Chapter 5 – The Total Is 2,820 Yuan, Hand Over the Money

As the sunlight crept in through the window, it landed right on his face, gently warm and ticklish... He frowned, rolling over in an attempt to escape that annoying gleam.

With a loud thud, once again—no, for the umpteenth time—he greeted the floor with an ardent good morning kiss...

Lin Xiaowen, who hadn't slept soundly to begin with, rushed out from the inner room. Seeing Cheng Yishu sitting dazed on the floor, she arched an elegant eyebrow before speaking.

"Awake?"

Cheng Yishu heard her voice, but seemed to still be in a dreamlike stupor, staring fixedly at Lin Xiaowen standing at the bedroom door.

"I'm talking to you. What? Did you fall on your head?" Lin Xiaowen stepped forward and tilted her head at him.

"Who are you..."

Under his tousled hair, Cheng Yishu's expression was a bit aggrieved. Having just fallen off the sofa again, he now sat on the floor looking up at Lin Xiaowen with an air of helplessness, small and pitiful.

"Who am I?" Lin Xiaowen wrinkled her nose, glanced at him sideways, and declared, "I'm your benefactor, your savior, and your creditor... Now, do you know who I am?"

"What?"

Blinking, Cheng Yishu didn't seem to fully comprehend. His head throbbed and his throat felt parched. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "Is there any water? I'm thirsty... I want some water."

Lin Xiaowen recalled what he had just said... Yes, it was rather polite, completely at odds with last night's man who had kept calling her "vile woman" every other sentence.

"Fine. One glass of water will cost you twenty. Sit there and wait, alright?"

"Mm!" Cheng Yishu nodded obediently and didn't move.

When Lin Xiaowen handed him the water, he accepted it with both hands, as polite as could be. But what startled her most was that when he gave the glass back, he muttered reverently, "Kamsahamnida..."

"...Huh? What did you say?"

The sudden foreign phrase left Lin Xiaowen scratching her head in confusion. Before she could ask what he'd meant, Cheng Yishu closed his eyes and toppled backwards, stiff as a board...

"Hey, you, you..."

Lin Xiaowen stared, her lips twitching. "Are you even awake?"

Cheng Yishu didn't budge.

"Hey, get up. This is my home. I took you in for the night. You can't just freeload here forever..."

Cheng Yishu simply rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Ugh... This guy, honestly!"

Seeing that her voice couldn't rouse him, Lin Xiaowen's lips curved into a sly smile as a plan took shape in her mind.

Finally, with peace restored, Cheng Yishu smacked his lips and slept soundly.

Bang... bang...

"Oh, for crying out loud..."

Cheng Yishu's eyes snapped open. With a swift roll and a carp jump, he sprang upright, his eyes scanning the room with alert brilliance.

"Awake now, aren't you, you little rascal? Thought I couldn't handle you!" Lin Xiaowen brandished a rolling pin and a stainless steel pot lid, triumphant.

"Are you insane?"

Now fully alert, Cheng Yishu glared at her furiously. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Lin Xiaowen pointed the rolling pin at her own nose, snorting impatiently, "Are you a broken record? You keep asking endlessly. I'm your benefactor, your savior, and your creditor. Get it this time?"

"What... What kind of nonsense is this?" Cheng Yishu shouted, exasperated.

"Fine, forget the favor. Just pay off your debt and we're square!"

Lin Xiaowen put down her 'weapons' and continued, "Last night's lodging fee is three hundred. The pajamas aren't branded, but since you wore them, I'll charge you two hundred. Then there's the floor you threw up on, my clothes, my shoes... Oh, and my 'Happy Lamb' has to be cleaned, too... All together, it's at least fifteen hundred! Plus that glass of water—twenty. Most importantly, my care last night comes at a high price... let's say eight hundred. That makes a total of two thousand eight hundred and twenty."

"Stop!"

Cheng Yishu massaged his aching temples before looking up at her. "What are you even talking about?"

