Chapter 16: CH 16

Chapter 16 – The Day After

The early morning sun had just appeared from behind the clouds and the sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains.

*Hiss*

Dragged into consciousness, Fu Zhihuan frowned and his eyelashes trembled slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.

The feeling after waking up from a hangover was indeed not good.

The headache caused by the alcohol was not too severe which could be due to the hangover medicine he took as there was only a slight pain in his temples.

He propped up his body then pinched the space between his brows with his fingertips and tried to recall last night……

All he could remember was that he met Wen Ruan before leaving the restaurant and had drunk a glass of wine on her behalf so that she could leave.

But all his other memories had disappeared and he was only left with a flickering memory of a few segmented scenes that could not be strung together.

“Mm……..”

A soft dreamlike voice floated over which startled Fu Zhihuan and he turned his head around.

Wen Ruan was sitting on a stool with her head lying on the edge of the bed.  Her brows were wrinkled and she was sound asleep.

She was still wearing the same clothes she wore last night and did not have a jacket to cover herself.  Her clothes seemed to be a little thin to be worn in the air-conditioned room.

Why is she here?

Soon the question was answered.

Fu Zhihuan lowered his eyes and realized that his right hand was still clasping Wen Ruan’s wrist.

“……”

He let out a cough and released her wrist.

But a trace of redness on the slender wrist was still visible.

His eyes darkened.  He leaned against the bed’s headboard and stretched out his hand to ruffle his messy hair.  Then his eyes fell on Wen Ruan’s sleeping face again.

“A-chu!”

She sneezed in her sleep then stretched out her hand to rub her nose and shrank her shoulders.  Her small face was wrinkled up grievously and it made one’s heart ache to look at her.

Fu Zhihuan pursed his thin lips slightly and involuntarily let out a tsk.  He stretched out his hand to pull the corner of the quilt then leaned down to drape it over Wen Ruan with deliberate light and slow movements.

Just as he was leaning down, the person in front of him adjusted her sleeping position and turned her head.

When she turned her head unexpectedly, her hair inevitably brushed over Fu Zhihuan’s chin and he felt a tingling sensation.

She and Fu Zhihuan came face to face with each other.  Their noses were barely half a centimeter apart and they could even feel each other’s breath distinctly.

His pupils shrank slightly.

His immediate reaction was to place his hand on the edge of the bed for support then backed away and straighten up.

It was like a feather had suddenly fallen on the tip of his heart and brushed across the softest part of his heart, stirring up an inexplicable feeling of unbearable anxiety that was impossible to get rid of.

This feeling that he had never felt before made him inexplicably irritated.

He lifted his hand to rub the back of his head and got out of bed.  After picking up the coat to cover himself, he went straight to the balcony of the living room.

The sky was starting to brighten and it was surprisingly quiet outside.  From time to time, the crisp chirping of birds accompanied by the sound of the wind blowing was heard.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of the coat, shook the packet slightly, and picked up a cigarette with his lips.

The cigarette was then lit with a lighter.

White smoke twirled up and then dispersed.

The flapping of slippers on the floor sounded.

Rubbing her drowsy eyes, Wen Ruan came out of the bedroom and squinted her eyes into slits.  As she yawned, she said in a muffled voice.

“You’re awake.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she coughed slightly.

It seemed she had inhaled a bit of the smoke and choked.

Fu Zhihuan was inexplicably irritated when he heard her cough.  He stubbed out the cigarette without a word then threw the cigarette into the trash bin and responded.

“Mm……”

That slow long yawn seemed to have dispelled some of Wen Ruan’s sleepiness.  She blinked vigorously and it seemed her mind had cleared up.  Then she looked towards Fu Zhihuan……

Sure enough, the man had sobered up and turned hostile once more.

And now he has that cold and indifferent look again!

Thinking up to here, Wen Ruan decided to help Fu Zhihuan recall.  So she lifted her arm and let out a cough.

“Mr. Fu, since you are sober now, we should talk about what happened last night.”

