Chapter 86 - 85: It Was Really Just a Little Touch

Chapter 86: Chapter 85: It Was Really Just a Little Touch

His skin was firm and healthy.

Looking down, she saw his full lips, his smooth jawline, and that magnetic Adam’s apple.

The more the girl looked, the faster her heart beat. The affection in her eyes was about to overflow.

She swallowed hard.

’Brother Xiao Ran is so handsome.’

Already struggling to resist temptation, the girl couldn’t help but start getting some wicked ideas.

She involuntarily reached out, tracing the space between his brows and eyes.

In the end, she couldn’t hold back. The soft pad of her finger gently touched him.

She followed the line of his brow down. His nose was firm to the touch.

His lips, however, were hot and soft. Bathed in the moonlight, they had a moist sheen that made one feel an uncontrollable urge to kiss them.

But she didn’t even have time to indulge in her fantasy.

She heard the faint sound of a door opening from outside, followed by the FLAP-FLAP of slippers.

The girl, who had been immersed in a mix of thrill and sweetness, felt her eyelid twitch. She hastily snatched her pale finger back, her watery eyes darting nervously toward the door.

Qiu Yuru had drunk too much water before bed and had just gotten up to use the bathroom.

Before she had taken two steps, she saw Yan Xici scurrying out of Xiao Ran’s room.

This gave Qiu Yuru quite a shock.

It jolted her awake. ’What’s going on?’

’Why is she coming out of Xiao Ran’s room?’

"You were..."

’A man and a woman, alone in the middle of the night... what were they doing?’

Yan Xici felt her heart leap into her throat, and her face turned an impossible shade of red.

She hurriedly explained, "No, Auntie, please don’t misunderstand. Brother Xiao Ran drank too much, so I went in to bring him some water."

Her throat was tight with nervousness.

’So this is the price for my little indulgence! I just touched Brother Xiao Ran and I already got caught!’

Hearing this, Qiu Yuru breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, so that’s what happened. Thank you for your hard work."

Then she couldn’t help but start complaining, "He’s a grown man, but he still has no self-control. Why did he have to drink so much? He really didn’t inherit any of the good traits!"

He was her son, after all. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried about him.

Afraid Qiu Yuru might notice something was off, Yan Xici frantically waved her hands. "It’s nothing. It’s what I should do."

After speaking, she lowered her head and quickly entered her own room, shutting the door tightly behind her.

Only then did she let out a huge sigh of relief.

’Oh god, that was so intense.’

’If Auntie had found out I secretly touched Brother Xiao Ran, she probably would have been so scared she’d call the police on the spot.’

She patted her chest with her small hand.

The girl made a firm resolution. ’No, I absolutely can’t do this anymore!’

’I have to stop being so handsy with Brother Xiao Ran!’

The girl calmed her racing heart, then quickly got into bed and pulled up her little blanket.

Then she closed her eyes.

’No matter what, today was a very happy day!’

After using the bathroom, Qiu Yuru still felt a little uneasy. She came out, pushed open her son’s door, and went inside. Because Xiao Ran had drunk quite a bit, the room was now filled with the stench of alcohol.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust and closed the door.

’Looks like he really did drink a lot!’

’I’ll definitely have to give him a good talking-to tomorrow morning!’

「....」

「The next morning」

Liu Min, who had also been drinking the night before, woke up early. It was only seven-thirty, but she was already at the company, heading straight for the publicity department.

She walked through the open-plan office, went directly into the publicity department director’s office, and slapped the photos taken yesterday onto his desk.

"These are the costume fitting photos and the pictures from the pre-shoot celebration party yesterday. Touch them up nicely, then release them."

The publicity director took the photos and nodded quickly. "Got it. Thanks for your hard work, Screenwriter Liu."

"Make sure you do a good job. Director Zhang specifically requested this. We’re aiming for it to go viral before it even airs, understand?" Liu Min instructed.

An actress as popular as Sister Mi was a natural traffic magnet, so making the show a hit before its release wasn’t actually that difficult.

As long as the marketing was handled well, there should be no problem.

Xuan Chuan was also well aware of this. He nodded and looked at Liu Min with conviction. "Don’t worry, no problem."

As soon as Liu Min left, he started making calls to delegate tasks. First, he found someone to professionally retouch the photos. Then, he assigned someone to post them on all the official company accounts. But that wasn’t all. He also contacted several major influencers his company had business with to repost and promote the content.

After all, the purpose of publicity was advertising—to spread the word far and wide.

The more people who knew, the better. The more people who reposted, the better!

In contrast to the busyness at Ai Qi,

Xiao Ran’s morning was much more relaxed. He was already up, sitting on the sofa, drinking water, and getting an earful.

Standing across from him, Qiu Yuru’s face was full of complaint. "Just look at your complexion! Young people need to take care of their health. You’re only 24. If you keep this up, your body won’t be able to take it!"

She was truly afraid Xiao Ran would go down the same path as Xiao Shengrong.

Her husband was older and set in his ways; she couldn’t control him. But her son was still young, so she absolutely had to advise him properly.

When it came to alcohol, the less he drank, the better!

"Mom, I know," Xiao Ran said with a helpless expression.

He felt his mom was worrying for nothing. He didn’t particularly like drinking, nor did he seek it out, but in society, some social obligations were unavoidable.

Qiu Yuru sighed. "When you drink too much, you don’t just make yourself suffer, you drag others down with you. Last night, in the middle of the night, I even saw Xici bringing water to your room."

She truly felt indignant on Yan Xici’s behalf.

’If he’s man enough to drink that much, he should be man enough to take care of himself!’

’He can sleep it off at home, but that poor girl has school to attend!’

’What a nuisance!’

Hearing this, Xiao Ran frowned, his mind involuntarily replaying the scene from last night.

’Yesterday... did they hug?’

Thinking of this, he glanced toward the kitchen.

It was empty, but in his mind, he saw the image of himself holding Yan Xici right there.

His heart began to beat a little faster again, and his gaze gradually softened.

He shook his head, forcing himself not to think about it.

He tried hard to tell himself it was just an accident and not to overthink it.

’If I don’t think about it, I won’t get sucked in!’

Qiu Yuru poured herself a glass of water as well, then sat down next to Xiao Ran. "By the way, son, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m planning to head back."

She had been here for two days. She’d seen what she needed to see, and her son was doing fine. He had to work, write, and attend social events—he was indeed quite busy.

Besides, with her around, the girl was surely a little uncomfortable. After thinking it over, she decided it was best to go back tomorrow.

It was like the old saying goes: parents bring their children into this world, but the rest of the path is for them to walk on their own.

How he walked it was up to Xiao Ran himself.

As long as he was doing well, she could rest easy.

Hearing this, Xiao Ran paused. "You’re not staying for a couple more days?"

’I haven’t even had the time to properly take her around town. How can she just leave like that?’

’This is too sudden.’

"No, I’ll go back tomorrow. Your dad is still at home," Qiu Yuru said with a smile.

To be honest, with Xiao Shengrong not around for the past two days, she really felt like something was missing.

Xiao Ran placed his water glass on the table and said lightly, "In that case, I’ll take you shopping this afternoon. We’ll buy you a couple of nice outfits, and we can pick something up for Dad too. How does that sound?"

’She rarely gets to visit, and I haven’t even taken her around yet. How can she just up and leave?’