He Yao enjoyed a good meal, but the next day, she suffered from internal heat.
Not only did she get mouth ulcers, but two pimples also appeared on her chin.
She went to see houses with a real estate agent, bare-faced, and after a whole day, her legs were worn out without finding anything suitable.
Either the location and space of the houses were good, but the prices were outrageously high.
Or the prices were barely acceptable, but the locations were ridiculously remote.
Someone like He Yao, who earned only a few thousand yuan a month, was reluctant to rent a place in the city center.
Spending half her salary on rent and utilities each month was like working for the landlord.
She decided to look at more options. After all, she wasn't paying for the hotel herself. She had to choose the most suitable one.
She worked during the day and went house hunting after work. Busy like this, time flew by, and it was Wednesday again.
Xu Zheng, a bit late to realize, remembered that He Yao was still staying in a hotel and came to ask her.
"Hey, I say, have you gotten addicted to staying in hotels? Aren't you looking for a place to live? Why haven't you found one yet?"
He Yao disliked his overly shrewd demeanor, pretending to be confused when he knew the truth.
"Who says I haven't been looking? I go out house hunting every day after work, and my legs are about to fall off, but I haven't found anything?"
"You know what the housing prices in Suzhou are like. With my salary, can I just pick and choose?"
Xu Zheng plopped down on her desk. "Can you speak to me with a better attitude? After all, I am your boss..."
He Yao poked his leg with her pen. "Boss, it's working hours. If you sit on my desk like this and people see, it'll have a bad influence."
"Tsk, I'm talking to you seriously!"
"Am I not talking seriously to you?"
"Alright, alright, He Yao, I won't argue with you. I just want to tell you something. I'm not just your boss, but also your old classmate, and more importantly, a young, strong, financially independent single man."
"If you really can't find a suitable place, and you don't want to settle for living in a remote area..."
He Yao looked at him coldly with her bright, watery eyes.
Xu Zheng smiled. "We all know each other's background. I understand your past, and you know about me. Between adults..."
He Yao interjected, "Are you trying to say that since you're single now, and I don't have a place to live, we might as well live together at your place?"
"We're both adults, so we can each take what we need. You don't charge me rent, and I don't ask for anything else. A friendly cooperation, right?"
Xu Zheng met her beautiful eyes, and after two seconds, he slapped the desk with his big hand.
"Do you know why I've been unable to forget about you all these years? He Yao, you're different from most beauties."
"Not only are you beautiful, but your personality is also what I admire."
"You're straightforward, you don't hide anything, you don't make people guess your thoughts, you say what you think. I absolutely love that about you!"
"You're absolutely right. Look at me, I'm quite handsome, and although my business isn't huge, it's not small either. Even if you date someone else, like Manager Tang, won't it eventually reach that point?"
"He's not as good as me. Instead of him, you'd be better off with me."
He Yao leaned back, looking at him leisurely from her chair.
"But if I dated someone like Manager Tang, we might get married. What benefits can I get from you?"
Xu Zheng: "Although it's unlikely we'll get married, I won't mistreat you. During festivals, birthdays, anniversaries, you'll get the gifts you deserve."
"After a while, you'll earn quite a bit, won't you? And you'll still be a noble single lady after leaving me, not delaying your search for a new partner."
Well said.
He was really pushing the boundaries of shamelessness.
However, this wasn't the most absurd among the oddballs He Yao had encountered.
If it were someone less experienced, a young girl, she might have been swayed by him.
Unfortunately, He Yao's first love was Zhan Jingrui.
As the saying goes, "Once you've seen the sea, other waters are no longer water; once you've seen Wu Shan, no other clouds are clouds."
Having experienced the ultimate scumbag and the ultimate handsome guy, no one could truly enter her heart now.
"Considering we're old classmates, I'll pretend the harassment just now didn't happen. If you dare mention it to me again, I'll reveal your true colors to another old classmate, Zhan Jingrui."
"Xu Zheng, you wouldn't want Zhan Jingrui to know, would you?"
Xu Zheng's smile vanished, and he stood up from her desk.
"Look at you, it's either yes or no. I'm just discussing this with you, I'm not forcing you, so why are you getting angry?"
"Fine, fine, if you're not willing, I'll find someone else. Work hard."
Xu Zheng's words made He Yao understand even more clearly that all men were motivated by self-interest, and no one was willing to let a woman they had no relationship with gain benefits for nothing.
She could stay in a hotel for a day or two, but after a long time, Xu Zheng would also be reluctant. She had to speed up her house search.
Having stood Tang Gong up twice, he hadn't had a chance to meet He Yao.
To be honest, he missed her quite a bit.
She always said she was busy when he asked her out these past few days, and she had valid reasons.
She even sent him chat logs with the real estate agent, leaving Tang Gong speechless.
However, he wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Seeing He Yao troubled by her house search every day, he also mobilized his connections to help. On Friday, he indeed found something.
A female colleague at the company who was about to resign had her apartment vacated. She wanted to get rid of everything except some clothes, cosmetics, and valuables, and asked in a group chat if anyone wanted to take them over.
Tang Gong inquired about the price, which was quite reasonable, and he accepted on He Yao's behalf.
He messaged He Yao, asking her to go see it together after work.
When He Yao heard about such a good opportunity, where she could move in with just her bags and the price was not high, she quickly agreed.
As soon as she agreed, Xu Zheng came to find her again, saying that the supplier qualification certificate had been in hand for a long time, but Zhan's company had been slow to issue the order, and they needed to figure something out.
He Yao didn't have time to figure it out. "Didn't you want me to move out of the hotel urgently? I need to go see a house."
Xu Zheng casually asked, "How come you've already found a place? Where is it? Is it safe?"
He Yao didn't want to explain, but to get rid of him quickly, she told him truthfully.
"It's introduced by an acquaintance, so it should be fine. Don't worry, you won't be held responsible if anything happens."
That was great. Xu Zheng returned to his desk.
He put his legs up on the desk, rocking his chair leisurely, and sent a message to Zhan Jingrui, asking him to dinner.
Zhan Jingrui hadn't seen He Yao for a week.
It seemed that besides playing chess, they had no other reason to meet.
Since that meal, a seed of longing had been planted. He kept thinking about her renting a place, feeling restless these past few days.
Normally, if Xu Zheng messaged him, he would ignore it. But today, he replied almost instantly.
"Where? With whom?"
Xu Zheng obsequiously said, "You decide the place. Let's catch up."
"Isn't your assistant also our old classmate? You always talk about catching up, why haven't you brought her along?"