Chapter 28 Hotel Address, Don't Make Me Ask a Third Time!

In modern Chinese, dreams are defined as a fictional, beautiful realm, while in psychology they are seen as a reflection of subconscious activity.

When Lin Yu saw this explanation, she and Jia Yi were having a spa treatment at a massage parlor.

She was exhausted. The virtual world of exercise had drained her energy. She felt she might need to escape from her brother for a while, otherwise she might be completely drained before she even got to eat meat.

Jiayi peeled off the face mask from her chin, folded it in the center of her face so she could speak more easily: "Hasn't Yi's appearance affected him at all?"

"It's not entirely without reason." Lin Yu thought about Zhou Ke's recent behavior. "It seems like he's been avoiding me."

"How so?"

Lin Yu sighed, "He's been incredibly busy lately. He's already out when I wake up every day and doesn't come back until the early hours of the morning. Before Yi showed up, he rarely even went to bars."

Upon hearing this, Jiayi felt there was hope: "Maybe this is just the beginning. Otherwise, we can just pretend nothing happened. So what are you planning to do next?"

Lin Yu felt like she had just run a kilometer with sandbags strapped to her back. After changing out of her face mask, the young woman behind her gently wiped her face with a wet wipe. She opened her eyes, looked at the snow-white ceiling above her, and said, "I plan to ask Cong Yi out the night after tomorrow."

"Tonight." Jiayi suddenly turned her head to look at Lin Yu and asked, "A date?"

Lin Yu thought about her plan for a moment and replied ambiguously, "I guess so."

Jiayi immediately asked, "Where are we going?"

Lin Yu: "Hotel".

...

"hotel!!!!!"

Across the table, Cong Yi abruptly put down his chopsticks and looked at Lin Yu in shock. "What are you going to do? You're not going to go to a hotel with me, are you?" With that, he leaned back sharply and looked over warily. "We agreed beforehand that I don't provide that kind of service."

To express her gratitude to Cong Yi, Lin Yu specially invited him out for dinner and to discuss matters for tomorrow.

The restaurant was set up at Ruyi Ju, a Chinese-style restaurant specializing in mixed cuisine. Its most famous dish is the Eight-Flavor Shrimp, a round platter made up of shrimp with eight different flavors. This restaurant is very popular in Tongcheng. In the past, many online food bloggers came to check it out, and it is a must-eat on the travel guide lists of many tourists.

Compared to shrimp, she prefers the osmanthus-flavored lotus root from this restaurant. The lotus root is stuffed with soaked glutinous rice, cooked in a pressure cooker, and then sliced ​​and drizzled with a special osmanthus syrup.

After finishing a piece, she raised her eyelashes, picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. "Don't worry, your virginity will definitely be reserved for the girl you love."

Cong Yi couldn't understand what she was up to: "Then why did you invite me to a hotel, such an suggestive place?"

"That's exactly what we want to make people think," Lin Yu said, curving her lips into a meaningful smile at Cong Yi. "We're going to a hotel, but whether we can actually stay there for the night is still uncertain."

"Oh~" He said it with such intonation that Cong Yi suddenly understood Lin Yu's purpose. However, the danger of this matter was far more terrifying than meeting the parents. Cong Yi shrank his neck and said, "Won't I be in any danger?"

"Hard to say." Lin Yu picked up a fork, poked a cherry tomato, and put it in her mouth.

"Ah—" Cong Yi's eyes widened in surprise, "My mother only has me as her son."

"......"

Seeing the colorful expressions on Cong Yi's face, Lin Yu smiled and said, "Just kidding."

Yan Yadong didn't know whether he should be happy or worried lately.

It's just that my sister got a boyfriend, why are you acting like the bar went bankrupt, with that long face all the time?

The bar was busier tonight than yesterday. One of the bartenders had taken two days off due to illness, so Zhou Ke came to fill in.

Jazz music drifted through the bar, and a faint aroma of alcohol filled the air. Yan Yadong held a glass in one hand, turned to look at Zhou Ke, who was busy mixing drinks at the bar, and sighed amidst the clinking of earrings, "You can help out here, but don't put on that icy face, okay? The customers will think they owe you money."

Zhou Ke didn't even glance at Yan Yadong's teasing. He picked up the stirring spoon that was placed aside, glanced coldly at the person beside him, and said, "Then you do it."

