Gently bite the jasmine

The hotel lobby was noisy, and Lin Xi turned to look at the torrential rain outside the window.

Duan Yiheng pressed down on their suitcases and made a decision: "Let's go to a hotel further away."

Just as he was about to turn around, Lin Xi grabbed his arm.

"Never mind, we'll just make do for one night." Lin Xi tried to appear natural and not embarrassed. "The weather is terrible, and it's not safe on the road."

Duan Yiheng gripped the handle of his suitcase: "Let's go then, that couple just got off the plane."

Lin Xi had already seen them; they looked like a pair of college students.

After completing the formalities, the four of them went upstairs together.

Lin Xi felt uncomfortable being stared at by the girl, so he raised his hand and fiddled with his long hair.

The girl moved closer to Lin Xi and whispered in her ear with a smile, "Your boyfriend is so handsome."

Her voice wasn't quiet, and there were other people in the elevator, all of whom looked at Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng.

"We are not—"

"Thank you." Duan Yiheng put his arm around Lin Xi's shoulder from behind, interrupting her denial.

The girl smiled like an aunt, and couldn't help but stare at Duan Yiheng several times.

Her boyfriend was a little jealous and pinched her chin to turn her around.

Lin Xi's damp shoulder pressed against Duan Yiheng's chest, and she felt the heat from his body seeping onto her face.

The couple's room was on the 11th floor. After exiting the elevator, they turned right, walked through a corridor, and finally stopped at the second to last room at the end.

The door was open, and someone was tidying up the room inside.

The girl said, "My friend is tidying up our things. You can call someone to clean up after you go in."

Duan Yiheng had already spoken to the receptionist about this. He glanced at the boy, who handed him the QR code for payment, and Duan Yiheng scanned the code to complete the transaction.

The young couple received a "huge sum of money," and their eyes and brows showed excitement, though they tried their best to keep it down.

After the two parties said goodbye, the housekeeping staff came upstairs.

Duan Yiheng raised his hand to check his watch and said, "Lunch here ends at 2:30. We still have some time. Shall we go to the restaurant?"

Lin Xi was already hungry, and agreed upon hearing this.

The two went downstairs again and went to the buffet restaurant.

Duan Yiheng went back and forth several times, bringing Lin Xi the foods she liked. She was taken aback and stared at Duan Yiheng.

"What's wrong? Isn't it delicious?"

Lin Xi shook her head: "They all seem to be things I like."

Duan Yiheng chuckled: "I've eaten with you many times, so I know what kind of food Sister Mei makes. You prefer sweet and sour flavors, but you can also eat something slightly spicy."

Lin Xi hummed in agreement: "Your food is a bit bland."

Duan Yiheng: "These are all habits I developed when I was a child."

It's too late to change it now.

The two chatted as they ate their rice, afraid that a single word might slip out and cause an awkward silence.

Especially since we'll be in the same room later, I can't help but try to make conversation.

"We were lucky today; someone was willing to give up their room. When you came back, I saw you looked hesitant and thought there were no rooms available."

Duan Yiheng chuckled; it was clearly the power of money.

He chimed in, "You're lucky."

The three parties reached an agreement smoothly, and Lin Xi agreed to provide one room.

“Before…” Lin Xi hesitated slightly, “why didn’t you explain when others misunderstood our relationship?”

Duan Yiheng asked her, "Do you need to explain that I'm your boss and you're my secretary?"

Lin Xi was speechless, then understood.

Explaining it only fuels more gossip.

After dinner, the two returned to their room.

The cleaner had already left. I swiped my card to open the door, and the air was filled with a faint mixture of disinfectant and fragrance.

What followed was silence and awkwardness.

This hotel is considered the best in the area, but the good rooms are all on the upper floors.

The young couple were still students, so they chose a room on the eleventh floor, which was neither high nor low, and they could see straight down.

In the very center is a 1.8-meter-wide bed, and to the south is a narrow two-seater sofa and a coffee table.

Opposite the coffee table, against the wall, is an office desk.

