Chapter 7: Just Familiar

Luo Yichen handed her a bottle of mineral water. Noting Qu Ling’er’s nervousness, he thought to himself: “This young girl is too insecure. Why is she so scared?”

He sat back down on the sofa. To alleviate her fear, he deliberately sat a little further away. Then, he opened the bottle of mineral water in front of her and handed it over. “I just opened it. It’s safe.”

“Huh?” Qu Ling’er took the bottle and said shyly, “Thank you.”

“You… really don’t know me?” Luo Yichen finally asked after holding it in for a long time. He felt that his target audience was young girls in her age group. The Internet is so pervasive now—even if she was not a fan, she should still be able to recognize him. Was he so unknown?

Qu Ling’er looked at Luo Yichen’s face and blinked. “Well… you do look a little familiar.”

Luo Yichen: “…” Just familiar? He opened the bags of supper dejectedly and said, “Let’s eat.”

As Qu Ling’er helped to take the food out of the bags, she asked tentatively, “So… Brother, what’s your name?”

Luo Yichen stopped what he was doing and said coldly, “You don’t need to know.”

Qu Ling’er: “…” Why is he suddenly angry? Men are so hard to understand…

Qu Ling’er had only eaten a small piece of birthday cake since noon and was hungry.

Luo Yichen had instructed her to buy so much supper, but most of it ended up in her stomach. They had very little interaction during the meal, other than Luo Yichen occasionally telling Qu Ling’er to “eat more of this” or “that” and “don’t waste food”.

After the meal, Qu Ling’er felt even sleepier and kept yawning.

Luo Yichen looked at her and stood up. “Wait for me. I’ll get changed and send you home.”

Qu Ling’er nodded meekly and began to clear the table. After bagging the trash, she sat on the sofa and waited for Luo Yichen.

Luo Yichen took a call while he was changing in his bedroom and was delayed. When he came out of his bedroom, Qu Ling’er was already asleep on the sofa. He looked at the young girl curled up on the sofa and could not bear to wake her up. He raised his wrist and looked at his watch—it was almost midnight. After considering, he got a duvet and pillow from his bedroom.

Luo Yichen carefully stuffed the pillow under her head and covered her with the duvet—afraid that she would suddenly wake up and slap him again. However, she showed no signs of waking up. When he neared her face, he could smell the faint smell of alcohol on her. Perhaps she was sleeping so soundly because she had been drinking. He deliberately turned on a wall lamp before returning to his room—in case she awoke in the night and was afraid.

It was only when he returned to his room that he realized he had done many things that were out of his character today. It was strange—he should have woken her up and sent her off. Oh, well! She was curled up on the sofa like a small child and he felt sorry for her.

Qu Ling’er slept soundly the entire night.

Luo Yichen was woken up early in the morning by Assistant Liu’s call. He got up reluctantly and made his bed frustratedly. When he was done and came out of his bedroom—on his way to the kitchen for a glass of water—he suddenly saw the figure on the sofa. Only then did he remember the girl who stayed over last night. Looking at her serene face, his frustration seemed to have dissipated. As he drank the water, he looked at the small figure on the sofa. She did not seem to have moved at all the entire night and was still curled up in the corner.

A sudden sound at the door interrupted his thoughts. He seemed to have thought of something but before he could react, the door was pushed open.

“Gosh, it’s so hot. It’s already so hot in the morning—it’s unbearable. Seriously…” Assistant Liu complained as he took off his shoes.

He had just changed his shoes when he looked up and saw Luo Yichen standing in front of him. “Yichen, when did you get here? You scared me!”

Luo Yichen dangled the glass of water in his hand. “Drink some water.”

“Oh.” Assistant Liu did not think too much about it and said, “Drinking water in the morning is good—it’s good for your health.”

“Why are you here so early today?” Luo Yichen asked, “Why didn’t you buy breakfast? Do you want me to go to work on an empty stomach?”

“Zhang went to buy it. We’ll eat in the car later.” Assistant Liu continued, “Time is quite tight today. Let’s leave early.”

“No, I’m hungry. I want breakfast now. Go and bring it up,” Luo Yichen said as he pushed Assistant Liu out.

“Huh?” Assistant Liu looked at Luo Yichen, befuddled. However—as a highly qualified assistant—he said, “Alright, I’ll go down and get it now.”

Assistant Liu put on his shoes again and went out to get breakfast.