After two seconds of eye contact, Zhan Jingrui walked towards her.
"Let's find a hotel to stay in first, and then look for Auntie tomorrow. You two can discuss it properly."
As they drove to the hotel in his car, He Yao couldn't help but secretly observe him several times.
His facial features were too sharp, his profile as perfect as a sculpture.
The hands gripping the steering wheel were well-defined, large, and long, and the sports watch on his wrist was dazzling.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: No wonder so many girls had a crush on him, he was truly worthy.
Good looks, good family background, and a good heart too. He had already helped her several times. If she had a normal family like others, she might also like this kind of guy.
It was a pity, she was born to be abandoned, unworthy of love, and didn't even have the right to admire him from afar.
He Yao waited in the car while Zhan Jingrui went to book a room.
About five minutes later, he came out and gave her the room card.
"This is not far from school. I've already inquired. There's a bus stop about 800 meters ahead, and you can take bus number 318 to school."
His well-defined large hand reached out to her.
He Yao made sure not to touch his skin. "Thank you. And the 500 yuan I owe you from last time, I haven't forgotten."
Zhan Jingrui didn't pick up on her words, and instead said,
"Alright, go up. Turn off your phone and don't answer his calls."
He Yao nodded and turned to leave.
Zhan Jingrui sat in the car, watching her until she walked through the lobby and entered the elevator before withdrawing his gaze.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Zhan Jingrui went to class and instinctively glanced at He Yao's seat first.
She was fine, already present, and he felt relieved.
He thought the day would pass peacefully, but at noon, the homeroom teacher came to the classroom to call He Yao, saying that her parents had asked for leave for her and she needed to go out.
The teacher's arrival during lunch break was already attention-grabbing, and it was concerning He Yao, who was sitting next to him. Zhan Jingrui received the information immediately.
"What's going on? He Yao is taking leave again? She's not attending class this afternoon?"
Zhan Jingrui looked towards her, and at that moment, He Yao was also looking in his direction.
She seemed to have something to say but also a sense of resignation.
Zhan Jingrui mustered some courage, pushed his deskmate aside, stood up, and walked towards the homeroom teacher.
"What's wrong?"
The homeroom teacher looked at him kindly as he approached. Zhan Jingrui said,
"It's nothing serious, I just suddenly felt unwell and want to take leave this afternoon."
It was always easy for good students to take leave, and the teacher showed him some concern before approving his request.
"You need to come to the office with me to fill out a leave request form."
The three of them walked out together. His deskmate curiously mouthed at Zhan Jingrui through the glass, asking what he was doing, but Zhan Jingrui ignored him.
The homeroom teacher walked ahead, while Zhan Jingrui and He Yao walked side-by-side at a not-too-close distance. Suddenly, he reached out and touched her back.
He Yao turned back, and he gestured with his eyes for her to wait.
He Yao nodded at him.
Soon, Zhan Jingrui's leave request form was completed, and the two of them met under the teachers' office building.
Zhan Jingrui asked her, "Did he come looking for you?"
He Yao said, "It won't be my mother, and it won't be my aunt."
"And you're just going to leave with him like that?"
"I didn't plan to go with him. But the teacher called me, and I couldn't just not move."
"Where are you planning to go then?"
"I don't know."
He Yao looked up at the sky and sighed leisurely.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to repay the money I owe you anytime soon, so why don't you lend me some more? Leave your phone number for me, and I'll pay you back when I earn money."
"So your plan for 18 years old is moving up?"
He Yao couldn't be bothered to explain. After a pause, she said,
"When I couldn't sleep last night, I calculated that with travel expenses, rent, and living expenses for the first month, I might need to borrow another 2,000 yuan from you. Is that okay? When I earn money, I'll return 3,000 yuan to you."
Zhan Jingrui found her words annoying. "Where are you planning to go?"
"I'm going to find a job in a factory. My age isn't that far off, so I should be able to find work."
Zhan Jingrui knew the importance of education better than anyone else from a young age.
The many platitudes that were so familiar to him were swallowed back down his throat.
After a moment of silence, he said to He Yao,
"We'll go out through the south gate. You come with me."
Zhan Jingrui wasn't riding his bike, and they walked out through the south gate. With the leave request form as protection, they successfully avoided He Yao's stepfather.
Getting into a taxi, He Yao asked him where they were going. He took down his schoolbag, found the flyer she had sent him last time, and opened it to look.
"Here."
A flicker of surprise crossed He Yao's eyes, but Zhan Jingrui didn't explain.
There were few cars and people on the streets at this hour, and the driver quickly took them to their destination.
Looking at the modestly sized sales center, He Yao realized.
"You're not going to buy a house, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I? Is there anyone who says I can't buy one?"
Of course, no one said she couldn't, but where did he get so much money?
The sales center staff quickly surrounded them, not asking about their age, assuming they were a young couple, and enthusiastically introducing suitable properties for couples.
Zhan Jingrui quickly selected a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, over 110 square meters, a fully furnished small apartment.
"Let's go see this one."
The property was not far from the sales center, and the three of them walked there.
The staff walked ahead, and He Yao couldn't help but ask Zhan Jingrui from behind,
"You're really going to buy a house? It's over 500,000 yuan, where did you get so much money?"
For children from ordinary families, 500,000 yuan was an astronomical sum, but for Zhan Jingrui, it was less than a fraction of his pocket money.
His private assets from ten years ago were already more than this amount.
If he hadn't been afraid of startling He Yao by buying too good a house, he could have afforded something much better.
"Scholarships. My family rewards me whenever my grades are good, and I saved it up."
He Yao was dumbfounded by his words.
The pocket money his family gave him was enough to buy a house; his family must be incredibly wealthy.
The house was nice, and not too far from school. Zhan Jingrui quickly signed the contract.
In less than two hours, he received the key.
He handed one to He Yao. "You live here first, I don't need it."
So he spent over 500,000 yuan to buy a house, was it for himself?
He Yao was too shocked to say anything for a moment.
Zhan Jingrui glanced at her expression and knew she was overthinking.
"Don't overthink it, I don't mean anything else. I just feel it's a shame to give up on life so early, and you're not stupid."
"This money doesn't mean much to me. If it can change your destiny, then it has served its purpose. Remember to keep it a secret."
It was still early, and it was not appropriate to go home or back to school at this hour.
He Yao looked at the key and thought for a moment. Since it was already bought, she might as well accept this favor from him.
But she couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark: "Are you this generous to all female classmates?"
Zhan Jingrui initially wanted to explain, but then he thought about it.
They weren't that close, and for him to suddenly be so good to her, anyone would suspect ulterior motives, right?
Moreover, her appearance was indeed quite attractive to the opposite sex.
"I'm not that bored."
"Didn't you need to borrow 3,000 yuan? I'll transfer it to you."