9: Chapter 9: A Twist of Fate – Even Staying at a Hotel, I Run into My Ex-Girlfriend

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the line, followed by an even shriller voice.

"You're not renting anymore? That's fine, but I'm not refunding a single cent of your deposit! And the utility bills you owe will be deducted from the deposit; if it's not enough, you'll have to pay me the difference! Don't think you can just walk away scot-free!"

Auntie Liu owned several old, dilapidated apartments in Jiangcheng and specialized in scamming young people who came from out of town to work.

She had already found out that Lin Zhe had been laid off by his company today and was completely broke.

Now that he couldn't even afford the rent, what did he have to be arrogant about with her?

"Keep the deposit," Lin Zhe replied.

Auntie Liu hadn't expected Lin Zhe to be so decisive.

This completely disrupted her routine, so she had to immediately find a new fault to pick.

"Don't pull that with me! You made that room a complete mess, and you've even scuffed the walls black! And all that junk you bought—the old fridge, the old washing machine—move it all out! Don't take up my space!"

Hiring a moving company would cost at least a few hundred yuan, and Lin Zhe certainly couldn't afford that.

Auntie Liu was determined to use this excuse to squeeze another layer of skin off Lin Zhe.

"Everything inside is yours. Just go change the locks tomorrow." Lin Zhe didn't say another word and hung up directly.

He casually added Auntie Liu's number to his blacklist.

Those things combined were worth at most two thousand yuan.

With a billion in his hands, there was no need to go back and look at her face, and he didn't want to waste another second on this woman.

He opened the ride-hailing app and set his destination: Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jiangcheng.

Wutong Mountain was remote, so Lin Zhe directly added a one-hundred-yuan tip.

In less than a minute, a private car accepted the order.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the main entrance of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

This was Jiangcheng's top five-star hotel.

A doorman in a crisp uniform opened the car door.

Lin Zhe got out of the car, carrying his old laptop bag that he had used for four years, and walked straight into the lobby.

The decor here was extremely luxurious and resplendent; everyone entering and leaving was dressed in suits or adorned with jewelry.

Lin Zhe, in his washed-out clothes, walked through, drawing many strange looks.

He walked to the front desk.

"Help me book a presidential suite," Lin Zhe said, handing over his ID card.

The female receptionist at the front desk was stunned for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Lin Zhe's clothes, but she quickly regained her professional demeanor and typed on her keyboard to check.

"Hello, sir. The presidential suite is currently available. The price is 88,000 yuan per night. How many nights would you like to book?"

The receptionist deliberately emphasized the price.

This was part of the hotel's training, used to politely turn away those who had come to the wrong place or were joking around with the hotel.

"Book it for one month first," Lin Zhe said without any nonsense.

The receptionist's fingers froze on the keyboard, and she looked up at Lin Zhe, thinking she had misheard.

"Sir, for one month, the total is 2.64 million yuan. We need you to pay the full amount upfront, or provide a pre-authorization for the corresponding amount."

"Full amount," Lin Zhe said, taking out his phone and bringing up the payment code.

The receptionist took a deep breath and picked up the scanner.

"Beep—"

The sound of a successful payment was particularly crisp in the quiet lobby.

The POS machine immediately spat out a long receipt.

The receptionist's attitude changed instantly. She walked out from behind the counter, handed over the room card with both hands, and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Mr. Lin, this is your room card. Your dedicated butler will guide you shortly. If you have any needs at the hotel, you can instruct us at any time."

Lin Zhe took the room card and turned to walk toward the elevators.

A burst of laughter came from the lobby lounge area.

"This steak tastes terrible; let's try somewhere else next time," a man's voice came over.

Lin Zhe stopped and turned to look.

Zhao Kai was holding Su Xue, having just stepped out of the exclusive elevator from the revolving restaurant.

The luxury watch on Zhao Kai's wrist reflected the light, and Su Xue was carrying the same entry-level LV bag that Chen Yu couldn't afford, her face full of joy immersed in money.

