216 Is This Considered a Night Raid?
Coming out of the recording venue with Pei Ningle, Han Yixuan noticed that this girl’s mood seemed exceptionally high.
“Where’s Wang Heng? Where did he go?” Pei Ningle shouted. “Dinner is on me tonight, a big meal, let’s go eat a big meal together!”
Han Yixuan kindly reminded her, “Little Le, it’s almost ten o’clock…”
Pei Ningle: “Just in time for a late-night snack, not late at all! Instant-boiled mutton, instant-boiled mutton!”
Just then, the two girls heard Wang Heng’s voice:
“The instant-boiled mutton shop is closed, but barbecue is okay. Do you want to go?”
They turned slightly and saw Wang Heng walking over from the flow of people at the audience exit.
Before he could reach them, Pei Ningle couldn’t wait to say, “Barbecue is fine too. Where is it nearby?”
Wang Heng: “Let’s go, I’ll lead the way.”
The shop where he had skewers with Wei Kai from ofo last time was a chain barbecue restaurant in the Imperial Capital. Taking a taxi, the three arrived at the shop, sat down, and ordered. At past ten o’clock, there were still many people in the shop, quite lively.
Wang Heng didn’t want to order alcohol, but Pei Ningle slammed the table and clamored, “Erguotou, we won’t go home until we’re drunk tonight!”
Han Yixuan pressed down the overly excited girl and said, “Forget about baijiu. Three bottles of beer, please. Thank you.”
The waiter smiled and asked, “What brand? Wusu, Yanjing, or Snow…”
Pei Ningle: “Brave the World!”
The girl knew nothing about beer brands, but this product name seemed very cool to her.
Wang Heng handed over the marked menu paper and hurriedly said, “We just want these. Grill them well.”
“Okay, sir…” The waiter looked down at the menu. “You seem to have ordered all grilled meat. Do you want some vegetables and seafood?”
At this time, Han Yixuan whispered, “Do you have chives and oysters?”
The waiter nodded. “Yes, I’ll order them for you.”
“Okay.” Just after Han Yixuan finished speaking, she noticed Wang Heng’s gaze out of the corner of her eye. She pretended not to know anything and chatted with Pei Ningle next to her.
Pei Ningle didn’t know the implication of chives and oysters, but Wang Heng certainly did. So he looked at Han Yixuan, his eyes slightly complicated—do two girls spending the night in one room need such supplements?
Of course, since he could discover that Han Yixuan was observing in secret, it wasn’t hard to understand that these dishes were not ordered for herself, but a hint for him.
But in Wang Heng’s view, this hint was obviously useless…
After a while, when the skewers were served, Pei Ningle suddenly sighed, “When do you think I’ll need to wear sunglasses when I go out?”
Han Yixuan: “Wear sunglasses? To guard against entertainment reporters and paparazzi?”
Wang Heng complained, “Probably in your dreams. As for now, let’s wait until the show airs.”
Pei Ningle asked impatiently, “When will the show air?”
Han Yixuan: “I asked the staff of the program team. It should be in ten days. Anyway, let’s go back to Rongdu first. We can discuss with Brother Tao at the bar, either raise the price or reduce the frequency of performances.”
Pei Ningle picked up a skewer of grilled ribs and handed it to her best friend beside her. “Thanks to Little Xuan’s help… This time coming to the Imperial Capital, when asking for leave from Brother Tao, Little Xuan was speaking for me!”
Han Yixuan smiled. “It’s nothing, I should do it.”
Hugging her best friend, Pei Ningle let go of her, turned to look at Wang Heng, and said, “I have today, even more thanks to you, big brother…”
Wang Heng raised his glass and interrupted, “No need to say anything, it’s all in the wine!”
Pei Ningle, who was about to express her feelings, was instantly choked. Stunned for two seconds, she could only raise her glass: “Cheers!”
**
After finishing the skewers and returning to the hotel, it was already close to midnight.
Pei Ningle’s alcohol tolerance was obviously not very good, only slightly better than Tang Hexing’s. When she arrived at the hotel, she was already half-drunk. Fortunately, Han Yixuan supported her, and Wang Heng escorted them by the side.
Their two rooms were next to each other, so Wang Heng escorted them to the door of their room, waved goodnight, and closed the door.
Back in his room, Wang Heng quickly brushed his teeth, washed his face, took off his clothes, showered, and went to bed.
However, just then, the most melancholy thing happened—after lying in the quilt, he heard a knock on the door.
Who would be knocking on the door in the middle of the night past midnight?
Wang Heng’s sleepiness dissipated instantly.
He sat up and listened carefully. The knocking stopped for a moment, then sounded again.
“Knock, knock, knock…” Steady and rhythmic, the knocker seemed to have plenty of patience.
Wang Heng got out of bed, put on a T-shirt and trousers, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.
Sure enough, it was Han Yixuan.
In the dim light of the corridor, the girl’s face appeared a bit dark in the backlight shadow. Only those peach blossom eyes were as bright as usual… no, perhaps it should be said that they looked brighter than usual.
Wang Heng opened the door halfway, stood at the door, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Han Yixuan was a little embarrassed, lowered her face slightly, and whispered, “I just went out to buy something, and when I came back, I realized I forgot to bring my room card. Little Le seems to have fallen asleep and didn’t open the door for me. So I can only come to you…”
Would she forget to bring her room card?
Wang Heng glanced at the plastic bag in the girl’s hand again, which contained canned beer.
Didn’t drink enough when eating barbecue just now, so buying more?
The problem is, does she really just want to drink alone?
“Haven’t you had enough?” Wang Heng asked seemingly casually. “When eating barbecue, you drank a whole bottle, and you still want to drink now?”
Han Yixuan smiled. “I’m happy today. Little Le’s affairs went so smoothly. You don’t know, after she finished singing, that deputy director came to find us. He said that Little Le’s performance can definitely appear in the show and be broadcast on CCTV. He said that before the next round of semi-finals, there will be a window period of one or two months. If there are invitations to music festivals or something, Little Le can totally accept them.”
Wang Heng: “Is the program team’s attitude encouraging?”
“Can’t say encouraging, just not opposing. Contestants don’t get appearance fees on this show, but the fame gained here is the best reward…” At this point, Han Yixuan gazed at him and asked, “Can you let me in?”
Midnight, half past twelve, a lone man and a lone woman in a room, this development was too terrible. But Pei Ningle next door was already fast asleep and couldn’t open the door. Obviously, he couldn’t let the girl stand outside the door.
So, what should he do?
If he specifically went to the front desk and asked them to help open the door… it wasn’t impossible, but wouldn’t that seem too cowardly?
Han Yixuan asked softly again, “Can I come in?”
Wang Heng: “Mhm, come in.”
**
