After the school beauty rejected me, I became her mom's number one fan!

"Master, Jonu has arrived."

His voice was extremely low, and his lips were trembling.

Ning Xiuyang closed the door without turning on the light. He locked the door from the inside and leaned against the doorframe.

The corridor lights were completely shut off. Only a sliver of light shone from the bathroom into the room, barely enough to make out the outline of Qiao Feiyu kneeling.

"Where are you from?"

"City government...dormitory".

"How long did it take?"

Thirty-eight minutes.

"Speeding."

Qiao Feiyu shrank back slightly: "Qiao Nu... hasn't seen Master in a long time."

Ning Xiuyang didn't say anything, walked past her into the room, and sat down on the sofa.

On the coffee table were a bottle of mineral water provided by the hotel and a glass. He unscrewed the cap and poured half a glass.

"come over."

Qiao Feiyu crawled over on his knees.

The carpet was thick, and there was no sound when you pressed your knee down; you could only hear the rustling of your clothes.

She crawled on her knees to the sofa and stopped, placing her hands on her knees and lowering her head.

Do you know who's sleeping in the next room?

Qiao Feiyu's back stiffened.

Two seconds passed.

"I know...it's Jinlin."

Ning Xiuyang bent down, reached out and pinched her chin, lifting her face up.

The bathroom light shone from the side, illuminating half of her face.

This 42-year-old woman is very well-maintained; her skin is better than many people in their early thirties.

But at this moment, his face was filled with two completely contradictory things.

Why are you so nervous?

Ning Xiuyang released his grip, leaned back on the sofa, and teased, "Haven't you always wanted me to treat her well?"

Qiao Feiyu's lips moved.

"Yes."

"So you're satisfied now that I treated her very well tonight?"

"……satisfy."

"Then what are you kneeling here for?"

That sentence really hit home.

Qiao Feiyu lowered his head, his hands gripping the creases of his pants at his knees, his knuckles turning white in the shadows.

There was a long silence.

The only sounds in the room were the hum of the air conditioner and the faint sound of an elevator running in the distance, from some unknown floor.

"Jonu..." Her voice was hoarse, "Jonu is conflicted."

"explain."

"Knowing that Master was pursuing Jinlin, Qiao Nu felt at ease." She spoke slowly, savoring each word before uttering it. "Jinlin lacked a father's love growing up, and many boys pursued her before... but none of them were good enough for her. Master is different. Master can give her a sense of security, can give her a good life, can..."

"What can I do?"

"He can keep her in check."

Ning Xiuyang took a sip of water.

"but?"

Qiao Feiyu closed her eyes briefly.

"But when Jinlin sent me photos tonight, he sent me... a photo of her leaning on your shoulder watching the fireworks."

"Then?"

"Then, in Jonu's heart... she couldn't say it." Her voice trailed off, "It wasn't anger, it wasn't heartache, it was... jealousy."

The last two words were almost squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Ning Xiuyang did not respond immediately.

He placed the water glass on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Jealous of your own daughter?"

Qiao Feiyu's body trembled.

"I'm jealous that she can stand openly beside her master. I'm jealous that she can post on social media, let her classmates know, let the whole world know." Qiao Feiyu's voice almost broke. "While Qiao Nu can only receive a text message in the middle of the night, and then run over like...like a thief."

After saying that, she couldn't take it anymore, covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders were shaking.

She didn't cry out loud.

But that suppressed trembling was even more intense than crying out loud.

Ning Xiuyang looked at her.

He spoke after about half a minute.

"Put your hand down."

Qiao Feiyu slowly removed her hand from her face.

Her eyes were red, but no tears came out.

Forty-two years in officialdom taught her the most basic thing: no matter what she was feeling inside, she couldn't let her face fall.

"I know all that you're saying," Ning Xiuyang said calmly, "but you've forgotten one thing."

"What?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. You came voluntarily. Every time, you came on your own."

Qiao Feiyu's body trembled again.

"You're kneeling here not because I forced you. You chose to kneel yourself. You drove 38 minutes at high speed from the city government dormitory to get here, not because I demanded you come. You couldn't wait."

He stood up, walked to Qiao Feiyu, and bent down.

"You're jealous that Jinlin can be aboveboard? Then ask yourself, even if you were given a chance to be aboveboard, would you dare to take it?"

Qiao Feiyu opened her mouth.

speechless.

Because she knows the answer herself.

dare not.

She is the top official in Zhonghai City.

She is the daughter of Grand Secretary Qiao.

She is Qiao Jinlin's mother.

She couldn't openly stand next to a 21-year-old man, and she certainly couldn't let anyone know what she was like in private.

This is the cage she chose herself.

She locked the door herself.

She swallowed the key herself.

"So stop talking about jealousy." Ning Xiuyang straightened up and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

He picked up the hotel's notepad and a pen from the coffee table and placed them on the carpet in front of Qiao Feiyu.

Write down your thoughts from tonight, word by word.

Qiao Feiyu stared at the notepad, her hand trembling as she held the pen.

I never imagined that from my school days until I entered politics, I would be taking notes and writing down my thoughts almost every day.

It's only been a long time since it found a home, but now it still has to write a review...

A sense of absurdity rose in Qiao Feiyu's heart.

But for some reason, this time when I put pen to paper, it was different from my previous work reports and reflections. I had a special urge to record my inner world.

"All of them," Ning Xiuyang added. "Nothing is left out."

She picked up the pen.

When the first stroke landed on the paper, the pen tip slipped.

She paused for two seconds, took a deep breath, and started writing again.

I wrote it for a long time.

Ning Xiuyang did not urge her.

He leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed, listening to the sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper.

After Qiao Feiyu finished writing, Ning Xiuyang reached out and took the notepad. He didn't look at it on the spot, but folded it and put it in the pocket of his bathrobe.

"Alright."

"Yes."

"You'll stay in this room tonight. Leave before 7 a.m. tomorrow."

"Yes."

Ning Xiuyang stood up and walked towards the door.

He didn't turn around before opening the door.

"Qiao Feiyu".

This time he used his full name.

"Your daughter is next door. She trusts you, and she trusts me. You should weigh the value of that trust yourself."

The door opened and then closed.

The footsteps in the corridor were very light, disappearing behind another door a few seconds later.

In room 3201, Qiao Jinlin turned over and muttered something.

"Where did you go, senior...?"

"I went to get a bottle of water."

Ning Xiuyang lay back down, and Qiao Jinlin hummed in agreement, reached out and hugged his waist, pressed his face against his chest, and didn't ask any more questions.

He fell into a deep sleep three seconds later.

3202 next door.

Qiao Feiyu soaked in the bathtub for a long time.

Hot water washed over her collarbone, and steam fogged up the mirror.

She stared at the ceiling, motionless.

She picked up her phone, which was resting on the edge of the bathtub, and deleted all her chat history with Ning Xiuyang from that evening.

Then I opened the notes app and typed a line.

Am I going crazy?

My finger hovered over the send button for five seconds.

She closed the memo app, placed her phone back on the edge of the bathtub, and closed her eyes.

The hot water slowly cooled down.