By 4:30 in the afternoon, Yusuf Zuck and Miles O’brien entered the 7 Days Inn near Ruiz Family Garden one after the other, like a pair of thieves.
Yes, broad daylight, and Yusuf Zuck had actually gone to book a room, dragging Miles O’brien along with him.
Miles had her period a few days ago, it’s true, but that had been over for several days now, and since reuniting in the capital, the two hadn’t been intimate. So, with some rare free time on their hands, Yusuf’s thoughts wandered, and, driven by a sudden impulse, he went straight to booking a room.
Miles couldn’t stand up to him and couldn’t bear to reject him outright, so she half-heartedly followed him inside.
Yusuf was like a bull in rut, and Miles like parched land blessed with sweet rain. After a good romp in the hotel, the moon had risen high, and the city lights had just started to glow.
"I’m dead tired, so dead tired, I’m not coming again..." Miles surrendered, her cheeks flushed pink as she lay on top of Yusuf, a rare sense of happiness rising within her.
"Then we’ll continue tomorrow, but for now, we need to check out soon. It’s not that I don’t want to stay with you, but my dad is still in the hospital, and I need to spend the night with him," Yusuf explained.
"Hmm, do you need me to come with you?" Miles asked with hope in her eyes.
"No need. I don’t want anyone else knowing about my dad being in the hospital. Plus, it’s not a good illness, and if you went he’d feel awkward," Yusuf didn’t go into detail — the less people knew about his dad’s illness, the better.
"Hmm, then you... make something delicious for your uncle," Miles suggested after some thought.
"Got it, but there’s something else," Yusuf paused, "I’m thinking of buying a villa, in your name!"
"Ah..." Miles was suddenly stunned. She had seen yesterday how Yusuf and his brothers shared their wealth, and though he hadn’t included her in that moment, and even though she hadn’t said anything nor had many thoughts about it, it still felt a bit... odd, an indescribable feeling.
However, Yusuf was not a heartless man. If he had something on his mind, how could he possibly leave Miles behind?
In addition to her surprise, Miles’s sense of happiness grew even stronger. Even if that wretched Master Zhang hadn’t spoken well of her, wasn’t Yusuf treating her seriously?
He had bought her a car, even trusted her with tens of millions in cash, and now he was planning to buy a villa in her name.
Even wealthy men keeping a mistress didn’t go this far — she could feel Yusuf was serious and not just playing around.
"Let’s not for now. We’re at the startup phase, I can just stay at the shop, which can’t be left empty. Besides, I have a house in Shijiazhuang that I haven’t dealt with yet."
"Heh, when I say I’ll buy it for you, I mean it, so your refusal won’t work. Rent out the Shijiazhuang house. Also, you can’t keep valuable things in the shop; they should be kept at home," Yusuf said.
"Oh." Miles nodded, "But buying a villa in the capital won’t come cheap, it might not be possible without several millions. Although we have some liquid assets, we still have to wait for next year’s gem betting. The treasures from yesterday haven’t been sold either, so we should wait a bit longer."
"No waiting, we’ll use the bank deposit to start," Yusuf smiled, "Better to buy early and be at ease. It’s not too late to make money from the spring stone auction next year; there’s still more than half a year left."
"Yusuf... thank you." Miles kissed Yusuf’s lips of her own accord, and they immediately entwined like snakes once again.
This time, she initiated it.
She was a normal woman, too, hoping her man would treat her well, and now that Yusuf was treating her so well, what else was there to fret about? She would just go with the flow – as long as he didn’t abandon her, she would stay by his side.
At nine o’clock in the evening, the two left the hotel and went straight to Old Beijing Noodles, where they enjoyed a hearty meal and even took two servings to go. Then Yusuf dropped her off at Bryce Harper’s shop before he headed to the hospital.
In the hospital, Fleur Carson was nowhere to be found, and the young nurse Paisley Kirk was there, cheerfully entertaining the old man in the ward.
It was Yusuf Zuck who had bought her the zhajiang noodles. He planned to take the other two servings to Jade Cooke’s place to see if any caregivers there hadn’t eaten. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel-fire.net
Young Paisley seemed really hungry that evening; she devoured a whole bowl of zhajiang noodles in no time.
"Finished eating? Once you’re done, go home and sleep. Come back tomorrow to pick me up. You stayed up all night yesterday; you can’t keep doing that, it’ll wear you out!" Yusuf Zuck had a very good impression of Paisley Kirk; she wasn’t frail or pretentious, especially the way she ate—wolfing down her food. He rarely saw girls eat like that.
"No need, I slept in the afternoon. You go back and sleep," Paisley Kirk shook her head.
"Listen to me, go back to sleep. I have something to discuss with my dad today. Can you drive? Take my car to go home." Yusuf Zuck pulled out his car keys.
"No... I can’t drive; I’ll just take a cab home," Paisley Kirk adamantly shook her head.
"Alright, be careful tonight, and call me when you get home. Are you getting used to living at Fleur’s place?" Yusuf Zuck stood up to walk her downstairs.
"It’s really nice, the house is very big," Paisley Kirk replied cheerfully.
"Hmm, then stay there for now, and when Wen Shuai’s clinic opens, you can start working at his clinic."
"Hmm, thank you, Big Brother Yusuf," Paisley Kirk said softly.
"Thank me for what? I should be thanking you. These past few days you’ve been taking great care of my dad," Yusuf Zuck knew he had to compensate Paisley Kirk for looking after his father, so he had already decided that once his father was discharged from the hospital, he would give her a substantial red envelope or something of the sort.
"It’s nothing, I want to become good friends with you, Big Brother Yusuf," Paisley Kirk said with a smile.
"We’re already good friends. Go on back home, and just take over my shift tomorrow morning," Yusuf Zuck sent her to the elevator, and Paisley Kirk always looked shy, not daring to meet Yusuf’s gaze.
She didn’t dare to look up at Yusuf until the elevator doors had closed.
Yusuf chuckled. The girl was really young; an eighteen-year-old flower just stepping into society, too innocent at heart.
That day, a stranger was keeping watch at Jade Cooke’s bedside. Yusuf did not know him. After chatting with Jade Cooke for a while and giving the zhajiang noodles to the caregiver, Yusuf went back to Felix Zuck’s room.
"That young girl is interested in you, she’s a good girl. What do you think, any plans?" As soon as Yusuf returned, the irreverent Felix Zuck winked at him.
"Of course, why not!"
"You animal, she’s just a kid, and you have ideas?" Felix Zuck scolded.
"It was you who asked if I had any plans, and now you’re scolding me." Yusuf laughed and sat next to Felix, "She’s kind-hearted, pure; she also has a clean appearance, like a lotus that emerges unsoiled from the mud. I don’t have any special intentions for her, just don’t want to see her corrupted by society’s negative influences. It’s rare to find such a good girl, so I’m just giving her a little push. It’s not what you’re thinking!"
"That sounds more like it. But you’re doing the right thing. If you can help someone, you should. It’s good karma. She really is a nice girl, but too naïve for this world; she’d easily be taken advantage of. Look after her, but don’t lay a hand on her; she’s too young!"
"I know, she’s a bit too young, I couldn’t bring myself to do it!" Yusuf puckered his lips.
"You never act serious. Tell me, what are you up to these days? You’ve only been in the capital for a few days, but you’ve made so many friends and got so much money?" Felix, after all, was a father, and although Yusuf was an adult, he still needed to be cared for.