Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

When we came out after paying the bill, a gust of wind outside brought on the effects of the alcohol.

Li Cheng's steps began to falter, and his head felt dizzy.

Zhou Yutong went even further, hanging onto his arm as soon as they went out, relying entirely on him for her weight.

"Brother Cheng... I feel so dizzy."

I'm dizzy too.

"What should we do then?"

Li Cheng took out his phone to call a designated driver, but after tapping the screen for a long time, the words in front of him became blurry.

Damn, I'm drunk.

"Let's take a taxi." He put his phone back in his pocket. "Which direction do you live in?"

Zhou Yutong shook her head and pressed her face against his shoulder.

"It's too far... It would take forty minutes by taxi."

Li Cheng steadied himself by holding onto the lamppost and scanned the area.

Across from the hot pot restaurant is a chain hotel, its neon sign flashing in the night.

He stared at the sign for three seconds.

"Let's get a room and get some sleep first."

As soon as the words left their mouths, both of them were stunned.

Zhou Yutong lifted her head from his shoulder, blinked twice, and stared at him with her round eyes.

"You mean...a hotel room?"

Li Cheng then realized the ambiguity of his words and quickly added, "Two rooms. Two rooms. Each person can sleep in their own."

"Oh," Zhou Yutong responded, resting her head back on his shoulder.

The two staggered across the road and pushed open the glass door of the hotel.

The receptionist looked at the man and woman supporting each other with a subtle expression.

"Two double rooms." Li Cheng slapped his ID card on the counter.

The receptionist typed on the keyboard for a long time with her head down, then looked up with a troubled expression.

"Sorry sir, rooms are in high demand today due to the weekend. There's only one double room left."

Li Cheng thought for a couple of seconds. "What about a standard room? A standard room is fine too."

"The standard rooms are all full. There's only this one double room left."

silence.

Zhou Yutong rested on his arm, her breathing becoming even. It was unclear whether she was asleep or pretending.

Li Cheng looked at the receptionist's face, which held a subtle smile.

"Never mind then."

Zhou Yutong raised her head groggily.

"Brother Cheng, go ahead and drive. I don't mind. I'll just take a nap anyway."

She said this in a very natural tone.

Li Cheng opened his mouth.

His remaining sense told him—it wasn't appropriate.

But the girl next to him was about to slip off to the ground, and he couldn't just leave her on the lobby floor.

"...Then let's open it."

I got the room key.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Li Cheng half-dragged and half-helped her into the room.

There was only one 1.8-meter bed in the room, with white bedding neatly laid out.

Li Cheng pulled Zhou Yutong off his arm and helped her walk to the bedside.

As soon as Zhou Yutong touched the bed, she pounced on it, slamming face down into the pillow, her canvas shoes still on.

"Shoes." Li Cheng bent down to pull at her shoes.

The canvas shoes were pulled off, revealing a pair of feet wearing white cotton socks.

He put his shoes at the foot of the bed, turned around and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

The cold water made me a little more clear-headed.

When she came out, Zhou Yutong had already turned over.

She lay on her back, her hair spread out on the pillow.

She had already torn off her coat and thrown it on the pillow; underneath was a white tank top.

Two shallow curves below the collarbone are clearly visible through the thin fabric.

A section of her waist was exposed; it was flat, and her skin was very white.

Li Cheng quickly looked away.

He took a spare blanket from the wardrobe, spread it on the floor, and prepared to sleep on the floor.

"Brother Cheng."

Zhou Yutong's voice drifted from the bed, muffled and indistinct.

"what?"

Why are you sleeping on the floor... the bed is so big.

"Inappropriate."

"What's wrong with it? We're not doing anything else."

Zhou Yutong propped herself up on her arms and sat up, her eyes half-open and half-closed, her hair loose on her shoulders.

"Come here. The ground is cold."

She patted the bed next to her.

Li Cheng stood still, clutching a pillow in his hand, for five or six seconds.

How could a 34-year-old man be so flustered by a girl in her early twenties?

He threw the pillow back onto the bed.

"I'll sleep on my left side. You can turn over."

Zhou Yutong obediently moved to the right to make room for him.

