To be honest, the man looked like someone of high status, yet he carried an indescribable air of ruthlessness about him—the kind that could occasionally be felt on Shan Yu.
Add to that how he treated Chen Erhu, who was greeting guests, as if he didn’t exist, and the glance he shot toward Chen Jian before Chen Jian even stepped out of the building. Chen Jian was very sensitive to such things, and the man didn’t look like someone easy to deal with.
Chen Jian didn’t know whether this man was connected to Shan Yu or if an enemy had come looking for him. But there were free parking spots along the street outside, yet he parked in their courtyard before deciding which place to stay, only to go check out rooms at other establishments first. Even counting Zhenxi back during Qian Yu’s time, Chen Jian had never seen a guest like this.
However, he didn’t intend to make a scene, merely testing the waters.
“If you stay with us, the parking fee will be refunded to you…” Before Chen Jian could finish his sentence, Mushroom came rushing out of the building while barking, the fur on her back bristling, attempting a pitiful puppy-pounce to charge outside.
Chen Jian raised his foot and scooped under her belly, stopping her in her tracks and picking her off the ground.
Though he wasn’t particularly polite to the guest, it wasn’t to the point of setting a dog on them.
Mushroom’s momentum remained unaffected, though, as she hung off his shoe and continued barking.
“We have a lot of guests these few days,” Chen Jian said. “Our parking space is a bit tight, so please understand.”
Indeed, several cars were parked in the courtyard.
“Pay the parking fee then,” the man said toward the car, “Give it to curly hair.”
Whether Chen Jian was being overly sensitive or not, the words “curly hair” were enunciated with extraordinary clarity, complete with heavy emphasis.
You’re the curly hair!
Yet Chen Jian froze again a moment later. He hadn’t noticed anyone else inside the car earlier, but looking over now, he realized someone had probably been lying down in the back seat and had just sat up.
Then the rear door opened, and a woman stepped out of the car.
…Damn.
It was a couple or a married pair.
Not an enemy.
The woman’s hair was slightly messy from sleeping, but she was clearly very attractive and didn’t possess a single trace of ruthlessness.
…Why was he even worrying about ruthlessness or not?
“How much is it?” The woman smiled at Chen Jian.
“Ten yuan,” Chen Erhu chimed in from the side. “Cash is best, easier to refund.”
The woman opened her wallet, pulled out a ten-yuan bill, and held it out to Chen Jian. “Here you go.”
Chen Erhu’s face immediately fell. As the prestigious head of the Pigsty Security Corps’ dispatched branch, he had been treated like thin air just like that.
He reached his hand out in front of Chen Jian and snatched the bill right out of the woman’s fingers.
“Thank you, Ma’am, sorry for the hassle,” Chen Jian said.
“No hassle at all,” the woman said, looking back with a smile as she walked toward the courtyard gate. “May I ask your surname?”
“Surname’s Chen,” Chen Jian said.
“See you in a bit.” The woman waved her hand.
The two walked further inside along the small path.
Chen Jian lowered Mushroom, who had been perched on his foot the whole time, to the ground and patted her head. “Stop barking wildly all the time!”
Mushroom ran into the garden.
“Should we follow them?” Chen Erhu asked.
Though he didn’t understand why Chen Jian’s initial attitude had been like that, or why Chen Jian’s attitude had softened afterward, Chen Erhu had always been one to grab onto the main point—once he seized it, he wouldn’t let go.
“No need,” Chen Jian said. “Should be fine now.”
“Parking in our courtyard to go inspect other places—aren’t they looking for trouble?” Chen Erhu refused to give up, regaining his spirit for the first time in quite a while.
Watching him, Chen Jian actually felt somewhat touched.
Still, he had to pour cold water on it.
“It’s a bit strange, but not to that extent,” Chen Jian turned to walk back inside. “Lest they leave you a bad review.”
“You’re afraid of bad reviews? With that attitude of yours just now, they could leave a bad review already if they wanted to,” Chen Erhu said.
True.
What to do.
From yesterday until now, he had felt a persistent sense of instability.
Happy one moment, gloomy the next.
Startled one second, jumpy the next…
Since Hu Pan was resting, Chen Jian went to the front desk and instructed Sanbing that if that couple returned—regardless of whether they ended up staying or not—he had to notify him immediately.
If they really didn’t have any issue, he needed to make amends.
“Got it.” Sanbing made an OK sign.
Chen Jian went back to the dorm to wash his face, then sat on the bed staring blankly for a while.
Lao Wu was lying in the room. His shift didn’t start until this afternoon, but he always came over around noon to eat an employee meal and take a nap.
“Did you get yelled at?” Lao Wu asked him.
Why did everyone have the exact same question?
What kind of expression was on his face, anyway?
“Hmm?” Chen Jian looked at him. “Who yelled at me?”
