“Yes, um, make sure you prepare all these things.”
Zhao Qingyu was still giving instructions to the hotel manager, seemingly oblivious to what had happened in her own room.
A moment later, Shen An emerged from her room and returned to the living room.
Just then, Zhao Qingyu finished her instructions and hung up the phone.
She turned her head to look at Shen An, instinctively furrowing her brow.
Because the expression on Shen An’s face right now… was truly… a bit odd.
How to put it…
It was like he was constipated—wanting to say something but unable to get it out, holding it in with visible effort.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Perplexed, Zhao Qingyu asked with some concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Shen An nodded, then immediately shook his head.
Zhao Qingyu was full of question marks. “Huh? What exactly is it?”
Shen An was holding it in so uncomfortably that he tentatively said in a roundabout way, “Um, Senior Sister, I think personal hygiene is pretty important.”
“I think so too,” Zhao Qingyu agreed wholeheartedly.
But she was still puzzled. “Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden though?”
“And what’s with that look on your face? What’s going on?”
“Uh… I mean, with daily hygiene and all, I think having a bit of germaphobia isn’t a bad thing. But if you’re germaphobic yourself and won’t let others disturb you, then…”
Shen An chose his words carefully. “Even though it’s autumn now, you know how the weather is—it’s no different from summer, still so hot.”
Zhao Qingyu leaned forward, her small hand grabbing Shen An’s collar as she narrowed her eyes. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Hiss~
Shen An’s eyes flickered wildly. “I absolutely don’t mean to criticize you, Senior Sister. Everyone has their own lifestyle, right?”
“I’m just thinking about… your health.”
At this point, even Song Rui would have figured it out, let alone Zhao Qingyu.
The change in Shen An had only happened after he entered her room.
Her room…
Zhao Qingyu’s pupils contracted as she murmured under her breath, “No way…”
She immediately released Shen An’s collar and hurried toward her room.
Shen An let out a long breath of relief. She had finally caught on.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to continue. He couldn’t just blurt out, “You’re really dirty—can you pay more attention to your personal hygiene?”
That said, Shen An wasn’t jumping to conclusions, assuming the mess in the room was Zhao Qingyu’s doing.
He had just come over to give a heads-up, to avoid letting his own suspicions run wild.
Given their current relationship, they no longer needed to tiptoe around each other or speak in riddles like they had at the beginning.
“Ah!!!!”
A short while later, a piercing scream erupted from the room.
Caught off guard, Shen An quickly covered his ears.
That soprano wail was too shrill. While clamping his ears, he stood up and walked over.
He quietly approached the bedroom door but didn’t dare go inside. Instead, he stood outside, picking a concealed angle so Zhao Qingyu wouldn’t spot him and drag him into the crossfire.
From this vantage point, he could clearly hear the sounds from within the room, and with a slight glance, peek inside.
Using the corner of his eye, Shen An saw Zhao Qingyu pacing irritably back and forth in the room. One moment she was rummaging through one side, the next she was over at the other, all while muttering nonstop under her breath, as if cursing something.
Pricking up his ears and listening intently, he vaguely caught the following words.
“How could this… Are the hotel staff brain-dead or something? How… how could they…”
“F your mom, that stinking bitch… She’s gonna piss me off!!!”
Well, damn.
Shen An drew in a sharp breath. He’d never seen Zhao Qingyu lose her composure like this before.
She was so furious that she couldn’t control her emotions, blurting out the national curse right off the bat.
This confirmed Shen An’s suspicions.
The room was indeed Zhao Qingyu’s, but she wasn’t the one who had caused the chaos.
Especially that faint “stinking bitch.”
It further proved that someone else was responsible for the mess.
And that person was someone Zhao Qingyu utterly despised.
If she herself were the true culprit and had deliberately put on this “furious” act in front of him, then Zhao Qingyu’s scheming ran deeper than he could imagine.
The cursing went on for quite a while before suddenly falling silent.
Unable to resist, Shen An sneaked another glance. He saw Zhao Qingyu slumped powerlessly on the floor, looking utterly dejected…
He quickly turned away and returned to the sofa.
At a time like this, if he fantasized about going in to comfort her, all of Zhao Qingyu’s pent-up rage would instantly redirect onto him.
More importantly, he felt that Zhao Qingyu wouldn’t want him to see her like this.
Even if he already had, she wouldn’t want him appearing in the scene right now.
Sure enough, not long after he sat back down on the sofa, the room door slammed shut with a resounding bang.
