IMH - 14

The issue with the room’s soundproofing was something Yu Qian could sense even without Cheng Xiaonan’s reminder.

The next morning, before Yu Qian had fully woken from her slumber, she already heard the commotion in the hallway:

The driver who had brought them over was on the phone while preparing to head out for his morning exercise.

Shen Shen was being sent out by his girlfriend Ji Ran to buy breakfast.

And then there was Cheng Xiaonan’s voice.

This man, who was staying next door, opened his door lazily and called out to Shen Shen, saying, “Bring back some breakfast for Yu Qian—nothing too greasy. Hurry back; she has work soon.”

Then came Shen Shen’s mumbling response.

Actually, all the earlier noises had reached Yu Qian while she was still in a daze. She was a light sleeper, so even the slightest disturbance woke her—but she wasn’t fully conscious yet. Once the sounds quieted down, she could fall back asleep.

It was Cheng Xiaonan’s voice that pulled her fully awake.

She could tell he was deliberately lowering his volume.

But such a voice, drifting through the corridor into her dreams, suddenly conjured an image in her mind:

It was as if Cheng Xiaonan were living in the same room with her, opening the door in the morning and quietly asking his friend to bring her breakfast.

It was unsettlingly warm and cozy.

So Yu Qian sat up in bed, turned on her phone, and checked the time.

Once she saw the time, she was fully awake.

Yu Qian realized that Cheng Xiaonan’s instructions weren’t meant to be warm or intimate—he was simply stepping into Sun Yue’s role as her assistant.

Coming from “Sun·Cheng Xiaonan·Yue,” those instructions didn’t seem strange at all.

What was odd was that after she finished getting ready, Peter, who was usually talkative, hadn’t appeared in the hallway noise.

When Yu Qian was about to leave, Peter finally arrived, fashionably late.

As soon as he walked in, Peter began complaining nonstop, saying he lived incredibly far away from her—it had nearly taken half his life just to walk over.

Even the driver was staying on the same floor, so it made no sense for Peter to live far away. Thus, Yu Qian gave him a look of exasperation.

Peter took out his phone and played something for Yu Qian—

“Walking navigation complete. Total time: 21 minutes…”

“… You’re not staying at this hotel?”

“Nope, I’m at a hotel across the street. Shen Shen said you’re staying here for convenience because of work. I don’t have any work, and I heard this hotel’s soundproofing isn’t great?”

There was another reason Peter didn’t mention: he felt he had been deliberately sent away.

But he didn’t bring it up, planning instead to ask Cheng Xiaonan directly when they met again.

In fact, he had a lot of gossip questions he wanted to ask Cheng Xiaonan.

Yu Qian rarely complained. After weighing the brass key in her hand, she simply remarked that the retro style wasn’t bad.

Aside from the soundproofing issue, this hotel really wasn’t bad.

The buffet breakfast was quite hearty, even offering smoked salmon avocado sandwiches and mango foie gras sturgeon caviar sushi.

Yu Qian said she’d already eaten since she had work to do and went off to find An Gu.

Peter could only take her room card and wander around the buffet alone with his tray.

After picking up some fruit, he suddenly spotted Cheng Xiaonan, also alone, grabbing food.

On the phone, Yu Qian had mentioned meeting an acquaintance at “Eleven.”

Someone she had flirted with but never dated—a younger guy.

Peter strongly suspected that younger guy was Cheng Xiaonan.

Seeing Cheng Xiaonan sit down at an empty table, Peter also carried his tray over: “President Cheng, do you mind if I sit here?”

“Please, go ahead.”

After sitting down, Peter immediately set the tone for this breakfast conversation: “You and Yu Qian—you’ve known each other before, right?”

“Yes, we’ve met.”

It was him!

The guy she had flirted with!

Him, definitely him!

Ah!!!

Originally, Peter thought that he, at the very least, was Yu Qian’s “rumored boyfriend.” There were even rumors that Yu Qian and he had cohabited for years and had a child together!

It could be said that most of the gossip about Yu Qian abroad revolved around him.

With so many explosive headlines, how could Cheng Xiaonan, who had known Yu Qian early on, possibly not know who he was?

If he knew and liked Yu Qian, he would definitely ask about it.

After all, the hangover soup Peter had received after drinking too much the other day—he had called the hotel, and they said it was Cheng Xiaonan who had ordered it.

And last night, following Cheng Xiaonan’s arrangement, Peter had stayed at another hotel.

But Cheng Xiaonan didn’t ask anything. He just quietly ate his breakfast and recommended that Peter try a certain porridge, saying it was pretty good.

Perhaps Peter’s gaze was too direct. After being stared at for a long while, Cheng Xiaonan suddenly asked, “Teacher Peter, did you sleep well last night?”

“It was pretty good, but when I came to see Yu Qian this morning, I realized it was quite a walk.” Peter deliberately said this.

“Sorry for the trouble. This floor is mostly occupied by show staff, and there are also staff from another show here—we didn’t want to disturb your rest.”

Saying this, Cheng Xiaonan put down his chopsticks, raised his eyes, and smiled. “However, I’ll admit—I had ulterior motives.”

The polite explanation beforehand sounded like a customer service recording.

But when it came to his “ulterior motives,” Cheng Xiaonan revealed a bit more of his true self: “I was worried you’d drink too much again and disturb her rest. After all, this hotel’s soundproofing isn’t great.”

In Cheng Xiaonan’s steady tone, Peter detected a lot of special attention toward Yu Qian.

