To You Whom I HATE The Most Chapter 3 (2/2)

Third Letter

On the phone, Cen Yuetong said with a teasing tone, "I’ve got to tell you, Mom knows you broke up with Bai Langrui. She’s already found three young men for you, just waiting for you to come back and meet them."

Cen Wei scoffed, "Isn’t that a bit much? You’re not even married, so why should I be in such a rush?"

"I’m not married, but I have a fiancé. What about you?"

"Alright." Cen Wei had no response.

She held her phone as she climbed the stairs, wanting to check out what the bedroom looked like first.

"You told me you found a place to live, so why are you coming back now?"

"Isn’t it you and Mom who’ve been pushing me to come back?"

Cen Yuetong chuckled. "Oh, by the way, Uncle Xiao’s out of the hospital. I went to visit him the other day, and he seemed to be doing well."

Cen Wei paused, murmuring softly, "I still need to unpack, so I’ll talk to you later."

"Okay," Cen Yuetong replied, "Make sure to rest well, and once you’ve finished the handover at work, hurry back."

"Got it, bye."

Hanging up the phone, Cen Wei faintly heard the sound of running water. Her heart tightened. She was worried that the ceiling might be leaking from the rain.

She checked each room. The bedroom, as well as the storage room, was fine. She walked all the way to the end of the second floor. As soon as she grabbed the door handle, the metal began to turn on its own.

Cen Wei's pupils dilated in shock, her body frozen in place.

She hadn’t even put any force into it yet.

With a click, the doorknob slipped from her grasp, and the door slowly swung open from the inside, releasing a wave of humid air.

Cen Wei sharply inhaled, her skin breaking out in goosebumps, a tingling sensation climbing up her back.

Her mind was too overwhelmed to think. She instinctively took a step back, her leg trembling as she tripped over her own slippers and fell hard onto the floor.

"Ah——" A sharp pain shot through her tailbone, blurring her vision. Her fingers curled and stretched in the air.

"Are you okay?"

Cen Wei lifted her head and locked eyes with the man squatting in front of her.

She stared at his face, unable to regain her composure. Her first reaction, once her senses returned, was to open her throat and let out a scream that could have pierced the ceiling.

"Shh," the man quickly stopped her. "Don’t scream."

"What are you doing here?" Cen Wei covered her mouth with both hands, looking at him in disbelief.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Zhou Ran stood up, bending down to extend his hand toward her.

He had just finished showering, his upper body still bare, and his hair was dripping wet.

Cen Wei turned her head away, refusing to look at him, and propped herself up off the floor.

"I didn’t go into the wrong place, did I?" She patted her hands, mumbling to herself. "Even if I did, there’s no way I’d be able to get in with the wrong code."

Zhou Ran asked again, "So why are you here?"

Cen Wei blinked, then replied, "My classmate said this place is her boyfriend's apartment, and she’s letting me stay here temporarily, so I came."

"Classmate?"

"He Zhiying."

"Oh, oh." Zhou Ran seemed to have an idea of what was going on. He sighed, placed his hands on his hips, and went back into the bathroom to grab his phone.

A few minutes earlier, he had heard a noise downstairs and thought someone was trying to break into the house in broad daylight. He had just turned off the shower and put on his pants when he ran into the startled Cen Wei right at the bathroom door.

They both stared at each other, wide-eyed. Zhou Ran was just as scared, though he hadn’t shown it. Even now, his heart was still pounding in his chest.

After dialing, Zhou Ran placed one hand on his waist and held the phone up to his ear with the other.

"Hello."

Cen Wei tilted her head and glanced at him, distractedly wondering why this guy was so tall. She didn’t remember him being this tall before.

Talking to him really was such a pain on the neck.

"Did your wife lend the apartment to someone else?" Zhou Ran asked the person on the phone.

Cen Wei also took out her phone, contacting He Zhiying to explain the situation.

"Wait." After speaking, Zhou Ran handed his phone to Cen Wei.

Cen Wei didn't dare to move and stood there holding his phone obediently. She glanced down and saw the screen showing that the call was in progress, with the name "Shi Jiaxu" saved as the contact.

He Zhiying’s boyfriend?

The name sounded so familiar.

Zhou Ran went to the bedroom, put on a T-shirt, and took his phone back from Cen Wei.

Cen Wei hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help saying, “You should put on a jacket, don’t catch a cold.”

Zhou Ran glanced at her.

"I really can’t believe you two," he muttered.

He Zhiying took the lead and shouted at Shi Jiaxu, "Tell me, why didn’t you even mention to me that you rented the place to Zhou Ran?"

Shi Jiaxu: "But you didn’t mention to me that you lent it to someone else."

"I told you, okay? Yesterday, at dinner, you just said ‘mm-hmm.’"

"Did I?" Shi Jiaxu’s voice trailed off, getting quieter.

He Zhiying slapped him on the arm. "I told you not to watch videos while eating."

"Damn, then you didn’t look at your phone?"

As they spoke, they started grappling with each other, and the situation quickly got out of control.

Cen Wei moved her lips and tried to speak. "Hey, um, you guys, stop arguing."

But it had no effect.

Cen Wei sat upright on the sofa, hugging a cushion. She rubbed her hands together and asked Zhou Ran, "So what are we going to do now?"

"Like this," Zhou Ran proposed. "I’ll stay in a hotel for now, and you should find a place and move out as soon as possible."

Cen Wei nodded, then realized something was wrong. "Wait, what do you mean? Why do I have to move out? He Zhiying agreed to let me stay in the apartment. Why don't you move out?"

Zhou Ran didn’t think his logic was flawed. "I signed the rental contract with Shi Jiaxu. Besides, first come, first served."

Cen Wei became frustrated. "First come, first served? He Zhiying already promised me, it’s just that I only had time to move today."

Zhou Ran pressed his lips together. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Of course, you need to find a place and move out as soon as possible."

Zhou Ran coldly threw out two words: "No way."

Cen Wei’s emotions were starting to get out of control, and she began speaking without thinking: "I don't care if you want to or not. It's not easy for a woman like me to find a place to live."

Zhou Ran frowned. "Can you not bring up gender in everything?"

"I don’t care. Either you move out or you move out," Cen Wei crossed her arms, standing her ground.

Zhou Ran sneered, "You women just know how to throw tantrums, don't you?"

"Oh!" Cen Wei pointed at Zhou Ran. "Look who's stirring up gender conflict now?"

While they were locked in this stand-off, Cen Wei unintentionally glanced at her phone screen and asked, "What are they saying?"

Cen Wei leaned forward, squinting at the screen to read their lips more clearly. "What? Speak slower."

"I said!" He Zhiying’s voice suddenly blasted through the phone, "Can’t you two just live together?!"