Yearning For Warmth, Day and Night - Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Sports
Wei Hui regained some strength after leaning on Eleven for a moment, her heartbeat gradually steadying. She breathed softly, warm air wafting from beside her ear, and Eleven stood rigidly in place.
So fragrant.
She really wanted to hold her tighter and take a deep breath.
Realizing what she was thinking, Eleven immediately lowered her eyes shyly, burying her head. Pei Tian delivered the suitcases to their room door before speaking: “Third Miss, please rest for a bit. I estimate Vice President Luo has other arrangements.”
Wei Hui nodded: “You go back and rest too.”
Pei Tian opened the room door. Eleven glanced at Wei Hui, and seeing that she seemed fine, she dragged two suitcases into the room. The room was quite large. Upon entering, there was a big sofa directly opposite a suspended television. There was also a balcony, and at this moment, the balcony door was half-open, letting in a cool breeze, causing Wei Hui to cough twice.
Eleven walked in and closed the balcony door. She scanned her surroundings out of the corner of her eye. She had never stayed in a hotel before and wondered if all hotels were like this; even the bathroom door was translucent, with frosted glass in the middle and clear glass above and below. Wouldn’t it be very inconvenient to change clothes inside?
Just as her thoughts wandered, she heard Wei Hui’s voice: “Eleven, get me my bag.”
The bag was in the suitcase. Eleven quickly opened Wei Hui’s suitcase. It looked quite large, but there weren’t many items inside. The bag was prominently placed on top. After handing it to Wei Hui, she saw Wei Hui take out a medicine bottle from it. As if by instinct, she grabbed a transparent glass from the coffee table, rinsed it twice with hot water, then added warm water and handed it to Wei Hui.
There were still transparent water droplets around the glass. Wei Hui took a sip; the water temperature was just right. After swallowing the medicine, she smiled: “Thank you.”
It wasn’t her usual half-smile, but a smile that showed genuine amusement in her eyes. Eleven met her gaze, momentarily flustered, then lowered her head, her face slightly flushed: “You’re welcome.”
“Third Miss, are you feeling better now?”
Wei Hui put down the glass: “Much better.”
Just as the two finished chatting, a knock sounded on the door, followed by Du Yue Ming’s clear voice: “CEO Wei.”
Eleven glanced at Wei Hui, and seeing her nod, she ran to open the door. Du Yue Ming smiled brightly: “All the luggage is put away, what are you two dawdling for? They’re already having the barbecue outside!”
“Aren’t you hungry if you don’t eat lunch?”
She hadn’t realized it until Du Yue Ming mentioned it, but Eleven suddenly felt a bit hungry. She glanced at Wei Hui out of the corner of her eye. Wei Hui had just been overexerting herself, and her stomach was churning; she actually couldn’t eat much, let alone greasy barbecue. But if she didn’t go, Luo Zhouping would certainly become suspicious. She stood up: “Let’s go together.”
Eleven remained seated on the sofa. Du Yue Ming poked her shoulder. Eleven looked up: “I don’t want barbecue.”
“Can I not go?”
Du Yue Ming was puzzled: “What’s wrong?”
Eleven rarely showed a look of dislike: “I don’t like that smell.”
Du Yue Ming laughed: “That’s fine. Later, I’ll ask the manager downstairs to prepare a separate lunch for you, and we’ll take it with us. The most important thing about barbecue is the atmosphere. Besides, this is a team-building event. Is it appropriate for CEO Wei not to attend? Even if you don’t want to go, you have to consider CEO Wei. What if CEO Wei stays behind for you…”
It would be great if Wei Hui could stay, but she also knew it definitely wasn’t appropriate.
Wei Hui seemed to read her thoughts and proactively said, “Let’s go, let’s go together.”
Only then did Eleven bite her lip and stand up, following her.
Downstairs, Du Yue Ming asked a hotel staff member to pack a lunch. Eleven followed behind, reminding, “The taste should be light.”
