Chapter 30: 001 in the Suitcase

This was her first time in Los Angeles. The airport was enormous, and she didn't want the humiliation of having her name paged over the intercom.

After much effort, she finally found a place to charge her phone, only to realize that because it had been powered off, she couldn't scan the necessary QR codes. She crouched on the floor, feeling utterly helpless and defeated as a creeping sense of dread took hold.

"Xu Si'an, why haven't you found me yet?"

After squatting there for a while, Qiao Xu decided it would be better to ask the staff for help with an announcement rather than waste any more time. She stood up, only to collide straight into a familiar embrace.

"Why are you running around blindly?"

Xu Si'an hadn't been searching aimlessly; he had checked the airport surveillance footage with the staff before coming to find her. Seeing her huddled on the ground had made his heart ache sharply.

Qiao Xu kept her head down. "I went to the wrong place."

Xu Si'an pulled her into his arms, resting his chin against the top of her head. "You damn woman, you nearly scared the life out of me."

He held her hand as they walked through the airport, muttering under his breath, "I can't take my eyes off you for a single minute. I truly don't know how you got through these past four years."

Qiao Xu whispered, "I haven't even been abroad these past four years."

In her entire life, the only other time she had been out of the country was to Singapore with him; this was her second time. Seeing her aggrieved expression, Xu Si'an couldn't bring himself to scold her further. He took a power bank from his suit pocket and plugged it into her phone. He had taken it from her when they went through security earlier and had kept it in his pocket ever since.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault."

A car was waiting for them outside the airport. Seeing Xu Si'an, the man in the passenger seat quickly stepped out. "This is Joy, my assistant here in Los Angeles. And this is Qiao Xu, the Chief Assistant at Xu-Xing."

Qiao Xu offered a polite greeting before getting into the car, listening as Joy briefed Xu Si'an on their work.

"The driver will take you back to the hotel to adjust to the time difference. I'm going to the office for a meeting."

"I'll go with you," Qiao Xu said.

Xu Si'an toyed with a strand of her hair. "There's a cocktail party tonight. Go to the hotel and prepare my attire for the event." He paused, then added, "And yours, too."

Xu Si'an was accustomed to such a high-intensity work schedule; for him, jet lag was not an issue. But Qiao Xu was different.

Upon reaching the hotel, Qiao Xu discovered that Xu Si'an had booked a suite. It meant they would be sharing living quarters for the duration of their business trip. Hotel staff helped bring her luggage into the room. Qiao Xu thanked them, then took her charger out of her suitcase to plug in her phone. She contacted Song Jia back home to ask about Xu Si'an's preferences for cocktail parties.

There were two suitcases in the living room—one black, one white. Qiao Xu moved the black one into the larger bedroom. As she opened the suitcase, she froze.

Resting right on top was a box of condoms. It was the same brand, style, and scent they used to use.

Qiao Xu selectively ignored the box, pulling out a charcoal gray suit, a black shirt, and a tie in the same color scheme. She called the concierge to have them pressed. Acting as if nothing were wrong, she closed the suitcase and began to unpack her own things.

The trip would last a week. The weather here was warmer than back home, so the clothes she had brought were suitable. She took her makeup bag out of her suitcase. With three hours left until the party, she hesitated over whether to try and nap.

Her charging phone chimed with a message from the contact saved as [987426].

【Adjust to the time difference. I’ll wake you up when I get back.】

Qiao Xu replied with a simple "Okay."

She took a quick shower, but as she lay on the bed, she felt not a hint of sleepiness. *We slept together four years ago. All night. We didn't stop all night.* Every time Qiao Xu closed her eyes, she was haunted by images of Xu Si'an with other women. Her mind was a chaotic mess, and her chest felt heavy.

However, the cocktail party tonight was crucial for Xu-Xing, and as the Chief Assistant, she couldn't afford any mistakes. After struggling with herself for a long time, she reached into her bag, took out a pill bottle, and swallowed one. She set an alarm for just before the clothes were due back from the cleaners.

Under the influence of the medication, Qiao Xu drifted into a hazy, light sleep, plagued by dreams.

An hour and a half later, the hotel room door opened. Xu Si'an walked in, carrying the clothes Qiao Xu had sent out. Both the alarm and the doorbell had rung, but the person sleeping in the room hadn't heard either.

"Qiao Xu?"

Xu Si'an knocked, waited a moment, and when there was no answer, he went inside himself. Seeing her asleep on the bed, his panicked mood gradually calmed. He sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed out the furrow between her brows.

Qiao Xu looked so docile in her sleep, so docile that it stirred a wicked impulse in him. Xu Si'an leaned down to kiss her lips, but seeing she didn't wake up, he decided not to disturb her.

As he stood up, he noticed the half-glass of water and a small square pillbox next to her phone. *What kind of medicine was she taking?* To avoid detection, Qiao Xu used a small, unlabeled organizer. Xu Si'an took a pill out of the box, sniffed it, and then put it back. He knew this scent very well.

He returned the pillbox to its original position and left the room to shower.

Not long after he left, Qiao Xu bolted upright, her breathing ragged. Once she regained her senses, she picked up her phone and saw that the dry cleaners had called, and her alarm had gone off half an hour ago.

"Damn it."

She threw off the covers and ran to the living room to make a call, not even bothering to put on her shoes. She asked the front desk if the dry cleaners had left the clothes with them. The receptionist told her that Mr. Xu had already picked them up.

Qiao Xu hung up and knocked on the door of the other room. Sure enough, the gray suit was on the bed, and she could hear the sound of water running in the bathroom.

She left the room to wash up and rummaged through her suitcase, finding only a formal high-waisted long dress. She had just finished changing when a knock came at the door.

Xu Si'an was standing there with a shopping bag. "An evening gown."

He looked at the off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved, high-waisted dress Qiao Xu was wearing. "Forget it, don't change." What she had on was conservative enough. Qiao Xu had perfect proportions; the gown he’d had prepared was form-fitting, and if she wore it...

Qiao Xu said nothing and returned to the bathroom to do her makeup. Xu Si'an set the bag on her bed and leaned against the bathroom door frame, watching her.

"Qiao Xu."

"Hmm?"

He chuckled softly. "The condoms in my suitcase are missing."

The eyeliner in Qiao Xu’s hand trembled, nearly ruining her makeup. "I didn't take them."

He stepped into the bathroom and stood behind her. "So, you saw them?"

"I'm not blind."

Xu Si'an: "..."

"Don't you know why I brought that stuff along?"

Qiao Xu put down her eyeliner. "Should I know? Mr. Xu, that is your private business."

Xu Si'an reached out, wrapped his arms around her waist, and spun her around, pinning her against the vanity. Qiao Xu fumbled in her panic, and her makeup bag spilled onto the floor.

"What did I do this time?"

Qiao Xu tried to pry his hands off. "What did you do? Mr. Xu, we are employer and employee. Please maintain the appropriate distance."

"The appropriate distance?" He leaned in, whispering, "Zero distance, hmm?"

"Why are you being so snide with me all of a sudden?"

Xu Si'an pinched her chin. Her lips, not yet painted with lipstick, were soft and pink—he wanted to kiss them. And so, he did.