Chapter 88
Chapter 88
When the person outside walked in, He Qian had just gently pulled the wardrobe door shut from inside.
The situation was too urgent. She simply hadn’t had time to run back to the bed and crawl underneath it.
As He Qian rushed into the wardrobe, she used the light from outside to take a quick look around.
The wardrobe was wide and deep. A few hangers were inside, but not a single piece of clothing. In the innermost corner, leaning against the wardrobe wall, was a huge black suitcase.
He Qian held her breath and peered out through the crack in the wardrobe door.
The person outside tossed her bag onto the floor as soon as she came in, then rushed straight into the bathroom.
Through the crack, He Qian only caught a fleeting glimpse of the other person’s shadow. It was a woman. What rotten luck. He Qian had picked a random day to come and “investigate,” and this woman had shown up right after her!
Inwardly, He Qian cursed He Yuchuan for being blind. She had told him to keep watch outside, yet who knew what he was doing? He had actually let this plague of a woman in so easily.
The sound of urinating came from the bathroom. He Qian quickly shifted her feet inside the wardrobe as quietly as possible, feeling her way over to the suitcase.
She slowly turned the suitcase at an angle, creating a triangular space between it and the inner wall of the wardrobe.
The girl began washing her hands. He Qian heard her turn on the faucet and press down on the hand soap dispenser.
Taking advantage of the rushing water, He Qian quickly ducked into the triangular space formed by the suitcase and the wardrobe, then crouched down.
The wardrobe was enormous, and the suitcase was tall. It completely blocked He Qian from view.
Curled up in a ball, He Qian was safely hidden inside.
She heard the girl finish washing her hands and walk over to the wardrobe.
The girl held onto the wardrobe door as she changed into slippers, then picked up the bag from the floor and padded over to the table to set it down.
Then the girl came back. He Qian heard her clearing her throat while taking off her coat and unzipping it.
He Qian held her breath and buried her head against her knees.
The girl opened one side of the wardrobe door, then reached for the other side.
He Qian’s heart leaped into her throat.
Halfway through pulling it open, the girl seemed to decide the wardrobe was big enough, and that opening one side was enough space to hang her clothes, so she closed the other door again.
The girl hung up all her clothes, took a set of pajamas out of her bag and changed into them, then shut the wardrobe door.
He Qian let out a soft breath of relief.
She heard the girl walk over to the bed and sit down. Then she turned on the TV and found a drama to watch.
The reason He Qian had chosen today to enter 302 was because Qin Song had started preparing her for it yesterday, saying that he had to “go on a business trip” today. When He Qian heard him say that, she assumed he was going out of town to visit his little mistress again. She hadn’t expected his little mistress to come here on her own today.
But why had she come alone? Where was Qin Song?
He Qian felt more and more that hiding in the wardrobe wasn’t safe, but the girl was still watching TV. There was no way she could slip away now.
He Qian took out her phone and sent He Yuchuan a message: “Xiaoyu, what are you doing? How did you let her in!”
He Yuchuan replied instantly: “?”
He Qian: “!”
He Yuchuan: “Let who in? I didn’t see the person you described!”
He Qian: “She’s already in here! I’m hiding in the wardrobe now and can’t get out.”
He Yuchuan’s chat box showed “typing,” but no reply came for ages. He Qian was fuming.
About half a minute later, He Yuchuan’s message finally came through.
“Long brown hair, big eyes, short face, fair skin, skinny, young and fashionable… Those are the traits you told me before. I even wrote them down in my notes. That’s right, isn’t it? I was sitting by the elevator just now. A total of eight people came up. Two cleaning ladies, a student couple, three male students, and one middle-aged woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties. There really wasn’t any girl like the one you described! What, did she turn into a mosquito and fly in?”
He even sent a laughing-through-tears meme with it.
He Qian froze for a moment after reading the message.
A ringtone sounded from the bed-the girl’s phone was ringing.
She answered it. “Hello, Qin Song?”
The person on the other end said something.
The girl said, “Mm-hmm, I’ve already moved in. This place is so pretty and comfortable.”
The person on the other end said something else.
The girl said, “It’s fine, no need. I can order takeout myself. Don’t go to the trouble.”
