Chapter Sixty-Five: Another Female Thief?

When Lin Xiaolei woke up, it was already the next morning. She sat up in bed, coughing loudly twice, her throat burning with pain. Her head felt as though a lump of iron had been lodged inside—heavy and deeply uncomfortable. She shook her head vigorously and then got out of bed.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as she paused, staring at the unfamiliar room. Everything around her was strange. Where was she? A hotel? It didn’t seem like one. Suddenly, memories started to surface—last night, three company directors had invited her to dinner, and she had drunk a lot… Then, as if struck by a thought, Lin Xiaolei quickly lowered her head, anxiously patting down her clothes. Thankfully, she was still dressed and felt no discomfort. She breathed a sigh of relief and then began to curiously take in the unfamiliar room.

The pink bed and the abundance of delicate decorations suggested it was a woman’s room. But she recalled that at last night’s dinner, she was the only woman present. So where was she now? With questions swirling in her mind, Lin Xiaolei quietly tiptoed to the door, leaned over, and pressed her ear against it, listening intently. After a while, she heard nothing.

With a quiet click, she gently cracked open the door and peeked out. This seemed to be someone’s home, but she saw no one around. emboldened, she pushed the door open further and stepped out.

But she had barely taken two steps when she suddenly frowned. Perhaps she had drunk too much red wine last night—now she desperately needed a restroom. Lin Xiaolei began searching for the bathroom. The door across the hall was open, but a glance inside revealed it was not the bathroom. She tried another door; it was locked.

Where could the bathroom be? As she searched, another door caught her attention—unlike the previous two, this one had a frosted glass panel in the middle.

This must be the bathroom, she thought, gently pushing the door open. What greeted her eyes first was an open newspaper, followed by a pair of legs… Someone was inside!

With a start, Lin Xiaolei immediately shut the door and hurried back to her room.

Wang Zheng lowered his newspaper, certain he’d just heard the bathroom door close. Who could it be? Had Su Xue barged in by mistake again? That troublesome girl—he had told her clearly enough that this was his private bathroom, yet she still dared to intrude! Wang Zheng sighed deeply. Girls were harder to manage as they grew up. With another sigh, he went back to reading. After all, he was a respectable scholar!

Head down, Lin Xiaolei hurried back to the room, nervous and flustered, only to run smack into someone at the corner. “Ouch!” Both women recoiled several steps.

A woman? Dressed in pink pajamas? Wait—wasn’t this Su Xue, the television news anchor? Lin Xiaolei didn’t watch Jinghua News often, but she’d caught glimpses when bored. The two young anchors, Su Xue and Chu Jun, had left a deep impression. And just a few days ago, she had seen Su Xue in person during a staged event organized by Wang Zheng. Now, she recognized her at first glance.

Su Xue, rubbing her forehead, had been half-asleep until the collision jolted her awake. She blinked her dry eyes, expecting to see Chu Jun, but upon closer inspection, realized it was a stranger. She stared, then suddenly pointed at Lin Xiaolei and shouted, “Brother, come quick! There’s a thief!”

“No… I’m not a thief, I…” Lin Xiaolei shook her head desperately, trying to explain, but her words were completely drowned out by Su Xue’s piercing screams.

“What? A thief? Where? Where?” Hearing Su Xue’s cries, her best friend Chu Jun burst out of her room, also in pajamas, brandishing a pillow like a secret weapon.

Chu Jun? Where was this place? The TV station?

“I really am not a thief!” Lin Xiaolei tried to explain to Su Xue and Chu Jun.

But Su Xue seemed not to hear a word. She shoved Chu Jun, pillow and all, in front of her, saying, “Chu, keep an eye on her! I’m going to get my brother. Don’t let her escape!” With that, she dashed to Wang Zheng’s room.

Soon after, a commotion could be heard from Wang Zheng’s room.

“Brother, where are you? There’s a thief in the house! Hurry up, brother!”

At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Wang Zheng stepped out. “I’m here!” he called, exasperated. He’d just finished explaining the bathroom rules last night, and now he couldn’t even have a peaceful morning.

