The luxurious presidential suite was dimly lit, making it impossible to tell what time it was. The air was still filled with the distinctive scent of lingering lust, so nauseating that it made one feel like throwing up their last meal.
Chang An stared blankly with her swollen, weepy eyes, not knowing how long she had stayed like that before turning to look at the person lying next to her.
She could only make out the other person's bare shoulder and back of his head in the faint light. She could vaguely see his soft hair. Even though she couldn't see his face, his light and steady breathing indicated he was sleeping soundly.
Huh, why wouldn't he sleep peacefully?
He had been competing with her wits for over a year, using all sorts of methods until he finally resorted to drugging her, a really despicable act, to get her in bed. He was probably laughing even in his dreams.
Chang An gritted her teeth in fury, her gaze piercing like a dagger. If it weren't for her critically ill grandmother who needed to be taken care of, she would have killed him with a lamp the moment she woke up.
And now, she could only swallow this bitter pill. As for Ji Ran, such a beast, hoping to gain advantages from him by spending the night with him was simply dreaming.
She could guarantee that the first thing he would say when he woke up would be to negotiate with her about being his companion for a night to extending it to a month, two months, or even longer.
Treating her like a woman who sold herself, it was disgusting just to think about it.
Chang An sighed quietly, bearing the pain in her body, and sat up from the bed. She picked up her rumpled cocktail dress from the floor in the dim light and put it on.
Perhaps out of resentment, before leaving, she spotted the air conditioner remote control on the coffee table. She picked it up and set the temperature to 16 degrees Celsius, and felt the cold wind before leaving in satisfaction.
This temperature shouldn't make him sick, but he should catch a cold or have a fever, right?
She couldn't wish a serious illness upon him, but even giving him discomfort for a few days would be a relief for her.
Chang An checked the room temperature one last time before stepping out of the room.
Who knew how many times Ji Ran had tormented her last night? Chang An felt as though each step was an agony, as if her body was falling apart.
She stood at the steps in front of the hotel, staring at the dim streetlight in the distance and the empty street, experiencing confusion and despair for the first time in her life.
Taking a deep breath and about to call a taxi, she heard a soft voice that could not be softer: "An An..."
Looking towards the sound, Chang An saw a figure not far away. Upon recognizing who it was, her mind buzzed, and it seemed as if the last sentence she heard before falling into delirium last night echoed in her ears.
"Mr. Ji, she has been sent to your room. Lin Muyang did a wonderful job; she's practically unconscious now."
It was him, her lover, Lin Muyang, who was approaching her.
He was still wearing the grey suit from the banquet they attended last night. His usually meticulous hair was wildly disheveled by the wind. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face looked weary, as if he'd been waiting here for a long time.
When Chang An woke up, she told herself that she must not cry or make a scene when she sees this man; she must smile as if nothing happened and pretend not to care.
But when she saw him, the man she had loved for five long years, she couldn't help the tears welling up in her eyes. She took a deep breath to control her emotions, but when she started speaking, her voice broke with the onset of tears.
"What are you doing here?"