Shan Yu sat in front of the terrarium, crocheting Chen Jian’s scarf. Through the glass, he could see Erge tucked behind a piece of bark, half of his head poking out, resting by the edge of the water bowl as he stared back at him.
After a little while, Erge laid his head flat on the rim of the dish. Shan Yu leaned in for a closer look—fast asleep.
His sleep quality is pretty enviable.
Shan Yu stretched, slipped on a jacket, and left the office.
Over the past couple of days, the inn had been short-staffed while the guest count remained high. With the store manager away, the boss couldn’t simply hole up in his office the entire time.
Time to head downstairs and get in the way.
When the elevator stopped at the third floor, the doors slid open, and two guests stepped in.
Under normal circumstances, the staff would greet guests proactively.
Shan Yu didn’t say a word. He rarely showed his face around the property; to guests staying only a night or two, he probably looked like just another tourist. Offering a sudden greeting might only make things awkward.
Yet the guests kept looking at him.
Shan Yu didn’t look away either, calmly meeting their gaze.
Reaching the ground floor, the female guest finally asked, “You’re the boss, right?”
How did you figure that out?
Oh, right. There’s a whole collection of photos on the wall.
“Yes,” Shan Yu acknowledged. “Good morning.”
“Does the local market in town still have stalls open today? We were thinking of having a look around,” she said.
No idea.
Never been. Have to ask the store manager.
Or literally anyone else in this building besides me.
Shan Yu didn’t answer right away. Only when the elevator doors parted on the first floor did he call out toward the front desk: “Panpan?”
“Here!” Hu Pan answered.
“Are there still stalls open at the market? The guests would like to check it out,” Shan Yu said.
“Yes,” Hu Pan walked over immediately, giving them the details. “There will be stalls tomorrow too, though definitely not as many as usual. You’ll still be able to pick up local specialties and snacks.”
“Thank you,” the guest said, then glanced back at Shan Yu. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Shan Yu smiled.
Once the guests stepped outside, Hu Pan remarked, “Those guests are so polite.”
Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
The cafe was operating normally. With plenty of younger guests staying now, coffee was a basic necessity.
“New beans?” Shan Yu walked over and asked.
“Yeah, rum flavor notes. Want to try?” Sun Nana was leaning against the counter slowly sipping a cup of coffee, holding a sandwich in her other hand.
“Sure.” Shan Yu looked at the sandwich in her hand. Breakfast here usually consisted of soy milk, milk, millet porridge paired with various steamed buns, noodles, or flatbreads. Zhao-jie switched things up when she wasn’t too busy, but this was the first time he had seen a sandwich.
“Want some?” Sun Nana held out the sandwich. “I haven’t taken a bite yet, you can have it.”
“No, no need,” Shan Yu shook his head hurriedly. “I’ll grab something myself.”
“Then you’ll have to jog to the corner of First Street,” Sun Nana took a bite, waving the bitten sandwich playfully. “I bought it on my morning run.”
“…I’ll stick with steamed buns,” Shan Yu said.
“Nothing to regret,” Sun Nana grimaced at the sandwich in her hand. “This thing tastes awful anyway.”
Shan Yu laughed.
“Let me make your coffee first,” Sun Nana set the sandwich down.
“Eat your breakfast first,” Shan Yu walked toward the kitchen. “I’m not a guest, no rush.”
After finishing breakfast, he returned to the cafe with his coffee and settled into a quiet corner.
Sitting here gave a far more direct sense of how the inn grew busy bit by bit each day compared to staying in his office.
Sanbing and Lao Wu were in the courtyard tidying up—sweeping the ground, wiping down tables and chairs, and bringing out a stack of paper window cuttings and couplets to put up later.
Guests were arriving one after another at the front desk, all having booked rooms to spend the New Year here.
Hu Pan and Sun Nana worked in seamless coordination, checking guests in while introducing sight-seeing routes and recommended activities to guests heading out for the day.
Huang-jiejie pushed a cleaning cart into the elevator.
The only idle person around was the boss sitting in the corner of the cafe.
Shan Yu pulled out his phone, leaning back in his chair to see if any local tourism recommendations popped up on his feed.
