Ji Xixing kept shooting meaningful looks at Jian Yao, practically writing the words “save me” across her face.
Yet not only did Jian Yao fail to come over, she even flashed her an “I understand” gesture before turning around and leaving without the slightest hesitation.
Ji Xixing felt like she was about to explode.
This useless best friend didn’t understand her at all.
Because she kept blinking and her emotions had changed several times within only a few seconds, Gu Wangxuan followed her gaze in confusion, only to find an empty corridor.
After hesitating briefly, his slender fingers came up to her face and gently turned her head back toward him. He stared at her for quite a while before asking softly, “What were you looking at?”
“My eye cramped just now.”
Without the slightest guilt, Ji Xixing casually told an absurd lie.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped back a little and forced a flattering smile onto her face. Her tone was cold and distant as she said, “Mr. Gu, I still have something to do. Could you move aside?”
She tried her best to sound polite, though she practically wanted to write “you’re blocking my way” on her forehead.
“No.”
Gu Wangxuan refused without hesitation.
His gaze swept over her appearance.
She wore a cartoon pajama set, her hair casually tied behind her head with an elastic band. Without makeup, she had lost some of her usual allure and instead appeared more youthful. Her delicate features combined into a face that was exceptionally beautiful.
She held a laptop bag in her hand, and her wide eyes were clearly expressing her dissatisfaction.
“Would you like to sit in my room for a while?”
Completely ignoring her displeasure, Gu Wangxuan looked at her with smiling eyes and extended an invitation.
Ji Xixing let out a vicious sigh inwardly and forced out the last bit of patience she had.
“Mr. Gu, I’m meeting someone.”
That should have been clear enough, and her refusal obvious enough.
She believed any normal person would let her go.
But she had truly underestimated Gu Wangxuan.
He remained rooted in place, trapping her where she stood. His eyes narrowed slightly as he leisurely said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Xingxing to postpone that appointment.”
Ji Xixing opened her mouth, only to find herself speechless.
She couldn’t understand how someone could make such an unreasonable request while sounding both polite and shameless.
Was this how domineering CEOs in novels handled things?
Coming back to her senses, she pushed him away and finally lost her patience.
“Mr. Gu, don’t call me that. We aren’t close.”
“Besides, why should I cancel my plans because of you? That person is very important to me, and I have something even more important to do with her.”
“And what is that more important thing?”
Gu Wangxuan was determined to keep her. Even her repeated rejections seemed entirely within his expectations.
“Of course, working on my graduation project!”
Ji Xixing glared at him furiously.
A trace of astonishment flashed across Gu Wangxuan’s face.
“Your graduation project?”
He repeated uncertainly.
Ji Xixing said nothing, but her enlarged eyes were full of dissatisfaction.
Failing to understand her graduation project was already annoying enough, and now someone was blocking her path, making her even more irritated.
“What major are you in?”
The man’s voice came again from above, sounding as though he was genuinely considering something.
“Fine arts.”
Ji Xixing simply gave him the broad category.
Her opinion of him dropped another level.
He didn’t even know what she studied, yet he still came over trying to get close to her.
As expected, he was nothing more than a handsome but unreliable pretty vase.
“Isn’t it just a graduation project?”
A smile slowly spread across Gu Wangxuan’s lips.
“I can help you too.”
Ji Xixing instantly raised her head and met his smiling eyes.
Her own eyes lit up.
“Really?”
The hopeful and cautious look on her face made it seem as though she was afraid he might take his words back.
All her dissatisfaction at him blocking her way vanished immediately.
Now, the more she looked at Gu Wangxuan, the more pleasing he seemed.
She never doubted Gu Wangxuan’s abilities.
More accurately, she never doubted the settings the author had given this character.
As the villain who mysteriously disappeared in the latter half of the novel, he had been endowed in the early stages with talents that bordered on omnipotence.
What did omnipotence mean?
It meant being infinitely close to perfection.
The only imperfection he possessed was probably his unfortunate childhood.
Yet it was precisely this tiny flaw that made him feel alive and real to readers, and because of that near perfection, countless people had shipped him with the heroine during the early part of the story.
“Come on, to my room.”
Without answering whether he really could help, Gu Wangxuan simply grabbed her hand and led her toward his room.
Following his pace and gazing at his sharply defined profile, Ji Xixing suddenly thought that becoming the other half listed in this man’s household registration might actually be quite nice.
The thought lasted only a second before she ruthlessly strangled it in its cradle.
She had to remember that her main mission right now was finishing her graduation project.
Her secondary mission was eliminating Ji Chenhuan and her group.
Gu Wangxuan’s room was at the end of the corridor.
After swiping his card and opening the door, he casually switched on the light near the entrance.
The crystal chandelier cast a soft glow, instantly dispelling the darkness. Luxurious European-style decorations appeared before Ji Xixing.
Gu Wangxuan took out a pair of disposable slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them before her. After changing into them, Ji Xixing naturally set her laptop on the marble table nearby.
She wandered around for a bit, familiarizing herself with the surroundings.
It was another suite. Aside from being more luxurious, it wasn’t much different from other hotel rooms.
Resting her arms on the back of the sofa, she stared at a framed painting of a bridge over flowing water, yet asked a completely unrelated question.
“Why do you live in hotels every day?”
Tilting her head, her ponytail slid over one shoulder. Her full, rounded head shape and slender figure under the interplay of light and shadow made her resemble the heroine of a youthful romance drama.
Gu Wangxuan was still arranging something near the entrance cabinet and didn’t hear her clearly.
Looking up at her delicate silhouette, he asked in confusion, “What?”
Ji Xixing didn’t repeat herself.
Turning around, she smiled at him gently.
“Nothing, Mr. Gu.”
The moment she asked, she had already realized it wasn’t an appropriate question. It was just as well that he hadn’t heard.
It was his private matter, and she had no right to pry into such things.
Even asking casually was somewhat overstepping.
Gu Wangxuan walked over and led her to the other side of the sofa.
Leaning casually against it, his relaxed posture still radiated elegance and nobility. Looking at Ji Xixing, he sighed softly.
“Stop smiling. Your smile is really ugly.”
“Mr. Gu is the first person to say that. Everyone else says my smile is beautiful.”
Ji Xixing continued smiling, the warmth in her eyes slowly spreading beneath the gentle light.
It was a unique kind of tenderness and breathtaking beauty.
Even Gu Wangxuan had to admit that she was radiant, dazzling, and more blazing than light itself.
“Yes,” he said.
“You are very beautiful.”
“And your smile is beautiful too,” he added.