It had been a long time since he last heard his mom’s voice. Even though it was just over the phone, Shan Yu’s heart still trembled slightly—there was longing, but also a sense of distance.
Ever since he went inside, he had consistently refused visits from his parents. In fact, it wasn’t just his parents; apart from Liu Wu, he hadn’t seen anyone.
The time he saw Liu Wu was only because Liu Wu was about to take his high school proficiency exams, and Shan Yu was worried a bad mood might affect his test.
And after coming out, he hadn’t seen any family members or relatives other than Liu Wu either.
He couldn’t quite explain why. It felt as though he just couldn’t snap out of it. He didn’t know how to explain, nor how to face them.
He couldn’t be bothered to, either.
“How is your injury?” His mom asked. “Where are you hurt?”
“Hm?” Shan Yu paused. He wasn’t particularly surprised that his mom was able to call this number; after all, Liu Wu had said where he was going to hang out, so calling around to ask was all it took.
However, as for the injury, he had specifically instructed Liu Wu not to say anything… Of course, Liu Wu probably didn’t say, or else his mom wouldn’t be asking where he was hurt…
“Xiao Wu took his dad’s car to the hospital twice, both times to pick you up, right?” His mom said. “It can be found on the dashcam log.”
“A single flaw in a hundred preparations,” Shan Yu frowned slightly.
“With him around, where is there any preparation? It’s all flaws,” his mom said. “Is the injury serious?”
“Not serious, it’s already healed,” Shan Yu said.
“When do you plan to come home for a visit?” His mom asked.
Shan Yu was silent for a moment. “We’ll see. It’s quite busy here, just opened.”
“Shan Yu,” his mom paused for a few seconds. “I’ve told you before, your father and I have no preset expectations for your life. You don’t need to prove anything.”
“I know.” Shan Yu closed his eyes.
“Then let’s leave it at that; think about it yourself,” his mom said. “Also, Xiao Wu keeps ignoring his aunt’s calls. Tell him to call home. Keeping a secret isn’t kept like this—how is this any different from shouting ‘I have something to hide from you guys’?”
“Mm.” Shan Yu gave a faint smile.
When Shan Yu placed the phone receiver back onto the fax machine, Chen Jian let out a sharp sigh of relief. Only then did he realize he had been somewhat stiff the entire time, standing frozen at the front desk without even thinking to step away.
Fortunately, Hu Pan hadn’t stepped away either, listening with intense concentration and nervousness. When Shan Yu hung up the phone, she flopped back into her chair and patted her chest: “Phew, oh my.”
“A bit lacking in psychological resilience, aren’t we?” Shan Yu glanced at her.
“I’m terrified of all moms and dads,” Hu Pan exhaled. “Did your mom scold you?”
Panpan!
What are you asking?
Chen Jian looked at Hu Pan.
Asking this at a time like this isn’t appropriate, right?
“No,” Shan Yu gave a faint smile. “Why would she scold me?”
“Going through all that trouble to call over here, wasn’t it to scold you?” Hu Pan said. “Have you not been in touch with your family? They couldn’t even find you. If this were my mom finding me like this, she’d come over on the spot and tear me apart.”
“She won’t tear you apart,” Shan Yu said. “With so many people in the shop backing you up, who would dare touch you?”
“I’m someone with backing now!” Hu Pan laughed and ran to the fridge beside the bar to get Shan Yu a bottle of Coke: “Thank you, Boss Shan. This one has sugar in it.”
“Thank you.” Shan Yu gave a faint smile.
Chen Jian walked over to the café with Shan Yu, grabbed two biscuits for him, and then sat down with him.
“Thanks for your hard work earlier, Manager Chen.” Shan Yu tore open a small biscuit.
“It was nothing.” Chen Jian gave a faint smile, still not fully recovered.
It wasn’t entirely because of that phone call, but rather because of the conversation between Hu Pan and Shan Yu.
Hu Pan was a somewhat careless girl. Her life was hard, but she always possessed a blunt, slightly rule-defying loyalty and enthusiasm.
And candor.
Yes, candor.
Relaxed and candid.
He suddenly felt a wave of envy.
Without knowing when it began, his own interactions with Shan Yu had stopped being so candid.
Did it start from that time he “crossed the line”?
Maybe so, but that didn’t seem entirely accurate either. The more precise feeling was that he wanted to control any curiosity and probing toward Shan Yu as much as possible—was it because it would cross a line, or was he afraid of some misunderstanding…
Hard to say.
“Oh, Boss Shan is here too.” someone walked in from the side door leading from the café to the garden. “I was thinking of just looking for Manager Chen to chat. What a coincidence.”
