Chapter 78: A Business Trip (Part 7)

When a ditz stops acting like a ditz, it means she is unhappy...

Yet, a top-tier ditz like Zhou Xiaoru acts like a ditz even when she is unhappy.

Case in point: although she is trying her best to ignore the gazes of all the women in the lobby, but...

Those stares are like they have nails in them, making Zhou Xiaoru feel uncomfortable all over!

Having almost walked out of everyone's sight, she suddenly turns and doubles back.

She is going to ask them what exactly these women are looking at!

The row of young ladies at the front desk, seeing her return, immediately put on their polite, official smiles again.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoru is like a little hoodlum in a movie, hands on her hips, head tilted, eyeing the people behind the counter.

With a curl of her lip, she asks directly.

"Excuse me, have you all been staring at me just now!"

Only someone as ditzy as if they were from another planet would ask such a question directly.

This question makes the official smiles of the row of young ladies instantly turn into awkward ones.

Zhou Xiaoru doesn't want to make the atmosphere this awkward either, but she can figure out with her backside why these receptionists, who judge people by their looks, have been staring at her the whole time!

If her guess is correct, Gu Liyan must have already returned, and not only has he returned, he has moved directly into her room!

At this time, the supervisor among the receptionists speaks up.

"Sorry, Miss Zhou, we meant no harm."

It is no wonder; their gazes just now were too deliberate, practically pointing fingers and making comments.

After a moment of thought, she adds, "Mr. Gu has already returned to his room. He said to order food once you returned. If you go back to your room now, we will prepare dinner for the two of you and send it over."

Zhou Xiaoru did not expect this little charade to flush out one key piece of news after another.

Sure enough! That guy is staying in the same room as her!

These hotel receptionists are really something! They even know her name; it seems that for someone like Gu Liyan, staying with her is enough to attract the attention of these staff members.

If the others in the company found out, wouldn't it be like a landmine going off!

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoru shudders; she had better change rooms quickly.

She asks directly, "May I ask, are there any other vacant rooms?"

As she speaks, a receptionist quickly checks the computer, and a moment later she replies.

"What type of room does Miss Zhou need? Currently, besides the Presidential Suite, the only other rooms left are a few Love Hotel Rooms."

Hearing "Love Hotel Room," Miss Zhou almost chokes on her own saliva.

Just as she is swallowing to soothe her uncomfortable throat, a man in black casual wear, carrying a luggage bag and wearing sunglasses, walks up behind her, looking very handsome.

The moment the people at the counter see the newcomer, their eyes instantly light up with excitement!

"Sir, are you looking for a room? Do you have a reservation?"

Zhou Xiaoru turns her head and sees a familiar handsome face appearing beside the counter she is leaning on.

She exclaims in surprise, "Zhou Ding?!"

Zhou Ding, who hadn't noticed the person beside him, turns his head upon hearing the voice, takes off his glasses, and looks equally surprised!

"Xiaoru?!"

That surprise is tinged with a hint of delight, "Why are you here? What a coincidence!"

"I'm here on a business trip with my company, what about you?"

Adding that Fang Qingkong into the mix, this is too much of a coincidence; how did they all end up staying here?

Could there be other acquaintances coming later?

Upon hearing that she is here on a business trip, Zhou Ding is even more surprised.

"Are you here with Liyan?"

Zhou Xiaoru nods, wondering why this guy's eyes are suddenly gleaming!

Zhou Ding immediately reveals a calculating smile; he had long known Gu Liyan would come to W City, but he didn't know he had brought Zhou Xiaoru along.

It seems he has missed many exciting stories.

"I am also here representing our company to participate in this bidding."

"Oh, I see..." As she says this, she glances at the receptionists, who are watching and listening to their reunion.

She takes the initiative to ask Zhou Ding, "Are you staying here?"

"Yes, I heard this hotel was opened by Liyan's best friend, someone named Shen something."

"Shen Andong!"

"Oh, you know him?"

"I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times."

At this, the receptionists become even more polite and courteous.

They didn't expect this unassuming little girl to actually know their Young Master!

You really can't judge a book by its cover!

After glancing at the receptionists again, Zhou Xiaoru tells Zhou Ding about the situation here.

"Right now, the only rooms left in the hotel are a few Presidential Suites and Love Hotel Rooms. See which one you want to stay in."

Zhou Ding raises an eyebrow and asks.

"Where are you staying?"

"......" This question leaves Miss Zhou not knowing how to answer.

After rolling her eyes back and forth, she gets a new idea.

She suggests, "I want to change rooms now. How about this: you book a room for me to stay in, and you can have mine."

Zhou Ding was a bit bewildered, listening to this somewhat strange, well-intentioned advice.

"You give your room to me... I'll book a room for you... Why!"

How did that sound so bizarre!

At this moment, one of the young ladies at the counter kindly cleared up his confusion.

"Miss Zhou is staying in the Presidential Suite with Mr. Gu."

As the words fell, the person who spoke immediately received a laser-like glare!

