Zhan Jingrui had never seen such a dilapidated place in his life and couldn't help but frown.
"Didn't they say the factory arranged dormitories? Why would it be in a place like this?"
The dormitories he imagined would be, at the very least, student dormitories arranged by the school when he was studying.
While not luxurious, they were at least clean and tidy.
He hadn't expected that the factory would arrange any place to live at all, as long as it was habitable, without considering its class.
He Yao explained as she pushed open the car door.
"The factory rented a place for me, it's inside, just a short walk. Thank you, you've been a great help, you can go now."
As she spoke, the car door was already open, and the torrential rain instantly surged towards them.
Even Zhan Jingrui, sitting in the front, felt the power of the storm.
Since he had already sent her this far, he might as well see it through.
Zhan Jingrui turned back and ordered her.
"Close the door, how much further is it? I'll take you there."
"How could I possibly trouble you further?" He Yao absolutely did not want to inconvenience him again.
Moreover, the place they lived was truly terrible, and she didn't want Zhan Jingrui to see her in such a disheveled state.
"No need, it's right at the entrance of the residential area, just a couple of steps away."
Zhan Jingrui felt something was not right. She was hesitant, seeming afraid of him knowing where she lived.
Could it be that, like before, she was hiding something?
Not wanting to listen to her nonsense, he stepped on the accelerator without a word and drove into the alley.
He Yao hurriedly stopped him, "Don't, don't go in, the alley is very narrow, it's difficult to turn the car around!"
He ignored her.
There was nothing else she could do. The car had already started, and He Yao couldn't get out, so she had to close the car door again.
Because the terrain was low and the water was deep, Zhan Jingrui drove very slowly, fearing it would flood the engine, and said to He Yao as he drove.
"Tell me when we get there."
He Yao looked at the dilapidated residential houses outside the window, thinking of picking a more presentable one to stop at.
Unexpectedly, before she could find the right spot, she saw her roommate with her trouser legs rolled up high, holding an umbrella with one hand and carrying a suitcase on her shoulder, struggling through the water to walk out.
He Yao's eyelids twitched. Sensing that something had happened at the dormitory, she disregarded her appearance and rolled down the car window to call out to her.
"Luo Jia, why are you running out with a suitcase in such heavy rain? Where are you going?"
Luo Jia looked up, saw her sitting in the Bentley, and her face lit up with joy. She hurried towards them through the water.
"I was just about to call you, it's good you're back! You've heard about the dormitory situation, right?"
"Damn it, I'm really fed up. I've been telling them to fix the sewer for a long time, but they just won't, and now look at this..."
"There's water everywhere on the floor, and my clothes smell. I was thinking of packing your things too, but look, with this much rain, it's hard for me to do it alone."
"Whose car is this? I still have two boxes up there. Hurry and pack yours too, and ask them to help us move them out!"
Luo Jia was a clerk in the first production workshop. Like He Yao, because there were few female employees in the workshop and she was somewhat attractive, she was quite popular with the male colleagues.
Accustomed to being pursued and pampered by everyone, she always felt that it was natural for everyone to serve her, and she always spoke in a condescending and careless manner.
He Yao didn't want Zhan Jingrui to hear this, but Luo Jia blurted it all out like pouring beans.
Moreover, as she spoke, she came to the car, pulled open the door herself, and tried to stuff her suitcase in.
He Yao quickly pushed her suitcase away.
"Don't put it in yet, the car isn't mine, and he has other things to do later. Didn't you call your boyfriend?"
The rain was too heavy, so Luo Jia shouted.
"I did! He said the water in the city center is too deep, and his car can't get through, so he asked me to wait, so I'm slowly moving out myself!"
"Whose car is it? What's wrong with using it? We're not going too far, you're not that stingy, are you?"
As she spoke, she leaned forward to look ahead, only able to see Zhan Jingrui's clean nape.
"Did you meet someone new over there? Since he's already brought you back, he wouldn't mind a little gas, would he? Oh, move in a bit, I can't carry it anymore, it's exhausting to hold it..."
He Yao insisted she shouldn't get in, "Really not, you'll get his car dirty. If you can't carry it, I'll get out and help you."
Saying this, she forcefully pushed her suitcase out and was about to get out of the car herself.
No matter how foolish Zhan Jingrui was, he could tell that He Yao was in a bad situation.
Hearing that she was getting out, he looked back and asked, "What happened?"
"It's nothing, nothing, I'm getting out. This is my roommate, we'll be fine together, you can rest assured. Go forward about ten meters, there's a wider spot where you can turn around. Thank you for bringing me back."
As she spoke, she put one foot out.
This determination to draw a clear line between them, making him seem even worse than Xu Zheng, completely angered Zhan Jingrui.
He reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Can't you just talk to me properly? What's wrong?"
With this grasp, he realized her clothes were even wetter than they appeared.
Her hands were full of water, and she must have been very uncomfortable.
Luo Jia stood outside with her suitcase, exhausted. Seeing He Yao like this, she stuffed the suitcase in again, full of regret that she wasn't more forceful.
"Oh, the driver doesn't care, why do you care so much? I'm exhausted. Hurry up, I don't have the strength to carry it anymore, quickly put my suitcase in!"
As she squeezed the suitcase in, she said to Zhan Jingrui.
"Our terrible dormitory's sewage pipe has been broken for over a week. I told them to fix it long ago, but they never did. It was fine normally, at worst we just held it in and didn't use the toilet in the dormitory, but who knew it would rain so heavily today."
"The pipe backed up, and a colleague who had taken leave and was sleeping in the dormitory called me to let me know. The filth from the toilet had spilled all over the floor."
"Fortunately, I came back early, otherwise all my belongings would have been ruined. But I still have two boxes in the hallway. He Yao, don't worry, I've checked yours too, it's fine for now."
Zhan Jingrui looked at He Yao in the rearview mirror. She was staring blankly at Luo Jia, seemingly hating her for being so talkative.
He felt even more annoyed: Why didn't you tell me when something this big happened? You weren't this hesitant when you asked me for help before.
Under Luo Jia's direction, Zhan Jingrui quickly drove the car to the front of their building.
It was a very, very old residential building.
There was no courtyard, and the steps were right in front.
Due to the low terrain, the bottom four steps were already submerged in water.
Luo Jia and He Yao pushed open the car doors and dashed into the building. Zhan Jingrui also opened his car door.
Catching a glimpse of him about to get out, He Yao quickly stopped him again.
"No, don't get out. The hallway is very dirty. You wait in the car, I'll be down soon."
After saying that, the two girls ran upstairs skillfully. m..oΓg
At this point, how could Zhan Jingrui sit still?
Even if his clothes and shoes got dirty, he still frowned and gritted his teeth as he stepped into the water.
The hallway was narrow and exuded a damp, musty smell from years of no sunlight.