Chen Jian turned his head and saw Boss He of Liangye inside.
Behind him was Sanbing, following along with an annoyed expression—it seemed he had tried to stop him but failed.
“Boss He,” Chen Jian stood up. Seeing that He Liang seemed to intend to walk straight toward Shan Yu, he took a step to the side, blocking the path in front of Shan Yu. “If there’s anything, just a phone call would do. Why did you make a special trip over?”
Although on the surface the three inner guesthouses had no conflict with Dayin anymore, in private they were definitely still displeased. Especially these past few days when Liu Wu’s group of university students arrived—the Joyful Beans were quiet inside the shop, but once outside, they were quite boisterous. Their laughter and cheer along the road made Dayin look like its bookings were bursting at the seams.
He Liang’s trip over here might not be for anything good.
Maybe he just couldn’t swallow his anger and wanted to take advantage of Lame Shan being unprepared to throw a couple of punches—who knows.
“I just happen to go out for a walk every day at this time, so I was passing by,” He Liang was blocked by him and had no choice but to stop. “Step inside to chat a few words.”
“Sit.” Shan Yu said behind Chen Jian.
He Liang hesitated for a moment, then sat down in a chair at the adjacent table.
Sanbing, who had followed him over, didn’t leave either, sitting down on the long bench by the door.
“Would Boss He like a cup of coffee?” Hu Pan ran over.
“Please give me an iced Americano, little sister,” He Liang said.
“No trouble at all, just a moment,” Hu Pan said.
“Dayin is really on the right track now,” He Liang looked toward the front lobby at Zhao Fangfang, who had just returned with two handcarts full of groceries. “Business is booming. I’m truly happy for Boss Shan.”
Shan Yu made no sound, not even looking in He Liang’s direction.
Boss Shan! Did you hear that! The man is congratulating you!
Not congratulating Manager Chen!
“Thank you, Boss He,” Chen Jian couldn’t wait for Shan Yu to speak, so he had to quickly take over. “It’s a long holiday, after all; business is good everywhere.”
“Business for us few inner places isn’t nearly this booming,” He Liang said with a smile. “Dayin still manages things effectively, after all.”
He Liang’s words meant one thing by the literal text, but his tone seemed to imply something else entirely. Chen Jian didn’t speak.
He didn’t know how to respond to this.
“Boss He,” Shan Yu tilted his head to look at He Liang. “You are welcome to offer better suggestions regarding our management methods.”
He Liang laughed: “Aiya, how would I dare say I have suggestions? We…”
“Are here to learn?” Shan Yu said, pointing a finger at Chen Jian. “Then Manager Chen, take Boss He for a tour around to share some experience. My leg isn’t convenient, so I won’t accompany you.”
“No rush, no rush,” the look on He Liang’s face turned visibly unpleasant, his fake smile disappearing completely. “Actually, there is a tiny… suggestion, or you could call it an objection.”
“You can speak directly,” Shan Yu finally turned his body to face He Liang. “Boss He, we’re all familiar enough. Whatever it is, just speak directly; otherwise, it easily leads to misunderstandings.”
“Good, good, good. Boss Shan is straightforward, so I’ll just speak directly,” He Liang said. “Reasonably speaking, the road in front of Dayin’s entrance belongs to the public. You renovated it, and us few inner places are very grateful.”
Shan Yu didn’t speak.
This isn’t direct either!
Chen Jian could only remain silent as well.
Hu Pan brought the coffee over: He Liang’s iced Americano, and two lattes made for Shan Yu and Chen Jian.
Chen Jian took a sip of coffee. If this He Liang spoke without beating around the bush, he might get struck by lightning.
He could only patiently wait for him to navigate around the minefield.
“Just like Boss Shan mentioned before, Dayin controls the intersection,” He Liang took a sip of his iced Americano. “Under normal business conditions, it occupies… a strong advantage, inherently possessing a better geographical location than us inner places… If you’re going to employ certain tactics on top of that, it wouldn’t be very appropriate.”
Tactics?
Chen Jian was stunned for a moment, looking at He Liang: “What is Boss He referring to?”
He Liang had finally navigated around the minefield, and once he got to the main point, he stopped beating around the bush. He pointed at Sanbing outside: “Those few security guards under Chen Erhu—having them constantly pulling people in at the intersection isn’t very appropriate, right? It was supposed to be a matter of free choice…”
“What are you doing!” Sanbing stood up immediately upon being pointed at, puffing out his chest as he prepared to step inside.
