Chapter 3

“Come on. Get up. We’re going upstairs.” Ji Changyin sighed, suddenly regretting not finding a hotel earlier and leaving Xu Chaomu there.

Of course, she couldn’t actually do that. She could only think about it.

Ji Changyin led Xu Chaomu to the bedroom. When Xu Chaomu saw the bed, she took two steps back, then glanced at Ji Changyin.

Her expression was so strange that Ji Changyin couldn’t even begin to describe it.

She took a deep breath. “I’ll get you some clothes. Wait here.”

“Okay.”

Xu Chaomu didn’t sit down. She stayed by the door.

Ji Changyin found her a new pair of pajamas. “There are fresh towels and a toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet.”

“Thanks.” Xu Chaomu took them and swayed into the bathroom.

At this rate, Ji Changyin was worried she’d collapse in there.

“You can shower by yourself, right?”

Xu Chaomu turned to look at her, narrowing her eyes. “What are you planning to do?”

“Nothing. Go take your shower. Call me if you need anything.”

“I don’t need anything.” Xu Chaomu went into the bathroom.

A moment later, Ji Changyin heard the door lock. She curled her lips, picked up some clothes, and went to shower in the other bathroom. By the time she was done, Xu Chaomu still hadn’t come out.

“Xu Chaomu.”

“What?”

“Did you fall over in there?”

“No.” Xu Chaomu turned off the water.

Ji Changyin climbed into bed. “You can sleep on the couch.”

Three minutes later, Xu Chaomu came out and looked at her. “Why?”

“There’s only one bedroom in my house.” Ji Changyin patted her bed, then pointed to the couch in the room.

“Your house is huge.” Xu Chaomu glanced at the couch, then turned back to Ji Changyin with a clear refusal.

“Sure is. But I usually live here alone.”

Xu Chaomu thought it over, lifted the covers, and lay down beside Ji Changyin.

“You decided to lie down next to me, right?”

“Mm.” Xu Chaomu gave Ji Changyin another baffled look, then closed her eyes. “I’m going to sleep.”

Ji Changyin watched her for a while. Xu Chaomu acted strangely when she was drunk, almost as if she had a script and picked a new, peculiar character to play every few minutes. She didn’t seem to be making a scene, exactly, but she definitely wasn’t acting normal.

Xu Chaomu fell asleep quickly. She made no noise, and her face looked peaceful. She was beautiful even without makeup, with flawless, luminous skin.

Who wouldn’t love her? Even I do, and I’m a woman.

Ji Changyin checked what people were saying about her online.

The trending topic had been taken down, but people were still discussing it.

Here for the Tea Again: “She’s the most shameless clinger ever.”

Gotta Run From Her: “I’m dying. What does this lady even want? Has she no self-respect?”

Frozen: “Please stop comparing Ji Changyin to Chaomu. There isn’t even a comparison. It’s insulting to Chaomu.”

…

There were plenty of comments like that.

Ji Changyin couldn’t find many people defending her.

She’d wanted to reply to a few, but in the end, she had nothing to say.

She put her phone away and got ready to sleep, when Xu Chaomu’s phone started ringing.

Xu Chaomu didn’t wake up when Ji Changyin called her name, so Ji Changyin had no choice but to answer. The caller ID read “Sister Le.”

“Chaomu, where are you? Why haven’t you answered your phone?”

“Uh, she’s with me. She got drunk and she’s already asleep,” Ji Changyin said. It took her a moment to remember that Xu Chaomu’s manager was Xu Le.

“Who is this?” Xu Le asked warily.

“I’m a friend of Xu Chaomu’s. Want me to video call so you can see her?” Ji Changyin said. “I was going to ask you to come get her, but she wouldn’t let me. She even told me not to tell on her.”

Xu Le rubbed her temples.

“She’s such a lightweight. I looked away for a moment. I never thought two glasses of red wine would do this to her.”

“Mm. That’s why we usually don’t let her drink.” Xu Le’s tone softened.

“Does she have work tomorrow morning? If she does, I’ll wake her up.”

“No, she’s off for the next few days,” Xu Le said.

“Okay. Then she can call you when she wakes up tomorrow.”

Xu Le hung up and only then realized that the other woman had never told her who she was.

Her voice sounded a little familiar, but Xu Le couldn’t place it.

It didn’t really matter. She knew Xu Chaomu well enough to know that she wouldn’t get drunk around someone she didn’t trust.

Just as Ji Changyin was about to fall asleep, Wei Jingbo called.

She hung up immediately.

Wei Jingbo fell into a long silence after the call ended.

That woman had actually hung up on him?

He took a deep breath and told himself Ji Changyin had probably hit the wrong button. She’d call him back in a minute. But after five minutes, his phone was still silent.

He called again, only to find that her phone had been switched off.

Wei Jingbo: ???

He’d barely ever been this shocked in his twenty-some years of life.

He glanced at his chat with Ji Changyin. It was almost entirely full of messages from her, usually one every two or three hours. Yet she hadn’t sent him a single message since she’d left at noon.

What was this?

Playing hard to get?

Ji Changyin had no interest in Wei Jingbo’s state of mind. She blocked him. Whoever wanted to soothe his ego could do it.

Xu Chaomu wasn’t a very peaceful sleeper. More accurately, she was fine for the first half of the night. In the second half, she started flailing all over the bed.

Ji Changyin didn’t even realize she’d been kicked in the shin until an elbow caught her in the face.

She opened her eyes and turned her head. Xu Chaomu was right beside her.

Ji Changyin silently pushed her back to her side. Xu Chaomu immediately grabbed her arm.

What on earth was wrong with this young lady?

“Xu Chaomu!” Ji Changyin gave her a nudge.

Xu Chaomu mumbled a little. Ji Changyin watched her for a moment.

Forget it. She’d never been able to bring herself to lay a hand on a beautiful woman. In the end, she carefully eased her arm free and gently shifted Xu Chaomu over before lying down again.

A little later, Xu Chaomu scooted back toward her. Ji Changyin was exhausted, so she simply put an arm around Xu Chaomu. This time, Xu Chaomu settled down. The position wasn’t comfortable, but at least she wasn’t getting hit.

At nine the next morning, Xu Chaomu woke up and stared at Ji Changyin’s face. After a few seconds, she remembered what had happened after she’d gotten drunk the night before. A blush crept up her neck to the tips of her ears.

She wanted to run, but there was no way she could escape from their sleeping position.

Xu Chaomu shifted slightly, and Ji Changyin woke up. They looked at each other.

Ji Changyin smiled. Her voice held a teasing note, along with a hint of nonchalance. “Miss Xu, you sleep pretty wildly.”