Wei Hui just stood behind the two, watching Eleven’s face flush slightly but insistently emphasize her request. Wei Hui pursed her lips and smiled. Lunch was soon ready. Eleven carried it to the barbecue feast. The secretaries were already seated together. Seeing their leaders arrive, they quickly offered seats: “CEO Wei, please come this way!”
“CEO Wei, there’s still a seat here.”
Luo Zhouping was also sitting among them and smiled at Wei Hui: “Normally, I can’t even get CEO Wei to come for a meal. Today, let’s all work hard to get a drink with CEO Wei.”
Everyone else excitedly clapped. Wei Hui raised her lips: “You all eat first, I’m going to feed the cat.”
Everyone was bewildered: “Feed the cat?”
Du Yue Ming, sitting among them, said, “Oh, she’s just going to show off some affection. Don’t you all have any perceptiveness?”
Her words made everyone curious: “Is this how CEO Wei and Eleven usually interact?”
“That’s too sweet, isn’t it?”
Du Yue Ming smiled: “This is nothing, there’s even more…”
The rest of her words went unsaid, but everyone’s imaginations ran wild, and their gazes towards Wei Hui and Eleven, not far away, changed.
Eleven was pulled by Wei Hui to sit in a chair. She opened the packaging box, using her body to block the gazes from behind, and said, “Third Miss, please eat something.”
Wei Hui lowered her eyes to the fried rice in front of her: “You ordered this for me?”
Although she had already guessed it at the hotel, Eleven pushing the lunchbox over still slightly touched Wei Hui’s heart. Pei Tian, on the other side, wanted to walk over, but Wei Hui’s lowered hand made a gesture to stop him. His handsome face showed some confusion, but he remained silent and continued to sit beside his colleague, listening to Du Yue Ming brag.
“Oh, you don’t know, she’s incredibly petty, she gets jealous if I even say a word.”
“Last time I shook her hand, she glared at me for half a day.”
Luo Zhouping, sitting to the side, heard Du Yue Ming’s words and interjected, playing the wise elder: “Miss Du, you’re exaggerating a bit. CEO Wei isn’t that petty.”
Du Yue Ming naturally disliked Luo Zhouping. The Du family and Wei family had previous connections, so she naturally knew what Luo Zhouping had been doing. So, she glared at him with an unfriendly expression, giving a forced smile: “If you don’t believe it, CEO Luo, go ahead and try.”
Luo Zhouping was stumped by her words. Everyone’s gaze shifted. He turned the skewers on the grill: “Nonsense.”
Everyone quickly echoed, diverting the topic. In reality, everyone knew that Luo Zhouping didn’t dare to openly challenge Wei Hui right now. Du Yue Ming scoffed and looked away. She had heard Luo Zhouping’s voice on the plane when she hadn’t yet fallen asleep. This man was bold enough to even think about Eleven. She didn’t know if Wei Hui had heard, but she herself was very displeased. And if she was displeased, there was no need to give Luo Zhouping a polite reception.
After eating and drinking, someone suggested playing games. Du Yue Ming saw Eleven and Wei Hui, not far away, packing up their lunchboxes and quickly called out, “Eleven!”
Wei Hui lowered her eyes: “Let’s go, let’s go take a look.”
Eleven followed her and stood in front of everyone.
“There are several games in the box. We’ll play whichever one we pick, how about it?” Luo Zhouping’s assistant asked everyone with a smile. The others all said, “No problem.”
They were there to have fun, so how could they mind? The assistant glanced at Luo Zhouping, and seeing a smile on his lips, continued, “How about CEO Wei draws first?”
“Good!”
The box was placed in front of Wei Hui. Several secretaries around her looked at her with expectant eyes, full of excitement. She didn’t hesitate to reach into the box and draw out a piece of paper. When she unfolded it, it said “Crossing the River.”
