After a two-second stare, Zhan Jingrui walked toward her.
"Let's find a hotel to stay in first, and then look for Auntie tomorrow. You two can discuss things properly."
As they drove to the hotel in his car, He Yao couldn't help but steal glances at him.
His features were too sharp, his profile as perfect as a sculpture.
The hands gripping the steering wheel were well-defined, large, and long, with a sparkling sports watch on his wrist.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: No wonder so many girls had crushes on him, he was truly worthy.
Good-looking, from a good family, and kind-hearted too. He had already helped her several times. If she had a normal family like others, she might also like this kind of guy.
It was a pity, she was born destined to be abandoned, unworthy of love, not even qualified to have a crush on him.
He Yao waited in the car while Zhan Jingrui went to book a room.
About five minutes later, he came out and gave her the room card.
"This is not far from school. I've already inquired. There's a bus stop about 800 meters ahead, you can take bus 318 to school."
His well-defined hand reached out to her.
He Yao made sure not to touch his skin, "Thank you. And the 500 yuan I owe you from last time, I haven't forgotten."
Zhan Jingrui didn't respond to her words, instead saying,
"Alright, go up. Turn off your phone and don't answer his calls."
He Yao nodded and turned to leave.
Zhan Jingrui sat in the car, watching her until she passed through the lobby and entered the elevator before withdrawing his gaze.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Zhan Jingrui went to the classroom and subconsciously glanced at He Yao's seat first.
She was fine and had already arrived, which relieved him.
He thought the day would pass peacefully, but at noon, the homeroom teacher came to the classroom to call He Yao, saying her parents had requested leave for her and she needed to go out.
The teacher's arrival during lunchtime naturally drew attention, especially since it was He Yao, whom her deskmate was paying attention to. Zhan Jingrui received the information immediately.
"What's going on? He Yao is taking leave again? She's not attending class this afternoon?"
Zhan Jingrui looked at her, and coincidentally, He Yao was also looking his way.
She seemed to want to say something but had given up.
Zhan Jingrui mustered up some courage, pushed his deskmate aside, stood up, and walked towards the homeroom teacher.
"What is it?"
The homeroom teacher looked at him kindly as he approached. Zhan Jingrui said,
"It's nothing serious, I just suddenly felt unwell and want to take leave this afternoon."
It was always easy for good students to take leave, and the teacher, after showing some concern, approved the leave.
"Come with me to the office to fill out a leave form."
The three of them walked out together. His deskmate, through the glass, mouthed a question to Zhan Jingrui about what he was doing, but Zhan Jingrui ignored him.
The homeroom teacher walked ahead, with Zhan Jingrui and He Yao walking side by side, not too close. Suddenly, he reached out and tapped her on the back.
He Yao turned around, and he gestured with his eyes for her to wait.
He Yao nodded to him.
Soon, Zhan Jingrui's leave form was completed, and they met below the teachers' office building.
Zhan Jingrui asked her, "Did he come looking for you?"
He Yao said, "It definitely wasn't my mother, nor my aunt."
"And you're just going to leave with him like this?"
"I didn't plan to go with him. But the teacher called me, and I couldn't just not respond."
"Then where are you planning to go?"
"I don't know."
He Yao looked up at the sky and sighed leisurely.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to repay the money I owe you anytime soon, so why don't you lend me some more? Leave me your phone number, and I'll pay you back when I earn money."
"So your plan for when you turn 18 has been moved up?"
He Yao couldn't be bothered to explain. After a pause, she said,
"When I couldn't sleep last night, I calculated the travel expenses, rent, and living expenses for the first month. I might need to borrow another 2000 yuan from you. Is that okay? When I earn money, I'll pay you back 3000."
Zhan Jingrui found it annoying, "Where are you planning to go?"
"To find a job in a factory. Anyway, I'm almost old enough, I should be able to find work."
Zhan Jingrui knew how important education was to a person better than anyone else since childhood.
Some well-known platitudes that came to his lips were swallowed back down.
After a moment of silence, he said to He Yao,
"We'll go out through the south gate. Come with me."
Zhan Jingrui didn't ride his bike. The two walked out through the south gate. With the leave form as protection, they successfully avoided He Yao's stepfather.
Getting into a taxi, He Yao asked him where they were going. He took off his backpack, found the flyer she had given him last time, and opened it to look.
"Here."
A hint of surprise flashed in He Yao's eyes, but Zhan Jingrui didn't explain.
There were few cars and people on the street at this hour, and the driver quickly took them to their destination.
Looking at the moderately sized sales center, He Yao realized.
"You're not going to buy a house, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I? Is there anyone who says I can't buy one?"
Of course, no one said he couldn't, but where did he get so much money?
The staff at the sales center quickly surrounded them. They didn't ask about their age, assuming they were a young couple, and enthusiastically introduced suitable properties for couples.
Zhan Jingrui quickly chose a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment, about 110 square meters, a fully furnished small apartment.
"Let's go see this one."
The property was not far from the sales center, and the three of them walked there.
The staff walked in front, and He Yao couldn't help but ask Zhan Jingrui from behind,
"Are you really buying a house? It's over 500,000 yuan, where did you get so much money?"
For children from ordinary families, 500,000 yuan was an astronomical sum, but for Zhan Jingrui, it was less than a fraction of his pocket money.
His private assets from ten years ago were already more than that.
If he hadn't been afraid of scaring He Yao by buying too good a house, he could have bought something much better.
"Scholarships. My family rewards me whenever my exam results are good, so I saved it up."
He Yao was stunned by his words.
The pocket money his family gave him was enough to buy a house. How rich must his family be?
The house was nice, and not too far from school. Zhan Jingrui quickly signed the contract.
In less than two hours, he received the keys.
He handed one to He Yao, "You live here first, I don't need it."
So he spent over 500,000 yuan to buy a house, for himself?
He Yao was so shocked she didn't know what to say.
Zhan Jingrui glanced at her expression and knew she was overthinking.
"Don't think too much, there's no other meaning. I just feel it's a shame to give up on life so early, and you're not stupid."
"This money means nothing to me. If it can change your destiny, it's worth its value. Remember to keep it a secret."
It was still early, and it wasn't ideal to go home or back to school at this hour.
He Yao looked at the key and thought for a moment. Since it was already bought, she might as well accept this favor.
But she couldn't help but make a snide remark, "Are you this generous to all your female classmates?"
Zhan Jingrui was about to explain, but then he thought.
They weren't close, and suddenly being so good to her would make anyone suspect impure motives.
Moreover, her appearance was indeed attractive to the opposite sex.
"I'm not that bored."
"Didn't you need to borrow 3000 yuan? I'll transfer it to you."