While chatting idly with her sister, Ruan Xingmian was unaware that Gu Xing’s phone was also vibrating.
Ruan Xingyue fired off three furious questions in a row:
—Did you take my sister to a hotel room?
—She’s not even twenty yet, have you no shame?
—Gu Xing, do you even have a conscience?
Throughout the entire noon, Gu Xing didn’t take out his phone, calmly accompanying his girlfriend for lunch.
After the meal, he gave the new phone to Ruan Xingmian: “Your old phone overheats when recording videos. Use this one for filming.”
Ruan Xingmian paused while putting away her bag. Gu Xing really was a detail-oriented person.
He had even noticed that.
Looking more closely at the new phone in his hand, the screen had an equal-depth micro-curve with rounded edges.
The blackened shot blended seamlessly with the body, and the back cover was matte black with a fine, smooth texture.
It looked expensive at a glance.
Reportedly priced at seven or eight thousand.
“It’s too valuable. You should use it.” She could accept the money, use some of it, and help manage the rest for him. “You’ve been using your old phone for years. It’s the perfect time to switch to this one.”
Gu Xing didn’t mind at all: “My professor’s demo unit—he doesn’t need it, so he gave it to me.”
Oh, so it was a couple’s phone.
Gu Xing’s professor was really nice.
“You’re always the one giving me things.” Ruan Xingmian bit her lip sheepishly. With her current means, she couldn’t even pick a wildflower by the roadside to give to Gu Xing.
The man uncomfortably lowered his refined brows, his cool gaze sweeping over her abdomen before slowly shifting away.
He said, “I like giving you things. You don’t need to compare with me.”
His focused, sincere gaze was truly heart-stirring.
Pink bubbles seemed to float around Ruan Xingmian. The process of becoming attached to someone was subtle and gradual, with every detail of his continuously accumulating.
If love were a river, Ruan Xingmian felt she was already submerged up to her neck.
…
After dropping Ruan Xingmian off at the Staff Apartments, Gu Xing slung his black backpack over his shoulder, hurried to the school gate, got into his professor’s car, and headed to the high-speed rail station.
In the back seat sat Ruan Xingyue, who thoroughly disliked him.
And Ji Ling, who didn’t even glance his way.
…
After waking from her afternoon nap, Ruan Xingmian couldn’t shake her unease about the pinhole camera.
After a quick wash-up, she spent half the day restless and fidgety.
After much thought, she grabbed her bag and headed out, deciding to contact Jifeng Hotel to book a room and specifically request the one from that day.
She needed to see for herself.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, that room has been booked by someone else.”
Ruan Xingmian hung up the phone, trying to imagine whether she’d be beaten to death by the guest if she knocked on the door to search for the pinhole camera.
Looking down, her phone vibrated.
It was Lu Tian.
Perfect timing to sound him out—whether the pinhole camera was with him.
If he had taken it, it would be a ticking time bomb sooner or later.
“Hey, Tian-ge.”
Lu Tian chuckled, “Xingmian, this is the first time you’ve called me that.”
Ruan Xingmian pretended to be jealous to fish for information. “Doesn’t Sang Rou call you that? I thought you liked it. Aren’t you two together today?”
“Is Xingmian jealous?”
“What do you think, Tian-ge?”
Lu Tian’s laughter carried an ambiguous tone: “Your sister and Gu Xing have gone to another city. I’ve booked a room at Jifeng Hotel. Come over—I have something to tell you.”
Ruan Xingmian tightened her grip on the phone. “Which room?”
“8808.”
Good, very good, excellent.
Exactly the room she and Gu Xing had slept in. Not going would leave endless trouble; going would allow her to investigate thoroughly. She bet Lu Tian wouldn’t dare do anything to her.
Ruan Xingmian made all the preparations, checked in, and went straight upstairs, knocking on the door with a nervous heart.
After waiting for a long time, Lu Tian opened the door, casually wrapped in a hotel bathrobe, his chest half-exposed.
With thick skin and abundant body hair, he exuded an overwhelming sense of sexual appeal.
Above his chest was an ordinary yet confident, greasy face.
Ruan Xingmian wished she could gouge her own eyes out.
Lu Tian walked toward the bed, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
Ruan Xingmian didn’t close the door, standing at the entrance, ready to leave at any moment. Her phone was clutched in her hand, ensuring she could call the police immediately.
This floor was reserved for designated clients, so there weren’t many people around. Lu Tian didn’t pay much attention to Ruan Xingmian’s unusual behavior.
“Did you bring the stuff?”
Stuff? What stuff?
Seeing her confused expression, Lu Tian reminded her, “The pinhole camera for filming Gu Xing.”
Ruan Xingmian tried hard to recall the details of that day.
Her gaze drifted toward the bedside table.
The pinhole camera Lu Tian had given the original host wasn’t particularly discreet and could easily be discovered.
But now, there was nothing there.
Ruan Xingmian frowned slightly, “You didn’t come to take it?”
Lu Tian’s expression changed, “You didn’t take it with you?”
He reacted faster than Ruan Xingmian, “That day, after you left my room, didn’t you come over to find Gu Xing?”
Lu Tian didn’t seem to be lying.
After all, in his eyes, the original host was as foolish as a pig and not worth deceiving.
Ruan Xingmian’s heart sank. Could it be that Gu Xing took it?
But that day, Gu Xing had been utterly exhausted.
A young man experiencing his first taste of forbidden fruit, he had gone at it intensely three times.
