Chapter 17 - Are you a dog now?

"Ms. Xiao Lei?"

Xiao Lei snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the deep voice. She quickly sat up straight and turned her gaze away from the man before mumbling, "Sorry, I was thinking about something earlier..."

"That explains the familiar feeling earlier…" thought Xiao Lei while she stared at the cars moving outside. She had a feeling that this man was the same "Han Ye" that she knew and used to pick on… It made her nervous. She did not want to meet someone from her past who could bring up unpleasant memories.

"President Fan's little daughter… Young Lady of Fan House… " Xiao Lei thought about it before she chuckled wryly. Unconsciously, her fingers clenched tightly and formed into fists while she thought sadly, "What's the point of having so much fame and fortune if it brought nothing but pain?"

Even though she thought about going back to take back everything that belonged to her, after Zhi Hao was born, she pushed the thought away. She did not want to risk losing him, and she knew that those people would not leave her alone once they found out that she was still alive. Now that she was a mother, her son's safety was everything!

She did not want her husband and son to be pulled into any harm. Even if she had to live a miserable life, she would rather be living miserably then being dead. Once she was dead, she would not be able to do anything anymore.

But if this "Han Ye" was the "Han Ye" she knew, then… She did not think that she would be able to go through with this. People from the past would undeniably bring back painful memories from the past.

…

It was already late at night when the car pulled to a stop outside the hotel that she was staying in tonight. She gulped when she saw the most expensive and most beautiful hotel in the city, Hotel Imperial.

Every car that stopped out here looked like they belonged to insanely rich people and Xiao Lei felt a little inferior when she looked down at what she was wearing. Everyone she saw was either wearing expensive looking gowns or fancy suit, but here she was in a cotton T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of old sneakers.

"It's ok, Xiao Lei. They paid for it," Xiao Lei muttered under breathing as she stared at those people standing at the lobby.

She was still inside the car. There was something she wanted to know. As she gripped the hem of her shirt, she asked in a timid voice, "Erm… Mr. Han… Han Ye… If I want to change my mind… Is - Is that ok?"

Han Ye was taking off his seatbelt and he stopped when he heard her question. After a second of hesitation, he released the seatbelt as he frowned. He wondered why did she ask the question and why the sudden change of attitude.

Still, he quickly answered her, "Yeah, sure. As long as it is before the implant. If you want, I can let Director Shenlong and Mr. Luo know about it. Do you want to change your mind now?"

Xiao Lei shook her head. "Let me think about it first… "

There was a complicated expression as she got out of the car.

Han Ye took her overnight bag from the backseat and led her to the concierge so that he could check her in. He rolled his eyes slightly when he saw Head Manager Han talking to the receptionist.

He was still a little annoyed at how Head Manager Han bothered him every day after his wife passed away. He still did not understand what prompted Head Manager Han to do so back then, and why the man suddenly stopped appearing in his life not long after.

With a calm expression, Han Ye led Xiao Lei as they walked to the counter.

"Head Manager Han." Han Ye greeted in his usual professional manner.

"Mr. Han." Head Manager Han gave Han Ye his usual polite smile.

Han Ye nodded. He then gestured toward Xiao Lei before introducing her to the head manager. "Head Manager Han, this is Ms. Xiao Lei. Please take care of her."

Head Manager Han looked at Xiao Lei and bowed politely before saying, "Ms. Xiao Lei, I hope you are well today. Director Shenlong informed me of your arrival, and I've been waiting for you. Your suite has been prepared for you and I hope you'd like it. Please follow me."

Xiao Lei nodded. She then turned to look at Han Ye. Scratching the back of her head nervously, she said, "Thanks for taking me to the hospital today… and erm, I'm sorry for what I did to you earlier."

She blushed when she recalled how she "hurt" him earlier.

"Don't worry about it. Head Manager Han will take it from here, so I'd be taking my leave now. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to give me a call." Han Ye then smiled and nodded before he turned to walk away.

Xiao Lei stared at his back as he walked away.

"Ms. Xiao Lei?"

Xiao Lei turned to the voice and saw that the head manager of the hotel staring at her. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something earlier. Let's go."

"This way please..."

…

Once they were at the suite, Xiao Lei stood near the door with her mouth agape. She was shocked by the size of the suite!

Head Manager Han took her on a quick tour and taught her how to operate everything.

"F*ck! This is double the size of my house!" she hissed under her breath as they stood at the living room. Her mouth was still wide open at this point.

Head Manager Han did not hear what she said and thought that she was displeased by what she saw. With an apologetic tone, he asked, "I'm sorry, Ms. Xiao Lei. Is the room to your liking?"

"Huh?" Xiao Lei pushed her lower jaw with a hand to close her mouth. She then shook her head vigorously, before nodding quickly. "Y-yes, of course… It's great!"

Head Manager Han smiled politely and bowed slightly before saying, "Then, I shall take my leave. Please don't hesitate to call the reception should you need any help. The numbers are right next to the phone. If you're hungry, you can eat anything you want inside the fridge. Everything in this room has been paid for. If you'd like a hot meal, there's a menu on the kitchen table. All you have to do is to give the receptionist a call and she'd handle it for you."

"Yes." Xiao Lei nodded as she took in everything. Once the head manager was done talking, she bowed slightly as a matter of respect. "Thanks for your help."

The moment Head Manager Han left the room and closed the door behind him, Xiao Lei did a fist bump before she ran to the little machine that was called Alexa. Head Manager Han taught her how to operate it earlier and she was curious how this little machine worked.

"Alexa, please turn on Play The Funky Music!"

Within a few seconds, the room was filled with the music by Wild Cherry.

Once she turned on the music using Alexa, she tapped her foot to the beat as she slowly got into the mood. Then, she walked around while swaying her h.i.p.s and boogied to the song. At the same time, she sang along to the music.

"Lay down the boogie and play that funky music till you die..."

Then with a mischievous smirk, she yelled, "F*ck! This is the life! WOO HOOT!"

Like a madwoman, she ran around, touching everything, jumping on couches while doing air-guitar as if she was pretending to play for a crowd. She sang the last verse along with the song, and when the song ended, she dropped onto the couch and lay on her back while panting. There was a huge grin on her face at the moment.

It had been a while since she had fun, so what she did early helped her release all the pent up stress from life. For a short period of time, she did not have to worry about money or if she was going to earn nothing tomorrow.

As she lay on the leather couch, she caressed the leathers before taking a sniff. "Wow! This is a high-quality leather!"

She then stopped sniffing before facepalming herself. "Xiao Xiao Lei! Are you a dog now?"

As if she found herself funny, she giggled before she lay down quietly with her eyes closed.

And once her eyes were shut, an old forgotten memory slowly resurfaced.

….