"......"

"Fine, never mind." Yan Yadong shrugged, picked up his glass, and took a sip of the drink Zhou Ke had just mixed. Only after tasting it did he realize something was wrong. He glanced at Zhou Ke discreetly, then looked down at the drink in his hand and muttered to himself, "We've known each other for so many years, does he seem like the kind of person who would drink 'Lost Lychee'?"

This kind of wine is usually for young girls who are just starting out. It has a slightly sweet taste and won't make you drunk even after drinking one glass.

He drank half a glass and put it down. It had been almost three days since he had a heart-to-heart talk with Zhou Ke at the bar, but judging from his recent behavior, Yan Yadong felt that he still hadn't listened: "It's been several days, and you still haven't processed the fact that your sister is dating. You're already having such a big reaction just because they're together. If they get married one day, you're not going to blow up my bar, are you?"

"Bang!" The shaker was slammed onto the marble countertop. Zhou Ke narrowed his eyes. "Did Jiang Zi and you have a fight?"

"No." Yan Yadong was completely baffled by Zhou Ke's quick change of topic. "Can't you just wish me something good every day?"

"Oh," Zhou Ke said coldly, "I thought you two had another fight, your words are so rude."

"Know."

...

Zhou Ke still came home very late, but Lin Yu didn't wait for him anymore. She thought she wouldn't see him during the day the next day, but unexpectedly, when Lin Yu came out of her room in the morning, Zhou Ke was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

"Brother." She walked over in her slippers, as if she were seeing a dream that hadn't yet fully awakened.

"You're awake." Zhou Ke walked past her with a plate in his hand and said gently, "Come and have breakfast."

Lin Yu approached the dining table and looked at the breakfast laid out on it: fried eggs, millet porridge, and sandwiches.

It wasn't breakfast bought from a breakfast shop; it was breakfast I made myself.

She didn't like boiled eggs, so Zhou Ke always made fried eggs. He also often made millet porridge because she had a bad stomach. He would cut a slice of bread diagonally into two triangles to make two sandwiches, one for her and one for his brother.

Lin Yu blinked, then dragged the stool along and asked, "Brother, aren't you busy today? How come you have time to make breakfast at home?"

Zhou Ke glanced at her and said, "A classmate is getting married today, and I have to attend the wedding at noon."

The millet porridge was specially served and cooled down, so it was just the right temperature when you took a bite. One sip and your stomach felt warm.

She will always be touched by her brother's thoughtfulness.

Zhou Ke looked up and saw the top of Lin Yu's head. He knew that during this time, besides him being busy outside, Lin Yu had also been going out frequently. In the past, he might have thought that she was going to see Jia Yi, but now it was obviously not. He knew that she had been spending her time with another man lately.

"And you?" Zhou Ke put down his spoon, leaned back, and rested one hand on the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface. "What are you doing today? Meeting Cong Yi?"

He swallowed the word "date" that was on the tip of his tongue and changed it to "meet up".

Faced with her brother's question, Lin Yu nodded while eating the fried egg in her mouth.

The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became strange. Zhou Ke stopped talking. Lin Yu noticed that her brother's gaze was fixed on the top of her head. She lifted her eyelids and looked into her brother's dark eyes. Because of his expressionless face, they looked somewhat stern, as if he were looking at a naughty and disobedient little sister.

Lin Yu rarely saw Zhou Ke with such an expression. Her upbringing was completely unrelated to mischief. Whether it was Lin Ye or Zhou Ke, they always showed her a gentle and tender look.

The displeasure in his eyes seemed to be directed at the headache of her belated rebellion, which had come twenty years in the making.

But at this moment, she didn't want to be a considerate, caring, and sensible younger sister. She wanted to make him angry like in her dream, to either hit her or to stiffen up and ignore her tears.

We should not be people who are as calm as still water.

"Didn't you ask me about houses in Sanyue Bay a while ago? What's up, are you thinking of buying a house?"

Like Zhou Ke, Sun Xiang was also a high school classmate of the groom. He is now working in real estate sales. Zhou Ke consulted him half a month ago, but they hadn't made a decision yet. Now that they met, Sun Xiang asked him, "You have this idea?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiang immediately perked up, his eyes widening. "Then you've come to the right person! As an old classmate, I can help you negotiate the best deal, guaranteed to satisfy you. By the way, do you still live in Jinxiang Community?"