So he asked, “Does President Cheng like our Yu Qian?”

The word “our” successfully caught Cheng Xiaonan’s attention, making him glance at Peter.

But his tone didn’t change as he replied, “It’s more than just liking.”

Facing Cheng Xiaonan, Peter couldn’t help but feel a sense of “father-in-law evaluating the son-in-law,” and he even straightened his back deliberately.

But after hearing Cheng Xiaonan’s words, Peter suddenly felt that Yu Qian’s taste was indeed excellent.

Cheng Xiaonan had a certain arrogance about him. He liked Yu Qian openly and unapologetically, not hiding it or minding others knowing. His favoritism and protection were blatant.

Yet, when it came to Yu Qian herself, he seemed to carefully restrain himself.

Like a baby leopard retracting its claws, pretending to be a cat, pacing around to find the most comfortable way to approach her.

Not bad.

Very considerate.

After reaching these conclusions, Peter relaxed a bit and casually asked, “Aren’t you curious about what kind of relationship Yu Qian and I have?”

Cheng Xiaonan didn’t answer this time, silently sipping his lemon water.

Just as Peter thought he wouldn’t respond, the person across from him suddenly spoke: “At the very least, I’m someone who has been there for her when she wasn’t happy.”

After saying this, Cheng Xiaonan picked up his tray and left, ending breakfast.

As Cheng Xiaonan stepped out of the restaurant, he let out a soft sigh.

When he was 18, walking with Yu Qian, who dared to look at her twice? He would glare coldly at anyone who did.

Back then, arrogantly, he thought, What are you looking at? What does it have to do with you?

But later, the one unrelated to Yu Qian became himself.

How should he describe that feeling of helplessness?

When he heard she wasn’t doing well abroad, all he could do was focus on preparing for the college entrance exam.

It was suffocating!

So it didn’t matter who Peter was to Yu Qian. What frustrated Cheng Xiaonan the most was that during those times when Yu Qian wasn’t happy, he hadn’t been there to accompany her.

Thinking of Yu Qian’s decisive phone call when she left the country, Cheng Xiaonan suddenly chuckled bitterly.

Her decision not to choose him back then was probably the right one.

Yu Qian was finalizing her outfit and styling with An Gu’s team.

When Cheng Xiaonan arrived, she was sitting in the temporary makeup room backstage, eyes closed, while the makeup artist worked on her eye makeup.

Perhaps this place used to be a conference room. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors were only partially covered by black fabric near the temporary changing area, creating a separate space.

From where Cheng Xiaonan stood, he could see both the makeup room and the adjoining stage.

Maybe it was the low air conditioning temperature, but Yu Qian had draped a sapphire-blue silk scarf over her shoulders.

It reminded Cheng Xiaonan of a set of photos he’d seen in Yu Qian’s red sports car.

That day, while Yu Qian was taking a call outside the car, he’d sat inside, bored, and picked up a brown paper bag lying on the seat.

Unexpectedly, the bag was upside down. As soon as he lifted it, the photos inside spilled out.

They were all of Yu Qian:

Wearing a mermaid-style dress, a misty blue, sitting by the grassy waterside.

Those photos left a deep impression on Cheng Xiaonan. She wasn’t wearing particularly revealing clothing—not even a deep V-neck.

But that night, after returning home, Cheng Xiaonan struggled to fall asleep. Perhaps it was the heat, but he tossed and turned before finally drifting off.

In his dream, Yu Qian appeared in that smoky, hazy blue dress.

All the daytime fantasies he hadn’t dwelled on became intimate moments in his dream.

When Cheng Xiaonan looked up again, Yu Qian was already done with her makeup. She hadn’t changed into her runway gown yet but had walked onto the stage, seemingly asking the staff something.

A man wearing a work badge walked over, gesturing as he explained, then lay down on the stage backdrop and struck a flirtatious pose.

Everyone in the room laughed, even Yu Qian cracked a small smile.

After the staff member got up, Yu Qian walked over, lay down, and mimicked the same pose as instructed.

It was a backdrop made of dark green satin ribbons, piled high.

Yu Qian lay there, smiling faintly, her skin pale as snow.

She looked like a freshly unwrapped vanilla cake, surrounded by discarded ribbons.

When Cheng Xiaonan turned 18, Yu Qian had said she was too busy but still showed up outside the school wall.

She must have been truly busy—she bought a cake but forgot to bring a lighter.

He pulled out the lighter he’d prepared in advance, teasing her playfully: “Sister, what’s going on? Are you less attentive than me, a guy? I’ll light the candles myself. Should I sing myself a birthday song? Happy Birthday to me?”

Another person might have felt embarrassed by their oversight, but not Yu Qian. She simply said, “Then sing.”

But she was a little soft-hearted. She hummed a few lines of “Happy Birthday” for him.

That night, after blowing out the candles, Yu Qian asked him if he had made a wish.

Cheng Xiaonan told her frankly that he wished to kiss her.

Yu Qian smiled and said, “Once a wish is spoken, it won’t come true.”

But the next second, Cheng Xiaonan impulsively leaned in for a kiss, and she didn’t dodge.

It was awkward, perhaps lacking technique, but sincere and domineering.

Her lipstick smeared, and though they hadn’t eaten the cake yet, it felt like tasting the sweetness of cream.

At that time, Yu Qian’s interest in him probably wasn’t any less than his in her. She exuded a faint scent of perfume, retreating only a few centimeters, squinting as she teased him: “Who told you to use your tongue?”