Whew~
It seemed the previous “guest” had caused her quite a bit of trouble~
Suppressing a smile at the corner of his mouth, Shen An leisurely crossed his legs and pulled out his phone.
He opened his chat with Chen Nannan, but she still hadn’t replied.
He had sent the message over ten minutes ago.
Either she was too busy to check, or she’d seen it but chose not to respond for now.
Shen An personally leaned toward the latter.
For the moment, he’d set Chen Nannan aside. He tapped on Wang Yuqiong’s profile and sent her the photos he’d just taken in his suite.
Of course, this time he deliberately omitted the last one.
Ding dong.
Wang Yuqiong replied almost instantly: “?”
Shen An: “?”
Wang Yuqiong: “Your room?”
Shen An: “What else?”
Wang Yuqiong: “Damn.”
“How come you’re swearing too?”
“Too?”
“That’s not important. How’s your room?”
A moment later, Wang Yuqiong sent over some photos.
Shen An examined them closely and understood why she’d dropped a “damn.”
Her room—no, their room—was nowhere near as luxurious as his. It was just a standard four-person setup.
It wasn’t shabby by any means, but compared to Shen An’s, his act of proactively sharing pics of his suite made Wang Yuqiong feel overshadowed, like he was subtly showing off.
And considering that Shen An had it all to himself…
That irritation multiplied wildly.
Shen An replied calmly, “It’s alright.”
Wang Yuqiong: “Heh.”
“Does your Drama Group have any plans?” Shen An asked, changing the subject.
“Not yet. You guys?”
“Us? Senior Sister Zhao said we’re teaming up with the Model Group and Singing Group for a camping trip.”
“Camping? Can I crash in your room then? That bed looks so comfy.” Wang Yuqiong sent an expectant emoji.
“In your dreams. It’s just for some barbecue and a group meal. We’ll still come back to sleep at night.”
“Aw~”
Wang Yuqiong was thoroughly disappointed.
“What’s with the sighing? A bed’s a bed, and it’s only one night. What’s there to complain about?” Shen An fired off his righteous judgment.
“It’s not that. Our senior sister just announced the plan.”
“Oh?”
“She said… we’re on our own. No organized activities.”
“Whoa, isn’t that great? Go wherever you want, total freedom.”
“You’re right.”
Wang Yuqiong thought for a moment. “Can I join you guys then?”
“You wanna go camping?”
“Nah, I want barbecue.”
“It’s not impossible, but Senior Sister Zhao’s coming with us…”
“So? It’s not like she’ll roast me like barbecue meat~” Wang Yuqiong rolled her eyes.
“No, no, I mean I’m worried she might not approve of you tagging along.”
“Bull. She’s not that petty. Whatever, just tell me when you’re heading out, got it?”
“Sure.”
“And don’t you dare leave me behind, or we’re not done!”
“How not done? Real-life PK tonight? You were eyeing my bed anyway.”
One line, and Wang Yuqiong was KO’d.
She stewed for a good while before firing off a half-hearted threat: “Anyway, you better wait for me, or you’re dead meat.”
Shen An looked at his phone screen and chuckled softly.
Then, with the sound of a door opening, he instantly schooled his expression, pocketed his phone, and sat up straight.
Zhao Qingyu emerged from the room with a blank face and walked step by step toward Shen An.
Shen An swallowed hard and forced a smile. “Senior Sister, ready to head out?”
Zhao Qingyu didn’t sit. Instead, she loomed over him, staring down.
Her eerie gaze made Shen An a bit uneasy.
He cleared his throat lightly. “Senior Sister… I’m in no rush.”
“You saw it?”
Zhao Qingyu’s voice seemed to drift from the depths of hell, laced with ethereal menace and the thick scent of blood.
Shen An’s expression stiffened. “I… what did I see?”
Zhao Qingyu cupped his face in her hands. “You think I did it?”
It seemed he couldn’t dodge it. Shen An murmured softly, “That’s your room.”
Zhao Qingyu nodded slightly. “It is my room.”
But in the next second, her expression turned slightly feral. “But I absolutely did not make that mess!!!”
Shen An lowered his head.
Zhao Qingyu grew even more agitated. “You don’t believe me?”
Shen An said weakly, “But the hotel belongs to your family…”
Zhao Qingyu: ……
She smoothed the ferocious expression from her face, her smile softening like a spring breeze turning to gentle rain. She sat down with a charming sway, leaning against Shen An. “Do you think I’m the kind of sloppy person?”
Shen An didn’t hesitate. “No.”
“Exactly, I—”
“But that’s your room, Senior Sister.” Shen An pivoted sharply.
