Chapter 9 The Other Cufflink

I followed him upstairs, but really, he was overthinking it—who would share a bed with him?

No matter how handsome and rich he is, I haven't forgotten my purpose.

Besides, I'm not boy-crazy.

However, letting him misunderstand my drooling over him isn't too bad; it covers my true intentions.

He stayed in the guest room next to mine, and I stood at the doorway with a smile, saying to him, "Actually, I should be the one saying that to you. You've just about knocked down my door, so don't wander into my room when you go to the bathroom at night."

He couldn't even be bothered to give me a glance before turning and entering the guest room.

I had paid attention to his sleeves earlier; one was rolled up while the other wasn't, so I only saw one cufflink, which looked very much like mine.

I returned to my room, took out the cufflink and tried hard to recall the one I saw on Sang Qi's cuff, comparing the two.

Because I didn't place them side by side, I couldn't be sure they were a pair.

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, I watched from behind the curtains as Miss Yao lingered outside, not daring to come in or knock on the door.

She was afraid of annoying Sang Qi and getting dumped right away.

She wasn't completely foolish, after all.

Eventually, she left.

I was still awake past midnight, guessing that Sang Qi must have fallen asleep by then, so I sneaked into his room.

He hadn't locked the door, and I had keys to all the rooms,

The first day I moved in here, I collected keys to all the rooms, though I hadn't thought they would be of any use at the time, but they could always come in handy.

Like tonight, I could slip into a room of a man who was still somewhat a stranger to me.

I crept on tiptoe, yet felt very experienced in such actions.

There was a time when I cooperated with the police in an investigation, also sneaking into a suspect's room at night to search for clues.

In this regard, I am quite bold.

His clothes were hanging on a clothes hanger.

I have a habit of familiarizing myself with the layout and furniture of a new place I stay in.

So, I quickly found the clothes hanger and by the light of the moon shining through the window, I felt his silk shirt.

The material was very fine, smooth as could be.

I touched the sleeve and felt a hard object, a cufflink.

I eagerly reached for the other sleeve, soft and empty.

That sleeve had no cufflink!

A wave of excitement overtook me, my heart nearly leaping out of my mouth, but my hand didn't stop. I planned to pull off the other cufflink and take it back to my room for a slow comparison.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with light.

It blinded me, accustomed to the dark, and for a moment, I couldn't open my eyes.

I decided to shield my eyes with my hand and turned toward the door, only to bump into someone's chest.

I didn't need to look up to know who it was.

Sang Qi, bare-chested, was incredibly muscular, his pectorals like two large, square loaves of bread.

I chuckled and looked up, "What a coincidence?"

His face was dark, "I thought you might feel your way to my bed, but I didn't expect you to be feeling up my shirt."

"I have a special hobby," I babbled, trying to bluff my way through and was about to sneak off when he grabbed me by the collar.

"Why are you fondling my shirt in the dead of night?"

I licked my lips and decided to look right at him.

Either he was playing dumb or I was too naive; if that person really was him, could he not recognize who I was?

But if he wanted to pretend he didn't know me, I wouldn't expose him either.

I smiled, "I'm short on cash, and it's not often that a wealthy person visits my home, so I thought about borrowing some money."

"I could call the police," he said.

"This is my residence," I replied astutely, letting him hear my reasoning: "If you called the police, they would definitely ask why you're staying here. It would be a messy business, and if your Miss Yao found out, it would cause quite an uproar."

He watched me calmly, and I actually started to feel a bit flustered under his gaze.

I rarely ever lose my composure under a man's gaze.

And his gaze at that moment wasn't too sharp.

He released the grip on my arm, taking the shirt away from my hand.

"Get lost," he said succinctly.

I certainly took the command and ran, faster than a rabbit.

I rushed into my room, which lacked a door, sat cross-legged on the bed, my heart pounding excitedly.

Turning on the glaring table lamp beside my bed, I slowly spread open my palm, where a fine cufflink lay.

When he had yanked the shirt out of my hands just now, I had clenched the cufflink tightly, then pulled it off.

I dug out another cufflink from under the pillow, placed both cufflinks together, and dimmed the lamp.

The exquisite cufflinks shimmered brilliantly under the light.

My heart raced, then fell silent as death itself.

They were identical in color and in design.

Even the tiny diamonds embedded on them, there were nine in each, which I counted.

These were a pair of cufflinks.

One of them had been lost in the presidential suite on a certain day of a certain month and year.

It turned out, He Cong had delivered me to Sang Qi's bed.

But I couldn't understand.

With a status like Sang Qi's, did he really need to resort to such methods to get a woman?

He just had to say the word, and countless women would flock to him. He certainly didn't need these dirty tricks.

Moreover, the way he looked at me earlier was full of contempt; he hardly gave me a second glance.

I feel incredibly beautiful, but to someone as experienced and knowledgeable as him, I probably didn't seem all that special.

I had evidence, but the logic didn't add up.

I hid the cufflinks in a place where I thought no one would find them, and then I went back to bed.

I pondered over it all night but couldn't make sense of it.

But I couldn't just go and ask him, "Was it you who slept with me that night?"

Even if it were him, his recognition and denial meant he didn't want to acknowledge it.

There wouldn't be anything to gain from asking.

I never waste time on futile things, so I planned to infiltrate the enemy's ranks quietly before taking any further action.

I only fell asleep in the wee hours and woke up with two dark circles under my eyes.

I went downstairs to eat, and Sang Qi was already sitting at the dining table having breakfast.

I sat opposite him, casually grabbed a slice of bread and stuffed it into my mouth, "Good morning, President Sang."

I noticed that the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up.

Right, both sleeves were cufflink-less; they had to be rolled up to be worn.

He ignored me, eating his porridge with leisurely elegance.

Lacking sleep but not appetite, I had already downed two bowls of porridge, a sandwich, and a large plate of ham and eggs by the time he finished his single bowl.

He left after eating, and I followed him out.

His car was parked at the door, and Xiao He's car, as always, was also parked outside.

He saw me bending down to get into my car and suddenly stopped, giving me a look.

"I'm quite curious about an unemployed reporter living in a mansion and driving a luxury car."

I looked at him, his act was so convincing that I couldn't detect the slightest trace of pretense.

I bent down, got into my car, and followed close behind his.

As the car had just left an intersection, I spotted another car through the rearview mirror.

Driving it was Miss Yao. She was following me so closely that I even noticed her heavily applied makeup.

Could it be that she hadn't gone back last night and had been watching the villa the whole night?