The Secretary - Chapter 11

Xie Ting was going to vomit. Wei Wan followed him, no one stopping her.

The restroom in the five-star hotel was like a luxurious suite, even the cubicle doors were heavy and cumbersome.

Wei Wan called Dazhao at the door, asking him to buy some hangover medicine immediately.

Dazhao was taken aback, “It’s New Year’s Eve now, all the pharmacies are closed.”

Wei Wan was on the verge of losing her temper, she was also irritated by the situation, “Then go to the emergency room.”

She regretted the outburst as soon as it left her mouth. “I apologize, my tone was harsh, I just…it’s Xie Ting…”

Dazhao understood perfectly, “Sister, don’t worry, I’ll be right there.”

Knowing how long that might take, Wei Wan listened to the painful retching coming from inside the restroom. The man sounded like he was trying to vomit out his lungs and liver. She rushed downstairs to the lobby and asked for honey water.

Carrying a cup upstairs, she disregarded propriety and entered the men’s restroom, luckily it was empty.

The door at the back was slightly open, revealing one of Xie Ting’s legs outside.

Wei Wan hurried over. The man’s glasses were lying on the floor, his upper body hunched over the toilet bowl; he looked utterly wretched.

“Xie Ting,” she said, offering him a glass of mineral water, “Rinse your mouth.”

Xie Ting propped himself up with one arm, took the water and rinsed his mouth before slowly turning around to sit on the toilet.  He rested one hand on his thigh, the other covering his nose, his fringe falling across his forehead. He looked pale and drained, silent and brooding.

Wei Wan offered him paper towels and honey water again. Xie Ting drank it, his gaze fixed downwards.

From Wei Wan’s vantage point, his eyelashes seemed unusually long, each one glistening with moisture from the vomit-inducing ordeal. 

His face was very pale, a sickly white, his lips an unnatural, vibrant red, like crushed poppies.

“Wei Wan,” Xie Ting rasped, “Listen to me.”

Wei Wan nodded unconsciously. Xie Ting continued, “Go back to our room and take my wallet from my coat pocket. Don’t bother with your belongings either.”

Wei Wan immediately understood. “Are we just…leaving?  Is that okay?”

Xie Ting tugged at his hair, leaning backwards against the wall, struggling to breathe. “If anyone asks, just say I drank too much and can’t walk anymore, keep vomiting.” 

He added with a slight edge, “Don’t touch anything on the table.”

Wei Wan quickly returned to their room, took a deep breath before entering, acting as if she was looking for medicine in Xie Ting’s outer jacket pocket; in reality, she was retrieving his wallet containing all important documents. 

Unexpectedly, Pei Yuan called out to her, “He really can’t stand it?”

Wei Wan didn’t understand what he meant and replied that Xie Ting was vomiting terribly.

Pei Yuan winked at the public relations manager, then took the woman’s room card and handed it to Wei Wan.  “If he can’t handle it, take your leader to rest in our suite.”

Wei Wan was startled. Based on Xie Ting’s instructions, they wouldn’t be able to get away so easily.

She had no choice but to accept the room card and thank him for his concern.

The public relations manager stopped her again. “Sister, I apologize for the trouble you’ve been through today, running back and forth like this.  I’ll raise a toast to you as an apology for the inconvenience,” she said, handing over a glass of wine.

Wei Wan had no choice but to accept and drink it in one go. 

The crowd clapped, saying how they never knew she was such a capable woman.

Returning to the restroom, Wei Wan waited for a man to leave before going inside. Xie Ting was already half-asleep.

She woke him up and dragged his arm towards the exit. He was unusually heavy, like carrying a mountain.

She started gasping for breath after just a short distance, her face flushed. She decided to take him back to their room first.

Xie Ting sat on the bed after entering, Wei Wan went to pour him water.

A few minutes later, Xie Ting suddenly came to his senses, “This isn’t my room.”

Wei Wan explained the situation and Xie Ting’s eyebrows immediately furrowed. “We can’t stay here, let’s leave now,” he said, pushing himself up with surprising energy, as if a surge of adrenaline had revived him. He grabbed Wei Wan’s wrist and dragged her towards the fire escape.

They had just reached the dark stairwell when a group of people came out of the elevator, banging on doors and shouting, “Open up! Police check!”