“For now, let’s leave the Andrix situation as it is. Tomorrow, I’m taking you to Veloria,” Aiden said, his tone firm. “Veloria? Why? Don’t tell me you want to watch them film again.” I had no fond memories of that place; the thought alone put me in a foul mood. Aiden lightly tapped his fingers, then reached over and flicked my forehead. “Of course not. Veloria isn’t just about the film industry; the tourism there is amazing. I’m taking you to have some fun.” “But I don’t like traveling…” I never had, not since I was a kid. “Why do you look so unhappy?” Just thinking about the past made me shake my head. “You have no idea. When I was little, I went to the beach with my dad and got stung by a jellyfish. Then we went hiking in the forest, and I almost stepped on a trap. Another time, we tried the cable cars, but they hadn’t been serviced in years; I barely made it out alive.” “So, what—you’re cursed when you travel?” Aiden chuckled. “Exactly. I hate traveling. If you insist on dragging me along, you might as well kill me now.” “Alright, don’t be so dramatic. This trip will be perfectly safe.” I gave a dry laugh. “We’ll see.” “So, where are we going?” I asked. He smiled mysteriously. “You’ll know when we get there.” And mysterious he remained; even when we boarded the plane the next morning, he still hadn’t said a word. My curiosity was eating me alive. I spent the entire night tossing and turning, running through every possible guess, and still came up empty. By morning, I showed up to meet Aiden with a massive pair of dark circles under my eyes. He took one look at me, makeup and all, with my dark circles still obvious, and said with a mix of concern and amusement, “Sleep on the plane. I’ll wake you when we arrive.” I nodded and leaned against his shoulder, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.When we got off the plane and arrived at the hotel, the receptionist informed us there was only one room left. I shot Aiden a look. “Should we… maybe try another hotel?” He didn’t even hesitate. “This one’s fine.” And just like that, he dragged me into the room. His expression was calm and unreadable, but my nerves were a mess. “Aiden, I really don’t think we should share a room…” “But we’re a couple. Sharing a room shouldn’t be a problem, right?” The sly look on his face made me freeze. “Aiden, can’t we sleep separately? I’m… not ready for that yet.” He lowered his head, the corner of his lips curling. “Don’t worry. Everyone has a first time.” What kind of line was that? I curled up on the bed, trembling like a cornered rabbit. Then Aiden walked over. I instinctively scooted to the side, only to watch him lean down, plant his hand on the mattress beside me, and grab one of the blankets. A moment later, he was lying on the couch—still in his suit—with his eyes closed. “Go to sleep,” he said. It took me a second to process what had just happened; for a moment, I really thought he was about to force me. “Aiden, you’re such a gentleman,” I said, my voice soft with gratitude. “I’m not,” he replied coolly. “And if you say another word, I’m getting in that bed.” I froze. “Then I’ll shut up and sleep right now.” I clamped my eyes shut in an instant. After a while, I still wasn’t asleep, but the steady sound of breathing from the couch told me that Aiden had drifted off without a care in the world. I was stunned. How could he fall asleep so easily, in a place like this? “Aiden,” I whispered cautiously.The breathing stopped immediately. A moment later, his voice—deep and husky with sleep—floated over. “What is it? Nightmare?” “No… I just can’t sleep.” “Then try harder. If you don’t sleep, you won’t have any energy for tomorrow.” “I’ve been trying, but it’s no use. I don’t know why I suddenly can’t fall asleep.” The truth was obvious, with the mighty CEO in the same room, there was no way I could relax enough to sleep. But I couldn’t say that out loud; I didn’t dare risk irritating him. “So what do we do now?” he asked, sounding resigned. I thought for a moment, then brightened. “Why don’t you tell me a story?” “I don’t know how to tell stories,” he said flatly. “When I couldn’t sleep as a kid, my dad always told me stories to help me drift off.” He was quiet for a few seconds, then said, “Fine. Varken’s construction plan for this year is as follows, full-scale implementation is scheduled to start on August thirtieth. To ensure safety, we must—” “Stop! Aiden, I said story, not accident reports!” I stared into the darkness, at his barely visible silhouette, and felt utterly speechless. How could anyone’s emotional intelligence be this low? “What do you want to hear, then?” Seeing that he was truly clueless, I tried to drop the heaviest hint I could. “Something soft… sweet… maybe with animals in it?” He frowned, thinking, then finally pulled out his phone. “Bedtime stories for girlfriends…” he muttered as he searched. After scrolling for what felt like forever, he began to read, “The little prince loved cherries, and the whole kingdom was filled with cherry trees. Tiny cherry sprites lived up in the branches. He wanted so badly for the trees to bear those bright, sweet cherries, but no matter how long he waited, the branches stayed bare. Then one day, a cherry sprite popped out and said, ‘Give me a kiss, and the cherries will appear.’ So, the little prince puckered up and kissed the sprite. The sprite’s cheeks went red, and just like that, the trees were heavy with blushing cherries. The prince pouted again, and the sprite, still flushed, said, ‘That’s enough, the cherries are sweet enough.’ But the prince just blinked and said, ‘No… you’re sweeter than the cherries.’”Aiden’s voice was soft and warm, with that signature husky edge to it. I thought his voice would keep me wide awake, heart pounding; but as the steady rhythm of his words filled the room, my eyelids grew heavy, and before I knew it, I had drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. I didn’t even remember how I fell asleep.