Power and Wealth

Morning, 8 am.

Beijing. A taxi entered the city area.

Dong Xuebing and Zhong Lizhen alighted at a shopping mall. They entered the mall to buy clothes. He bought a jacket as he was still wearing someone else’s clothes. It was too big for him and dirty. After buying his jacket, he found Zhong Lizhen. She was holding a new white gown. This was an old shopping mall, and very few malls sell these working attires.

“You….”

“Yes. This will do.”

“Huh? Are you sure you want this gown?”

“It’s ok. I am used to it. Go and pay for it.”

Zhong Lizhen does not have money, and Dong Xuebing needs to pay for it. He took out his wallet and paid for the white gown. 85 RMB.

Dong Xuebing turned and saw Zhong Lizhen had put on her gown and looked like a doctor.

“Let’s go.” Dong Xuebing said.

Zhong Lizhen took out a small notebook and nodded. She wrote something in the notebook. “Gown, 85 RMB. I will return the money to you.” She said and kept the receipt. She also asked Dong Xuebing for his receipt and wrote in the notebook. “Your jacket is 399 RMB. You bought it because I threw your jacket away. I have to pay you for that. I will pay for the taxi fare too. It was 156 RMB. The total is….”

Dong Xuebing interrupted. “Ah…. It’s fine.”

Zhong Lizhen ignored Dong Xuebing and continued to write in her notebook. “I owe you this much. Although I cannot repay everything, I will remember it.”

Dong Xuebing smiled to himself. He is not calculative, but he knows Professor Zhong’s character. She had worked with numbers for years and liked to keep tabs on everything. Even a wrong decimal place will cause her experiment to fail. That’s why he does not want to argue with her.

A few moments later, Zhong Lizhen finished recording their purchases. “Alright.”

“Shall we go to a bathhouse?” Dong Xuebing asked.

Zhong Lizhen frowned. “I don’t like those places. Let’s go to a hotel.”

“Ok. We are only taking a shower. We can go to any hotel nearby.”

Both of them were covered in dirt, and they must clean themselves.

Outside of a budget hotel.

Dong Xuebing and Zhong Lizhen entered the hotel.

The female staff behind the counter smiled. “Are you looking for a room?”

Dong Xuebing nodded and took out his credit card from his wallet. It broke into two during his battle yesterday. He looked at it and checked his cash in the wallet. He only had 400 RMB.

Dong Xuebing asked. “How much is a single room for a day?”

The staff smiled. “266 RMB.”

It was not expensive as it is a budget hotel, but Dong Xuebing does not have enough cash.

Dong Xuebing looked at Zhong Lizhen. She saw Dong Xuebing’s broken credit card and hesitated. She turned to the staff. “We need a single room.”

The female staff looked at them weirdly.

Dong Xuebing felt awkward and gave his ID.

The staff said. “I need both your IDs if you are staying with us.”

Zhong Lizhen has no ID as they were taken away at the research center. Dong Xuebing replied immediately. “I am staying alone.”

“Oh….” The staff registered Dong Xuebing’s ID and continued to give them weird looks. The woman is in her late thirties to forties, and the guy is in his twenties.

Zhong Lizhen felt uncomfortable and pretended to look away.

Dong Xuebing kept his ID and went upstairs together. That staff stopped them. “You had paid for a single room. Both of you….”

Dong Xuebing was frustrated. “What’s wrong with the both of us?”

The staff replied. “I need her ID as well.”

Dong Xuebing retorted. “She is not staying here. What’s wrong with her going upstairs to chat with me? Can’t I bring friends to my room?”

The staff kept quiet.

Zhong Lizhen pulled Dong Xuebing. “Let’s go.”

Dong Xuebing noticed many people in the lobby were looking at them. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and entered the elevator with Zhong Lizhen.

Sigh…. It’s so embarrassing.

Dong Xuebing could not even afford two hotel rooms. He must get a replacement card from the bank.

Inside the hotel room.

A bed, a bathroom, and there’s nothing else.

Dong Xuebing felt awkward when he saw the bed.

“Go and wash up first.” Dong Xuebing said.

Zhong Lizhen nodded and entered the bathroom.

Dong Xuebing smoked while he waited. He heard the water splashing inside the bathroom and felt nervous.

Half an hour later.

Zhong Lizhen came out of the bathroom in her white gown. Her hair was wet and dripping. She is clean and wearing her white blouse under the gown. Dong Xuebing noticed two reddish spots on her blouse and remembered her bra clip had broken.

She is not wearing anything under her blouse.

Dong Xuebing started to imagine….

Zhong Lizhen noticed Dong Xuebing’s eyes and quickly fastened her gown.

“It’s your turn.”

“Ok.”

Dong Xuebing entered the bathroom.

He took a quick shower and came out around ten minutes later. Zhong Lizhen was looking out of the window, deep in thought. A notebook and a pen were left on the bed. There was a new line. Hotel, 266 RMB.

Sigh…. She is calculative.

Dong Xuebing said. “I am done.”

“Ok.”

“What are you thinking about?”

Zhong Lizhen looked at the bustling streets. “It’s been a while since I returned. Home is still the best.”

“Welcome back, Professor Zhong.”

“Yes.” Zhong Lizhen turned. “You still have around 100 RMB in your wallet. It should be enough to pay for the cab. Let’s go. I will bring you to meet Sister Han and return the money I owe. I would also like to thank you properly for saving me.”

“Sister Han?”

“Yes. Didn’t you mention Xie Huilan previously? Didn’t you find out about me through my files and use the people around me to confirm my identity? You should have heard of Sister Han. She is Huilan’s mother.”