He leaned against the railing lazily and gave her a look but did not say a word.

……No, I mustn’t be frightened by his threatening look!

Wen Ruan took a deep breath and encouraged herself.  Then she continued to put on the stance of a lawyer in negotiation.

“Mr. Fu, I took good care of you last night when you were drunk and my effort should be appreciated but you didn’t do that.  Instead, you regarded me as Earl and even groped me, so you must take responsibility for it.”

Fu Zhihuan listened patiently and then raised his eyebrows.  His expression did not change and instead, he asked meaningfully.

“Weren’t you drunk?”

“……”

This is troublesome!

Firecracker, Wen Ruan, had finally met her opponent!

Since last night, she had thought of how to talk with him and was prepared to show off her strength to Fu Zhihuan.  In the end, he had unexpectedly hit the nail on the head and directly blocked all her words with just one question.

Expert!

Wen Ruan was determined to carry on.

“Mr. Fu, this is not the point.  The point is that after you were drunk last night…….”

“Weren’t you drunk?”

Are you a recorder on playback?

Wen Ruan bit her lower lip.  It seemed to avoid this life and death question, she might not be able to show off her strength as she had wished.

Sure enough, this ungrateful nasty man should have been left to fend for himself last night!

Wen Ruan got angrier and angrier.  She dragged her slippers loudly and plonked her butt on the sofa with an unhappy expression on her face.

She hugged the cushion with a grievous expression and shrank her body into a ball with her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.  From time to time, she would lift her eyes to look at Fu Zhihuan resentfully to make him feel ashamed.

Fu Zhihuan laughed involuntarily.  He rubbed his temple helplessly and then walked up to Wen Ruan and leaned down.

“Little kid, are you angry?”

Who is he calling a ‘little kid’?

She lifted her face angrily and counterattacked fiercely.

“This little kid won’t collapse with just a glass!”

Suddenly it was very quiet.

After a brief moment of silence, Fu Zhihuan lowered his head and then started to laugh in a hoarse voice as if he could not control himself.

A long time later, he stopped laughing and lifted his head.  His pair of smiling peach blossom eyes looked at Wen Ruan and he asked.

“Then tell me why did you pretend to be drunk?”

…….Damn it!

Who can bear this kind of foul counterattack?

If this is a quarreling competition with a referee present, she will surely make a complaint against Fu Zhihuan for violations.

He is not engaged in a normal quarrel but carrying out a naked seduction!

All the words were stuck in her throat and most of her anger had subsided.  She hugged the cushion tighter then turned her head away in a panic to avoid his gaze and stuttered.

“I……I’m hungry!  I’m going to prepare breakfast!”

Fu Zhihuan seemed to have thought of something and finally stopped teasing her.  He straightened up then rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the kitchen.

She watched him curiously and asked.  “Are you going to prepare breakfast?”

Wen Ruan has always been a pampered canary since she was a child, but it did not prevent her from being active and passionate about cooking.

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Although for many years she had gone into the kitchen to pester Auntie Ma to teach her, she only managed to learn to cook tomatoes with scrambled eggs and noodles.  However, preparing a breakfast of bread and fried eggs was not a problem for her.

And now that Fu Zhihuan is going to make breakfast, Wen Ruan felt a bit touched.

Finally, his conscience is pricked and he understood the difficulties she encountered last night.  So is he now going to prepare breakfast for her?

So touching!

However……

“No……”  Fu Zhihuan glanced at her.

Wen Ruan was puzzled.

“Then why are you going to the kitchen?”

“You just reminded me.”

He opened a cabinet door and took out a bag.

“It’s time for Earl’s breakfast.”

Wen Ruan turned silent.

Earl…….Earl again!

She watched Earl jump down from the cat climbing shelf and walk gracefully towards the food box.  In her heart, she silently muttered……..

Don’t be too happy……..I’ll take out the money to get you sterilized later on!

Hehe…….

“Oh, yes…….”  Fu Zhihuan seemed to have thought of something again and lifted his eyes.  “Prepare my breakfast as well.”

