Chapter 18
◎“I may be bad, but my feelings for you are genuine.”◎
Cheng Jiamo ran away, or you could say she escaped; she was best at running away.
After receiving He Qingzhao's call, she quickly changed her clothes and escaped from the hotel.
At 2:30 a.m., the streets were shrouded in a thick fog, exuding a desolate and barren feeling after everything had been harvested, a chilling atmosphere that made one's heart uneasy.
He Qingzhao's thoughts were clear: he wanted her, literally, purely physical, without any emotional attachment.
He repeatedly made his needs clear to her, and she could no longer deceive herself.
She was very disappointed in He Qingzhao, but this disappointment was inexplicable and inexplicable.
Because he never subjectively gave her hope; it was always she who unilaterally placed endless hope in him, imagining him to be wonderful and perfect.
So who can we blame?
Nobody's to blame.
The cold wind blew against her, making her shiver and her heart tremble.
She squatted down, hugging her arms, burying her face between her legs, shrinking herself like an ostrich in the cold wind.
Now, she has to admit that He Qingzhao isn't as good as she thought.
He simply presented his best side, or rather, his hypocritical and glamorous side, unintentionally to her.
From beginning to end, he was never a source of light, at least he never actively shone for her; it was she who, in her delusions, mistook him for a source of light.
With this realization, she no longer blindly worships He Qingzhao, and her favorability towards him has even decreased by half.
Her phone rang; it was He Qingzhao calling. She didn't answer and hung up.
Afraid that He Qingzhao would come looking for her, she quickly opened a ride-hailing app and entered the school's address.
At 2 a.m., there were few vehicles on the street, and the waiting time was five minutes.
After leaving First, He Qingzhao immediately went to the hotel.
He called Cheng Jiamo from his car, but she hung up on him.
"Take the shortcut, hurry up," he urged the driver, then called the hotel's front desk manager, "Check if the people in my room have left?"
The manager quickly replied, "Mr. He, Ms. Cheng has left the room and is waiting for a car by the roadside."
He Qingzhao coldly ordered, "Stop her. Use whatever means necessary to keep her here. If you fail to do so, you're no longer a manager." He added, "But you can't hurt her."
The manager repeatedly promised, "Don't worry, Mr. He, I will definitely keep Miss Cheng here."
Five minutes later, the car arrived.
Just as Cheng Jiamo was about to get into the car, the hotel manager suddenly came over and called her back.
"Miss Cheng."
Cheng Jiamo's hand was already on the car door handle when she heard the manager call her. She let go of the handle and turned her head in a daze.
"What's wrong?"
The manager tossed his hair and coughed lightly: "Um, you haven't paid your room fee yet."
Cheng Jiamo: "..."
She almost doubted that she had heard correctly.
"The...the room fee hasn't been paid?"
The manager smiled and nodded: "Yes, you haven't paid for your room yet."
Cheng Jiamo asked in surprise, "Didn't He Qingzhao pay?"
The manager smiled and said, "Mr. He didn't pay."
Cheng Jiamo originally wanted to say, "Then go ask him for it," but she was too shy to say it.
"How much do I need?" she asked awkwardly.
The manager smiled and said, "120,000." He added, "Here, you have to pay when you leave the store."
Cheng Jiamo: "..."
She has always had a good temper and never gets angry easily, no matter how big the problem is.
But at this moment, she wanted to curse, to call He Qingzhao a bastard.
"I don't have that much money," she said weakly.
Let alone 120,000, she couldn't even come up with 12,000.
She only had a little over 5,000 yuan on her, which was the scholarship she received last semester and the money she saved from tutoring.
The manager kindly suggested, "Why don't you ask Mr. He if he can come over and make the payment?"
Cheng Jiamo said to the taxi driver, "Sorry, I don't need a car for the moment. How much would you like?"
Seeing that she was a student stranded at the hotel entrance at 2 a.m., the driver couldn't bear to make things difficult for her and even wanted to help her, asking, "Do you need me to call the police for you?"
