Chapter 29: Lipstick
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Heng’s Maybach GLS 600 came to a smooth stop in the parking lot of the R&F Wanda Wenhua Hotel.
"Mr. Gu, we’ve arrived at the hotel."
Xia Siyao turned her head and said softly to Gu Heng.
"Alright."
Gu Heng nodded, opened the car door, and stepped out.
He then went to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and took out the shopping bags with the summer clothes he had bought at the LV store that evening, leaving the Armani and Burberry bags untouched for now.
Meanwhile, Xia Siyao, still in the driver’s seat, slowly put on her high heels, her mind starting to race.
’Alright?’
’What does he mean by ’alright’?’
Xia Siyao stared at the magnificent hotel entrance, feeling a little uneasy.
"SLAM..."
As the trunk slammed shut, Xia Siyao couldn’t dwell on her thoughts any longer and quickly got out of the car.
"Mr. Gu, let me get those."
Seeing Gu Heng with his hands full, Xia Siyao immediately went over and took the shopping bags from him.
"Thanks."
Gu Heng saw her offer and didn’t refuse.
After all, he was paying for this service—a staggering 25 million yuan per year, which broke down to a daily rate of nearly 80,000 yuan.
By that calculation, having the ’princess’ of Jun Cheng Law Firm act as his chauffeur and carry his bags didn’t seem like such a big deal.
And so, with Gu Heng walking in front and Xia Siyao carrying the shopping bags behind him, the two entered the hotel one after the other.
"Hello, do you have any executive suites available?"
Gu Heng walked up to the front desk and asked the receptionist.
"Yes, sir."
The receptionist saw that Gu Heng and Xia Siyao were stylishly dressed and clearly not ordinary people, so she answered very politely.
"I’d like an executive suite."
"I’ll be staying for a while. Let’s start with 15 days."
Gu Heng didn’t choose the more expensive ministerial or presidential suites. At nearly a hundred square meters, the executive suite was more than enough for him. There was no need to waste money.
"Of course."
"Sir, Ma’am, I’ll need to see your IDs, please."
Seeing Gu Heng book an executive suite for 15 days right off the bat, the receptionist’s attitude became even more respectful.
Standing beside Gu Heng, Xia Siyao’s eyes flashed with panic when the receptionist asked for her ID. A faint blush crept across her small, fair, oval face, and she looked slightly embarrassed.
"Why do you need her ID?"
Gu Heng gave the receptionist a baffled look and handed over his own ID. "She’s not staying with me."
"Oh..."
"I’m so sorry, I thought you were..."
Realizing her mistake, the receptionist apologized to them both.
"It’s fine."
Gu Heng shook his head, while Xia Siyao let out a quiet sigh of relief.
......
"Babe, I’m so sleepy, I wanna go to bed~"
"Don’t worry, little baby, I’ll take you home to bed right now~"
Just as Gu Heng and Xia Siyao were checking in, another man and woman entered the hotel. They were walking unsteadily, both clearly half-drunk.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, the young man stopped in his tracks.
"Holy shit!"
"Is that Xia Siyao?"
Zhang Ming stared at the woman in red at the front desk, his eyes widening slightly as he let out a shocked whisper.
"Babe, who’s Xia Siyao?"
Seeing Zhang Ming staring intently at another woman, the girl in his arms whined jealously.
"Keep your voice down!"
Zhang Ming shot her a glare, then discreetly took out his phone and snapped a photo of Xia Siyao and Gu Heng.
At the same time, having finished checking in, Gu Heng and Xia Siyao turned and walked toward the elevators.
Seeing this, Zhang Ming quickly and quietly raised his phone and took two more pictures.
He then opened WhatsApp, found the contact saved as "Brother Ang," and sent all the photos he had just taken.
"Bro!"
"This is the woman you can’t stop thinking about!"
"From the looks of it, someone’s already gotten in there!"
......
「Yunzen High-altitude Restaurant and Bar.」
Lu Ziang was seated at a booth by the window, surrounded by men and women.
Some were classmates, others were old friends.
"Come on, everyone!"
"Let’s give another welcome to our Brother Ang, back from his studies abroad!"
Everyone raised their glasses frequently, and the atmosphere at the table was lively.
"Thanks, everyone!"
"Let’s get together often from now on!"
Lu Ziang pushed up the silver-rimmed glasses on his nose and raised his glass with a smile. He had an elegant demeanor, reminiscent of a British gentleman, which made the eyes of the girls before him sparkle.
