Hao Ren turned around to look at the time. Then, he realized there were only a few people left in the restaurant.
"Sir, bill please!" he took out his wallet and said in a hurry.
The waiter collected the money, and Hao Ren and Xie Yujia hastily walked out of Dexin Restaurant and realized that the outdoor area of the square was already empty.
"What now..." Xie Yujia looked a little worried as she held the purse in her hand.
She had never spent a night outside of her home or dorm! It was the first time for her to have missed the curfew time of the dorm.
"It's alright. Maybe the dorm manager is not asleep yet," Hao Ren carried her on the back seat and biked into the dormitory area as he comforted her.
They went to the entrance of the female Dorm Building No.3 in the south region and found the light in the administrative office by the dorm gate was off. That meant the manager had already gone to sleep.
On top of that, all the lights in the dorm building were off as well, which showed that the curfew had begun.
Xie Yujia jumped off the bike in a hurry and called towards the window of the administrative office, "Ma'am! Ma'am!"
Nothing happened. It seemed like the manager had fallen soundly asleep.
Hao Ren knew that the manager of their male Dorm Building No.7 always slept late, and he should be able to wake her up even if she went to bed. That meant he could still go back to his dorm building.
However, since Xie Yujia couldn't get in now, how could he leave her outside all by herself?
Xie Yujia couldn't wake the manager up after several shouts. Then, she turned back to Hao Ren and said in worry, "What now?"
The confident Class President looked helpless at that moment. Hao Ren, who had spent nights outside with Zhao Jiayi quite often finally found an opportunity to apply his experience. "We can...spend a night at the Internet Cafe?"
"Is it...safe there?" Xie Yujia hesitated while frowning.
The environment and air quality were terrible in the Internet Cafe, and she didn't play many games. It wouldn't be appropriate to take her to that kind of place.
Hao Ren thought about it and probed, "Or...the hotels[1] outside of the school?"
"Ah?" Xie Yujia looked at him, startled. She hesitated and asked, "Have you stayed there before?"
"Um...not really. But I heard it doesn't cost much. About 120 yuan per night. As long as we have our IDs...maybe student cards work too..."
He lowered his voice since he didn't want Xie Yujia to think that he was "experienced".
"Is that kind of place safe?" Xie Yujia asked the same question after thinking about it for a bit.
"Yes. It should be safe," Hao Ren didn't sound so sure about his answer.
All kinds of people stayed in the hotels close to the school, and he had heard of incidents happening there. It wouldn't put him at ease to go back to his dorm and leave Xie Yujia at the hotel by herself.
"Then...I can stay with you...if you are worried?" Hao Ren coughed twice pretentiously and asked quietly.
"That's...not appropriate," she hesitated for a bit before rejecting it.
Since his ideas didn't work out, Hao Ren suggested, "Or we can call up Ma Lina and ask her to knock on the manager's door so that she can open the gate for you?"
"I didn't bring my cell phone. That is the problem," Xie Yujia said helplessly. She came out just for the guest lecturers, so she didn't bother to bring her cell phone. Who would have known that this could happen?
"I don't have their numbers. And neither would Zhao Jiayi and the guys," Hao Ren said. Since students could arrange their schedules and courses, the class was pretty loose. The girls would always stick together, so that meant there wasn't a lot of communication between the girls and the guys.
"There are still a couple of hours left before dawn, and we need to find somewhere to stay," Xie Yujia gave up after having knocked on the window of the administrative office for a while.
Fortunately, Hao Ren was here with her, so she wasn't too desperate.
At this time, Hao Ren suddenly thought of something and said, "We can go to a KTV and spend the night there. A room from midnight to 6:00 AM will only cost 80 yuan!"
"Yes! That's good!" Xie Yujia finally agreed to his suggestion.
It was cold at night, and they couldn't get into the dorms. After the decision was made, Hao Ren took her back to Hongji Square on her bike.
He thought about the suggestions he just mentioned to her while biking and realized that the one he looked forward to was to spend the night at a hotel room with her.
"Damn it, damn it! What was I thinking?"
Hao Ren blamed himself for having that thought.
On the other hand, Xie Yujia behind him didn't think that much. She was only touched by Hao Ren's good intention in keeping her company so late at night.
She knew that the guys usually returned to their dorms late and the manager there was used to them coming back after closing time. Therefore, she was clear that Hao Ren could still go back to his dorm if he wanted to...
"It is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten too into talking and didn't forget about the time, Hao Ren could still go back to his dorm instead of wandering around with me so late at night."
Xie Yujia self-criticized in the back seat as she bit her lip.
They went to "Golden Ages Karaoke" which was located on the second floor of a building on Hongji Square. They asked for a small room for the night.
