Chapter 31: Sleeping Together… Again
The moment Shen Xi heard the shocking words from the man, her forced smile froze instantly. She quickly reached for the door, trying to close it.
But just as her fingers touched the handle—
BANG!
Gu Hanling pressed one hand firmly against the door, stopping it from closing.
"Didn’t you say you’d agree to anything, Madam?"
Shen Xi let out a dry laugh, her eyes filled with wariness as alarm bells rang in her head.
"Big Brother, stop joking. This is not happening."
"It’s just sleeping. Nothing else."
Shen Xi gave a “you think i'm stupid” expression and inwardly scoffed.
That might fool other women, but her? No way.
Well… actually, right now, the door was literally being held open by him. And judging by his stance, he was really planning to sleep in her room.
Gu Hanling gave a half-smile and said casually,
"Madam, are you overestimating your own charm? Thinking I have ulterior motives?"
"Uh…"
Shen Xi had no way to refute that. From the moment she met him, this man had never actually crossed any lines.
After some careful thought, she slowly stepped back, making way for him.
Seeing this, Gu Hanling walked in naturally, as if it were his own room. With a smooth motion, he reached back, closed the door behind him, and with a 'click,' locked it.
The soft sound echoed like a heavy hammer, making Shen Xi’s heart skip a beat.
Crap, did she just fall into a trap!?
She kept her expression calm, but her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.
Gu Hanling noticed the girl's clenched 'little pink fist,' and for some reason, found it amusing. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Ignoring her little defensive stance, he walked straight to the bed. Just then, Shen Xi’s phone vibrated on the mattress. That same unknown number had sent multiple messages in a row.
[Xixi, the birthday party is over. Yueyue is breaking up with me again.]
[Had some drinks… started missing our time together.]
[Come to XX, just to talk. Nothing else.]
Gu Hanling picked up the phone and glanced at the messages. He let out a cold chuckle.
"Why are you looking at my phone?!"
Shen Xi frowned and rushed forward, trying to snatch it back.
But the man, who was over 1.8 meters, simply lifted his arm. He scrolled through the messages, deleted them one by one, then powered off the phone.
"Give it back!"
Shen Xi jumped up, but no matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t reach.
This must be karma. Back in school, she used to do the same thing to shorter girls for fun. Now she was the one being played with.
Only after he finished did Gu Hanling finally toss the phone back to her.
"Keeping your phone on while sleeping is bad for your health."
"It was disturbing my rest."
Shen Xi huffed in anger, glaring at him. But deep inside, she actually felt relieved.
She figured the texts must have been from Shi Jingyan. Luckily, she had only called him earlier and never replied to his messages. Otherwise, she might have been exposed.
If she had seen the texts first, knowing herself, she would’ve just sent back two words: "Get lost."
"Sleep."
Gu Hanling spoke calmly, lying down on the bed as if he owned the place. He closed his eyes, looking in a much better mood than when he first entered.
Shen Xi gritted her teeth.
Just because you’re my "top supporter," you think you can do whatever you want?!
Suddenly, Gu Hanling opened his eyes and glanced at her.
"Why are you still standing there? Turn off the lights and go to sleep."
Shen Xi's expression changed in an instant. She put on a bright smile, looking as if it were an absolute honor.
Fine. A man who arranged a job with an annual salary of hundreds of millions is impressive. Not to mention, even the villa belonged to him. So technically, this room was his too…
With no other choice, Shen Xi lay down on the other side of the bed. Just like back at the previous Gu Family mansion, they left enough space in the middle for another person to fit.
After turning off the lights, Shen Xi’s beautiful eyes remained wide open. She couldn’t understand, what had gotten into Gu Hanling today? Why insist on sleeping in her room?
Thinking back to earlier in the living room… could it be that he saw her wardrobe malfunction and couldn’t resist making a move?!
The room was silent. She could hear the man’s breathing gradually become slow and steady. She stole a glance, he actually seemed to be asleep.
Only then did Shen Xi breathe a sigh of relief. Her dignity should be safe… Now that she thought about it, she was just a villainous side character. Even the male lead never looked at her. Would someone of Gu Hanling’s level even be interested in her?
Of course, there was another possibility. Maybe Gu Hanling simply wasn’t capable in that way.
Based on her years of experience as a single man, what normal man would have a soft, defenseless girl sleeping beside him… and not have any thoughts at all? Even a bit of teasing or sneaky touches would be expected.
Shen Xi let her mind wander with these ridiculous thoughts until drowsiness took over and she drifted off to sleep.
Gu Hanling was a light sleeper. Strangely enough, with Shen Xi next to him, he fell asleep quickly. For once, he didn’t even need his usual sleeping pills.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly felt something soft against his arm. Looking down, he saw that Shen Xi, with her terrible sleeping habits, had somehow rolled to his side again.
Her hair spilled gently over her face, and under the quiet moonlight, she looked even more delicate and pitiful.
His gaze softened unconsciously. Reaching out, he carefully slipped his arm under her slender neck and pulled her soft body closer.
Shen Xi was a deep sleeper, or to put it bluntly, she slept like the dead. She only let out a small murmur but didn’t wake up.
Her petite, warm body pressed lightly against his side, carrying a faint, soothing fragrance.
For some reason, it felt oddly comforting.
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains, casting a soft glow into the room. Shen Xi slowly woke up.
Instinctively, she tried to roll over—
Huh?
Why did it feel like she was hugging a giant sandbag that wouldn’t budge?
As her vision cleared, she realized. She had, yet again, ended up curled up in Gu Hanling’s arms.
She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, stopping herself from screaming.
‘Oh God… Is my sleeping posture really that bad?! If Big Brother sees this, won’t he suspect I’m deliberately trying to seduce him?!’
Then again, he was the one who insisted on sleeping in her room last night. This wasn’t her fault!
Even so, Shen Xi felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She cautiously glanced up and found that Gu Hanling was still asleep.
Good. Maybe she could quietly roll away—
"How do you plan to explain this?"
The sudden cold voice startled Shen Xi so much that she sat up instantly. Then, she frowned.
Explain?! Why the hell should she explain anything?
Straightening her posture, she turned to look at Gu Hanling and deliberately raised her voice.
"Big Brother, what exactly do you want me to explain? If I had climbed into your bed last night on my own, then sure, I’d be guilty of trying to seduce you."
"But you were the one who insisted on sleeping in my room."
"So tell me, how do you explain that?"
Gu Hanling raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering in his eyes, but he didn’t reply.
Seeing that she had finally gained the upper hand, Shen Xi decided to quit while she was ahead. She huffed lightly, got out of bed, and quickly slipped out of the room.
The moment she stepped outside, she ran into Butler Wang, who was standing anxiously at Gu Hanling’s bedroom door. He seemed hesitant to knock, worried about disturbing his master’s rest.
Shen Xi glanced at Gu Hanling’s empty room and casually said, "He’s not in there."
The butler looked surprised and respectfully asked, "Madam, how do you know?"
Before she could answer, a familiar cool voice came from behind her.
"Is there something you need?"
When Butler Wang saw Gu Hanling walking out of Shen Xi's room, his eyes widened instantly.
His top-notch professional demeanor prevented him from dropping his jaw in shock, but he subtly used his hand to hold onto the wall to steady himself…