Su Mu relaxed for the entire day, casting all thoughts from her mind. Without Wen Han, Zhou Yaxian, or Fu Shinian, it seed like a long ti since she had enjoyed so ti to herself. She felt inexplicably crazy, the desire to escape was overwhelming, to the point where she wished she could never return.
But even she found such an idea laughably absurd. Even if she could let everything go, she could never abandon Qiqi.
It wasn’t Su Mu’s first visit to the Maldives, but today was the most relaxed she’d felt. She lounged on the hotel balcony in the sun all morning, changed into a skirt and went out for lunch, finding the famous local food just alright. She didn’t return to the hotel in the afternoon; instead, she walked on the beach, went snorkeling, and in the evening, she headed to an open-air bar. Sitting at the bar with a cocktail and watching the sunset, she felt this was truly the life worth living.
Around ten o’clock at night, when she was about to return to the hotel, she received a call from Lin Ning, who inford her that their group had arrived and checked into the hotel. Su Mu acknowledged with a "mm," agreeing to et up tomorrow. But just before hanging up, Lin Ning whispered a warning:
"Su, be prepared. President Huang has asked more than once where you are and why you didn’t co with us. Be very careful this ti, okay?"
Su Mu chuckled:
"Okay, I got it."
She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but Su Mu felt like soone was following her. Suddenly she rembered Fu Shinian’s words about the real perpetrator still being at large from the underground parking lot incident, which sent a chill down her spine and quickened her pace.
She didn’t dare to look back, but she could clearly feel that soone was trailing her. At this mont, she desperately hoped that the bodyguards Fu Shinian had assigned to her would appear. But she had no idea if they had even followed her – after all, this trip had been a spur-of-the-mont decision.
Finally, she reached the hotel and hurried toward her room. Perhaps it was the nerves, but her room key slipped from her hand. Before she could bend to pick it up, a hand reached down and picked it up for her. The mont Su Mu saw that hand, her wildly unsettled heart inexplicably cald down.
She knew this hand all too well.
Fu Shinian stood up, looking at Su Mu, and gave a slight smile. Without a word, he used the room key to open the door. He entered without invitation, completely ignoring Su Mu still standing at the doorway. After circling the room, he turned to look at Su Mu and said:
"Nice room."
Su Mu didn’t try to evict him, because she knew she couldn’t. She stepped inside and closed the door:
"Was it you following just now?"
"Yes, good sense of caution. But still not enough. If soone really had their eyes on you, you probably wouldn’t even have had the chance to scream for help."
Su Mu casually threw her mini bag onto the sofa:
"Why are you here?"
"That’s the question for you," Fu Shinian responded, "Why the escape? You were supposed to travel today, but instead, you ca alone yesterday. When will you ever change this habit of fleeing at the slightest trouble? Or do you think that if you flee, I will let you go? That you can ignore our unresolved issues?"
Walking to the balcony, Su Mu sat down on the lounge chair there. Fu Shinian followed and sat down beside her. She spoke softly:
"There was no need for you to co. I’m here for work and I’ll be back soon enough. Besides, Qiqi is still with you. Where else could I go?"
"That’s true," replied Fu Shinian, lightly stroking Su Mu’s wind-tousled hair. "I was worried you would have left Gui Ning Residence by the ti I returned, but I didn’t expect you to actually run away, let alone to a place so far off."
Su Mu avoided his touch and fell silent.
Looking at her, Fu Shinian spoke after a few seconds:
"Don’t want to talk?"
"Talk about what?"
"I assud you’d have cold words for my taking advantage of your vulnerability."
A faint smile ford on Su Mu’s lips:
"Fu Shinian, we’re both adults, and we’ve shared a bed for such a long ti. It was just a replay of past events. Did you really co all this way to discuss it with ? Besides, desire isn’t sothing only n have; won feel it too. I feel safer sleeping with you than with soone else."
"So, was it that night before last, I was just a tool to satisfy your needs?"
Su Mu smiled and said nothing, but her silence was a form of acknowledgnt.
She thought Fu Shinian would get angry. Instead, he just smiled without continuing the topic. Lying comfortably on the lounge chair, he enjoyed the sea breeze. Su Mu glanced at him and got up to return to her room but was abruptly pulled into his arms. She tried to struggle, but he held her even tighter:
"I’m tired, stay with a little longer."
He was indeed tired. Since learning Su Mu had gone to the Maldives, he had considered waiting for her return, as she said, since Qiqi was still under his care and she would certainly co back. But inexplicably, Fu Shinian couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait to see her, to hear her speak, although he knew she wouldn’t have any kind words.
So he decided to co, but had to relentlessly handle company matters, staying awake for almost twenty-four hours straight. After attending to the company and soothing Qiqi, he headed directly to the airport. He couldn’t sleep on planes, so he wasn’t entirely exhausted but close enough.
But holding her again, he felt it was all worth it.
Su Mu didn’t resist anymore. Though it felt awkward, she complied, perhaps because after that night, so things had indeed changed.
No one spoke for a long ti. The sea breeze blew gently, and the embrace of the person next to her was comforting, making Su Mu gradually drift off to sleep. In a daze, she felt like she was lying on a cloud, then suddenly felt a sensation of weightlessness. Jerking awake, she saw Fu Shinian was about to lay her on the bed. She started:
"What’s wrong?"
Su Mu shook her head, climbed out of his embrace, and sat on the edge of the bed, calming her breathing. Fu Shinian watched her in silence for a few seconds:
"I’m going to take a shower."
Surprised, Su Mu asked:
"You’re staying here?"
"What else?" he replied. "Do you think I’d book another room?"
Su Mu stood up: "Fu Shinian, I’m not in the mood today, I don’t need your services."
Fu Shinian just smiled slightly: "Coincidentally, neither am I. I only want to sleep now."
Having said that, Fu Shinian didn’t give Su Mu another chance to speak and went straight to the bathroom. Seconds later, the sound of running water drew a laugh from Su Mu. It seed she would have to have a talk with Fu Shinian after all, or their relationship would beco increasingly tangled.
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