“Skincare products, packed. Face masks, packed. Oh right, makeup remover too.” Song Nanyin crouched in front of her suitcase, muttering to herself. She stood up, took a bottle of makeup remover from the cabinet, and set it inside.

She was still thinking hard about what other essentials she needed when the door was pushed open. Seeing Liu Zhaoran standing at the entrance, Song Nanyin swallowed the urge to chase her out and glanced up at her instead.

“We’re leaving soon. Shouldn’t you be packing instead of watching me?” Song Nanyin asked crossly, exasperated by this sudden trip.

She had recently been assigned to work with Liu Zhaoran on a joint project, which meant not only did she have to spend her working hours with the woman, she also had to lodge at her place after hours.

It was fair to say that, apart from herself, Song Nanyin had more contact with Liu Zhaoran than with anyone else in the 24 hours of a day. Yesterday the notice had come down from above: the partner in Langqi City had completed the initial project collaboration and booth setup, which meant the two of them had to go over in person to inspect and accept the work. Hence this impromptu trip.

“I’m already packed. It’s only a few days. With all that stuff, anyone would think you were going around the world.” Liu Zhaoran crossed her arms comfortably and gave Song Nanyin’s things a lazy once-over.

She had assumed Song Nanyin was the type who didn’t much like organizing, who traveled light and bought what she needed on the spot. But seeing her neatly arranged suitcase and the carefully thought-out items, she turned out to be surprisingly domestic.

“These are all brands I’m used to. If we can’t buy them over there, you’d be in a fix. Move, move, don’t block me.”

Song Nanyin stood up, stepped past Liu Zhaoran, brought the last item in, and put it away. She gave the tidy suitcase a satisfied clap and sealed it.

“It’s not quite lunchtime yet, but I think we should eat something before going to the airport. After all, the food on the plane isn’t much to write home about.” Liu Zhaoran turned and walked toward the kitchen. Song Nanyin clearly agreed with her.

Watching Liu Zhaoran get busy in the kitchen, Song Nanyin realized this was the first time she had ever seen her cook. At breakfast, she always got up late, and Liu Zhaoran usually had the meal already laid out on the table.

As for dinner, apart from that first Western meal, Liu Zhaoran had been too busy these past days to find time to cook, so they had simply eaten whatever ready-made food was convenient.

Right then, the woman wore a pure white apron over a white gauze dress. She habitually twisted her hair into a loose bun hanging at the back of her head, chopping vegetables with practiced ease and sending them into the pan.

The small window in the kitchen was open, and the sunlight cast patterned shadows through the venetian blinds and the flowers set on the little table, playing over Liu Zhaoran’s face and body with an indescribable charm.

Feeling it was a little improper to just stand there watching, Song Nanyin asked whether she should help. Liu Zhaoran didn’t turn around and softly said it wasn’t necessary. Maybe the other woman hadn’t paid her tone any mind, but to Song Nanyin it carried an inexplicable tenderness.

She suddenly understood why Liu Zhaoran had placed first in the company forum’s last poll for the woman people most wanted to marry. So well-rounded, so capable, good-looking and with a great figure, it really was easy to feel drawn to her.

Incidentally, Song Nanyin had placed fifth, quite a bit lower than she had imagined. The reason, of course, was not that her looks were lacking. Rather, her beauty was too dazzling: with mixed-race features and bone structure, she was gorgeous in a way that hit hard, and such bold, vivid looks gave people the most direct impression of an inexplicable forcefulness.

That was also why Song Nanyin ranked first on the looks chart but couldn’t place on this kind of poll. Of course, she didn’t care much about either ranking. Such unofficial polls were only worth gossiping about when she was bored with nothing else to do.

After the two of them ate, they called for a car to take them to the airport. Jiahai City was close to Langqi City. One hour and thirty minutes later, the plane landed and they went to the hotel they had booked in advance.

It was fairly close to the partner company, and the booth was only a little over ten minutes away by car. Song Nanyin was quite satisfied with Liu Zhaoran’s choice of lodging as they checked in. However, once they took the elevator upstairs, she felt she had praised it a bit too soon.

Their floor was the 55th, home to the hotel’s luxurious presidential suite. At first, Song Nanyin didn’t think much of seeing a single room. But when she walked in and found one big bed, her expression went through a thousand changes before she finally frowned, unable to hold it in.

“Just this one bed? There’s no other room?”

“Mm. The rooms were tight when I made the booking, so this was the only room available.”

Liu Zhaoran turned around and, seeing Song Nanyin’s clearly troubled expression, found it amusing. In fact, when she had first booked the room, she had thought about reserving two. After all, Zhang Kai wasn’t stingy, and the travel allowance he gave the two of them was generous.

Although Liu Zhaoran wasn’t used to sharing a bed with anyone either, especially someone whose sleeping position was as much a mystery as Song Nanyin’s, compared with the little thrill of seeing this woman get all ruffled, and with the convenience for research, Liu Zhaoran was willing to bear this small grievance.

“What do you mean no extra rooms? Didn’t the peak season just end?” Song Nanyin clearly didn’t believe Liu Zhaoran’s excuse, those emerald-green eyes sizing her up warily.