Ruan Xingmian still remembered that when she fled, he was lying face down on the pillow, fast asleep.
Wait.
What had Lu Tian just said?
Ruan Xingmian pointed at herself, “I left your room? And came over?”
How could she not know she had a doppelgänger, who, while being entangled by Gu Xing, also managed to visit the neighboring room?
Oh, right. The prostitute who knocked on the door.
The old prostitute Lu Tian had contacted.
Ruan Xingmian gave Lu Tian, who was deep in thought, a once-over.
She subtly took a step back.
She tried hard to suppress the mocking smile at the corner of her mouth.
Lu Tian had truly lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.
The old prostitute he had arranged for Gu Xing had ended up benefiting him instead.
It was mainly because the original host was crazy enough.
One bottle of drugs, shared among three people.
She had used the threat of suicide to force Gu Xing to come to the hotel to find her, then knocked him out.
She had tricked Lu Tian into coming to help her keep watch under the pretense of a plan to harm Gu Xing, then knocked him out without a second thought.
Lu Tian, who had taken the drugs, still believed to this day that the person who spent the night with him was the original host.
“What should I do, Brother Lu Tian! If the camera is with Gu Xing, how can I ever convince him to be with me?”
“It’s fine.” Lu Tian felt a pang of regret at losing a piece of footage to use against Gu Xing, but there were still plenty of ways to deal with him. He comforted her gently, “If he had the camera, he wouldn’t be with you. Gu Xing may seem calm and detached, but he’s actually very petty.”
Ruan Xingmian forced a smile. You’re the petty one, you and your whole family are petty.
“Maybe the hotel cleaners took it.”
He reassured her.
After all, there had been a recent crackdown on hidden cameras in hotels.
Ruan Xingmian hoped the same.
It would be best if someone had thrown it away as trash.
“I should’ve known better than to buy a camera with a memory card. I should’ve bought a wireless one instead, so I could still get the video data.”
Lu Tian irritably took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew out a large smoke ring.
Ruan Xingmian took another step back, standing outside the door.
“Why are you standing so far away? Alright, it’s fine, I don’t blame you. Weren’t you the one who loved watching me smoke the most? Come a little closer.”
Oh my god, who would like an ashtray?
Must have a death wish.
“I’m feeling a bit under the weather today, and the smell of smoke is irritating my throat.”
Lu Tian immediately stubbed out his cigarette. “I overlooked that. I’ve been busy with work and school lately. Come here, let Tian-ge give you a hug.”
With her straight collarbone-length hair, jeans, and a plain short-sleeved shirt, Ruan Xingmian looked pure and beautiful, especially those long legs of hers, encased in jeans—long and straight.
Her fair skin and shapely legs, paired with sheer stockings and that innocent campus belle face, made her the epitome of pure allure.
It was only today that he noticed how beautiful Ruan Xingmian’s eyes were, as if they held a few stars within them.
“Mianmian, your eyes are truly beautiful.”
Ruan Xingmian suppressed a gag, her eyes twitching anxiously, almost crossing.
Being praised in Lu Tian’s lowered voice felt like being splattered with filth—utterly disgusting.
Why wasn’t Lu Tian following the script? Didn’t he prefer mature women? The original host had clung to him desperately, yet he hadn’t so much as laid a finger on her.
Ruan Xingmian racked her brains for an excuse to leave when she heard Lu Tian say suggestively, “Mianmian, why aren’t you wearing a short skirt anymore? Tian-ge loves seeing you in a short skirt with stockings the most…”
“Cough… cough…” Ruan Xingmian coughed until her face flushed red. “Tian-ge, I’ve been seriously ill lately. The doctor said it’s contagious flu. I’m afraid I might pass it to you.”
Thinking quickly, Ruan Xingmian added, “On your birthday, I’ll wear a short skirt for you.” Clutching her phone, which was secretly recording, she vowed to report this to Ruan Xingyue as soon as she got back.
Hearing this, Lu Tian broke into a smile.
He planned to book this same room again on his birthday.
Still, the thought of being able to look but not touch left him feeling unsatisfied.
“Fine, Tian-ge won’t touch you. Come over here and squat down, let me feel…”
Silence.
Dead silence.
A vein throbbed on Ruan Xingmian’s forehead, her heart pounding like thunder.
Damn this old pervert.
Just as she was about to call the police and report him for harassment, an unfamiliar ringtone saved her.
Startled by the unfamiliar sound, Ruan Xingmian looked around and realized it was coming from her bag.
It was the new phone Gu Xing had given her, containing his secondary SIM card.
The caller ID read “520.”
Ruan Xingmian felt like a dying fish finally reaching water.
She took a deep breath, fumbling to answer the call.
“I’ve arrived at the hotel.”
Gu Xing’s voice was steady and pleasant, yet carried a hint of subtle detachment.
Unaware of this, Ruan Xingmian was overjoyed, tears welling in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll video call you in a bit.”
She raised her phone and mouthed to Lu Tian—Gu Xing is looking for me.
Lu Tian waved his hand impatiently, and Ruan Xingmian seized the chance to dash toward the elevator.
She sprinted out of the hotel, not even noticing Sang Rou passing by her.
Ten minutes later, she sat at a bus stop, making a voice call to Gu Xing. She didn’t dare video call—her mind was a mess, and she couldn’t explain over the phone why she was outside a hotel, nor did she want to distract Gu Xing.
Covering her face, she blurted out, “Gu Xing, I miss you so much.”
Suddenly, she missed him terribly, wishing he were there with her.