22 Stay

Yan Xiaoran woke up from the sound of snoring beside her. When she tried to move her hand, she suddenly touched something soft, giving her a ticklish feeling.

She tried to raise her head to inspect, but her head was hurting. It was aching a lot, so she softly groaned and smacked her head back on the pillow. She looked around using only her eyes, yet she simply gazed at an unfamiliar sight. 'Where am I?'

She tried to raise her body once again. However, her body seemed to refuse to listen to her will. It felt like she was carrying a 40kg rice bag.

She observed that the sun hasn't risen and the sky was still dark. The windows in the room were slightly opened, and the white curtains would occasionally flutter as the cold wind slipped through the apertures.

Swallowing hard, Yan Xiaoran sighed in her heart as she attempted again to sit up. It took her a few tries before she was successful enough to raise half of her body.

When she stared towards the direction where the snoring was coming from, she found a woman who had her head placed on the edge of the bed while she was sitting on a stool, peacefully sleeping.

The woman's hair was messily spread on the bed, and it was the first thing that she touched after waking up.

'Who is this woman?' Yan Xiaoran couldn't stop herself from thinking. She could barely remember what happened earlier or how much time has passed since she fell asleep.

She slowly got up and got off the bed. She made sure that she won't disturb the serene sleep of the unknown woman with her measly movements.

Yan Xiaoran walked out of the room, entering the long corridors after a few seconds. There was no one in sight, and it was slightly dark. Withal, with the help of the moonlight that was giving off a warm light, she didn't bump on anything else and had an easy flight down the stairs.

She was still feeling lightheaded, but she capably reigned in her emotions. Her mind was clear as she step onto the garden, letting the fresh air caress her skin.

She looked up to the sky and saw the moon was still at its fullest while the stars adorably twinkled.

Standing by the entrance of the mansion, enchanted by the beauty lingering in the garden, was Alexander Qu who hasn't taken his leave. His focus was completely at the woman who was supposed to be unconscious right now and was being cared of by his aunt.

He gulped hard and felt extremely thirsty for no apparent reason. He just felt that the moment his eyes laid upon Yan Xiaoran, he couldn't stop feeling aroused and thirsty.

He wanted to walk closer to her and admire her beauty an inch away. Withal, fearing that she will be startled of seeing him, he stayed on his ground and settled on staring at her from afar.

His heart that had been asleep, and was grieving for losing her, was now awake and ready to beat faster. He knew what kind of hardships she had to experience. All this time, he had nothing to wish for but to banish all of her sadness away. He wanted to make her happy.

Still, he couldn't help but step forward, doing what his heart was urging him to do. He became anxious that the woman he loved would slip away from his grasp again.

With her long brown hair gently swaying behind her small back as the cold wind swept the strands delicately, and her eyes that were staring at the sky were bright, her figure was filled with innocence.

Alexander continued to stare at her longingly that even Xiao Gui, who was standing behind him, patiently waiting for him to enter the car, had to bit his lips in anguish. He pondered on whether to tell his boss that he was running late for his appointment or simply let his boss be.

"Sir, the young miss will melt away if you keep on staring at her like that." He said to his employer, earning him a glare.

Xiao Gui scratched his nose uncomfortably and said, "Alright, I won't stop you from turning her into a puddle of melted milk chocolate then."

"Shut up." Alexander was annoyed at being disturbed, yet he didn't mean his words. He folded his arms in front of him, looking ahead once more. His eyes were brimming with warmth and appreciation at the beautiful scenery in the garden that seemed to be a picture inside a painting.

Alexander and Xiao Gui might have been standing on different statuses in life, but they've been friends for years. Alexander freely allows him to be rude even though Xiao Gui took the role of his driver.

"Well, I won't shut up!" Xiao Gui playfully said, "Anyway, I can see that you don't want to be apart from her, so let's forget about today's appointment. I'll just send someone to represent you."

Hearing the suggestion, Alexander frowned. However, he felt that the proposal was indeed appealing, and so he unconsciously nodded. To his dismay, he didn't catch the smile that bloomed on Xiao Gui's face as soon as he nodded.

By himself, Xiao Gui celebrated in his heart since he felt so mirthful that their plan to go to Japan was dismissed. It's because he also wanted to go home and rest, to see his wife back at home.

He hasn't gone to meet his wife for a week now, and all the stress and tension he gathered from being around his friend and boss was taking a toll on his body. Thus, he was extremely excited and feeling antsy on his toes, wishing he could walk right away and leave.

Nonetheless, before he could finally celebrate and plan to go home to his wife, Alexander's next words gave him to another dilemma.

"There's no need to look for anyone else to present me."

"Pardon?"

Alexander faced him and smiled, "Since you proposed it, go and take care of the matters in Japan."