Heart-Warming Youth - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Had to Agree Because It Wouldn’t be Polite to Refuse

Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
As time went by little by little, the night progressed.
Su Yu was truly tired and fell asleep quickly after he lay down on the sofa.
Xu Ai saw a problem in the file and talked to Lin Shen about it in a lowered voice.
Glancing at her and then at Su Xuan who was asleep, Lin Shen also lowered his voice.
In the quiet building, they worked quickly with no disturbance and finished the file at about 2 AM.
Xu Ai closed the file, pounding her shoulders and yawned.
“Are you fatigued?” Lin Shen asked.
“Not very.” Xu Ai glanced at the time and asked, “What do we do now?”
He turned his head and glanced at Su Xuan but didn’t speak.
Remembering Su Xuan, she went to the sofa and shook him. “Wake up.”
A light sleeper, Su Xuan opened his eyes slowly.
Xu Ai looked at him and found he was always a picture no matter if he was standing, sitting or lying down. Just waking up, his sleepy eyes looked especially enchanting. She snapped back to her senses and said, “We’re finished. It’s two in the early morning. What do we do now?”
Su Xuan sat up with a frown. “My legs went to sleep. Help me.”
Xu Ai wasn’t surprised. After all, he was too tall for the sofa. Considering he was truly fatigued, she pounded lightly on his legs and said, “You deserve it.”
“Yeah, I deserve it.” Su Xuan smiled and his voice was husky with sleep.
Xu Ai massaged his legs for a while and asked, “Feel better?”
“Yeah.” Su Xuan tested his legs and stood up. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Xu Ai asked immediately.
“We must find a place to sleep. Do you want to stay here?” Su Xuan raised his brows.
It was 2 AM and there were several hours until daybreak. They needed to find a place to grab some sleep. She nodded. “But where are we going?”
“The old place. It’s not far from here,” Su Xuan said after a moment of consideration.
Xu Ai knew the place he referred to and had no objection to it. She turned to look at Lin Shen. “Let’s go together. You can’t sleep in the office.”
Lin Shen looked at Su Xuan and the latter smiled at him; he glanced at Xu Ai who was waiting for his answer expectantly. From his angle, he saw them standing before the sofa shoulder to shoulder. Looking away from them, he said, “You guys go without me. I’ll take a nap here.”
“Sleeping on the sofa is truly uncomfortable,” Su Xuan said with a smile. “President Lin, come with us. Without a good sleep, you can’t function properly tomorrow.”
“Right. Come on.” Xu Ai nodded. “Besides, you’re a clean freak. He slept on the sofa. Do you plan to sleep standing up? The place we’re going is very nice; they change the bedding each day. You’ll have a good sleep there.”
Lin Shen pursed his lips.
Su Xuan chuckled in surprise. “I didn’t know you’re a clean freak. I’m sorry for sleeping on the sofa. You must come with us so I can make it up to you.”
Lin Shen’s expression changed a bit. Seeing Xu Ai’s expectant face, he nodded slowly.
They turned off the lights and walked out of the office.
Su Xuan took Xu Ai’s hand casually as they walked toward the elevator bank.
Xu Ai tried to shake his hand off but failed. Yawning, she gave him a dirty look.
Su Xuan explained mildly. “Look at you. If I don’t hold your hand, you’ll walk into the wall.”
Xu Ai mumbled, “I haven’t stayed up so late for a long time. But I’m not as tired as you think.”
“Staying up late is not good for skin.” Su Xuan pressed the button beside the elevator door and it opened very soon. He pulled Xu Ai into it and added, “Of course, even if you stay up late and age fast, I’ll still like you.”
Xu Ai rolled her eyes. As if she cared!
Lin Shen walked into the elevator after them with the files in his hand; his face looked blank.
After the elevator door closed, they didn’t speak.
Suddenly, Xu Ai had a weird feeling as they stood in the small and quiet space; she couldn’t name the feeling, but if it was in the past, she’d never allow another man to hold her hand as she rode in the same elevator with Lin Shen.
They came out of the elevator and walked out of the building. Su Xuan’s car was still parked before the door.
Su Xuan escorted Xu Ai to the passenger seat and opened the door for her. Yawning, she got in.
Su Xuan fastened the seat belt for her and closed the door. Then he opened the door to the back seat and smiled at Lin Shen. “President Lin, please.”