Zhou Xiaoru glared directly at the person who spoke, wishing she would stop running her mouth!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ding let out a meaningful, "Oh..."

The two of them in one room...

This amount of information was a bit beyond his expectations!

Zhou Ding took out his ID card and gold card directly and said.

"Sorry, please book a Love Hotel Room for this lady."

Zhou Xiaoru's jaw nearly dropped in shock upon hearing this, "Why on earth would you book a Love Hotel Room for me?!"

Zhou Ding, however, looked innocent, "Isn't that what you said? You give your room to me, and I book a new room for you. I didn't do anything wrong, did I? You wouldn't want me to book a Presidential Suite for you, would you? Isn't the suite you're staying in right now one?"

Booking another Presidential Suite would be such a waste for one person...

Listening to this explanation, Zhou Xiaoru almost wanted to knock this guy on the head with her fist!

"You!! I meant find another budget hotel and book a room for me, that would have been fine!"

Just as the two were arguing about what kind of room to book, the young lady at the front desk had already finished processing Zhou Ding's check-in.

"Mr. Zhou, hello, your room is ready. This is your key card. If you need to dine, you can call the internal line to order."

Zhou Ding took back his things and said.

"Thank you."

Seeing the certain Xiaoru on the side whose eyes were about to spit fire, Zhou Ding shrank back in surprise.

"It's your own fault for not being clear, you can't blame me. Besides, I've been looking all along the way in this area, and all the hotels and inns are fully booked."

Zhou Xiaoru was half-doubting, nearly staring a hole through this guy.

Zhou Ding carried his luggage bag and prepared to walk toward the guest room area. After walking a few steps, he turned his head to look at the person still standing in front of the counter glaring at him.

He shouted, "Let's go. If you don't want to stay in the same room as him, then swap with me. If you don't want to swap, then I'll just stay in it myself."

Zhou Xiaoru was speechless; for now, she had no choice but to leave it at that.

Forget it, a Love Hotel Room it is. It's still better than staying in the same room as Gu Liyan.

Walking slowly in front to lead the way, Zhou Ding shook his head with a bit of amusement.

The current Zhou Xiaoru not only made Gu Liyan look at her with new eyes, but she also made him drop his glasses in shock.

He had heard before that Zhou Xiaoru was interning at Tengyuan, and he thought she had gone there specifically because she knew Gu Liyan worked at Tengyuan.

But once he thought about the day they met at school, he felt it was impossible.

It seems the fate between these two hasn't ended yet.

While waiting for the elevator, the two started chatting again.

"I heard you're interning at Tengyuan. How is it? Is work and everything going alright?"

Actually, the subtext of this was: How is Gu Liyan treating you? Has there been any breakthrough progress?

"It's passable."

Although she answered like that on the surface, she was already cursing in her heart.

Passable my foot! These past few months have been like Tang Seng going to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures! A bucket of bitter tears; being a person is truly too hard!

"You and Liyan..."

"We have nothing going on. We live our own lives, there's no intersection between us."

She was trying her best to distance herself, but in Zhou Ding's view, that was not the case at all.

They were already living together, how could they be living their own separate lives?

He didn't expose her words and continued the conversation.

"Sigh... time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, you're already out working."

He couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental about the time back in school. After starting work, it seemed there wasn't much time left for himself.

All day long, it was nothing but work. Even the friends he used to be close with, after graduation, they didn't work in the same city anymore, and contact had become sparse.

Seeing his melancholy expression, Zhou Xiaoru also felt touched.

Although this guy was Gu Liyan's good friend, she felt he wasn't a bad person. After thinking about it, she asked proactively.

"What about you? How are you? What about your girlfriend!"

Zhou Ding chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm busy with work every day, where would I have time to find a girlfriend?"

Zhou Xiaoru paused. She remembered that back in university, this guy had a girlfriend.

"Didn't you have a girlfriend when you were in school!"

Rarely, a bitter smile appeared on Zhou Ding's face.

"Not long after you and Liyan broke up, we broke up too."

Zhou Xiaoru didn't continue this topic. Everyone seemed to be thinking about the past, those unhappy times.

At this moment, the elevator they had been waiting for for a long time finally opened.

The two didn't speak again until they went up.

Zhou Xiaoru remembered the day she broke up with Gu Liyan...

She remembered that day; it was a bright and sunny day, and Gu Liyan had already graduated from graduate school and was about to go abroad.

At that time, she had stayed up for several nights in a row to knit a scarf, and full of anticipation, she wanted to give it to him.

But in the end, she didn't manage to give her gift away; what she waited for instead was a single sentence from Gu Liyan.

"I've tried, we don't work, let's just break up."

Just the day before, while they were eating, she had still been swearing that she would wait for him to return from abroad.

But now, she didn't need to wait anymore; that man didn't care for her waiting at all.

To him, her waiting was merely a waste of her own youth and time.

Her secret crush, her first love, just like that, ended...