Chapter 51: Keep Dreaming
Late at night.
Shen Xi sat on the sofa in her room, bored out of her mind, waiting in line.
Waiting for what? The shower, of course…
She kept glancing at the tightly shut bathroom door, feeling that Gu Hanling was acting a little strange today after coming back.
His own bathroom wasn’t broken, so why was he using hers? Did it smell better or something?
Shen Xi subconsciously raised her hand and took a whiff. The elegant scent of gardenias, the fragrance of her usual shower gel, mingled with the woman's natural body fragrance, lingering at the tip of her nose.
To be honest… it actually smelled pretty nice. Even she liked it. It was the kind of soft, sweet scent that belonged to a delicate girl.
The only problem was… the delicate girl was herself…
The sound of running water gradually faded, but Shen Xi’s heartbeat inexplicably started racing, a slight sense of danger creeping in.
Wait… was this guy about to act up after a short separation?
Then again, that didn’t seem likely.
In CEO romance novels, out of ten CEOs, four had chronic stomach problems, three were disabled, two had OCD, and one suffered from insomnia.
Gu Hanling, as a hidden big shot, was no exception. He was the insomniac type. Plus, he seemed completely indifferent to a woman’s beauty and only treated her as a sleep doll.
At least, that’s what she believed.
As for what other quirks he had, she wasn’t sure yet.
At that moment, the bathroom door opened.
Steam drifted out as Gu Hanling’s tall figure emerged. His wet hair clung slightly to his forehead as he casually dried it with a towel.
He wore his usual black loungewear, revealing just enough of his toned chest and abs.
Shen Xi’s gaze instinctively drifted to those faintly visible muscles.
Even though she’d seen them before, she still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
Those abs, those lines. This was the legendary double-door fridge build, complete with six-pack abs!
If she had this body in her past life, wouldn’t she have ruled the gym? With just a wave, wouldn’t all the girls come running?
"Madam, have you seen enough?"
Gu Hanling's voice carried over, laced with a hint of ambiguous amusement. Snapping out of it, Shen Xi scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Tch, who’s looking at you? You’re so full of yourself."
She said that, but inside, she felt a little bitter.
Gu Hanling, however, just found her stubbornness amusing. He gave a faint smile and sat down on the sofa, leaving barely a fist’s width of space between them.
Shen Xi could clearly catch the scent of… male hormones?
For some reason, the atmosphere suddenly felt a little off. To break the awkwardness, she cleared her throat, stood up, and casually said,
"Uh… if you don’t dry your hair, the air conditioning will make you catch a cold."
Gu Hanling lifted his gaze toward Shen Xi, a little surprised that she was showing concern for him. What he didn’t know was that she had always cared about his health.
After all, if something unexpected happened to him, who would pay her two years’ worth of salary?
Gu Hanling smirked slightly and said in a calm tone,
"Hmm, then why don’t you dry it for me, Madam?"
Shen Xi froze for a moment. Her eyes instinctively drifted downward before she quickly snapped her gaze away, feeling her skin prickle with unease. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Damn it, this is all because she read too much learning material in her past life… and her friends were all perverts. Now, any random sentence from this guy made her think dirty...
"What are you thinking about?"
Gu Hanling narrowed his eyes slightly, his smirk deepening.
Shen Xi, feeling like she had just been caught red-handed, panicked and quickly composed herself. She definitely didn’t want him to misunderstand and think she was interested in him. Otherwise, he’d probably use it as an excuse to dock her pay.
"I was just thinking… you could ask the butler to dry your hair for you."
Even she asked the housekeeper to help with hers sometimes. It wasn’t like she was being dramatic.
Her hair was too long, and she wasn’t good at dealing with it. It was just too much hassle to do on her own. Back in her past life, she had a buzz cut. Just a quick rub and a blow-dry, and she was done.
But helping another man dry his hair? Just the thought of it made her feel weird in a way she couldn’t even describe.
Gu Hanling frowned slightly at her response, leaning back lazily into the sofa. His gaze locked onto hers with an unmistakable sense of authority.
Feeling the pressure of his stare, Shen Xi quickly found an excuse for herself.
"I mean… I could do it, but only if you let me borrow that guitar you brought back from overseas for two days."
Gu Hanling raised an eyebrow, his smirk carrying a hint of something unreadable.
"Deal."
Shen Xi was pleasantly surprised. She hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. She was originally aiming high just so she could bargain later.
