Red wine, candles, a bed of petals.
Bi Qiu had prepared everything a day in advance and then, under the cover of the dark night, she sent a WeChat message to Gu Yong.
—I'm waiting for you in the room.
Five minutes later, Bi Qiu saw zero responses to her message.
"If given a chance to bed me and you still don't!"
Frustrated, Bi Qiu tossed her phone aside and gulped down a mouthful of wine, then went on clicking open a thread on her computer.
"My boyfriend never replies to my WeChat messages, does he not love me anymore?"
Her fingers danced on the keyboard; Yes, he not only doesn't love you, he is also annoyed by you, disgusted by you, wake up!
After clicking to respond, she teetered, almost spilling her wine glass. She took another swig and saw someone had replied to her.
—The one above is just showing off because she's unloved!
Unloved? Many people were after her, it's just that she was loyal and her heart, Bi Qiu's heart, was entirely devoted to that one man!
Fumbling for her phone, and squinting to find that familiar number, the call surprisingly went through. She was hiccuping, laughing, and crying: "Why won't you come over, hic, you know how long I've been waiting, right?" The phone slipped from her hand; she tried to pick it up, but her vision spun, she fell onto the bed, and glanced at another reply for her post.
—The one above has been heartbroken by a man, what a pitiful soul.
She wanted to reply, but her consciousness was fading fast.
After an unknown duration, the door creaked open.
As the tall man walked in, he was hit by a strong smell of alcohol. The room was dimly lit, with just a small wall lamp switched on.
On the coffee table, candles were still burning. The annual dinner party had cooled down, with three empty bottles of red wine lying around.
He swept his eyes across the room, spotting a figure curled up on the floor. Her fiery red dress spread across the ground as she slept, her head pillowed on her own arm, her white shoulders reflecting the flickering candlelight.
His thick black eyebrows furrowed and he turned to leave.
Suddenly, a soft whimpering sound came from behind him.
The man turned his head. The woman’s slender, snow-white shoulders trembled slightly. The whimpering sound came from her lips. At a glance, she looked pitiful, like a kitten.
He hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the woman, his voice deep, "President Bi?"
The woman seemingly didn’t hear him, her sobs growing louder.
The man had no choice but to stoop down and carry her by the waist.
Just as he was about to put her onto the bed, the woman's arm wrapped around him like a vine. The strong smell of alcohol hit him, making him turn his head to the side. His cold gaze fell on her slightly flushed face.
Her face was pale and transparent, the redness tinged with drunkenness made her look rather cute and naive. Her black hair was messed up, knotted around her neck. The straps of her dress had slipped off her shoulders, exposing her white skin. To any man, this sight would undoubtedly be hard to resist, but the man's face remained calm and unchanged.
He raised his hand, patting her soft cheek, "President Bi, wake up."
Just now, his assistant Wang had called him, saying that Bi Qiu needed something from him. The company had a dedicated floor for employees to rest. He had several contracts to look over the next day, so he was temporarily arranged in one of the rooms. The assistant gave him the room key to drop by her room, and this scene was what he walked into.
The woman's rationality was nowhere to be found. She held him tightly, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her kisses fell all over his face, her breaths ragged and warm against his skin.
Nan Li Chuan dodged her kisses, his forehead furrowed deeply. He had been in the circle for not too long, and had heard about things like this, but he had never expected someone to dare to make a move against him.
"You've got the wrong person." He uttered coldly, pushing her aside onto the bed with no trace of lingering sentiment before turning to leave.
A slender waist was abruptly clutched. The woman, appearing boneless, leaned against him, her hot breath whispering against his ear. "Don't leave... Please, don't go..."
Nan Lichuan showed no mercy, prying her hand away. Bi Qiu slowly slid to the ground, tracing down his black pant seam. Her long dress slipped down in the process, revealing a glimpse of the flesh-colored lace edges. He averted his gaze and lifted his foot to leave.
The next second, his expression darkened.
Bi Qiu clung to one of his feet, her head resting against his leather shoe. Her body curled up, encircling his leg. She pleaded with a soft, slightly cheeky voice, "No... I don't want..."
Nan Lichuan didn't know what she intended to do. He glanced down, his voice deep and low, "I'm not interested in you."
The woman's body gave a faint shiver. She lifted her dazed eyes to him; her tiny hands loosened their grip only to immediately tighten again. Her burning body writhed against his suit pants, "You won't know unless... you try..."
Nan Lichuan was already impatient. He bent down to hoist her up and strode into the bathroom. He sandwiched her between his knees and leaned over to turn on the faucet.
Throughout, Bi Qiu struggled ceaselessly, murmuring something unintelligibly. It was only when she found herself thrown into the cold bathtub that she started. The instinct to survive made her scramble out, but after a few steps, she was pushed back into the tub. The next second, a surge of cold water drenched her.
"It's so cold... I'm going to freeze to death..." She shouted and screamed. The icy water streamed down, blinding her.
The dress was soaked, clinging to her vibrant curves. She floundered to get out, her fairback startlingly eye-catching.
Nan Lichuan pulled her back, and another rush of cold water cascaded down.
After a long while, Bi Qiu sprawled at the edge of the bathtub, piteously pleading, her voice catching in her throat, "What on earth have I done... for you to treat me like this... Do you hate me so much?"
Nan Lichuan remained silent, his face expressionless. He collected a bathrobe nearby, enveloped her with it, and tucked it under his arm as he returned to the room. Tossing her onto the bed, he finally grabbed a blanket to cover her from head to toe before he turned and confidently strode out of the room.
Bi Qiu roused the next day with a throbbing headache. She lifted a hand to touch her forehead, which was scorching.
Her throat felt as dry as if she was about to spit fire, she sat up intending to find water, only to suddenly see the red wine and steak on the table. The memories from the previous night suddenly flooded her mind.
She had sent Yong Gu a WeChat message asking him to come over, and she even meticulously chose her most beautiful dress, and then...
Then she couldn't remember anything at all. Drinking alcohol truly erased her memories, a habit she seemed unable to change.
She caught sight of her phone on the floor, she bent over to pick it up, scrolled through WeChat messages, and found Gu Yong's reply lying at the very bottom.
"I'm sorry, I had something unexpected come up and can't make it, let's find another time." The time of reply was three in the morning, a whole seven hours after she had sent the message.
Bi Qiu's fingers hesitated over the keyboard for a long while, but in the end, she chucked the phone away.
Gu Yong was her boyfriend, they had been in a long-distance relationship for a long time, maintained mainly through WeChat and emails. With Gu Yong graduating from university and finally returning home, she had seized this once-in-a-blue-moon chance, planning to give him a surprise.
It was because her feelings were too simple and she did not have people around her to ask for advice, that she went online to find posts on relationships. Reading posts saying that if a man doesn't want to touch you, he doesn't love you.