AD CH69

This was the price.

Under the guiding principle of “help out wherever we can at Dayin” and “if we can’t hire anyone, just let them work first and fire them later if they can’t handle it,” these employees—who probably wouldn’t be able to find work anywhere else—managed to stay at Dayin.

Dayin gained a group of hardworking employees who treated the inn as their home.

But the price was that they had to deal with all the various debuffs the staff brought with them.

And clean up their messes.

Sanbing was the first to rush out of the private room, but once outside, he slowed his pace, letting his boss, Chen Erhu, take the lead.

Lao Si and Lao Wu followed closely behind.

The bond of the Pigpen Gang was solid. Whenever there was a suspected brawl, they would tacitly fall into formation.

Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu and followed behind them with Hu Pan.

As they marched down the hallway toward the inner private room, a young waitress, clearly unaware of what was happening, trotted over to them.

“Excuse me, do you need any assistance?” The girl looked visibly frightened, her voice trembling slightly.

“It’s fine, we probably just ran into an acquaintance,” Chen Jian said, trying to soften his tone. “We’re just going over to take a look.”

“Would you like me to go ahead and ask for you first?” The girl continued to follow them, her question polite yet tactful.

Chen Jian couldn’t help but glance at the nametag pinned to her chest: Liu Tingting.

Look at the service standard of a high-end restaurant…

Then look at Dayin’s entire service staff, currently marching to rescue Nana.

“No need,” Hu Pan blocked her, her voice not gentle at all, carrying a mix of agitation and nervousness. “Don’t follow us, it’s fine.”

Liu Tingting hesitated and stopped. Though she didn’t follow them anymore, she was clearly even more terrified.

After all, Hu Pan had already rolled up her sleeves.

The guys in front didn’t look like good people either, and now even the girl had full sleeve tattoos. It was impossible that things were “fine.”

Chen Erhu reached the door of the innermost private room. Without knocking or hesitating, he grabbed the handle and shoved the door open.

Sanbing and the others immediately flanked him, stepping into the room.

The moment the door opened, they could hear people talking inside, but the room instantly fell dead silent.

Including Chen Erhu and his crew.

“Don’t throw punches yet, get her out first…” Hu Pan whispered a reminder.

Chen Jian quickly took two steps forward.

Standing behind Chen Erhu, he finally got a clear view of the room—and froze.

In his imagination, the room would hold the ex-husband, a few of his friends, and Sun Nana, who would likely be restrained or possibly even beaten again.

But right now, sitting in the seat of honor directly facing the door, was a white-haired old lady. Looking around, the room was filled with over a dozen people—men, women, old, and young.

Everyone looked completely bewildered.

Sun Nana was sitting in a chair near the door. An older auntie, who was holding her hand and wiping away tears, was also staring at them in shock.

The moment Sun Nana saw them, she immediately stood up. The man next to her instantly stood up as well, blocking her path.

By the looks of it, he was the soon-to-be ex-husband.

Theoretically, this was the moment they should charge in, grab Sun Nana, and drag her out. If the ex-husband dared to stop them, they would likely have to get physical.

But right now, the entire room looked incredibly peaceful. The ex-husband looked peaceful too. Aside from surprise and a trace of inexplicable awkwardness, there wasn’t a single hint of hostility on his face.

Furthermore, Sun Nana wasn’t yelling for help, she wasn’t struggling, and she certainly wasn’t being restrained.

This made things very difficult to handle.

Chen Jian instinctively turned back to look for Shan Yu.

Shan Yu walked over unhurriedly, taking a glance into the room. The scene made him raise an eyebrow. “Family dinner?”

“Nana, are these your friends?” the ex-husband turned his head and asked.

“They’re my colleagues.” Sun Nana raised a hand and swatted at the ex-husband’s shoulder.

The ex-husband stepped aside.

Shan Yu looked at Sun Nana: “Are you coming out?”

“Mm,” Sun Nana acknowledged and prepared to walk out.

The auntie holding Sun Nana’s hand also stood up: “Just chat with Mom for a few more words.”

Sun Nana glanced at her, seemingly hesitating again.

The ex-husband’s family?

That was Chen Jian’s first thought.

But it felt a bit off.

“What’s going on here?” The white-haired old lady seemed a bit frightened, constantly asking the people around her. The relatives on both sides were patting her back, comforting her in low voices.

