The man's eyes opened wide in shock. Did she have a death wish?
He was trying so hard to resist her, but she kept teasing him like a person dangling a carrot in front of a horse.
Her soft lips pressed clumsily against his and everytime she took a breath, he felt shockwaves through his body.
He wanted to push her away and do the right thing, but she only kissed him harder and more passionately whenever he resisted; she was very strong and persistent.
Eventually, she even tried to pry open his lips with her tongue.
As soon as the man felt Halia's tongue on his lips, he knew she had broken through his defences; he had no choice but to surrender. He had been holding back the urge to kiss her all night. Now that it was happening, how could he resist?
"Screw it! It's just a kiss," he said before he forced his tongue into her mouth. When Halia felt his tongue against hers, she let out a satisfied moan. He was finally reciprocating. Seeing that she was enjoying it, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her harder. She tasted sweet and her breath still had the floral scent of gin. How much did she drink?
At that moment, just as the two were finally on the same page, there was a knock on the door.
At first, the man ignored it. But, the knock got louder.
He sighed and tried to get up, but just like before, Halia wouldn't let go.
"Open the door, sir. We know you're in there! This is the police!"
"If you don't open at the count of three, we will force it open!"
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..."
Just as the man freed himself from Halia, the hotel room door flew open and two policemen stood in the doorway holding guns.
"Sir, you are under arrest for the suspected kidnapping and drugging of this young woman..."
...
Soon, the man arrived at the police station and was brought into an interrogation room. Of course, he understood the law, so he did not speak until his lawyer arrived.
"My client maintains his innocence. He noticed Miss Feng wasn't feeling too well, so he helped her out of the bar and monitored her condition at the hotel."
"You claim that he drugged Miss Feng, but you didn't find any drugs on his body. Nor does he have a record of drug use."
"You claim that he kidnapped Miss Feng, but I can assure you that they are friends and he was just helping."
"My client took Miss Feng out of the bar an hour ago, but when you found her, all her clothes were still on her body and she was perfectly fine. I think this was all a misunderstanding."
The officer knew he had no evidence to charge the man or hold him, so he asked the police chief for advice. The chief came down from his office and had a look at the man being detained. "It's him," he said, recognizing the man straight away. "Don't worry, he'll be back in here for something much more serious soon, let him off for now."
The officer nodded and returned to the interrogation room, "You're free to go, Sir."
As the man walked out of the interrogation office, he spotted Halia lying on a sofa. He walked over and covered her with his coat before he headed for the door.
Just as he stepped out, a man ran anxiously past him. The station was a bit noisy, but even so, he was sure he heard the man say, "Where's Halia Feng? I'm her boyfriend."
...
By the time Halia woke up, it was already 11am the next day. Fortunately, she didn't have to go to the hospital. Her original plan was to look into the victims a little more, but half the day was almost gone.
"You're finally awake," a voice said.
Halia jumped up in surprise. She thought she was at home, but she lived on her own, how could someone be talking to her? Halia rubbed her eyes and looked around properly.
That's when she spotted Dr. Ren.
"Dr. Ren, where am I? How did I end up here?"
Dr. Ren sighed.
"You're at my place. Do you remember anything from last night?"
Halia thought for a second. She remembered the bar, the doctors, her phone call with the chief and the aquarium.
"You were talking on the phone with the chief when you suddenly stopped responding. We tried to call back, but you didn't answer."
"In the end, we tracked your phone and discovered you were at a hotel. We were really worried about you, so the chief quickly sent two policeman out to get you. Luckily, no one at the station recognized you since you were new and had only done a bit of admin for the chief."
"Do you remember anything now?"
Halia tried to think back on the previous night again. This time she remembered a strong pair of arms carrying her. She then remembered someone wiping her with a warm towel and wrapping her in a blanket.
But, she suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Dr. Ren asked.
Halia lifted her hand to her lips and blushed; she remembered kissing someone...