Loved By The Villain And The Male Lead

The drive to London was only one and a half hours long. Per Su Ning's request to use a less flashy vehicle, Lin JinYan chose to drive a white 20XX John Cooper Work Mini Clubman. Su Ning particularly liked this car, finding it cute and very British-like. The pair ended up listening to a playlist of songs that Lin JinYan composed under his pen name The Woodman. Su Ning was pleasantly surprised to find that Lin JinYan had kept the demos they recorded on the playlist as well. Su Ning enjoyed the drive immensely. The traffic in the UK was a lot better than in C Country and there was much more space and nature to see. She also liked the old historic buildings, somehow everything seems so grand here.

Lin JinYan booked the Chancery House Suite at the Rosewood London Hotel, a 5 star luxury hotel that is listed in the 20XX Conde Nast Traveler Gold List of best places to stay in the world. The Chancery House is a 2 floor suite spanning 118 sq meters; it is built in the style of a British manor home with bespoke furnishings. The suite is cozy, light filled with its own living room, spacious bedrooms, private study, powder room, dining area that can sit eight and an opulent marble bathroom. It seem like lodging for a top celebrity or a vvip not a recent high school graduate like Su Ning.

Upon seeing their luxurious accommodation, Su Ning was filled with trepidation as she asked Lin JinYan about the cost of the hotel room. The girl had originally wanted to partially subsidize the cost of their trip but judging from the looks of the room, she likely won't even be able to cover a two night stay at the Rosewood much less try to pay for any of their activities.

"JinYan-ge, how much is the cost of our hotel room?" she asked.

"Not too bad," the young man answered flippantly. "It's not peak travel season so the prices are lower," he continued.

"How much?" Su Ning insisted.

"Just 17,100 pounds for 4 nights," Lin JinYan responded as he checked the rooms in the suite.

Su Ning gulped. 'What the hell! There's no way I have 17,000 pounds with me. I guess I'll just treat Lin JinYan to a meal or purchase museum tickets or something. Rich people are so scary,' she thought. The people at the reception also didn't seem surprised when they saw Lin JinYan checking in with Su Ning. In fact, the hotel manager even came out to personally greet the Young Master Lin before they were escorted to their room. 

"NingNing, use this room. It has a lot of sunlight and the view is beautiful," Lin JinYan called out from inside one of the 2 bedrooms in the suite.

"Erm, alright. Thank you, JinYan-ge. For touring me around and for paying for the hotel as well,"  Su Ning said timidly while entering the bedroom.

"Silly NingNing. Of course I'm paying, I'm the one who offered to take you on a trip," Lin JinYan said with a chuckle. "And to be honest, I have an ulterior motive," he added with a cheeky grin.

"Huh? What motive?" Su Ning asked, perplexed.

The man, who had been sitting cross legged on the edge of the bed, casually stood up and walked towards Su Ning. He bent his 183 cm body until he was at eye level with the 159 cm tall Su Ning, his eyes turning into crescents.

"Of course, it's to steal NingNing from YuChen," he whispered to her ear. 

It took several seconds for Su Ning to react.

"Yah!" Su Ning cried, smacking the tall young man's shoulder. "I thought there was something for real! Wu liao!" She huffed before looking around in wonder at her room for the next 4 nights.

Author's Note: Wu liao means boring. ＼（○＾ω＾○）／

The man chuckled at Su Ning's response before answering a bit seriously, "Wo mei kai wan xiao. The purpose of the trip is to steal you away from YuChen."

Author's Note: Wo mei kai wan xiao means I'm not joking/kidding.〜(^∇^〜）（〜^∇^)〜

"Gui cai xin," Su Ning responded flippantly as she sniffed the body wash and shampoo in the Italian style bathroom.  'Oh I really love this scent!' She thought and after taking the time to look around the bathroom, 'Goodness everything is so indulgent! This bathroom is bigger in size than my room at my parents' house!'

Author's Note: Gui cai xin means Who would believe that. ☜(⌒▽⌒)☞

While the teenage girl staring in wonder at the luxurious bathroom, Lin JinYan leaned against the doorway calmly observing her with an affectionate smile on his face. 'It's not a joke though. I really meant it, NingNing. Since you're not taking me seriously, then I'll just have to up the ante so you can see me as a man,' he thought with decisiveness.