He had barely read a few lines when the sound of a child crying drifted in from the front entrance.
Shan Yu felt an instant headache, shoving his phone into his pocket as he prepared to make a swift escape.
“What happened?” Hu Pan asked from the front desk.
“No idea!” Sanbing’s voice drifted over. “This little girl was just standing at the door. The moment I asked, she burst into tears and wouldn’t say a word.”
“Did she get lost?” Hu Pan hurried over immediately.
So it’s not a guest’s kid. Shan Yu halted his retreat, stepped out of the cafe, and glanced toward the entrance.
Sanbing was holding the hand of a little girl who was crying her heart out.
“Little sister, what’s your name?” Hu Pan gently led her toward the cafe area.
Even though she wasn’t a guest’s child, Shan Yu instinctively backed away, preparing to slip toward the restaurant.
“Xiaojuan,” the little girl answered between sobs.
“Who did you come out with?” Hu Pan asked methodically, clearly someone who had looked after kids before.
“Grandma,” Xiaojuan said.
“Mm,” Hu Pan responded, pulling a small biscuit from her pocket. “Here, have a biscuit… Where’s your grandma?”
“At the market,” Xiaojuan took the biscuit immediately, momentarily forgetting to cry as she tore the wrapper with her teeth and popped the biscuit into her mouth. “Thank you, Auntie.”
“Then how did you end up here?” Hu Pan asked patiently. “Does Grandma know you’re here?”
Xiaojuan shook her head. “I’m looking for someone.”
“Looking for who?” Hu Pan asked.
Xiaojuan froze for a moment, then burst into tears again: “I forgot…”
Is she a little slow?
Shan Yu had initially wanted to avoid the scene, but curiosity got the better of him. He leaned against a nearby pillar, watching Hu Pan and the child with amusement.
Still crying, Xiaojuan looked in his direction, suddenly paused, and raised a finger straight at him: “Him…”
Shan Yu was just lifting his coffee to take a sip. Xiaojuan’s accusatory finger, pointing at him like an eyewitness identifying a criminal suspect, froze him right on the spot.
Hu Pan was taken aback too. “Him what?”
“Him…” Xiaojuan kept pointing at Shan Yu.
“Me what?” Shan Yu raised an eyebrow, staring back at her.
To be fair, Shan Yu was quite superficial when it came to children—he judged entirely by appearance. With a cute, clever little girl like Xiao Dou’er, he had some patience.
The child before him had cried snot and tears all over her face, her hair was a messy nest, she looked grimy, and she couldn’t string together a coherent sentence. When Shan Yu asked, his expression was undeniably lacking in warmth, without even a forced smile.
He probably looked a bit scary.
Terrified, Xiaojuan took a step back and began wailing again.
“It’s the New Year, no crying allowed,” Chen Jian said, leaning against a tree, watching his dad still crouched in front of the tombstone.
“Not crying,” his dad turned around with a smile. “Our days are good now.”
Chen Jian walked over, squatting down beside his father, his fingers gently tracing the weathered surface of the stone.
“This tombstone is old,” his dad said. “Can barely read the characters anymore. Let’s get a new one made after the New Year.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian nodded.
“Let’s head back,” his dad stood up, patted the stone, and smiled. “Lin-ah, we’re taking off. Chen Jian still has to work. He’s the store manager, lots on his plate, a very busy man now…”
“Not that busy…” Before Chen Jian could finish, his phone rang.
“Look at that, calls chasing after you already,” his dad noted with a touch of pride.
Chen Jian glanced at the screen; the call was from Lao Wu.
Is this performance going a little too far?
“Hello?” he answered.
“Chen Jian, a kid came by the inn looking for Boss Shan,” Lao Wu said. “They’re still asking questions, but the kid won’t stop crying…”
“What?” Chen Jian paused. Aside from Xiao Dou’er, what child in this town would come looking for Shan Yu?
Besides, Xiao Dou’er was in the city, and she rarely cried.
Even if Xiao Dou’er came, she’d be looking for Chen Jian-ge!
Lost my train of thought.
“How old is the kid?” Chen Jian asked.
