Chapter 72: Shirtless and Dripping

Quietly, she made her way out of the bathroom and tiptoed down the abandoned hall like a fool. After passing a few locked doors, she spotted one that was half open and quickly headed over to it.

Her view was obstructed but she saw a phone on the wall. She made a beeline for it. Just as she was about to pick up the receiver, she heard a throat clearing behind her.

She spun around, the phone in hand.

Just her luck. It was Mo Qingchen. Though, based on his appearance, she would have never guessed it was him. He wore neither suit nor his casual work clothes, instead, he stood before her shirtless, wearing a simple pair of black workout shorts.

They silently took each other in at the same time, equally confused and curious.

"I got lost again," she explained awkwardly.

He tilted his head to the side. "You got lost walking from your bathroom to your closet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous."

"Yes, it would," he agreed, staring pointedly at her.

She followed his gaze and then remembered that she was standing there practically naked, dripping water droplets all over his floor.

A loud buzz emitted from the phone, scaring the hell out of her and making her fling the receiver across the room. Mo Qingchen quickly grabbed the receiver from the floor and informed the person on the other side that everything was alright. He then hung up the phone.

He was standing directly in front of her then.

For the first time since she knew him, his eyes were a blank slate. She had no idea what he was thinking.

"Did you not pack clothing, Yun Qian Meng?" he asked calmly.

She squirmed in place, her toes drawing circles on the floor under her. Why was she so nervous? It was unusual for her. This was not the first time she had been in an awkward situation in front of this man. Actually, awkward situations seemed to happen every time she was near him!

"I have clothes," she replied.

He watched patiently, waiting for her to explain a little further.

"Yun Qian Meng," he called, demanding she explain.

"What?" Even her voice sounded so flustered.

"Tell me why you are roaming the halls like… that," he demanded in his bossy, prickly voice.

His glare was intense and she felt a wave of relief wash over her at the familiarity of it. What a welcome sight.

The emotions got rid of her nervousness immediately. She flung a strand of wet hair over her shoulder. "It is a beautiful labyrinth of emptiness here." She pointed towards the hallway. "How did you build it? This is definitely one of those minotaur traps, isn't it? Bring in the beautiful woman and let the minotaur hunt her down?" she challenged.

"What? Are you the beautiful woman in this scenario?" Yun Qian Meng nodded.

"And of course, you know which role you play."

"Ah, so this nudity is a way to entice me into playing a game of chase with you?" The question was rhetoric.

"Not at all!" she claimed quickly. "I slept through my alarm and when I woke up, I just ran out of the room in a daze. I spent god knows how long-running around the house, trying to find my room." She paused briefly. "I did spend a lot of time in that amazing shower of yours, though. Why don't you have any of those in your hotels? I would pay extra to live in a suite with those."

She smiled widely at the thought of it.

"I see," was all he said.

Then, there was silence.

"I saw the hot tub, too, and I was enticed to step up, but…" she shrugged. She was blabbering off but was cut off by a fierce look from him.

He walked over to a small panel on the wall and opened it. There was a keypad inside. He curled his finger, beckoning her to him. She adjusted her towel before making her way across the room. When she reached, he pointed to the names on the keypad.

"I have one of those in my room," she said blandly.

"Yes. There is one in every room." She looked at him suspiciously. "Really. They are in the hallways, too," he added sarcastically.

"They blend into the wall. How am I supposed to find them?" she said in exasperation.

"How did you know about the one in your room?" he challenged.

"The butler showed it to me," she snapped back.

"Well, I am not surprised. I always knew you were unobservant," he noted.

She hissed at the accusation. "I'll have you know I am extremely observant!"

"Really?" he challenged, not convinced in the least.

"Really," she stated firmly.

He stepped closer to her. "Extremely observant people do not let their families steal and step on them. They don't let random men prey on them, or drink to the point where they are incoherent. You are not observant," he said in a low, dark voice.

She raised a long finger in the air. "Firstly, I have done everything I can apart from legally leaving my family to stop them. I have not been fooled by any men or given them a dime of my money. The weed cookies were a one-time fluke, okay?"

"Weed?" he repeated.

Her eyes turned into saucers. "What?"

"Did you feed me weed?" His face moved in closer.

"Not on purpose!" she sang sweetly. He shot her a wicked glare before storming across the room.

"Wait!" she yelled, but he kept walking. She followed after him, practically running to catch him. The man walked too fast with those ridiculously long legs of his. They rounded several corners before she heard a loud slam and made double-time to catch up to him before he locked her out.