Volume 1, Chapter 47: Succeeded

The front desk receptionist informed us with a serious look that all rooms were fully booked. Lin Feifei and I exchanged glances of dismay.

Leaving the front desk, I said to Lin Feifei with a helpless expression, "You heard her just now, there really are no rooms left. It's all my fault; I should have checked you into a room before we went to dinner."

Lin Feifei looked equally helpless. She sighed and hesitated before speaking, "Then... what do you think we should do?"

I sighed and feigned deep thought. "I think... this is wonderful..."

As the words left my mouth, she raised her delicate, playful fists and came at me. Her blows lacked any real force, but to play along with her performance, I repeatedly begged for mercy. Only after she had vented her frustration did she let me off the hook.

Lin Feifei crossed her arms and looked at me, caught somewhere between laughter and tears. "How are we going to sleep tonight?"

I smiled. "Look at that question of yours. With such a huge bed, do you even need to wonder how to sleep?"

Lin Feifei rolled her eyes at me. "Are you really that heartless? Can't you just give the whole bed to me?"

I scraped the carpet with the toe of my shoe and argued plausibly, "You saw it yourself, this carpet is exceptionally thin. Sleeping a night on this floor is much worse for your kidneys than sleeping on the bed."

"..."

While we were bantering, the doorbell suddenly rang. I opened the door to find the receptionist from earlier.

She politely said to Lin Feifei and me, "I'm sorry to disturb you both. Although our guest rooms are full, in order to help Ms. Lin solve her problem, we have a suggestion. I wonder if Ms. Lin might consider it?"

Lin Feifei swayed her slender waist as she walked over. "What suggestion?"

"We still have a small spare bed. We can add an extra bed to this gentleman's room."

Me: "..."

Lin Feifei's face lit up with joy, and she agreed without a moment's hesitation. Soon, they brought an extra small bed into my room. While Lin Feifei's accommodation problem was solved, I couldn't bring myself to feel happy at all.

The receptionist directed the attendants to arrange the bed properly, and before leaving, she didn't forget to ask me, "Is there anything else you need?"

Fighting back tears, I shook my head and said, "No, thank you so much!"

The girl couldn't quite pick up on sarcasm and beamed with a bright smile. "You're welcome, it's our pleasure."

With that, she turned and left.

***

Closing the door and turning around, I found Lin Feifei's face brimming with smiles, the corners of her mouth curving up beautifully. "So, your sneaky plan couldn't succeed, huh?"

I sighed and, acting very sensibly, walked over to sit on the newly added small bed, saying glumly, "Tonight, you take the big bed, and I'll take the small one."

Lin Feifei's eyes curved into crescent moons. "That's what I was thinking too. You said it before I even opened my mouth—we're truly of one mind!"

I let out a breath. "It would be even better if we were of one body too."

"You!"

Half-jokingly and half-seriously, I said, "It's a bit cold in here. If you find yourself needing someone to warm up your side of the bed, just let me know. Don't be shy with me."

Lin Feifei curled the corners of her mouth. "No need. Putting you out like this is embarrassing enough. As a rule, if I can manage something myself, I won't bother others."

"If you felt that kind of embarrassment toward me a little more often, that would be even better."

Lin Feifei rolled her eyes, looking amused and exasperated. "You really do have a way with words. No wonder your beautiful neighbor has her eyes on you."

I froze, then managed a bitter smile. "Who says she has her eyes on me? We're just friends."

Lin Feifei flopped backward onto the bed, pointing her fair, delicate little feet toward me in a captivating manner.

At the same time, a lazy, soft-toned voice drifted over. "Hh! I don't believe it for a second! I heard her when she called you today. I'm a woman too, and a woman's sixth sense is never wrong."

I glanced at her. Though she put on a nonchalant front, her tone seemed somewhat laced with sour grapes.

"Then aren't you the one who drove five hours on the highway in the middle of the night just to rush over here because you were worried about me?"

I flashed a thoroughly cheeky smile. Lin Feifei's face instantly turned bright red, and she hurriedly offered an explanation: "I rushed over in the middle of the night because you kept ignoring my phone calls! What was I supposed to do, call the police? Even though we haven't known each other very long, we *do* know each other. If something had actually happened to you, it wouldn't have been right for me to just pretend I didn't know. Right?"

The corners of my mouth crept upward. "Go on, keep making things up. Caring about me is just caring about me, why do you have to keep making excuses for yourself?"

"..."

Unable to talk her way out of it, Lin Feifei pulled the blanket straight over her face. "I'm done arguing with you. I'm sleepy, time for bed."

By saying that, she walked right into another trap of mine. Smiling, I said, "It's only five in the afternoon, are you taking a nap this early?"

"You..."

***

Lin Feifei sat up in one swift, springing motion, her face flushed red like a delicate, dew-kissed rose.

Frantically rubbing her cheeks, she glared at me and gritted her teeth. "You are so annoying! What business is it of yours whether I'm making excuses or not?"

Seeing her keep rubbing her face, I couldn't help teasing her with a smile, "Stop rubbing your face. Be careful, the more you rub it, the bigger it'll get."

Lin Feifei shot me a sideways glance and pouted her little lips. "I want to, what's it to you?"

"Actually, having a big face isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least it doesn't waste screen space when taking photos."

"Get lost!"

Ever since we came back from outside, we had stayed cooped up in the hotel without stepping out. The exhaustion from the journey hadn't worn off yet, so I went to bed early. When I woke up, I found that Lin Feifei was still awake. Glancing at the time, it was already eleven o'clock at night, and she was still happily clutching her phone and playing on it.

Thinking it was getting too late, I kindly reminded her, "It's too late, you should go to sleep early. Staying up late is bad for your phone."

Lin Feifei curled the corners of her mouth, put down her phone, and looked at me with a smile. "You really never run out of nonsense, do you? By the way, Yu Bin, if you can't fall asleep just yet, let me ask you a question."

I rolled over and sat up, looking at her pretty face as I said, "Ask away! Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you everything without holding back."

Lin Feifei leaned lazily against the headboard of the bed. Her exquisite facial features and fair skin looked exceptionally enchanting under the warm orange glow of the bedside lamp.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "I just wanted to ask... what kind of women do you like?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I stared at her in astonishment, unable to figure out why she was suddenly asking me such a question out of the blue.

As if afraid I would misunderstand, Lin Feifei quickly added a patch-up sentence, "I'm just asking casually, don't read too much into it!"

Her question plunged me into deep contemplation. If it had been the past, I undoubtedly would have said without a second thought that I liked someone like Kuang Li. But ever since my ideal paradise had crashed down into the mundane world, I suddenly didn't know how to answer this question anymore.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" I suddenly asked.

Lin Feifei offered a gentle smile and handed the ashtray straight to me.

I lit a cigarette, and my drifting thoughts floated along with the scent of tobacco. Through the rings of smoke, I looked at her exquisite, pretty face, which carried a hazy, charming allure. Suddenly, I finally found my answer.