Seeing only the two of them there at midnight, the male waiter who led them to the room kept staring at them with a suspicious look.
"The room is only for singing, not for other things," he reminded them after they had arrived in the room.
"Other things..." Xie Yujia suddenly understood the implied meaning before she was about to ask. Her face blushed.
"I mean," the waiter added after seeing her flush, "You can sing in here, but you can not sleep. As the rules go, at least one of you needs to stay awake."
"Oh, I see," Xie Yujia murmured. Her blush became more apparent when she noticed Hao Ren looking at her in a weird way. She hurried into the room and sat down in a corner.
The waiter explained a few more things to Hao Ren, turned on the equipment, and left the room.
Xie Yujia sat awkwardly on the couch as she looked around the room, still blushing.
"Don't worry. They have strict rules here," Hao Ren randomly grabbed a microphone and put it beside him, "I came here with Zhao Jiayi and the guys before. But guys like us are at the Internet Cafe a lot more than here."
"I know. I came with Ma Lina and some other girls before as well. At least it is safer than both the Internet Cafe and the hotel," Xie Yujia nodded.
Hao Ren knew that Xie Yujia was tired as he noticed the redness in her eyes. He said, "You can go to sleep, Class President. I'll stay up."
Xie Yujia pouted her little mouth, "How could I let you..."
"It's ok! I always stay up with the guys, and I'm used to it!" Hao Ren pushed her down, "Don't worry, I won't fall asleep. It's not a problem for me to guard you!"
Xie Yujia bit her thin lips and stared at him in embarrassment. She wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.
Hao Ren took off his jacket and put it over her, "You might feel a bit chilly after you fall asleep. Anyways, get some sleep. I'll listen to some music and sing a few songs. It will keep me awake."
He stood up and clicked on some popular songs. Then, he sat back beside Xie Yujia.
"Hao Ren is indeed a 'good person'." Xie Yujia sighed as she looked at him with her eyes semi-closed, lying on the couch.
Hao Ren picked up the microphone as he listened to the familiar music. He turned on the voiceover and randomly hummed along; he was a little embarrassed to sing in front of the Class President.
Xie Yujia was secretly looking at him through her squinted eyes as she pretended to be asleep.
[1] Staying at a hotel in Chinese also means doing adult stuff.
Hao Ren turned around to look at the time. Then, he realized there were only a few people left in the restaurant.
"Sir, bill please!" he took out his wallet and said in a hurry.
The waiter collected the money, and Hao Ren and Xie Yujia hastily walked out of Dexin Restaurant and realized that the outdoor area of the square was already empty.
"What now..." Xie Yujia looked a little worried as she held the purse in her hand.
She had never spent a night outside of her home or dorm! It was the first time for her to have missed the curfew time of the dorm.
"It's alright. Maybe the dorm manager is not asleep yet," Hao Ren carried her on the back seat and biked into the dormitory area as he comforted her.
They went to the entrance of the female Dorm Building No.3 in the south region and found the light in the administrative office by the dorm gate was off. That meant the manager had already gone to sleep.
On top of that, all the lights in the dorm building were off as well, which showed that the curfew had begun.
Xie Yujia jumped off the bike in a hurry and called towards the window of the administrative office, "Ma'am! Ma'am!"
Nothing happened. It seemed like the manager had fallen soundly asleep.
Hao Ren knew that the manager of their male Dorm Building No.7 always slept late, and he should be able to wake her up even if she went to bed. That meant he could still go back to his dorm building.
However, since Xie Yujia couldn't get in now, how could he leave her outside all by herself?
Xie Yujia couldn't wake the manager up after several shouts. Then, she turned back to Hao Ren and said in worry, "What now?"
The confident Class President looked helpless at that moment. Hao Ren, who had spent nights outside with Zhao Jiayi quite often finally found an opportunity to apply his experience. "We can...spend a night at the Internet Cafe?"
"Is it...safe there?" Xie Yujia hesitated while frowning.
The environment and air quality were terrible in the Internet Cafe, and she didn't play many games. It wouldn't be appropriate to take her to that kind of place.
Hao Ren thought about it and probed, "Or...the hotels[1] outside of the school?"
"Ah?" Xie Yujia looked at him, startled. She hesitated and asked, "Have you stayed there before?"
"Um...not really. But I heard it doesn't cost much. About 120 yuan per night. As long as we have our IDs...maybe student cards work too..."
He lowered his voice since he didn't want Xie Yujia to think that he was "experienced".
"Is that kind of place safe?" Xie Yujia asked the same question after thinking about it for a bit.
