What to do if I've locked myself in a book! - Chapter 7

Although she knew his arousal was a normal physical reaction, the man looked far too much like Ji Shi—and even his personality felt similar—making it hard for her not to confuse the two.

Ji Shi was usually a bit sharp-tongued, sometimes forceful in his actions, but they spent a lot of time together. When it really mattered, he always helped her. Their relationship had always been smooth, yet it had never crossed a line.

Cheng Ye carried her through the crowd. The eye-catching sight drew stares and plenty of whispers; some people even secretly took photos with their phones. He was, after all, the eldest son of the Cheng family, and no one had ever heard of him having a girlfriend.

“You can put me down now… so many people are watching. It’s really awkward…”

“Let’s get outside first. If I put you down now, you’ll be exposed…”

He trailed off. She suddenly realized her clothes were in disarray—getting down now really wouldn’t work.

“Alright. Thank you…”

“Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

“…”

That question stumped her. In the book, she didn’t have a home.

Just then, the prompt appeared again at the perfect moment:

【Go home with Cheng Ye.】

…

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Ye asked when he saw her expression change.

“Oh, nothing… Put me down once we’re somewhere quiet. I can go back on my own.”

“Okay.”

He carried her out of the building and set her down in a quiet spot by a pillar.

She hurriedly used his suit jacket to cover herself. He politely turned his back and waited until she put her underwear back on and tightened her robe.

“Thank you… achoo…”

She tied the sash and handed the jacket back. Cheng Ye waved it away. “Keep it on. You need it more.”

“Then let me have your contact info. I’ll return it another time.”

She was about to say goodbye when the weather suddenly turned again. The hail that had stopped earlier came roaring back with thunderclouds.

Boom—

Baseball-sized hailstones smashed down around their feet.

Cheng Ye grabbed her arm and pulled her under the awning. Within seconds, the ground began to shake. She could even see cracks splitting the asphalt across the street.

She was shocked. It seemed that if she didn’t follow the prompts, the weather wouldn’t just get worse—it would escalate into a disaster.

“Let’s go back inside for now,” Cheng Ye said.

Just as he was about to pull her in, she suddenly blurted out, “Um—can I stay at your place?”

“What?”

Cheng Ye thought he’d misheard. But she looked serious, leaving him confused—especially asking something like that in the middle of a violent storm.

“Just for tonight… My house caught fire. Everything burned down. I lost all my belongings. That’s why I’m dressed like this. And…”

She struggled to make up the lie while watching the worsening weather. Hail slammed down harder and harder, the cracks in the ground spreading.

Cheng Ye pulled her a few steps farther inside. He didn’t fully believe her, but he still took out an unregistered spending card and handed it to her. “Use this. Go stay at a hotel.”

She suddenly felt how shameless she must look. The man in front of her was clearly upright and decent—but in the face of a natural disaster, those feelings seemed trivial.

Just then—crack! A bolt of lightning tore through the dark sky. Together with the falling hail, it struck a tree across the street, igniting it in a flash as bright as day.

Chaos erupted all around them as people fled toward covered buildings.

“Cheng Ye! I need to tell you something! Please—can I go to your place?”

“Let’s get inside first.”

“No—you have to agree first!”