Next door, Alexander Gale sat in the bath, his muscular chest bare, one hand resting on the edge, the other holding a phone, lazily making a call.
"I'm not in London these days, let's hold off on the project until I get back..."
"Yeah, let them fuss..."
"I'll return the day after tomorrow..."
Essen Reed listened quietly, his eyelashes trembling slightly when he heard this, and he lowered his gaze.
"Beep beep beep."
The timer went off, and the voice next door stopped.
Essen Reed turned off the timer, got up from the bath with a gentle movement that barely stirred the water.
After getting out, he wrapped himself in a white bathrobe, quietly left with his dirty clothes, and after the squeaky door closed, all was silent.
Alexander Gale hung up the call and, two minutes later, also got up, wrapping himself in a bathrobe before leaving the room.
Actually, he really disliked the smell of herbal medicine, but suddenly wanted to give it a try.
He was only a few minutes behind Essen Reed when he saw the hotel receptionist holding Essen Reed's pale wrist, hurrying him towards the elevator while muttering.
"Oh my, you're seeking death, your cold just got better, and after soaking in the hot spring, you shouldn't wear so little, do you know? It's still so cold outside."
"If the boss finds out, you'll be crying from a scolding!"
"Really worrying..."
The receptionist pressed the elevator button, "Hurry up and put on your clothes... Uh, Mr. Gale..."
As the elevator doors were about to close, Alexander Gale, who had walked over with large strides, pressed to open them again.
The receptionist greeted him respectfully.
He nodded slightly and entered, pressing the button to close the doors.
Essen Reed's grip on his clothes tightened, and he shrank back into the corner.
Just like last night, the difference was that both were dressed inappropriately, and both were wrapped in the same smell of herbal medicine.
Alexander Gale looked at Essen Reed in the reflection, his hair slightly damp, a few messy strands on his forehead, his cheeks, the exposed neck, and a small patch of chest all blushed, hugging his clothes and shrinking in the corner, looking like someone who had been bullied...
His thoughts drifted off, and when the elevator doors opened, he hadn't snapped back to reality.
The cold air from outside made Essen Reed shiver involuntarily, stepping past the man who stood still and quickly walked out.
Just before the elevator doors closed, Alexander Gale also followed out, inwardly cursing himself for being a beast.
In front of Essen Reed's room, Benjamin Reed, who had knocked for a long time without response, turned around and saw the two men coming out of the elevator one after the other, pausing for a few seconds, then noticing they were dressed similarly, his forehead throbbing.
"Essen Reed!"
The call squeezed out through clenched teeth made Essen Reed slow down, his flushed face crossing with a trace of guilt.
He tried to sound calm, whispering, "Brother..."
Benjamin Reed clenched his fist, pulled a smile for Alexander Gale behind him, then his gaze fell back on his brother's pale face, sternly saying, "You just got over a cold and you're acting up again! Hurry inside and put on some clothes!"
He pulled out a room card from the clothes he was holding, quickly entered the room, and closed the door, cutting off his brother's deadly stare.
Benjamin Reed glared at the closed door, adjusted his emotions, smiled at Alexander Gale, and asked, "Did you also go for a medicinal bath? How do you feel?"
Alexander Gale shrugged, "After soaking, I feel like a piece of herbal medicine."
"People not used to it really can't accept the smell, but after soaking, it's more comfortable than a regular hot spring."
"Hmm." He unlocked his own door, then suddenly turned, "Is that your brother?"
Benjamin Reed nodded, "Yeah, my brother Essen Reed, it's cold, so I had him stay here for a few days to soak in the medicinal bath for his health."
He mentally repeated the name Essen Reed, saying, "I'll take a shower first."
"Alright, I have to go to the company for a bit, you play with Jack Smith and the others."
"Hmm."
*
Essen Reed washed off some of the smell of herbal medicine from his body and crawled back into bed for a nap.
Half-asleep, he heard a knock on the door, got up, and with messy hair, went to open it.
Alexander Gale stood outside in a white casual outfit, a gentle smile on his lips, his voice pleasant, "Sorry..."
Essen Reed, still not quite awake, looked at him confusedly, "Hmm?"
The emotions in his eyes were unclear, he pointed to his own room with the door ajar, "Can't your hotel's air conditioning heat?"
The temperature outside was low, but the room was warm. Essen Reed, wearing only a thin pajama set, instinctively wanted to close the door a bit more when the cold air blew in.
Alexander Gale thought he was going to close the door and reached out to stop it.
His gaze lingered on the well-defined large hand on the door for two seconds, then stepped back two steps, opening the door wide to let the warmth from the room spread out. Just waking up, his voice was a bit nasal, "It can."
Alexander Gale noticed he was wearing very little, his eyes flickered, and he took the initiative to close the door slightly, leaving only a crack, "Then the air conditioning in my room seems to be broken, it can only cool."
Essen Reed looked at him through the crack in the door, muttered, "You should call the front desk, there's a phone in the room."
"..."
After a moment of silence, he withdrew his hand, "Oh."
"Click."
Essen Reed closed the door.
Alexander Gale turned with an indifferent expression, returned to his room, and called the front desk with the phone.
"Knock knock knock."
Just after hanging up, there was a knock on the door.
He went to open it.
Essen Reed was wearing a beige wool coat, looking up at him with a pale face, "Did you call someone?"
Alexander Gale looked down at him, a smile appearing in his eyes, "I did, I thought your hotel's service was so advanced that someone arrived right after I hung up."
He smiled slightly but said nothing, standing at the door waiting for the maintenance staff to arrive.
Alexander Gale glanced at his pale lips, said, "You should go back to your room, it's too cold outside."
Essen Reed moved aside a bit, letting Alexander Gale block the cold air coming from the room, pretending nothing happened, "I'm not cold."
Alexander Gale's lips curved up, he didn't put on his coat, just draped it over his arm, leisurely following Essen Reed back to his room.