Chapter 37
Chapter 37
After finishing their hot pot, Qin Song drove Zhang Qiong home.
“I don’t want to sleep at home anymore,” Zhang Qiong said.
“Are you afraid of a repeat of last night?” Qin Song asked.
Zhang Qiong nodded.
“Then how about staying at Tianfeng?”
“Isn’t Huang Yuanrui at Tianfeng?”
“Don’t worry, you won’t run into her. She doesn’t leave her room all day, just mopes around in 302. Besides, whenever she does go out, she takes the elevator straight to the underground garage to drive my car. She never goes to the first floor. She even has the kitchen staff deliver her meals to her room.”
“Then arrange a room for me on a different floor.”
“Sure thing. I’ll put you on a high floor where it’s quiet. Go home and pack your things; I’ll come pick you up tonight.”
Qin Song dropped Zhang Qiong off at the entrance and left. Zhang Qiong headed upstairs alone.
The moment she opened the door and stepped inside, she suddenly caught a whiff of an unfamiliar scent.
In truth, everyone’s home has a unique smell. No matter how many times we move or where we live, that scent rarely changes much.
It’s just that when you’re used to living there, you can’t really smell it. Only after being away for a long time can you sense that warm, familiar atmosphere again upon returning.
When a stranger enters your home, they bring a foreign scent with them.
They can pick up the hairs they’ve dropped and wipe away the footprints they’ve left behind, but they cannot erase the scent they leave in the air.
Zhang Qiong couldn’t smell her own home, but she could smell something foreign.
She didn’t overthink it, simply chalking it up to the fact that Qin Song had been there that morning.
She had more important things to investigate right now.
Zhang Qiong: “Are you there?”
Liang He: “I’m here. What’s up?”
Zhang Qiong: “Why did you pretend not to know me?”
Liang He didn’t respond.
Zhang Qiong grew anxious: “Aren’t you in Sanya? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be back for a few days? Did you never go at all? Why would you lie to me!”
Liang He remained silent.
Exasperated, Zhang Qiong continued her barrage: “All this time, I thought you were such a kind, reliable person, but why were you so cold just now? I didn’t mistake you for someone else-it was definitely you!”
“What is your name, anyway? Is it Liang He or Li Shihao?”
“Did you really not recognize me just now!”
After venting, Zhang Qiong suddenly felt she had lost her composure. Looking at the wall of text she had sent, she felt a bit undignified.
Two minutes passed; it was too late to unsend the messages.
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
Zhang Qiong suddenly felt like crying.
After waiting for a full five minutes, Liang He finally replied.
“I apologize. I didn’t reply immediately because things were suddenly awkward at home. I found an acquaintance who could help arrange a transfer for my son and we made an appointment to meet today, so I flew back this morning! I was indeed pretending at noon. You might not have noticed your surroundings, but my wife was standing nearby. She could see us perfectly! I had no choice but to act like I didn’t know you!”
Reading this, Zhang Qiong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Tears welled up in her eyes: “You can’t pretend not to know me next time.”
Liang He: “Of course.”
Zhang Qiong: “Then what is your real name?”
Liang He: “It’s Liang He! I just made up Li Shihao on the spot. I just wanted you to get out of my wife’s line of sight as quickly as possible. It would be dangerous for you if she took an interest in you.”
Zhang Qiong: “Alright… then what messages did you recall last night? I saw that you unsent quite a few.”
Liang He: “I did send you some messages last night, but then I worried they might scare you, and I didn’t want to disturb your sleep, so I recalled them.”
Zhang Qiong: “Well, tell me now. It’s broad daylight, I’m not afraid anymore.”
Liang He went silent again.
Zhang Qiong felt that things were likely inconvenient at his home again, so she got up to pack some toiletries, planning to bring them to the hotel for the night.
After finishing her packing, she picked up her phone and saw a message from Liang He.
“I said last night that someone might have entered your home.”
Zhang Qiong stared at the sentence, her skin crawling.
She replied: “What do you mean?”
Liang He: “Are you scared?”
Zhang Qiong suddenly felt that the way Liang He was talking was very strange.
It didn’t fit his personality. He had always been a mature and steady man, but now he seemed like a child playing a prank, leaning in to whisper a horror story in your ear and then watching you expectantly, asking, “Are you scared?”
Zhang Qiong didn’t know how to answer. After thinking for a moment, she said: “I’m scared.”
Liang He: “Don’t be. It’s just an unreliable theory; I have a wild imagination. Are you still staying at home tonight?”
Zhang Qiong: “I’m staying at a hotel tonight.”
Liang He: “By yourself?”
Zhang Qiong: “Yeah. A friend of mine owns the hotel, so it’s very safe.”
Liang He: “Actually, there are many taboos when staying in a hotel. Did you know that?”
Zhang Qiong: “There are rules for that too?”
Liang He: “Mhm. It’s best not to stay at the very beginning or end of a hallway. Also, it’s best to knock three times before entering the room.”
Zhang Qiong: “Why knock before entering an empty room?”
Liang He: “So you don’t disturb the… things that were already staying inside.”
Zhang Qiong suddenly felt that nowhere was safe tonight.
Zhang Qiong: “Stop scaring me. I’m not superstitious.”
Liang He: “Those of us in business tend to be more particular about these things. I hope you don’t mind. But you can stay in a room with a lucky number, like 616, 618, or 888.”
Zhang Qiong: “My friend’s hotel doesn’t seem to have an eighth floor; there are only six floors in total. I’ll pick 616 then. Things have been so rough lately, I hope they start going smoothly.”
Liang He: “They definitely will.”
Zhang Qiong: “Do you business people become rich because you’re particular about these things, or do you become particular once you’re rich?”
Liang He: “They go hand in hand.”
Zhang Qiong: “Then tell me more about these customs. I want to get rich too.”
Liang He: “Then I’ll tell you one that very few people know-it’s best not to use the hotel wardrobe.”
Zhang Qiong: “And why is that?”
Liang He: “I’m afraid the reasoning behind it would scare you, so I won’t say. You probably didn’t bring many clothes anyway; you can just hang them in the bathroom or on a chair. You don’t have to use the wardrobe.”
Zhang Qiong: “Fine. I already thought hotel wardrobes had a musty smell. Now that you’ve said that, I’m definitely not using it.”
Liang He: “Mhm, that’s all for now. I hope you have a pleasant stay tonight. Don’t be scared anymore.”
Zhang Qiong: “When will you be finished with your work? We’ve been chatting for so long and still haven’t met.”
Liang He sent a smiling emoji: “Soon.”