Since there are elderly family members at home, dinner was served relatively early, and they finished eating before five o'clock.
On second thought, since Wei Xin had already booked a hotel near the airport, Ji Le figured they could just go to her room to rest and catch up on some sleep.
Wei Xin was never one for lingering at home anyway, so the two of them instantly hit it off, grabbed their luggage, and checked in.
"Tell me, how does it feel?" Ji Le asked with a grin, throwing an arm around her childhood friend's shoulders.
Wei Xin played dumb. "It's so good to be on vacation. I just want to keep resting."
"You know that's not what I'm asking. Fess up! How far along are you two?"
"We've reached the front desk service department," Wei Xin said, glancing at her phone to confirm the room number.
"Oh, come on. Xinxin is the best!" Ji Le's gossipy soul burst into flames as she clung to her childhood friend and wheedled, "Just tell me, I won't spill."
"So gross," Wei Xin gagged. "Can you act normal? I don't eat grass by the edge of my nest."
"Relax, I'm your cousin! Within three generations, absolutely not!" Ji Le shoved her away in disgust and retorted, "Even without that relation, I wouldn't like your type."
"Your temper is terrible, you explode at the touch of a button—even a grenade has a 3.5-second fuse."
"Such a nice mouth, but it runs like an automated turret. Nothing good ever comes out of a dog's mouth."
"Being with you must be so boring. I seriously have no idea what Xu Wenyi even sees in you."
Ji Le sighed. "Seriously though, I like her so much. She's got looks, she's got emotional intelligence. Not saying she's the most promising of the new generation, but top three for sure."
*Too bad she lacks a powerful background; it's hard to get ahead.* Ji Le silently swallowed the last sentence.
"Ha. Carry your own bags." Expressionless, Wei Xin shoved the luggage cart into her friend's hands. "You said the exact same flattering things when you asked to borrow money from me last year."
At the mention of borrowed money, Ji Le bolted, only to have Wei Xin react instantly, hook her arm around her neck, and threaten her.
"Pay me back, or I'll choke you to death."
"Take it easy, I never said I wasn't paying you back. Can we get in the elevator first?"
The two of them bickered all the way, completely missing the flash of white light that instantly vanished behind them.
The elevator stopped after only a few floors, and a fully disguised man stepped inside.
Wei Xin was busy plotting what food to order delivery for later, completely failing to recognize the man.
The man waited for a moment, but couldn't stand it any longer. Taking advantage of the elevator doors opening again, he took the initiative to greet her.
"Xiaoxin? Hello, I'm Du Lüe. We've worked together before, remember?"
Wei Xin quickly reached out her hand. "Teacher Du, hello! I'm sorry, I was just thinking about what to eat."
"No worries. Are you staying on the 17th floor too?" Du Lüe stepped closer, putting on a very familiar manner.
Wei Xin silently increased the distance between them, pulling her childhood friend to block the space in between. "Don't come any closer. If the doors open again, people will get the wrong idea. I'm a taken woman."
Ji Le: "???"
Though she fancied herself an expert on her childhood friend and cousin, Ji Le was still left speechless upon hearing those words.
*Wait, who on earth taught her to talk like that?*
Du Lüe gave a dry laugh. "You're as humorous as ever."
Ji Le looked at her friend. "People in your circle call this humorous?"
Fine.
Guess she was just out of the loop.
"And this beauty is?"
"Oh, my debt slave," Wei Xin summarized in a single sentence.
Ji Le: "..."
Seeing that the 15th floor was getting closer and closer, Du Lüe lost the courage to continue flirting.
Since someone had already witnessed this, if his only goal was to stir up some minor dirt, the spatial distance during their handshake was already more than enough.
If he played dumb and got any closer, he was afraid he'd catch a slap to the face.
After all, the young lady standing before him had once, at the wrap party of her debut drama, forced an entire plate of Mapo tofu down the throat of a producer who had tried to take advantage of her.
The extra-numbing, extra-spicy, oversized portion...
The floor number ticked to "15," and the elevator doors opened right on cue.
The person outside had been squatting with their phone raised, but upon seeing Wei Xin and Du Lüe with a person standing between them, they froze for a few seconds before biting the bullet and stepping into the elevator.
The atmosphere inside the elevator was awkward enough to make even Wei Xin squirm. After thinking for a moment, she took out her phone and snapped a group selfie.
Panic flashed in Du Lüe's heart. "Xiaoxin, what are you taking a picture for?"
