We Barely Know Each Other, but I'm Living with a Stone-Faced Mechanic! - Chapter 43

Their room was 203. After registering, Tao Ying and Qin Zheng took the key card upstairs.

The place was nothing like the hotels Tao Ying usually stayed in. There was no expensive fragrance, no spotless, airy interior. Even the lighting was harsh.

But they had no other choice. However shabby it was, it still offered shelter from the wind and rain.

When they opened the door to Room 203, a sharp blast of air freshener struck them.

The room was small, with a single bed positioned against the center of one wall.

Tao Ying stopped short. The woman at reception had said there was only one room left, but she had not mentioned it was such a cramped single.

She turned and met Qin Zheng’s eyes.

He looked equally stunned. How were they supposed to sleep?

He surveyed the room. It was reasonably clean, but every piece of furniture looked decades old. The glass around the bathroom, visible from anywhere in the room, had accumulated a cloudy film from years of use.

Tao Ying could not hide her distaste.

“Sit down for a while,” Qin Zheng said. “I’m going out.”

“Where?” she asked.

“To have a cigarette.”

He left the room and went straight downstairs.

The two women at reception brightened at once when they saw him. “Handsome, did you need something?”

Qin Zheng smiled. “Are there any other hotels nearby?”

“There are, but none of them will have vacancies. Don’t you already have a room?”

“It isn’t very convenient for my friend and me to stay together.”

“You aren’t a couple?” The woman sounded surprised. Qin Zheng’s face was hard to forget, and the woman traveling with him possessed looks and bearing far beyond the ordinary.

Qin Zheng shook his head with obvious regret. “No.”

“Then… this won’t be easy. With the storm and the accident, you can’t find a room anywhere in town. Even if you offer extra money, no one will necessarily give theirs up.”

Qin Zheng had some loose cash in his wallet. He took out two hundred yuan and passed it over. “Buy yourselves some milk tea. If a cleaner, more comfortable room becomes available, the price doesn’t matter.”

They were clearly locals and knew every small hotel in town.

Money could move people. Someone might be willing to trade after all.

“Oh, we couldn’t possibly.” The woman smiled as she pretended to refuse.

“It’s fine. If nothing works out, that’s fine too. It’s difficult getting around in this rain. Consider it milk tea on me.”

With that, Qin Zheng returned upstairs.

Tao Ying opened the door when she heard his knock.

She sniffed suspiciously. “Didn’t you go smoke?”

There was no trace of cigarette smoke on him.

“It must have blown off quickly.”

Still doubtful, Tao Ying let him inside.

Qin Zheng entered. “We’ve spent the whole day stuck in traffic. Stop standing and rest. I’ll order dinner.”

“Wait.” Tao Ying stopped him. “Could you go out and buy dinner instead? I want to shower.”

The bathroom glass faced the head of the bed. It was not transparent, but a blurred silhouette would still be visible. Given their relationship, how could that not be awkward?

“All right.”

Qin Zheng left the room again.

Travel was inconvenient enough under normal circumstances. Being thrown together by a storm made everything worse.

Tao Ying had never showered so quickly, though she felt much fresher afterward.

Half an hour passed, and Qin Zheng still had not returned.

She called, but he did not answer.

Rain poured outside, and Tao Ying began to worry.

She had just picked up her jacket when someone knocked on the door.

Tao Ying opened it. Qin Zheng walked in carrying steaming food.

“We’ll have to make do today,” he said. “After we eat, we can open the door and air out the smell.”

“It’s fine. What did you buy?”

“I found a breakfast shop and bought buns and congee. The other places didn’t look very clean.”

“That’s enough. Sit down and eat.” Tao Ying was not picky under the circumstances.

She took two vegetable buns and a cup of congee, making a simple meal of it.

When they finished, she gathered the trash. “Go shower. I’ll take this downstairs.”

“You can stay in here,” Qin Zheng said. “All sorts of people are staying in this place. Don’t go out alone.”

“It’s fine. I’ll only be downstairs getting some air. Go on. I’ll be back in ten minutes or so.”

Qin Zheng knew she felt embarrassed, so he did not insist.

After throwing away the trash, Tao Ying went to the lobby alone.

One of the receptionists saw her and waved her over.

Puzzled, Tao Ying approached.

“Here. These are for you and that handsome man.” The woman pressed two cups of milk tea into her hands.

“But…”

“Take them. He paid for them in the first place.”

Unable to refuse such enthusiasm, Tao Ying accepted the bag.

“Tell him there aren’t any clean rooms nearby, and no one is willing to trade.”

Tao Ying froze briefly, then nodded.

Enough time had passed. She carried the drinks upstairs.

At the room, she found the door ajar and pushed it open.

Qin Zheng stood with his upper body bare, halfway through pulling on an undershirt.

His shoulders and back were broad, the shifting lines along his spine combining lean strength with a powerful sense of safety.

He looked over and immediately pulled the shirt into place.

Sharing one room already made Tao Ying tense and embarrassed. Remaining half dressed would only make things harder for her.

“What are you carrying?” he asked, doing his best to sound natural.

“Milk tea. The women at reception gave it to me.” Tao Ying offered him one. “Try it.”

Qin Zheng laughed. “At least they remembered to get two.”

He inserted the straw, pulled a chair to the window, and sat. Tao Ying perched at the foot of the bed.

They drank in silence while watching the rain outside.

“When do you think it’ll stop?” Tao Ying asked.

“Hard to say. If it keeps falling like this, the whole town will flood.”

Tao Ying sucked a tapioca pearl into her mouth and chewed slowly.

Qin Zheng smiled at the sight of her puffed cheek. “Good?”

“Too sweet.” She frowned. “It’s cloying.”

“Then stop drinking it.”

“That would be wasteful.”

When she reached the final mouthful, Tao Ying asked, “You didn’t go downstairs to smoke, did you?”

The appearance of the milk tea had already told Qin Zheng that he could no longer hide it. He nodded. “I asked whether there was a better room. Did the receptionist tell you there wasn’t?”

“There aren’t any rooms.”

Qin Zheng laughed. No wonder the women had used two cups of milk tea to apologize.

After finishing, Tao Ying threw away her cup. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

She and Qin Zheng exchanged a look. He stood and opened it.

The muscular man outside froze when he saw Qin Zheng, then said, “Sorry. Wrong room.”

Qin Zheng’s expression darkened. He knew perfectly well whether the man had truly knocked on the wrong door.

He closed the door and turned to Tao Ying. “Have you seen him before?”

She nodded. “I passed him in the hallway when I came upstairs.”

Qin Zheng frowned. “I won’t sleep tonight. I’ll keep watch for you.”

Tao Ying also understood that the man had likely approached with bad intentions, but she did not agree with Qin Zheng staying awake.

“If the rain stops tomorrow, you still have to drive. I’ve never driven a vehicle like yours. You can’t go without sleep tonight.”

“Then…” Qin Zheng glanced at the bed. “There’s only one.”

“I know.” Tao Ying said, “We’ll make do for one night. Hopefully we can leave tomorrow.”

Everything was settled before nine.

The room’s light was dim. After sitting in the car all day, Tao Ying’s hips and lower back ached.

They had already reached this point. If either of them became coy, they would only make the situation more uncomfortable.

So she took the initiative. “The bed isn’t that small. We’ll each take one side.”