“Five or six, maybe seven or eight, I can’t really tell,” Lao Wu suddenly dropped his voice to a whisper. “Could it be Shan Yu’s kid?”
Chen Jian let out a sigh.
Brains really were something that couldn’t be supplemented later in life.
Returning to the inn, Chen Jian saw neither the child nor Shan Yu.
“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“You mean the little girl?” Hu Pan jogged over from the front desk. “Guess who she is!”
“Lao Wu told me she’s Shan Yu’s daughter,” Chen Jian said.
Hu Pan burst into loud, ringing laughter.
“His head is filled with a sack of dish soap!” Sanbing cursed.
“She’s Mushroom’s previous owner!” Hu Pan said. “Bet you didn’t expect that! When Boss Shan bought the puppy, he told them she could come visit anytime, so the little girl actually came!”
“Holy crap, he actually agreed to something like that?” Chen Jian was stunned. “And the kid really came? Where’s Mushroom?”
“Mushroom was sleeping. She played with him for a bit, and then Boss Shan took her to the market. Her grandma is still at the market, so he went to take her back,” Sanbing said.
“I’ll go check,” Chen Jian said, feeling uneasy. Shan Yu taking care of a child on his own sounded disastrous no matter how he imagined it.
“Go ahead, don’t let both of them get lost,” Sun Nana said, elegantly touching up her makeup in the cafe.
“Dad,” Chen Jian looked back at his father. “You…”
“I’ll go see what to make for lunch,” his dad was remarkably dedicated to his temporary gig.
“Uncle, I’ll help you out,” Sanbing immediately followed him to the kitchen.
Chen Jian headed back out, mounting his motorcycle that hadn’t even been properly parked yet.
The market was quite lively today. On normal days, it mostly sold fresh vegetables, dried specialties, and snacks. Over the past few days, however, practically every stall except the food vendors had shifted entirely to New Year goods.
Unlike in the city, people out here basically wouldn’t leave their homes starting tomorrow. This was the final rush of holiday business.
Chen Jian called Shan Yu, but the phone rang for ages with no answer.
Probably too noisy in the market to hear it.
Wandering through the stalls, he dialed again.
This time, someone picked up.
Sun Nana’s voice came through the receiver: “Stop calling! He didn’t take his phone. Left it right on the cafe sofa. Took me ages to find it when it rang.”
Might as well crochet a little phone pouch to hang around his neck with the leftover yarn.
Chen Jian had no choice but to keep hunting for him on foot.
Finding Shan Yu, however, followed a fairly predictable pattern. If he strolled around after returning the child, he wouldn’t look at regular produce or regional dried goods. It had to be something rare, something interesting…
Right, like that giant canvas tent selling fireworks up ahead.
As Chen Jian walked over, he saw a sizable crowd gathered around it.
He pushed his way through immediately.
An older woman glanced back, spotting him: “Oh, here to help carry the stuff?”
“Ah,” Chen Jian replied, parting the onlookers. Sure enough, there was Shan Yu, sitting on a tiny wooden stool.
Sitting beside him was the little girl with lopsided pigtails, a mountain of fireworks piled on the ground before them.
“What brings you here?” Shan Yu spotted him, a slight smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Here to pay the bill,” Chen Jian said. “Buying this much—were you planning to leave the kid as collateral?”
“Hm?” Shan Yu patted his pockets, finding nothing.
“Your phone is with Nana,” Chen Jian walked over, crouching down to look at the little girl. “Haven’t taken the child back yet?”
“Found her grandma. Took her to buy some fireworks,” Shan Yu said. “Her grandma went to fetch some dried goods for me.”
“…Did you have to buy this much?” Chen Jian eyed the fireworks covering the floor.
“These are for Xiaojuan,” Shan Yu gestured with his hand. “And that pile over there is ours.”
“There’s more coming!” an older man watching the spectacle chimed in with a laugh. “The vendor sent someone to fetch them—ran out of stock on the ones he wanted.”
“Boss, this one is great too,” someone else shouted from the crowd. “Big burst, lasts a long time. Someone lit one by the river last year…”
“Bring it over,” Shan Yu turned and told the vendor.