The person on the other end said something else.
The girl said, “Got it. Thank you so much, really.”
The person on the other end of the line said something.
The woman said, “No rush. We can talk after you’re done with work.”
The person on the other end said something else.
The woman said, “Mm, I know. I’ll shower in a bit and get some sleep.”
The person on the other end said something else.
The woman lowered her voice. “Kisses to you too, baby. Now go do whatever you need to do. I’m hanging up.”
He Qian’s eyes slowly widened.
This wasn’t the same girl’s voice from last time at all.
The girl from last time had a sweet voice, and her words carried a soft southern accent.
But this woman today… No, her voice couldn’t even be described as a girl’s. This was clearly a middle-aged woman-her voice was a little nasal, not delicate at all, and He Qian could even hear a faint Shandong lilt at the end of every sentence.
He Qian’s head was about to explode. This woman was Qin Song’s mistress too?!
It seemed Qin Song had already broken up with that young southern girl from last time, cleared out all her things, and moved his new lover in.
She and He Yuchuan had only just finished making their battle plan, and the target had already been upgraded to a new model.
Qin Song usually put on such a good-man act, yet here he was playing emperor in this hotel, keeping a whole harem to bestow his favor upon. He Qian didn’t feel heartbroken or upset in the slightest. She only felt as if her entire worldview had been blown to bits.
She sent He Yuchuan a WeChat message: “The person who came in should be that middle-aged woman you saw earlier. She just called Qin Song. I heard it. She’s Qin Song’s new mistress.”
After a long while, He Yuchuan replied, “…?”
He Qian: “…”
He Yuchuan: “Qin Song already broke up with the woman from last time?”
He Qian: “Yes. He cleared out all her stuff. When I came in, everything that used to be here was gone.”
He Yuchuan: “Are you still in the closet?”
He Qian: “Where else would I be…? But she said she’s going to shower in a bit and then sleep.”
He Yuchuan: “Hang in there a little longer today. Stay inside for a while and see if you can overhear anything else.”
He Qian: “Fine.”
He Qian gently pushed the suitcase forward a little and changed from crouching to sitting against the corner of the closet. This way, her legs wouldn’t get so tired.
The woman was still watching TV. He Qian heard that she was watching Nirvana in Fire.
He Yuchuan: “How much battery does your phone have left?”
He Qian: “75%.”
He Yuchuan: “That’ll last several hours.”
The woman paused the show, got off the bed, and shuffled into the bathroom in her slippers to take a shower.
He Qian: “She’s gone to shower.”
He Yuchuan: “Stay calm. You just happened to stumble on this today-what a rare opportunity! Like I said, know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated. The more we know, the better!”
Bored out of her mind, He Qian scrolled through her WeChat Moments for a while.
After the woman finished showering, she stood in front of the mirror applying a face mask. He Qian heard her tear open the mask packet and toss it into the trash.
He Qian: “I think hiding under the bed would’ve been better. This closet is about to give me claustrophobia.”
He Yuchuan: “It’s fine. I’ll chat with you so you won’t be bored.”
After the woman finished her face mask, she came out and crawled under the covers to sleep.
He Qian: “She’s asleep.”
He Yuchuan: “How about I play a game with you?”
He Qian: “I never play games.”
She exited the WeChat chat, opened her photo album, and started deleting photos to kill time.
After deleting the redundant photos and videos in her album, she began clearing her phone storage and WeChat chat history.
He Qian truly regretted her decision to come in and let He Yuchuan keep watch outside.
Getting in had been easy. Getting out was hard. Staying here was torture.
The woman was still asleep. He Qian could hear her snoring.
He Qian’s head felt swollen. She started updating all the apps on her phone that she had never bothered to update.
After the apps were updated, she went to her shopping apps to check in for coins, draw prizes, spin wheels, and collect energy in Ant Forest…
When she had done all of that, He Qian leaned against the closet wall with a frown, closed her eyes, and tried to force herself to sleep for a little while.
A message from He Yuchuan suddenly came through: “She’s here!”
He Qian glanced at her phone and instantly snapped awake.
A few seconds later, He Qian heard the sound of a key card being swiped at the door.
After several beeps from the card reader, the sound of someone pounding on the door came from outside.