Chapter 1230: I Want to Make You Stay (108)
Just like she had expected, she lost.
Staring at her dices that added up to a pathetic value of four, which was a far cry from his sum of eleven, she could not help but sigh in her heart. Why is there such a huge difference…
“Fine, I lost. You may make your request,” she said straightforwardly, waiting for his answer. I’m not going to be a sore loser!
“Let’s put it on hold first.”
“Put it on hold… Alright, let’s start over again,” said An Xiaoning, who did not expect him to say that.
He threw the dices again and got a three and a five, both adding up to eight.
An Xiaoning felt a little nervous. However, she won this time by a close shave. Her dices added up to nine.
“I win.”
“Yes, make your request.”
“I want to sleep with you.”
“I’ll trade my request and offset yours.”
An Xiaoning looked at him dejectedly and said, “No wonder you didn’t make your request immediately. Turns out you had other intentions.”
“Are you still playing or not?”
“I’m playing.”
To An Xiaoning’s astonishment, he seemed to be godly when it came to dices. They kept taking turns to win, and the results came to a draw after more than twenty rounds. Smiling, Henry asked her, “Do you still want to play?”
An Xiaoning removed her facial mask and threw it into the dustbin. She lay down and answered in disgruntlement, “No, I’m going to bed.”
He put the dices away and lay down. “Who did you have dinner with tonight?” he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“A hunk.”
“Who?”
“Gu Beicheng.”
“I couldn’t tell that it was him.”
An Xiaoning hurriedly asked, “You saw us?”
“No… I mean, I didn’t think it’d be him.”
“Why are you making such a big fuss? It’s normal for us to have a meal together. It’s just like when you have a meal with your sister.”
“You two are not related by blood…”
“Enough, stop talking to me. You won’t let me touch, kiss, hug, or do anything with you. Go sleep on the couch. Don’t get in the way.” She kicked him and said, “Hurry and go sleep on the couch.”
Henry fell off the bed with the pillow in his arms. He stared at her and retorted, “Are you human at all? Couldn’t you tell that I was letting you win when we were playing with the dices just now? How dare you forbid me from sleeping on the bed…”
“Who told you to let me win?”
“I should’ve made you lose and let you weep.”
An Xiaoning closed her eyes and remained still, as if she did not hear him at all.
Henry got an immense backache after sleeping on the couch for a night. He used to feel fine after sleeping on the couch. However, it actually caused him a ton of discomfort this time. He felt that it was nowhere comparable to a bed.
They woke up almost at the same time. An Xiaoning behaved like a whole different person from the moment she opened her eyes. Feeling fresh and energized, she proceeded to get dressed, freshen up, and put on some makeup before heading downstairs.
She did not waste any time at all.
The two of them had woken up earlier than usual. Thus, they only saw Li Baozhen exiting from the guest room with her luggage after they were done with breakfast.
An Xiaoning shot Henry a glance to signal him to bring the watch down. Upon catching her hint, he stood up from the couch.
“Good morning, Brother Qingyan and Ms. An.”
“Good morning. Are you satisfied with the accommodation that we’ve arranged for you?” An Xiaoning asked with a smile.
“Very, thank you so much.”
“I heard from Qingyan that you and your parents have saved him before, so it’s only right that we repay your kindness. Don’t feel too burdened by it.”
Li Baozhen nodded.
“Ms. Li, come here for breakfast,” said Auntie Chen, who exited from the kitchen with the dishes.
“Alright, Auntie Chen.”
Apart from Jin Qingyue, Mei Yangyang, Fang Erlan, and Lin Mingxi, all of whom posed no threat to her, An Xiaoning could not help but keep her guard up against other women who could be her potential rivals in love, especially those who were young. Perhaps she had learned her lesson after encountering Chi Rui’er, Bu Xianxian, and Hu Xin.
Hence, she constantly observed Li Baozhen from afar when the latter was having her breakfast.
Seemingly having sensed that An Xiaoning was staring at her, Li Baozhen turned around to meet her eyes. An Xiaoning did not feel awkward at all and, instead, smiled at Li Baozhen composedly. She then picked up the newspapers on the table and began reading them.
Moments later, Henry arrived downstairs again with the pink paper bag that Li Baozhen had given her last night.
An Xiaoning pretended not to notice and continued reading the newspapers.
Henry placed the paper bag on the table and said bluntly, “I opened the gift last night. It’s too expensive and you’re not affluent either. Don’t give me such expensive gifts again. Save the money for yourself.”
Li Baozhen placed her chopsticks down and said sulkily, “There was a discount… it didn’t cost me much. Besides, I can’t return it anyway. Just keep it. It’s a token of gratitude from me.”
“How much did it cost?”
“Not much…”
“How much exactly? Tell me the truth…”
She hung her head low and remained silent. Henry then whipped out the cash that he had prepared beforehand from his wallet and handed it to her. “Take this money. Just take it that I bought it from you.”
“Brother Qingyan…”
“If you refuse to take the money, I won’t accept the watch either.”
She had no choice but to take the money quietly because she wanted him to accept the gift she had given him.
After Li Baozhen left with her luggage, An Xiaoning began packing her belongings too. It was the 17th of August according to the Lunar calendar, the day that she was going to visit the lake, like she had promised Wang Jinsheng.
Henry watched as she packed her belongings and placed them neatly inside her bag. “You brought so many clothes, are you planning to stay out for a few days?”
“I’m just bringing these clothes to spare, just in case I dirty the ones I’m wearing now. I’m not staying out. With you at home, I must come back. Besides, the lake is not that far from home anyway. Although I don’t need you to handle any documents at the office, you still have to show up. Don’t give me any trouble. Got it?”
“I don’t want to go to the office.”
“You must go even if you don’t want to. It doesn’t matter even if you spend the entire day playing video games instead of handling documents. I just need you to show up. Shixin is there to help you manage everything anyway. You don’t have to put in any effort.”
“I’d prefer going to the lake with you.”
An Xiaoning paused in her actions and asked, “You want to go with me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No, I just didn’t think that you would make such a request out of your own accord,” said An Xiaoning. She would obviously feel much more at ease with him in sight all the time, for she knew that he was extremely resistant toward her. She did not ask him to go with her because she thought that he would definitely be unwilling to do so.