Chapter 6: An Unwelcome Visitor

The parking garage offered somewhere to hide, but Jiajia’s car was locked.
“Damn it!”
I kicked it.
Nowhere to go. No shoes. Soaked through. My phone and bag were gone, and worst of all, I was freezing. All that remained was to crouch beside the car and pray that wretched girl would hurry back.
By the time she found me, I was practically an ice pop, trembling from head to foot. Her mouth fell open so wide it could have held two ping-pong balls.
“Yijun! What happened to you? I’ve been looking everywhere… Did you fall into the water? How did that happen? You weren’t answering your phone…”
“Just open the car.”
There was no energy left for her questions. I crawled inside and turned the heat up as far as it would go.
“Achoo!”
Several sneezes followed. Goose bumps covered my skin.
Gradually, warmth seeped back into me. Once I felt a little better, my usual self returned.
“Where the hell were you? Why weren’t you answering? You nearly got me killed!”
“I looked away for one second, and you were gone! When I took out my phone to call you, I saw all your missed calls. But you wouldn’t answer when I called back. I searched everywhere, and I couldn’t exactly go around shouting your name…”
Her phone rang in the middle of her complaints.
“Hello… Oh, Wenyuan… Hot springs? Sure, that sounds great… Okay, see you tomorrow. Bye.”
She hung up.
“Wenyuan’s invited me to the hot springs tomorrow. Want to come?”
As if I wanted to see that annoying creature. Besides, I was supposed to have run away.
“No. They’d find out where I was.”
“We could ask her to keep it a secret.”
“If she could keep a secret, I’d let you cut my head off.”
Back at Ji Feiyang’s house, I crept out of the car and hid behind Jiajia. In this state, being seen was out of the question. My eyes stayed on the ground, just in case someone recognized me later and laughed.
Through the front door at last. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, we ran straight into Ji Feiyang.
He stared.
“What happened? How did you end up like this?”
If only a hole would open up and swallow me.
Every day of my life, I’d made sure I looked lovely. When had I ever looked like this? Barefoot, dripping wet, hair tangled like a ball of knotted yarn. A bedraggled chicken—that was me.
“Um… I fell into the water. We’re going to change now.”
Grabbing Jiajia, I fled into the room.
This was the trouble with staying in someone else’s house. How was I ever going to face him again?
My hands covered my face.
“How am I supposed to show myself after that?”
“It’s fine! My cousin isn’t a gossip. He won’t tell anyone.”
“Jiajia, have you got your ID?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Go and book me a room.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore. I’m not comfortable.”
Leaving altogether would have been better, but it was already evening. Finding another hotel would be a nuisance, and I was exhausted. Qinglang was huge anyway, with so many rooms and guests coming and going. Surely I couldn’t be unlucky enough to run into him again.
“If I’d known, I would have just booked you a room in the first place.”
“How was I supposed to know that cousin of yours would invite me to his house? I thought, since you were related, a word from you would be enough to get me a room without registering. But no…”
My voice grew louder and louder. Jiajia wisely stopped talking.
“I’m going to shower. Let me know when the room’s ready. And take my luggage over for me, will you? I’ll attract attention if I carry it myself. Thanks!”
Once she’d booked the room, I sent her to tell her cousin I was leaving. She took me to the new room, then headed home. Before going, she reminded me she wouldn’t be coming tomorrow: she was off to the hot springs with Wenyuan.
My eyelids were heavy. The moment I hit the bed, I fell asleep.
Sometime in the night, a terrible soreness in my throat woke me. My body felt hot, too. After tossing and turning for a while, I drifted off again.
Then someone was calling to me.
“Miss… Miss, are you all right? You’ve been in bed all this time. Are you ill?”
Opening my eyes took an effort. A woman in her forties or fifties hovered beside the bed, apparently one of the hotel housekeepers.
A hand to my forehead confirmed it. Probably a fever.
“Are you running a temperature?”
She reached over to check.
“You’re burning up. I’ll get a doctor.”
Then she went out.
Through the haze, someone took my hand. Something pricked it.
When I shifted, an elderly doctor in large gold-rimmed glasses was watching me. My hand felt strange. There was a needle in the back of it.
An IV. So that was what he was doing.
“Do you feel any better, miss?”
After giving it some serious thought, I decided I didn’t.
“I suppose.”
Outside the window, the sky looked gray.
“What time is it?”
He checked his watch.
“Half past five.”
Half past five? That meant I’d been asleep since last night!
Unbelievable.
When the IV had finished, the doctor stood up.
“That comes to one hundred and fifty yuan.”
Money again.
There was no cash on me, only cards. I said nothing.
“One hundred and fifty yuan, miss,” he repeated, apparently thinking I hadn’t heard.
If only I’d pretended to be asleep earlier. With my eyes wide open now, trying it would be far too obvious.
“Um… Who called you?”
“Mrs. Huang. She works here as a housekeeper.”
“Then ask her for the money.”
He paused.
“Miss, she called me for you.”
“Did I ask her to? She called you, so she can pay.”
Perfectly reasonable.
“But… Miss, you’re staying in such a luxurious suite. It’s only a small sum…”
“Excuse me, but I need to rest. Please leave.”
For a moment, he just stared. Then he walked out indignantly.
Before long, he returned with the housekeeper.
“Miss, I called the doctor to help you. You’re the one who was sick. You should pay him.”
“Did I ask you to call him?”
“Miss… You can’t treat people like this.”
Out went my hand.
“Then take back whatever you put into me.”
They stared, speechless.
“What kind of hotel is this? Coming in and out without the guest’s permission! I could file a complaint.”
The housekeeper looked furious. Perhaps she was afraid I really would complain.
“Forget it. Just my bad luck. I’ll put it down to one of those days when you trip over your own feet, choke on your food and swallow your water the wrong way.”
They got a disdainful look from me.
How much money was it, anyway? If it weren’t inconvenient for me to pay right now, the amount I could produce would give them a fright.
The television went on. Some snacks Jiajia had left yesterday took care of my hunger.
An hour or so later, my head felt clearer, and a little energy had returned.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
Of all the people I could have found outside that door, Ji Feiyang was the last I’d expected.
Good heavens. What stray butterfly or bee had led him here?
He smiled.
“Feeling better?”
With his hands behind his back, he went on, “I heard we had a guest who’d seen a doctor and refused to pay. When I checked the registration, the room was under Jiajia’s name. So I came to have a look.”
“Um… I changed my mind about leaving, but I didn’t want to impose on you, so…”
“That’s all right. You seem to be doing better.”
He turned to go.
“If you need anything, you can come to me. And that housekeeper works hard for her money…”
He seemed about to lecture me, then stopped. One more glance came my way, perhaps to see whether I’d realized what I’d done wrong.
I pretended not to have heard a word. All I wanted was for him to leave.
At last, he did.
“Then why don’t you pay her more?” I snapped at the closed door.
If that wretched Jiajia hadn’t disappeared, I wouldn’t have had to stand there listening to him lecture me.