Chen Jian secured the curtain to the doghouse, entered the cafe through the side door, sat down in a chair near the edge, and glanced toward the front desk.
Sun Nana was on duty tonight, currently asleep in the recliner.
“Save where we can. During peak season, one car isn’t enough anyway, and we were planning to buy one.” Shan Yu’s voice was a bit hoarse. After riding the bus all day and having a heart-to-heart with his mom at night, he was probably quite tired, but his overall condition seemed good and he sounded in high spirits. “It’s not a new car, it’s been driven for many years, but it’s a bit better than the Mazda the guesthouse is using now.”
“What kind of car is it?” Chen Jian asked in a low voice.
“A Mercedes S500. My mom is quite low-key when she buys cars…” Shan Yu said.
“This is low-key?” Chen Jian was taken aback. “This is a bit better than a secondhand Mazda?”
“They’re both secondhand anyway,” Shan Yu smiled.
“Did you… actually chat today?” Chen Jian couldn’t help but ask. “Or did you just ask your mom for a car?”
“We chatted,” Shan Yu said. “Asked for the car after we chatted.”
Boss Shan’s nature as a ruthless capitalist truly manifests in every aspect…
“How did it go?” Chen Jian immediately sat up straight.
“My mom… has wanted to chat with me for a very long time,” Shan Yu said. “Just never had the chance. After all, I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Of course. She even called the guesthouse looking for you,” Chen Jian said. “So… how do you feel… after chatting with her?”
Chen Jian asked very carefully. After all, Shan Yu’s emotions were usually unreadable, and he couldn’t gauge whether the chat went well and he was in a good mood, or if it went poorly and he was currently spiraling.
“It went well,” Shan Yu paused, exhaling softly. “Actually, many things can’t be changed. My relationship with my family… won’t suddenly become intimate and seamless just from this one chat. It’s just that after all these years, even for things I could figure out myself, hearing her say it to me personally still feels different.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian said softly. “Do you feel a bit more relieved now?”
“Much more relieved,” Shan Yu said. “Especially after reading the message you sent me.”
“Don’t flatter me blindly,” Chen Jian smiled. “I was just a little… worried. Actually, you didn’t need me to remind you of those things.”
“I did need it,” Shan Yu said. “Everyone looks at things from a different angle. Some things still need to be spoken out loud. My superpowers don’t work all the time.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian acknowledged.
“How was the inn today?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian looked at Sun Nana sleeping by the front desk and continued speaking softly: “Everything’s fine, no problems. Except Lao Wu got complained about for smoking in the garden.”
“When you have time, hold a brief meeting with them and emphasize discipline. Business was average before, and they were all novices, so making a few mistakes was fine,” Shan Yu said. “But that definitely won’t fly in the future. They need to correct those street-thug habits.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian thought about it and smiled. “You sound very much like a boss right now.”
“You are who you associate with,” Shan Yu said. “Watching my mom talk to her assistant in the hospital room today, I almost wanted to stand up straight against the wall.”
“When I answered her phone call last time, three sentences from her had my back aching from tension,” Chen Jian said.
“My mom still remembers you.” Shan Yu started laughing.
“…What does she remember about me?” Chen Jian suddenly felt nervous, frantically searching his memory. “Last time I… didn’t say anything much, right? She shouldn’t remember me.”
“Lying through your teeth with absolute unwavering conviction,” Shan Yu said. “Anyone would remember that.”
“You’re the one who told me to say that!” Chen Jian hissed.
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled. “That’s what a store manager is for.”
Chen Jian sighed, thought for a moment, and still felt a bit uneasy: “Did the two of you only talk about things related to the guesthouse?”
“No,” Shan Yu said.
“Oh,” Chen Jian responded, not pressing further.
For something this personal, if Shan Yu didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t ask.
“We talked about things from when I was a kid,” Shan Yu’s voice lowered slightly. “My head is a bit messy. I’ll tell you the details slowly when I get back.”
Of course, if he’s willing to tell, I definitely want to hear.
