The Trending Topic Herself: The Villainess is the Superstar!-Chapter 241: Let’s Go Home

"Hello, honey, did you call for something?"

The voice on the other side remained deep, but was more hurried than usual.

"Maya, open the door."

"Open the door?"

Ian Rowe’s voice was as commanding as ever: "I’m at the door, open it now."

Maya quickly got out of bed and put on her slippers. She stood in place, thinking for a moment, before deciding to walk over in her slippers.

Maya took a moment to compose herself before opening the door.

Ian was completely soaked, rainwater tracing the curve of his cheek down to his tightly pressed lips. His eyes looked directly at her, like wet obsidian.

The countless ways she had imagined to lie faltered at this moment; Maya stared blankly at the scene before her, only then replying, "You... is it raining outside?"

His gaze swept over her, finally resting on her flushed cheeks. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but frowned in the next second at another possibility, "Let’s go to the hospital."

"Go..." Maya felt the touch on her arm and hurriedly explained, "I’m fine, there’s no need to go to the hospital!"

The person ahead turned back, fixing his gaze on her.

Maya thought for a moment and finally found a reasonable explanation: "I already had a full check-up yesterday. I’m perfectly fine. Look at me, rugged and durable, do I seem like someone who gets injured easily? Honey, don’t worry about it! I... I took a couple of days off because..."

She coughed twice, instinctively avoiding eye contact with Ian, "Because I was quite shocked psychologically. In this state, I probably won’t be able to act well, so it’s better to take two days off to adjust."

"In short, I’m really fine now, there’s no need to go to the hospital..."

Maya’s voice grew smaller under Ian’s intimidating stare; it turns out lying is quite difficult.

Sure enough, Ian is her nemesis!

Ian remained silent for a long time, leaving Maya feeling a peculiar guilt at being seen through.

She just wanted two days off, right?

Maya turned her face and met Ian’s deep, dark eyes.

She finally heard him speak: "Since that’s the case, let’s go home."

Seeing he wasn’t pressing the issue further, Maya couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, yet was soon tense again, "Go home...?"

To be honest, her time at the hotel was quite good, enjoyable in many aspects. Going home would naturally be better, but with Ian watching her eat vegetables and insisting she go on morning runs, the pressure... was somewhat overwhelming. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ian maintained his composure: "Since you’ve taken leave, the environment at home is better and more conducive to your recovery, isn’t it?"

Maya fell silent.

She knew Ian’s decisions were hard to change, and negotiating with him required quite a mental effort.

Suddenly, urgent footsteps echoed in the corridor, as if someone was running hard.

Maya turned towards the sound and saw Vincent Summers running up, panting heavily, with his forehead slick with either sweat or rain; he was holding two black umbrellas.

Out of breath, Vincent leaned his umbrella handles on the ground for support, bent over, gasping:

"Ian, you ran way too fast! I... I really couldn’t keep up!"

Vincent looked up and saw Ian drenched, and couldn’t help but comment, "Why were you in such a rush? I didn’t even have time to hand you an umbrella."

Maya noted Vincent’s clothes were entirely dry, indicating he was indeed exhausted from the run.

Not waiting for Ian’s response, Vincent didn’t mind, shifting his gaze to Maya.

During a video conference this morning, Ian abruptly cut the call, and Vincent learned Maya had been hurt, supposedly knocked down by someone and wouldn’t recover for ten to fifteen days.

Vincent was slightly surprised, seeing no cast or discomfort in Maya—was she really badly beaten?

Maya felt intimidated by Vincent’s stare.

Oddly enough, it was just two days off, yet everyone around seemed to think she was incapacitated...

"Maya, I’m glad you’re alive." Upon seeing Maya’s rosy cheeks, Vincent couldn’t help but ask, "You seem fine, are you really injured?"

Maya answered, "Psychological trauma."

"Oh..." Vincent seriously remarked, "It doesn’t look like it, you seem energetic..."

Realizing his words might be annoying, Vincent added, "Even though I’m interested in the spectacle, I truly don’t want you to be hurt, Maya. Trust me! After all, we don’t want Ian to become a widower so young..."

Maya rubbed her forehead, feeling an intense desire not to converse with Vincent, who was somewhat dense.

"Stop babbling, give me the umbrella."

Vincent quickly passed the black umbrella over, "I’m not sure if two umbrellas are enough for the three of us?"

"Enough."

Maya understood that aside from Ian’s words, Vincent probably wouldn’t listen to anyone.

Ian wrapped his arm around Maya’s shoulders, pulling her closer.

"What are you daydreaming about? Let’s leave now."

Maya looked up, "I haven’t had time to pack my things..."

"No need to pack; we have everything at home."

Keenly aware Ian was set on taking her home, Maya could only nod.

The drizzle continued, raindrops falling like dense threads, splashing on the cobblestones.

Vincent murmured, "The rain seems lighter than before..."

Ian skillfully opened the umbrella, holding the handle with one hand, saying to Maya, "Stay close to me."

Before Maya could react, Ian was already by her side.

Maya felt the sudden surge of warmth dispel the cold moisture in the air.

As soon as Maya stepped out of the hotel, she regretted it, wearing only a thin shirt. The chilly wind came with dampness.

She was grateful she had chosen a high-necked top.

Ian seemed to realize something he hadn’t accounted for, but his coat was already soaked and couldn’t offer Maya coverage.

He tightened his hold on Maya’s shoulder, "Let’s walk a bit faster."

Maya, being no stranger to hardship, nodded in agreement, "Okay."

Sharing an umbrella meant they were very close.

Before long, Maya felt she couldn’t keep up.

Ian, tall with long legs, took big strides, while she had to hurry her shorter legs to follow.

The quick pace caused the puddles on the cobblestones to constantly splash up, dirtying her white sneakers.