"Yes. It should be safe," Hao Ren didn't sound so sure about his answer.
All kinds of people stayed in the hotels close to the school, and he had heard of incidents happening there. It wouldn't put him at ease to go back to his dorm and leave Xie Yujia at the hotel by herself.
"Then...I can stay with you...if you are worried?" Hao Ren coughed twice pretentiously and asked quietly.
"That's...not appropriate," she hesitated for a bit before rejecting it.
Since his ideas didn't work out, Hao Ren suggested, "Or we can call up Ma Lina and ask her to knock on the manager's door so that she can open the gate for you?"
"I didn't bring my cell phone. That is the problem," Xie Yujia said helplessly. She came out just for the guest lecturers, so she didn't bother to bring her cell phone. Who would have known that this could happen?
"I don't have their numbers. And neither would Zhao Jiayi and the guys," Hao Ren said. Since students could arrange their schedules and courses, the class was pretty loose. The girls would always stick together, so that meant there wasn't a lot of communication between the girls and the guys.
"There are still a couple of hours left before dawn, and we need to find somewhere to stay," Xie Yujia gave up after having knocked on the window of the administrative office for a while.
Fortunately, Hao Ren was here with her, so she wasn't too desperate.
At this time, Hao Ren suddenly thought of something and said, "We can go to a KTV and spend the night there. A room from midnight to 6:00 AM will only cost 80 yuan!"
"Yes! That's good!" Xie Yujia finally agreed to his suggestion.
It was cold at night, and they couldn't get into the dorms. After the decision was made, Hao Ren took her back to Hongji Square on her bike.
He thought about the suggestions he just mentioned to her while biking and realized that the one he looked forward to was to spend the night at a hotel room with her.
"Damn it, damn it! What was I thinking?"
Hao Ren blamed himself for having that thought.
On the other hand, Xie Yujia behind him didn't think that much. She was only touched by Hao Ren's good intention in keeping her company so late at night.
She knew that the guys usually returned to their dorms late and the manager there was used to them coming back after closing time. Therefore, she was clear that Hao Ren could still go back to his dorm if he wanted to...
"It is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten too into talking and didn't forget about the time, Hao Ren could still go back to his dorm instead of wandering around with me so late at night."
Xie Yujia self-criticized in the back seat as she bit her lip.
They went to "Golden Ages Karaoke" which was located on the second floor of a building on Hongji Square. They asked for a small room for the night.
Seeing only the two of them there at midnight, the male waiter who led them to the room kept staring at them with a suspicious look.
"The room is only for singing, not for other things," he reminded them after they had arrived in the room.
"Other things..." Xie Yujia suddenly understood the implied meaning before she was about to ask. Her face blushed.
"I mean," the waiter added after seeing her flush, "You can sing in here, but you can not sleep. As the rules go, at least one of you needs to stay awake."
"Oh, I see," Xie Yujia murmured. Her blush became more apparent when she noticed Hao Ren looking at her in a weird way. She hurried into the room and sat down in a corner.
The waiter explained a few more things to Hao Ren, turned on the equipment, and left the room.
Xie Yujia sat awkwardly on the couch as she looked around the room, still blushing.
"Don't worry. They have strict rules here," Hao Ren randomly grabbed a microphone and put it beside him, "I came here with Zhao Jiayi and the guys before. But guys like us are at the Internet Cafe a lot more than here."
"I know. I came with Ma Lina and some other girls before as well. At least it is safer than both the Internet Cafe and the hotel," Xie Yujia nodded.
Hao Ren knew that Xie Yujia was tired as he noticed the redness in her eyes. He said, "You can go to sleep, Class President. I'll stay up."
Xie Yujia pouted her little mouth, "How could I let you..."
"It's ok! I always stay up with the guys, and I'm used to it!" Hao Ren pushed her down, "Don't worry, I won't fall asleep. It's not a problem for me to guard you!"
Xie Yujia bit her thin lips and stared at him in embarrassment. She wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.
Hao Ren took off his jacket and put it over her, "You might feel a bit chilly after you fall asleep. Anyways, get some sleep. I'll listen to some music and sing a few songs. It will keep me awake."
He stood up and clicked on some popular songs. Then, he sat back beside Xie Yujia.
"Hao Ren is indeed a 'good person'." Xie Yujia sighed as she looked at him with her eyes semi-closed, lying on the couch.
Hao Ren picked up the microphone as he listened to the familiar music. He turned on the voiceover and randomly hummed along; he was a little embarrassed to sing in front of the Class President.
Xie Yujia was secretly looking at him through her squinted eyes as she pretended to be asleep.
[1] Staying at a hotel in Chinese also means doing adult stuff.
