Qin Yaoyao's face instantly fell. "No, I just want to live with A Yan."
Xiao Yanzhi coaxed her patiently. "I'll be busy with work at night. Living with you might affect your rest."
The smile on Qin Yaoyao's face turned a bit stiff. She almost lost her composure, but when she met his eyes, she managed to hold back.
Xiao Yanzhi had put it quite tactfully. If she kept on making a fuss, she'd be being unreasonable.
Qin Yaoyao knew that although Xiao Yanzhi doted on her, there was a limit.
She knew when to stop while she was ahead.
"Okay, then can I come to you anytime?" Qin Yaoyao made a concession, trying to sound as obedient and gentle as possible.
"Of course." Xiao Yanzhi agreed.
Only then did Qin Yaoyao smile. She snuggled into Xiao Yanzhi's arms. "A Yan, actually you don't need to protect me so much."
She poked her head out of Xiao Yanzhi's arms, with a pure and lovely smile. "I trust A Yan. You definitely won't force me to do things I don't want to."
Jiang Li finished replying to the message. Looking up and hearing their conversation, she almost burst out laughing.
One was pretending to be a gentleman, and the other was pretending to be innocent.
She wondered who they were acting for.
After the rooms were booked, Jiang Li took her room card, dragged her luggage, and walked into the room, leaving the two of them behind.
After a long journey, Jiang Li took a shower first. She changed into her pajamas, feeling refreshed all over. If nothing unexpected happened, she had no plans for the night.
It was New Year's Eve the next day. She had an appointment with a client to discuss a project. The rest of the time was free.
She lay on the bed in her pajamas, took out her phone, and sent a message to Xu Yansen, briefly telling him about her current situation. She also told him about the little episode when she checked in.
[Xu Yansen: Neither of them is a good egg.]
Jiang Li couldn't help laughing out loud.
After chatting with Xu Yansen for a while, a video call came in suddenly.
It was Song Yu.
It was New Year's Eve tonight.
Jiang Li glanced at the time. It was already 8:30 p.m. She guessed that Song Yu was at Sister Chen's place at this time, so she quickly pressed the answer button.
"Jiang Li, have you arrived in Huacheng?" On the other end of the screen, Song Yu greeted her with a smile.
Jiang Li nodded. "I just arrived at the hotel. Are you at Sister Chen's place now?"
Song Yu: "Yes. I'm helping Xixi with her homework. Sister Chen is cooking in the kitchen."
Jiang Li: "Does Xixi still have homework during the holiday?"
At this moment, Xixi squeezed her head into the screen. The little girl shook her head and said, "Sister A Li, I'm an honor student. Besides my homework, I also have to do other exercises to consolidate my knowledge."
"Okay, okay. Our Xixi is a good student. Don't let Brother Song Yu lead you astray."
Xixi held the phone and praised, "Sister Jiang Li, Brother Song Yu is really amazing. He can solve a lot of problems."
"Really?" Jiang Li pretended to be surprised. "I thought Brother Song Yu was a poor student. I didn't expect him to be so amazing."
Xixi nodded, looking extremely excited. "Brother Song Yu is handsome and smart. He's really worthy of being Sister Jiang Li's boyfriend. Sister Jiang Li has really good taste!"
Hearing this, the smile on Jiang Li's face faded. "Xixi, don't talk nonsense. Song Yu is not..."
Before she could finish her sentence, someone knocked on the door of her hotel room.
Jiang Li subconsciously turned around and forgot about the phone.
Xixi: "Sister Jiang Li, what were you going to say just now?"
Jiang Li perfunctorily said a few words and hung up the phone.
She put down the phone, hesitated for a moment, and walked to the door. She stood on tiptoe and peeked through the peephole.
It was a handmade black suit.
Jiang Li pursed her lips, only opening the door a crack. She propped her knee against the door to prevent him from coming in. "What do you want?"
The man looked down at the woman who only showed half of her face, squinting at her. "Open the door and let me in."
Jiang Li: "If you have something to say, just say it here."
She would never let the wolf into the house.
It was already late at night, and she was only wearing a silk pajamas. It was not suitable to be alone with a man.
Especially not suitable to be alone with Xiao Yanzhi.
Xiao Yanzhi saw her defensiveness and sneered. "Are you on guard against me?"
Jiang Li was too lazy to explain to him and just admitted it directly. "Yes. So if you have something to say, just say it directly, or you can send me a message."
Anyway, she wouldn't let him in.
Xiao Yanzhi's cold eyes swept over Jiang Li. Seeing the fair shoulders exposed by her nightgown, he pursed his thin lips and held a faint smile. "Jiang Li, you've become smarter recently."
"Are you playing hard to get with me?"
Jiang Li: "..."
Play your ass of hard to get.
She thought this man was extremely narcissistic. She rolled her eyes and directly closed the door without hesitation.
Fortunately, Xiao Yanzhi reacted quickly, or his nose would have hit the door.
Xiao Yanzhi: "..."
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was the second time he had been turned away by Jiang Li.
Jiang Li walked back to the bed and picked up her phone. There were several text messages in it, all sent by Song Yu.
[Remember to eat something at night. Don't starve yourself.]
[Lock the door before you go to sleep. Pay attention to your safety.]
[By the way, Xixi really likes the pen you gave her. She said she wants to use this pen to get into her dream school.]
Finally, there was a group photo of the three of them.
Looking at this photo, Jiang Li's eyes got a bit wet.
Sure enough, it was the right choice to let Song Yu go to Sister Chen's place for the New Year's Eve.
Sister Chen divorced early. Xixi had lacked fatherly love since she was a child. Song Yu was a mature and gentle man. He must be able to give Xixi some care that a woman couldn't.
Moreover, with a man to help out at Sister Chen's place, it would be easier for her.
She lowered her head and typed a line of words on her phone.
[Thank you, Lawyer Song. I'll treat you to a meal when I get back.]
Before the other person could reply, someone knocked on the door again.
Jiang Li walked over impatiently and shouted at the door, "Xiao Yanzhi, aren't you annoying? If you're short of a woman, just go find Qin Yaoyao."
She didn't have the time to serve him.
It was quiet outside the door for a while. Then a voice said softly, "Ma'am, I'm the waiter. I'm here to deliver your dinner."
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment and realized that she had misunderstood.
"I didn't order any food. You must have delivered it to the wrong room."
The waiter outside explained again, "Ma'am, this is a free dinner service provided by our hotel."
Jiang Li stood on tiptoe and looked outside again. After making sure it was the waiter, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, thank you. Just leave it outside the door."
She was really a bit hungry.
The waiter responded and quickly pushed the food cart away.
Jiang Li listened to the footsteps gradually fading away outside the door. Then she silently opened the door and was about to bring in the dinner delivered by the waiter.
The moment she opened the door and squatted down to pick up the food, a pair of black leather shoes suddenly appeared in her sight. She held her breath instantly and subconsciously tried to hide in the room and close the door immediately.
"It's too late."