53: Chapter 53 The Night That Never Ends
The two of them walked toward the elevator bank.
The marble floor reflected their figures—one tall, one short—walking side by side.
The elevator doors slid open silently, and Jiang Chen pressed the button for the top floor.
The numbers climbed steadily; if not for the flickering screen, she would have hardly felt the elevator moving.
Lin Wan stood by his side, looking at the two figures reflected in the mirrored walls, and suddenly spoke: "When you were booking the room just now, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"
"What was on purpose?"
"Knowing that only the presidential suite was left, you didn't hesitate at all."
Jiang Chen tilted his head to glance at her. "Why should I hesitate?"
"Because it's expensive."
"It's fine."
Lin Wan stared at him for two seconds and suddenly smiled. "Fine, forget I said anything."
The top floor.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Lin Wan thought she was still inside.
The hallway was too quiet.
It was that kind of absolute silence where the carpet swallows every footstep and the walls block out all outside noise.
Jiang Chen walked ahead and stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor.
A French phrase was engraved on the brass nameplate beside the door frame.
"Àilleurs."
Lin Wan read it softly. "What does it mean?"
"Elsewhere."
She was momentarily stunned.
Yinlu, "Elsewhere."
Leaving the mundane routine to retreat to a place that belongs nowhere.
Jiang Chen swiped the card and pushed open the door.
Lin Wan's breath hitched for a beat.
The entire wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows.
Seamless glass over ten meters wide acted like a giant screen, laying out the entire Jiang City skyline before her eyes without reservation.
The river surface stretched out in the night, the lights from both banks extending from beneath her feet to the edge of her vision. The cruise ships on the water trailed long wakes, like the tails left behind by meteors streaking across the night sky.
The city lights cast reflections on the glass; at this moment, the boundary between interior and exterior, reality and illusion, became blurred.
Standing before the window, she felt as if she were suspended above the river, with the heart of the entire city beneath her feet.
The room had no walls.
There were no partitions between the living room, bedroom, and bathroom; the areas were only divided by floor materials and a few steps of varying heights.
A large circular bed faced the floor-to-ceiling windows, its ivory-white linens bearing subtle textures, and the pillows were as fluffy as freshly baked bread.
By the window, a bathtub carved from a single block of stone was set into a marble platform, directly facing the river view.
Scented candles were already lit, their flames casting small reflections on the glass window. Beside them, a bottle of Perrier-Jouët was chilling in an ice bucket.
There was no main light in the room.
All light sources were hidden within the architecture—indirect lighting from the ceiling and light strips along the baseboards. The light spilled out after being filtered through layers, as gentle as diluted moonlight.
A warm fragrance filled the air, with a base of cedar and frankincense mixed with a hint of powdery iris, like a study with a lit fireplace in the dead of winter.
Lin Wan stood at the doorway, not moving inside.
She suddenly felt that the high heels she had worn for two years, with their slightly worn heels, were not worthy of the carpet beneath her feet.
Jiang Chen noticed her hesitation. "What's wrong?"
Lin Wan turned to look at him, her voice very low. "Do you know how much this suite costs per night?"
"I don't know."
"You booked it without knowing?"
"I didn't look at the price."
Lin Wan took a deep breath. "You don't look at the price when booking a hotel?"
"I look at the location and the view."
His tone was flat. "Yinlu has the best location, and this room has the best view."
He paused, his gaze landing on her face.
"Besides, didn't you say you didn't want tonight to just end like this?"
Lin Wan's breath hitched again.
She looked at him, looking into the calm yet surging sea in the depths of his eyes.
"So?"
"So," he said, "I want to give you a night that won't end."
The words were spoken very softly.
But Lin Wan felt they were as heavy as a stone cast into the deepest lake of her heart, the ripples spreading out circle by circle until even her fingertips felt slightly numb.
She didn't say anything.
She took a step forward, her high heels stepping onto the carpet she felt she didn't deserve.
Then she turned around, faced him, and reached out her hand.
"Come in."
Jiang Chen looked at her outstretched hand for two seconds, then took it.
His grip was neither light nor heavy, like holding something he was afraid to crush but also afraid to let go of.
Lin Wan pulled him inside, let go of his hand, and turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The river view outside stretched out quietly in the night, the water flowing silently, reflecting the starlight at the edge of the sky.
The city lights cast reflections on the glass like a fluid oil painting.
She saw Jiang Chen's reflection walk up behind her, stopping half a step away.
"Lin Wan."
"Yes?"
"When I asked you in the car if you were sure, I was actually very nervous."
Lin Wan looked at his calm expression in the glass reflection. "You didn't look like it."
"I was faking it."
She let out a laugh. "And now?"
"I'm not nervous anymore."
"Why?"
"Because you pulled me in."
Lin Wan turned around to face him.
The distance between them was incredibly close. She tilted her head up to look at him, and he looked down at her.
The lights from outside shone in from the side, casting a profile of light and shadow on his face.
"Jiang Chen, do you know? You are the most silver-tongued person I've ever met."
"Silver-tongued?"
"Yes."
She said, "Every single word hits exactly the right spot to make one's heart race."
Jiang Chen lowered his head slightly, his gaze landing on her face. "Then is your heart racing now?"
Lin Wan didn't answer.
She took his hand and placed it over her heart.
Through the fabric, he could feel her heartbeat.
It was very fast.
Jiang Chen's fingers tightened slightly. "It seems it is racing."
Lin Wan looked at the surging dark tide in his eyes and said softly, "You said just now you wanted to give me a night that won't end. Then do you know what it means when one person says that to another?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means..." She let go of his hand and reached up to touch his face, her fingertips tracing his brow bone, the bridge of his nose, and his lips.
"She is willing to set all rationality aside and trust only her intuition."
Jiang Chen's breathing grew heavy.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Lin Wan's face was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
It was much faster than she had imagined.
It turned out his calm was only on the surface; his heart was just like hers, its rhythm long since disrupted.
"Lin Wan."
"Yes."
"Starting from today," his voice came from above her, deep and resolute, "your composure belongs to you, but your lack of it... belongs to me."
Lin Wan's eyes grew hot in an instant.
She buried her face in his chest and let out a muffled laugh. "The things you say are really unfair."
"What things?"
"The things that make me want to cry."
"Then don't cry."
He gently patted her back. "Your eyes will be swollen tomorrow, and you'll lose the Moot Court."
Lin Wan burst out laughing, her laughter tinged with a bit of moisture.
She lifted her head from his embrace, the corners of her eyes a bit red, but her lips were curved in a beautiful smile.
"Jiang Chen."
"Yes."
"Lower your head."
Jiang Chen lowered his head.
Lin Wan stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Out on the river, the last cruise ship slowly passed by. The sound of its horn filtered through the glass, dull and distant.
The city lights glowed one by one, and the river water flowed silently.
And in the center of this room, two people embraced and kissed, like two trees with intertwining roots, planting themselves in each other on this night.