"Other hotels have no rooms left, Teacher Qiao, just lend me a sofa to sleep on."
Shen Dang answered every single one.
He always maintained a nonchalant and composed demeanor.
So he didn’t want to leave, right?
Qiao Xi flatly refused, "No, I don’t lend out my guest rooms or sofa. Boss Shen, please find someone else."
"How cold-blooded," Shen Dang muttered under his breath.
Qiao Xi’s reaction was entirely within his expectations.
She was, after all, a heartless little thing.
Qiao Xi glared at him, "What did you say?"
Saying she’s cold-blooded?
She definitely heard that!
It was clearly he who was being shameless!
"I can’t find anyone else here," Shen Dang said, tilting his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Mo Qing got me to drink quite a lot just now."
Qiao Xi took a deep breath.
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His behavior after drinking was terrible; it was one thing for him to kiss her and then act as if it never happened, clearly a case of hit-and-run attitude.
"Then there’s nothing I can do, and besides, I’m not the one who made you drink."
Her voice was colder than the weather outside, chilling him to the marrow.
Shen Dang suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils looking intense, "It’s freezing winter, can’t Teacher Qiao show a little kindness?"
Qiao Xi remained unmoved.
Shen Dang then laughed coldly, "You used to take me in before, why can’t you now?"
She was clearly avoiding him like the plague now.
Qiao Xi watched him quietly, her eyes undisturbed, "You said it yourself, it was before. Back then, we weren’t divorced; now we are."
There was no status between them anymore; how could she keep him here?
"Just take care of yourself before you leave, otherwise it wouldn’t look good if others saw."
Not kicking him out right now was already very kind of her.
He spoke lazily, "Can’t arrange it, there’s no way to arrange it."
Shen Dang lay down on the sofa.
Had he made all the effort to enter her home just to leave ?
Watching his actions, Qiao Xi directly burst into angry laughter, "Shen Dang, are you playing the rogue with me?"
Shen Dang "hmm’d", not refuting her accusation but going along with it, "Playing the rogue is better than having nowhere to go."
Qiao Xi was rendered speechless.
Seeing that she still wouldn’t give in, Shen Dang’s eyes showed a hint of helplessness, "Teacher Qiao, after all, you are my ex-wife."
Right, he had places to go, there was absolutely no need for him to linger here.
But in that moment, he still gave in to his impulses.
There were things he needed to clarify, just like there were people he wanted to see clearly.
Shen Dang’s gaze dropped, his laugh self-deprecating.
Qiao Xi paid no attention to what his laugh meant, her frustration building, "I remember Assistant Gao came with you. Contact him; I believe there’s always a way."
Shen Dang’s eyebrows lifted slightly as he said indifferently, "That’s even less possible then, Assistant Gao has already returned to Hai City."
So he went back, did he!
Qiao Xi grabbed her phone and called the front desk.
"Are there any other rooms available at the hotel?"
She refused to believe that such a big hotel had no rooms left.
"There are none left, ma’am."
The receptionist’s words shattered her illusion.
Qiao Xi hung up the phone, feeling stifled.
Shen Dang laughed helplessly, "Told you there are no rooms left. I wouldn’t lie to you, why else would I come here?"
"But you really can’t stay here!"
Qiao Xi was at a loss as well.
He was too influential.
Especially now that Qiao Xi realized that every action of Shen Dang’s could affect her.
Such influence was terrifying, disrupting the still waters of her life beyond her imagination.
If it weren’t for grandfather, they should have cut off all contact after getting the divorce certificate, allowing both of them to revert to the start, back to when no mistakes had occurred.
But the current developments were entirely beyond her expectations.
Since they’d already deviated from the path and reached this point, she should cut her losses in time to prevent herself from being entangled, right?
Seeing her whole being radiating resistance, Shen Dang felt a twinge of pain in his chest.
"Why? Give me a reason."
Was she really resisting him this much?
Qiao Xi’s gaze was clear and cool, her pupils transparent and indifferent, "Shen Dang, do you want to start a scandal about the two of us?"
His expression became a bit lifeless, "It was no different before."
Qiao Xi was very calm, "Anything can happen, the film has just started shooting. I don’t want to create trouble for myself."
Shen Dang sat up, leaning back, his thin lips twisted into a small sneer, "Then I guess I’ll have to sleep under a bridge."
She was spoiling him.
"I’d like to see what Boss Shen sleeping under a bridge looks like."
It could make front-page news.
Qiao Xi, with her bare face yet still possessing the beauty as if made up, at that moment, had a mask-like mechanical smile on her exquisite and stunning face.
To think that they would become such strangers after the divorce.
Shen Dang suddenly laughed, "Qiao Xi, I came here for you."
He could always easily stir one’s emotions.
The deep and dark pools of his eyes held a hue that Qiao Xi couldn’t comprehend, as if a hand was pressing down on her heart.
Heavy, somewhat difficult to bear.
But the usual clarity still suppressed her desire.
Qiao Xi’s eyelids twitched, moving her gaze away awkwardly, "Who would believe that!"
Shen Dang’s voice turned colder, tinged with self-mockery, "Why don’t you believe it?"
"On set, you said you came because of Movie Emperor Jiang, didn’t you?"
Shen Dang let out a cold laugh, "With so many artists under GK, if I were to visit the set for every artist who makes a movie, think of how much work I’d be missing."
Did they really think he, the big boss, had nothing better to do?
"... He’s a Movie Emperor."
Movie Emperors, Movie Queens, they naturally held a different status in the eyes of big bosses.
Shen Dang’s handsome features showed a trace of fatigue, "Movie Emperor is just a person too. They’re all the same in my eyes."
Shen Dang wanted to curse her for being foolish.
But he didn’t know if she was genuinely foolish or just pretending to be.
Qiao Xi observed him.
Shen Dang let her scrutinize him.
Finally, Qiao Xi came to a conclusion, "So, are you really just idling around?"
He laughed out of sheer frustration.
Idle enough to come here and waste a few words with her.
Qiao Xi was convinced, "If you weren’t idle, you wouldn’t say something like you came here for me."
Wasn’t he always so nonchalant, playing with the world? How could he possibly have come for her?
Shen Dang rubbed his fingers against his eyelashes, lifting his gaze to meet hers, his tightly stretched jawline revealing a hint of displeasure, "You really don’t believe me?"
Qiao Xi threw the question back, "What do you think?"
"I think you should believe me."
Shen Dang stared at her unwaveringly.
Qiao Xi started to feel nervous.
She feigned composure, "But I don’t believe you. Boss Shen, leave after midnight. By that time, most people will be resting, and it’ll be better for both of us if you leave."
After saying this, Qiao Xi got up from the sofa and walked towards one of the rooms.
The sound of footsteps followed her from behind, and Qiao Xi’s heart skipped a beat, feeling a gust of wind by her ear, and before she could react, her wrist was tightly grasped.