“So Team Leader Song is really that opposed to staying with me. Fine, then. You can book another room at your own expense, so we won’t have to be in each other’s sight day and night.”

Liu Zhaoran lowered her voice and put on a hint of hurt. Listening to that cloying, put-on tone, Song Nanyin pictured a white lotus with a cup of green tea poured over it. Now that was a lovely picture…

“I’ll book my own then. It’s not like I can’t afford a room.” At that, Song Nanyin stamped her high heel, turned, and strode out of the room. What a joke. She was already sick of staying at Liu Zhaoran’s place every day; why did she have to share a room with her on a business trip too? Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were close.

Song Nanyin went downstairs, went straight to the front desk, and said she wanted another suite, preferably not on the 55th floor. But the reply was that the suites really were fully booked, and the only rooms left were cheap singles whose amenities weren’t all that good either.

Song Nanyin choked on the receptionist’s words while doing the math in her head. Should she really give up a perfectly good luxury presidential suite and pay extra for a mediocre single room? No matter how she looked at it, that didn’t seem like a very smart move.

And so, under the receptionist’s gaze, Song Nanyin turned and left, dragging her suitcase back to Liu Zhaoran’s room. The door wasn’t closed, as if the other woman had known all along she would come back, and her slippers had even been set out at the entrance…

Of course, Liu Zhaoran had indeed expected this. Since she had done it, she was confident the plan would succeed. Though the peak travel season had just ended, there was such a thing as off-peak travel: once enough people thought that way, the original low season would turn into a second mini-peak.

And this hotel ranked among the best in Langqi City, so naturally rooms fell short. Watching Song Nanyin come back in a huff, a few tufts of golden hair flying every which way, Liu Zhaoran thought she looked rather pretty when angry. Amusing, too, of course.

“Team Leader Song, why are you back again?” Liu Zhaoran asked, knowing the answer full well. Her smug look made Song Nanyin want to bite her.

“None of your business. I’m tired. I’m going to shower first.” Song Nanyin glared at Liu Zhaoran, casually shoved her luggage aside, and went into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

Standing beneath the comfortable hot water, Song Nanyin thought it over. Sleeping with Liu Zhaoran was no big deal, really. The woman had already seen every inch of her anyway, so what was there to care about? Besides, she had a good figure and wasn’t afraid of being looked at.

Song Nanyin let herself stop worrying and decided to just stay; at most, it would only be a few days. After her shower, she changed into the nightgown she had brought. It was a black slip style with thin straps, sheer fabric, and a fairly low neckline.

It was the nightgown Song Nanyin found most comfortable. She had assumed there would be two rooms and had gone for comfort without thinking much beyond that. Only now did she realize that wearing something like this in front of Liu Zhaoran might be a little too revealing.

Song Nanyin hesitated, lingering in the bathroom for quite a while, until she heard the sound of Liu Zhaoran moving around outside. Then she gritted her teeth and pushed the door open. She had barely taken a few steps when she ran straight into Liu Zhaoran.

“Team Leader Song? Are you all right? You were in there so long, I thought you might be feeling unwell.” Liu Zhaoran smiled lightly, somehow having put back on that harmless, innocent look, a completely different person from the one who examined and handled her however she pleased.

“It’s just the two of us here. What are you pretending for? Black-Hearted Lotus. Hmph.” Song Nanyin couldn’t be bothered with any of this nonsense and called her out directly.

Hearing herself addressed like that, the latter smiled without getting angry, secretly thinking Song Nanyin’s impatience was amusing too.

“Ah, I see. Actually, I thought Team Leader Song might be childish enough to hog the bathroom and not let me use it. But then I thought about it again, and figured you wouldn’t do something like that.”

As Liu Zhaoran spoke, Song Nanyin, who was in the middle of applying lotion, stiffened. She felt her intelligence had been insulted. Hogging the bathroom and refusing to let someone use it, what kind of childish behavior was that, hey?

“I’m not that bored.” Song Nanyin muttered. Meanwhile, Liu Zhaoran was looking at her too. Song Nanyin was very particular about skin care and was now carefully spreading lotion over her body. Liu Zhaoran watched her set one foot on the edge of the bed; her fair, delicate foot was painted with red nail polish, which made her cool, pale skin shine even brighter.

The woman really had worn a very sexy nightgown. In Liu Zhaoran’s eyes, it was probably more provocative than wearing nothing at all. The low neckline showed glimpses of the plump fullness inside; from the look of it, she had underwear on, outlining a deep, bottomless valley of cleavage.

Song Nanyin’s chest was full and pert, beautiful from the side as well. Her long golden hair hung loose, and under the light her whole body seemed to radiate.

How to put it… Liu Zhaoran didn’t actually dislike Song Nanyin, and the reason was mostly her striking face and that simple, foolish brain of hers.

Liu Zhaoran watched for a while, then turned and went into the bathroom. Seeing her finally leave, Song Nanyin breathed a sigh of relief. She had of course noticed the other woman sizing her up; to avoid embarrassment, she had kept pretending not to notice.

Her face felt a little hot. Song Nanyin huffed and glanced at the closed bathroom door.

Black-Hearted Lotus, what was she looking at her for? No matter how much she looked, her figure was still better than hers. But being stared at for so long was a loss. She would have to stare back at her later to make it even.