Chapter 44: Bedtime

Zhe Huo rolled her eyes at him, her pout swiftly melting into a frown. With another long moan, she flopped down all over the table. “I hate people like you, giving people false hope only to take it away again.”

Tao Feiyan laughed without reply.

Fortunately, the food was delicious, and Zhe Huo was soon distracted from these worries. At the end of the meal, Madam Chu came over with the bill, and announced the total aloud. That woke Zhe Huo right up. She rapped a hand on the table. “Don’t think just because we’re not from these parts, that means you can have your way with us! Let’s hear all the items on this bill, then!”

Her voice quavering the whole way, Madam Chu read the entire list out loud. Now it was Zhe Huo’s turn to quiver. Horrified, she turned to look at Feiyan. It wasn’t Madam Chu who’d cheated her—it was Feiyan himself. He’d ordered all the most expensive dishes, all the finest wines. Each one was more exorbitant than the last. This one meal alone cost more than she spent on food in a month.

And there was Feiyan, watching from the sidelines. “Zhe Huo, darling… surely you haven’t changed your mind about making this your treat?”

As a woman who held loyalty above all else, there was no way she could back down from this. She promptly brandished her purse. “Says who? It’s only a meal. No big deal!”

Gritting her teeth, and steeling her heart, she handed out the silver.

Feiyan laughed lightly, and spoke no further.

When they left, Zhe Huo noticed that Qinghan seemed to be a little out of it. She tousled his wispy hair, and bent down to ask, “Qinghan, what’s wrong?”

Qinghan’s ears were drooping. “I’m tired…” he sniffled.

Then his tail unfurled from underneath his coat, and coiled around her legs. She knew that was what he did whenever it was time to sleep, and before she could say anything, he started to keel over. She caught his hand hurriedly, and heard him murmuring, “Zhe Huo… I wanna hug…”

When she picked him up, rather than going limp in her arms, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and wouldn’t let go anymore. She turned to Feiyan in exasperation, who arched an eyebrow and declared, “Let’s go find an inn, get a good night’s rest.”

Eyes shut, and still clinging tightly to her, Qinghan softly added, “… an expensive inn.”

Zhe Huo’s eyes popped wide open. Before she’d even said anything, Feiyan was already shaking his head with a smile, as though unsurprised by this turn of events. She looked at him in bafflement, but he just waggled his eyebrows at her and turned to leave. “The kid is getting vengeance on me for your sake.”

Unable to refute this, she turned to talk to Qinghan, only to find that he’d already fallen fast asleep, snoring gently upon her shoulder.

Sure enough, Feiyan took them someplace fancy. The interior was tranquil and elegant, the furnishings sumptuous yet refined. It was obviously a place only the wealthy could afford. Zhe Huo nudged Feiyan meaningfully, but by the time she’d set the boy in her arms down somewhere in the lobby, Feiyan had already paid.

Seeing her approach, he crooked his finger to motion her over. She descended the steps and crossed the hall, but before she could talk about what was on her mind, he’d produced a glass of wine from the counter, and was offering it to her. “Try this wine. It’s not bad.”

Zhe Huo had no idea what his game was, but she accepted the wine anyway. As she brought the glass to her lips, however, Feiyan suddenly stepped in close and lowered his voice to say, “We’re being followed.”