“Mm,” Chen Jian thought for a moment. “Your original plan was not to go home for the New Year, but now…”
“For now, I still don’t plan on spending the New Year at home,” Shan Yu said. “But I might stay a couple of extra days this time to observe my mom’s condition. She keeps saying she’s fine, but she’s really good at pushing through. I’m afraid she isn’t telling the truth.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian agreed. “Spend more time with her. Liu Wu was going crazy after not seeing you for a few months; she hasn’t seen her son in years… Anyway, nothing much will happen here before the New Year. I asked Old Ding.”
“How did you handle Lao Wu getting complained about?” Shan Yu asked.
“Just… they didn’t ask for him to be punished, just told me to remind him, and then took a photo…” Before Chen Jian could finish, Shan Yu interrupted.
“Took a photo? For evidence?” Shan Yu asked.
“No, the guest just took a photo with me, and then left,” Chen Jian said. “And then I went to find Lao Wu…”
“The guest was a girl, right?” Shan Yu asked again.
“Hm?” Chen Jian realized what he was getting at. “…Ah, yes.”
Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
“Mostly because she spoke very politely… and Lao Wu had just stood right next to her blowing smoke…” Chen Jian tried to explain.
Shan Yu clicked his tongue again.
“It was just a photo together, it should be fine, right?” Chen Jian asked.
Shan Yu continued clicking his tongue.
“It was a very normal photo together,” Chen Jian laughed.
Shan Yu clicked his tongue several more times.
“Are you teasing a dog?!” Chen Jian clicked his tongue back at him.
“I’m teasing you,” Shan Yu said. “Mushroom doesn’t take photos with people.”
“Mushroom gets picked up and photographed by people every day,” Chen Jian said.
“Are you jealous of a dog now?” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian sighed: “Next time I will definitely refuse.”
“Next time? A lot of people ask to take pictures with you normally,” Shan Yu said. “The Store Manager is quite charming.”
“…Can’t compare to the Boss,” Chen Jian said. “If the Boss didn’t hide in the office every day, there’d probably be photos of him flying everywhere.”
“Counter-attacking now?” Shan Yu clicked his tongue again.
“You should just call Xiao Dou’er ‘Big Sister’,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu started laughing.
“You should sleep,” Shan Yu said. “I should be able to fall asleep today. My brain feels kind of tingly, I’m pretty tired.”
“Bugs must have gotten in,” Chen Jian said, realizing he was genuinely sleepy too; his words were slipping out without passing through his brain.
“Lao Wu got into your brain,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian laughed: “I’m a little sleepy too. Been turning your situation over in my head. There are a lot of things to do normally, but they don’t really require much brainpower.”
“Go to sleep,” Shan Yu said softly.
“If you can’t sleep, message me,” Chen Jian said. “I’ll hear it.”
“Okay,” Shan Yu said.
“Goodnight,” Chen Jian said.
“Goodnight,” Shan Yu replied, then added, “Message me when you wake up tomorrow.”
“Mm, goodnight,” Chen Jian said again.
“Goodnight,” Shan Yu said.
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded.
“Hurry up and hang up the phone. If you aren’t sleepy, go out and walk the dog. Will this ever end? Say ‘mm’ one more time, I dare you,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian started laughing. Before hanging up, he said “mm” one last time and swiftly tapped the end call button.
A few seconds later, Shan Yu sent a message.
[Fa Shan Ke Chen]:Say ‘mm’ one more time.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]:You said I can’t send ‘okay, mm, oh’.
[Fa Shan Ke Chen]:[Tsk.jpg]
Chen Jian noticed that in this short amount of time, Fa Shan Ke Chen‘s avatar had already been changed to the photo of the two of them that Yao Yi had taken.
He tapped on the avatar and stared at Shan Yu’s face.
Even though they had just finished chatting, the feeling of missing him surged up again rapidly.
Chatted for nothing…
He got up, did one more patrol around the inn, and returned to the dorm.
Unless he was on duty, Chen Jian usually woke up at seven in the morning. Today was no exception.
However, he didn’t wake up naturally, nor was he woken by an alarm.
He was yanked awake by an overly excited Sanbing. The moment he opened his eyes, his first instinct was to throw Sanbing out the window, but right after, he heard the sound of arguing coming from outside.