“Thanks.” Lin Shen got into the back seat.
Su Xuan walked around the car and got behind the wheel. Fastening the seat belt, he said to Xu Ai gently, “Sleep. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”
Nodding, Xu Ai lounged on the seat and closed her eyes. Fatigued with her work on the files, she fell asleep soon.
Su Xuan drove away from Lin Shen’s company. The traffic in Beijing was still busy even at midnight. Seeing she was asleep, he drove with extra care.
Wide awake, Lin Shen sat on the back seat without saying a word.
Su Xuan concentrated on driving and didn’t speak, either.
Half an hour later, Su Xuan drove to the Cloud Nine Guildhall behind the bar. A security guard walked up and opened the door for him. “Young Master Su.”
Nodding at him, Su Xuan got out of the car and walked to the passenger side. Opening the door, he saw she was in deep sleep. Instead of waking her up, he reached over and took her into his arms, instructing the security guard, “Get a room for President Lin.” Then he walked into the Guildhall with Xu Ai in his arms.
Lin Shen got out of the car and watched Su Xuan walk away with Xu Ai in his arms. He pushed at the door with force.
“President Lin, please come with me,” a guy said to Lin Shen respectfully.
Lin Shen stood there for a moment; then he nodded and followed him into the hotel.
As Su Xuan carried Xu Ai into the hotel, an attendant got the news and ran to him, saying tentatively, “Young Master Su, the same as the last time?”
Su Xuan looked down at Xu Ai and nodded.
The guy heaved out a sigh of relief and hurried upstairs to open the door for them.
Carrying her into the room, Su Xuan put her onto the bed and patted her shoulder lightly. “Wake up.”
Xu Ai grunted and slapped his hand off. Turning over, she found a comfortable position and continued sleeping.
Su Xuan watched her as she hugged the pillow and threw a leg over the quilt, feeling amused by her cute look. He patted her face lightly. “Wake up.”
Woken up by him from the sound sleep, she waved at him grumpily. “Go away.”
Su Xuan caught her hand. “Tomorrow is Saturday. Last week you promised Grandma Li to visit her. Will you go tomorrow?”
She said grumpily, “Let me sleep first.”
“It’s 2:40 am. You’re tired and will probably sleep until tomorrow noon,” Su Xuan analyzed, “Grandma Li’s home is far. If we set out at noon…”
“Then cancel it.” Xu Ai didn’t want to go anyway.
“You’d better call her tomorrow morning, so she won’t wait for you. I guess you can’t get up tomorrow morning; I’ll make the phone call for you, okay?” Su Xuan patted her again to keep her from falling asleep again.
“Do it as you see fit.” Xu Ai said drowsily, “Don’t talk to me. I want to sleep.”
Su Xuan nodded and let her fall back to sleep.
The attendant who was waiting at the door asked in a low voice, “Young Master Su, shall I prepare a pot of hot water in your room?”
Glancing at the door, Su Xuan was silent for a moment and said casually, “Am I under supervision in Cloud Nine? Do I look like a bad guy?”
Startled, the waiter smiled apologetically, “Of course, you’re not a bad guy. But if anything happens to Sister Ai, we’ll lose our jobs. Please understand us, Young Master Su.”
Su Xuan chuckled. “Who ordered you to do it? Why are you so afraid of this person?”
The attendant didn’t speak.
“Someone I can’t afford to mess with?”
The waiter’s face changed drastically as he said in resignation, “Young Master Su, it’s us who don’t dare to mess with him.”
Su Xuan stood up with a smile and walked to the door. His voice remained mild as he said, “He’s been abroad for years and still tries to control things in the country. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but now…” He raised his brows. “It seems his life abroad is very enjoyable.”
The attendant didn’t dare to reply.
“I don’t want to do anything. If I did, I wouldn’t have come here.” Su Xuan patted the attendant’s shoulder and said with a smile, “But she’s my girlfriend and it’s my duty to look after her.”
The attendant cringed and lowered his head in fear.
“Do you understand?” Su Xuan looked at him.
The attendant’s expression changed; thinking quickly, he said with a smile, “So long as we can keep our jobs and Sister Ai is willing, well, we’ll be happy to receive your wedding candies. Of course, we understand the situation.”
Su Xuan withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction. “You’ll get the wedding candies.” Waking toward his room, he instructed, “I don’t need hot water. Deliver one pot of hot water to President Lin and tell him that Ai and I have turned in. Wish him a good night.”
