Chapter 18

He nodded and greeted them.

The staff saw a young and beautiful girl open the passenger door. Her outfit was simple, but her temperament was outstanding.

She was clearly from a wealthy family.

They had never seen Xiao Chen with someone of the opposite gender before. Suddenly a girl appeared, and a good-looking one at that, so they naturally assumed she was his girlfriend.

Yu Na walked beside Xiao Chen. Along the way, "President Xiao" and other titles kept entering her ears, and he smiled in response every time.

Not like her dad. Every time he would put on airs in front of people, even in front of his own daughter, with a stern face, afraid that people wouldn't know his status.

As soon as his career started to take off even just a little bit, he started acting like this. The more successful his business grew, the less he valued people. Looking down on others was something he had from the very beginning. Employees had to be on edge in front of him, speaking to him was like going to see the King of Hell. For some reason, Yu Na really couldn't stand this pretentious behavior.

In contrast, Xiao Chen was like a breath of fresh air. The employees were respectful towards him, but also at ease.

She unconsciously slowed her pace by a step, following behind him.

From the back she eyed his outfit.

Xiao Chen was wearing casual clothes, a gray hoodie, black pants, and a pair of basketball shoes.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was just some college student. But in this hotel, he was the boss.

Perhaps it was the contrast of his title, but on closer look, you could discover that he was a little different than before.

More mature and steady than before, but still with that casual, arrogant charm he had when he was younger.

It gave off a kind of casual, lazy sexiness.

It struck right at her heart.

The vague imagining she had of her ideal type now corresponded perfectly when looking at him.

Every time.

Xiao Chen took her to Yunjiang Restaurant on the 58th floor, where breakfast was served.

Seeing Xiao Chen, the two servers standing outside the restaurant were first startled, then quickly came up to greet him, "President Xiao."

Xiao Chen smiled and bid them good morning, "Just grabbing some breakfast, you guys go on with your work."

The servers were slightly surprised, their gaze shifting to Yu Na, and they quickly responded: "Yes, sir."

After they went in, one of the servers said with great curiosity: "What's going on, President Xiao has a girlfriend now?!"

"I guess so? But we didn't hear him mention it."

"Well obviously, it's his private business, why would he tell us about it?" "True. And his girlfriend is so pretty."

When there was no one around, the two servers couldn't help but sneak another curious glance in their direction.

Xiao Chen took her to a quiet corner seat near the windows on the 58th floor with a nice view outside. After putting his things down, he said, "Go take a look around."

The breakfast options at the hotel were exceptionally abundant, with specialty dishes from various countries.

The restaurant was very big, and it was still early so there weren't many people around, giving them some peace and quiet.

Yu Na was sick and rarely ate breakfast these days, so her appetite wasn't great. She only took a slice of French bread, a spoonful of butter and a slice of ham.

Back at her seat, she spread the butter on the French bread and had just taken a bite when Xiao Chen placed a bowl of lean pork and preserved egg congee in front of her, "Drink this."

Yu Na obediently nodded.

Ever since she moved out on her own, she hadn't been to places like this. She secretly glanced up, pretending to enjoy the view outside the window while stealing a look at the person across from her.

He didn't seem to want to chat, quietly eating his breakfast.

Perhaps he didn't get good rest last night, his eyes were droopy without much spirit.

Feeling guilty, Yu Na asked: "Did you not sleep well?"

Without looking at her, Xiao Chen lazily replied: "It was okay."

After a couple sips of the congee, she suddenly recalled something and asked again: "How much does it cost to stay here per night?"

"Depends on the room type, why do you ask?"

"My mom said they'll come visit me sometime soon."

At this point, Xiao Chen's previously tired look now held a hint of teasing: "Don't you already have a place to live? Why do you insist on staying at a hotel?"

"......" He was doing this on purpose.

"I..." Yu Na knew he was just messing with her, but still explained honestly: "I don't dare let them see."

"What would happen if they saw it?"

"They'd definitely mock me at length, then drag me back to prison."

Xiao Chen recalled Yu Na's words from earlier.

They hadn't had contact for such a long time, he knew nothing about what was going on with her recently or what she had gone through during that period.

He only knew that she had lived very oppressively.

Yu Na subconsciously imagined the scene of being dragged back and couldn't help gasping: "I really don't want them to bring me back."

Xiao Chen scoffed, "Since they're coming to see you, do you think they won't go check out where you're living?"

"So that's why..." Yu Na explained, "I have to find a nice place to put on an act before they get here."

"And how will you find one?"

He watched on as if enjoying a show, seemingly guessing that she had no way out. Sure enough, Yu Na's expression fell and she admitted: "Still not sure for now, I guess I'll figure it out when the time comes. Worst case I can find a slightly better vacation rental to bluff my way through."

"Oh," he casually responded to her previous question, "for hotel rates, I can give you a friends and family discount. And as for finding a rental place - "

He deliberately lengthened the last word, keeping her in suspense.

After hearing the words "friends and family discount", Yu Na instinctively pursed her lips.

Then quickly shoved another spoonful of congee into her mouth.

Xiao Chen didn't notice Yu Na's loss in her expression, he continued speaking nonchalantly and arrogantly: "Keep looking!"

"......"

Yu Na was so angry she almost spat blood, barely curling her lips, then ignoring him altogether.

After breakfast he dropped her off at the north gate of the school.

Yu Na didn't even feel like saying goodbye to him, but out of courtesy, begrudgingly muttered a thanks.

Homeroom teachers didn't need to clock in for morning self-study sessions. Many teachers would just peek in on their classes during morning reads then head back to their offices.

Some teachers didn't even show up for morning read, only appearing when class started.

Yu Na and Xiao Chen finished breakfast quickly, and hadn't arrived at the school too late.

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out of the car, she spotted two students, a boy and girl, who were just about to be late. They had been walking and chatting together, but upon seeing Yu Na they panicked and immediately put distance between themselves, looking rather suspicious.

The girl slipped away, leaving the boy to deal with the mess.

Yu Na swiftly intercepted the male student. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Teacher Yu!" Seeing that he'd been caught, the boy with spiky hair tried to crack a smile, even uglier than crying.

Hearing Yu Na's hoarse voice, the youngster quickly changed topics: "Teacher Yu, have you caught a cold? I have medication in my bag, let me give it to you when I get back to class!"

Then with nimble movements the boy shook off Yu Na and dashed away faster than lightning.

Xiao Chen was sitting in the car, not in any hurry to drive off yet. Through the car window, he witnessed the whole comical scene just now. He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

As they say, seeing is believing. Getting used to her new identity, he discovered that her as a teacher was actually kind of amusing.

Qiao Rui had said more than once how popular Yu Na was with teachers and students at the school.

Now he understood why.

Xiao Chen drove to a nearby pharmacy and bought some cold medicine, medicine to soothe sore throats, and fever reducers.

When getting ready to check out, Yu Na's words from last night suddenly flashed across his mind.

So for some strange reason that he himself couldn't comprehend, he asked the cashier: "Do you sell glutinous rice paper here?"

Cashier: "......Huh?"

Xiao Chen awkwardly explained: "That is, glutinous rice paper...have you eaten sugared haws before?"

Only then did the cashier understand what he meant: "Oh, that type of rice paper used for sugared haws candy, you might find it at a supermarket or online. This is a pharmacy."

"......"