Shan Yu must have also sensed something was wrong. He tilted his chin at the ex-husband: “You, step outside for a word.”

The ex-husband nodded, then gently patted Sun Nana’s back: “You talk to Mom for a bit, I’ll go chat with your colleagues.”

“Stop acting,” Chen Erhu said.

The ex-husband didn’t speak. He just shot him a look and walked past him, out of the private room.

Chen Erhu and his crew were still blocking the doorway, looking like a squad of berserk door gods.

“Could you ask your colleagues not to act like this?” the ex-husband looked at Shan Yu. “My grandmother is elderly; she’ll be frightened.”

“Erhu,” Chen Jian called out.

Chen Erhu looked somewhat reluctant, but he still backed out. Sanbing pulled the door shut, leaving only a crack.

“There must be some misunderstanding here,” the ex-husband looked at the circle of people surrounding him, his gaze finally returning to Shan Yu. “You’re the boss, right?”

“Mm,” Shan Yu acknowledged.

“Thank you all for taking care of Nana recently,” the ex-husband said. “I was very worried about her after she got out of the hospital, but I couldn’t find her. Her family was frantic…”

“Hospital?” Shan Yu interrupted him.

“Mental hospital,” the ex-husband said.

This answer stunned everyone. Even Shan Yu couldn’t control his expression, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Hu Pan pointed at him. “Sun Nana is perfectly normal. She does not have a mental illness.”

“Her condition isn’t too severe, and she just finished treatment, so…” The ex-husband sighed, pulled out his phone, opened his photo album, scrolled for a bit, and held a photo up to Shan Yu. “I have her medical records right here…”

Chen Jian quickly leaned in to take a look.

It was a hospital discharge summary for Sun Nana.

Acute Schizophrenia.

But before he could look closely at the discharge status below, the ex-husband pulled the phone back. He only managed to catch: Conscious, answers relevant to questions, emotionally stable…

Judging by the discharge summary, the ex-husband was telling the truth: Sun Nana had been treated for a mental illness.

But she was currently discharged and in stable condition.

“So?” Shan Yu asked.

“She needs someone to take care of her. Right now, she…” the ex-husband started.

Shan Yu interrupted him again: “Suicide and self-harm risk assessment: 0. Violence risk assessment: 0. Activities of daily living (ADL) capability: 100. Independent. She doesn’t need anyone to take care of her.”

A flash of surprise crossed the ex-husband’s eyes.

Chen Jian was surprised too, but his surprise was quickly overtaken by a surge of other emotions.

“How did she get the injuries on her face?” he followed up right after Shan Yu.

The ex-husband frowned. “She used to have violent symptoms. She hits people when she has an episode.”

“So you hit her.” Shan Yu summarized succinctly.

“It was… an accident. She hit me, I was acting in self-defense,” the ex-husband said.

“Where are your injuries?” Sanbing leaned in close, staring at him. “If your ‘self-defense’ injured her that badly, she must have hit you pretty hard, right? Where are your injuries?”

Lao Si and Lao Wu seamlessly leaned in as well, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

“What do you want?” The ex-husband flared up, pushing away Lao Si, who had leaned in the closest. “I’m only putting up with this because you took care of Nana for a while. If you keep harassing me and my family like this, I can call the police.”

“Whose grandmother is in there?” Shan Yu asked.

“Nana’s,” the ex-husband said.

“Whose mother?” Chen Jian pressed.

“Nana’s,” the ex-husband said. “Everyone inside is her family.”

That was unexpected again.

“Didn’t you just say ‘your’ family?” Hu Pan glared at him.

“Her family is my family,” the ex-husband said. “Thank you for taking care of Nana during this time. She’s coming home. I’ll drop by in the next couple of days to pick up her things.”

Chen Jian really couldn’t untangle the relationships here anymore. Sun Nana had been sick, but the discharge summary showed she was recovered. Domestic violence… the ex-husband definitely hit her, yet Sun Nana’s family was still eating dinner with him…

“Erhu,” Shan Yu spoke up, “bring Nana out.”

“Got it.” Chen Erhu immediately reached for the door handle.

“What are you doing!” The ex-husband blocked Chen Erhu and pointed at Shan Yu. “She is a patient. She needs to be with her legal guardian. Are you openly kidnapping someone?”