“Right away!” The vendor hurried over, hauling the recommended firework—as large as an artillery shell.
“There’s this one too…” another onlooker called out.
“Hey!” Chen Jian shouted. “Are you getting a commission on these or what?”
The crowd roared with laughter.
“Your boss lived in the city before, probably never had the chance to play with stuff like this,” an older uncle said. “Let him have some fun and satisfy the craving.”
Locals usually didn’t buy fireworks in these quantities, especially not the expensive kinds costing several hundred yuan each. Those were typically bought by city folks spending the holidays out here, some of whom came specifically for the fireworks.
Everyone simply enjoyed watching them splurge, happily cheering on the spending spree.
Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu.
This wealthy, high-tech boss was certainly giving everyone an extra bit of entertainment during their market run today.
“Why don’t you bring the car over?” Shan Yu glanced at the motorcycle keys in Chen Jian’s hand. “This is too much to haul on a bike.”
“Have the vendor deliver it,” Chen Jian looked back at the stall owner.
“No problem! Absolutely!” The vendor immediately gave him a crisp salute. “Any service our VIP customer wants, we deliver!”
“Calling him a VIP customer when you haven’t even offered a cup of water,” Chen Jian muttered.
“Truly don’t have any, haven’t had a sip since setting up this morning,” the vendor said. “Whatever Boss Shan wants to drink, I’ll run and buy it right now!”
“No need, not thirsty,” Shan Yu smiled.
Shortly after, the helper sent to fetch stock returned, hauling two proper, heavy artillery-style launch tubes. The surrounding crowd broke into cheers.
Chen Jian looked at Shan Yu: “What are you doing?”
“Celebrating the New Year,” Shan Yu leaned in and murmured against his ear. “I haven’t properly celebrated the New Year in years.”
Chen Jian fell silent.
That was true… He didn’t know how Shan Yu had celebrated before, but during those years in prison, he certainly hadn’t had a proper holiday.
The boss had gone to the market to return a child, only to come back with a whole van filled with fireworks, plus two bags of wood ear mushrooms and hazel mushrooms.
The entire inn staff spilled out into the courtyard.
Trailing behind the van, Chen Jian parked his motorcycle. Sanbing and the crew were already excitedly unloading fireworks from the vehicle.
Sun Nana handed Shan Yu his phone: “Haven’t paid yet, right?”
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded.
Beside him, the vendor stood holding a ledger, counting up the items before offering it to Shan Yu: “Everything checks out, Boss?”
“Checks out.” Shan Yu glanced it over, pulled out his phone, and scanned the code to pay.
“How much did you spend?” Chen Jian asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” Shan Yu tucked the phone back into his pocket with a grin.
Chen Jian looked at the vendor, who was beaming after receiving payment.
“Gotta keep client confidentiality for my VIP customer,” the vendor said.
“Fine,” Chen Jian chuckled.
Chen Erhu, newly on duty as Fire Safety Supervisor, directed Sanbing and the others: “Don’t store fireworks indoors! Stack them against the wall in the backyard, and clear away any clutter nearby…”
Shan Yu stretched, strolling slowly toward the backyard, taking in the red decorations already adorning the courtyard and windows.
“The kid’s grandma didn’t give you a hard time, did she?” Chen Jian walked up beside him.
“No, she thanked me,” Shan Yu said. “Try those wood ear mushrooms later; her family grows them.”
“She hauled them over to sell?” Chen Jian asked. “Gave them all to you?”
“Don’t underestimate that old lady. Her family’s mushroom greenhouse is the largest in their village,” Shan Yu said. “Might even partner with them down the line.”
“…Oh,” Chen Jian looked at him.
“Store Manager!” Hu Pan called out from the main gate. “You two come help—!”
“Hm?” Chen Jian turned around.
“Help hang these big lanterns up!” Hu Pan shouted.
“On it,” Shan Yu answered immediately, turning back toward the entrance.
Chen Jian followed him. Normally, the boss was nowhere near this diligent; when everyone was hauling fireworks earlier, he would usually have slipped away already.
It was obvious Shan Yu genuinely wanted to celebrate this New Year.
