Chapter 9

That night, unable to leave, I ended up sleeping on Lu Xiao’s couch.

Thankfully, his couch was huge and soft, so I slept surprisingly well.

I woke up naturally the next morning.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes gave me a shock.

Lu Xiao was sitting on the armchair across from me, his gaze dark and intense as he watched me. I had no idea how long he’d been sitting there. He looked like he was contemplating how to dispose of the stranger who had crashed at his house.

I scrambled to explain.

“Um, last night, I brought you home and was about to leave, but because-”

He cut me off, his tone surprisingly gentle.

“I know. No need to explain. Thank you for the pillow and for taking off my shoes.”

“You should go get washed up.”

Thinking this was his way of kicking me out, I nodded eagerly.

“Okay, okay.”

After I quickly freshened up, Lu Xiao offered to drive me home to change my clothes. I was running late for work and would lose my perfect attendance bonus, so I didn’t refuse.

But to my surprise, after I changed, he drove me to my office and even asked me out for dinner that night.

I had to work overtime, so I politely declined.

He didn’t seem upset. He just nodded and said, “That’s fine. We’ll do it another time when you’re free.”

The whole experience was surreal and peaceful.

A coworker asked me curiously, “Lin Ting, is that your boyfriend? He’s so handsome!”

I shook my head.

“No, just a friend of a friend. He was drinking yesterday, so I looked after him a bit. He was just thanking me by giving me a ride to work.”

My coworker didn’t press the issue.

I didn’t think much of it either and buried myself in my work.

But then I got a call from my bestie. Her voice was buzzing with a strange excitement.

“Sweetie, Lu Xiao just called me to ask what color roses you like.”

“Huh? Flowers for me?”

“Yes! Spill it. When did you two get together behind my back?”

I was completely baffled. “We didn’t. We barely know each other.”

“If you barely know each other, why would he suddenly send you flowers? And 99 of them, at that.”

“To thank me, I guess.”

I told her about what happened the night before.

My bestie sounded skeptical.

“I don’t know about that. I’ve known him for years, and he is not the type of guy who sends flowers as a thank-you gift.”

“Then why would he send flowers?”

“To pursue someone.”

My bestie’s voice rose with excitement.

“Lin Ting, I think Lu Xiao wants to ask you out!”