Slightly groaning, Ai turned sideways to her left. A gasp left her lips as her eyes registered what or specifically who was in front of her.
A man with pure white luscious hair lay in front of her as his body heaved with a steady rhythm of breathing. The man's upper body was bare and he lay as his back faced in her direction.
Ai felt like she choked on her own breath as she started to realise the miserable situation she was in. She did not know who this young man was nor did she recall anything about how she ended up here.
The last thing she remembered was how much wine she drank at the annual ball last night and how she had told everyone not to follow her as she went to drown her sorrows in seclusion.
She thought a little bit of alone time would help since she could no longer bear to watch the scene in front of her happening all over again. But never in her life did she guessed that she would end up in this situation!
Curious or rather to know who to avoid in the future, Ai moved over to peer down at the young man's face. The face that greeted her left her breath sucked in her lungs for eternity as the beauty of it left her speechless.
With a sharp nose and strong jawlines, the young man had a thin pink lip that promised mischief even in his sleep. His skin was pure and smooth, with no blemishes as if the G.o.ds had personally come down to earth to craft this perfection.
Captivated by the stranger's beauty, Ai was frozen and stunned until a pair of exquisite pale blue eyes opened and stared at her teasingly. The young man's thin lips stretched into a lazy smile as he saw the silver-haired girl hovering above him in frozen shock.
"Wife, you are awake" the young man greeted.
As if finally breaking out of a spell, Ai immediately moved away from the young man, only to fall flat on her b.u.t.t on the floor.
"Wife, what are you doing? You are not planning to run away after taking advantage of me, are you?" The young white-haired male asked as he peered down at Ai from the bed.
Ai felt like her headache had multiplied ten-time over as she registered what the young man was saying. So...th-they were together last night?! Is he saying what she thinks he is saying?!
As if tired of waiting for her answer, the young man moved away to put the clothes on his body. Maybe this was the time she could sneak away from this lunatic, Ai thought as she sneakily made her way to the exit.
Just as Ai was about to exit, a hand slammed in front of her and blocked her exit.
"Wife!! How could you be so irresponsible?! You have to take responsibility after taking advantage of me!" the young man half-yelled and half-cried as he stomped his feet in a childlike manner.
"Oh G.o.d, what is this? Another Tamaki?" Ai questioned in her mind as the throwing tantrums reminded her of a certain young master she knew.
Clearing her throat, Ai decided to start with a simple question. "What's your name?"
The young man, who suddenly looked appeased that Ai finally spoke to him, answered in an excited tone.
"I'm Hayama, Hayama Mi...Hayama Mizio! You can call me hubby!"
Mizio? Hmm... nope never heard of it. Plus he doesn't seem to be from Shinto. Perhaps a neighbouring merchant? With the looks like this, he would have been very popular with the ladies, especially with that hungry beast, Miko.
Deciding to answer him, Ai proceeded to say, "Well, Mr Mizio, there might have been some misunderstanding. I believe nothing had happened between us so eh... let us be on our ways."
The moment the words left her mouth, the porcelain face of Hayama crumbled as he immediately dropped down to the ground. Hayama started to wail loudly as he yelled how heartless Shinto women are and how could they try to run away without taking responsibility.
Ai felt trepidation forming on her forehead as the loud voice seemed to carry across the hallway. They seemed to be at some sort of inn and sooner or later the innkeeper would come banging on their door if this continued on.
Immediately reaching down to cover his mouth, Ai made a shushing motion with her index finger as she desperately told Hayama to tone it down.
With now the tear-streaked face, Hayama stubbornly refused and shook his head no as he tried to talk through the m.u.f.fled mouth. With no other choice available than to admit defeat, Ai reluctantly agreed and managed to subdue the crying young man to hiccups.
Hayama wiped away his tears as he stared at the distressed young lady in front of him. Her eyebrows were scrunched up as if she was thinking of escape and he wanted to laugh so bad.
When he arrived in Shinto yesterday, he managed to evade the officials who were escorting him and snuck himself into this beautiful building that was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with liveliness.
Finding a secluded pavilion in the building, Hayama decided to rest as he admired Shinto sceneries peacefully. His peace, however, was soon broken as a young lady with silver hair staggered into the pavilion.
The young lady, however, was completely ignorant of his presence and continued to chuck this big bottle of wine while tears flowed along her cheeks freely.
Deciding to be a gentleman, Hayama approached the young lady to ask if she needed any help, only to have her barf all over his clothes. This explained why he was half-naked this morning and decided to tease the young clueless woman.
After that fiasco, with vomit attached, Hayama decided to bring her to a nearby inn with whatever money he had on him and rented a room for them. Even if he normally doesn't care, he couldn't leave a drunken young lady by herself and be taken advantage by wolves.
Feeling proud of himself, Hayama stared at the young lady once more. Now that he took a look carefully, the young woman was indeed stunning. With refined and distinct features, she looked to be from a n.o.ble family and she somehow reminded him of a few Shinto officials that had escorted him.
Shrugging away his thoughts, Hayama decided to ask her name since until now he had yet find out hers.
"Eh... My name... my name is Ai, Ai Shi... Ai Shizu!" the lady replied.
Hayama wanted to roll his eyes. This lady was obviously hiding her family name just like he did and only with way worse acting than him.
Playing along, Hayama nodded as he asked innocently, "Shizu? As in like Shih Tzu?"
"Ah... Yes... Like Shih Tzu..." Ai replied as she mentally slapped herself. She could have given him a better false name and in the end, she gave him a dog breed name. Plus the name was way too close to her actual name and anyone with a tinge of a brain would be able to identify her immediately.
Sighing dejectedly, Ai planned her next move. There was no way something happened between them since she didn't feel anything different and her clothes were fully intact just like the way she wore it. Hayama must be lying and as soon as she finds out what's his motive, she planned to kick the lunatic to the curb.
Suddenly Ai heard a stomach growl as pale blue eyes looked up at her with a pout.
"Wife, I'm hungry, feed me," Hayama said he pointed to his stomach in a childlike manner.
Taking a deep breath, Ai nodded as she tried to help him up from the floor. Like an excited puppy, Hayama immediately latched onto her arms throughout as they made their way towards the nearby restaurant.
