"Excuse me, madam, could you please show your identification as well? We have a regulation that all customers entering must complete real-name registration and verification. I apologize."
It was indeed inconvenient, as He Yao had not brought her ID.
It was just a normal workday, and no one had expected such heavy rain.
No one had expected such a bizarre incident to happen in the dormitory due to the rain.
No one had expected Zhan Jingrui to meddle.
No one had expected to end up staying in a hotel.
So how could she have thought to carry her ID with her?
"I'm sorry, but I cannot open the room for you."
The staff member pushed the ID back to her.
Zhan Jingrui explained to her, "I'm not staying. She's staying alone tonight. I'll use my ID to open it, and I'll leave right after.
"That's not allowed, sir. We have regulations that require the ID to be used by the person themselves for registration. If we get randomly checked and found in violation, our license could be revoked."
Zhan Jingrui was not an unreasonable person; he understood the consequences.
So he very speechlessly put away his ID and turned to leave.
He Yao followed behind him, watching his half-drenched, barely-holding-back-anger appearance, a stark contrast to the social elite he was an hour ago.
She suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction, driven by a mischievous impulse.
As she was secretly relishing it, Zhan Jingrui, who had reached the hotel entrance, turned back.
He caught her in the act of stifling a laugh.
"What are you smiling about so happily? You're pleased we can't stay at the hotel, aren't you?"
He Yao put away her smile. "What do you mean, pleased we can't stay at the hotel? I had no idea staying at a hotel was so troublesome."
*Hmph, you usually don't come with others? So naive!*
Zhan Jingrui met her gaze with a stern face for a few seconds. "So, where is your ID?"
"What? You want to go back and get it? That's fine too. Since I don't have any clothes to wear tomorrow, could you trouble yourself to drive me back again?"
The moment she said that, Zhan Jingrui no longer wanted to go back.
The thought of her dormitory, filled with floating debris and filth, made him sick.
Moreover, he didn't want to wear these clothes anymore.
If they stayed on him any longer, who knew if he might get sick.
"Stop the nonsense, get in the car!"
He Yao thought he was going to drive her back, but as soon as they got in the car, he headed in the opposite direction.
He Yao asked him where they were going, but he just drove and didn't speak.
They drove and drove and drove until they reached a high-end neighborhood He Yao didn't recognize.
He drove the car into an upscale residential community and stopped in front of a small white villa.
"Get out."
He Yao realized this was Zhan Jingrui's house.
It's good to be rich. You can buy a house anytime, anywhere you want.
Such a high-end community, such a spacious layout, such a beautiful environment; a property here must cost at least tens of millions.
She, who couldn't even afford a fifty-square-meter apartment, dared to dream of being friends with someone worth hundreds of billions. No wonder Zhan Jingrui was speechless.
Zhan Jingrui walked to the door, unlocked it with facial recognition, and stood on the doormat, gesturing for He Yao to stand with him.
The heavy door closed behind them. The two stood side by side on the doormat, and Zhan Jingrui told her to turn around.
"Your clothes are too dirty; they can't be kept. You'll dirty the floor if you come inside, so take them off here. Turn around, I won't look at you."
At this moment, He Yao was not afraid of him taking advantage of her.
After all, with Chu Xi as his girlfriend, compared to her, any normal person wouldn't be interested in her.
She was just curious. "The clothes are no good? If you throw them away, what will I wear tomorrow?"
"I won't let you go out naked."
After saying that, Zhan Jingrui quickly stripped off his own pile of dirty clothes and threw them on the doormat.
"I'm going upstairs. You can use the bathroom on the first floor."
He walked forward barefoot.
In the past, they had been quite open with each other, so she understood him quite well.
But after so many years without seeing each other, He Yao was curious about how he had developed.
However, she dared not look.
Besides, what if she did look?
It had nothing to do with her anymore.
If he had become worse, it would only ruin the good impression of the past.
If he had become better, it would only make her jealous of Chu Xi. It was better not to look at anything.
She only looked up after Zhan Jingrui's footsteps had completely disappeared.
She stripped off her own pile of rags and threw them with his, then looked around the house.
The house was empty and quiet, likely uninhabited.
Zhan Jingrui had said before that he didn't like living with a housekeeper, so she confidently searched for bathrooms one by one.
She soon found one, took a hot bath, washed her hair, and put on a bathrobe before going out.
Looking refreshed, Zhan Jingrui, back in his social elite demeanor, was waiting for her in the living room.
It was as if the rain had never fallen, Zhan Jingrui had never visited her dormitory, and all traces had been washed away.
"You can stay here. Tomorrow morning at eight, a cleaning lady will come. She will open the door for you and bring you a new set of clothes. Don't worry."
"I'm leaving. There shouldn't be any problems. If something urgent comes up."
He pointed to the entrance hall by the door with his hand.
"You know how to use this. Call the property management, and they will come to help."
So Zhan Jingrui was going to let her have his villa all to herself for the night?
That was fine.
He Yao was too lazy to be coy. She had nowhere else to go anyway. As long as it didn't cost money, she could stay anywhere.
She nodded. "Okay, I understand."
So, after waiting for so long and explaining so much, all she had to say was these few words?
"Okay, I understand."
So simple, so indifferent.
Zhan Jingrui thought she would at least ask about Chu Xi, inquire about their current situation.
After all, it was she who had praised Chu Xi back then, which led Zhan Jingrui to know of her and pursue her.
No, he had to leave here quickly, as far away from her as possible.
He Yao was too good at provoking people, too good at manipulating emotions.
In just a few hours, Zhan Jingrui had gotten angry countless times. If this continued, he would eventually die at her hands.
"Then I'm leaving."
He grabbed another set of car keys and strode out.
As he was about to reach the door, He Yao suddenly called out to him, "Mr. Zhan."
He couldn't help but stop again and turn back.
He Yao, with her half-wet hair, wrapped in a loose bathrobe, and her face pale, looked at him.
"Is there anything to eat? Can I look in your refrigerator? I can't go out after you leave. I'm so hungry."
There was nothing to eat in the house.
Zhan Jingrui never cooked, and besides sleeping, he rarely stayed home.
The refrigerator contained nothing but mineral water.
He had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten about dinner.
Even if he was angry, he couldn't let her starve. Who would be responsible if she fainted from hunger?
"I'll order you takeout. What do you want to eat?"
"Can I have chicken leg rice?"
This was the first time she had ordered takeout since moving in a few days ago. She didn't even know her zone or building number.
She had trouble filling in the address, and Zhan Jingrui, annoyed, simply gave up.
"Let's go out to eat. I'll bring you back after. It's too much trouble."