Zhao Qingyu gritted her teeth behind a tight smile. “I’ve been on campus nonstop since the semester started!”
“I’m not entirely sure about that…”
Shen An murmured softly.
I…
Zhao Qingyu threw her head back and sighed deeply toward the heavens. “You still think it was me, don’t you?”
“No, no, Senior Sister—you’ve got it all wrong. I’m just wondering… is it possible you left in such a rush last time?”
Shen An racked his brain for defenses on her behalf, his tone utterly earnest. “The hotel staff wouldn’t dare touch the place without your say-so.”
“And with how busy you’ve been, it’s easy to forget something like that for a while.”
“All these little mishaps piled up, and no one ever got around to cleaning.”
Zhao Qingyu shot him a sidelong glance. “Are you trying to comfort me?”
“How is this comforting? I’m just breaking down the possibilities.”
“So it’s not comforting?”
“Fine, okay—I can’t quite picture it myself.” Shen An turned away and landed a heavy blow. “The ancients said it best: a glittering exterior hiding a filthy interior. I…”
Zhao Qingyu lost all composure. She lunged onto Shen An’s lap, her hands clamping around his neck like a vice. “You bastard! It wasn’t me!!! I swear it wasn’t!!!”
Shen An’s arms instinctively wrapped around her waist. She shook him back and forth until she finally calmed a little. Only then did he murmur softly, “Senior Sister, you’re getting a bit worked up.”
Zhao Qingyu froze.
Yeah…
Even if it had been me… there’s no need to care this much.
No need to obsess over what he thinks.
But that didn’t help.
The moment she had stepped into that room and seen the chaos, her very first thought had been Shen An’s look of disgust.
Only afterward came her anger at the mess itself.
Sigh.
Zhao Qingyu’s small hands fell limply away. In a quiet voice, she said, “It really wasn’t me. I don’t love cleaning, but… I’m not messy enough to let it get like that.”
“You’ve been to my place at the hotel before. You know how much I care about keeping things clean.”
The corner of Shen An’s mouth quirked up. “Actually, I’m not so sure.”
Zhao Qingyu opened her mouth to explain, only to catch the teasing glint in his eyes.
“You just want to see me hopping mad like this, don’t you?” she said, half-ashamed, half-annoyed.
Shen An lifted a hand. Without asking permission this time, he gently stroked her silky hair. “If it wasn’t you, Senior Sister, then who could it have been?”
“It’s your private suite. And you’re the hotel heiress.”
“No matter how dim the staff might be, they’d never rent out your room.”
Now certain he was just teasing her for laughs, Zhao Qingyu relaxed completely.
She pouted, clearly irritated. “Who else could it—”
She cut herself off mid-sentence.
Her gaze flickered. With a sigh, Zhao Qingyu said, “It doesn’t matter who. Just pretend you never saw it.”
Shen An leaned back comfortably on the sofa. “I can’t unsee it. It was such a mess!!!”
Zhao Qingyu’s mouth twitched. “You don’t need to keep emphasizing that!”
“Okay, fine. But it really was such a mess.”
She punched his arm. “Shut up about it already.”
She ducked her head, but a deep-burning “anger” still smoldered in her eyes.
Perhaps too flustered to notice, Zhao Qingyu had sat on Shen An’s lap the entire time without realizing it.
Her soft, perky rear pressed right against his thigh. From the moment she’d settled there, Shen An had found himself thinking, Damn, what a great ass!
And then…
Some perfectly natural, utterly indescribable reaction followed.
Lost in her fury, Zhao Qingyu pondered how best to settle the score with the real culprit later on.
Until she felt something poke her by accident.
She glanced blankly at Shen An. He quickly looked away.
Huh?
What…?
Realization dawned on Zhao Qingyu far too late. Her pretty face flushed a deep crimson.
She shoved him with a slap, then hammered his chest for good measure before scrambling to her feet and fleeing the scene.
Reeling from the double assault, Shen An clutched his chest and collapsed onto the sofa with a wail.
He couldn’t hold back a curse. “Fuck… you sat there on your own.”
And fine, sit if you want… but why the hell grind around like that?
Shen An’s self-control was ironclad under normal circumstances.
But some reactions—purely physiological—defied all control.
Unbreakable in mind, fragile in the flesh.
He wailed a few more times. Midway through, he started chuckling.
Sure, he’d have to swallow this silent embarrassment. But…
Damn, what a great ass.
He had no idea who the true culprit behind the room’s disaster was. But right now, all he wanted to say was, “Thanks to you~”