Then he added.  “It’s considered as offsetting the rent.”

Wen Ruan:  Wait until I’ve gotten tired of looking at this dog’s face then I’ll kill him ! ! !

***☆☆☆***

After breakfast was ready, it was still too early to go to work.

During this period, Wen Ruan had developed the habit of watching shows while having a meal.  So she just turned on the TV in front of her, then picked up a piece of bread and started to spread the blueberry jam……..

~ Hello to everyone and welcome to our show ‘Human Observation’ today!  Now let us interview the two people just now.

Human observation?

Wen Ruan frowned and felt that the name sounded familiar, so she lifted her eyes to look at the screen.

At this time, Jiang City TV was rerunning last night’s show.

And on the screen, the passerby who was a little lady slowly appeared……..

Isn’t that me?!  Ahhhhhhhhhh……! ! !

The spoon in Wen Ruan’s hand fell onto the table with a clatter.

There’s nothing more embarrassing than seeing one’s face on TV!

If that’s so, then it’s certain that the show didn’t use any beauty filters!

Fu Zhihuan’s back was facing the TV and when he saw Wen Ruan’s horrified expression, he turned his head around.

On the TV screen, it happened to be showing both of them in the same frame with pink filters and love bubbles added on.

“……”

This is embarrassing!

Wen Ruan almost jumped up to change the channel……

It would have been better not to add those pink filters and love bubbles!  What kind of aesthetic appeal is this?

Although the channel was changed, it was obvious that the atmosphere in the living room had fallen to freezing point.

Fu Zhihuan was silent for a long time and then lifted his index finger to tap on the table.  After a while, he picked up the phone from the coffee table without a word and it seemed he was texting someone.

Wen Ruan asked cautiously.  “Who are you messaging?”

“I want to find out when this show will stop broadcasting.”

Indeed vicious!

A long time after changing the channel, Wen Ruan finally got over the huge suffocating embarrassment.  With dull eyes, she picked up the knife and fork in a daze and then sliced the fried egg bit by bit to put them into her mouth.

The food is tasteless!

Currently, the TV was running a harmonious life-news program.

Suddenly, Wen Ruan felt that the seemingly boring program was very informative and peaceful and it made one feel extremely happy.

And at this moment…….

~  As the summer vacation approaches, the flow of people at the stations is gradually increasing.  This is a reminder to all parents that they must watch over their children and prevent them from getting lost.  They must also be vigilant of their surroundings and suspicious people to guard against human trafficking.  Yesterday, at Jiang City East Railway Station, a case of kidnapping nearly succeeded.  Let’s take a look at the video taken by the people present at that scene…….

Wen Ruan frowned.

Why do the place, time, and case sound so familiar?

Something feels wrong.

Following that, the facts proved that Wen Ruan’s intuition was right!

Because the video taken by the ‘people present at that scene’ was very clear.  With just a glance, Wen Ruan could see her extremely arrogant self in the middle of the crowd of people.

~  Today, if I don’t escort you to the police station and make you kowtow, cry and wipe your snort in front of the police, I’ll write my name in the reverse order!  You’re a bully who bullies little girls and cultivates social immorality!

In the video, she was speaking and grasping the neck of the human trafficker at the same time.

She stretched out her hand to calmly turn off the TV and then lifted her eyes to meet Fu Zhihuan’s eyes.

“Are you happy to be on TV?”  He asked.

“Goodnight…….”

You should shut up!

Wen Ruan felt she had become apathetic and regardless of what is going to happen, she won’t allow her emotions to fluctuate the slightest anymore.

But facts proved that she is still too young.

Because the next second, her phone vibrated…….

“Ahhhhhhhh…….Ruan Ruan, you’re real hot!  You’ve become the top search on five out of ten hot searches on Weibo!  The reporters have all come to the office!  Those videos of you that were shown in the news had gone viral!”

“Come to the office quickly!”

Qin Sushan sounded hoarse and exhausted on the other end of the phone.