Wait for what? To have her come with a contract in hand?
He wouldn’t utter a word she wanted to hear, and what she could say was all he didn’t want to hear. Why should he wait for her then?
Yet, his lips were out of his control. Hearing Xiao Zhao say she would come to him, he simply couldn’t bring himself to ask Xiao Zhao to book a flight ticket for him. Even his hand couldn’t be controlled, and it just severed the call.
In the end, his hand almost helplessly drooped down.
When Ling Chuxia inquired about the hotel Shi Che was staying at, she didn’t delay a second, hailing a taxi straight away, told the driver the hotel’s name, and then asked the driver to drive as quickly as possible.
The driver agreed, and the car hurriedly sped towards the hotel.
Shi Che was staying in the presidential suite at the very top floor of the hotel. Ling Chuxia took the elevator up, and when she arrived at the door of the room, her earlier annoyance and defiance had long vanished, replaced once more by the fear and insecurity she always felt around Shi Che.
The kraft bag in her hand was pinched so hard it was almost deformed. After psyching herself up for quite some time, she finally reached out and knocked on the door.
Quickly, she could hear what seemed like footsteps from inside, and the next second, the door was pulled open.
Shi Che was dressed only in a white bathrobe, its belt loosely tied, revealing a broad expanse of his chest. He must have just finished bathing, his hair damp, droplets of water clinging to his chest, following the lines of his muscle and sliding beneath the bathrobe, exuding an intimate allure.
It had been a long time since Ling Chuxia had seen Shi Che in such an... undressed state. Caught off guard, her eyes glazed over, slightly struggling to react.
Shi Che’s dark eyes heavily fell upon her face, the center of his brow creased, coldly staring at her without a word.
Sensing Shi Che’s piercing gaze, Ling Chuxia snapped back to the moment, hurriedly shifting her gaze away, inwardly took a deep breath, and tried to make her voice sound steady and calm, "Shi Che... can we talk?"
Shi Che’s gaze slowly moved down to the kraft paper bag she was tightly holding; if he was not mistaken, it contained the contract for their collaborative project.
The corners of his lips curled slightly, but the light in his eyes sank sharply. He looked at Ling Chuxia. Her eyes were slightly lowered, her long eyelashes covering them so he couldn’t see the expression beneath, yet her body was trembling slightly, seemingly in fear of his rejection.
His hand on the door slowly tightened its grip. He wanted to slam the door shut, not to see her, not to hear her speak, not to be swayed by her appearance. But his hand just couldn’t move.
A trace of self-mockery crossed his eyes; he suddenly released his grip and turned on his heel into the room.
As soon as Ling Chuxia asked that question, her heart involuntarily hung in suspense, waiting for Shi Che’s response. She truly feared that Shi Che would just slam the door shut on her like he had hung up the call before, but to her slight surprise, he said nothing and merely turned back into the room.
Standing a little bewildered at the door, unsure of what Shi Che meant, she paused for a few seconds before deciding to enter. After all, Shi Che hadn’t answered, but he hadn’t rejected her, had he?
Ling Chuxia took a deep breath, stepped forward, walked in step by step, and then gently closed the door behind her.