Back at the hotel, Lin Chaochao took off her gown and neatly put it away.
Glancing at the bracelet on her wrist, she felt her ears grow warm just thinking about the moment Huo Nanting had put it on her.
It was small and delicate—she loved it.
She carefully removed it, afraid of breaking it, then went to take a shower, ready to sleep comfortably.
Half-asleep, she heard someone knocking at the door. Lin Chaochao’s eyes snapped open. Who could be knocking at this hour?
In a foreign land, she felt a bit scared, but she mustered her courage, got out of bed, and peered through the peephole.
It was Huo Nanting. She didn’t want to open the door, but he kept knocking. After a moment of deliberation, she straightened her clothes and opened it.
“President Huo, is something the matter this late?” Lin Chaochao asked from the doorway.
“Do you have any hangover medicine?” Huo Nanting asked, leaning toward her.
Lin Chaochao caught the strong smell of alcohol on him. “President Huo, have you had too much to drink?”
Before she could reach out to steady him, Huo Nanting collapsed against her.
That inexplicably pleasant, uniquely feminine scent of oranges drifted into his nose, and he let out a soft “Mm.”
Watching him lean on her, she decided not to argue with a drunk. She gripped his firm waist with both hands and, using all her strength, managed to get him onto the bed.
“Hey, President Huo, President Huo, wake up. I’ll call Assistant Wang to come over,” Lin Chaochao called out beside him.
But he showed no reaction. Lying on the bed, his brows furrowed tightly, his breathing a little rapid. He was completely out of it.
Lin Chaochao watched him—a man who was usually so strong and carefree—now looking so docile.
She turned to get a bottle of water, but suddenly the man grabbed her wrist and yanked her down.
She fell onto him, her head landing squarely on his chest. At such close proximity, Lin Chaochao could clearly hear the powerful thumping of his heartbeat, slowly unsettling her own.
“Lin Chaochao, I want some water.”
Huo Nanting’s words snapped her out of her thoughts. She hastily got up, found a cup, and happened to spot a packet of honey in the hotel drawer. She mixed it, stirred, and brought it to him.
“President Huo, have some honey water.”
The man propped himself up unsteadily, took the cup, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.
Then he lay back down…
Actually, Huo Nanting didn’t like the feeling of being drunk, because too many things became hard to control when he was intoxicated. But today, for some inexplicable reason, he wanted to get drunk just once—to test whether this woman truly had no feelings for him.
Lin Chaochao walked to the bedside, the thick smell of alcohol hitting her nose. She sat down slowly, watching the man who still seemed to be in discomfort.
“President Huo? How about I call Assistant Wang to take care of you?”
The man gave no reaction.
Lin Chaochao hadn’t expected that the great CEO, who usually stood so high above everyone, would also have to push himself so hard at social engagements. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him.
“Then let me take off your jacket for you—you’ll be more comfortable that way. Is that okay?”
Still no reaction from the man.
So Lin Chaochao muttered to herself: “I asked for your opinion, and you didn’t say no, so I’m going ahead.”
In his haze, the man heard her rambling and couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Under the dim light, an adult man and woman shared the same room.
Lin Chaochao felt a little nervous. She shook her head, trying to clear the stray thoughts from her mind.
Then she unbuttoned the man’s suit jacket and, after considerable effort, managed to remove it.
She noticed the shirt buttons were a bit tight and, worried he might have trouble breathing, prepared to undo the top two buttons.
Her delicate white hands rested at the man’s neck, and Lin Chaochao’s heart began to beat irregularly. With trembling fingers, she slowly unbuttoned one, then two buttons.
Gazing at the man’s jaw—clean-shaven with not a trace of stubble—and his sexy Adam’s apple, his wheat-colored skin, Lin Chaochao found herself lost in a daze.
Suddenly, as if waking up, Huo Nanting grabbed hold of the woman’s hands.
“Lin Chaochao, what are you doing?”
Instantly, the woman felt she had overstepped her bounds. She quickly tried to get up, but somehow her hair got tangled with the man’s shirt buttons.
The pain made Lin Chaochao cry out “Ah!” as she fell back down, though this time she braced herself with her hands on the bed, not touching the man’s body.
As if disturbed by Lin Chaochao’s cry,
the man slowly opened his eyes, gazing somewhat drowsily at the woman beside him—wearing conservative pajamas, her face clean and free of any makeup… leaning over his chest.
It gave Huo Nanting an urge to tease her…
Suddenly, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he grabbed the back of the woman’s head, pulling her toward him. Without surprise, a kiss landed.
This was his second kiss, and also his second time kissing her. It was full of dominance, and the scent of alcohol escaping between breaths seemed to intoxicate Lin Chaochao as well…
The pain of her scalp being pulled snapped Lin Chaochao back to her senses, and she hurriedly tried to push him away: “President Huo…”
“Lin Chaochao…” the man said in a low, deep voice.
“President Huo, my hair…” Lin Chaochao said, pointing at her hair.
Only then did the man look up and see that her hair was tangled with his. His mind suddenly cleared, and he lay back down, letting the woman untangle it herself.
“Lin Chaochao, I apologize for kissing you without your consent…”
Lin Chaochao only wanted to quickly resolve the problem at hand. In her panic, she yanked at her hair, feeling her scalp sting and go numb—but thankfully, she succeeded.
Lin Chaochao stood up.
“President Huo, you’re drunk… You should go back to your room and rest.” Lin Chaochao was so nervous her heart felt like it would leap out of her throat. She didn’t dare look into the man’s eyes on the bed, keeping her head lowered instead.
“I am indeed drunk, but I remember everything I’ve done…”
Huo Nanting rose from the bed and walked toward Lin Chaochao, not stopping there—he forced the woman to retreat step by step until she had nowhere left to go…
With the woman’s back against the wall, Huo Nanting braced his arm beside her, and suddenly leaned down, his warm lips meeting hers once again.
Lin Chaochao felt like she was about to ignite, her mind buzzing. She stared wide-eyed at the man before her, her entire body frozen, completely stunned…
The air was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere, and a faint trace of alcohol lingered between the man’s lips and teeth—pleasantly fragrant…
This kiss was very gentle, so gentle that Lin Chaochao slowly closed her eyes, actively feeling it… and then responding to him…
Moved by passion, the man wrapped both arms around the woman’s slender waist. Perhaps this gesture startled Lin Chaochao.
She abruptly pushed the man away. “President Huo, please show some restraint… You are my boss, and I am your employee. I hope our relationship remains just that.”
Seeing the panic and fear in the woman’s eyes, the man said, “It’s late. Get some rest, and remember to lock the door.”
After saying this, he left her room.
Lin Chaochao watched the man leave, and she indeed obediently locked the door behind him. Then she lay down on the bed, replaying the two kisses from just now… feeling both shy and a little annoyed, she pulled the blanket over her face…
It looked like it would be another sleepless night.