Chen Jian glared at him. Sanbing held his posture for a moment, then sat back down.
“What?” Shan Yu spoke, looking at Chen Jian as he asked.
I don’t know either!
“Us few guesthouses follow a relatively high-end route,” He Liang said. “Originally, when guests without reservations came over, walking around to look and picking one they liked among the options was very fair. But now…”
“They are pulling people on the road?” Chen Jian interrupted He Liang’s words, following up with a question.
“Yes,” He Liang frowned. “Frankly speaking, isn’t this method a bit too low-class?”
This was indeed somewhat inappropriate, equivalent to intercepting the foot traffic right at the intersection. However, Chen Jian was a bit unsure what kind of attitude to use when replying to He Liang. If this person were Chen Erhu, he would know what to say.
“Sorry for causing trouble for everyone,” Shan Yu picked up his coffee and took a sip first, setting the cup down before looking at He Liang. “Our employees treat Dayin as their own home. When it comes to contributing effort for their own home, they never hesitate in the slightest. As for certain… practices, I will remind them.”
“That’s good then,” He Liang nodded. “I figure Boss Shan and Manager Chen were probably unaware.”
“However, Boss He should also be aware,” Shan Yu said, “the act of pulling people at the entrance itself is neither illegal nor against regulations. We refrain from doing so purely for the common interest of everyone.”
“That’s true, that’s true. If us few places also sent people to the intersection to pull people, then things would be in chaos,” He Liang said. “You might not necessarily gain an advantage either.”
“That might not necessarily be the case,” Shan Yu said.
What are you saying…
“Thank you for your understanding, Boss He,” Chen Jian quickly raised his voice. “We will protect everyone’s interests. Healthy development, healthy development.”
“Manager Chen isn’t old, yet he’s still very reasonable. Boss Shan knows how to employ people,” He Liang stood up. “Then I’ll…”
“Thanks for taking the trouble to come over personally, Boss He,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian walked He Liang out past the courtyard. When he returned, Sanbing leaned in: “What was that about?”
“Which of you ran out to the road to pull people?” Chen Jian asked.
“Lao Si and Lao Wu,” Sanbing said. “There have been quite a few guests these past two days. Many drove over and parked right at the intersection, looking around. When seeing business like that, how could they not hurry over to greet them?”
“Don’t pull people like that in the future. Speak only after they ask,” Chen Jian said. “Otherwise there’ll be objections inside; all the unreserved guests got snatched by us.”
Sanbing tsked: “Then why didn’t they snatch the land at the intersection to build guesthouses back then? The money spent wasn’t even the same.”
“Don’t be stubborn, or else there’ll be friction in the future,” Chen Jian patted him. “Pass the word to them.”
“Mm.” Sanbing nodded.
When he returned to the café, Shan Yu was still drinking coffee. Seeing him come in, he asked, “Are there any more small biscuits?”
“Yes.” Chen Jian walked over and placed a few more by his hand. “Your attitude…”
“Mm,” Shan Yu responded. “Not very good, right?”
“The only reason you weren’t beaten up is entirely because your leg is still lame,” Chen Jian said.
“Is that so?” Shan Yu smiled. “I’ll try again after my leg heals.”
Chen Jian glanced at him, somewhat speechless.
“If I hadn’t been here, could you have dealt with him?” Shan Yu asked.
“Some words might not have been as well-rounded,” Chen Jian said, “but…”
“But what?” Shan Yu tore open a small biscuit and put it into his mouth.
“It might also have avoided some inexplicable conflicts,” Chen Jian looked at him.
Shan Yu ate the small biscuit at an unhurried pace.
Go ahead and keep your ‘no talking while eating’ rule then.
The only person in the entire family not allowed to speak.
“I detest this way of communication,” Shan Yu said. “You are too polite. They will give an inch and take a mile. You have to let them know we are not that easy to talk to, and we won’t be afraid when encountering trouble.”
“Yes,” Chen Jian nodded. “And even when not encountering trouble, you’re not afraid of creating trouble either.”
Shan Yu burst out laughing all at once, almost spilling the coffee in his hand, so he had to quickly put it back on the table.
“Have such a problem with me?” Shan Yu looked at him.
“Not really,” Chen Jian said.
Apart from the knack for being cheeky and causing trouble, there were many other things about Shan Yu that he needed to learn gradually.
“Keep it up, Manager Chen. Once you can handle everything,” Shan Yu said, “I’ll be able to take a vacation.”
Chen Jian glanced at him without speaking.
Dayin was quite peaceful the entire day; everything was normal. The only anomaly was the guest in Room 102, who didn’t leave his room all day. Peeking in through the uncurtained window, he was constantly on his phone in bed, not even coming out to eat.