“Legal guardian? Are you trying to claim she has limited civil capacity?” Shan Yu crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall, and looked at the ex-husband. “Acute schizophrenia. It hasn’t even been long enough to get an official psychiatric appraisal. Where does this ‘legal guardian’ come from?”

Chen Erhu didn’t understand any of that; he just knew Shan Yu had shut down the ex-husband’s argument. So he slapped the ex-husband’s hand away and shoved the door open.

He was here to pick a fight anyway. If Shan Yu hadn’t been here—and if he hadn’t felt the slight restraint of a small-town guy in the big city—he would have flipped the table the moment he first walked in.

“Nana!” Shan Yu called from outside the door. “Are we leaving? Let’s go eat.”

“Leaving!” Sun Nana answered immediately, standing up to walk out.

The people next to her tried to pull her back, but she dodged them. Hu Pan rushed in, threw an arm around her, and pulled her out.

“You can’t leave!” The ex-husband’s voice dropped, his expression darkening as he grabbed Sun Nana’s hand. “Are you really going to leave with them?”

“Don’t yell at her, don’t yell at her.” The auntie who had been wiping her tears earlier hurried over, patting the ex-husband’s hand worriedly to signal him to let go.

“I’m just worried, Mom.” The ex-husband instantly changed his expression, furrowing his brow and looking solemn.

“Let her go eat first. She’s having a meal with her colleagues,” the auntie said.

Hu Pan yanked the ex-husband’s hand away and pulled Sun Nana out of the private room.

“Nana said you are all very good people,” the auntie looked at Chen Jian. “She said you treat her very well.”

“She is an excellent employee at our guesthouse,” Chen Jian said. “Her work capability is very strong.”

“That’s good,” the auntie nodded, smiling with tear-filled eyes. “That’s good. She’s just… stubborn. Please help me persuade her not to stay mad at Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang has been worried sick about her.”

Xiao Zhang was probably the ex-husband.

To Sun Nana’s family, the ex-husband was apparently still a good son-in-law.

“Don’t worry, Auntie,” Chen Jian said.

What she shouldn’t worry about, Chen Jian didn’t specify. Don’t worry, Auntie, we won’t persuade Sun Nana; we’ll let her decide for herself.

Hu Pan put an arm around Sun Nana and hurried back toward their private room.

Followed closely by the four great guardians.

Chen Jian and Shan Yu were just about to turn and leave when the ex-husband suddenly charged forward. He probably figured Shan Yu was the mastermind of this group and looked the most refined.

So he chose the target who looked the least capable of fighting and swung a punch right at the back of Shan Yu’s head.

The punch was quite fast. Chen Jian only had time to grab his shoulder and yank him sideways, unable to completely halt his momentum toward Shan Yu.

Shan Yu turned his head, and the ex-husband’s redirected fist grazed past his face.

In the next second, Shan Yu raised a hand, clamped it around the ex-husband’s neck, and swung him sideways, pinning him against the hallway wall.

“What are you doing!” Hearing the commotion, Chen Erhu and the others turned back.

The waitress who had been observing from the end of the hallway also ran over.

But Shan Yu didn’t make any further moves. He just silently choked the ex-husband. Unable to speak, the ex-husband could only grab Shan Yu’s wrist with both hands.

Within seconds, the ex-husband’s face turned completely red.

Chen Jian could see Shan Yu’s thumb pressed exactly against the spot marked “chop here” on the artery diagram. Although he hadn’t applied full pressure yet, he could easily do so at any moment.

He leaned in close to Shan Yu and whispered behind his ear: “Boss, team-building is more important.”

Shan Yu tilted his head. The slight curve of his lips was visible only to Chen Jian.

Then, the hand choking the ex-husband loosened slightly, though it didn’t let go entirely.

The ex-husband’s face went from a deep purplish-red to a bright pink. He finally squeezed a sentence through his teeth: “Just wait for the police to come looking for you.”

“I’ll wait,” Shan Yu said. “Sun Nana’s injuries were medically appraised. Committing domestic violence against a psychiatric patient is an aggravating circumstance. And who knows what caused her illness in the first place? We can have the police investigate that while they’re at it.”

The ex-husband glared at him. “What is your relationship with Sun Nana?”

“Her boss,” Shan Yu said.

“Take a guess if I believe that?” The pink-faced ex-husband sneered.

