Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  The room was all quiet.

  Xiang Wan rubbed her tired eyes and got up to stretch herself. Just when she was going to text Bai Muchuan, she heard some sounds coming from the door.

  She looked back and the door opened.

  “Oh? You’re back!”


  Bai Muchuan smiled at her. “Done writing?”


  “Yeah!” Xiang Wan relieved her neck muscles by rotating her head and spoke in an apologetic tone. “I want to write more tonight in case I don’t have time to do so tomorrow…… I’m so sorry for not able to accompany you.”


  When one’s in love, getting along is an art.

  It is a big taboo for a woman to neglect her man.

  Looking at his somber expression, Xiang Wan guessed his mood and felt slightly uneasy.

  “Did I take too long to write today?”


  Bai Muchuan pursed his lips as he looked at her stiff-looking smile. He stood at the door and did not utter a word.

  Xiang Wan pressed her lips, walked towards him and lifted her head. “What’s up? Are you angry?”


  Bai Muchuan laughed. “Do I look angry to you?”


  “Oh, so you’re not angry.” Xiang Wan raised a hand and pinched him on the cheek. “Then why do you look so distracted?” She jested, “Did you run into a pretty lady at the foot spa and left your soul there?”


  “I didn’t see any pretty lady.” Bai Muchuan raised his eyebrows. With a laugh, he carried her, thrown her onto the bed and came down on her. He chuckled and rolled away under Xiang Wan’s screams. He propped up his body with an arm and looked at Xiang Wan’s embarrassed face. Then, he pinched her on the nose.

  “—I saw pretty boys instead.”


  “Eh?” Xiang Wan looked at him with her eyes wide opened. She sat up from the bed and looked at him directly. “How do they look like? Are they better looking than you?”


  “Of course not!” Bai Muchuan gave her a dirty look. He gave a knock on her head and held her face using both hands and started squeezing her face. He only stopped when Xiang Wan begged for mercy.

  “It’s Meng Chi and Yu Ning.”


  “Ah?” Xiang Wan nodded her head. “That’s not strange!”


  At the back of his head, Bai Muchuan was actually trying to find a way to convince Xiang Wan not to follow him along to meet Brother Steel. Nevertheless, he gave a brief description of what he saw at the foot spa.

  “Laowu next-door kept saying that there’s something wrong with those two guys—”


  “Now that I hear that from you.” Xiang Wan’s glistening dark eyes were as though shining. “It seemed like there might really be something between them. Gay? A private date?”


  Her adorable, gossipy behavior made Bai Muchuan crack up.

  “A straight man will never understand the world of fujoshi.”


  “Sir Little Bai, you even knew about fujoshi? That’s not easy.”


  “!” Seeing her sweet smile, Bai Muchuan slowly puffed a sigh. “Little Xiang Wan.”


  “Mm?” Xiang Wan held his hand and drew closer when Bai Muchuan did not complete his sentence. “What happened? You have something to say, isn’t it? You’re having a guilty conscience? Hey, don’t tell me you did something behind my back?”


  “.……”


  Silence.

  After half a minute, Bai Muchuan opened his mouth slowly.

  “Stay in the hotel tomorrow.”
……

  He had overthought about Xiang Wan’s reaction.

  He did not spend too much time nor need to come up with various reasons to convince her not to come along.

  Although Xiang Wan was very sensitive, she could be quite stubborn and take things too seriously at times. Nonetheless, she was still a reasonable person.

  After listening to Bai Muchuan’s explanation, Xiang Wan nodded her head earnestly.

  “Fine. Please be careful and keep in contact. I’ll be waiting for you in the hotel.”


  Bai Muchuan heaved a sigh of relief. He found that he really loved her dearly.

  “I knew it! My girlfriend is a princess without the Princess Syndrome.”


  “Eh?”

  she thought.

  “Who has Princess Syndrome?”


  Bai Muchuan laughed and stroked her hair gently. He did not sell Quan Shaoteng out.

  “Aren’t there a lot of people commenting online that women nowadays are all suffering from Princess Syndrome?”


  “Tch!” Xiang Wan expressed her dissent in a frown. “That’s the mansplaining of male chauvinists against society! The Qing Dynasty was long gone and these people still want to enjoy the privileges of men from the feudal society. They can’t stand women who have character, have their own opinions and are independent…… They want their girlfriends to take care of them like a nanny. And when their girlfriends can’t do it, they label their girlfriends as suffering from Princess Syndrome!”


  “.……”


  “In actual fact, this type of men are generally incapable to be able to pamper their women. That’s why they are so calculative against women!”


  “!” Bai Muchuan laughed. “Woman, I’ve only said a sentence.”


  “You’re finding me naggy?”


  “No, it just dawned on me—” Bai Muchuan observed her face. “Little Xiang Wan, you seem to have some traits of a feminist?”


  “What the!” Xiang Wan felt amused by his remark. She suddenly wrapped her hands around his neck and moved closer to Bai Muchuan. “I’m actually just a little woman,” giggled Xiang Wan in a gentle manner. “My lord, please support me!”


  “Don’t seduce me!” Bai Muchuan gasped, “I might get a reaction……”


  “Hahaha……”
……

  In the midst of their cheerful laughter, Bai Muchuan received a notification from his phone.

  The sound of the notification was clear to the ear.

  Bai Muchuan took a glance at his mobile phone then glanced at Xiang Wan without saying a word.

  That little sensitive glance of his didn’t escape Xiang Wan’s eyes.

  She laughed. “Who is that?”


  Bai Muchuan felt a little headache. “Xie Wanwan.”


