After showering, she laid flatly onto the blanket and fell asleep without drying her hair. She snored softly, perhaps due to the weariness.
An interminable amount of time passed. The liveliness of the day died down, leaving moths to crash recklessly into the lamplights.
A black Hummer pulled up, and a tall man emerged from it. He walked up to Yan Huan’s car and studied it for a long time.
He then turned and entered the elevator. The first thing that caught his eyes as he entered the room was the suitcase by the door. He walked over and lifted it. It was almost weightless in his hands, but Yan Huan had struggled to move it around.
“Did you not expect me to be here?” he mused as he set the suitcase in place.
In truth, she hadn’t. As far as she knew, Lu Yi had always been staying at Lu Jin’s place, to accompany Sun Yuhan.
He flipped on a small lamp in the bedroom. The dim light illuminated the huddled figure in the blanket. He could hear her slow, rhythmic breathing.
He padded to her, sat down on the bed, and touched her forehead. Her hair was still wet.
“Did you just take a shower? Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable to sleep with wet hair?” he muttered.
Lu Yi felt as though he had turned into a nanny. With a towel, he began working on her hair. He couldn’t dry it completely, but it was better than nothing. He then replaced her blanket with a new one. She remained asleep throughout this time. He knew Yan Huan’s habits; she always slept endlessly after returning from a set, without even eating or drinking, until she wakes up on her own. She probably won’t wake up before 10 AM the following day.
Lu Yi stroked her forehead and sat there for half the night. At dawn, he went to take a nap in the guest room.
Yan Huan knew nothing of all this. As Lu Yi had predicted, she woke up at around 10 AM. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and dozed back off.
A few hours passed before hunger woke her up.
She was well-rested by now, but famished.
She walked to the living room and saw some food on the table. She walked to the table and touched the plate. Hmm? The plate was still hot, and those were her favorite dishes. She picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating, too hungry to care about anything.
She tried a bite. Mhm. It was good.
Steady cooking noises came from the kitchen. Someone must be hard at work.
Wait a minute, she thought as she chewed on the chopstick; why was the cleaner cooking for me? Where did they manage to find such a talented cleaner?
Maybe she should go take a look. If someone else inhabited this house, their inevitable encounter would be really awkward. She best flee before it comes to that.
Just as she was having trouble deciding, another plate of food was set on the table. It was an appetizing plate of stir-fried vegetables, one of her favorites. For a moment she was still, then she looked up and saw the silhouette of a man returning into the kitchen. He had a broad back, a straight waist, and an unpretentious grey sweater on him. The sleeves of the sweater had been rolled up to his wrists. He was wearing her cartoon apron. Yan Huan froze up, her face changing. Then she rose and turned to leave.
Because she already knew who he was.
To think she had mistaken him as a maid. So it was Lu Yi, a man that belonged to someone else. She didn’t want anything to do with him. She couldn’t afford to have her reputation damaged further.
She wasn’t interested in someone else’s man, even if he used to be her own.
A hand pressed down on her shoulder before she could reach for the door.
“Eat before you go. There’s no hurry.”
His palm was nearly as big as her entire shoulder.
Yan Huan stared at him with glassy eyes.
Batting his hand away, she picked up her suitcase and turned to leave.
She doesn’t want to eat something cooked by him. Lu Qin was a jerk, and he was no better.
What was the point of playing nice now? She doesn’t need it.
She walked out in large strides, without so much as turning back once.
Lu Yi sighed. He then sat down, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and began eating the large table of dishes. He had risen early that morning to prepare them all by himself.
And now, he had to finish them all by himself.
Yan Huan tossed the suitcase into the car boot and drove off. She decided to never come back here again, even if she had to stay in a hotel.
She drove frightfully fast, her mind somewhere else. Luckily, she was still sensible despite her anger. Before long, she pulled up safely outside the Classical Garden and stepped out of her car.
The security officer jogged up to see to her luggage.
Yan Huan stroked her tummy, realizing she was still hungry.
She glanced at the time. It was almost 12. She wondered if there would be anything left for her.
A table of dishes greeted her when she walked in, provoking a growl from her tummy.
Thank god, she thought to herself. Now she needn’t hunt for her next meal.
She sat down at the table after washing her hands. Some steaming food at last. It tasted amazing. She hadn’t had something this good in a while already, or perhaps it was only because she was starving.
After eating, she began loafing around, pondering about how to gain her weight back. Someone came in the afternoon, before she could proceed with her plan of taking an afternoon nap.
It was Ye Shuyun, who had come all the way just to see her.
Regardless of her relationship with Lu Yi, Ye Shuyun had been extremely good to her. She liked Ye Shuyun, and Ye Shuyun liked her as well.
“Filming has made you skinnier again,” observed Ye Shuyun as she tidied up Yan Huan’s hair.