Audrey Sutton didn’t dare go in directly; she poked her head in first to look around. She didn’t see anyone, but she heard sounds coming from the bathroom near the inner room door.
"Ahem—" She deliberately coughed, signaling her arrival, and then stepped into the room.
When she looked toward the bathroom, out ca an auntie wearing a hotel uniform.
She was holding a cloth, wiping the washbasin, and smiled while saying sothing in Japanese to her.
Audrey Sutton didn’t quite understand, but just gave a silly, polite smile in return.
The auntie continued cleaning.
Audrey looked around the room; the big bed was neatly made, and a n’s suit was hanging on the rack by the bed, which she recognized as Shane Warner’s.
But she didn’t see him.
He was probably out having dinner.
Audrey had eaten on the flight, so she wasn’t feeling very hungry.
She sat at the edge of the bed for a while, but having no patience to wait idly, she picked up her bag and left the room.
Standing outside the hotel, she looked at the few branching roads at the intersection, unsure of which one to take.
She didn’t plan on having so serendipitous encounter like in a drama with Shane Warner; she just wanted to wander around to fill the waiting ti, so it wouldn’t feel so long and torturous.
Thinking about the collectible she missed out on last night, which was apparently sold here, she decided to try her luck.
She found a well-known rchandise store nearby, and after asking the staff, they regretfully said sothing in a long string of Japanese.
Audrey Sutton only understood the general aning, that the item she wanted was no longer available; the last one had just been sold. From the clerk’s gestures, she gathered they were suggesting she look at so other items.
Audrey wasn’t trying to kill ti originally, but knowing Barry Barrett was interested in these things, she contacted him and imdiately beca his human shopping cart.
This kind of place would take a whole day to explore thoroughly, but Audrey still had her own important matters in mind, so she left after a little more than an hour.
Looking at the clock tower across the street, it was still twenty minutes to eight. Not sure if Shane Warner was back at the hotel, Audrey entered a Japanese restaurant to eat a little sothing and pass the ti before returning.
But as she ate, she suddenly thought of sothing—what if Shane Warner saw her later and wouldn’t let her in?
With this thought, the food in front of her lost its appeal. She gulped down a couple of mouthfuls and hurried back to the hotel.
Standing at the elevator waiting for it, her eyes were glued to the decreasing numbers on the wall, and her heart began to tighten with nervousness.
"Sister-in-law?!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Audrey’s back stiffened, and she turned to see Lucian Quinn walking towards her. She guiltily glanced behind him, but the surroundings were empty with no sign of Shane Warner.
"When did you get here?"
Audrey gave a dry laugh and responded with a question: "Isn’t he with you?"
"Master Shane? No, he wasn’t with . I just finished up and got back. He said this morning he wanted to go out and buy so collectible or sothing."
The elevator door opened. After the people inside got out, the two of them walked in one after the other. Lucian Quinn pressed "16" and then looked down to ask Audrey, "Which floor are you going to?"
Audrey dryly chuckled, "The sixteenth as well."
Lucian nodded and then muttered, "I wonder since when Master Shane got interested in those things. He even asked us last night to get them for him on ti but we couldn’t. Faye helped him check and said they might be sold here, which is why he went out today. Who knows if he got it or not?"
Upon hearing this, Audrey felt there was hope. So he rembered what she said and was trying so hard to help her get it.
Whether he got it or not, she felt he had already given her the gift she most wanted.
At first, Audrey was worried Shane Warner might be tired of her, but seeing how he was running around to get the collectible, he was just mad. This ant she could still win him back.
Lucian Quinn’s room was at 1607, next to Shane Warner’s. Audrey stood outside 1608, dryly chuckling as she watched Lucian swipe his card to enter his room before sheepishly knocking on the door.
"Knock knock—"
There was no response. After about five or six seconds, she knocked again.
"Knock knock—"
Audrey pressed her ear to the door and faintly heard footsteps inside. Then, she heard his familiar voice, speaking fluently in Japanese, cautiously asking, "Who is it?"
Audrey swallowed and after a long struggle managed to squeeze out a less-than-perfect Japanese phrase: "Room cleaning."
She intentionally lowered her voice, afraid he’d recognize her and refuse to open the door.
Right after, Audrey heard him respond from inside with sothing, his Japanese was exceptionally fluent, and his voice particularly pleasant.
But... she didn’t understand.
Standing outside for a few seconds without the door opening, she belatedly guessed he had said sothing like "No need to clean."
Audrey pondered for a mont outside the door, then knocked on Lucian Quinn’s door next door.
He quickly ca to the door. "Sister-in-law."
Keeping her voice low, Audrey pointed at the door beside her. "Can you knock for ?"
Lucian, puzzled, paused for two seconds, then did as Audrey asked and knocked on Shane Warner’s door.
Audrey hid behind the door, watching as the door opened and hearing Shane Warner’s voice asking Lucian, "You’re back? How did it go?"
Lucian side-eyed Audrey hiding behind the door. Seeing her place a finger on her mouth to signal for silence, Lucian nonchalantly answered Shane Warner, "It went smoothly."
"Good. Book a morning flight back tomorrow."
"Alright."
"If there’s nothing else, go rest."
Lucian nodded but didn’t walk away. He glanced again at Audrey.
Seeing this, Shane Warner asked, "Is there anything else?"
Seeing Audrey motion for him to retreat, Lucian stepped back saying, "Nothing else. You should get so rest too."
"Hmm."
Once Lucian turned to walk away, Shane Warner reached out to close the door.
But then he felt an unexpected force outside preventing him from closing it. When he leaned out to see, a small head popped out, smiling cheekily at him.
In that instant, a trace of delight and surprise flashed through his eyes. That montary emotion was the most genuine, but before anyone could notice, he quickly suppressed the real emotion in his eyes.
He frowned, looking at her coldly.
"Hehe... surprised?" Audrey chuckled awkwardly, speaking to him in a slightly embarrassed tone.
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