfying gaming session.

It was almost ten o’clock, and Jiang Ming ordered barbecue, inviting Song Yuan to eat with him.

"I need to head back," Song Yuan shook his head. "I need to organize the materials for tomorrow’s exhibition."

Jiang Ming looked disappointed. "Alright, then get some rest. I’m meeting my high school classmates tomorrow, so I won’t be with you."

"No worries." Before leaving, Song Yuan took a photo of the barbecue and posted it on his Moments.

"Craving satisfaction (worker’s edition)"

Comments quickly appeared below.

"Jiang Ming: Delicious!"

"Senior Brother: So late, so many calories!"

"Song Qiao: You’re here already! Why didn’t you tell me? I’d take you to eat something good!"

Song Yuan calmly took two seconds, then secretly decided to block Song Qiao from his next Moments post.

He couldn't help it; the shadow of the original plot still lingered in his mind. He didn't want to see the two Song brothers for now.

Just as he opened his laptop, someone knocked on his door.

Song Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"I’m asleep—" Song Yuan deliberately lied.

Gu Jingchi said, "You just started working."

How did you know?

As if he could read minds, Gu Jingchi added, "You sent me a file."

No way.

Song Yuan opened his phone and indeed found that he had sent a file to the other person.

"Expense Report"

That wasn't meant for you!

That was for the file transfer assistant!

Because both of you were pinned at the top and too close, he clicked the wrong one!

Too much had happened tonight.

Song Yuan needed to calm down.

Step one in calming down: he decided to unpin Gu Jingchi immediately.

He opened the door, feigning aloofness.

"Is there something you need?"

Gu Jingchi was wearing a black turtleneck tonight. Although it was the simplest style, Gu Jingchi had such a good physique, with firm, well-defined muscles that stretched the fabric tightly, making his contours clear.

With just a quick glance, Song Yuan’s eyebrow twitched.

Song Yuan pursed his lips, forcing himself to look at the floor, and softly complained, "Disturbing people late at night, you’d better have a good reason."

"I brought you a late-night snack."

It was local specialty barbecue, and a swan-shaped soufflé.

Gu Jingchi always bought him this.

He must have seen his Moments post and then gone to buy it.

Gu Jingchi looked like he had just finished work before going out to buy the snack.

He hadn't even taken off his glasses, which rested on his nose, pairing with the black fitted top to create an almost ascetic, ethereal look.

Song Yuan’s heart and eyes were equally pleased.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?"

Gu Jingchi nodded.

Song Yuan’s heart felt like the soufflé in Gu Jingchi’s hand, heavily dusted with powdered sugar.

"Then... are you happy?"

Gu Jingchi leaned down and told him, "If you’re happy, smile for me."