“Looks like a fight’s gonna break out!” Sanbing excitedly yanked his arm. “Are we going to watch the show or go break it up? Or should we watch the show first and step in when it gets out of hand?”
“Who?” Chen Jian stood up and noticed Chen Erhu and Lao Si crowded by the window looking down.
“Da Li and one of their servers,” Sanbing said.
Chen Jian let out a huge sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t Dayin’s people, everything was fine. Though, Dayin’s crew rarely got into arguments; if they did, it would probably be with the guests.
Chen Jian threw on his clothes and headed downstairs, followed immediately by the newly awakened crowd.
Although they all looked sleep-deprived, it couldn’t suppress their thirst for drama.
“Oh my god,” Hu Pan, sporting an unruly afro that hadn’t been tamed yet, ran downstairs looking like a mushroom cloud. “I knew Da Li’s attitude would end up causing a fight with an employee sooner or later…”
“He’s just very punchable,” Chen Erhu said. “Holding such a tiny position but putting on such massive airs. Small man drunk on power…”
“Isn’t his position the same level as Chen Jian’s?” Lao Wu asked from the back of the peanut gallery.
“Do you have to act as the straight man for every joke?” Chen Erhu said.
“The boss’s words can’t be left hanging,” Chen Jian said.
“I wasn’t calling you tiny,” Chen Erhu glanced at him.
“Mm, I know,” Chen Jian nodded.
Chen Erhu probably felt that explanation still didn’t smooth things over, so he invoked the absent boss.
“You’re different from Da Li. After all, here at Dayin… Shan Yu doesn’t manage anything,” Chen Erhu said.
“You really know how to talk,” Hu Pan said.
Chen Jian started laughing, feeling he should record this on his phone and play it on a loop in front of Shan Yu later.
Dawn was just breaking, and the entire guesthouse was incredibly quiet, making the shouts coming from Liangye easily audible.
When the group ran to the back door, they found Sun Nana wrapped in a massive down jacket, huddled by the back courtyard gate looking over. She was holding a bag of raisins from some unknown guest, pinching them one by one into her mouth.
“You guys are here?” Seeing them approach, Sun Nana offered the raisins. “Here.”
“What’s going on?” Hu Pan grabbed a handful and shoved them all into her mouth, chewing while looking over.
“Barbarian,” Sun Nana rolled her eyes at her.
“Elegant,” Hu Pan pinched a single raisin between her teeth and popped it into her mouth.
“Seems to be about overtime,” Sun Nana whispered. “Started on the second floor, now they’re arguing on the first floor. Probably gonna move to the courtyard in a bit.”
Just as Sun Nana finished speaking, a tall, skinny guy wearing a Liangye server uniform stormed out, cursing as he walked.
Chen Jian’s drama-watching mindset suddenly veered off course: Now that the leaders have visited, do we also need to standardize our uniforms to look more professional…
“I’m fucking done holding it in. I haven’t had a single day off in two months! Taking a leave requires kissing your fucking ass,” the skinny guy spat on the ground. “Do you really think you fucking own this place! Is this place named Li?”
Chen Jian’s wandering thoughts were yanked back.
“Named He,” Sanbing whispered a correction.
“Stop acting crazy using alcohol as an excuse!” Da Li pointed at him, storming out of the inn as well. “You think I don’t know how much time you spend hiding in the storage room playing on your phone every day? You still want time off? You played away all the time off you could have had!”
Chen Jian glanced at the Pigpen Gang members beside him.
“Don’t look at us,” Chen Erhu said. “We usually smoke by the pavilion, not in the storage room.”
“So you guys are just more cold-resistant than them?” Chen Jian said.
It made sense. After all, back when they gathered in the old pigpen, that dilapidated shack offered no wind protection, forcing them to light a fire to stay warm.
They had built up a tolerance.
“Do we hide in the storage room because we’re lazy?! It’s because we have zero fucking break time! You dog!” The skinny guy suddenly roared, violently swinging his hand downwards.
A shiny, metallic object slid out from his sleeve.
“Holy shit,” Chen Jian jumped in fright, sprinting out the next second.
Chen Erhu didn’t say a word, charging toward Liangye’s courtyard almost simultaneously.
