Try Saying You Don't Like It - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The Bund, the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the river view—to meet all these requirements, He Xinglan even had to ask Lin Yue for help.

Lin Yue was greatly puzzled by this.

“He Xinglan, since when did you have such high environmental standards for staying at a hotel?”

Didn’t she just sleep with her in the bar office last night?

She seemed like a completely different person now.

Hearing Lin Yue’s murmur, He Xinglan secretly glanced at Yin Qiuman and whispered, “What? Is it wrong to suddenly want to be willful for once?”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Lin Yue wasn’t paying for it. “Since you’re paying, of course, whatever you say goes.”

“But He Xinglan, why are you talking so quietly? Like a thief?” Lin Yue asked suspiciously. She almost thought there was a problem with her phone because even with the volume turned up, He Xinglan’s voice was still so faint.

Suddenly, Lin Yue’s eyes narrowed.

“He Xinglan, you’re not really acting like a thief, are you?”

“I am not!!!” He Xinglan subconsciously raised her voice in rebuttal.

Lin Yue had only been guessing, a fleeting thought in her mind. But now…

How did the saying go? A guilty conscience betrays the thief. And He Xinglan’s current behavior clearly showed a guilty conscience.

“He Xinglan, the thief I’m talking about isn’t a normal thief; I’m talking about a heart-stealer, you know.” Lin Yue spoke with a meaningful tone, deliberately enunciating the three words heart-stealer very clearly.

So that anyone listening would immediately understand the hidden meaning.

He Xinglan, embarrassed and angry, said, “…Hanging up.”

She shoved the phone into her pocket, embracing the principle of out of sight, out of mind.

On the other side, Lin Yue looked at the disconnected phone and felt even more strongly that He Xinglan was hiding something from her.

But what could He Xinglan hide from her? Nothing other than meeting another girl who caught her interest.

Lin Yue shook her head. It seemed that even her former “white moonlight” couldn’t change He Xinglan’s fundamental nature as a player who fell for someone new easily.

“But did I forget to tell He Xinglan that the room I booked for her was relinquished by her ex-ex-girlfriend?”

Lin Yue thought this issue was quite important, so she called He Xinglan’s number again.

However, the phone rang until she hung up, and no one answered.

Lin Yue looked at the refreshed contacts interface and murmured, “He Xinglan, He Xinglan, you can’t blame me. You were the one who didn’t answer my call.”

In the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, He Xinglan quickly walked toward Yin Qiuman after hanging up the phone, then told the hotel front desk: “2107. The owner of this room just gave it to us. Can you process the check-in for us now?”

“Yes. I will confirm with the owner of 2107 immediately. If confirmed, I will check you in right away.” The front desk made a confirmation call and, one minute later, processed the check-in for He Xinglan and Yin Qiuman.

After handing the room card to He Xinglan, He Xinglan was about to leave with Yin Qiuman when the front desk clerk called out to He Xinglan: “Ms. He, this bottle of red wine is a complimentary gift from the original room owner.”

“For me?” He Xinglan stopped and looked at the bottle of red wine in the clerk’s hand. It looked quite expensive.

“Hello, may I ask the name of the original room owner?”

“I apologize, Ms. He, we cannot disclose guest information. However, that guest mentioned they would be visiting you shortly.” The clerk smiled apologetically.

“Alright then.” He Xinglan nodded at the clerk, taking the red wine from her hand. Although she didn’t know who the person was, she knew they would be coming to see her soon.

He Xinglan, holding the red wine in one hand and pushing the suitcase with the other, walked toward the elevator with Yin Qiuman beside her.

Yin Qiuman looked at the red wine in He Xinglan’s hand and, recalling He Xinglan mentioning that she now runs a company, said, “It seems Teacher He’s business is doing quite well.”

He Xinglan: “???”

Realizing what she meant, He Xinglan smiled and said honestly, “Actually, I’m pretty clueless. You saw it just now, we tried to book a room, and they said they were full. I still had to ask someone else for help… So, please don’t call me Teacher He; it sounds creepy.”

Especially when Yin Qiuman used that title, it made He Xinglan feel a sense of danger.

Yin Qiuman didn’t say anything at the time, but once inside the elevator, she said, “Actually, we don’t need to stay somewhere this nice.”

At one or two thousand per night, if Yin Qiuman hadn’t had her own plans, she would have stopped her. Now, she regretted not stopping her.

She didn’t want He Xinglan to have to ask people for favors.

It seemed the unspoken understanding from their eighteen-year-old selves was still there. When Yin Qiuman said that, He Xinglan understood the deeper meaning in her words.

Shaking her head decisively, He Xinglan said firmly, “You finally made the trip here. If I said I would let you stay at a hotel on the Bund with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a river view, then I will make sure you stay at a hotel on the Bund with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a river view.”

He Xinglan had always kept her word.

Moreover, perhaps it was a habit left over from her eighteen-year-old self—she always wanted to give Yin Qiuman the best.

Ugh! This was a bad habit, but He Xinglan had no intention of changing it.

He Xinglan spoke with conviction, and Yin Qiuman’s mood became cheerful. Her lips curved into a smile, and the tenderness in her eyes could melt into water.