“How should I know? I’m asking you,” Lao Wu said. “Your complexion doesn’t look too good.”
“Don’t I usually look like this?” Chen Jian said.
“Come off it,” Lao Wu said. “When you don’t speak or smile normally, it’s not like this. Forget it if you don’t feel like saying.”
“Thanks, man.” Chen Jian stood up and patted Lao Wu.
“…You’re welcome.” Lao Wu froze for a moment.
Walking out of the dorm toward the office, Chen Jian passed the hallway glass window. He glanced at the pane to see what expression he actually had, but couldn’t see it clearly.
The office door was still ajar. He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Shan Yu’s voice sounded.
“Boss Shan,” Chen Jian pushed the door open and went in, seeing Shan Yu sitting in front of the coffee table preparing to unwrap his bandage. He hurried over. “Let me.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu responded.
Chen Jian sat down beside him, asking as he unwrapped the bandage, “Why didn’t you call someone? How can you manage with one hand?”
“By using the kids’ chopsticks to pick things up,” Shan Yu said. “Simple enough.”
Chen Jian paused, turning his face to look at him.
“Didn’t want to pay nursing fees,” Shan Yu leaned back against the sofa. “Just wanted to try doing it myself.”
“Disinfecting the hand and changing the gauze doesn’t warrant nursing fees anyway,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu smiled faintly and kept quiet.
“A car pulled up just now. Looking at the license plate, it’s from your hometown,” Chen Jian said. “I was worried it might be… so I…”
“You were afraid Fang Xu came seeking revenge, so you pulled the people in the car out and gave them a beating,” Shan Yu said.
“…I’m not that violent,” Chen Jian said. “I just didn’t have the best attitude, but they might just be ordinary tourists.”
“Afraid of what,” Shan Yu said. “My attitude is pretty terrible every single day.”
Chen Jian looked at him and burst into a laugh.
“What kind of car?” Shan Yu asked.
“Range Rover,” Chen Jian said. “The plate ends in 520.”
“It’s not Fang Xu. Fang Xu wouldn’t dare trouble me anymore,” Shan Yu said. “Don’t worry. The only thing requiring a bit of effort right now is getting the money out of Qian Yu… When things settle down tonight, gather everyone for a brief meeting.”
“A meeting?” Chen Jian was stunned. Aside from the pep-talk meeting before the grand opening, this was the first time Shan Yu mentioned having a meeting.
“Mm, hand out some red envelopes,” Shan Yu said.
“What red envelopes?” Chen Jian lifted the gauze. The wound on Shan Yu’s palm still looked fairly terrifying, but there was noticeably less blood than yesterday.
“Extorted some money from Qian Yu—the overdue utilities and stuff from before, plus Chen Dahu’s hundred thousand…” Shan Yu said.
“Chen Dahu really has a hundred thousand?” Chen Jian was shocked.
Shan Yu let out a tsk and looked at him.
“He doesn’t?” Chen Jian was confused.
“If I say he has it, he has it,” Shan Yu said.
“You can do that?” Chen Jian was shocked all over again.
Shan Yu remained quiet, breaking into a smile after a moment. “Chen Jian, do you know something?”
“What?” Chen Jian asked.
“You usually look pretty cool and aloof.” Shan Yu said.
And then?
…Fine, got it.
Chen Jian lowered his head, picked up a cotton ball soaked in povidone-iodine, and gently dabbed it on Shan Yu’s palm.
Shan Yu curled his fingers slightly. “It tickles a bit.”
“It’ll be over in a moment…” Chen Jian pinched his fingers, continuing to light-dab on the wound while speeding up slightly.
Yet he suddenly felt a brief lapse of focus.
What should have been an action far simpler than disinfecting braces suddenly felt somewhat… because his attention was fixed on Shan Yu’s hand.
When disinfecting braces, there was virtually no contact.
Right now, Shan Yu’s hand was held in his. He could feel the warmth of Shan Yu’s hand, as well as the slightest movement in his fingers.
The feeling was very subtle—nervous, flustered, yet carrying an indescribable sense of comfort and reassurance.
What the fuck…
Chen Jian let out a very careful sigh.
“No need to blow on it, it doesn’t hurt,” Shan Yu said.
“I wasn’t blowing on it.” Chen Jian froze.
It was… breath exhaled through his nose.
What the fuck!
The phone ringing in his pocket made him sigh in relief. He had never been so glad to pick up a call in his life.
Chen Jian pulled out his phone; the call was from Sanbing.
The moment he picked up, he heard Sanbing’s lowered voice, speaking at rapid speed: “Are you upstairs those two asked me if the boss was on the fourth floor I didn’t react in time and said yes then they headed upstairs I’m notifying you I’ll be right up as well…”
“Stay in the dorm once you come up, don’t come over yet,” Chen Jian said, hanging up the phone.