With the smooth jazz, the clinking of glasses, and the stunning night view of Beichun outside the glass curtain wall, the scene felt wonderfully decadent.
"DING—!"
Lu Ziang slowly set down his glass. He frowned slightly at the series of notification sounds from his phone, then opened it.
In the next second, his smiling face turned utterly grim. His right hand, holding the phone, clenched so tightly that the veins on his arm bulged.
Although the photos were mostly taken from behind, with almost no front-facing shots, he was certain it was Xia Siyao. They were childhood friends, and he had just seen her at the airport; he could recognize her even from her back.
’Working overtime?’
’Working overtime at a hotel with another man?’
Lu Ziang took a deep breath and, without a moment’s hesitation, dialed Xia Siyao’s number.
’What if...’
’it’s just a misunderstanding?’
With that thought in mind, Lu Ziang made the call.
......
「Wanda Wenhua Hotel, inside the elevator.」
Xia Siyao felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She glanced at Gu Heng in front of her, then discreetly checked the caller ID.
Seeing it was Lu Ziang, she didn’t think much of it, assuming he was asking if she was coming to the party. She rejected the call for the moment, planning to call him back after she’d seen Gu Heng to his room.
However, she didn’t expect that Lu Ziang, for some reason, would immediately call again the moment she rejected it.
"If you have something to attend to, just give the bags to me. You can go."
Gu Heng turned around, giving Xia Siyao a surprised look. His tone was gentle.
"It’s nothing. I’ll take you to your room."
Xia Siyao rejected the call again, then silently switched her phone to airplane mode.
She had already infuriated her dad by being late for the important banquet today. She couldn’t afford to make another mistake. Otherwise, she had no doubt her dad would actually kick her out of the law firm.
"Alright then."
Hearing this, Gu Heng didn’t press the matter.
After stepping out of the elevator, Gu Heng used his key card to find his room.
"Xia Lv, thank you for your hard work."
"You should head back and get some rest."
Gu Heng opened the door, took the shopping bags from Xia Siyao’s hands, and thanked her politely.
"It was no trouble, it’s my job."
Xia Siyao waved her hand. "Mr. Gu, if you need anything at all in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me."
"I will."
Gu Heng nodded. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before he closed the door.
Seeing the door close, Xia Siyao couldn’t help but breathe a small sigh of relief.
Even though Gu Heng was younger than her, as the single biggest client of the entire Jun Cheng Law Firm, being by his side put her under a great deal of pressure.
As Xia Siyao started walking back, she took out her phone, intending to call Lu Ziang.
......
"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."
Back in the Yunzen High-altitude Restaurant and Bar, Lu Ziang listened to the automated voice on the phone. His face was ashen, and his mind was already conjuring up images.
The thought that Xia Siyao’s pink lips were, at this very moment, coated in the Lipstick he had given her, made his composure completely shatter.
Fucking hell!
’Using the Lipstick I gave you to give another man a blowjob until it rubs off, is that it?’
’Acting all pure and conservative in front of me, then letting someone else pound you hard behind my back, huh!’
Lu Ziang looked at his reflection in the glass curtain wall. No matter how he looked at it, he felt like a total sucker.
"Haaa..."
Lu Ziang took a deep breath. Thinking of Xia Siyao’s family background, and then his own family’s current situation, he tried to force himself to calm down.
"BUZZ BUZZ..."
But just then, Xia Siyao—whose phone had been unreachable moments ago—suddenly called him back.
Lu Ziang instinctively reached for his phone, but the instant his fingers touched it, he snatched his hand back.
’Fuck me...’
’That bastard isn’t about to get on the phone and fuck with me, is he?!’
Once the thought entered his mind, it spread like wildfire.
Because that was exactly the kind of thing he loved to do when he was studying in the United Kingdom.
He’d call a girl’s long-distance boyfriend from across the ocean and listen to his hysterical but helpless tirades, which gave him an incredible sense of satisfaction.
’Can’t answer...’
’Definitely can’t answer...’
’I absolutely will not become part of that shameless couple’s little game!’
Lu Ziang’s eyes were bloodshot. The composure he had just managed to regain instantly shattered into a million pieces.
......
Far away, outside the hotel, Xia Siyao looked at her phone, confused as to why Lu Ziang wasn’t answering. Her lovely brows furrowed slightly.
’Forget it...’
’I should just hurry home and grovel for Dad’s forgiveness.’
Xia Siyao muttered to herself, then quickly walked to the side of the road, hailed a taxi, and headed home...