The first ray of morning sunlight shone through the window. Chang Zhiyuan woke up, but Shu Yi didn't. She had suffered from insomnia last night and was still awake at 1 AM.
Seeing Chang Zhiyuan sleeping soundly on the couch, she felt unbalanced and almost wanted to give him a slap to wake him up. But then she remembered that he had been driving for 24 hours without proper rest, and her heart softened. She couldn't bear to wake him. Watching herself slowly falling, she almost wanted to slap herself instead. The more she thought about it, the more awake she became, leading to her insomnia.
When Chang Zhiyuan woke up, he looked at the blanket covering him, then glanced at Shu Yi's bed.
The man lifted the blanket and walked to Shu Yi's bedside. In her sleep, Shu Yi seemed to sense someone near her, and her eyelids twitched.
Chang Zhiyuan didn't disturb her further. He tiptoed back to the couch, opened his suitcase, and took off his robe.
He had tried his best to be quiet, but Shu Yi still woke up.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Pervert!"
Shu Yi was still groggy from sleep. Opening her eyes to see a man in her room wearing only boxer briefs, with his back to her, was more than anyone could handle. Her first thought was that she was being stalked by an obsessive fan who had hidden in her room and was now half-naked.
Shu Yi covered her eyes. Chang Zhiyuan was also startled by Shu Yi's screams. Early in the morning, Shu Yi's screams were as piercing as dolphin sounds.
"Don't scream, it's me," Chang Zhiyuan turned to face her.
In the few seconds that Shu Yi had covered her face, her mind finally cleared a bit. She wasn't in her home in Rong City; there had been a man in her room last night.
Chang Zhiyuan silently picked up his clothes to cover his important parts.
"Why are you only wearing underwear? I'm still in the room," Shu Yi said, now fully awake.
"I know, but I'm not completely naked. I need to change clothes, don't I?"
"I didn't say you shouldn't wear clothes. I meant you could change in the bathroom or shower."
"Opening and closing the bathroom door would have woken you up."
Shu Yi was suddenly at a loss for words.
"Are you shy? It's free to look. You can look often in the future," Chang Zhiyuan said, believing that his physique was quite good, with abs, collarbones, and not small elsewhere – no worse than male models.
"Just put your clothes on quickly."
Shu Yi turned away. She also needed to change clothes but could only wait for the man to finish dressing before she could get out of bed and go to the bathroom to change.
After Chang Zhiyuan got dressed, he left the bedroom, giving Shu Yi full privacy.
The man went downstairs, chose some breakfast items, and bought a local specialty of Tibetan City – milk tea.
"Are you dressed?" Chang Zhiyuan stood outside, knocking on the hotel room door, not sure if Shu Yi could hear him.
Shu Yi heard the knocking but couldn't make out what Chang Zhiyuan was saying.
Shu Yi opened the door, her face still flushed. She still hadn't adjusted to the situation, as if it were all a dream – this man had chased her from Rong City all the way to Tibetan City.
"Come in," she said.
"Let's have breakfast first."
They sat in chairs with a table between them, on which were two cups of milk tea, dried beef, and tsampa.
As they were finishing their meal, Chang Zhiyuan finally spoke.
"Why does everyone know you came to Tibetan City except me?"
"Not everyone knows. Only Shen Yin and Qi Ji know. Even my parents don't know."
Hearing this, Chang Zhiyuan finally felt some balance restored. But if Shen Yin and Qi Ji knew, didn't that mean Xue Jingrui and Xu Xiuhe knew as well? Yet neither of them had told him. If he hadn't asked Xu Xiuhe, Xu Xiuhe probably wouldn't have said anything.
"Do you really not understand what I mean?" Chang Zhiyuan asked, his tone calm but unprecedentedly serious.
Shu Yi remained silent.
"I'm serious. Why can't you give me a chance?" Chang Zhiyuan asked again.
Shu Yi still said nothing.
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'm here to spend it with you. I don't know what you're thinking, coming to such a far-off place alone on a major holiday. If I hadn't followed you, were you planning to admire the moon by yourself in this remote place?"
"I've been working nonstop recently and was too tired. I just wanted to come here to relax and clear my mind," Shu Yi said softly.
"I've been working too. Weren't you filming with me? Do you find being with me too tiring? Do you think I'm a burden? Shu Yueru, if you dare to think that way, I'll stick to you every day. You won't be able to escape. I have all the time in the world to wear you down."
"It's not like that."
"It better not be. Why are you avoiding me so much? Be honest, have I done anything excessive to you?" Chang Zhiyuan began to doubt himself seeing Shu Yi's attitude.
"We're not young anymore," Shu Yi said.
"Of course I know I'm not young. I'm almost thirty, I should be married by now. People my age already have two-year-old kids."
"It's not like I'm stopping you from getting married," Shu Yi muttered.
"Shu Yueru, are you really that clueless? I won't marry anyone but you."
Shu Yi was speechless.
"Mr. Chang, we're not kids anymore. We're past the age of seventeen or eighteen where we can just start dating on a whim. I'm 24 this year, at the peak of my career, and my profession is what it is."
Since her debut, Shu Yi had been accused of having a powerful backer, and that all her resources were obtained through her body and beauty.
She wasn't oblivious to the internet; she often saw such comments. To be honest, it was normal – such things were common in the entertainment industry. But she had indeed been lucky. In her freshman year of college, she was chosen by a director for her beauty and took a role in a drama, gaining some popularity. After that, she had a period of mediocre success.
It wasn't that no one had approached her, but she had refused them all. So for several years, she mostly played supporting roles without much screen time. She didn't fight or compete, content with what she had. Later, after joining Chang Zhiyuan's media company, she gradually started receiving some respectable resources.
After so many years in the entertainment industry, she had managed to stay clean. Who would believe that if she said it? Sometimes she even doubted herself, deciding she must be a rare exception.
"What's wrong with your profession? You're not stealing or robbing, you're earning money with your talents," Chang Zhiyuan said.
"If you're worried that being with me will affect your career, we can have a secret marriage."
Shu Yi was completely shocked by Chang Zhiyuan's words. How had the conversation suddenly jumped to secret marriage?
"Your family is wealthy and prestigious, while I'm just an actor. Do you understand?" Shu Yi might as well have written "Your family will look down on me" across her face.
"Don't worry about that. My parents dote on me, so they definitely won't interfere with my marriage," Chang Zhiyuan said confidently. Over the years, he had casually dated so many people, and his parents had never gotten involved.
"It's different this time. The way your sister looked at me last time was different. Your sister already dislikes my profession, let alone your parents. We're not a good match."
"We haven't even gotten together yet. How do you know if we're a good match or not? You'd be marrying me, not my family. Why bother about them?"