So what did she mean by that extra remark? Was she subtly implying that he wasn’t lucky enough, that hotel business was booming, or that he had run into some overbearing customer?
Unbelievable!
Rong Ning sighed helplessly, hung up the phone, and cursed the hotel and that customer up and down in his heart.
Inside the room, Jiang Mohai had already changed out of his suit into pajamas, semi-reclining against the headboard as he made a phone call.
At the foot of the bed stood Rong Ning’s suitcase, which must have been sent up by the hotel front desk after he went out just now.
He glanced at Jiang Mohai’s tall, slender frame. Beneath the straight, proper pajamas were concealed solid, well-defined muscles, and the unbuttoned collar revealed hints of his contours.
Rong Ning withdrew his gaze, softened his footsteps as he walked over, fished his pajamas out of the suitcase, and turned his back to Jiang Mohai to strip off his jacket.
Jiang Mohai was still on the phone. Rong Ning paused mid-motion in unbuttoning his shirt, suddenly feeling that changing clothes right under the man’s nose was inappropriate, so he hugged his pajamas and retreated into the bathroom instead.
Two minutes later, Rong Ning slowly leaned against the opposite side of the bed with very deliberate, quiet movements.
Shedding his suit made his body feel a good deal more refreshed.
Rong Ning rolled his shoulders to find a comfortable posture, lowering his head to play with his phone while his peripheral vision swept intentionally or unintentionally toward the person beside him.
“What do you want to eat tonight?” Hanging up the phone, Jiang Mohai suddenly leaned in close, stopping right next to Rong Ning.
Rong Ning’s body gave a slight start. A wave of warmth washed over the side of his neck, and an unnamable sensation crept thread by thread up to his scalp, leaving a tingling numbness in its wake.
Feigning composure and staring straight ahead, he pretended to be deeply engrossed in his mobile game. “Nothing in particular, just order room service.”
“Alright.” Jiang Mohai acknowledged, leaning even closer to Rong Ning’s side. “What are you playing that has you so focused?” Supporting half his upper body with one hand, the collar of his pajamas opened up even wider.
A casual sweep of Rong Ning’s peripheral vision caught sight of that expanse of chest, and he hastily pulled his gaze back in a panic. The sudden acceleration of his heartbeat made his fingers tremble over the screen as he muttered in a low voice, “A little game…”
“Teach me how to play.”
“Huh?” Rong Ning froze, his expression blank and inquisitive before he reasoned that it must be a joke. He cast a sidelong glance at him and spoke in an unenthusiastic tone. “This isn’t suitable for you.”
Jiang Mohai had never wasted his time on such things; how could he possibly want to play a video game?
“Then teach me one that is suitable for me.” Jiang Mohai raised an eyebrow, gazing down at him with a chest that nearly pressed against his shoulder.
A subtle shift crossed Rong Ning’s expression. He shifted his body a bit closer to the edge of the bed to put some distance between them. “I’m not teaching you!”
“Move over a bit, don’t mess up my rank.” His tone was light yet firm, a flat-out refusal.
“Fine, fine, you play.” Jiang Mohai’s gaze lingered on the faint pink flush tipping Rong Ning’s earlobes. The corners of his mouth ticked upward slightly as he straightened his collar and lay back down in his original spot.
The two of them lowered their heads in silence, each minding their own business.
The surroundings were altogether too quiet, and the strange atmosphere left Rong Ning afraid to take a deep breath, forcing him to turn the game volume up high as if putting on a bold front.
Yet the game in his hands grew increasingly boring, resulting in a string of losses. After a few more rounds, he finally couldn’t take it anymore, tossed his phone aside, and irritably closed his eyes to feign sleep.
Feigning it for long enough, he accidentally drifted off.
He was ultimately woken up by the aroma of food.
Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a brightly glistening medium-rare steak.
“I was just about to call you.” Jiang Mohai sat sideways on the edge of the bed, holding a tray in one hand and using a fork to offer a bite of pre-sliced beef right to Rong Ning’s lips. “Open wide.”
Rong Ning lifted his eyes to glance at him, blinked, and obediently opened his mouth.
A bite-sized piece of steak was delivered into his mouth, and with a single chew, the savory juices instantly flooded his oral cavity.
Rong Ning was shocked by its deliciousness. “This hotel’s culinary standards are this high?”
Jiang Mohai chuckled, offering another piece. “Is it good?”
Chewing with immense relish, Rong Ning nodded repeatedly, a satisfied smile blooming across his face. “Good.”
Jiang Mohai moved to feed him another, but Rong Ning grew somewhat embarrassed and hurriedly took the tray. “I’ll do it myself,” he said, digging in with gusto.
After the main course, Rong Ning leisurely enjoyed a dessert while Jiang Mohai cleared away the remnants, stepping outside to dispose of them along with the takeout boxes he had brought back from the western restaurant next door.
Though dinner had been eaten in the room, it was exceptionally lavish. Rong Ning had eaten to the point of bursting, and with digestion lagging by nightfall coupled with his pre-dinner nap, he found himself completely unable to fall asleep.
Lying on his back with his back turned to Jiang Mohai, Rong Ning blinked in the darkness, his peripheral vision catching a faint glow from the side that suggested the man was likely answering emails again.
Rong Ning rolled over onto his back, tilting his head slightly toward Jiang Mohai and silently watching his movements without a word.
Noticing Rong Ning’s gaze, Jiang Mohai paused his fingers, turned his head to meet Rong Ning’s eyes, and whispered through the phone’s glow, “What is it?”