"Checking in with my girlfriend," Wei Xin said with a matter-of-fact expression. "Oh, I forgot you don't have one. My bad. Well, as long as you're fine with it, thanks."
Ji Le took a deep breath, grabbing Wei Xin and bolting out of the elevator the moment it reached the 17th floor, terrified of getting beaten up.
"What are you running for?"
Unfazed, Wei Xin sat down on the small sofa and pulled out her phone to text Taozi, telling her to buy some fruit on her way back from dinner.
"I was afraid I'd get beaten to death." Ji Le looked at her with an inscrutable expression. "I never took you for a henpecked wife. You actually have to check in over something like this."
"That Du Lüe kept crowding my personal space; he's clearly up to no good. And that guy who got on at the 15th floor was probably a staked-out paparazzi."
Checking in was out of the question—she would never check in with that bastard surnamed Xu!
Taking that group selfie was merely meant to cow the opposition; if any smear campaign hit the hot searches, it would serve as immediate proof to clear her name.
"Your circle is so messy. You already have a girlfriend and he's still crowding you?"
"I worked with him before. In my debut movie, he played my older brother. During that production, I beat up the producer, but not a single scene of mine was cut, and it even won me a Best Newcomer award." Wei Xin concluded, "He's probably looking for a bigger pair of coattails to ride."
Ji Le narrowed her eyes. "Then... does Xu Wenyi know about our family situation?"
That bastard surnamed Xu definitely knew!
Otherwise, why out of all her peers in the industry would Xu Wenyi pick her for a contractual relationship?
She couldn't believe she'd been played for a fool by that surnamed Xu in her past life; what a colossal loss!
The more Wei Xin thought about it, the angrier she got. She let out a cold huff, sat there fuming silently, and refused to talk to anyone.
"Hey, I was just making conversation, don't get mad. What, already starting to play the protective wife?"
*My lady, there's still more to this chapter; please click the next page to continue reading, the rest is even more exciting!*
"You're the protective—hmph! I am not!"
"Fine, if you aren't, you aren't..." Ji Le couldn't be bothered to tease her. "Move, I need to shower. No peeking."
Wei Xin: "???"
"Ji Le, are you out of your mind? Get lost, it's my room, I'm showering first! No wait, pay me back right now!!!"
Ji "Debt Slave" Le spent three hundred thousand big ones to buy back her freedom, barely managing to secure priority for the shower.
Once finished, she sprawled happily across the bed, scrolling through her phone.
A few minutes later, Ji Le let out a strangled shriek.
"What is going on!?"
Weibo Hot Searches:
#Wei Xin Two-Timing# EXPLOSIVE
#Wei Xin and Mysterious Man Check Into Hotel#
#Wei Xin and Du Lüe Rumored Romance Exposed#
[Little Melon Official V:
Little Melon received a submission from a netizen: a certain actress surnamed W, who was just recently confessed to by an artist surnamed X, is now openly cheating with a mysterious man. The two were acting intimately and seem to have a deep relationship. [Pictures]*3 [Video]*1]
[Wei Xin, you've really hit the big time now. You need to watch your words and actions from now on blah blah blah... forgot the rest]
[Three-timing?! Where is morality? Where is the room number?!]
[Are you upstairs trolling or do you actually think this kind of stuff doesn't matter? If you can't keep it in your pants, don't go public with your relationship. Treating netizens like idiots?]
[Mysterious man? Why do I feel like it's a sugar daddy! She beat up a producer at her wrap party back then and nothing happened to her. Who'd believe she doesn't have a sugar daddy protecting her...]
[Don't spread rumors, don't believe rumors. Our Brother Lüe was just catching a flight and staying at a hotel; he has nothing to do with this cheating sister. Please stop using us to drive your traffic!]
[Damn, what a coincidence that the mysterious man and Du Lüe get exposed at the same time. Turns out it was cheating sister's team playing dirty, so disgusting!]
[Cheating sister constantly bullies colleagues relying on her sugar daddy's pampering, and markets her low emotional intelligence as "authenticity."]
[Damn, she has a sugar daddy and she still messes with Xu Wenyi?! MD, toying with people's feelings—forever blacklisted!]
[Heh, Xu Wenyi isn't clean either. Birds of a feather flock together.]
[Um, it doesn't necessarily have to be a man. Girls can have short hair too. My girlfriend has short hair and she's super cool.]
[Does changing the partner to a female make cheating okay??]
...