Not wasting any time, she grabbed the hairdryer, plugged it in, and walked behind Gu Hanling. Setting it to medium heat, she hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath.
Her delicate fingers carefully threaded through his short, slightly damp hair. The strands were still cool to the touch, carrying a bit of residual moisture.
Gu Hanling tilted his head slightly, closing his eyes. For once, he seemed to let down his usual cold and distant guard, as if genuinely enjoying the feeling of her fingers running through his hair.
Time passed, and his hair gradually dried. Shen Xi exhaled in relief and switched off the hairdryer, setting it aside.
"It’s done," she said softly, feeling like she had just completed a major task.
She expected him to get up immediately, but he didn’t move at all.
"Hmm?"
Frowning slightly, she walked around to face him, only to realize…
Gu Hanling had fallen asleep. His breathing was slow and steady, his usually sharp features softened in sleep.
He hadn’t been resting well these past few days, and now, without realizing it, he had dozed off.
Shen Xi stared at his sleeping face. The cold, oppressive aura he usually carried was nowhere to be seen. He looked… surprisingly peaceful.
Crouching down slightly, she hesitated as she studied his almost unrealistically handsome face.
Her thoughts wandered. What if he’s actually a robot…?
As if guided by an unseen force, Shen Xi slowly reached out her curious little hand, wanting to touch the familiar yet distant face in front of her.
Her fingertips got closer and closer to his cheek, so close that she could almost feel the warmth of Gu Hanling’s skin even through the air.
Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, a nervous tension creeping in. This was the man described in the original novel as standing at the very top of the pyramid, yet right now, he was lying there quietly, completely at her mercy.
The next second—
Gu Hanling’s cold, sharp eyes suddenly opened, locking onto hers in an instant.
Shen Xi gasped, freezing in place like a deer caught in headlights. Then, pretending to be completely unfazed, she quickly stood up and stammered out an explanation.
"Uh… I was just going to wake you up… You’ll catch a cold if you sleep here."
"I-I’m going to take a shower now."
Not daring to wait for his reaction, she turned on her heel and practically fled the scene, escaping the awkward tension.
Gu Hanling slowly sat up, watching her flustered retreat with a subtle, unreadable smirk on his lips.
Shen Xi rushed through her shower and stepped out of the bathroom, only to find Gu Hanling sitting in bed, casually flipping through her novel, 《The Stunning CEO Got Pregnant and Forced Me to Be a Kept Man》.
Dressed in a thin silk nightgown, she walked over and playfully complained,
"If you like it so much, I’ll just give it to you, CEO Gu."
Gu Hanling lifted his gaze from the book, his expression unreadable as he simply said,
"Sleep."
Completely ignoring her teasing.
Shen Xi let out a quiet tsk, barely audible even to herself, then obediently climbed into bed.
She lay with her back to him, pulling the thin blanket tightly around herself, wrapping up like a cocoon.
The lights went out, and the room fell into silence, leaving only the soft sound of their breathing. After a while, she finally spoke.
"Big Brother, I’ll be moving out of the villa soon."
Her words were like a stone thrown into a still lake, breaking the quiet atmosphere. She thought she heard his breathing pause slightly before he responded in a low voice.
"Hmm?"
"My rehearsal for the [Masked Singer King] is starting soon. I’ll need to move early for dance training and other prep work."
This was news to Gu Hanling. With his packed schedule, he had never concerned himself with the specifics of the show. He only invested in it and helped set the overall direction. Once the project was in motion, he never meddled, only waiting for the final results.
"Oh. How long? Where will you stay?"
His deep voice carried no obvious emotion, as if he were just asking out of casual curiosity.
"I don’t know how many days yet. I’ll probably stay in the hotel arranged for the contestants."
"I noticed the show's online popularity is quite high. I’m going to be under a lot of pressure… I don’t want to embarrass you."
It had been a long time since she last experienced a normal life, where she had to work for her own food and lodging instead of being a pampered rich wife. She wondered if she could still handle it.
"Who’s your director?"
"Director Chen. That’s what they call him in the group chat. I don’t actually know his full name."
Suddenly, remembering something exciting, Shen Xi turned around to face him, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"Oh, right! Big Brother, if I become famous, I can be your company’s spokesperson! Since we’re so close, I’ll even give you a huge discount! Hehe."
Gu Hanling turned his head to look at the woman, giving her a faint smile with an ambiguous meaning.
"In your dreams."