“You passed out from exhaustion last night, do you remember?” Rong Ning’s tone was calm, but the underlying question was pure concern.
Jiang Mohai pondered for a moment. “I suppose so.”
“It’s not ‘I suppose’, you definitely did!” Rong Ning suddenly bolted upright from beneath the covers, leaning against the headboard with a heavier tone. “You’re the only one who would work himself to the point of complete unconsciousness—aren’t you afraid of dropping dead from overwork?!”
Jiang Mohai’s eyebrow twitched upward as the corners of his mouth curled. “If I die, will you collect my corpse for me?” He asked as if speaking offhandedly.
“Collect whose corpse! I’m going to make you a cautionary tale, leave your body out in the wilderness, and broadcast it to the whole world: pleasing yourself beats pleasing others, overtime work is a no-go, nobody be a corporate drone!” Growing increasingly indignant, Rong Ning’s reprimand carried an escalating weight.
Jiang Mohai let out a low chuckle, his chest vibrating as he shook with laughter.
He switched off his phone and placed it on the bedside table, plunging the room into absolute, pitch-black darkness where you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face.
Following a rustling sound, Rong Ning suddenly lost any motion beside him.
Asleep already?
If he was too exhausted, it wasn’t entirely out of the question. He had already witnessed Jiang Mohai’s skill at falling asleep in seconds.
Rong Ning also slid downward, his head resting against the pillow as he tilted it slightly toward Jiang Mohai’s side.
Huh?
What had he just bumped into?
Rong Ning licked his lips. It had been warm and soft; brief though it was, the tactile sensation felt wondrous.
Before he could process it, a familiar aura swept over him, and a pair of eyes seemed to be burning hungrily into him from above.
With his scalp prickling with numbness, Rong Ning carefully scooted his bottom a bit further away.
“Get closer to me…” Jiang Mohai’s voice was hoarse and soft, resembling sandpaper rubbing gently before he drew in a deep, lingering, and intoxicated breath. “Ah-Ning smells so good, just like last night.”
Rong Ning’s eyelashes fluttered in a daze as he shifted slightly back toward him, murmuring in a low voice, “You knew it was me?” His gaze scanned the darkness, searching for Jiang Mohai’s eyes.
“Mn.” He took another deep breath. “In my consciousness, it’s a familiar scent, so I slept even more deeply.”
After a brief silence, Rong Ning softly called out, “Jiang Mohai…”
“Mn,” came the muffled voice from right beside his ear.
“You said earlier that no matter what I asked, you would answer truthfully. Does that still count?”
“Of course…” Jiang Mohai let out a muffled chuckle. “We are currently in the Q&A segment.”
Rong Ning paused, his fingertips nervously rubbing against one another as he asked, “I clearly changed my password. How did you figure it out?”
As for why Jiang Mohai had been willing to help him keep the motorcycle business under wraps and quietly draw lots for him, Rong Ning could guess the answer without asking.
Asking would only be asking for frustration.
Jiang Mohai didn’t speak, rolling over to fish his phone off the bedside table, unlocking it, and handing it to Rong Ning.
“What?” Rong Ning took the phone.
“See for yourself.”
Rong Ning’s gaze fell upon the screen, where a video was playing. After watching for a few seconds, his expression suddenly froze.
He paused the video, using the phone’s glow to glance sideways and upward at Jiang Mohai, who was half-reclining and propping his head up with one hand.
His eyes were half-closed, the corners of his mouth ticked upward slightly, and a trace of a smile hung on his face.
Rong Ning bit down on his back molars and continued watching the video.
That day, Rong Ning had lowered his head to unlock the door, telling Jiang Mohai to turn around, failing to notice that this scoundrel had actually turned on the phone’s front-facing camera and recorded his entire password-entering process.
Furious, Rong Ning shut the phone off and tossed it onto the duvet.
“You use all your clever tricks on me!”
Jiang Mohai pinched Rong Ning’s flushed, huffy cheek. “Anything else you want to ask?”
“Not asking anymore! Go to sleep!” Rong Ning yanked the blanket up, wrapping himself tightly from head to toe.
Feeling around in the dark, Jiang Mohai pulled the blanket down a bit. “I can’t smell it.”
Clutching the edge of the blanket, Rong Ning frowned. “Smell what?”
“The scent on you…” Jiang Mohai lay back down and edged closer to Rong Ning. “Get closer, I sleep better.” His voice remained hoarse.
Rong Ning ignored him, forcing himself to close his eyes and go to sleep.
The next morning, Rong Ning was woken up by the shower running in the bathroom.
Waking up in a daze, he suddenly sensed something anomalous about his body that caused him to instantly freeze, his heart sinking heavily.
Rong Ning panicked, flinging back the blanket to stare down at his pants.
Crap, crap, crap!
What on earth had he been dreaming about last night?
Kissing? Embracing?
His body stiffened, not daring to make a single reckless movement as his face scrunched up into a knot, completely unable to recall the details.
“Awake?” Jiang Mohai walked out of the bathroom wiping his hair.
Rong Ning snapped back to reality, squeezing out an embarrassed smile.
“Yup, awake.” He spoke the words, but his eyes drifted uncontrollably down to the sturdy, well-defined chest visible beneath Jiang Mohai’s partially open bathrobe.
He had actually used Jiang Mohai as his imaginary target yet again.
How perverted!
Swallowing hard, Rong Ning snatched his gaze back. A sense of awkwardness and shame flooded his heart, warming his ears and blooming a thin layer of pink flush across his cheeks.
Jiang Mohai walked over to the bedside and pinched Rong Ning’s cheek. “Awake is awake, why are you blushing?”