“Wang… Wang Zheng?” Lin Xiaolei was stunned. Her mind grew even more muddled. Wang Zheng lived with Su Xue and Chu Jun? But Su Xue called him brother, and yet their surnames were different. What was going on here?

The tangled, confusing relationships made Lin Xiaolei’s aching head spin even more.

“Brother, where are you?” Su Xue called out again.

“Stop shouting, I’m right here. And what are you doing rummaging through my drawers? Did you think I’d be hiding in there?” Wang Zheng said crossly, grabbing Su Xue from the room. In his opinion, Su Xue was more dangerous than any would-be thief.

That was close. She’d almost discovered his binoculars!

Looking at the three women, all with expressions of confusion, Wang Zheng yawned. He’d been hoping to catch a bit more sleep, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen. He gestured toward Su Xue and Chu Jun and said to Lin Xiaolei, “These are my two sisters, Su Xue and Chu Jun. They’re staying here for now. You got drunk last night, and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you at the hotel, so I brought you back here.”

After speaking to Lin Xiaolei, he turned to Su Xue and Chu Jun. “This is Lin Xiaolei. She’s my boss now. Su Xue, didn’t you see her when you came to my office the other day?”

“Was she there?” Su Xue looked blankly at him, then suspiciously scrutinized Lin Xiaolei before nodding heavily. “I forgot…”

Sometimes Wang Zheng truly wondered how Su Xue ever became a news anchor—with that kind of memory?

“Everyone clear on what’s going on now?” Wang Zheng asked. As he turned to go back to his room, a sudden realization struck him: had it been Lin Xiaolei who opened the bathroom door earlier? He glanced at Su Xue, Chu Jun, and then Lin Xiaolei. Without asking, he grabbed Lin Xiaolei by the wrist and pushed her into the bathroom.

Wasn’t he considerate?

On the way to work, Lin Xiaolei was silent, quietly following behind Wang Zheng, her cheeks flushed as rosy as the morning sun. If not for the fact that she was literally stepping on Wang Zheng’s shadow, no one would have thought the two of them were together.

But Wang Zheng couldn’t stand the awkward silence. If he were alone, he could bear the solitude—he’d spent so many years that way, he knew how to handle it. But now it was different. There was someone by his side, and not just anyone, but someone familiar. With company, Wang Zheng found silence unbearable—after all, he was a sociable person. Even during the days when Bai Bing was constantly pestering him, he would still chat as they walked along together.

“Eating, drinking, and all the rest are just part of life. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Could you please stop being so quiet?” Wang Zheng said as they walked.

Lin Xiaolei paused, then quickened her pace to catch up. “About last night… thank you.”

“No problem! Besides, could I really just leave you alone at the hotel? Hotels these days are full of all kinds of people. If anything had happened to you, I’d have been the first person the police would suspect. I’m not afraid of trouble, but I dislike it. By the way, you can really hold your liquor—you downed three bottles of red wine last night. Truly, appearances can be deceiving.” Wang Zheng teased.

“It was my first time drinking that much. Maybe it was the mood and the atmosphere. At the time, I just wanted to let loose—I wasn’t thinking about anything else!” Lin Xiaolei replied sheepishly.

“Yeah, you had your fun, but I was the one who suffered. I had to carry you home, and you threw up all over me!”

“I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to!” Lin Xiaolei’s face, which had just returned to its natural color, turned red again.

“Didn’t mean to? Why didn’t you throw up on yourself, then?” Wang Zheng joked, his tone light and without a trace of blame. “Listen, last night I was there so it didn’t matter how much you drank, but in the future, if I’m not around, never drink that much again. Alcohol can ruin you—understand?”

“I understand.” Hearing Wang Zheng’s earnest warning, Lin Xiaolei nodded. She was a sensible woman, well aware of who treated her well and who did not. When it came to Wang Zheng, she felt nothing but gratitude. In fact, she no longer knew what words to use to describe her feelings toward him.

In short… she was deeply grateful.