Free Web NovelChapter 216: Chapter 219: The Fox Spirit Reveals Its True Form
——Is Charlotte going to sleep?
——Go to sleep, Charlotte. I might be back late, so don’t stay up waiting for me.
——Mmm... I want to go home. I want to see Charlotte.
——I don’t want to drink. I want kisses from Charlotte.
——These old guys are so annoying. Instead of talking proper business, they’re going on about all sorts of dirty topics. I don’t want to hear any of it.
——They ordered another bottle... I really want to escape...
——I’m a little drunk. I miss my wife, and my son too.
——Who the hell invented business dinners? It’s keeping me from going home to my wife.
——A guy with a bald spot asked me why I keep looking at my phone... I told him I was reading messages from my wife, and they all laughed and called me henpecked. But being henpecked is great. I like it when Charlotte keeps me in line.
——Wifey, Charlotte, I miss you so much. Do you miss me? Did you dream of me?
——AHHH, they’re finally done drinking. There’s hope I can go home now.
——Coming home! Wait for me, Charlotte!
These messages were all sent intermittently, some more than ten minutes apart, others only two. Felix Preston must have sent them secretly when the others weren’t paying attention.
Charlotte Shaw yawned as she sat up in bed, reading Felix Preston’s messages word for word several times. The more she read, the brighter her smile became.
A drunk Felix Preston was a little different from his usual self.
Although he was normally quite clingy with Charlotte Shaw and loved to ramble on in her ear, even his ramblings were more mature then. He wasn’t childish like this.
Charlotte Shaw counted them. After she’d fallen asleep, Felix Preston had sent a total of eighteen messages. In almost every single one, he called her "Wifey." Almost every sentence included cutesy text-speak, he’d even typed out his screams, and he’d given the annoying people at the dinner unflattering nicknames.
"Hmph..."
Charlotte Shaw couldn’t help but let out a laugh. The more she read Felix Preston’s messages, the more she found him unbelievably cute.
She opened the chat window, about to reply to Felix Preston’s ramblings, when he suddenly sent her a video.
The video was only thirty seconds long, and the thumbnail was a blurry shot of Felix Preston’s face.
Charlotte Shaw’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly tapped to play the video.
"Char...lotte..."
In the video, Felix Preston clearly called out Charlotte Shaw’s name. A smile graced Charlotte’s lips, and her heart instantly began to race.
And as if Felix Preston had predicted that seeing the video would make Charlotte Shaw’s heart flutter, he gave the camera a suggestive wink after saying her name.
Charlotte’s eyes widened slightly, her heart instantly thrown into a chaotic flurry.
The tipsy Felix Preston was like an alluring fox. His cheeks were flushed, the corners of his eyes were red, and he was clearly not all there. But his eyes were moist and bright, like a pair of clear, deep springs.
And in the center of those springs, only Charlotte Shaw was reflected.
"Yay..." Felix Preston smiled at the camera, made a V-sign, and then started wiggling his eyebrows and making faces. One moment he was striking a pose, the next he was admiring his own handsome face, seemingly mistaking the video recording for a still camera.
The video was thirty seconds long in total. Felix Preston spent ten seconds greeting Charlotte Shaw and the remaining twenty admiring himself.
"Felix, are you on a video call with Charlotte?" Mason Shaw suddenly asked from the passenger seat.
"...Huh?" Felix Preston frantically pulled the phone away. "N-No video call. My face felt a little hot, so I opened the camera to take a look."
"Oh..." Mason Shaw didn’t think much of it.
Felix Preston hastily ended the recording, leaving Charlotte Shaw with only the image of his shy and flustered retreat.
"..."
Charlotte Shaw watched the video again, finding it both hilarious and adorable.
’If Felix Preston were here right now, I’d have to cup his face in my hands and give him a few good, solid kisses!’
The venue for the business dinner wasn’t far from the Shaws’ home, and Felix Preston was back in less than half an hour.
He tiptoed to the bedroom door and pushed it open carefully.
The room was brightly lit. Charlotte Shaw was sitting on the bed, watching him with a beaming smile.
"You’re back."
He froze for a second, then smiled. "Didn’t you say you were already asleep? Why is a show still playing on your tablet?"
Charlotte Shaw paused the show, her smile suddenly turning a little mischievous. "I *was* asleep. But because a certain someone kept sending me messages, my phone went off every few minutes and woke me up."
"...Sorry." Felix Preston adjusted his glasses and lowered his head, embarrassed.
Charlotte Shaw set down her tablet and held out her arms to Felix Preston. "Don’t be sorry. Just hug me."
But Felix Preston remained rooted to the spot by the door, not daring to enter. "Charlotte, I’ll hug you tomorrow. I stink of alcohol right now; I don’t want the smell to get on you."
"...Alright then." Charlotte Shaw lowered her hands, disappointed.
Felix Preston coaxed her gently, "Be good, Charlotte. I’ll go take a shower in the guest room first, then I’ll come see you."
"Oh," Charlotte Shaw replied.
The smell of alcohol on Felix Preston was so strong that he didn’t even dare to enter the room. He had Charlotte Shaw toss him a clean set of pajamas, then carried them to the guest room to shower.
The bathroom was warm. Felix Preston earnestly washed himself from head to toe three times. After showering, he immediately brushed his teeth three times, doing his utmost to get rid of the lingering smell of alcohol.
But since he had gotten used to the smell himself, he couldn’t be sure if any of it remained. So, he had no choice but to call Mason Shaw down to give him a sniff test.
"No good. The smell of alcohol is still pretty noticeable," Mason Shaw said with a serious expression after circling and sniffing him.
"Sigh..." He sighed in disappointment, took a few steps back, and sat down on the bed. "Then forget it. I’ll just sleep in the guest room tonight."
Mason Shaw patted his shoulder and comforted him softly, "Don’t be sad. I have to sleep in a guest room tonight, too."
"Mm..." Felix Preston nodded, looking thoroughly displeased.
Destined to go without his wife’s embrace tonight, he sulked for a moment before video-calling Charlotte Shaw to apologize.
Charlotte Shaw didn’t blame him at all. Instead, she suggested they sleep with the video call on.
Only then did he cheer up a little. He quickly threw back the covers, rolled into bed, and went to sleep with the Charlotte Shaw on his phone screen.
...
After a lonely night in the empty room, Felix Preston snuck out of the guest room at the crack of dawn, stealthily returning to their bedroom and slipping into Charlotte Shaw’s covers.
Charlotte Shaw was sound asleep but was suddenly awakened by a flurry of soft, persistent kisses.
"...Felix Preston?" She groggily opened her eyes and saw Felix Preston stroking her face, peppering her cheek with kisses like a chick pecking at grain.
"I’m here," Felix Preston answered, before leaning down and sealing her lips with his.
"Mmm..." She frowned. Still half-asleep, she was a bit overwhelmed by Felix Preston’s passionate kiss.
Felix Preston caught her flailing hands, pressing them against his heart as he gradually deepened the kiss.
