Chapter 4: You'll Have to Pay for the Button

So what if he didn't want her? Worst case, she'd just go back to sleep.

Hmph!

In the end, getting so mad she couldn't sleep... yeah, right!

One nap later, Yu Qiao slept straight through till 13:00.

And then...

She was woken again by a frantic ringtone.

She figured it was Maimai nagging her for the audio again, so she answered with her eyes still closed: "Hello..."

The moment she spoke, Sheng Yuan's voice came through: "Come pick me up!"

His voice was low, tinged with a lazy sluggishness...

One listen and you could tell he was drunk.

No helping it. Even the biggest boss has social obligations he can't refuse. There's no avoiding this kind of thing.

Normally, when he went out for business dinners, he'd definitely bring along two secretaries or assistants who could hold their liquor.

But on this business trip, he'd only brought her.

Earlier, she'd even stocked up on liver-protection pills, planning to step in and block a couple of drinks for him if it came down to it. In the end, they went unused.

She shot upright and asked urgently, "Where are you?"

No response from the other end—just faint snoring, very low...

Clearly, no telling how much he'd drunk.

His schedule was all arranged by Yu Qiao, so she knew the hotel and the private room number.

She got up at once, changed clothes, washed up...

And rushed out of the hotel!

By the time she arrived, the lobby manager was already waiting for her. He was clearly a sharp one—he quickly led her personally to the private room where Sheng Yuan was.

She'd assumed that since he was that drunk, he'd have found a room to rest in.

Unexpectedly, he'd stayed in the restaurant the whole time...

The manager said awkwardly, "We did have arrangements on our side originally, but President Sheng refused. He insisted someone was coming to pick him up, so..."

Yu Qiao nodded and didn't ask more.

She could roughly guess why Sheng Yuan refused to rest in a room.

With his family background, there were simply too many women who wanted to climb into his bed.

According to her brother, ever since Sheng Yuan turned fourteen and could, well, do that sort of thing, people had been scheming against him nonstop.

When he was younger, they'd ply him with alcohol. Later, someone even slipped him an aphrodisiac at his coming-of-age ceremony.

Fortunately, his self-control was extremely strong. Word was that in a towering rage, he personally threw that rich young lady off the second-floor balcony.

Then he called 120 himself.

After that, while there were still plenty of people scheming against him, fewer dared to actually make a move.

Until he later took over the company and his status rose another big notch. Then all those butterflies came swarming back, one after another using "marrying into the Sheng family" as an excuse, sneaking into his room, under his bed, into his wardrobe, even under his office desk from time to time...

So unless it was someone he trusted deeply.

Otherwise, even if Sheng Yuan had to jab himself with a stimulant, he would never sleep in front of a "stranger."

Like today—he was clearly on the verge of blacking out drunk, yet he'd still called her...

Thinking about how he'd been fighting alone at the dinner table while she was snoozing away at the hotel...

She felt a little guilty!!

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was the female boss and he was the male secretary!!!

"Alright, I understand. You go do what you need to do—I'll take it from here..."

The lobby manager seemed uneasy. "Can you handle it alone?"

"I can..." Yu Qiao smiled confidently.

She wasn't just putting on a brave face. She'd encountered similar situations once or twice before.

Though there had been other secretaries around then, so she didn't have to handle it alone, she still had some experience with this sort of thing.

Besides, Sheng Yuan didn't have OCD, but he hated being touched by strangers more than anything.

Even if the lobby manager stayed, he couldn't help her. Better to let the man go do what he needed to do.

The lobby manager nodded, asked no more questions, and withdrew.

Yu Qiao walked quickly toward Sheng Yuan. Only when she got close did she see his condition clearly.

He was sitting in a chair by the window, limbs sprawled out, head tilted back. Probably trying to stay awake, he had a damp towel—the kind used for wiping hands—draped over his eyes.

"President Sheng... President Sheng...?"

Two calls and no response. "He didn't actually drink himself sick, did he?"

Alarmed, Yu Qiao reached out to take the towel off his face. But her fingers had barely touched the edge of the towel.

Her wrist was suddenly gripped tight.

His strength was tremendous, like iron pincers. "Who? What are you doing?"

Fierce as hell!

Yu Qiao couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath—"Sss~~"

It was that inhale...

The big hand that had been clamping her wrist suddenly loosened its grip. Sheng Yuan took the damp towel off his face himself and, with eyes clearly struggling to focus, looked hazily at her face.

Probably having trouble recognizing her, he stared for a long time. "Xiao... Xiao Qiao?"

This time he remembered not to call her Secretary Yu—he called her Xiao Qiao?

But for some reason, she couldn't quite say why.