Early morning.
Bang, bang, bang!
A barrage of knocking, so urgent it was almost savage, jolted Chen Lin from his light sleep.
He sprang upright in bed almost instantly, his muscles tensing and his eyes sharpening.
Inside his backpack, the two kittens, Clear Wind and Bright Moon, poked their furry heads out at the same time, growling low in their throats as their fur stood on end.
Who was it?
Hotel staff? No way. Not this early, and certainly not with manners like that.
Barefoot, Chen Lin moved soundlessly behind the door, suppressing his presence as much as he could, and looked through the peephole.
Outside stood a girl with excitement written all over her face.
With that long rose-pink hair still dazzling beneath the hallway lights, who else could it be but Qin Chuxia?
The corner of Chen Lin's eye twitched.
What was this girl doing here? How had she found him?
He opened the door.
The moment a crack appeared, Qin Chuxia slipped inside like a happy little bird that had found its owner.
"Chen Lin! I finally found you!"
Chen Lin shut the door behind her. The click of the latch sounded especially crisp in the quiet suite. He turned around, his six-foot-one frame imposing, his entire bearing radiating an icy message: You'd better have a good explanation.
"How did you know I was here?"
"I..." His stare instantly made Qin Chuxia falter, but her instinctive outgoing confidence made her straighten her chest, as though that could give her courage. "My mom told me! My family owns the Grand Hyatt Hotel. After you checked in last night, the hotel manager told her!"
There was even a little pride on her face, as if she expected praise.
Chen Lin's facial muscles twitched almost imperceptibly.
"You investigated me?" His