It made He Xinglan’s ears burn and her cheeks flush.

This is not innocent, truly not innocent.

I can’t handle this, truly can’t handle this.

He Xinglan was extremely flustered, desperately wanting to avoid Yin Qiuman’s eyes.

She felt like she was in danger. Yin Qiuman looked like she was planning an elevator play.

Ding!

The elevator door finally opened, rescuing He Xinglan from the fire.

He Xinglan quickly pushed the suitcase out of the elevator, taking several deep breaths to slow down her heart rate.

Behind her, Yin Qiuman also stepped out of the elevator. Hearing the footsteps behind her, He Xinglan immediately pulled the suitcase and ran.

“2107! I’ll go open the door first. You take your time.”

Yin Qiuman looked at He Xinglan’s running back, blinked, and then reflected inwardly, Do I look that scary?

He Xinglan is afraid of me? That won’t do. I want her to love me.

Yin Qiuman thought about the items she had brought in her suitcase and felt she had to speed up. Before He Xinglan could start running away for good, she needed to lock her down completely.

He Xinglan still didn’t know how dangerous Yin Qiuman’s thoughts had become. She first opened the room door, looked around, especially at the large floor-to-ceiling window. Looking out, it was the Yangtze River. The scenery would be even more beautiful at night when the lights of the buildings across the river turned on.

He Xinglan nodded in satisfaction. This is worthy of the one or two thousand dollars I paid.

Footsteps sounded behind her. He Xinglan turned around and met Yin Qiuman’s eyes. This person’s gaze was finally back to normal.

He Xinglan excitedly waved at Yin Qiuman: “Yin Qiuman, come quickly.”

Yin Qiuman walked over unhurriedly and stood side-by-side with He Xinglan, gazing out the window. He Xinglan spoke: “Yin Qiuman, I told you the large floor-to-ceiling window is amazing. Looking out from our window, it’s exactly like that poem, When you stand on the summit, all other mountains seem small. Wait until it gets dark and the lights of the buildings opposite turn on, the view… If you stand by the window then, holding red wine, and strike a pose, the photos could be printed directly.”

“I’m telling you, my photography skills are decent. I guarantee I’ll take beautiful pictures of you,” He Xinglan said, patting her own chest to add credibility to her words.

Yin Qiuman liked this talkative He Xinglan in front of her.

Because she was easily drawn in by her confident and radiant appearance, and her own mood would become very, very good.

Just… Yin Qiuman looked at where He Xinglan’s hand had landed and spoke to interrupt her: “Stop patting. It’s not big to begin with.”

He Xinglan: “???”

Her eyes followed Yin Qiuman’s gaze downwards, and then her face flushed bright red. Her good mood was successfully ruined. He Xinglan said angrily: “Yin Qiuman, can you not have anything else in your eyes?”

“Can’t you keep your mind in check?”

She won’t enjoy the beautiful scenery or the nice room, but instead worries about my chest…

Yin Qiuman admired He Xinglan’s alluring blush for two seconds, then shifted her gaze before He Xinglan could get truly furious.

Looking out the floor-to-ceiling window at the buildings opposite, Yin Qiuman said seriously: “He Xinglan, is the distance between us and those buildings safe?”

He Xinglan: “???”

“There’s a river between us. How could it be unsafe?” He Xinglan retorted, annoyed.

Yin Qiuman gave a soft “Oh,” and said, “Then I’m relieved.”

He Xinglan found Yin Qiuman’s words inexplicable, so she added, “Even if you were worried, aren’t there curtains? If we draw the curtains, even if the people across the river used a telescope, they wouldn’t see anything.”

“But…” Yin Qiuman tilted her head and looked at He Xinglan, saying, “Don’t you think drawing the curtains makes it less… impactful?”

“What? Less impactful for what?” He Xinglan blinked, looking confused. She felt that even after seven years, her struggling student brain still couldn’t keep up with the top student’s brain.

Yin Qiuman didn’t speak, only stared at He Xinglan’s lips.

He Xinglan suddenly felt that her struggling student brain was temporarily functioning again.

She immediately understood Yin Qiuman’s previous statement, and then quickly covered her mouth.

“Yin Qiuman, can you stop thinking about all that inappropriate stuff in your head?”

He Xinglan didn’t know how many times she had gotten angry today. Why couldn’t she control her emotions whenever she encountered Yin Qiuman? She felt like a walking powder keg.

He Xinglan deliberately widened her eyes, glaring at Yin Qiuman again and again.

I think my emotions are clear enough, aren’t they?! Anyone with eyes can see I’m very, very angry right now.

But Yin Qiuman either didn’t notice, or she deliberately ignored it.

Yin Qiuman suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around He Xinglan’s waist, resting her chin on He Xinglan’s shoulder, murmuring into He Xinglan’s ear: “But I missed you.”

“He Xinglan, I missed you.”

“Do you miss me?”

With such a soft and gentle voice, He Xinglan, who had been on the verge of an outburst, was suddenly soothed.

Her heart instantly calmed down, and her body reflexively hugged Yin Qiuman back.