Better Than Summer: A Marriage Before Love Romance - Chapter 21

Xi Chengnan walked in carrying a takeout bag. He scanned the room but didn’t see anyone. The TV was playing a foreign film.

Closing the door behind him and turning the lock, he noticed his slippers weren’t there, but Shen Tingxia’s were lying obediently by the entryway.

He kicked off his casual shoes and padded barefoot to the sofa. Placing the takeout on the table, he finally spotted Shen Tingxia, fast asleep, and also his missing slippers.

After slipping his feet into his own slippers, he bent down and nudged Shen Tingxia. She stirred and mumbled but didn’t open her eyes. She was clearly deeply asleep. He patted her again. “Get up. Go sleep in the bedroom.”

It was quite late, already time to rest. There was no point dragging out a blanket for her now; she’d likely catch a cold.

Hearing his voice, Shen Tingxia finally opened her eyes. Startled by the sight of a tall man looming over her, she trembled slightly. Her voice was hoarse, betraying her grogginess. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back tonight?”

As she spoke, Shen Tingxia pushed herself up on the sofa.

Xi Chengnan’s WeChat message had implied that he wasn’t sure when the surgery would end. If Shen Tingxia came to his place, she should lock the door securely; he’d just crash at the hospital. If she went back to her own place, he might come home depending on the situation.

In short, he hadn’t definitively said whether he’d be back or not. But Shen Tingxia had explicitly said she was going home.

So instead of answering, he countered, “Didn’t you say you were going back to your own place today?”

At the mention of that, Shen Tingxia felt she needed to explain what had happened that evening. But she suddenly remembered she still hadn’t eaten. Sitting on the sofa, she whipped her head towards the entryway. “Where’s my takeout?” she blurted out.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to jolt her fully awake.

Xi Chengnan gestured towards the table with his chin. “Brought it in. It’s on the table.”

Shen Tingxia followed his gesture and saw the red takeout bag. She’d ordered a Bullfrog Hot Pot.

She looked back at Xi Chengnan. “Dr. Xi, have you eaten?”

Xi Chengnan, of course, hadn’t eaten. But he pulled out his phone and glanced at the time – already 11:30 PM. He wasn’t in the habit of eating late-night snacks. “You still plan on eating a meal this late?” he asked casually.

“Eat? Why wouldn’t I?”
Shen Tingxia’s feet touched the floor. She didn’t see her slippers nearby. It took her a moment to remember that after her mom left, she’d still been wearing Xi Chengnan’s slippers when she came back in. And now, his slippers were on his feet.

After a brief pause, Shen Tingxia stood barefoot, intending to go get her own slippers.

She’d barely taken a step when Xi Chengnan stopped her. “Sit down first,” he said.

With that, Xi Chengnan walked to the entryway, picked up her slippers, and placed them on the floor in front of her.

Shen Tingxia gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

Once her slippers were on, she sat down at the table and opened the takeout bag. “Want to share some?” she invited him.

“No. If it’s cold, heat it up in the microwave. Eat up and get to bed early. I’m going to sleep,” he replied. After more than ten consecutive hours of surgery, his mental state was far from optimal. With an early shift tomorrow, sleep was essential.

Xi Chengnan turned to leave, but Shen Tingxia called out, “I need to tell you something.”

He stopped and looked back at her, his tone flat, fatigue evident in his voice. “What is it?”

Shen Tingxia paused her attempt to open the takeout container. Sitting up straight, she met his gaze, her voice tinged with apology. “I got home from work and found my mom at my place. She insisted on coming here to see yours. I couldn’t refuse, so I brought her over.”

Xi Chengnan paused, understanding the implication.

He nodded. “Hmm,” he acknowledged. “Anything else?”

Shen Tingxia watched his expressionless face. She added, “I did call you. But you didn’t answer.”

“Hmm. Was in surgery then,” came the same flat tone.

Shen Tingxia didn’t want to speculate. She asked directly, “You’re not angry, are you?”

“Angry about what? It’s only natural for your mom to come take a look.” He wasn’t sure why she thought he was angry.

Shen Tingxia breathed a quiet sigh of relief, her posture relaxing slightly. “Oh. I thought you might be mad because I didn’t tell you beforehand.”

Xi Chengnan corrected her logic. “You did call me. I just didn’t pick up. Why would I be angry about that?”

Hearing this, Shen Tingxia felt a flutter in her chest. She asked softly, “Then why the expressionless face?”

“After more than ten consecutive hours of surgery, what kind of vibrant expression were you expecting?”

Only then did Shen Tingxia register the exhaustion in his tone. She stretched out an arm towards the bedroom. “Dr. Xi, you’ve worked hard! Off to bed with you!” she said generously.

Xi Chengnan gave a faint smile. “Finish eating and get some rest. Don’t stay up too late.” With that, he turned and headed back to his room.

Shen Tingxia finally opened the takeout. She took a bite of the now-cold Bullfrog Hot Pot. It didn’t taste the same as before; it wasn’t as good hot. Too lazy to heat it up, she just picked at it a few times before putting it away.

Checking the time and confirming it was indeed late, Shen Tingxia turned off the TV and went to her room to wash up and shower.

Just as she was about to step into the shower after brushing her teeth, she suddenly remembered: the guest room didn’t have a hairdryer.