As he spoke, the driver gave the hotel manager a serious look.
Hotel Manager: "..."
Cheng Jiamo waved her hand: "No need, no need to call the police." She politely asked, "Can I pay you the starting fare?"
The driver smiled and said, "No need, young lady, please take care of yourself."
"Thank you," Cheng Jiamo said gratefully.
The driver stepped on the gas and drove off. Cheng Jiamo stood in the cool night and called He Qingzhao. The phone rang for a while before it was answered.
"Hey," she said softly, "He Qingzhao, are you doing this on purpose?"
"What did you mean by 'deliberately'?" He Qingzhao asked.
Cheng Jiamo was so aggrieved that tears streamed down her face. Her voice was choked with sobs as she said, "The manager told me to pay for the room. He said you didn't pay. It's 120,000 yuan, and I simply can't afford it."
The manager was already drenched in sweat, and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
When He Qingzhao heard Cheng Jiamo crying, he felt a dull ache in his heart, as if he had been stabbed by something.
"Momo, don't cry, I'll be there soon."
Cheng Jiamo cried even louder, clutching her phone and sobbing uncontrollably.
All the anxiety that had been building up over the past few days was released at this moment.
She squatted down on the ground and cried, "He Qingzhao, I only just realized that you're not as good as you seem. I've been idealizing you."
He Qingzhao tilted his head back, his sharp, sexy Adam's apple bobbing rapidly.
"Drive faster," he urged the driver in a low, hoarse voice.
"He Qingzhao, you don't need to come over. Just pay the room fee. I don't have that much money right now, so you can pay it. Consider it a loan from me, and I'll pay you back when I've saved enough."
He Qingzhao laughed in exasperation: "How are you going to pay it back, and how long will it take?"
Hearing his mocking words, Cheng Jiaming bit her lip in embarrassment: "Why don't you worry about it? I'll always find a way to pay you back." It sounded like a defiant statement, or perhaps a way of proving she could really afford it. "I'm still young, and I'm not bad looking. Even if I have to sell my body, I can always..."
"Cheng Jiamo!" He Qingzhao interrupted her coldly, "You go back to your room and sleep!"
Cheng Jiamo's stubbornness kicked in, and she retorted with a cute but fierce tone, "No! I won't sleep!"
After hanging up the phone, she turned to look at the hotel manager.
"You can ask He Qingzhao for the room fee; he's the one who brought me here."
The manager forced a smile and said, "Well, why don't you wait until President He arrives before you leave?"
Cheng Jiamo ignored him and hailed another taxi.
After waiting a few more minutes, her taxi still hadn't arrived when a black Hongqi car with military-grade materials stopped in front of her. He Qingzhao got out of the car with an imposing air.
When Cheng Jiamo saw He Qingzhao, the tears she had been holding back flowed out again.
He Qingzhao's heart broke as he looked at the pitiful little girl crying in the night wind.
He strode forward, pulled her into his arms, stroked her head, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry I'm late."
Cheng Jiamo pushed him forcefully, but after two attempts she couldn't budge him, so she let him hold her.
"He Qingzhao." Her voice was soft and sweet, with a thick nasal tone, as she cried, "I want to go back to school, please let me go back, okay?"
"Oh no." He Qingzhao picked her up and strode towards the hotel. "The school dormitories are already closed. You go to sleep first, and I'll take you back when you wake up."
Cheng Jiamo sobbed on his shoulder, soaking it with tears.
He Qingzhao carried her into the hotel lobby and went straight into the private elevator that led directly to the suite.
Even after entering the elevator, he was still holding her.
Cheng Jiamo lifted her head from his shoulder, looking at him with red eyes: "Put me down."
He Qingzhao put her down and gently wiped her face.
"If you miss me, you can call me. If you call, I will definitely come."
Cheng Jiamo then noticed the injury on his head and asked, "What happened to your head?"
He Qingzhao twitched the corner of his mouth: "I got beaten up."
"Who, who hit you?" Cheng Jiamo's voice rose involuntarily.