Li Cheng lay down, close to the edge of the bed, leaving at least one person's distance between them.

He stared at the ceiling.

"Brother Cheng."

"Um."

Are you nervous?

"Don't be nervous. Go to sleep."

It was quiet for about five minutes.

Just when Li Cheng thought the night would pass uneventfully—

A hand emerged from under the covers and rested on his forearm.

Li Cheng's body tensed up.

"Yutong".

"Um?"

Do you know what you're doing?

In the darkness, Zhou Yutong's voice was very soft.

"Know."

Li Cheng turned his head to the side.

By the light of the streetlamp shining through the gap in the curtains, he saw Zhou Yutong facing him.

"Brother Cheng," she called again.

This time, the tone was completely different from when I called him at the front desk during the day.

The last syllable was drawn out, carrying a hint of coquetry and a touch of probing.

Li Cheng closed his eyes for two seconds in the darkness.

He is 34 years old. His last relationship ended three years ago, and he has been living alone ever since. He's gotten used to it.

But at this moment—

The alcohol was burning in my veins, and a young and beautiful girl was lying next to me, even putting her hand on mine.

Li Cheng turned over to face her.

"Will you regret it tomorrow?" His voice was a little hoarse.

Zhou Yutong shook her head.

Then she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his chin, rubbing it against him.

Li Cheng moved his arm and pulled the person into his embrace.

My hand slid down her back and touched the bottom edge of her tank top.

Zhou Yutong's body trembled.

"You really don't regret it?" he asked again.

"Brother Cheng, you talk too much nonsense."

After saying that, she sat up, crossed her arms, and took off her vest from the bottom up.

The mattress made a slight creaking sound.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

You're stepping on my hair...

"This way?"

"Yes... um..."

Zhou Yutong's fingers dug into the muscles of his back, her nails leaving shallow marks.

"Brother Cheng..."

"Stop yelling."

"I...I can't control myself..."

-

The next morning at 10:00 AM.

Li Cheng's phone vibrated several times on the bedside table.

Zhou Yutong was woken up first. She groggily reached out, touched the constantly vibrating phone, pressed the answer button, and put it to her ear.

"Feed..."

Her voice was hoarse and she was grumpy from waking up.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Where's Li Cheng? Why hasn't he come to the company yet?"

It was Jiang Fan's voice.

Zhou Yutong's eyes widened in surprise.

She looked down at herself—

She wasn't wearing anything under the blanket, and Li Cheng was snoring beside her, with one arm draped across her waist.

"ah--"

She threw the phone at Li Cheng's face like it was a hot potato.

Li Cheng was jolted awake by the smashed phone and, cursing, picked it up.

"Who is it...?"

"It's Brother Fan! Brother Fan's phone call!" Zhou Yutong wrapped herself in the blanket and shrank into the corner of the bed, her face flushed red.

Li Cheng suddenly realized what was happening and sobered up completely.

He glanced at his phone screen—Jiang Fan was on a call.

We're doomed.

He cleared his throat and put the phone to his ear.

"Good morning, Brother Fan."

"What do you mean 'early'? It's already ten o'clock."

"Ah...it's ten o'clock?" Li Cheng sat up, scratching the back of his head with his bare chest. "Brother Fan...let me explain."

"No need to explain. Come to the company first. And the person next to you too."

The phone hangs up.

The room was silent for a full ten seconds.

Zhou Yutong poked half her head out from under the covers, revealing only her eyes and forehead, her eyes staring straight at him.

"Brother Cheng...Does Brother Fan know everything?"

Li Cheng tossed his phone onto the bed, lay back, and covered his face with his hands.

Zhou Yutong buried her face in the blanket and let out a muffled "Aww".

She crawled over and hugged his arm.

Do you think Fan Ge will fire me?

"It's not that bad." Li Cheng removed his hand from his face and turned to look at her.

Zhou Yutong's hair was messy, and there were pillow marks on her cheeks.

He was wrapped tightly in the blanket, except for a few red hickeys on his shoulder that hadn't faded yet.

Li Cheng looked at her for two seconds, then reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Let's go to the company first. Don't push all the problems onto me."

Zhou Yutong bit her lip and shook her head: "No, we'll die together."