Zhan Jingrui had never seen such a dilapidated place before and couldn't help but frown.
"Didn't they say the factory arranged dormitories? Why would it be in a place like this?"
The dormitories he imagined, at the very least, would be like the student dormitories arranged by his school.
While not luxurious, they were at least clean and tidy.
Who would have thought that the factory arranging a place to live at all would be considered good enough, and that there would be different standards?
He Yao explained as she pushed open the car door.
"The factory rented a place for me. It's inside. We'll be there soon. Thank you for the trouble, you can go now."
As she spoke, the car door was already open, and the fierce storm immediately surged towards them.
Even Zhan Jingrui, sitting in the front row, could feel the power of the storm.
Since he had already sent her this far, he might as well see it through to the end.
Zhan Jingrui turned back and commanded her.
"Close the door. How much further? I'll drive you there."
How could she impose on him further? He Yao absolutely did not want to trouble him again.
Moreover, the place they lived was truly shabby, and she didn't want Zhan Jingrui to see her in such a mess.
"No need, it's just at the entrance of the residential area. A few steps away."
Zhan Jingrui felt something was not right. She was being evasive, as if afraid he would know where she lived.
Could it be that, like before, she was hiding something?
Without listening to her further hesitation, he stepped on the accelerator and drove into the alley.
He Yao hurriedly stopped him, "Don't, don't go in. The alley is very narrow, it's difficult for cars to turn around!"
He paid no attention.
There was nothing she could do. The car had already started, and He Yao couldn't get out. She could only close the car door again.
Because the terrain was low and the water was deep, Zhan Jingrui drove slowly, fearing that the engine would be flooded. He said to He Yao as he drove.
"Tell me when we arrive."
He Yao looked out the window at the run-down civilian houses, thinking of picking a presentable one to stop at.
Unexpectedly, before she could find a spot, she saw her roommate with her trouser legs rolled up very high, holding an umbrella in one hand and a suitcase on her shoulder, trudging through the water with great difficulty.
He Yao's eyelids twitched. Sensing that something had happened in the dormitory, she disregarded her appearance and rolled down the car window to call out to her.
"Luo Jia, why are you running out with a suitcase in such heavy rain? Where are you going?"
Luo Jia looked up and saw her sitting in the Bentley, her face filled with joy, and she quickly waded towards them.
"I was just about to call you. It's good you're back! You heard about the dormitory, right?"
"Damn it, I'm really fed up. I told them long ago to fix the sewer, but they wouldn't. Now look what's happened..."
"There's water everywhere on the floor, and my clothes smell. I was planning to pack your things too, but look, in this heavy rain, it's hard for me to do it alone."
"Whose car is this? I still have two boxes upstairs. Pack your things quickly and have them help us take them out!"
Luo Jia was a clerk in the first production workshop. Like He Yao, because there were few female employees in the workshop and she was quite attractive, she was very popular among her male colleagues.
Accustomed to being pursued and flattered by everyone, she always felt it was natural for others to serve her. Her speech was always condescending and careless.
He Yao didn't want Zhan Jingrui to hear this, but Luo Jia, like a deflating balloon, poured it all out.
As she spoke, she came to the car, opened the door herself, and was about to shove her suitcase in.
He Yao quickly pushed her box away.
"Don't put it in yet, the car isn't mine, and he has other things to do later. Didn't you call your boyfriend?"
The rain was too heavy, so Luo Jia shouted.
"I did! He said the water in the city center is too deep for his car to get through, and told me to wait. That's why I'm slowly moving out myself!"
"Whose car is it? What's wrong with using it? We're not going too far, you can't be that stingy, can you?"
As she spoke, she leaned forward to look, only seeing Zhan Jingrui's clean back of the head.
"Did you meet someone new over there? Since he's already driven you back, he wouldn't begrudge a little gas, would he? Oh, move inside, I can't carry it anymore, it's so heavy..."
He Yao insisted she not get in, "It's really not possible, you'll dirty his car. If you can't carry it, I'll get out and help you."
Saying that, she forcefully pushed her box out and was about to get out of the car herself.
Even if Zhan Jingrui were foolish, he could tell that He Yao's situation was not good.
Hearing her say she was getting out, he looked back, "What happened?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm getting out. This is my roommate. Nothing can happen to the two of us, you can rest assured. Go forward about ten meters, there's a wider spot where you can turn around. Thank you for driving me back."
As she spoke, she put one foot out.
This determination to draw a clear line between them, making him seem even worse than Xu Zheng, thoroughly angered Zhan Jingrui.
He reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Can't you just talk to me properly? What exactly is wrong?"
With this grip, he realized her clothes were even wetter than they looked.
Her hands were covered in water, and she must have been very uncomfortable.
Luo Jia stood outside, holding her suitcase and exhausted. Seeing He Yao like this, she impatiently shoved the suitcase in again, filled with regret that she hadn't succeeded.
"Oh, the driver doesn't even care, why do you care so much? I'm exhausted. Hurry up, I can't carry it, put my box in quickly!"
As she squeezed the suitcase in, she said to Zhan Jingrui.
"Our old dormitory's sewer pipe has been broken for over a week. I've told them many times to fix it, but they haven't. It's okay normally, at worst you just hold it in and don't use the toilet in the dorm. Who knew it would rain so heavily today."
"The pipe backed up, and a colleague who had taken leave and was sleeping in the dorm called me to let me know. The sewage from the toilet had overflowed onto the floor."
"Fortunately, I came back early, otherwise all my belongings would have been ruined. But I still have two boxes in the hallway. He Yao, don't worry, I've checked yours too, it's fine for now."
Zhan Jingrui looked at He Yao in the rearview mirror. She was staring blankly at Luo Jia, seemingly hating her for talking too much.
He felt even more annoyed: What was wrong with telling me about such a big problem? You weren't this hesitant when you needed my help before.
Under Luo Jia's direction, Zhan Jingrui quickly drove to the front of their building.
It was a very, very old residential building.
There was no courtyard, and the stairs were right in front.
Due to the low-lying ground, the bottom four steps were already submerged in water.
Luo Jia and He Yao pushed open the car doors and darted into the building. Zhan Jingrui also opened his car door.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye, He Yao quickly stopped him again as she saw him about to get out.
"No, don't come down. The hallway is very dirty. You wait in the car. I'll be down soon."
After speaking, the two girls ran upstairs skillfully.