Suddenly, a loud "pop!" echoed through the room.
The startled server accidentally twisted the party popper in her hand too hard, sending a spray of confetti shooting toward the ceiling. The colorful ribbons fluttered down, landing festively on the entangled bodies below.
The entire room fell into a dead, frozen silence.
Two seconds later, Chen Zhihan shrieked again, yanking the bedsheet over herself.
Du Yao hastily grabbed a blanket to cover himself, his face twisted in fury as he roared, "What the hell are you doing?!"
The sudden intrusion by a room full of people nearly made him pass out from shock.
"I'm going to report you! How dare you barge into a guest's room without permission? And you—you're even filming this?!" Du Yao was livid.
The server holding the camera flinched and immediately lowered the device.
"We're so sorry, Mr. Du," the server stammered. "We shouldn't have barged in at such an inappropriate moment, but we followed Miss Nan in. She prepared a surprise cake for you."
Only then did Du Yao notice the cart with a large cake, candles still flickering.
The server added helpfully, "And this room was booked by Miss Nan. She said she wanted to surprise you."
Du Yao stiffened, turning his head slowly to look at Nan Sangning.
Sangning covered her face in apparent horror. "You… you two… you were sneaking around behind my back!"
Still confused, Du Yao instinctively defended himself, "I don’t even know how this woman got in here! She stripped and walked in—I thought it was you!"
Meanwhile, Chen Zhihan finally pieced things together. Her face contorted with rage as she glared at Nan Sangning, shrieking, "You! You scheming bitch! You lied to me! You said you wanted to climb into He Siyu’s bed—you tricked me into coming here!"
Sangning widened her eyes in feigned shock. "Miss Chen, what are you talking about? It's no secret that my family and the Dus are discussing a marriage alliance. I prepared everything today to meet Du Yao and apologize to him—I even planned this surprise."
Her voice grew indignant. "If you like Du Yao so much, you could’ve just said so! I’d have stepped aside. But to openly sleep with him like this—were you trying to humiliate me? Or provoke me?"
Du Yao kept looking back and forth between Sangning and Chen Zhihan, his underused brain still struggling to process the situation.
The hotel staff held their breaths, afraid to make a sound, but their ears perked up, thrilled to witness such a dramatic cheating scandal firsthand.
Chen Zhihan was losing it. She no longer cared about arguing with Nan Sangning. Clutching the bedsheet, she screamed, "Get out! All of you, get out!"
Sangning gave Du Yao a disappointed look. "Since you prefer Miss Chen, I’ll step aside for you."
With that, she turned and stormed out.
"Wait—" Du Yao tried to stop her, but he was still naked and couldn’t move.
Chen Zhihan, wrapped in the sheet, stormed into the bathroom to get dressed.
The servers quickly took the hint and scrambled out, not daring to linger for more drama.
Sangning rushed out of the room in apparent fury, then leisurely strolled down the hallway toward the elevators. Just as she turned a corner, she collided with a tall figure.
Dressed in wrinkled black slacks and a white shirt, his hair disheveled, he looked uncharacteristically disheveled—though it did nothing to diminish his striking features.
Sangning feigned surprise and greeted him politely, "President He, what a coincidence."
"Coincidence?"
His voice was icy as he stared at her. "You’re here too?"
Sangning blinked, her innocent expression amplified by her soft, alluring makeup. "I had a date here."
Again, that clueless act.
He smirked coldly. "I heard I was here?"
Sangning froze. How did he know?
He took a step closer, his towering frame looming over her, his gaze darkening. "I also heard you planned to climb into my bed tonight?"
Sangning: "..."
Had he overheard them at the door?
"You misunderstood," she said, refusing to admit anything. "Chen Zhihan was just spouting nonsense. I don’t even know what she was talking about."
He Siyu gave her a sidelong glance and scoffed.
"Fine. Seems I underestimated your skills."
Using his name as bait to set someone up without a sound—she was truly impressive.
He had been a fool to think she’d obediently come to the hotel to meet Du Yao. And yet, he’d rushed here in a panic.
Sangning changed the subject. "The elevator’s here."
He Siyu shot her a cold look. Since it was a false alarm, he couldn’t be bothered to argue.
He turned on his heel and strode into the elevator. Seeing that he wasn’t pressing the issue, Sangning relaxed slightly.
But… why had he come here?
As the elevator descended, Sangning stood beside He Siyu in silence. Watching the floor numbers drop, she glanced at the ornate mirrored doors, where his disheveled reflection and sour expression were faintly visible.
She broke the awkward silence. "What brings you here today, President He?"
He Siyu lifted his gaze to her reflection in the mirror, then looked away. "Just passing by."
She nodded. "Are you staying at the Intercontinental too?"
"Hm." His tone was dismissive.
"Then why were you leaving?"
"..."
He turned to her with a cold smile. "I heard someone wanted to sneak into my bed tonight. I was worried, so I decided to change hotels."
Sangning: "..."
She shouldn’t have asked.
Ding. The elevator doors opened.
They stepped out into the lobby, where Ji Yan was already waiting. The moment she spotted Sangning, she rushed over. "Well? How did it go?!"
Then she noticed He Siyu beside Sangning and gasped audibly.
Sangning, still slightly guilty, glanced at He Siyu and swallowed. "Uh, Ji Yan and I planned to stay here together."
Ji Yan nodded frantically. "Right, right! We booked a room together."
He Siyu had no interest in further insults to his intelligence. With a frosty expression, he said, "Enjoy your stay."
Then he strode off without another word.
Sangning: "..."
Ji Yan leaned in, whispering, "What happened? Why does he look so pissed? Did you actually succeed?"
Sangning: "..."
"I think he found out I used his name to trick Chen Zhihan."
Ji Yan’s eyes widened. "How?! I swear I didn’t tell anyone!"
"Maybe he really was staying here by coincidence?" Sangning wasn’t sure either.
Ji Yan grimaced. "This is bad. He Siyu holds grudges. If he thinks you’re using his name to stir up trouble, he won’t let it slide."
Sangning frowned, recalling his dark expression. Given his petty nature, he was definitely holding a grudge.
But she didn’t have time to dwell on it now.
"Never mind that. Did you send out the message?"
Ji Yan flashed an OK sign, looking smug. "Don’t worry, I already used a burner account to spread the news everywhere before the waiter even went upstairs! There’s no way Chen Zhihan and Du Yao can suppress this now—their scandal is already all over the elite circle!"
Nan Sangning curved her lips. "Well done."
Once this incident blew up, Chen Zhihan and Du Yao would undoubtedly try to silence everyone immediately, even throwing money at burying the story. But Nan Sangning had beaten them to it, leaking the details before they could react—while they were still scrambling to get dressed.
Ji Yan grinned triumphantly. "You can always count on me. Come on, let’s go book a place and celebrate!"
"Not today. I have to go home."
"Home? Why?"
Nan Sangning arched a brow. "The show isn’t over yet."
