Chapter 33: A Petal of Snow-White

When Chen Nuo carried Xia Yehe inside, he had imagined many scenarios and pre-set many responses.

But he hadn't expected the auntie at the hotel front desk to just glance at him once, seemingly accustomed to his situation, and say indifferently: "Only one room with a large bed left, 200 for the night, 200 deposit, check out before 12 noon. If there's blood on the sheets, the deposit won't be refunded." She then continued to lower her head and knit.

"Uh, okay, but I didn't bring my ID..."

"Add 50."

Fine, since it was so assembly-line, Chen Nuo stopped feeling anxious, paid the 450 yuan directly, took the room card, and carried Xia Yehe upstairs.

Because there was an elevator, this time was much easier than the last.

Chen Nuo carried Xia Yehe into the room on the 5th floor, first placed her on that soft, fluffy bed, then turned back to insert the power card, turned on the air conditioning, and prepared to cover her with the quilt and leave.

Turning his face, he discovered that Xia Yehe had opened her eyes at some point and was staring at him without blinking.

Chen Nuo let out a breath and said: "You're awake? Good, cover yourself with the quilt, I'm leaving. The car is downstairs, the keys are here. Drive the car back yourself tomorrow, okay?"

Chen Nuo waited for a while, seeing that Xia Yehe hadn't spoken, and said: "Then I'm leaving. Bye-bye."

Turning around, having just walked two steps, he heard Xia Yehe's drunken voice from behind: "Tell the truth, are you really gay?"

Chen Nuo froze, then turned his head.

Xia Yehe had indeed drunk quite a lot; her fair cheeks were flushed with a peach-red hue, her eyes half-open and half-closed, seemingly about to fall back asleep the next second, making her gaze look hazy and somewhat blurred. She maintained the side-lying posture from when she got on the bed, her long legs slightly bent and overlapping. From Chen Nuo's perspective, he could see the rounded curve of her hips. Her top was a bit messy, the collar pulled down to the position of her collarbone, revealing a patch of snow-white, translucent neck.

Chen Nuo coughed lightly and said: "I'm not."

The very bad, very bad Chen Nuo began to stand up, standing proudly between heaven and earth.

"Then... do you look down on me?"

"Even less likely."

Xia Yehe's gaze wandered over his face, seemingly trying to distinguish whether what he said was true or false. "Do you know? What Li Hongying said is true; I was able to perform in this movie of yours this time because I went to her office and begged her. Otherwise, there are too many people who want to dance with you, it wouldn't have been my turn at all."

She finally adjusted her posture, lying flat on the bed, her gaze looking at the ceiling, pulling the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Chen Kexin's movie, who wouldn't want to act in it? What if I get picked? If I'm invited to be a supporting role in the next play, I'll have entered the entertainment industry. Although the chance is small, you can't say it doesn't exist, right?"

Chen Nuo nodded. "Mm."

Xia Yehe murmured: "I also want to be like Zhou Xun, acting, becoming famous, making lots and lots of money." As she spoke, she flipped over again, lying on the bed, looking at Chen Nuo and asking: "How did you start acting? Can you tell me?"

"I can." Chen Nuo rubbed his nose and said, "I just had better luck; I was walking on the road and was spotted by someone, who called me to film a movie."

"Spotted by Chen Kexin? Is it this one?"

"No. It's another one, a small production, the director is a graduate student from the Beijing Film Academy named Zhang Yi. We filmed for about a month or so, and later Director Zhang introduced me to a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, letting me follow her to learn acting. Later, the teacher recommended me to Director Chen."

Xia Yehe's eyes were full of envy: "You're really lucky."

Chen Nuo nodded and said: "Yeah, my dad said I've met noble people all the way. I think so too. Actually, I didn't have any interest in acting at the beginning. Why did I come to Beijing? It's because my grades were too bad to get into other schools, so my dad told me to take the exam for the Film Academy."

Xia Yehe laughed out loud: "Exactly the same as me, I also hated studying, so my parents made me learn to dance since I was little." "When did you start dancing?"

"Second grade of elementary school. At first, I practiced with our elementary school music teacher, later when I was a bit older, my dad and the others specifically signed me up for an interest class in the city, going to learn two days a week. At that time, my dad fished, and my mom sold the catch; our family's conditions were pretty good..."

"And then?"

Xia Yehe said indifferently: "Later my mom got lung cancer and died, two years later my dad took a new wife, but not many years later he himself got uremia and had to go for dialysis every week, so the family fortune was hollowed out bit by bit. My brother worked two jobs to earn money, and as a result, one night on his way home, he was hit by a car. The driver ran away and wasn't found; ever since then, my brother's brain hasn't been very good either."

Xia Yehe said it lightly, and there was no expression on her face.

Chen Nuo carefully identified the expression on the girl's face.

In his past life, whether it was in KTVs or bars, he had heard countless people say countless similar things, and his ears were almost calloused from hearing them.

And those women telling him these things were, of course, for his money.

And her? Would this dancer be the same?

Or rather...

Xia Yehe looked at him and suddenly smiled: "Why say all this, let's not talk about it, anyway, I can still get by now. Ah, my head is so dizzy, Liu Jiaojiao and those crazy women poured me so much wine today, luckily I didn't vomit, otherwise it would be really embarrassing. Come over and help me, I want to go to the bathroom."

Chen Nuo didn't act coy, walked over directly, and helped her up from the bed.

Xia Yehe leaned half her body against him, seemingly without any strength, her small face leaning against his chest, the hot air she exhaled passing through his clothes into his skin, hot and itchy.

Chen Nuo helped her into the bathroom all the way, sat her on the toilet, and only then let go.

Whether it was the wine rising or what, Xia Yehe's face was so red it looked like it was about to drip blood, and her voice was soft and weak: "Thank you."

"It's okay, call me when you're done."

Chen Nuo bowed his waist slightly, walked out of the bathroom, and stood at the door.

Afterwards, hearing a burst of rustling water sounds from inside the door, he realized that the soundproofing of this hotel was so poor. He felt that he might not just need to bow his waist later, but would have to squat down.

Just as he was preparing to move further away from the door, he suddenly heard Xia Yehe scream.

Chen Nuo didn't think much at all, grabbed the doorknob with his backhand, and pushed the door open.

He saw Xia Yehe leaning forward, her legs slightly bent, presenting a semi-squatting posture, both hands stuck at the position of her waistband, while her pants hadn't been pulled up yet, stuck at the root of her thighs. From Chen Nuo's angle, he happened to take in a petal of white, tender, and rounded flesh.

Chen Nuo stayed in place, neither entering nor retreating.

Xia Yehe's brain didn't seem to be turning either; she just maintained that posture, turned her head, and said in a hoarse voice: "There was a cockroach just now."

"Oh." Chen Nuo nodded, meeting Xia Yehe's eyes, and the two of them just stared at each other like that, neither moving their gaze away.

Afterwards, he walked into the bathroom, slowly approaching Xia Yehe step by step, saying softly in his mouth: "Cockroaches are very bad, don't move, I'll come and help you hit it."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 34 =====