“Keep an eye on him; don’t let anything happen,” Chen Jian instructed Sanbing and Chen Erhu again; the two of them were on shift tonight.
“Damn it, could it be another one from…” Before Chen Erhu finished his sentence, Sanbing covered his mouth with a hand.
“Erhu-ge, Erhu-ge, can’t talk nonsense,” Sanbing said.
“Keep a tight eye on him, stick to the window, and keep a tight eye on him for me,” Chen Erhu said.
“Have some boundaries,” Chen Jian said. “Don’t end up having him call the police.”
“Rest assured.” Chen Erhu tossed his head.
In fact, Chen Jian had the same thought, but felt that if this were real, it would be too ridiculous—they’d have to take Shan Yu to burn some incense to be sure.
The Joyful Beans group wasn’t punctual waking up in the morning, but they were quite punctual returning for dinner in the evening. A crowd of people dragging their legs walked into the courtyard in staggering, uncoordinated steps.
“Oh my,” Hu Pan cupped her chin at the front desk, watching them. “Did you guys run there and run back? Tired to this extent?”
“We walked all the way to the waterfall!” Liu Wu waved his hand. “Mainly going down the mountain took some effort.”
“Whoever’s cleaned up can head to the dining room for dinner. Everything’s prepared,” Hu Pan said with a smile.
“Have you been up there?” Liu Wu asked.
“Not yet,” Hu Pan said.
“I’ll show you photos in a bit,” Liu Wu said. “When you have time off to rest, you can go in to play. The scenery is really good.”
“Okay.” Hu Pan nodded.
The elevator was full of beans, so Chen Jian could only carry Shan Yu’s dinner up the stairs. Fortunately, nothing today had soup, so he ran all the way up to the fourth floor.
The office door was open, and Shan Yu was on the phone. Hearing him, it was obvious the person on the other end was Liu Wu.
“You’ve spilled your meager fillings all over the place, yet you’re still pretending to be a missing person here—what’s the damn point?” Shan Yu pointed at the coffee table. “Call your mom in a bit. Don’t let her think I sold you off into the mountains; arms, legs, plus your brain combined aren’t worth two cents.”
Chen Jian placed the tray on the coffee table.
Shan Yu hung up the phone and walked over: “Have you eaten?”
“Eaten,” Chen Jian said.
“If there’s nothing much to do tomorrow, accompany me to Chen Half-Immortal’s house,” Shan Yu sat on the sofa and picked up his chopsticks.
“Headache again?” Chen Jian asked.
“No, not sleeping well. Taking his medicine before helped a bit, so I’ll get a few more doses,” Shan Yu said.
“Okay,” Chen Jian paused. “If we go to the village tomorrow, after we’re done, I’ll ask for an hour of leave.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded. “What’s up?”
“I’m going over to the new village to return money to someone,” Chen Jian said. “Need to get a receipt.”
Shan Yu glanced at him: “Mm.”
Tonight, the university students didn’t stay up very late. Because they were tired from hiking, plus they had to go rafting tomorrow—which required queuing if they were late—the lights were all turned off before ten o’clock.
Chen Jian went back to his dormitory to sleep for a bit, but woke up again before two o’clock. He didn’t even know why he woke up.
Presumably, it was still because there were many things going on at the shop, many guests checked in, plus that strange guest in Room 102.
He simply got out of bed, put on his clothes, and slowly wandered down from the fourth floor for another circuit.
Today was cloudy, and looking up, no moon was visible. The surroundings appeared exceptionally dark, with only the small ground lights in the garden glowing.
Chen Jian walked back slowly along the small lights.
He prepared to loop past the outside of Room 102’s window before heading back to the front lobby.
Room 102’s curtains were still open, with the desk lamp on. Chen Jian raised his flashlight and shined it toward the adjacent courtyard wall to avoid scolding the guest if they happened to see someone outside.
As he passed by, he swept a glance inside out of the corner of his eye. That person was still playing on his phone, only not sitting on the bed anymore, but sitting on the sofa.
Not dead, that’s all that matters.
Chen Jian turned off the flashlight. Just as he walked out from the side door to the side of the warehouse, he heard Chen Erhu shout from the front courtyard: “Who’s there!”
Followed by Sanbing’s voice: “Stand still!”
Fuck.
Did it come?
Chen Jian sprinted toward the main entrance.
Shan Yu’s sarcasms are hilarious 😂 “I wouldn’t sell you for parts because all your parts are worthless” lmaoo