Power and Wealth

Half an hour passed.

An hour passed.

It was well past eight in the evening.

The rain outside the pavilion continued to patter down, the raindrops hitting the surface of the lake and the small puddles on the stone steps of the pavilion, creating ripples.

"Teacher Jiang, are you cold?"

"I'm okay. Why hasn't it stopped yet?"

"Yeah, it's getting heavier."

"Our car is still at the entrance of the farmhouse."

"Yeah, it's a bit far. It would take us half an hour to get there. This heavy rain won't do."

"I think we should leave. Isn't there a hotel not far ahead?"

"But it's not close either. It'll take us three or four minutes to run there. I'm okay but worried about you catching a cold."

"It's okay. We have to go. I'm afraid we'll be late, and there won't be any rooms left. There are quite a few tourists today. If they're all booked up, where will we rest?"

"True. Okay, then. You carry the bag, and I'll hold the umbrella for you."

"No need. Forget about me. Take care of yourself. You're a small guy; don't get soaked."

"Alright, then. Ready? On the count of three, let's run."

"Okay, ready. One, two, three, let's go."

Dong Xuebing followed Teacher Jiang and rushed out. With a flick of his hand, he naturally held the umbrella over Jiang Min's head, while he didn't mind getting wet himself. Watching the raindrops gradually soak through his clothes, Dong Xuebing found it quite comfortable. Occasionally, getting caught in the rain wasn't bad at all. Feeling uplifted, he started singing Zhang Yu's "The Rain Keeps Falling," "The rain keeps falling, the atmosphere isn't exactly harmonious."

Jiang Min chuckled as she ran. "You seem quite cheerful."

"Of course, it's all about having a good attitude," Dong Xuebing said.

"Your attitude is good, but your singing is a bit off," Jiang Min joked.

With laughter and banter, they arrived at the three-story hotel with lights on outside. They rushed inside, panting heavily.

Jiang Min turned to wipe the rain off Dong Xuebing's face. "You've been taking care of me so much, and look at how you've been soaked."

"It's okay," Dong Xuebing smiled. Then he turned to the receptionist and said, "Miss, please give us two rooms."

The receptionist replied, "I'm sorry, sir. Not to mention two rooms. We don't even have a single room available."

Dong Xuebing was stunned. "Really? Please check for us. We can't go anywhere in this heavy rain. We don't mind paying extra. Please see what you can do."

The receptionist smiled wryly. "We don't have any left. A tourist group just arrived and got caught in the rain in town. They've booked all the rooms. Many people still haven't found accommodation and have gone elsewhere."

Jiang Min exclaimed, "Then, are other hotels nearby?"

The receptionist pointed and said, "There's no need to go to the east. I just called, and they're full too. I'm not sure about the one to the west. We don't have any contact with them. You can go and check. It's not far, about a five-minute walk. Three or four minutes if you run."

Dong Xuebing sighed, "What should we do?"

The receptionist suggested, "I suggest you go quickly, or there won't be any rooms left."

Jiang Min helplessly said, "Let's go, Xuebing, check it out."ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt

"If only we had driven," Dong Xuebing shrugged. "Now it's getting worse. The farther we run, the harder it will be. There are no taxis in town either. We'll be in trouble if there are no rooms available."

Outside.

Dong Xuebing opened the umbrella again. After counting to three, the two continued running westward. Many people were rushing along the road with them. One person even slipped and fell by the roadside. The ground was slippery, and Dong Xuebing was afraid Jiang Min might slip, so he instinctively put his hand around her waist.

So soft.

Dong Xuebing's hand was greasy and sticky.

He didn't have any inappropriate thoughts; he just continued running with the umbrella.

Finally, they arrived at a quaint little inn ahead. It looked more like a small resort than an inn, with a large area of their yard surrounded by wooden fences. Inside were wooden houses instead of high-rises, giving off a stylish and elegant vibe. It was much better than the previous inn, and the prices should be several times higher.

They reached it.

Pushing open the door and entering the courtyard, they walked through the door adorned with two red lanterns.

Dong Xuebing's clothes were already soaked, and his shoes were filled with water. Jiang Min was slightly better off, as Dong Xuebing had shielded her from most of the rain with the umbrella. But she was still not spared; at least the front of her shirt was thoroughly soaked through. Now, even the patterns and lines on her flesh-colored bra were visible. As for Jiang Min's khaki-colored casual pants, they were also somewhat disheveled. The side of her buttocks was soaked, and the outline of her underwear could be seen imprinted on the pants despite both being yellowish. However, there was still a slight color difference. The now damp casual pants clearly showed a different color from the underwear. Almost half of Jiang Min's plump buttocks were exposed, and both the landlady and a female staff member noticed.

Jiang Min also noticed, but seeing they were both women inside, she said nothing.

However, Dong Xuebing was a man, so he quickly took off his coat and draped it over Jiang Min's body, coughing lightly.

"Thank you," Jiang Min tightened Dong Xuebing's coat around herself, covering her chest. Then she rubbed her slightly cold hands together and asked, "Do you still have any rooms available?"

The landlady nodded. "Yes, we do."

Dong Xuebing exclaimed happily, "Great, give us two."

"There are no two rooms left, only the last one," the landlady flipped through her notebook. "Only a single wooden room is left, but it comes with a bathroom."

Dong Xuebing was taken aback. "Only one room?"

Jiang Min asked, "What do you mean by single?"

"It's just one bed," the landlady explained. "You came just in time. If you were any later, I'm afraid even this room would have been taken. The rain came suddenly, and many tourists decided to stay."

Dong Xuebing quickly said, "Miss, we have nowhere else to go. Our car is quite far away, and we can't even take it. And there's no guarantee we'll find a place elsewhere. Can't you think of something? Can we add another bed? We don't mind paying extra."

"We don't have spare beds here, but we can provide extra blankets," the landlady replied.

At that moment, the sound of the door being pushed open was heard from outside. "Do you have any rooms available?"

The landlady hesitated, glancing at Dong Xuebing and Jiang Min.

Jiang Min spoke quickly, "Okay, we'll take it."

The landlady told the person outside that no more rooms were available and then began to register Dong Xuebing and Jiang Min.

Dong Xuebing smiled wryly. "Teacher Jiang, maybe I should go look for another place. You can stay here."

"It's quite late, and it's raining heavily," Jiang Min said, wiping her forehead and saying, "It's okay. Let them add a blanket for us, and we'll squeeze together."

"Alright, if not, I can sleep on the floor."

"Let's see the room first. Oh, I need to shower; I'm freezing," Jiang Min sighed.