Her long eyelashes fluttered slowly. Ugh... Rolling over against the mattress, Vivian finally took in her surroundings through a thick fog of morning grogginess.
Wait, this definitely wasn't her bedroom!
Vivian went on high alert, her remaining sleepiness vanishing in an instant. She sat up fast, scanning the unfamiliar room, as panic started to set in.
"Oh, no!" She hurriedly pulled back the duvet to check under the covers.
Seeing that her clothes were completely intact and relatively tidy, Vivian let out a massive sigh of relief. She rubbed her messy, bedhead hair and slowly swung her legs out of bed.
After patting her flushed, burning cheeks and taking a steadying breath, she finally mustered up the courage to open the bedroom door.
"Look who's finally awake. There's a brand-new toothbrush and a fresh towel set up for you in the bathroom, go wash up," Nick said, giving the dazed Vivian a warm look while setting a fresh breakfast spread onto the dining table.
"About last night..." Vivian stared at Nick, who seemed completely calm and normal, totally at a loss for how to start the conversation.
"You had a bit too much to drink last night. When I tried to get your address to call you a ride, you flat out refused to tell me where you lived, so I just put you in the guest room to sleep it off," Nick said with an easy smile.
"Oh, right, about last night..." Vivian looked intently at Nick, clearly wanting to ask for details but unable to bring herself to say the words.
"Nothing happened last night."
Nick quickly cut in to clear the air, then looked at the flustered Vivian and teased with a smirk, "Why? Did you want something to happen?"
"Drop dead, Nick!" Vivian stomped her slippered foot against the floor and quickly ducked inside the bathroom to get away from him.
Watching her hurry off, Nick couldn't help but shake his head with an amused smile. This girl's actual tolerance was pretty high; after finishing off that entire bottle of wine, the two of them, feeling a bit buzzed, had somehow killed half a bottle of bourbon left over from his last housewarming party.
Afterward, Nick had intended to call Ryan to get her home, but seeing that Vivian was already completely dead to the world, he gave up on the idea and carried her into the guest room. As for himself, he had simply collapsed onto his own bed and blacked out.
By the time he woke up, it was already past noon. He figured Vivian would be up by then, but she was still sound asleep. Nick chose not to disturb her; instead, he cleaned up the mess from the night before and started prepping breakfast—or rather, an early lunch.
He simmered a slow pot of traditional rice porridge, then followed a cooking video tutorial to roll out two scallion pancakes, steamed two bowls of smooth egg custard, and stir-fried two refreshing vegetable dishes. Except for the scallion pancakes—where he completely misjudged the heat and left them on the stove too long, making them a bit too brittle and hard—the rest of the meal turned out beautifully.
By the time she finished washing up, Vivian was completely awake. When she stepped back into the dining area, she was back to her cheerful, confident self from yesterday, acting as if she didn't remember a single second of the awkwardness from a few minutes ago.
Crunch!
"Your scallion pancakes are way too hard," Vivian complained playfully, picking up a piece with her chopsticks to show him.
"Uh, it's my first time making them. I couldn't get the heat right and I was terrified the inside wouldn't be cooked through, so I completely lost track of time. Just bear with it," Nick said, a sheepish look hitting his face.
Vivian let out a soft chuckle and continued to happily bite into the crispy pancake.
"By the way, your dad and mom seemed to have called you a million times last night," Nick noted with a light smile.
"Oh, crap—did you pick up?" Vivian hurriedly pulled her phone out of her pocket to inspect the logs.
Nick shook his head immediately. "Are you kidding? How would I dare pick up a call from your parents? If they knew you stayed over at my place, it would be the end of me."
"Pfft, total coward!" Vivian rolled her eyes at him, then tapped her blank screen and sighed, "The battery is completely dead. I'll deal with them later."
After comfortably finishing her bowl of steamed egg custard, Vivian set down her spoon, looked across the table at Nick, and asked, "Are you hitting the road for your hometown the day after tomorrow?"
Nick grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth. "Yeah. I haven't been back to see my family for the holidays in several years. I have to spend some quality time with them this year no matter what."