Those two shouldn’t be enemies. What enemy would send a smiling beauty over? It wasn’t a movie, so perhaps they were Shan Yu’s friends.
“What’s wrong?” Shan Yu asked.
“Those two guests came up,” Chen Jian stood up and walked toward the door, closing the door that had been left ajar. “They want to find the boss. Are they your friends?”
“Really?” Shan Yu knit his brows, seemingly deep in thought.
The next second, a knock sounded on the office door.
Shan Yu signaled Chen Jian to open the door.
Chen Jian opened the door.
Standing outside was the man from earlier, with the woman behind him.
“Boss Shan,” the man walked inside. “We meet again.”
Shan Yu, sitting on the sofa, looked at him without speaking.
However, Chen Jian clearly spotted the surprise and… pleasure in Shan Yu’s eyes.
After a full three seconds, Shan Yu stood up and uttered, “Are you fucking insane?”
“Why don’t you prescribe me some medicine then,” the man said.
“Chen Jian,” Shan Yu looked at Chen Jian, who was standing stunned to the side, and smiled. “This is my friend, Yue Lang. Just call him Brother Lang. This beautiful lady is his wife, Yao Yi.”
Chen Jian had seen the name Yue Lang before—the bottle that sent Chen Dahu into prison had been mailed by Yue Lang.
“This is my manager, Chen Jian,” Shan Yu introduced in turn.
“Just met earlier,” Yue Lang said with a smile, looking at Chen Jian. “Pretty aloof.”
Please stop talking.
“Brother Lang.” Chen Jian looked at Yue Lang, then at Yao Yi, hesitating over whether to call her Sister-in-law or by her name.
“Just call me Xiao Yi,” Yao Yi said with a smile.
“Sister Xiao Yi,” Chen Jian said.
“Hello, Manager!” Yao Yi waved at him cheerfully.
“Finish wrapping up your hand first…” Yue Lang pointed at Shan Yu’s hand.
Shan Yu sat back down on the sofa. Chen Jian hurried over, grabbed a fresh cotton ball from the medical kit, soaked it in povidone-iodine, and without caring whether Shan Yu felt ticklish or pained, swiftly dabbed a line across the wound before covering it with gauze.
“What is wrong with you two,” Shan Yu looked at Yue Lang and Yao Yi. “Give me a heads-up before coming over. You arrive right on my heels…”
“How could it be called a surprise if we gave a heads-up?” Yue Lang said.
Chen Jian felt like making a phone call to Liu Wu right now.
Little brother, come look at this.
What is a surprise?
This is a fucking surprise.
“Whose car did you drive? Haven’t seen it before,” Shan Yu asked.
“Hers,” Yue Lang pointed at Yao Yi. “New car, hasn’t been driven much on long trips yet.”
Shan Yu let out a sigh. “You two are really something.”
“The two of us just looked around those few establishments inside,” Yue Lang said. “Have you gone inside to take a look yet?”
“No,” Shan Yu said. “Are they nice?”
“So-so,” Yue Lang said. “We picked through them after looking, and came back only after finding no rooms we were satisfied with.”
“Looking for trouble with me, are you?” Shan Yu let out a tsk.
“You’ve already found all the trouble yourself,” Yue Lang said.
Chen Jian wrapped the bandage tightly and put away the medical kit.
“I’ll head downstairs first.” He looked at Shan Yu.
“Mm.” Shan Yu nodded. “I’ll go out for lunch with them in a bit.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian acknowledged. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “About checking in…”
“You don’t need to worry about them,” Shan Yu said. “Focus on your work.”
“Alright.” Chen Jian looked at Yue Lang and Yao Yi. “Brother Lang, Sister Yi, I’ll leave you to chat.”
“Go ahead and get busy, little brother,” Yao Yi said with a smile. “Remember to refund my parking fee, okay?”
“…Okay.” Chen Jian instantly felt like bowing to her—Sister, please stop talking.
He hurriedly walked out of the office and closed the door.
He let out a gentle sigh of relief.
“Chen Jian.” A head poked out from the dorm area.
Sanbing’s.
Chen Jian walked over. “It’s fine, they’re Boss Shan’s friends.”
“Holy shit,” Sanbing exhaled in relief. “I thought they were here to cause trouble. That brother looks pretty tough to mess with; if it really came to blows, I’m afraid I wouldn’t win.”
With Sanbing’s physique, he might not even beat that sister.
“Isn’t your imagination a bit too rich?” Chen Jian laughed.
“I said it was fine,” Lao Wu was sitting in the small living room of the dorm. “How gentle that beauty looked.”
“So are they staying over?” Sanbing asked. “Which room are they assigned to?”