Zhou Ke: "Hmm,"

“It’s nice over there, with good transportation, medical care, and education, but it’s too old. The buildings are over 20 years old, so it’s time to move.” Sun Xiang put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Here’s what you’ll do: send me your budget and requirements later, and I’ll help you find something suitable.”

Zhou Ke said gently, "Thank you."

"We're classmates, don't be so polite."

At the wedding banquet, these classmates were carefully arranged to sit at the same table. As the two finished their conversation, the voices around them grew quieter and quieter, and the lights gradually dimmed. Under the emcee's guidance, everyone's gaze fell silent. After a long while, the soft sound of a piano slowly began to play, and the hotel doors were gradually opened.

The bride, dressed in a wedding gown, walked slowly toward the stage, hand in hand with her father. The lights shone on her, making the diamonds on her gown sparkle like a flowing galaxy.

As the bride walked to the groom's side, all the lights in the room suddenly turned on. The incandescent light fell on the bride's skirt, and Zhou Ke felt as if his eyes had been pierced. His mind went blank, and in a daze, the newlyweds on the stage suddenly became Lin Yu and Cong Yi, while he himself became the 'old father' holding the bride's hand. Zhou Ke's pupils shrank, his heart suddenly clenched uncontrollably, and his face turned ashen.

Noticing his unusual behavior, Sun Xiang, who was sitting next to him, patted his arm and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing," Zhou Ke replied stiffly, though his hand reaching for the cup was trembling.

After the wedding, guests began to leave the hotel in twos and threes.

The groom was well-liked during his school days, and on such a big day as his wedding, many of his classmates who worked in other cities made a special trip to come over. The old classmates were incredibly excited to see each other, and they talked non-stop. Someone suggested that since everyone had the time, they should find a place to sit down and have a good chat.

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed, and as for the location, they decided on a KTV near the hotel.

The group sang, drank, and played cards, making a ruckus in the private room until 10 p.m., with no sign of stopping.

Zhou Ke glanced at the time; his willingness to stay was now close to zero.

One empty beer bottle after another lay on the table, and someone was already lying down nearby. The air was stifling. Knowing that no one would let him go easily, Zhou Ke made an excuse to go to the restroom. By the time Yan Yadong received his message, he was already on his way back.

When Zhou Ke returned home, he found that the living room, which should have been bright, was now pitch black, and Lin Yu's slippers were left in the entryway. All these signs indicated that Lin Yu was not at home.

He remembered that he had checked his phone three minutes earlier. It wasn't early. She had never been home after 10 p.m. before, of course, that was always when she was with Jiayi. But this time...

She is He Congyi.

Realizing this, Zhou Ke's usually cold eyes seemed to darken even more, like a bottomless abyss.

He took out his phone, hunched over on the sofa, pinched the bridge of his nose with his finger, and held the phone in his other hand, his fingertip quickly tapping the number field. He already knew his sister's number by heart, so he didn't need to look it up in his contacts. He entered the number and dialed it almost immediately.

Each long beep felt like a knife hanging over his heart. For the first time, Zhou Ke realized he had become so impatient.

The moment the call connected, Zhou Ke's breath hitched. Without any preamble, he went straight to the point: "Where are you right now?"

The next second, her younger sister's gentle voice came through the receiver, "I'm with Cong Yi."

Upon hearing this name, Zhou Ke lowered his eyelashes, his long lashes casting a faint shadow of gloom on his eyelids. He suddenly lowered his voice, his tone completely changing: "Don't you want to check what time it is now!"

There was a slight pause on the other end, followed by a calm reply: "I know, bro. I forgot to tell you, I'm not going home tonight."

Zhou Ke felt as if the string that had been taut in his mind had finally snapped. He tightened his grip on the phone, and the veins on the back of his hand suddenly stood out. He spoke slowly, his tone devoid of any warmth: "Lin Yu."

"Hmm." A single word came through the receiver.

Zhou Ke's eyes darkened completely. He tried his best to control his breathing and asked patiently once again, "Address, don't make me ask a third time."

This time, the other party remained silent for more than ten seconds before reluctantly giving a place name.

Having received a reply, Zhou Ke bent down, grabbed the keys from the table, and left with a cold expression.