As soon as Su Xue looked up, she met Lin Zhe's gaze.

Her smile vanished instantly, her brows knitted together, and her disgust was undisguised.

"Lin Zhe? Why are you haunting me like a ghost!" Su Xue walked over in her high heels and blocked Lin Zhe's path.

Zhao Kai also followed over, looking Lin Zhe up and down, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"I was wondering who it was; isn't this that loser who got laid off? What, did you follow us here?" Zhao Kai intentionally made his voice very loud, causing several guests in the lobby to look over.

Su Xue felt extremely embarrassed and deliberately distanced herself from Lin Zhe.

"Lin Zhe, wasn't I clear enough on the phone during the day? We are over!"

"You don't even have enough money on you to stay in a budget hotel, yet you ran to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to block me? If you aren't ashamed, I'm ashamed for you!"

Lin Zhe stood where he was.

He looked at the status bars above their heads.

Su Xue still had those familiar tags.

The tag [Family Company Hidden Bomb] above Zhao Kai's head, however, had now changed.

The tag was flickering violently, the original black text gradually turning into an eye-catching red, with a line of small text following it.

[Explosion Countdown: 5 minutes (Jiangcheng building materials market capital chain completely broken, banks about to fully freeze all of the Zhao family's assets).]

Lin Zhe moved his gaze away from the tags and met Zhao Kai's arrogant face.

"Five minutes," Lin Zhe suddenly spoke up.

Zhao Kai was stunned for a moment. "What five minutes? What are you muttering about, you loser?"

"In five minutes, all the bank cards under your name will be frozen," Lin Zhe said, looking into Zhao Kai's eyes, stating it flatly.

"You'd better go to the front desk now and pay for the meal you just had. Otherwise, if you can't pay in a while, security will throw you out."

Zhao Kai bent over laughing, pointing at Lin Zhe's nose.

"I think you've been driven schizophrenic by getting laid off, right? Freeze my cards? Do you know how big my dad's company is in Jiangcheng?"

"Never mind five minutes, even in fifty years, I wouldn't go broke eating a Manchu Han Imperial Feast here every day!"

Su Xue rolled her eyes, her face full of disgust.

"Lin Zhe, is playing the mystic fun for you? Zhao Kai is a prominent young master in Jiangcheng's building materials circle."

"Besides spouting useless threats, what else can you do? Get lost, don't ruin our appetite here."

"Mr. Lin, your exclusive elevator is ready." The Lobby Manager walked over quickly and stood respectfully behind and to the side of Lin Zhe.

Zhao Kai took a look at the Lobby Manager.

"Manager, this beggar ran into your hotel lobby to harass guests; aren't you going to hurry up and kick him out?"

The Lobby Manager's expression darkened, and he stepped forward directly, blocking in front of Lin Zhe.

"This gentleman, please speak with some respect. Mr. Lin is our hotel's most distinguished long-term presidential suite guest. If you dare to be disrespectful to Mr. Lin again, I will have to ask security to escort you out."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Kai's smile froze completely on his face, his eyes almost popping out.

Su Xue's mind went blank, and she stood there stunned.

Presidential suite? Long-term rental?

That was a top-tier suite costing over 80,000 yuan a night!

How could Lin Zhe, that poor wretch who couldn't even afford a few thousand yuan in rent, possibly afford that?

"Manager, you must have made a mistake, right?" Su Xue's voice changed pitch. "He was just laid off today; he doesn't even have 5,000 yuan in his account!"

"Mr. Lin just paid the full month's rent." The Lobby Manager's expression was extremely serious. "I repeat, please do not disturb our distinguished guest."

Zhao Kai's face was livid; he felt the gazes of the surrounding guests all pinned to his face, burning with pain.

Just then, the phone in Zhao Kai's pocket suddenly started vibrating crazily.

The exclusive ringtone—it was his dad calling.

Lin Zhe glanced at the wall clock in the hotel lobby.

The time was just right—exactly five minutes.