M Mall – Part 3
Tuesday, continued …
Anna put on the dressing gown, securing the belt tightly around her waist. She walked out and joined Hou Yi on the couch, sitting down next to him. As soon as she was settled, she murmured, “I can’t believe that woman. She was so determined to push herself forward. I wonder what she wanted.”
Hou Yi glanced at Anna, realizing that underneath her dressing gown, she was likely still bare. “In this city, it’s common for men in business to have mistresses,” he said softly, his tone serious. “No, I don’t have a mistress, and I wouldn’t humiliate you like that during our marriage. But women like Sadie often move in and out of this lifestyle—trying to become the next wife, not just a mistress. Thank goodness you were quick on your feet; she was caught off guard by your reaction. Now she’s terrified about what we might do to her.”
Anna laughed softly. “That’s what we agreed on—show affection in public. Even with one person, if she’s a gossip, it’ll get around that you were here with your wife. That’s a rumour I want to get around.”
“If you’re okay with it,” Hou Yi said, his voice low and thoughtful, “we could add to the rumour.”
Anna looked at him, intrigued. “What’s your plan then?”
Before Hou Yi could respond, his phone rang. When he saw the caller ID, it was Assistant Wang, and he chose to ignore it. “Just a status update,” he murmured, before turning back to Anna. “What I thought was—my jacket slightly thrown to the side, my shirt undone, and your dressing gown half off, with us kissing, moving our hands on each other. It would reinforce the message that we implied earlier—how much we can’t keep our hands off each other.”
“I’d love to see Lu Jinhu and Yang Lin’s faces when they hear that rumour—that you were caught by the personal shopper not being able to keep your hands off your wife. Then when they realize it was us…” Anna smiled, her eyes glinting. “Why not? We only need to do it for a few seconds before she puts the card in to open the room.”
Hou Yi removed his jacket, letting it fall to the floor, and Anna took his tie, half-throwing it across the room. They both worked quickly, messing up their hair—Anna’s and Hou Yi’s—while he undid his shirt and pulled it out of his pants. Just as they finished, they heard the door being opened.
Anna undid the tie on her dressing gown, and Hou Yi pulled it off her shoulders, taking her in his embrace. Anna put her hands in his hair, and as their lips met, they heard Sadie’s voice, apologetic and shocked, “Oh my God, I am so sorry, CEO Hou, Madam Hou, I had no idea.”
Sadie’s reaction wasn’t just words—it was a desperate attempt to salvage something from this disaster. While Sadie was out arranging the clothes, she’d had to tell the other personal shoppers what she knew. Most had doubted her, but a few had sneaked a peek through the door when she returned. They couldn’t believe their eyes—the couple who had been dreaming of becoming Hou Yi’s next mistress had just been shattered. Sadie quickly shut the door, not wanting the scene to be seen any further.
After the door closed, Hou Yi looked up at Sadie and then turned back to Anna, his eyes apologetic. “Apologies, darling, I got a little carried away. The personal shopper’s back, hopefully with what you asked for, so we can go home and…” he trailed off, embarrassed.
Anna playfully slapped his hand. “Honey,” she said softly, before sitting up and retying the dressing gown. “I guess she saw what we wanted, and those rumours will get out. Don’t think I’ll let that happen again.”
With a playful whisper in his ear, she added, “I’m guessing she got what we needed. Now go get dressed. I hope I didn’t damage any of the clothing.”
