"I..." Serena couldn't help but take a step back. "I... don't know him!"
"Don't know him?!" Staring at her face, he took out his phone from his pocket. "Should I video call my grandfather right now and ask him whether or not he knows you?!"
"Uhh..."
Serena pursed her lips, feeling a bit panicked inside.
If he really made that video call, wouldn't it immediately expose the fact that she just lied?!
But if she stopped him from calling, then it would look even more suspicious!
What should she do?!
Just then, a familiar and comforting voice sounded like music to her ears: "Serena!"
Serena quickly turned and looked toward the elevator.
Xavier, dressed in a dark black suit and looking exceptionally handsome, was walking over.
Serena silently let out a breath of relief and smiled as she went to greet him, "You're here!"
She rarely took the initiative to approach him.
Most of the time, he would cover over ninety percent of the distance between them, and she would only make up the remaining ten.
Xavier's eyes lit up with joy. When Serena got close, he naturally pulled her into his arms.
Looking down with affection in his eyes, he asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Serena subconsciously glanced in Christan's direction and whispered, "I ran into a tricky one! By the way, this friend of yours, the big star, is really not easy to deal with!"
Xavier curled his lips into a smirk, lowered his head, and lightly nibbled her ear, "Tell me about it! In this world, apart from you, the only person who gives me a headache is him!"
Not far away, watching the two of them acting lovey-dovey like no one else was around, Christan felt an unexpected tightness in his chest.
"Hey! This is a public place-can you two dial it down a bit?!" He blurted out before he could stop himself.
Xavier turned his head and smiled at him, "Look at that, our superstar can't even bear to watch!"
Then he lifted his head, preparing to pull Serena along with him as he walked toward Christan.
Unexpectedly, a soft hand wrapped around his neck-Serena, in a rare moment of initiative, embraced him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
Xavier looked at her in shock and delight, whispering, "Serena, you're acting out of character today!"
"What?!" Serena raised a flirtatious eyebrow, "You don't like me being out of character?!"
"Of course I like it! I love it to death!" the man said hoarsely, lowering his head and rubbing his nose affectionately against her neck. "I wish I could carry you back to the room right now!"
The sensation tickled her, and Serena playfully dodged.
Taking the chance, she stole a quick, provocative glance at Christan.
Christan clenched his teeth, his deep eyes flashing with frustration.
Irritably, he said, "Enough! If you want to get all touchy-feely, do it in your room!"
With that, he turned to go back.
"Christan, wait up!" Xavier called after him.
Christan stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around.
He didn't know why, but the intimacy between Xavier and Serena filled him with an unusual aversion.
It wasn't as if he hadn't seen couples being affectionate before, but never had it made him feel so suffocated and inexplicably angry like now.
Xavier gently patted Serena's back, signaling her to take it easy.
Afraid of truly angering the superstar idol with a million fangirls and making trouble for Xavier, Serena decided not to push it further and reluctantly let go.
The two walked up to Christan.
"So, Christan, what do you think? How's this new hotel of the X Group?"
"It's alright," Christan replied flatly.
"Clearly, you haven't tried out the hot springs yet!" Xavier said confidently. "The water here is all genuine underground hot spring water-not a drop of it is artificially heated. The minerals in it are rare and diverse, and one soak really does relax your whole body. I highly recommend that you..."
He turned and glanced at Vega.
Seeing her looking shy and blushing, he smiled knowingly. "I suggest you take your friend along and give it a try!"
Vega grew a little embarrassed and awkwardly greeted him, "Hello, School Hunk!"
Xavier nodded, looking surprised as he gave her a thumbs-up. "Vega, you've really got guts!"
"Huh?! What?!"
"This Movie King is notoriously hard to deal with! In all these years, I've never seen him fall for any woman. But you've managed to stir his heart-that's impressive!"
"No... it's not like that!" Vega quickly waved her hands, denying it.
"No need to be shy!" Xavier winked at her, with a look that said, No need to explain, I get it.
Afraid that Christan would misunderstand and think she had been saying things behind his back, Vega panicked and got flustered.
She stammered, unsure of how to explain.
"I'm just friends with Miss Vega," Christan said coldly.
"Who would believe that?!" Xavier grinned. "In the past, I've never seen you bring any other female friends to a hotel!"
"I said-just! Friends!"
His frigid tone instantly silenced everyone.
Xavier was stunned for a moment, then frowned. "Okay, okay, just friends. No need to shout!"
Holding Serena's hand, he added in a protective tone, "What if you scared Serena?!"
Christan's face darkened even more!
His eyes locked on the hands Xavier and Serena were holding, and the stuffy feeling in his chest only worsened!
Finally, he averted his gaze and said coldly, "I'm not feeling well. I'll go rest."
With that, he turned and walked off without looking back.
Bang! The door slammed shut behind him.
Xavier frowned and muttered, "What's with him?! Did someone step on his tail? Why's he so grumpy?!"
He turned to look at Vega.
Vega looked confused and spread her hands. "Don't look at me. You heard it yourself-the Movie King and I are just friends. I don't know anything!"
He turned to Serena.
Serena snorted in disdain, "Told you so-Christan is moody and unpredictable! Vega, you better stay away from him!"
Inside the room, Christan leaned against the door. Hearing Serena's words, his face turned utterly stormy.
***