  Women are very sensitive when it comes to such stuff. Immediately, Xiang Wan’s fighting spirit got ignited right away. “What did she say?”


  Bai Muchuan: “She said she bought some spicy hot crayfish and beer, and wanted to treat us.”


  He especially stressed the word “us”.

  Nevertheless, Xiang Wan didn’t quite appreciate that. She raised her eyebrows and showed a half-smile. “Don’t bother to cover up! She’s here for you. I’m not familiar with her.”


  Bai Muchuan: “.……”


  Xiang Wan laughed after she saw Bai Muchuan’s reaction.

  “I don’t mind, just let her come! After all, she’s your buddy and you two have not met each other for a while. To be able to meet in another place and stay in the same hotel…… if you refuse to meet, she’ll definitely bear a grudge against me! When that time comes, you’ll be in a difficult position, right?”


  “Well……”


  Bai Muchuan got a feeling that no matter how he replied to her, there might be ambiguity or different interpretations.

  He cleverly chose to shut his mouth up and leave the decision making to Xiang Wan.

  “I’ll listen to you! My wife’s words are the imperial edict!”


  Xiang Wan rolled her eyes at his words. “Stop joking around! Just tell her to come over. Though I do not miss her, I do miss the spicy hot crayfish a lot!”


  It was really a coincidence.

  Xiang Wan mentioned that the protagonist was eating spicy hot crayfish in her latest update that she published that night.

  The standard of food at Nanmu was too poor. While she was writing that part, she was salivating for it. Who would have known that someone would be delivering spicy hot crayfish to her doorstep?

  How could she reject such an offer?

  “I don’t have the heart of a foodie but I have the stomach of a foodie. Okay! I’ll accept the offer.”


  Bai Muchuan replied Xie Wanwan’s message with a reluctant look in front of Xiang Wan.

  As he typed, he was also reading it out loud. “Bring more, my wife’s craving for it!”


  Xiang Wan: “.……”


  “Bai Muchuan, you…… where am I gonna put my face!”


  “Just put your face in my pocket. I’ll safeguard it!”
……

  The two of them quickly tidied up the room.

  Soon enough, someone knocked on their door!

  It was eleven o’clock at night; the night was still considered young for urban men and women like them.

  However, it was already very quiet at that hour in Nanmu.

  It was said that the people living there would not go out at night as the security was very poor.

  Hence, door knocking sounds felt especially loud and fast. Somehow, it made the person knocking at the door appear to be very impatient—


  However, that behavior actually fitted Xie Wanwan’s character.

  Seeing Bai Muchuan not making any move, she elbowed him. “Open the door?”


  “Yes! Your wish is my command!” He gave her a hug, followed by a kiss on her lips before heading to the door.

  Xiang Wan’s heart almost burst in joy.

  Xie Wanwan’s arrival turned this man into a scaredy cat, as he was worried that she would be angry.

  she thought.

  The door opened. There was some annoyance in Xie Wanwan’s pleasant voice.

  “Took you long enough. What are you two up to?”


  “.……” Bai Muchuan kept quiet but looked behind her.

  Besides Xie Wanwan, there was also an embarrassed looking Tang Yuanchu.

  No wonder they had knocked on the door impatiently. Both of them already had their hands full with stuff. Each of them was holding on to seven or eight boxes of spicy hot crayfish and bottles of beer.

  The two of them had not entered the room but the aroma of the crayfish had already floated in.

  The aroma made Xiang Wan gulped out of reflex.

  “Wow, you brought so much food!”


  “Heh!” Xie Wanwan looked at Xiang Wan casually. “Come lend me a hand! Do you think it’s appropriate to let an international movie star stand outside with so many spicy hot crayfish in her hands?”


  Indeed, the international star was definitely keeping a low profile.

  She wore a hat over her head, a pair of big round-framed spectacles and a mask covering half of her face. Both of her hands were full carrying many bags of containers.

  Honestly, Xiang Wan didn’t feel any sense of jealousy towards this woman when she saw her in such plight.

  “A beauty should work out more to stay in shape!” Xiang Wan laughed as she walked over and took the boxes that freed a hand of Xie Wanwan. “Hey, you help out too!” Xiang Wan said to Bai Muchuan.

  Bai Muchuan: “Okay!”


  If she did not issue an order, it seemed that he would take no action!

  Seeing that, Xie Wanwan heaved a sigh. “I felt like scolding you already! Little Bai, how did you land yourself in such a state?”


  Immediately, she turned to Xiang Wan with an envious look. “Your boyfriend taming skill is incredible! You have to teach me!”


  “No problem!” Xiang Wan played along. “But, you need to get a boyfriend first, right?”


  “That hurts, buddy!” Then, Xie Wanwan suddenly thought of something.

  It seemed that she just recalled Tang Yuanchu was behind her and quickly turned around. “Aye, aren’t you silly? You don’t even know how to move? Hurry and bring all these in!”


  Tang Yuanchu seemed to be blushing a little.

  But if one took a closer look, there was a tinge of joy floating at his eyes.

  “I’m waiting for you to go first. What if all the oil on the bags dirtied your clothes?”


  “.……”


  Xie Wanwan raised her eyebrows and reached out to take some boxes he was holding. “Quick!”


  “I can do it by myself!” Tang Yuanchu quickly squeezed into the room and placed the bags of food on the table. Next, he helped Bai Muchuan take out the containers from the bags.

  His expression did not escape Xiang Wan’s eyes. She smiled a little mischievously and teased them.

  “It’s already so late. Why are the two of you together? Did you both go—for some late night supper?”