“None of my fucking business. Is what you believe supposed to be important?” Shan Yu said. “Go back to your private room. If you dare follow us again, I’ll make sure you go back lying down. You’d better believe that.”

Without waiting for an answer, Shan Yu let go, turned, and walked away.

Chen Erhu and the others didn’t turn around immediately. Pointing at the ex-husband, they slowly backed away, only turning around after retreating a few steps.

“Chen Jian, go tell the waitress everything is fine,” Shan Yu said. “Don’t let them actually call the police. Team-building is more important.”

“Mm,” Chen Jian acknowledged, walking over to the waitresses.

After fabricating a story to explain and apologize to the waitresses and their lobby manager at the front desk, Chen Jian returned to the private room to find Shan Yu standing by the door.

“Why are you standing here?” Chen Jian stopped.

“They’re comforting Sun Nana inside. It’s hard for them to act naturally with me there,” Shan Yu said, reaching out to take a tablet from a server. “I came out to order the food while I was at it.”

“Mm.” Chen Jian didn’t go inside either. He walked with Shan Yu to an empty small table in the corner of the lobby and sat down, watching him order.

His mind was still a bit messy. He truly never expected this to be the background story.

And also…

Chen Jian looked at Shan Yu. “That discharge summary, do you think it’s real?”

“There’s no need to fake that. It’s something you can verify with one phone call,” Shan Yu said.

“I didn’t even get a clear look,” Chen Jian said.

“I skipped straight to the discharge status. No need to read the rest,” Shan Yu glanced up at him. “I wasn’t hospitalized for a mental illness.”

“I…” Chen Jian froze, then sighed and laughed. “Then were you hospitalized for having superpowers?”

Shan Yu smiled. “I was hospitalized many times for injuries from fighting.”

Chen Jian laughed without saying anything.

“I only remember those specific terms because I only looked at those two lines. Ask me for one more word and I wouldn’t be able to tell you,” Shan Yu said.

Chen Jian still didn’t speak. In this moment, he suddenly felt very peaceful inside.

From a certain perspective, he really liked this feeling of being seen through by Shan Yu.

…Crossing the line feels so good.

“Shan Yu,” Chen Jian leaned on the table, tilting his head to look at him.

“Isn’t that dirty? Sit up,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue.

“You didn’t say that when I slept on the carpet,” Chen Jian remained slouched over the table.

Shan Yu shot him a look: “Look who found his voice.”

“Mm,” Chen Jian smiled.

Shan Yu went back to the menu. After a few seconds, he glanced up at him again.

“What?” Chen Jian asked.

“Nothing.” Shan Yu reached over and lightly flicked his cheek.

Chen Jian jumped in fright, but held his ground without moving away.

As Shan Yu withdrew his hand, a waitress carrying a tray walked past and cast a glance in their direction.

Shan Yu cleared his throat and looked back down at the menu.

“Shan Yu,” Chen Jian called his name.

“Hm?” Shan Yu replied.

“So there are times when even you use a tactical throat-clear,” Chen Jian said.

Shan Yu leaned back in his chair and looked at him: “Did you secretly drink alcohol?”

“No,” Chen Jian smiled. “Maybe my hidden personality is showing.”

Shan Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

“You two are out here?” Hu Pan suddenly turned the corner from the hallway. “I thought the boss ran away.”

“Even if I wanted to run, I’d at least eat first and run when the bill comes,” Shan Yu said. “How is Sun Nana?”

“She’s fine, seems completely detached from the whole situation,” Hu Pan whispered, leaning over the table. “But she said her family really likes that Zhang guy. We’ll chat about the details slowly tonight.”

“Mm, don’t talk too much for now, just focus on having fun tonight…” Shan Yu glanced at her. “Isn’t that dirty?”

“No, it’s not,” Hu Pan rubbed the table with her hand. “Don’t you lean on the tables in our restaurant too? Are you selectively germaphobic, Boss Shan?”

“Go inside,” Shan Yu waved her off, finishing the order. “Go wait for the food.”

“You got it.” Hu Pan bounced back toward the private room.

“Let’s go,” Shan Yu stood up.

Chen Jian stood up and followed him toward the private room.

“I might go back for a bit before the New Year,” Shan Yu suddenly said out of nowhere.

“What?” Chen Jian froze.

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