“Be careful!” Sun Nana had gotten a clear look too, jumping and shouting behind them. “Panpan, come back! What are you doing!”
“Stay back!” Hu Pan charged forward right behind the guys.
The skinny guy was holding a large screwdriver; counting the shaft and handle, it was nearly a foot long.
By the time they charged into Liangye’s courtyard, the skinny guy had already chased Da Li back into the front lobby.
As soon as they entered, they could hear Da Li screaming: “Call the police! Stop him! Someone stop him—”
Unlike Dayin, Liangye’s staff were mostly girls, and none of them were the Hu Pan type. At this moment, absolutely no one dared to step in.
Chen Jian didn’t know the exact extent of the conflict between the skinny guy and Da Li, but if he actually stabbed him in this blind rage, it could go straight through him. That would be a massive disaster.
Fortunately, the skinny guy wasn’t a fast runner. Chen Jian caught up in a few strides. Just as the skinny guy was about to chase Da Li up the stairs, Chen Jian launched a fierce kick squarely into his back.
As the skinny guy sprawled onto the ground, Chen Erhu pounced on him, pinning down the hand holding the screwdriver.
“Let me go!” the skinny guy roared, struggling violently. “I’m fucking done with this! I’m going to fucking kill him!”
“You’re not going to kill him!” Chen Jian walked over, kicked the screwdriver away, and lowered his voice. “You’ll only destroy yourself!”
“You want to kill me? Take a good look at what kind of trash you are…” Seeing the situation under control, Da Li immediately turned around on the stairs, pointing at the skinny guy and cursing. “Let me tell you…”
“Shut up!” Chen Jian glared at him, his voice dark. “Say one more word and I’ll have them let him go.”
Da Li froze and shut his mouth.
“Is there an empty room?” Hu Pan asked a waitress nearby.
“Yes,” the waitress nodded.
“Open it,” Hu Pan said. “Let him go in and cool off!”
“Oh!” the waitress responded but didn’t move, looking up at Da Li first.
Da Li, face dark, nodded.
“No need.” The skinny guy, pinned down by Chen Erhu and the others, suddenly gave up struggling. His voice went flat. “Store Manager Chen, can I go over to your place for a bit? I don’t want to be here.”
Chen Jian hesitated for two seconds. “If you go to our place, you’ll still be locked up to cool off first.”
“Fine,” the skinny guy said.
The group escorted him back to Dayin’s conference room and shut the door.
“You guys sure love meddling in other people’s business,” Sun Nana said, glancing at the conference room door.
“If Liangye had someone stabbed to death—hell, even just injured,” Chen Jian said, “people would immediately lump us together with them since someone died here before. Blood right before the New Year? Our business would definitely take a hit.”
But Chen Jian had no idea how to handle this person.
He stayed in the conference room for over half an hour. Seeing the guy calm down a bit, he left Chen Erhu and Sanbing to keep an eye on him. Taking his phone, he walked out of the conference room, planning to call Shan Yu and ask what to do.
It was almost eight o’clock; he didn’t know if Shan Yu was awake yet.
He opened WeChat, intending to send a message first.
Just as he was typing, a call came in. He reflexively tapped ‘Answer’. Only after it connected did he see it was Old Ding.
Calls from Old Ding were always official Dayin business. He immediately felt a surge of nervousness.
“Hello?”
“Xiao Chen,” Old Ding said. “Listen, I’m just notifying you about something. Next Monday, there’s a meeting in the city. Dayin needs to send someone as the guesthouse representative for Hongye Town to attend…”
“What?” Chen Jian froze. “Didn’t you say there wouldn’t be any movement before the New Year?”
“The leaders aren’t coming over,” Old Ding said. “It’s just a small meeting.”
How small of a meeting?
Ten people? Or five…
Anything over three people is a big meeting!
“Is it just Dayin going?” Chen Jian asked.
“No, three representatives in total: from the guesthouses, the restaurants, and the management office. I’ll be going too,” Old Ding said. “You might need to give a speech, not entirely sure…”
Chen Jian felt his brain buzzing into a chaotic blur.
Shan Yu! Help! Save your guesthouse, Boss—
