Chapter 046: The King’s Fall Amidst the Autumn Chill (12)

The two who had just finished vomiting exchanged an awkward glance. Then, Ouyang Zining was the first to laugh. “My name is Ouyang Zining, nice to meet you.”

“Huangfu Shang, nice to meet you too.”

Huangfu? Ouyang Zining looked at the young man before her in surprise, but noticing the shy smile on his face, she shook her head, chastising herself for overthinking. The surname Huangfu was rare, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was associated with that peculiar CEO.

Ouyang Zining fetched cleaning supplies from her dormitory and cleaned the corridor together with Huangfu Shang. Once the work was done, the distance between them seemed to shrink considerably—albeit for a rather unusual reason.

“I live right across from you. If you need anything, just come over,” Ouyang Zining said, pointing to the room opposite Huangfu Shang’s.

She was an orphan. After finding a job and learning about the dormitory, she moved in. The most important thing was the rent was cheap—the company had leased the entire building, and the hotel paid half, while the staff covered the rest.

Huangfu Shang was thrilled to move into his new dorm. The single room was about twenty square meters, with a single bed besides the bathroom. He glanced around, tossed his suitcase aside, and rolled onto the hard single bed.

But by midnight, the excitement had faded, and he awoke feeling uncomfortable. Accustomed to soft, spacious beds, he couldn’t sleep at all on this hard, narrow one.

In the dead of night, what is the most unbearable thing? Answer: being unable to sleep.

He turned over, got up, picked up his phone, and thought about messaging his beloved, but was afraid to wake her. In the end, only as dawn approached did he manage to doze off for a while.

The next morning, after a sleepless night, he opened his door and bumped into Ouyang Zining across the hall, both yawning.

“Morning,” Huangfu Shang yawned.

“Morning,” Ouyang Zining replied, yawning as well.

They looked at each other and saw the heavy dark circles under each other’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, didn’t you sleep well?” Ouyang Zining asked in surprise.

“No, I can’t get used to this bed,” Huangfu Shang nodded. Hard as a rock and narrow, he truly couldn’t sleep on it. Noticing Ouyang Zining’s dark circles, he asked, “You didn’t sleep well either?”

“The bed’s too hard,” Ouyang Zining sighed, subconsciously touching her stomach. Before her pregnancy symptoms started, she could have slept anywhere, even the floor.

Now, however, with the pregnancy sickness, lying on that hard bed, the little one in her belly wouldn’t let her sleep at all. Just like that silly CEO—no wonder, it was his child after all.

Huangfu Shang yawned and looked at her with the camaraderie of fellow sufferers. “Why don’t we go buy a new mattress?”

This suggestion was very tempting to Ouyang Zining, who was always frugal. She hesitated, “Wouldn’t it be expensive?”

“Not at all. Think about it—what’s the most important thing in life?”

“…Dreams?”

“No,” Huangfu Shang replied decisively, “sleep and food.”

“…”

“Think about it. We work so hard to make money—what for, if not to eat well and have a good night’s sleep?” Huangfu Shang continued. “Only after a good sleep can you have the energy to work.”

It really sounded reasonable.

“Life is so short. Why save all your hard-earned money? Earning money is for a better life. And what’s a good life? Eating well, drinking well, sleeping well—that’s a good life.”

“You’re right! Let’s go buy one!” Ouyang Zining nodded.

So they went out together to buy a new mattress.

A young saleswoman from a well-known mattress brand glanced at the young man and woman who had come in together, vaguely overhearing their discussion: “Let’s get a softer one,” “A thicker one,” “This one looks nice.”

She smiled and stepped forward. “Sir, miss, please take a look over here. These are our latest models—soft, comfortable, ergonomically designed for a great night’s sleep.”

Neither Huangfu Shang nor Ouyang Zining knew much about mattresses, so after listening to the saleswoman introduce several options, they both took a liking to one of them.

“This one’s nice, let’s take it,” the young woman said.

The saleswoman was delighted—the price of this model was not low. If they bought it, it would be a good sale.

But then Ouyang Zining’s next words froze the smile on her face. “Do you have any in single-bed size?”

“Yes, we’re looking for a mattress for a single bed. This one is too big,” Huangfu Shang chimed in.

“???” What?

The saleswoman was puzzled. She looked at the young couple and cautiously said, “Besides the two-meter size, we also have one-point-eight and one-point-six meters.”

“Still too big. Do you have a one-point-two meter one?” Ouyang Zining asked.

The saleswoman’s lips twitched. “Miss, sir, if two people are sleeping together, a one-point-two meter mattress is a bit small…”

“Who said we’re sleeping together? We’re buying them for ourselves,” Ouyang Zining replied.

The saleswoman: ????

Well, she really couldn’t understand young people anymore.

—

“My colleague across the hall is called Ouyang Zining. She’s really short. Today, we went to buy a new mattress together. It’s so soft and comfortable,” Huangfu Shang explained, having made soup and packed a full lunchbox to bring to her.

“A new mattress?” Le Yixian raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Huangfu Shang, oblivious to someone preparing to tease him, replied innocently.

“Then next time, I’ll try it out for myself to see if it’s really that soft,” Le Yixian said with a smile.

Try it out together next time? Huangfu Shang was stunned, then realized what she meant, and his handsome face flushed red with regret.

The saleswoman had clearly told him a one-point-two meter bed wasn’t suitable for two people. Now that he’d bought a new mattress, why hadn’t he bought a bigger bed? Then he and Sister Xiaoya could sleep together on a comfortable, spacious bed.

He imagined waking up every morning to see her sleeping face, and his heart skipped a beat.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want me to sleep there?” she teased.

“No, no, it’s just…” Huangfu Shang waved his hands. “The bed… it’s too small. I’ll buy a… new one next time…”

“No need,” Le Yixian said. “A small bed works too.”

Of course, she meant that a single person could use it.

Unexpectedly, Huangfu Shang misunderstood her. A small bed works too? That means he could only hold Sister Xiaoya tightly while sleeping.

That didn’t sound so bad.

Imagining that scene, Huangfu Shang touched his warm nose.

That afternoon, when Wang Jingye came to work, he overheard several receptionists gossiping that the new assistant to Manager Chang had a handsome and considerate boyfriend who often brought her homemade meals and soups, making everyone envious.

Eavesdropping by accident, Wang Jingye instantly bristled: Since when did his daughter have a boyfriend?