“Wait for Boss Shan’s arrangements,” Chen Jian said. “Just stow their luggage away first.”
“This friend of Boss Shan’s,” Sanbing walked out of the dorm with him, whispering as they headed downstairs, “you can tell at a glance he’s the same kind of person—quite imposing.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded.
Yes, Yue Lang looked like Shan Yu’s friend at a glance—the kind with a solid bond.
Downstairs, a delivery vehicle was parked in the courtyard. Chen Erhu was moving goods, so Chen Jian called Sanbing over to help stock everything in the inventory room.
“Erhu, go to the Old Town tomorrow,” Chen Jian said. “For that fire safety training, go attend it, take some notes, and come back to teach us.”
“Sure,” Chen Erhu raised his chin, then lowered his voice after a moment’s thought. “It’s been quite a while since I last attended a class.”
“It’s fine; it shouldn’t be as hard as school stuff,” Chen Jian said. “You’ll definitely be fine. I wouldn’t feel at ease letting anyone else go.”
“Sure.” Chen Erhu raised his chin again.
Chen Jian went inside. While verifying invoices at the front desk, Shan Yu and the Yue couple stepped out of the elevator.
Sanbing offered a greeting: “Boss Shan.”
“Arrange a room on the fourth floor for them,” Shan Yu walked over. “Closer to the office.”
“Sure, 410 then,” Sanbing said. “We’ll carry the luggage up shortly.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded. “I’m heading out with them, no need to worry about my lunch.”
Where are they going to eat?
Chen Jian really wanted to ask, but felt…
“Where are you guys going to eat?” Sanbing asked. “Must be heading to the Old Town, right? There aren’t any particularly good places around here.”
“An agritourist eatery will do; what kind of proper restaurant would we eat at after coming all the way here?” Shan Yu said.
Then go eat fish at Old Zhang’s.
“Then going to Boss Zhang’s place for fish would be good,” Sanbing said.
“I was planning to go there,” Shan Yu looked toward Chen Jian. “The…”
“Phone number?” Chen Jian pulled out his phone. “I’ll find it for you.”
“Just send it to me,” Shan Yu said. “While you’re at it, help give him a heads-up for me.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded.
Shan Yu rested his hand on the front desk counter, falling silent for a second.
“Not heading out yet?” Sanbing asked. “It gets pretty crowded over there if you go late; all the good fish will be snatched up.”
Shan Yu let out a sigh, his fingers lightly tapping on the counter. “Don’t forget, okay?”
Chen Jian was about to speak when Sanbing beat him to it: “How could he? Chen Jian’s brain works great.”
Shan Yu broke into a smile, turned around, and quickly walked out together with Yue Lang and Yao Yi.
“This fish is so delicious,” Yao Yi looked at the fish in her bowl. “I’m full, but I still want to eat more.”
“Go run two laps outside and come back to eat more,” Yue Lang said.
“Can’t run,” Yao Yi said.
“I’ll carry you on my back while running,” Yue Lang said.
“And then you can eat my share when we come back,” Yao Yi said.
“If you want to eat, come back again tomorrow,” Shan Yu smiled faintly.
“We’ll come back to eat tonight,” Yue Lang said.
“Eat employee meals with me tonight,” Shan Yu said.
“You bastard,” Yue Lang looked at him.
“Our Sister Zhao’s cooking is delicious,” Shan Yu said. “If you want fish, have the owner send a couple over later and let Sister Zhao cook them.”
“You…” Yue Lang knit his brows and pondered for quite a while. “Why don’t you just ask him out to eat together?”
Wouldn’t that make him feel awkward as hell?
“Mind your own business,” Shan Yu said.
“Mind your own business!” Yao Yi patted Yue Lang, saying with a smile, “Did you hear that? Mind less of the boss’s business.”
“You two are annoying as hell. When are you leaving?” Shan Yu pulled out his phone, opened the chat box with [Chen Yu Luo Yan], and pondered.
“Then you’ll be annoyed for a while. We made the trip with great difficulty—gonna check out the snow up the mountain, go rafting in the ice stream…”
Shan Yu let out a tsk and sent a message to Chen Jian.
[Fa Shan Ke Chen]: Have Old Zhang send two fish over in a bit, tell Sister Zhao we’re having fish tonight.
Chen Jian replied almost instantaneously.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: Okay
Okay, my ass!
Does this manager have arthritis? Typing is such a chore for him.
Shan Yu tossed the phone onto the chair beside him.
“Put it away,” Yao Yi pointed at his phone. “You’ll be looking for it again in a bit.”
Just as Shan Yu took the phone and prepared to stuff it into his pocket, it chimed once more.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: You’re eating at the shop tonight?
Arthritis cured, huh?
[Fa Shan Ke Chen]: Yes
Shan Yu is so annoyed that his crush is not chatting with him 😂