11 Staying Over

"U-umm… I live in an apartment on Jie Xi street," I stammered, staring at the floor. I couldn't bring myself to maintain eye contact with Mr. Han when he's looking directly at me like that. I suddenly felt my face heat up. Why am I reacting like this???

"Alright, I'll have a driver take you home tomorrow," Mr. Han said as I heard him take another sip of his wine.

"That sounds good… Wait, what? Tomorrow?" I blurted out, finally understanding the words that Mr. Han just said. "You want me to stay here, overnight?"

"Is there a problem? Do you not like staying here?" asked Mr. Han.

"N-no! That's not it, it's just well… I wasn't expecting it," I answered.

"I understand it all may seem surprising now but you did agree to do the favor, Yuri," Mr. Han pointed out, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

"But I thought you only wanted me to act as your love interest so Zi Li would stop bothering you!" I exclaimed.

"That's true but she hasn't stopped yet has she? You can relax though, as long as I'm here, I know Zi Li wouldn't do you any harm. You can continue living the way you've been living," Mr. Han reassured.

"Well… how long will I need to keep this up for?" I asked quietly.

"I can't say for sure… but I can assure you that it won't affect your normal life in any way, how about it?" Mr. Han asked as he leaned forward.

"I g-guess I could… go with it," I replied, still looking down at the floor.

What has gotten into me??? Why did I agree to this outrageous request?! Having a fake relationship with a CEO of a ginormous company??? That literally sounds like something straight from a webcomic! I don't even know if he's actually gay or not, heck, I'm not even sure about myself. There were too many questions floating around my head. Why do I blush when Mr. Han looks at me? Why do I find his face so attractive? Why do I feel my heart beating faster every time he's near?

As I sat pondering to myself, Mr. Han had got up and walked off somewhere. Having no clue on what to do, I stayed seated. Ju Zi opened his eyes and let out a small, incoherent meow.

"Did you say something?" I asked, looking down at the orange tabby in my lap.

The cat didn't respond.

"Well I guess I'm by myself now," I said out loud, tilting my head back on the sofa.

Looking up at the ceiling, I started wondering if coming to China was a good choice. I mean I don't hate this place, everything just seems so different. My first few weeks of staying here and I've already gotten myself into a lot more matters than I could handle. I suppose I just miss home…

Deep in thought, I lost track of time but Mr. Han eventually came back and snapped me out of it.

"Are you going to sit there forever, Yuri?" Mr. Han said, grinning.

"Haha…" I replied, awkwardly laughing.

"Since you're staying the night, I've prepared a room for you. Follow me," he gestures as he turns to walk away.

Jumping up from the couch, I started after Mr. Han. We walked up the stairs to the second floor and down a short hallway. A few seconds later, we stopped in front of a large, black door with a vertical gray stripe running down the left side. Mr. Han turned the door handle then stepped aside to let me enter.

The room was modern themed and simple. There wasn't much in it except for the king sized bed, the television set, a large closet and a bathroom.

"Not much of a decorator, huh?" I unconsciously said out loud.

"I don't have time for those kinds of things," Mr. Han replied behind me.

I was about to say something when I felt something brush past my leg. Surprised, I looked down to find Ju Zi walking into the room. The tabby jumped up onto the bed and started making himself comfortable.

"Well… Umm.. Thank you for letting me stay the night," I began, turning around.

"Sure, I guess I'll leave you to your things then," said Mr. Han. "Good night Yuri."

"Good night Mr. Han," I said back to him as he turned to walk back down the hall.