A Woman Who Hates Women (GL) - Chapter 7

Li Jia looked up, her heart pounding, as she saw the thing on the bed next to her move again.

Carefully walking over, Li Jia crouched down by the bed and slowly pulled back the blanket.

Manager Lu, oh, it’s Lu Qing…

Lu Qing was lying on her side with her back to Li Jia, only showing her profile.

“Phew…” Li Jia breathed a sigh of relief, thinking someone else had broken in.

Li Jia knew, of course, that if she got drunk, Lu Qing would definitely be the one to bring her back.

However, why isn’t she in her own room…?

Li Jia had been crouching for a while, and her legs were starting to feel uncomfortable. She held onto the side of the bed and was about to move when Lu Qing, still asleep, suddenly turned over to face Li Jia.

Li Jia was startled and remained crouched by the bed, afraid of waking Lu Qing.

Li Jia held her breath and looked over.

Lu Qing, having turned over, still had her eyes closed, her brow slightly furrowed, still fast asleep.

Under the dim, warm night light of the hotel.

The sleeping Lu Qing was wrapped in a white blanket, without her usual cold and aloof demeanor, looking clean and soft like an angel.

Her nose was a little red, so cute…

Ah, I want to touch her head.

Perhaps still tipsy, as if guided by a ghost, Li Jia reached out her hand.

Warm, soft, and alive…

From the first moment they met, Li Jia had noticed that she seemed to be constantly captivated by this person’s appearance.

There’s a price to pay for giving in to temptation.

Just like at this moment, under the dim light, Lu Qing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and then she slowly opened her eyes…

As if shocked by electricity, Li Jia quickly pulled back her hand, her face now showing only an embarrassed smile.

Sneaking a touch of someone’s face and getting caught…

She’ll probably think I’m a pervert…

“…Manager Lu, there was just a mosquito on your face,” Li Jia blurted out, regretting it immediately after speaking.

What a terrible excuse.

It’s already late autumn, there are no mosquitoes!!!

Lu Qing, with her messy hair, seemed not fully awake. She blinked her eyes a couple of times in confusion and slowly sat up.

Li Jia was still crouched on the floor, looking up at Lu Qing, following her movements.

The angle of view changed.

Lu Qing lowered her eyes, looking down at Li Jia in her bathrobe crouching on the floor. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly, her eyes sharp and cold. Her first words were:

“Team Leader Li, have you always drunk like this?”

“Ah? Not really…” Li Jia didn’t know how to answer for a moment. Also, having squatted on the floor for too long, her legs were very uncomfortable, and she wanted to stand up.

Li Jia moved, and Lu Qing saw her intention and reached out her hand towards her. Li Jia tried to grab it, but lost her balance and fell straight onto her bottom.

“Ouch…” Li Jia cried out in pain.

A large piece of white fabric flipped over.

Lu Qing turned her head and cleared her throat. Li Jia quickly got up from the floor and adjusted her bathrobe.

When Lu Qing looked back, Li Jia had already sat back on her own bed.

The room fell into an almost excessive silence.

Stumbling in front of my superior, how embarrassing!

Sitting on the bed, covering her legs with the blanket, Li Jia’s face flushed red with embarrassment as her fingers nervously picked at the edge of the blanket.

I need to say something. Right!

Li Jia asked, “Manager Lu, why were you sleeping in my room…”

Lu Qing turned her head back and said “Oh,” her ears a little red. She said calmly, “You were drunk and acting crazy. When I brought you back, you even hugged the money tree at the hotel entrance and called it ‘Mom.’ I was afraid you’d suddenly get up in the middle of the night and jump out the hotel window if I left you alone.”

In her calm explanation, her reason for staying here was perfectly justified.

“…Money tree?!?!?!?”

She hugged a money tree while drunk and called it “Mom”!!??

That’s too outrageous!!!

But looking at Lu Qing’s serious face, Li Jia was somewhat convinced. After all, last time she was even shaking her head in the taxi, saying she was a cup of milk tea. She started to make excuses for her drunken behavior: “Hey, it’s just socializing, right? It’s about signing the contract, so drinking a little is a sign of respect! I used to do the same when I was working in sales at the grassroots level!” As she spoke, Li Jia gradually became more assertive. Having worked for many years, she had a deep understanding of the drinking culture in the workplace.

The other party might not drink, but you can’t not offer a toast.

Hearing this, a strange, almost imperceptible emotion seemed to flash in Lu Qing’s eyes, but it quickly returned to calmness. Her facial expression hardly changed, and her tone was still cold: “No one told you to force drinks, and this person had already been contacted beforehand. Everything was settled. Eating and signing the contract was just a formality. I told you it was just dinner, but your attitude…”

Lu Qing raised her eyes to look at her, the meaning in her eyes clear.

Wasn’t it just that you wanted to drink yourself?

“You didn’t say beforehand…”

Ah, before going, Lu Qing only said they were going to dinner and didn’t explain anything else…

She had misunderstood.

