Shiyue subconsciously looked in the direction of the woman.
His eyes unconsciously revealed resistance.
Seeing her expression, He Lixuan couldn't help but laugh.
He pointed outside: "There should be a state-run hotel around here. Let's go out and look for one."
As he spoke, he took the initiative to pick up his luggage.
Shiyue then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was already pitch black outside.
There were no streetlights at that time, and apart from a dim light from the waiting hall behind us, everything was pitch black.
The two of them rushed out with their heads down.
The cold wind, carrying large snowflakes, lashed against people's faces, stinging painfully.
After walking for only a few minutes, Shiyue felt completely frozen.
He Lixuan stood directly in front of Shiyue, shielding her from the oncoming snowflakes.
Even though the wind was strong, he could faintly hear the clattering sound of Shiyue's teeth clenching together from the cold.
He stopped and reached to unbutton his coat, but Shiyue grabbed his hand.
"Don't take it off, I won't wear it even if you do!"
She walked a few steps faster and walked in front of He Lixuan: "Let's walk faster, and we won't be cold if we warm up."
He Lixuan stood there for a moment, but finally gave up his plan to take off his coat.
He reached out and snatched the basket from Shiyue's hand, saying, "Put your hands in your sleeves to cover them."
After saying that, he walked up to Shiyue again.
This time, Shiyue did not refuse.
Following the directions they had found in the waiting room, the two finally located the state-run hotel.
"Two single rooms." He Lixuan said impatiently, lifting the thick cotton curtain at the door before even seeing anyone.
But nobody paid any attention.
A bad thought suddenly popped into Shiyue's mind.
Sure enough, when the two of them entered the hotel lobby and knocked on the closed reception window, the person inside impatiently said, "No single rooms available. How about a dormitory room? It's 35 cents a night. Show me your letter of introduction if you're interested."
After saying that, he stretched out his hand to the two of them.
Having never experienced anything like this before, Shiyue instinctively looked at He Lixuan with pleading eyes.
At this moment, He Lixuan's brows were already furrowed.
He didn't explain much to Shiyue, nor did he hand over the letter of introduction. Instead, he looked at the middle-aged man inside and asked, "Can we take a look at the house first?"
The man was clearly very impatient.
He looked outside, his gaze sweeping over the two men, especially noting the lingering snow on their shoulders.
Sensing that there was nothing amiss between the two of them, the person said, "The men's dormitory is on the second floor, and the women's dormitory is on the first floor inside. With such heavy snow, you'd better register quickly if you want to stay, or there won't even be any beds left."
Despite saying that, He Lixuan still showed no intention of registering immediately.
He said to Shiyue, "Wait for me a moment, I'll go up and take a look."
Shiyue nodded.
He Lixuan went upstairs.
Shiyue became more and more worried, so she simply followed the man's directions and went to the girls' dormitory. Before she even got close, she smelled a strong toilet odor.
I felt so nauseous I almost vomited.
She held her breath and hurried toward the large room whose door was not closed.
As soon as I stepped into the doorway, I felt a gust of wind blowing through the house.
The room was very dark; there were no lights on.
In the darkness, one could vaguely make out that there was a large earthen pit on each side of the wall, with dry straw spread on the kang (a heated brick bed), and what appeared to be a kang mat on top of it.
On this kang (heated brick bed), a row of people were already lying down. Shiyue couldn't see how many there were, but there must have been at least a dozen on both sides.
Some of the people who arrived early were already asleep, snoring loudly. The room smelled of something else, either musty or the oily smell of people who hadn't bathed in a long time, which made Shiyue feel even more nauseous.
She turned and walked away quickly.
When Shiyue returned to the registration office, He Lixuan had already come back, and he didn't look too good.
This person is a germaphobe, Yu Chuxia has said it countless times, and Shiyue is already numb to it.
I estimate that he was no less shocked than I was.
Seeing He Lixuan like this, Shiyue suddenly felt like laughing, and her heart instantly felt at peace.
"Could you find us a private room? We're willing to pay extra."
He Lixuan, unwilling to give up, asked the middle-aged man.
The man opened his sleepy eyes, looked He Lixuan up and down again, and then asked them for a letter of introduction.
This time, the two of them handed it over.
The man looked at it carefully, then said, "No. Even if I did, I couldn't give it to you. What's your relationship? Two young people wanting to book a room late at night, what are you planning to do! Do you have a marriage certificate?"
He Lixuan was immediately speechless.
Clearly, he was completely unaware of the problem.
Seeing the veins bulging on He Lixuan's forehead, looking like he was about to argue with someone, Shiyue helplessly tugged at him.
He said, "Let's go back to the waiting room. I think it's quite nice there. Let's sit for a while, and it'll be dawn soon."
Although He Lixuan was very angry, he knew that there was no other way.
There will definitely be no leniency here.
Neither of them knew the county town well, and it was already dark, so finding another inn was practically impossible.
The two retrieved their letters of introduction and left the hotel dejectedly.
When the two returned to the waiting room, the lights were off.
All the light bulbs that were originally lit were turned off, and only a kerosene lamp was hung on the outer wall near the duty room.
It was so dark that only a few figures could be vaguely seen; everything was pitch black.
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