Her hair was long and wouldn’t dry easily; she needed a hairdryer.

Wondering if Xi Chengnan was asleep yet, Shen Tingxia found herself standing outside the master bedroom door for the second time. She knocked.

After a moment, she heard faint footsteps inside. The next second, the door opened.

Before her stood Xi Chengnan, bare-chested. His skin was a healthy tan, his waist and abdomen devoid of any fat. His muscles were taut, his lines defined. He must have just showered; beads of water still glistened on his skin.

Shen Tingxia momentarily forgot to look away. She couldn’t help but swallow.

Xi Chengnan caught the movement. He chuckled softly. “Not tonight. Get some sleep early.”

His voice snapped her out of it. She looked up and fell into a pair of dark pupils. The corners of his mouth held a hint of a smile, but combined with his words, that smile could easily be mockery.

Last night when she knocked, it was to relieve stress through s3x. But tonight, she wasn’t stressed from work; she just wanted to borrow a hairdryer. What kind of person did he think she was?

Shen Tingxia felt a surge of annoyance. Suddenly, an idea sparked. She deliberately curved her lips into a challenging smile and retorted, “Can’t handle it already?”

Physical and mental exhaustion could affect performance in that department. He didn’t want to leave either of them with a bad experience; it should be pleasurable, satisfying, and relaxing. Xi Chengnan ignored her bait. “Need something?”

Shen Tingxia’s lips pursed slightly in displeasure. He was the one who started it! Why did it feel like she was the one making demands? And she realized Xi Chengnan had formidable self-control; a single provocative comment from her wouldn’t elicit any extreme reaction.

Her tone turned petulant. “Need to borrow a hairdryer. Was afraid if I showered after you were asleep, I’d disturb your rest.” Quite considerate of her.

Xi Chengnan turned and fetched the hairdryer from the bathroom, handing it to her. “Anything else?” His tone held no inflection, almost dismissive.

Shen Tingxia snatched the hairdryer. “Nope!” she declared huffily before turning and marching away.

Watching Shen Tingxia’s indignant retreat, Xi Chengnan chuckled softly to himself, closed the door, and went back to bed.

Back in the guest bathroom, Shen Tingxia showered. As she dried her hair with the hairdryer, Xi Chengnan’s first words upon opening the door suddenly replayed in her mind. She hadn’t even said anything, and he’d already refused her.

Did she really seem like someone whose head was full of dirty thoughts, only interested in that?

Shen Tingxia scoffed disdainfully, resolving to get payback next time.

As she blew her hair dry, her mind began rehearsing scenarios for her next counterattack. Thinking it through, she suddenly laughed out loud.

The next day at work, Shen Tingxia took her two subordinates to a top-tier shopping mall in Puxi to inspect a venue. Following their pre-planned event strategy and customized proposals, they negotiated with the person in charge, resulting in several alternative options.

After lunch with her team, they headed to the next mall to continue working.

The day was filled with talking and even more walking.

Some meetings went smoothly; others hit roadblocks. Most were within acceptable parameters for Shen Tingxia.

She just regretted wearing high heels.

Just before leaving work, Shen Tingxia spotted Lin Muning outside the Luna flagship store. “What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised. “Knocking off early?”

Lin Muning lowered his head with a slight smile. “Worried you might not manage it.”

Shen Tingxia shot him a look. “Underestimating me?” She turned and headed for the escalator down.

Lin Muning followed her, rubbing the bridge of his nose sheepishly. “No, no. Wouldn’t dare.”

After only a few steps, Zhuang Wenshu sucked in a sharp breath. Shen Tingxia turned back to see Zhao Xuning supporting Zhuang Wenshu. Zhuang Wenshu’s face was pale, her voice trembling. “Tingxia-jie, my stomach… it really hurts too much.”

Shen Tingxia walked over, concerned. “What’s wrong? Your period?”

Zhuang Wenshu nodded.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier? Why suffer through it? Xuning and I could have handled this one,” Shen Tingxia admonished gently.

“I didn’t want to hold up our progress,” Zhuang Wenshu explained weakly. “And I wanted to learn from you… but I really can’t keep going. Tingxia-jie, can I take the rest of the day off?”

“Take off? Just go home now! Next time something like this happens, don’t push yourself. Your health comes first, understand? Can you walk? Do you need me to take you home?”

Zhao Xuning spoke up. “Tingxia-jie, I’ll take Wenshu home.” They were close friends, and this was a special circumstance. Shen Tingxia saw no reason to keep them a few extra minutes.

“Alright, go. Text me when you get home. Take some medicine, make some brown sugar water. See a doctor if it doesn’t help.”

“Thanks, Tingxia-jie. We’ll head off then.”
“Go on. Be careful.”

Shen Tingxia had a good rapport with Zhuang Wenshu and Zhao Xuning. Both looked up to her. In their eyes, Shen Tingxia never made mistakes at work. No matter how daunting the task, she always delivered outstanding results. She was results-oriented, focused on achieving the goal by whatever effective means necessary.

Both Zhuang Wenshu and Zhao Xuning were smart and ambitious. Shen Tingxia naturally entrusted them with important tasks.

Shen Tingxia watched them leave. Suddenly, a low voice sounded beside her ear. “Seems like I came at just the right time, Tingxia-jie. For the remaining work, let’s do it together. I’ll be your assistant.”