Under Lu Qing’s seemingly smiling gaze, Li Jia stopped talking and awkwardly changed the subject: “By the way, Manager Lu, does that mean I was also acting crazy after you took me home last time I was drunk?”

“Well…” Lu Qing thought about the last time she took Li Jia home. She paused for a few seconds, as if recalling the events, and then said definitively, “You were a bit noisy in the car at first, but not after we got home. Last time, as soon as you got home, it was like you had a set routine. You found your clothes and went to wash up yourself.”

“Oh, right, I waited until you finished showering and went to bed before I left.”

“Ah?” Why wait for her to shower?!??

Lu Qing looked at the surprised Li Jia and said innocently, “I couldn’t possibly leave a drunk person to shower alone and just leave, could I? After all, people can drown while showering.”

Li Jia didn’t expect Lu Qing to be so responsible.

Li Jia smiled and thanked her, “Then thank you so much…”

“Besides…”

Li Jia was halfway through her thanks when Lu Qing suddenly interrupted her and said slowly, “You went drinking with me. If something happened to you and a case was filed, wouldn’t I be the first person the police investigated?”

Hearing the hint of mockery in Lu Qing’s cold tone, Li Jia’s grateful smile froze on her face.

Although what she said was true… but they were colleagues after all, she didn’t need to curse her like that…

Since Li Jia was awake, Lu Qing had no intention of staying any longer.

“Since you’re awake, I’ll go back first.” Lu Qing pulled back the blanket and got out of bed to put on her shoes.

When she reached the door, Lu Qing suddenly turned back and said, “Don’t drink so much in the future. Don’t do it even if you’re in a bad mood. It’s too dangerous.”

Even as she was leaving, she had to drop a strange, seemingly caring remark.

The door closed gently.

Li Jia went over and locked the door, then returned to sit on the bed.

What a strange person…

She sat on the edge of the bed, propping her chin on one hand, thinking.

How did Lu Qing know she was in a bad mood?

Was it that obvious?

…

It was very obvious that Lu Qing had a cold.

In the hotel conference room, at the ten o’clock morning meeting, Li Jia sat on the other side of the conference table, looking at Lu Qing. Her condition didn’t seem good, her face was pale, and when she spoke, although she tried to maintain a normal tone, but…

Halfway through the meeting, Lu Qing pushed open the door and left, while the meeting continued.

Twenty minutes later, Lu Qing sent a message to Li Jia.

[I’ve gone back. Please go to the site this afternoon and handle the final details.]

She must be feeling very unwell.

Li Jia expressionlessly put away her phone. Assistant Xiao Zhuang, arranged by the Chengnan Project Team, had already come over. He pointed to Lu Qing’s empty seat and asked awkwardly, “Team Leader Li, the next part is Manager Lu’s…”

“It’s okay, Manager Lu has something urgent to attend to. I’ll explain the rest.” Li Jia stood up, walked to Lu Qing’s seat, and picked up the documents on the table.

The PPT presentation page began to change.

…

Back in her room, Lu Qing vaguely heard voices coming from the door.

Then there was a soft knock, knock, knock.

It was really a bit noisy…

Li Jia opened the door and entered the high-end suite on the twelfth floor where Lu Qing was staying.

“Being this sick is indeed very dangerous. Please go and take a look quickly. If you need anything, you can directly dial the internal phone line.”

The hotel staff opened the door, confirmed the situation, and then left.

“Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”

Li Jia thanked them at the door and closed it, then turned to check on Lu Qing’s condition on the bed.

“Manager Lu,” Li Jia called out.

Li Jia sat down by the bed and gently reached out to touch her forehead.

“So hot!” Li Jia was startled by the burning temperature of Lu Qing’s forehead.

The person on the bed had fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and her brow was tightly furrowed, looking unusually tired and in pain. Her fingers gripped the corner of the blanket tightly, as if seeking a trace of comfort.

During this time, Lu Qing’s eyes opened slightly. She glanced at Li Jia, then wearily closed them again, curling her body into a ball on the bed, like a wounded little animal.

Her consciousness isn’t even clear anymore…

“Hmm…?” Lu Qing’s entire face was red, and her lips were an unnaturally bright red. She moaned softly with her mouth slightly open, her hair scattered messily on the white pillow, a few strands sticking to her forehead.

Somewhat disheveled, she displayed a fragile, sickly beauty.

“So much sweat?” Li Jia, usually fond of beautiful women, had no time to appreciate it at this moment. She frowned and picked away a strand of hair stuck to Lu Qing’s face.

Li Jia suddenly thought of something, reached under the hem of her shirt, and felt Lu Qing’s back. Sure enough, her clothes were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to her body.

So thin…

Li Jia felt the protruding spine on her back.

Lu Qing was even taller than her, yet she was so thin. It seemed she was indeed a picky eater. Li Jia recalled those lunches these past few days, Lu Qing frowning, her chopsticks picking through the food in her lunchbox.

Curled up in Li Jia’s arms, Lu Qing murmured uncomfortably, “Mommy, I’m cold…”

Hearing this address, Li Jia’s forehead was covered in black lines.

Who’s your mom?!