He Qingzhao saw the undisguised worry in her eyes, and his smile deepened, his eyes filled with joy.
He picked her up again, supporting her hips with both hands, and held her up until her eyes were level with his.
"Feeling sorry for me?"
Cheng Jiamo didn't deny it, and nodded: "Yes, even though I know you're not that good, I still feel sorry for you."
He Qingzhao had been drinking, so instead of kissing her on the lips, he couldn't help but kiss her ear and suck on her soft, white earlobe.
"Momo, I'm not a good person, but my feelings for you are genuine."
A pang of sadness welled up in Cheng Jiamo's heart, and she looked at him with moist eyes.
"He Qingzhao, why did you ask me to be your girlfriend?"
What she really wanted to ask was, "Is it because you like me?"
If so, why? Why would you like me?
The elevator arrived, and He Qing carried her out of the elevator. When they reached the room door, he freed his right hand, held her with one arm, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and the room door opened.
Cheng Jiamo belatedly realized that this classically elegant hotel suite was likely He Qingzhao's private residence, otherwise how could he open the door with his fingerprint?
"Is this hotel yours?"
He Qingzhao didn't hide it from her: "Yes, the suite is my private residence."
He carried Cheng Jiamo directly into the bedroom, placed her on the bed, and handed her a pink nightgown.
"Change your clothes first. What do you want to know? I'll tell you slowly in a bit."
Cheng Jiamo took the nightgown, glanced at the door, and said, "Go out for a moment."
He Qingzhao turned and walked out, closing the door behind her.
Cheng Jiamo quickly changed into her nightgown, pulled the blanket over her body, and said loudly, "I'm all changed."
She regretted it as soon as she said it. She had already changed, so why did she rush to tell him, as if she wanted him to come in so badly?
He Qingzhao pushed open the door, but didn't rush in. He leaned against the door frame with a dashing posture, a slanted smile on one side of his mouth, a charmingly roguish smile.
"Tell me, who is the 'white moonlight'?"
Cheng Jiamo stared at him blankly, not expecting him to ask the same question again after asking it on the phone.
When he asked her on the phone, she initially thought he was joking, that he was teasing her.
Now it seems he wasn't teasing her; he genuinely didn't know.
She made her feelings for him so obvious, but he didn't know that he was the one she truly loved.
Is it that they simply don't care, or are they just oblivious to this?
"Nobody." She lowered her eyes and stopped looking at him, her voice muffled. "I told you, it was just lyrics."
He Qingzhao walked to the bedside, propped himself up on the headboard with one hand, and leaned down to look at her.
"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. Now it's my turn to answer your questions."
Cheng Jiamo knelt on the bed, looking up at him slightly.
Although he was bent over, he was still looking down at her, and she still had to look up to see him.
"First, you asked me why I want you to be my girlfriend?"
"It's simple, you like me."
Cheng Jiamo didn't deny her feelings. She hesitated for a moment before replying, "There are probably many girls who like you. You don't need to look for me."
He Qingzhao smiled slightly: "Indeed, there are many people who like me, but the only one who likes me and whom I can like in return is you." He leaned down, his face close to hers, "Besides, no one's liking is purer than yours. Those women's liking comes with a price tag. They either want my status, or my body, or most directly, their money."
Cheng Jiamo was praised by him, but she did not feel happy. Instead, she felt a strong sense of sorrow.
"Then what should I like about you?"
He Qingzhao asked her, "What do you like about me?"
Cheng Jiamo looked at him silently without saying anything; she didn't know what to say.
She just felt that He Qingzhao was too deep, too terrifying, like an abyss, making people afraid to take another step forward.
He wanted pure love, but the problem was, he himself wasn't a pure person.
To put it bluntly, he coveted what he didn't have.
He can't even give others pure love, yet he wants a pure love. Isn't that ridiculous?
Not only is it laughable, it's also shameless!
He Qingzhao pinched her chin, forcing her to tilt her face up.
"Tell me, what do you like about me?"
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