The bathroom is right inside the entrance. At this moment, Lin Xi is standing in the hallway outside the bathroom, with a full-length mirror behind her.

Lin Xi took two steps forward: "I wonder if this sofa is suitable for sleeping?"

The room was dimly lit. Duan Yiheng turned on all the lights and drew the curtains in front of the French windows halfway open.

The torrential rain blurred the view outside the window.

After hearing Lin Xi's words, he turned around and said, "You'll know once you lie down and take a look."

Lin Xi knew it was impossible just by looking at it, but since Duan Yiheng had said so, she had no choice but to lie down and found that it fit her height perfectly.

But it's too narrow.

Duan Yiheng walked over and looked down at her: "Is it comfortable?"

Lin Xi shook his head.

Duan Yiheng reached out his hand to her: "Get up."

Lin Xi extended her hand, and he pulled her up.

“If you mind, I can sit on the sofa,” Duan Yiheng said.

Sitting all night? How could anyone stand that?

Now that they were inside, Lin Xi stopped being coy: "It's alright, this bed is big, we can each have half."

Duan Yiheng's gaze passed over her shoulder and landed on the bathroom glass on the north side of the bed.

"I'm going out for a smoke." He waved his phone and cigarette pack at Lin Xi. "You go take a shower first."

Lin Xi had been thinking about how to bring up the topic of taking a shower since she entered the room, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Duan Yiheng brought it up.

"Then I'll try to be as fast as I can."

"Okay," Duan Yiheng replied, opened the door, and went out.

He arrived at the elevator corridor that separated the east and west sides. At the end of the corridor was the smoking area, where several people, both men and women, were sitting on the sofas.

Duan Yiheng went inside, touched the pocket of his casual pants, and found no lighter.

He shook his head and chuckled, his thoughts returning to the room, when suddenly a flame appeared before his eyes.

Duan Yiheng glanced to the side, and a bright-looking woman smiled and lit his lighter: "Sir, please."

Duan Yiheng took half a step back, his expression turning cold: "No need."

"You and that lady aren't a couple, are you?" the woman asked with a smile.

Duan Yiheng pretended not to understand her purpose, maintained his composure, and left the smoking area, keeping his eyes out of sight.

Half an hour later, Lin Xi called, and Duan Yiheng returned to the room.

She had wet hair and was wearing a white lace-trimmed round-neck loungewear set.

A unique jasmine scent filled the air, the fragrance of Lin Xi's own shampoo.

A few strands of hair clung to Lin Xi's fair, jade-like neck. Duan Yiheng's fingertips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to brush them away.

Being alone together, Lin Xi avoided his gaze and whispered, "I'm going to dry my hair."

Duan Yiheng responded, opened his suitcase, and prepared clothes for taking a shower later.

Ten minutes later, only the tips of Lin Xi's hair were still damp.

She came out of the bathroom and said to Duan Yiheng, "Go take a shower, I'm going out for a walk."

"Don't go out." Duan Yiheng stood up to stop him. "There are all sorts of people in the hotel, I'm not comfortable with that."

Especially right after a shower, with a pristine, innocent face, someone might have ulterior motives.

Lin Xi stopped and slowly turned to the head of the bed.

Duan Yiheng chuckled: "You rest first. Do you think I'm afraid you'll peek at me while I'm showering?"

"Who was peeping at you while you were showering?" Lin Xi retorted hastily. "You couldn't see through the glass."

You can only make out a blurry shadow, but that's embarrassing enough.

Duan Yiheng entered the bathroom with a smile still on his lips, but once the steam filled the room, he could no longer smile.

The small bathroom, smaller than the toilet at home, was filled with Lin Xi's fragrance.

She took off all her clothes here, closed her eyes, and washed her hair, lathering the shower gel on her body.

Duan Yiheng closed his eyes, his mind filled with lewd thoughts. He breathed softly and turned down the water temperature.

Lin Xi lay on one side of the bed, her back to the glass wall. Hearing the sound of water, the tips of her ears silently turned red.

After a while, the bathroom door opened, and she abruptly closed her eyes... pretending to be asleep.