“You don’t have IDs? Then, you can’t stay here. They’re really strict about this stuff these days.” The owner immediately waved her hands upon hearing this.
“Come on boss, can you do us a favor? We’re really tired and would like to get some sleep, just one night.”
“I really can’t, they’re really strict about this, and I don’t want to be found out. They might impose a fine on me.” The owner didn’t even look at Huo Mian; she munched on sunflower seeds as she watched TV, not willing to reason with them.
Qin Chu didn’t say anything, because he knew Huo Mian could handle the situation.
Just then, Huo Mian took out five 100 yuan bills and placed them on the counter.
“What are you doing?” The owner’s gaze and attention immediately turned to the money.
“Please, ma’am, let us stay for the night. We’re willing to pay 500 yuan for the night, how’s that?”
On her way in, Huo Mian saw the prices outside and noticed that the rooms were all the same.
There were 6 rooms in total, 88 yuan per room.
Therefore, 500 yuan was equivalent to renting out the entire motel.
“Um…” The owner hesitated.
“If you’re not willing, then we’ll have to try our luck in the next town.” Then, Huo Mian reached out to take the money.
The owner immediately stopped Huo Mian. “Fine, stay, but if someone comes snooping around, just tell them that you’re my relative and not a guest of this motel, got it?”
“Got it, thanks ma’am.” Huo Mian tried to be friendly.
Then, the two of them went to the last room on the second floor. It was no more than 10 square meters in size and had only one bed in it.
There wasn’t even an in-suite washroom. The only communal bathroom was at the end of the second-floor corridor. It was small, dingy, and shabby.
But, what else should one expect from a place like this?
“Honey, you were so determined to come back, just to stay at a small hotel for 500 yuan a night?” Qin Chu smiled as he looked at Huo Mian.
They could’ve stayed at a 4-star hotel with better furnishing for 500 yuan.
“Chill out, I have my reasons, okay?”
“What reasons? Let’s hear them.” Qin Chu didn’t know what Huo Mian was up to, but he was sure that she already thought of a plan.
“Hotels have always been a place to obtain information from because a lot of people come and go, so information flow is intensive. Therefore, I wanted to see if I could get any information from that owner.”
“Sounds good, good luck.” It wasn’t convenient for Qin Chu to do something like this.
They had a room, but he couldn’t do much else. If both of them went downstairs, the owner may become suspicious.
“I’ll go downstairs and talk to her then.”
“Be careful,” worried, Qin Chu reminded her.
“I know.”
Then, Huo Mian turned around to head downstairs. Just then, the door of the neighboring room opened.
A dark-faced man came out wearing small underwear and nothing else. He was holding a basin in his hands.
He froze upon seeing Huo Mian…
Huo Mian didn’t pay much attention. She went downstairs and pulled a small stool up to the counter.
“Ma’am, you guys don’t have air conditioning. It’s pretty hot up there, so I wanted to cool myself downstairs,” Huo Mian said as she picked up a fan on the counter.
September wasn’t actually a hot month, but the motel room was small, and so was its window. Therefore, it was really stuffy.
“We don’t have air conditioning here, this isn’t a big hotel in the city, plus, 88 per night is really cheap. We barely have the money to pay for electricity, let alone air conditioners.”
“You do have a point.” Huo Mian smiled as she glanced at what the owner was watching.
It was Lingering Sin, a popular crime-novel based web series. Apparently, it was a show that required thinking, and the plot was really interesting.
“You like crime shows too?” A bit surprised, Huo Mian looked at her.