After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 47

What a coincidence applying for a job at her rival’s hotel?

Throughout the entire class, Qin Shuyue seemed completely out of it. Her heart was enduring a slow torture. How would Teacher Han view her now?

She could pretend not to care when her classmates looked down on her or held her in contempt, but if even Han Junli.

Qin Shuyue gripped her pen tightly. Teacher Han isn’t that kind of person… right?

While she was buried in thought, her mind wandering overseas, the crisp and pleasant sound of the dismissal bell rang out leisurely. Qin Shuyue jumped in fright. Her train of thought was abruptly severed; her grip on the pen loosened, and with a “clack,” the black pen fell onto the desk.

She gathered her wits. As Han Junli announced “Class dismissed” from the podium, she slowly began to pack her books and pens. Once finished, she kept her head down and quickly slipped out the back door. Song Jiajia and Liang Qi stared at her retreating back with playful expressions, as if watching a fugitive. They looked at each other and smiled, twirling their phones around their fingers.

Han Junli hadn’t expected Qin Shuyue to leave so early today. He picked up the microphone and called out, “Song Jiajia, Liang Qi, come to the office for a moment. The teachers happen to need your help with something.”

Song Jiajia and Liang Qi clicked their tongues, both turning back with looks of impatience. “Why is there always so much to do?” After a mutual glance, they walked up to Han Junli and grumbled, “Teacher.”

There were only three days left until October 1st. Her mother’s hospitalization fees were due. National Day… where could she go to work?

The job at the school was a no-go, and Sister Wu still hadn’t sent any news—she wasn’t replying to chats or answering calls. Even though Qin Shuyue was burning with anxiety, there was nothing she could do. She could barely save herself; she no longer had the energy to worry about others. Currently, she only had a part-time job at a restaurant. The monthly pay was nowhere near enough to cover her mother’s medical bills.

She had another class at 3:30 PM, so she wanted to use the lunch break to walk around and see if any place was hiring part-time help. She took the bus heading west. The bus stopped and started according to its set route, but Qin Shuyue sat there aimlessly, watching the shifting scenery outside the window.

The warm, overflowing light of the sun shone upon her, wrapping around the coldness of her body, yet it could never reach the depths of her heart. Her complexion and lips remained pale and weak even under the sun.

“Arriving at Jinglian Station. Passengers departing please…”

Qin Shuyue picked up her bag and got off the bus. She didn’t really know why she got off at this stop. Perhaps the surrounding scenery felt somewhat familiar; the memory existed in her mind, yet she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen it before.

Stepping off, she looked around with a sense of confused familiarity. A flower bed sat in the middle of the road, separating the traffic lanes, filled with clusters of flowers in full bloom deep red roses lined the entire path. Both sides of the road were planted with Goldenrain trees (Luanhua). They bloomed in the summer, turning the trees a solid gold. Now, as early autumn approached, the fruit signaled the change of season. The golden branches were interspersed with small fruits; half were still yellow, while the other half showed the first signs of change, with rose-red slowly enveloping the remaining gold.

Yellow maple leaves heralded the autumn; for the Goldenrain tree, it was the fruit. Compared to the fading gold, the rose-red fruit seemed to possess more vitality.

Qin Shuyue paused for a moment. she stared intently at a Goldenrain tree, lost in thought. In her memory, there was a Goldenrain tree planted right in front of her door. Her father had planted it. When her father was dating her mother and they moved into their marital home, he planted a Goldenrain tree by the entrance.

When Qin Shuyue was little, she would point at the golden trees in summer and ask her mother in confusion, “Why are the other trees lush and green in the summer, but only this tree is different? Why is it all golden and unique?”

Her mother would walk to the side of the tiny Qin Shuyue who didn’t even reach her waist and squat down. Placing her hands gently on the girl’s shoulders, she would look at the tree with eyes full of sweetness and tenderness. She would stroke Qin Shuyue’s fluffy head, looking at her the crystallization of the love between herself and her husband.

She would answer softly: “This is a Goldenrain tree. It blooms in the summer with golden flowers, and in autumn, it bears red pods. Does Yueyue like this tree?”

The little Qin Shuyue would open her large, watery eyes, suddenly reach out her small hands to cup her mother’s face, and ask with a giggle on her rosy face, “Does Mama like it?”

Her mother would pause, the smile spreading to the corners of her eyes. “Mama likes it very much, of course.”

“Then Yueyue likes it too!”

The wind blew gently, lifting the tender leaves from the ground to dance in the air, shaking down the golden flowers from the tree to drift and spin around them.

The memory came to a jarring halt. Qin Shuyue’s vision blurred; she could no longer see the tree clearly, nor could she recall the past. She lowered her head, and tears fell like water droplets into the carpet of tender leaves, sinking into the sea of flowers.

The past was like a blade, carving piece by piece into Qin Shuyue’s riddled heart. One cannot look back at the past; she had to look forward.

After briefly composing herself, she continued her job hunt. Walking on and on, she moved through streets and alleys. Relying on sheer intuition and a sense of familiarity, she followed her gut through the winding streets until, somehow, she found herself standing before a hotel.

“Linyi Hotel…?”

Qin Shuyue felt the name of the hotel was somewhat familiar. She walked over. A plaque stood at the entrance with the words “Recruitment Announcement” written on it.