"Thinking of skipping out on the bill, are you?" Lin Xiaowen put down her counting fingers and eyed him sideways. "What am I talking about? Last night you got drunk at my bar. I saw you passed out on the roadside and brought you here. Otherwise, you'd have frozen to death outside!"

She deliberately omitted a few 'unimportant' details—didn't that make her sound more heroic?

"You puked all over yourself. It was disgusting. I even changed your clothes for you!"

Lin Xiaowen shot him a fierce glare. So what if he was good-looking? A drunk with no self-control who blacks out...

Meanwhile, Cheng Yishu was taking in his surroundings, his frown deepening. When she mentioned changing his clothes, he reflexively looked down. His thick brows knotted together, and his teeth ground audibly.

He was wearing an oversized women's nightgown with a SpongeBob print, barely reaching his thighs, and only his own boxer shorts underneath.

"Uh... I don't have any men's clothes at home. That maternity dress is from when I was pregnant... It was all I could find for you. And I covered your... lower half with a blanket. I absolutely didn't peek, I swear!"

Seeing his furious reaction, Lin Xiaowen felt compelled to explain. Though he was quite attractive, and his figure... well, it was worth a look, she had only admired him for a split second, purely out of innocent appreciation!

Blushing, Lin Xiaowen tried to appear composed. "I've washed your clothes for you, but they're not dry yet..."

"Who gave you the right to take off my clothes? Pervert! Give them back!" Cheng Yishu nearly exploded, his eyes raging as if he wanted to skin her alive.

"Why are you yelling?" Lin Xiaowen snapped, losing her patience. "I took you in out of kindness and you shout at me? What gives?"

"As if I care! For these shabby clothes and this run-down floor, you want twenty-eight hundred? Why don't you go rob a bank?"

Cheng Yishu looked down in annoyance at the battered sofa, its stuffing already poking out, and protested angrily, "And you made me sleep on the sofa? This dump isn't even worth fifty. You must be crazy for money..."

"Oh, really, you want to skip out on the bill?"

Lin Xiaowen folded her arms, stood on tiptoe, and sneered, "You look so decent, yet you turn out to be a deadbeat. Not paying, huh? If you won't pay, you don't get your clothes back. If you dare, go out in a maternity dress!"

"Don't you dare!"

Cheng Yishu glared, stepping forward to seize her arm, eyes locked onto her face. "Don't make me use force. Give me my clothes!"

"I said no, and I mean it!" Lin Xiaowen glared right back, biting her lip and trying to pry off his hand with her free one.

"Fine... If you won't take the easy way, then the hard way it is!"

Cheng Yishu, always known for being a straight-laced man, had never shown the slightest bit of chivalry toward the glamorous actresses he'd worked with, let alone this rather ordinary girl, who could only be described as delicate and demure.

But when she put up a fight, it only fueled his competitive spirit.

With both hands, Cheng Yishu gripped hers tightly, matching her strength for strength. But she was no match for him, and soon pain shot through her wrists.

Standing over her, Cheng Yishu looked on with smug satisfaction, while Lin Xiaowen, face flushing from the effort, struggled in vain.

Then, as if struck by inspiration, Lin Xiaowen's lips curled in a sly smile. She gritted her teeth and stomped hard on his toes.

With a howl of pain from Cheng Yishu, Lin Xiaowen's grin had barely bloomed before the world spun around her...

With a loud thud, the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor echoed in her ears.

...Wait, pain?

With her eyes squeezed shut, Lin Xiaowen realized she didn't feel any pain at all—in fact, it was rather comfortable...

"You... wretched woman, get up!"

Cheng Yishu, beneath her, growled through gritted teeth. At that moment, the door lock clicked. Both froze and looked toward the entrance.

"...Xiaowen!"

"Oh, crap!"

At the door stood a flamboyantly dressed, short-haired young woman, holding the hand of a sweet, adorable little girl. Both stared in shock at the two adults tangled on the floor.

Regaining her composure, Xu Ningning calmly reached out to cover the little princess's eyes and said serenely, "Ranyan... be good, don't look at things you shouldn't."