Vivian nodded understandingly, then pressed, "How many days will you be gone?"
"We'll see. I'll head back right after the New Year holiday clears. We still have teams working overtime back at the office, so I want to get back early to show them some appreciation," Nick replied with a smile.
Vivian cast a long glance at him, her eyes softening into a warm smile. "Then the second you get back to Tampa, dinner is completely on my tab."
"Are you going to cook it yourself?"
Vivian raised an eyebrow, her competitive side flaring up. "What, do you think my cooking skills aren't up to par?"
"Not at all. I'll make sure to bring a huge appetite to taste it," Nick laughed.
"That's more like it."
Vivian flashed a satisfied smile and stood up. "Alright, I'm full. Now I need to head back to my place and catch up on some sleep."
"Do you need me to have someone drive you?" Nick offered, walking toward the door.
Vivian waved her hand. "No need, I'm completely sober now."
Watching Vivian's carefree departure, Nick shook his head with an easy smile, picked his spoon back up, and continued eating his warm porridge.
Aside from a few teams from marketing staying on duty, there were also one or two project groups in the labs who had volunteered to work overtime through the holidays. The rest of the employees had already started heading home over the past two days, while Nick had to wait until these final groups cleared out before he could officially leave.
As the holiday fast approached, the festive atmosphere grew heavy across the city. Although traditional fireworks were strictly banned by city codes, the occasional illicit pop echoing through the streets served as a clear indicator that the holidays had officially arrived.
As early as a month ago, his family had started urging him to come home for the New Year. And over these past two weeks, the phone calls had been basically constant.
Despite a bit of underlying hesitation about navigating the small-town social dynamics again, he couldn't resist the pull of family ties. Especially his younger sister—the excited tone her voice carried every single time she called made his heart soften completely.
"How's the packing going?" Nick asked, stepping into the living area where Ryan was sorting gear.
Ryan gestured toward the two remaining bags resting on the floor. "Just these last two left, boss. Everything else is already loaded into the car."
"Excellent, let's go." Nick took one final look around the penthouse, then closed the door and headed to the elevator alongside Ryan.
Nick's hometown sat just over four hundred kilometers outside the main hub of Anxi. Even taking the highway under normal conditions, the drive usually took four or five hours. However, because of the massive holiday travel rush, the roads were packed with heavy traffic. Navigating the constant stop-and-go gridlock ultimately stretched their trip to nearly eight hours.
Having set out early in the morning, it was already three or four in the afternoon by the time their car finally cleared the highway exit ramp.
As his personal driver and bodyguard, Ryan accompanied him all the way home this time. Nick had originally felt it wasn't necessary for a simple family trip, but under the relentless persuasion of Wei Jun and Tyler, he ultimately agreed to let Ryan stay by his side.
The truth was, his status was completely different now; keeping a trained security specialist close by provided some indispensable peace of mind. Although he fundamentally disliked putting on pretentious corporate airs, he still had to pay attention to his personal safety. After all, you always have to be on guard; in the eyes of many, his success made him a prime target.
Ever since his identity had been leaked across the media during the last funding cycle, his family's modest home had been subjected to constant harassment from random solicitors and opportunists. Consequently, under his heavy persuasion, his father, Harold, finally agreed to move.
Over the span of their careers, his parents had managed to save up a solid nest egg. Originally, that money was strictly meant to help him buy a house and provide a wedding fund for his sister. But now, seeing how successful Nick had become, the two of them dropped that idea entirely, saving the portion intended for him for their retirement and his sister's future instead.
Then, using the money Nick had transferred directly to their account, Harold bought a move-in-ready villa situated inside an elite, high-end gated community next to a famous scenic nature reserve in their hometown.
The family had spent the months leading up to the holidays completely focused on interior decoration and furnishing, finally managing to move in just before the vacation went live. Because of this, Nick told Ryan to drive directly to this new villa complex.
However, to his immediate embarrassment, Nick discovered his car couldn't even get through the main entry gates of the luxury development.