Chapter 442 - 318: I Want to Run Away With You (Part 2)

The waiter glanced at the Maybach key, then shook his head. ’I’ve only ever seen that car online. How many could there possibly be in Chang’an? What are the odds I’d actually run into one?’

’It’s probably just a lighter. And even if it isn’t, it has nothing to do with me.’

"The room you mentioned has already been booked," he said politely.

"It’s just a reservation. The people haven’t arrived yet, right? Don’t be so inflexible. Work something out."

As he spoke, Yang Xing took out a cigarette and lit it. Shielding the cigarette pack with his wallet, he stuffed two bills inside before casually tossing it in front of the waiter.

The waiter had seen the whole thing. He nonchalantly pocketed the cigarette pack. "Of course, sir. Please wait a moment."

With that, he began talking to a colleague on his walkie-talkie.

"Um... the room you want has a minimum charge. I have to answer to my boss, so I hope you understand."

"Right. The minimum charge doesn’t matter. Bring me the set menu so I can take a look." ’I’ll pick out a couple of bottles of red wine,’ Yang Xing thought. ’Gu Muxue doesn’t drink anyway, and she can’t possibly finish all non-alcoholic drinks by herself. When it’s time to go, the wine will be all mine.’

’Of course, that’s assuming that brat Xue Rui doesn’t try to take it from me.’

Gu Muxue was content to let Yang Xing handle things.

She wanted to talk to Lin Ruoxi alone and needed to get away from Xue Rui and the others. Whenever Xue Rui was around, Lin Ruoxi couldn’t think for herself.

Gu Muxue noticed that ever since they walked in, Lin Ruoxi had been inspecting all sorts of things—she was even more suspicious than Yang Xing, their professional driver and bodyguard.

For instance, right now, Lin Ruoxi was actually checking the manufacturing date on a fire extinguisher.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with...?" The manager, who was walking by, felt his heart skip a beat. ’Something’s not right,’ he thought. ’What kind of customer inspects a fire extinguisher?’

"Your fire extinguisher is expired," Lin Ruoxi said calmly.

The man’s hair stood on end. ’Which damn department is she from? And why is she in civilian clothes?’

"And you are...?" the manager asked in a low voice, trying to pull Lin Ruoxi aside for a private word.

"Um, I’m just here with my classmate," Lin Ruoxi said, taking a step back and eyeing the man warily.

WHOOSH. The man let out a long sigh of relief. He was just scaring himself. He gestured for a waiter to come over; he would have to pay special attention to Lin Ruoxi’s room.

"Here’s your phone." Gu Muxue turned and handed the phone back to Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi didn’t take it right away. She asked quietly, "Aren’t we going to be with our classmates?"

Gu Muxue smiled. "Just the two of us in this one."

Lin Ruoxi shook her head. "You can hold on to it."

’She could tell Gu Muxue had something to say to her today. And that she’d been trying to keep Xue Rui at a distance.’

’Since Gu Muxue wanted her phone, she might as well let her have it. It didn’t matter who Xue Rui contacted, anyway.’

Gu Muxue looped her arm through Lin Ruoxi’s. She could feel that Lin Ruoxi genuinely wanted to be her friend; she held almost nothing back when they were together.

’Anyway... today is the last day. I’ll just go along with whatever Lin Ruoxi wants.’

As they walked, they passed many private rooms, most of them filled with students at parties, singing the popular love songs of the day.

"What have you been looking at this whole time?" Gu Muxue asked. Lin Ruoxi wasn’t curious about the rooms themselves, but was instead focused on the glowing green "EXIT" signs along the floor.

Lin Ruoxi’s simple, sharp attire made her look less like a university student and more like a high-powered career woman. ’Glancing all over the place like that,’ Gu Muxue thought, ’she was almost mistaken for some kind of government inspector just now...’

"Oh, I just need to be extra careful in unfamiliar places. I’m checking the emergency exits. If a fire breaks out, I have to get you out of here," Lin Ruoxi said earnestly.

Lin Ruoxi often saw news reports about all kinds of accidents, and she was terrified that one day something would happen to the people she cared about. She had to take every precaution.

Gu Muxue took a deep breath. ’I already knew, but every little detail about her proves it. She sees Xue Rui as her entire world. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if even the slightest thing happened to him.’

"He’s so lucky... to have you," Gu Muxue said with a bitter smile.

’And here I thought Lin Ruoxi was the one who needed looking after. It seems that’s not the whole story. She takes very good care of Xue Rui, too.’

"No, I’m the lucky one," Lin Ruoxi said, looking at Gu Muxue.

The two of them entered the private room. With just the two of them inside, the vast space felt cold and empty.

They had barely stepped into the room when the manager himself followed them in with drinks and snacks. "Thank you for your trouble, miss, helping us check the fire extinguisher. We’ll get that replaced right away. Please, have some snacks on the house."

’The snacks aren’t worth much,’ he thought, ’but if this by-the-book girl reports us to the authorities, we’ll be in real trouble.’

He personally knelt and raised a bottle of red wine, preparing to open it.

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes widened as she stared at Gu Muxue. "You... you’re going to drink alcohol?"

The manager froze. "Should I not open it?"

Gu Muxue took a deep breath. ’Normally, I would never order wine. But today...’

"Open it," Gu Muxue said, nodding.

As she watched the red liquid pour slowly into the decanter, Lin Ruoxi’s heart leaped into her throat.

’Gu Muxue really is in a bad mood. I was too dense to notice it until now.’

’Besides, if Gu Muxue drinks, Xue Rui will be unhappy...’

Once everything had been brought in, leaving just the two of them in the room, Gu Muxue had a word with the manager, telling him to say they’d already left if anyone asked.

She turned off the lights and sat in a blind spot near the window, making it difficult for anyone outside to see in.

The sound system was off, and the room was quiet, unlike the lively parties in the other suites. Only the faint light from the monitor screen reflected on their faces.

"Can we not drink? Rui wouldn’t want to see you do this," Lin Ruoxi pleaded quietly.