A lucky stroke. Qin Shuyue hadn’t seen any hiring information along the way. Truly, it was “after the mountains and rivers end and there seems to be no way out, another village appears amidst the willows and flowers.” She even felt this was a sign from the Heavens. Heavens had not abandoned her after all.

Excitedly, she walked to the announcement and read it carefully. The very bottom column was a notice for part-time students. She read through it; the conditions fit her situation perfectly.

With a mix of excitement and trepidation, she looked up at the towering, majestic hotel. The interior was magnificent and gilded. She stepped inside with a sense of awe.

As soon as she entered, a male manager immediately approached her. He wore a polite, gentle smile that felt very accessible, making it easy to close the distance between people. However, an alarm bell went off in Qin Shuyue’s head. Maintaining an instinctive alertness toward the outside world was her natural defense mechanism.

Yet, Qin Shuyue felt the manager looked strangely familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before. The manager glanced at her attire, his eyes seeming to see through everything. “Miss, are you here for an interview?”

Qin Shuyue was surprised by his directness. She nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright.” The manager nodded and gestured for her to follow. “Please, come with me.”

He led her through the lobby to a door. He opened it, walked in first, and then gestured to the seat across from him. “Please, sit.”

Qin Shuyue entered, surveyed the environment, and then sat down gracefully. She placed her canvas bag on her lap and sat up straight. He gave her a form and a black pen, asking her to fill in her basic information.

She filled it out quickly and slid it back to him. He scanned it, his gaze lingering on the “Xingxi University” column for two seconds. Then, he withdrew his gaze and asked the routine questions. “Name, age, and what you believe are your strengths. Tell me about them.”

Having worked countless jobs over the years, Qin Shuyue knew these answers by heart. She spoke eloquently, though she would occasionally lower her head out of insecurity, then cautiously look up to gauge the manager’s expression.

In past interviews, Qin Shuyue would often stutter and pause, leading people to impatiently interrupt her and tell her to “wait for notice,” after which she would sink to the bottom of the sea without a ripple. Most of the time, it went that way. And every time she was interrupted, she would get more nervous until she couldn’t finish a single sentence.

But this manager did not interrupt her. Instead, he listened intently to everything she had to say. Qin Shuyue couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After waiting for her to finish, the manager asked a few more questions: when was she available, whether the work would interfere with her studies, and if she would agree to overtime if needed.

“Overtime is a special circumstance. We will pay you overtime according to national regulations. Is that acceptable to you?” the manager asked gently.

After years of doing every kind of job and working every kind of shift, Qin Shuyue didn’t care about that at all. She agreed immediately. “Yes, I can.”

The manager nodded, took out his phone, and signaled for her to wait. “We have a general understanding of your situation. Please wait here for a moment. I will give you an answer as soon as I communicate with the higher-ups.”

Qin Shuyue hadn’t expected such speed. The manager dialed a number and walked out. Left alone in the large office, Qin Shuyue felt as if she were sitting on needles, her hands clenched in anxiety.

About seven or eight minutes later, there was movement at the door. Qin Shuyue’s scalp tingled. The manager turned the handle and entered, his eyes meeting her nervous, apprehensive gaze. He gave a friendly smile, attempting to use that non-threatening warmth to ease her anxiety.

But Qin Shuyue’s heart was entirely focused on the result. His soothing smile only made her more terrified. What does that smile mean? Is he going to reject me and using that smile to apologize? Is he about to give me an excuse to turn me down?

She froze in her seat, her eyes following his every step back to the desk. The manager sat down and smiled. “Assistant Jiang just said on the phone that Little President Zhu is still in a meeting, so you’ll need to wait.”

“Who did you say?” Qin Shuyue heard the name that was all too familiar, and she nearly screamed.

Linyi Hotel. Linyi Hotel!

Memories surged through her mind like a tidal wave, washing over her old recollections. This was the hotel owned by Zhu Lingyi! Zhu Lingyi had brought her here to eat before…

She finally realized why everything had felt so familiar from the moment she arrived. Familiar, yet she hadn’t been able to place it. How could she have forgotten that day Zhu Lingyi had brought her here on a whim for a meal!

She froze completely, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head. She began to tremble with cold. The manager was surprised by her reaction and couldn’t help asking, “I saw on your resume that you’re from Xingxi University; you should know Little President Zhu’s name…”

Before he could finish, Qin Shuyue grabbed her bag and ran out like she was possessed.

The manager was bewildered. He hurriedly chased after her. “Miss Qin… Miss! Why did you suddenly… run away?” He was wearing a suit and couldn’t move quickly; after a few steps, he stopped, panting for breath.

Just then, his phone rang. He leaned over to catch his breath before answering. His voice was steady. “Assistant Jiang.”

“Little President Zhu wants you to send over the information registered by that Miss Qin just now. Within two minutes.” With that, the other side hung up.

The manager immediately turned back to the interview room, copied the information, and sent it to Zhu Lingyi’s email in electronic format.

Meanwhile, Qin Shuyue ran out of the hotel, her heart pounding in fear. She looked at the scene outside in a daze. Everything here was so familiar. So familiar it made her head spin. Her heart thrashed against her ribs; she kept her mouth tightly shut as if to prevent it from leaping out.

“How could this happen…”

Qin Shuyue stared at the ground in disbelief, feeling hollow and stunned as wave after wave of memory crashed into her mind.

How could it be such a coincidence?

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