Eleven had never played this game before, so Du Yue Ming explained it to her. “Crossing the River” involved drawing ten lines on the ground, and then one person would carry another, hopping over each line one by one. After ten lines, they would hop back. It was a very simple game, perfect for a lively opening.
“Since CEO Wei drew it, how about CEO Wei goes first?”
Eleven felt a surge of displeasure. Of course not, she wouldn’t want Wei Hui carrying anyone!
But her “no” was useless. With so many eyes watching, Wei Hui nodded: “Okay.”
She said, reaching out her hand to Eleven. The assistant had originally intended to have someone draw a companion, but seeing this gesture, he paused, then said to the others, “Anyone else want to participate?”
There were ten secretaries in total, divided into five groups. The chief secretary and Du Yue Ming formed one group. Luo Zhouping wanted to be with Pei Tian, but the latter shook his head, wanting to be the referee. So, he could only team up with his own assistant. The assistant, who had just been in high spirits, immediately turned pale and ashen-faced when he heard he would be in a group with Luo Zhouping.
Pei Tian, holding a small flag he had prepared, walked to Wei Hui’s side and softly asked, “Third Miss, are you alright?”
“Or perhaps I could be in a group with you?”
Wei Hui shook her head: “No.”
People wouldn’t dare say anything about her and Eleven, but it would be different with her and Pei Tian. To avoid causing too much of a stir, Wei Hui said to Eleven, “You’ll be working hard.”
Eleven hadn’t even reacted when Wei Hui stood behind her, wrapping her arms around her neck. A soft mass leaned against her back, and a clear fragrance wafted into her nostrils. Eleven’s face instantly flushed crimson. She reached her hands back but didn’t know where to place them. It was Wei Hui who proactively placed her hands on her own legs, making it easier for Eleven to support her.
“Start!” Pei Tian blew his whistle. The people around them giggled and hopped forward. Eleven also eagerly bounced forward. After all, with an extra person on her back, and not being very muscular, it was a struggle. But because the person on her back was Wei Hui, Eleven felt her body fill with strength. It was a contradictory feeling, as if her body was saying, “I can’t do it, I can’t hold on,” but her spirit was still shouting, “You can.” In the end, her spirit won. Eleven carried Wei Hui and quickly hopped to the other end, already hopping back before anyone else had even made it across. Du Yue Ming exclaimed, “Eleven, you’re cheating!”
Eleven smiled at the remark. Wei Hui lowered her head and saw her lightly smiling profile, her slightly lowered eyelashes – beautiful, delicate, with a graceful curve, her expression soft yet revealing resilience. Just like her, seemingly slender and fragile, but with hidden strength within. That she could carry her and hop across had already surprised Wei Hui greatly. She never expected her to be able to hop back. It was just a game; she truly had no strength and could have easily put her down, just like two or three other groups had already forfeited. But Eleven wouldn’t. She was very persistent, just like her past wandering from family to family; she would never give up hope, no matter how small, no matter how bruised, she would not give up.
Wei Hui felt an even deeper stirring in her heart. She lowered her eyes. Eleven had already hopped back as the first-place winner. The few who had forfeited led the applause, offering them mineral water and clean towels. Eleven stood in front of everyone, panting but smiling very happily. Wei Hui met her clear gaze and also smiled.
Soon after, Luo Zhouping returned with his assistant on his back. He was panting heavily and plopped down onto a chair. Wei Hui proactively handed him a dry towel and mineral water, her tone cool: “CEO Luo, you should pay more attention to your health.”
Luo Zhouping took the water she offered, opened it, and laughed: “CEO Wei is right. But CEO Wei, won’t your conscience bother you for putting such a young girl through all this?”
“Why would my conscience bother me?” Wei Hui said lightly: “We’ve always been like this. She likes to exercise, and I like to cooperate and enjoy.”
“Cough, cough, cough—” Even Luo Zhouping, accustomed to being shameless, couldn’t help but spit out water when he heard this!
The secretaries walking back and forth nearby also looked dumbfounded!