You Sound Sleepy

Translator: BipBop

Lin Mian followed Que Qingyan through the entrance and came into the living room.

He placed her things on the marble round table that was located beside the sofa, then asked, turning around, “What do you want to drink?’
Lin Mian selected a corner to sit in. She turned her head to look at him and with a soft voice answered. “…Coffee?”

The corners of her eyes were bleary and tinted red from crying; Que Qingyan brought his gaze down, staring directly at her eyes. “It’s too late.”

“Then, no coffee, anything else shall do.” Lin Mian obediently accepted whatever Que Qingyan had to say. “Sorry to trouble you.” 

While Que Qingyan went to the kitchen, Lin Mian inspected her surroundings. She finally realized why she didn’t encounter him in the apartment building, even missing him when she did the stakeout downstairs some time ago. 

Although we live in the same apartment building, the style of this apartment is completely different from mine. The apartment, which had a cold, minimalist feeling, had no plants in sight. The furniture appeared to be just purchased. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows was an exquisite office desk, not a dining table. 

Lights glowing up the desk, the laptop’s screen shined. Resources and documents were neatly organized on the side of the laptop, and his personal belongings, like car keys, were set aside.

Even though there was a study room in the apartment, Que Qingyan had chosen his office to be in the living room. It looked identical to someone who was about to organize their things and leave.

Lin Mian contemplated. Either he’s simply too busy or he doesn’t normally return to this apartment.

Doesn’t normally return to this apartment…

In an instant, Lin Mian’s brain was flooded with countless scenes.

Que Qingyan, a man who doesn’t return to his apartment, lives a double life. At day, he was Professor Que, and at night, he was Young Master Que. The clubs flashing lights, the alcohol, the decadent gatherings between young masters and daughters, a marriage with a celebrity. Marriage…

Thinking of his rejection that afternoon, Lin Mian clutched the corner of the plush sofa. She had suffered a heart attack.

“You can stay in the study room.” In the middle of her heart attack, a glass cup was placed on the table that was beside the sofa. Que Qingyan slightly leaned over, handing her a pair of slippers. “I’m in the living room. Call me if you need anything.”

He had unintentionally leaned close to her. His body carried a mild, pleasant smell. Lin Mian’s heart thumped. He was close. She tentatively scooted a little bit away, supporting her hands with the sofa, and whispered, “Professor Que.”

Que Qingyan straightened his body and looked at her.

“If I say…” Lin Mian fixed her eyes on his smoky gray shirt’s buttons, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, “If  I say, I have some other thoughts about you, what would you do?”

“…”

She shot her shot. 

No games or trickery, it was too frank, too direct. He couldn’t not answer.

He had rejected her with a clear attitude last afternoon and now…

“…Xu Tong.”

Lin Mian’s line of sight swept upwards and fixed on his face. “Ah?”

Que Qingyan squeezed his forehead, his eyebrows furrowing, his thin lips pursing. With such an expression, if Lin Mian wasn’t anxiously watching his every action, she would have thought he had just sighed.

He asked her, “Do you ever think of the consequences before you say such things? What if I kick you out?”

Lin Mian became even more anxious. “Will – will that happen?”

Que Qingyan didn’t say any more. His eyes squinting, his gaze swept across her white face, which was suffused in blush. He motioned at the glass cup that was placed on the table. Then, with a deep and steady voice, he said “Finish drinking first.”

Lin Mian obediently made an ‘eh’ sound, holding the still-warm glass cup. She drank.

A few berries added, the honeyed water possessed a sweetness that was just right, warming her as it traveled to her stomach.

In one sitting, she finished the honeyed water and then nervously looked at Que Qingyan, waiting for a response.

Unexpectedly, he turned his body and walked away. He sat down at the desk that was in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and began reviewing his unfinished work.

….He was ignoring her.

Lin Mian continued to gaze anxiously at Que Qingyan. No response. Clutching her laptop and tablet, aggrieved, Lin Mian tumbled into the study room.

The interior of the study room was similar to Que Qingyan’s office, shelved with numerous professional books. As the cool night breeze passed through the window curtains and brushed Lin Mian’s face, her heart began to cool down.

Lin Mian didn’t have a penchant for snooping around someone else’s privacy and stopped looking around; her eyes looked down, now concentrated on drawing. 

After half an hour of drawing, the laptop displayed a message prompt from QQ[1]. It was from Bai Jiayi. 

【Mian Bao, you weren’t answering your cell phone, are you still awake?】

Lin Mian stopped writing.

【I am awake】

Bai Jiayi: 【My dad has temporarily put me on probation. I won’t be able to come back for a few days. I’ll let the chauffeur come pick up my suitcase tonight.】

Probation?

Bai Jiayi suppressed the torrent of curse words she wanted to say and explained. 

【I wanted a divorce, and there was a fight.】

With only a brief nine words, Lin Mian could picture the huge drama that ensued. She peeped at the closed study room door, unable to determine how well it blocked out sound. In the end, she could only type comforting words to Miss Bai who was on the verge of losing it. Suddenly, she remembered something.

Lin Mian: 【Let the chauffeur come tomorrow, maybe not tonight】

Bai Jiayi: 【Ok, is it inconvenient to come now?】

Lin Mian, pressing her chin with an electronic pen, looked down and replied: 【I got locked out of my apartment. Now, I’m… at Que Qingyan’s place】

After a minute, Lin Mian got flooded by messages.

【?】

【???】

【??????】

Lin Mian’s fingertips paused at the keyboard for two seconds. She was thinking about how to respond to this. Then, the other party excitedly asked:

Bai Jiayi:【Did you sleep with him?!!】

“…”

After typing her explanation, Lin Mian cupped her face and stared at the half-drawn draft in Photoshop.

She thought of the money she saved on her credit card; it still had a ways to go before being the ideal number.

She sluggishly lay on the desk in the study room, silently thinking of how much it would cost to be the sugar mommy of Que Qingyan. 

Even before the fall of the Lin family, the Que family’s position had been a step higher, let alone now. In addition, even if there was no difference in family status, Que Qingyan was in an elite class far above herself.

He wasn’t short of money.

However, Lin Mian, fully in denial, chose to ignore such a fact. Biting her pen, she continued to brainwash herself, immersing herself in a fantasy.

Sooner or later I will be able to save enough money. Then, I’ll…

Que Qingyan and her were separated by a single door. Enlivened by this thought and regaining her motivation to live, author Mu Mian was extremely diligent tonight, quickly dispersing all the gloomy thoughts that came from rejection, her drawing speed soaring.

As the colored pages were almost finished, Lin Mian looked at the time. It was already one o’clock in the morning.

It’s late.

Lin Mian’s fingers were sore. After standing up, Lin Mian thought about exiting the study room to quietly take a peek at a certain person. Suddenly, the ceiling lights went out.

Lin Mian: “…” Wow.

[1] QQ is a messaging platform