Chapter 100 Up to No Good
“Something cropped up at my end. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow afternoon.” After explaining himself, Alexander hung up and slammed his foot on the accelerator to enter the highway.
It was already evening and the distance from Melrose City to Oreus was around 200 kilometers. Without stopping on the way, he arrived at the hospital two hours later.
After he reached the door of the ward, he heard Courtney’s shrill scream.
“What are you doing? Let me go!”
Without giving it a second thought, he opened the door and ran inside.
On the bed, a man with bandages on his head circled his arms around her waist. Even though the bandages had covered his face, it was clear that the man was quite good-looking. After she struggled to be free from his embrace, he actually jumped out of the bed to catch her.
Upon seeing that, Alexander’s expression immediately changed. In a few steps, he stepped forward and caught the man’s collar while using another hand to pin his arms to his back, making him scream in pain.
“Hey, let him go now. He just finished an operation. You can’t do this to him.” Courtney anxiously stomped on the ground. “Let him go!”
Alexander frowned as he threw the man onto the bed and coldly replied, “There’s no pity in seeing such a rude person dying.”
After the man heard Alexander’s words, he jolted in fear and climbed back to the bed. Then, he pulled the blanket over himself while only revealing a pair of eyes that darted around in anxiousness.
The room only returned to silence after that.
Courtney heaved a sigh of relief before looking at Alexander with mixed feelings. “Why are you here?”
“My employee has knocked someone over. I need to come over to take a look so that others won’t generate rumors and comments that couldn’t be prevented in the future.”
His reply was solid and firm; it even sounded slightly fierce. However, he was merely taking advantage of her inexperience in the company—since she had not been working in Sunhill Hotel for long, she did not know that there was a special department in the company to handle such matters.
“The police have already investigated it and I have a dashcam on my dashboard. It’s true that he ran to the road all of a sudden, so I didn’t have enough time to stop. However, I was also using my phone to navigate, so I have to bear some responsibility too. Hence… Sorry.”
Courtney thought he was there to blame her.
Alexander scowled and looked slightly impatient. “What are you sorry for? I heard from your assistant that you knocked into a homeless man. Is it him?”
The man on the bed looked clean and tall. Apart from the childish and naive vibe he radiated, he did not look like a homeless man after Alexander appraised him from top to bottom.
Courtney was also slightly confused. “But when I knocked into him, the clothes that he wore were indeed ragged, like he hadn’t taken a shower for a long time. His entire body had a pungent smell. After examining him, the doctor announced that there was a blood clot in his head that seemed to have been there before the accident happened.”
“So, you knocked into a person who already has something wrong with his head.” Alexander summarized the entire situation with one straightforward sentence. “What about his family? Were you able to contact them?”
She shook her head. “There are no contacts with him whatsoever.”
“After his injuries have healed, just send him to the temporary home for the homeless in the city.”
In a few words, he decided the future of the ‘homeless man’.
“I don’t think that’s the best way. After all, I’m the one who knocked into him, so I have to figure out where he is from. What if his family is looking for him? Apart from that, there’s something wrong with him and there’s a possibility that it was caused by me.”
Upon hearing that, Alexander’s face darkened. “Whatever.”
Seeing that he was about to leave, Courtney chased after him. “It’s already so late. Where are you going?” The night has already fallen. He’s not going back to Melrose City overnight, is he?
Sure enough, he threw her a glance before answering in a displeased tone, “I’m going back since I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Do you think I’m that free?”
He had driven all the way just to check if she was fine—and not to see her causing more troubles for herself.
“It’s too late.” She frowned. “The weather forecast says that there’s a thunderstorm later at night. I think you better stay the night and leave tomorrow morning.”
Earlier in the morning, the meteorologist in Oreus announced that there would be a thunderstorm later. Since there were many country roads on the route leading to Melrose City, chances of cars skidding off the slopes were high. It’s better to avoid what-ifs.
“Where can I stay?”
“It’s not far from Oreus and the hostel I’ve been staying at has a decent environment. Would you consider staying there?”
“Sure.” Alexander agreed without any hesitation. After shooting her a glance, he added. “Let’s go. I haven’t eaten yet.”
It’s that easy to persuade him? After being stunned for a moment, Courtney quickly caught up to him.
After both of them left the hospital, there was a clap of thunder and in an instant, heavy rain fell from the sky. It landed on the windscreen with such force that even the wipers could not dissipate them.
He sat in her car as they made the slow drive to the city. Even though it was only a few kilometers, it took them around half an hour to arrive.
“Here it is.” Courtney closed the umbrella and led Alexander to the hostel. Then, she asked the receptionist. “Are there any more rooms? Please arrange a room for him.”
“I’m sorry. All the rooms are fully booked, Miss Hunter.” The receptionist looked apologetic. “Because of the heavy rain, a few tourists who were planning to leave have extended their stay for another night. I’m afraid there aren’t many hostels here with empty rooms.”
“What?” Courtney froze on the spot. Now, this is awkward—I’m the one who dragged him here, yet there are no rooms left…
“Miss Hunter, why don’t you share a room with your boyfriend? The room that you are staying on the second floor is the largest room. There won’t be any problem accommodating another person inside.”
The receptionist smiled meaningfully.
“He’s not—”
“Sure.” Before Courtney could deny anything, Alexander interrupted her.
She looked at him with widened eyes. Just as she was about to say something, he suddenly pulled her to the second floor without saying another word.
“No, wait. What are you doing?” As soon as they reached the room, she pressed her hands on his hands as he closed the door before asking in a low voice. “You are not planning to share a room with me, are you?”
“You were the one who asked me to stay the night,” he replied indignantly.
“Well, what I meant is for you to stay in a room alone. What are you up to by sharing a room with me?”
“That’s fine. I’ll take the bed while you sleep on the couch.”
Alexander ignored her and immediately walked into the room. After looking around, he sat on the bed.
“Why?” Courtney was unhappy to hear that. “This is my room. Why do I have to sleep on the couch?”
“Well, you sleep on the bed then. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“This is much better.” As soon as she said that, Courtney could not help but want to slap herself. Why am I so easily convinced by him? “No, absolutely not. I’ll find another place for you to stay in.”
“What are you worried about?” Alexander looked at her with honesty. “Are you afraid that I might do something to you? Don’t worry, I’m not that desperate.”
Upon hearing that, she was immediately annoyed. “What do you mean by ‘desperate’? You are clearly up to no good. Don’t think that I don’t know what you did to me during that night in Maldives.”
Although she suffered from seasickness and a fever because of the rain, she felt the kiss that Alexander secretly gave her. She was merely pretending to be oblivious all along.
With that, silence hung in the air.
After a long time, he walked toward her. In a low voice that seemed to have been brightened by a spark in the dark night, he teased, “So, what have I done to you that night?”