......…..

After checking-in the pair decided to have an early lunch at the restaurant in the hotel. The Holborn Dining Room was a bustling dining salon serving locally sourced British cuisines. Su Ning ordered the vegetable and spelt risotto since it reminded her of congee and Lin JinYan ordered the grilled sea trout with hollandaise sauce. 

Then the pair went to watch Miss Saigon at the West End. It was Su Ning's first time ever watching a musical and she was in complete awe of the production. She had thought that the Little Mermaid musical at M Academy was already a grueling and expensive production but in comparison to Miss Saigon, she realized that what she had participated in was mere child's play. The actors in Miss Saigon were all so talented and eye-catching, she especially liked the performance of the songs 'I'd Give My Life for You' and 'Last Night of the World.' So engrossed was Su Ning in the show that she didn't even leave her seat during intermission and was intently re-reading the playbill. Her mouth was left hanging at the sight of a helicopter on the stage and she immediately turned to nudge Lin JinYan who sat beside her. With eyes wide as saucers, Su Ning asked with childlike wonder if the helicopter was real. Of course, the man chuckled at Su Ning and nodded in affirmation. The play eventually came to an end and Su Ning found herself crying when the main character Kim committed suicide. She thought that Kim would eventually reunite with Scott after he recalled their past but alas it was a sad ending.

"Did NingNing like the musical?" Lin JinYan asked with an indulgent smile on his face.

"I love it!! Thank you for arranging this, JinYan-ge!" the girl gushed beside him. 

"Did it spark NingNing's desire to perform again?" he asked.

"Uhm… to be honest. It did! Quite a bit," Su Ning admitted shooting an envious look back at the West End Theater.

"Then whenever NingNing likes you can perform with me," Lin JinYan entreated.

"But I'm worried that if I begin performing again I won't have time for my studies. I'm just about to start uni and I'm not like you and YuChen-ge," she answered with an uncertain smile. Seeing Lin JinYan's furrowed brows, Su Ning continued, "It takes a lot of time and effort for me to get good grades." Su Ning laughed.

"Ahh.." said Lin JinYan. 

"Not everyone is as awesome and talented as you JinYan-ge," she said cheerily. 

"NingNing is already awesome and talented enough. She's the most special in my eyes," the young man proudly declared. This caused Su Ning to simply shake her head. 'Aigoo this kid is seeing me through rose colored glasses. Is this similar to how all children think their mom's are the best?' she laughed to herself.

They were on their way to walk around the Piccadilly Circus, a busy junction in London with a lot of famous landmarks, theatres, neon displays and interesting shops. It is a popular meeting place for both tourists and locals alike. Lin JinYan had likened it to Times Square in New York although Su Ning remained uncomprehending since this was her first time traveling out of the country in both of her lifetimes. However, she was still quite surprised at how packed the square was that afternoon. Su Ning found herself worrying for Lin JinYan and his condition. She knew he didn't like going to crowded places; even when they were in Y City, Lin JinYan normally gets chauffeured around to their destinations.

'Would it be alright to walk around here? It would be unavoidable to bump into people,' she thought worriedly. 

Noticing that his companion had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk with a contemplative look on her face, Lin JinYan tapped the girl's forehead and asked, "What's going through my NingNing's mind?"

"JinYan-ge, should we not go here after all? There's a lot of people," Su Ning looked up to the man anxiously.

"NingNing doesnt want to see Piccadilly Circus?"

"Err I do! I want to but, will you be alright? There's a loooot of people. You'll end up bumping into them for sure," she explained.

"Ah.. So NingNing is worry about me," Lin JinYan said, looking pleased.

"Of course… I don't want to make your condition worse," she said matter of factly.

"Well, NingNing doesn't have to worry. Because when I'm with you these things don't matter as much," Lin JinYan answered, referring to the densely packed square and the filth that could be seen from the streets. These things don't trigger Lin JinYan's mysophobia when he is in Su Ning's company. She was like some sort of psychological cure to him.

"As long as I'm holding your hand everything will be alright. NingNing is my medicine."

** My lovely readers~ FYI this author-nim didn't get a chance to edit this chapter. （πーπ）**