Chapter 95

After a phone call, although Lee Hyori did not say anything to blame him and kept telling him not to worry, Zhang Chengyuan became even more concerned. He tossed and turned on the bed in the hotel room, unable to sleep. Suddenly, he thought, "At this moment, I should be by Hyori's side!"

Gradually, this thought grew stronger and more irresistible. Zhang Chengyuan jumped up, found a pen and a piece of paper in the room, and wrote: "Director Jang Ki-shang and all colleagues, I am very sorry, but I have a very urgent and necessary matter to attend to, so I need to return to Seoul. I will definitely be back by tomorrow afternoon. It is inconvenient to seek permission at this late hour, and I apologize for leaving without notice!"

After writing, Zhang Chengyuan placed the note on the table in the center of the room, pressed it down with something, and then quietly went downstairs. He greeted the security personnel in the parking lot and drove away.

Racing all the way, he arrived at Lee Hyori's apartment building around 1:00 AM. The two-hour drive took him only a little over an hour. Then, he almost silently slipped into Lee Hyori's bedroom and saw her lying face down on the bed, fast asleep, with tear marks still visible at the corners of her eyes. He thought, "Sister Hyori must have been telling herself to be strong, but she couldn't help crying."

Worried that Lee Hyori would feel uncomfortable if she slept like this, Zhang Chengyuan carefully lifted the blanket, gently turned her over to her back, and then covered her again. He touched the pillow and found it was wet with tears, so he quickly took a new one from the wardrobe and replaced it. After taking off his outer clothes, he got into bed and held Lee Hyori.

Perhaps awakened by Zhang Chengyuan's touch, or sensing his warm and gentle presence in her sleep, Lee Hyori woke up with sleepy eyes. Seeing Zhang Chengyuan lying beside her, she suddenly turned over and hugged him tightly, murmuring, "Chengyuan, it's you, Sister misses you so much!" Then, she kissed Zhang Chengyuan's lips, pulled up his undershirt with her hands, and began to caress and kiss him.

Zhang Chengyuan's desire was immediately aroused, but he was concerned that it might not be good for Lee Hyori to do this after crying so much, so he held back and gently embraced her, whispering in her ear, "Sister, let's do it tomorrow. You should rest well tonight."

Lee Hyori seemed to ignore him, as if she hadn't heard at all, and continued to tease him. A few minutes later, Zhang Chengyuan could no longer bear it. He quickly took off his underwear, turned over, and pressed Lee Hyori beneath him, thinking, "If anything, I'll help Sister Hyori recover tomorrow!" In such a situation, even a sage couldn't resist, let alone Zhang Chengyuan, who had long broken his vow of celibacy.

After their intimate moment, Lee Hyori immediately fell back into a deep sleep. Throughout the entire time, she only called Zhang Chengyuan's name and did not exchange a single word with him. Zhang Chengyuan suddenly realized that Lee Hyori had never been fully awake, as if she was in a state of half-sleep, like being drunk. He felt secretly pleased, thinking, "It seems Sister Hyori still cares about me a lot and desires me deeply, and she's not angry with me at all. This is great!" With this thought, he held Lee Hyori tightly, as if trying to convey his joy, gratitude, and love through his skin to her heart.

In the early morning, Zhang Chengyuan woke up first. Looking through the curtains, he saw it was still early, so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, still holding Lee Hyori. Soon, Lee Hyori also woke up. Feeling that she was being held, she turned her head and kissed Zhang Chengyuan's face, then suddenly realized he shouldn't be there and immediately exclaimed, "Chengyuan, Chengyuan! Wake up!" She reached out to push him.

Zhang Chengyuan opened his eyes and asked, "What's wrong, Sister?"

Lee Hyori asked, "Why are you here?"

Zhang Chengyuan smiled and said, "I felt that you missed me very much and needed me, so I came back in the middle of the night."

Lee Hyori sat up, looking down at Zhang Chengyuan, and scolded, "Speak properly, don't be so flippant!" As soon as she sat up, she realized she was completely naked, blushed, and angrily said, "You came back and did that to me secretly, do you want to die!" She then slapped his strong chest a few times, but Zhang Chengyuan's body was sturdy, so he wasn't worried about being hurt.

Zhang Chengyuan didn't explain who had initiated things last night. He reached out, pulled Lee Hyori into his arms, and said in the most charming voice he could muster, "Sister, I missed you!" This always worked, and Lee Hyori's expression immediately softened.

Lee Hyori asked, "How did you run back to Seoul? What if I wasn't home?"

Zhang Chengyuan said in a sweet voice, "I could feel that you were at home." He wouldn't reveal that as long as Lee Hyori wore the necklace, earrings, and bracelet he had given her, he could always sense her location and physical condition because these pieces of jewelry contained his true qi. Whenever they were worn by Lee Hyori and her own qi was activated, Zhang Chengyuan could easily sense her.

Back in 2000, when he first gave gifts to the four sisters, he had done this. Since then, all the gifts he gave to the sisters, especially those worn on the body, were treated the same way. He did this not to monitor the sisters, as these pieces of jewelry had no other function besides letting him sense their location and physical condition. He did it to be prepared for any emergencies.

After a while, Lee Hyori suddenly asked, "Chengyuan, is Sister's acting really that bad?" It was clear she was still quite affected by the criticism from many people who blamed her poor acting for the failure of the drama.

Zhang Chengyuan looked into Lee Hyori's eyes and said sincerely, "Sister Hyori, although your acting isn't the best, as a new actress, your performance is definitely qualified. Moreover, the character you played, Kang Jin-ah, is very similar to your real personality, so it can be considered a natural performance. You should believe in yourself; you did a great job!" He looked at her intensely, afraid that any flicker or slight movement would make her think he was lying.

Feeling Zhang Chengyuan's sincerity, Lee Hyori's mood improved significantly. She joked, "Chengyuan, how does Sister's acting compare to yours?"

Zhang Chengyuan hesitated, "Well, well, there's still a bit of a gap."

"How about compared to Yoo Ri?" Lee Hyori continued.

"Still, still a bit of a gap," Zhang Chengyuan's voice was even lower.

"How about compared to your senior, Kim Tae-hee?" Lee Hyori's voice rose slightly.

"About the same, but she has more experience," Zhang Chengyuan said tactfully. It was difficult for him to lie to Lee Hyori.

Lee Hyori suddenly smiled, "It seems you weren't lying to me just now." She had a good understanding of her own acting skills. Compared to Yoo Ri and Kim Tae-hee, she was still inexperienced and couldn't match them yet. If Zhang Chengyuan had said her acting could rival or even surpass theirs, she would have doubted his sincerity.

Zhang Chengyuan secretly sighed in relief, thinking, "Thank goodness I didn't say anything reckless, or Sister Hyori would definitely have scolded me."