Volume One, Chapter 32: Guest Room or Master Bedroom

When Sang Wan opened her eyes, the distant horizon beyond the window was ablaze with splendid evening clouds, dyeing the entire sky a vibrant orange-red. The glow spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting the bedroom in the same fiery hue. Sleepiness drifted away, disappearing to the edge of the sky.

Sang Wan sat up abruptly, startled. The orange cat that had been nestled in her quilt bounced away, staring at her in confusion as if to ask, “What’s happened? Has the sky fallen?”

Her heart raced, and Sang Wan was equally bewildered. How had she fallen asleep? True, she’d stayed up late chatting with Xu Yi last night, and so had risen late this morning. But how had she managed to doze off again? Even in a guest room, it felt terribly rude.

She remembered wandering into the bedroom, seeing the orange cat sprawled languidly across the big bed, stretching in every possible direction. Her heart melted into a puff of cotton candy at the sight. She had knelt beside the bed, poking its soft paw pads and kneading its fluffy belly. And then… nothing. The rest was a blank.

Hurriedly slipping on her slippers, Sang Wan smoothed her hair and clothes as she stepped out of the room. The living room was dim. She grabbed her phone—there were missed calls and messages from Lou Ye. The call had come two hours ago, but she’d slept through it.

Lou Ye had sent a message: “The driver went to the airport to pick someone up. He’ll be back around five or six. Find something to amuse yourself in the meantime.”

“And don’t take it upon yourself to call a cab. Cabs are hard to get around here!”

No, not hard to get. Impossible, actually. Which ride-hailing driver would be foolish enough to venture up to these hillside villas for a fare?

She checked the time—just five o’clock. Sang Wan breathed a sigh of relief, then unloaded the washed dishes from the dishwasher and put them away. She opened a can for the orange cat and played with it and a ball of yarn for a while.

The elevator hummed open.

When Lou Ye walked out, Sang Wan looked up from the rug in the living room, feeling a wave of relief. It was like being spared from getting caught after doing something wrong—a narrow escape.

“The driver’s still at the airport. I’ll take you myself,” Lou Ye said, closing the shoe cupboard.

Sang Wan nodded, stepping forward, but hesitated. “Do you need a break?” she asked.

He’d come back in such a hurry—it must have been something important. From his appearance, he’d finished up and rushed home, not even pausing for a drink of water before offering to drive her. Meanwhile, she had commandeered his guest room and slept away the afternoon.

Lou Ye paused, asking, “Are you in a hurry tonight? Any plans?”

Sang Wan shook her head. She wasn’t. Tomorrow was her first day on the job.

Her most important task tonight was to sleep well, then wake up early and report to the Lou Corporation refreshed and energized.

“Good, if you’re not pressed for time…” Lou Ye changed his shoes, walked into the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa. He patted his stomach. “Anything to eat?”

She wanted to say, This is your house—shouldn’t you know? But feeling guilty, Sang Wan got up and went to the kitchen. She opened the fridge—it was fully stocked, everything one could want.

Sang Wan called out, “What do you want? Yogurt bowl? Steak? Fruit?”

“Steak, and toss a salad. Actually, just grill two steaks. You should eat too, make it your dinner.”

“…All right.”

The sizzle of oil filled the air, accompanied by a faint aroma of cooking fat.

Lou Ye leaned back on the sofa, sighing quietly. This, he thought, was what home felt like.

When 2S’s feline face appeared right above Lou Ye’s own, he reached up with precision, grabbed the cat by the scruff, and lifted it off the sofa back.

Meow!

2S cried pitifully and scampered off to the kitchen to complain.

Lou Ye’s eyes glinted with amusement.

Sang Wan returned to Old Town Alley late in the evening.

“Grandma, I’m home!” she called, pushing open the door. The voices in the courtyard fell silent.

Only then did Sang Wan realize there was someone besides Grandma Wan in the yard.

Wan Jianye, seeing Sang Wan, quickly pulled down the T-shirt draped over his belly and tugged the short sleeves off his shoulder. “Mom, is this the Xiao Sang you mentioned?”

They say lantern light flatters beauty. At that moment, Wan Jianye wished he could summon whoever said that, to witness a higher realm of appreciation. More beautiful than lantern-lit was moon-lit, surely!

Moonlight poured down like water, gentle and soft. Sang Wan stepped through the doorway, looking like a celestial maiden descended to earth.

That face. That waist. That figure.

Wan Jianye nearly drooled, rising to offer her a seat. “Xiao Sang, come sit…”

She knew this was the son Grandma Wan had mentioned—her ‘good-for-nothing’ child. She’d assumed it was modesty, but now, after just a quick look, Sang Wan realized it wasn’t an exaggeration.

“No, you two carry on,” Sang Wan replied with a polite smile. “Grandma, I’ll go upstairs first.”

“All right, dear…”

“Mom, what’s Xiao Sang’s story? Don’t let yourself be fooled!” Wan Jianye muttered, only to be silenced by a smack from Grandma Wan.

Sang Wan paid them little mind, heading upstairs to her room.

She’d barely changed into her slippers when her phone lit up.

“Are you home?” Lou Ye had sent a message.

Sang Wan replied with a curt ‘yes,’ then felt it was too cold and typed slowly:

“Thank you, Lou Ye! I’m sorry to trouble you with 2S for a while—really, I apologize for the inconvenience!”

After sending the message, there was no response.

Sang Wan tossed her phone aside and went to wash up and sleep.

Lou Ye, drying his hair, walked out of the bathroom and picked up his phone. Amidst a flood of new messages, he opened Sang Wan’s chat first.

Through the screen, Sang Wan seemed to have reverted to the prickly, guarded girl at the dinner table—aloof and distant.

Lou Ye’s brows furrowed with a trace of disappointment.

He checked and replied to a few other messages, then tossed aside his phone and climbed into bed.

The air was tinged with a faint scent—strange yet familiar.

The floor lamp in the corner gradually dimmed and then went out.

The fragrance grew stronger in the darkness.

Frowning, Lou Ye sat up, thinking of the housekeeper arranging for someone to change the bedding, then him lying back down—it would take at least half an hour.

An inexplicable restlessness welled up in him.

As his hand brushed the phone, something flashed through his mind.

Sang Wan had not appeared in the camera feed since entering the bedroom.

At this moment, 2S was curled up at his feet, asleep.

A thought struck him. Lou Ye grabbed the edge of the quilt, leaned down, and pressed his nose to it.

He was right.

It was Sang Wan’s scent.

Like the gentle aroma of gardenia drifting through moonlight.

Like the lingering hint of milk after a latte, soft and delicate.

Not strong, yet impossible to ignore.

In the coolness of the night, it conjured a restless heat, unsettling the heart.

He glanced at 2S, curled even tighter around its legs.

Lou Ye tugged at the quilt.

2S looked up in confusion.

“Wrong position. Get up and sleep again,” Lou Ye said coldly.

2S stretched, dissatisfied, hopped off the bed, and silently slipped out of the bedroom.

Lou Ye lay back down, and the fragrance was even more pronounced.

He thought of the afternoon, Sang Wan sleeping here—the master bedroom, his bed. Perhaps precisely where he was lying now.

Lou Ye’s heart beat faster for no apparent reason.

His mind conjured Sang Wan pressed against the bar wall, the dazzlingly pale, slender swan neck.

The pillow was saturated with her scent.

“Damn!”

He muttered and got up, heading into the bathroom.

A night of turmoil.

When the alarm rang, Lou Ye sat up, dazed for a moment, his mind full of last night’s chaotic, dazzling dream.

He raked a hand through his hair, frustration darkening his eyes.

He was losing his mind.