The attendant was stupefied as he watched Su Xuan walk away. Then his mouth twitched as understanding dawned on him.
Xu Ai didn’t wake up until noon on the second day.
She looked around for her cellphone but couldn’t find it. She dialed her phone number with the fixed phone in the room.
“The number you dialed is not available at the moment…”
Hearing this message, Xu Ai hung up and called the reception desk.
The attendant’s voice came to her ear. “Sister Ai, you’re up.”
Xu Ai scratched her head. “How did I come into the room?”
The attendant went silent for a moment and said in a small voice, “Don’t you remember? Young Master Su carried you into the room.”
Xu Ai tried to recall what had happened last night and had a vague impression of it. Ever since she was a child, no one could wake her up if she was in deep sleep. “Where’s Su Xuan?”
The attendant answered after a moment of silence, “Young Master Su should be in his room.”
“His room?”
“I didn’t see him leave. He should be in his room,” said the attendant.
Xu Ai asked, “Did you see my cell phone?”
The attendant replied, “After Young Master Su left your room, no one entered it.”
Xu Ai hung up and dialed Su Xuan’s number after a moment of consideration.
Su Xuan’s melodious voice came to her ear. “You’re up?”
“Did you see my cell phone?” Xu Ai asked without preamble.
“It’s in my room,” said Su Xuan.
She demanded, “How come my cellphone is in your room? Why did you take it?”
Su Xuan’s voice was mild as he explained, “You left it in my car. After you went to sleep, the security guard who parked the car for me saw your cell phone and delivered it to my room, thinking it was mine. I didn’t go to your room.” He paused and lowered his voice, “You know, things might happen if a man enters a woman’s room during the night.”
“Su Xuan!” Xu Ai almost slammed down the phone. “Don’t take advantage of me.”
“You call this taking advantage?” Su Xuan chuckled.
Xu Ai suppressed her anger and said in a hard voice, “Give me the cellphone.”
“I’m working on a file and can’t go to your room now. You can come and get it yourself.” Su Xuan told her his room number.
“Let an attendant deliver it to me.” Xu Ai didn’t want to go to his room.
“I’m busy.” He hung up immediately.
Hearing the static sound from the phone, Xu Ai gritted her teeth in resentment.
As she sat on the bed cursing Su Xuan, she suddenly remembered Lin Shen. Immediately she dialed the reception desk.
“Hi, Sister Ai.” The questioning voice came to her ear.
“Oh, did President Lin stay in the hotel last night?” She asked.
“He did. But he left quite early this morning.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Xu Ai hung up with complicated feelings inside.
Maybe in Lin Shen’s eyes, she and Su Xuan were a couple.
She was afraid they were a couple in many people’s eyes.
She walked into the bathroom and had a shower. Then she pulled open the door of the wardrobe.
She had left some clothes in the room during her last few visits. They had been washed and ironed. Taking out a dress, she put it on and walked out of her room leisurely, heading toward Su Xuan’s room.
His door was open. Sitting before the computer, he seemed to be working on emails. Instead of a formal suit, he wore casual clothes today. Sitting cross-legged, he looked quite relaxed as his fingers flew on the keyboard. It was an enjoyable sight.
Xu Ai remembered the first time they met; he had worn casual clothes and tried to feed her spicy wine.
He was the kind of person who’d look good even wearing rags.
She pursed her lips and walked in.
Su Xuan turned to look at her and smiled. “The dress is pretty.”
Xu AI rolled her eyes. “Where’s my cellphone?”
“Here.” He handed her the cellphone.
Taking it, she walked toward the door.
Su Xuan said as he continued with the typing, “I called Grandma Li this morning with your cell phone. She told you to visit her tomorrow if you can’t make it today. But if we still don’t go and see her tomorrow, she’ll let Uncle Sun come and catch you.”
Startled, Xu Ai turned around and looked at him. “Why did you call Grandma Li?”
“You forget it? Last night you told me to make the phone call since you wouldn’t wake up until noon,” said Su Xuan.
Xu Ai searched her memory and had a vague impression of it.
Su Xuan continued, “I answered a call for you. Your roommate’s boyfriend has a dinner party tonight and he invited me to go to dinner with you. After all, it’s hosted by your roommate and it’s not polite to refuse the invitation. I had no choice but to agree.”