The morning of June 27, 2017.
It was only six-thirty. Cheng Yun, who had been on night shift until two in the morning, still felt a soreness in his eyes. He had only slept for about four hours and his head was muzzy, but remembering the frail, innocent girl from yesterday, he still pushed himself up with the help of his alarm clock.
It seemed he had another dream last night, one still filled with landscapes of mountains and rivers. It was as if Old Mage had never looked at anything else in his entire life besides scenery.
Growing a pair of false eyes.
Summer skies brightened before six, but this morning a thin mist hung over the city, blurring the streets and making the dawn exceptionally chilly.
Cheng Yun stood at the entrance of the hotel, gazing down one end of the street. He raised a hand to cover his mouth and yawned, feeling his eyes grow increasingly sore and swollen.
He rubbed them with his hand, and the moment he lowered it, a thin figure appeared in the misty street.
Startled by the chill of the morning, Cheng Yun gave a jolt.
For a long time afterwards, he would remember this morning—that thin-figured girl dragging large bags of luggage, walking toward him step by stubborn step along the edge of the street. In the fog, her outline gradually shifted from blurry to clear, becoming vivid, like a distant silhouette in a memory finally being recalled.
Cheng Yun hurried over, taking the bundle of pillows and quilts from her hands under her dazed gaze, and then pulled her rolling suitcase. Frowning, he said, "Didn't you say you didn't have much luggage? You should have told me earlier so I could come pick you up!"
Yu Dian let out a breath of relief, holding a folding small tabletop in front of her chest. She followed behind him, her face flushed as she timidly and haltingly said, "Sorry for the trouble, Boss Cheng."
Cheng Yun smiled, hauled her luggage into the hotel, and carried it all the way to the storage room in the stairwell between the first and second floors. "Just leave some of the seldom-used luggage here for now. If you need it, you'll just have to make a trip. As for the daily necessities you use often, sort them out first and take them up to Room 311 on the third floor. Once the youth hostel over there is renovated, you can pick a room and settle down permanently."
"Mhm." Yu Dian nodded, then opened her rolling suitcase right where it stood. She took out a plastic bag containing toiletries, an old laptop, a charger, and other items, zipped the suitcase back up, and looked at Cheng Yun holding the things in her arms. "I'm ready."
"Uh..." Cheng Yun was stunned. The girl had carried two such huge bags, yet her belongings were truly pitifully scant.
"Alright, I'll take you up." Cheng Yun helped her pick up the folding tabletop and walked upstairs.
With two beeps of the key card, he opened the door. A hallway appeared before Yu Dian's eyes, the floor covered with soft dark red carpet. Looking further ahead, she could see the layout of the living room. "If no guests book this room, you can stay here for now."
"Ah?" Yu Dian walked in, looked at the mini living room and the decor that was clearly different from an ordinary single room, and turned back to look at Cheng Yun, asking uncertainly, "I... live here?"
"Business is good these days, so the other rooms will probably be fully booked. This is the one least likely to be booked out." Cheng Yun smiled as he spoke, feeling somewhat helpless as well. "Just enjoy it for now. Once those youth hostel rooms are renovated, you won't get to live in such a big room anymore."
"I..." Yu Dian glanced at the sofa in the living room and turned to face him. "I'll just sleep on the sofa. The sofa is quite wide."
"There's no need to be that scruffy. Washing the sheets and quilt covers doesn't cost much." Cheng Yun felt he was still quite magnanimous, at least not one of those unprincipled profiteering boss-merchants who only knew how to make money.
"Oh." Only then did Yu Dian nod and agree.
"Then you tidy up a bit first. I'll go down and make breakfast for you all. Work starts at seven."
"I—I don't have much to tidy." As she spoke, Yu Dian put her toiletries into the bathroom, where the large bathtub almost dazzled her eyes.
By this time Cheng Yun had already left, leaving her standing in the room, blankly turning her head to look around. If not for the fact that she couldn't live in this room forever, she definitely would have felt a sense of unreality.
A brand-new mini kitchen, a small but fully equipped living room, and even a small projector and a computer. Outside were floor-to-ceiling windows and a large balcony facing east, with the curtains half-drawn and the morning sunlight just filtering in. It was decorated like a house out of a TV show...
This was the most expensive room in the entire hotel.
Yu Dian couldn't help but pull the curtains all the way open, push open the floor-to-ceiling window, and step outside, taking a deep breath.
In the distance, she could see Yida's teaching buildings and a small half of the athletic field, with the rest blocked by a forest of high-rises. In truth, the view could hardly be considered good, but to her, it was already extremely precious.
Thinking of that small room without even a window, which was barely bigger than this bathroom, she felt a wave of emotion.
"Hmph!"
Yu Dian pumped her fist for herself, turned to close the window, and picked up the computer and charging cable as she walked downstairs.
She had a rough idea of the hotel's recent situation, which Cheng Yun had told her yesterday—business would be quite good lately, but this suite was not easily booked out while all other room types were in tight demand. So she would probably live here these next few days; after things eased up in a few days, she would likely move to a mini single room or a standard single room.
Yu Dian walked to the first-floor front desk, checked the equipment, placed the laptop on the desk, plugged in the computer cord, and began resting her chin in her hands as she dazed off.
Not long after, Cheng Yan pushed open the door and came in from outside. Her complexion was somewhat poor, and she spotted Yu Dian sitting behind the counter at a glance.
Yu Dian hurriedly snapped back to her senses. She looked at Cheng Yan wanting to greet her, but didn't know what title to use. After struggling for a few seconds until her face turned beet red, she finally squeezed out a sentence: "Good morning, Boss."
Cheng Yan was stunned, then nodded very naturally. "On duty so early?"
"Mhm." Yu Dian nodded. "It's not early."
"It's still... not seven yet!" Cheng Yan looked up at the clock, taking on quite the boss-like demeanor. "Where's Cheng Yun?"
"Upstairs, making breakfast."
"Oh." Cheng Yan nodded, sat down on the sofa, and dozed off with her head lowered and in silence.
For some unknown reason, she had slept just fine staying at the hotel the previous few days, falling peacefully asleep quickly once her head hit the bed. But yesterday after she went home, alone in the empty house and on her familiar bed, her parents' faces and voices flashed through her mind over and over again. Memories rushed in like a tide, scene after scene from the past flashing before her eyes, torturing her until she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She had no idea how many times her pillow had grown wet.
All night long, Cheng Yan kept pulling out her phone to distract herself, but the moment she lay down her mind would start wandering wildly, and she didn't gradually fall asleep until her mind and spirit were exhausted to the absolute limit.
The last time she checked her phone, it was past four.
She woke up at six.
"Oh? You came just in time." Cheng Yun walked down from upstairs carrying a bowl of egg noodles in one hand. He set one bowl on the counter and placed the other on the coffee table in front of Cheng Yan. "If you want chili, wait a moment, I'll bring some down later."
"No need," Cheng Yan said.
"Thanks, I... don't need it either." Yu Dian was still somewhat bashful. The clear broth noodles with sesame oil and the scallion-sprinkled fried egg constantly gave off a tempting aroma.
"Then you guys go ahead and eat. I'll go back up and drop another bowl." With that, Cheng Yun went back upstairs.
Soon, he also brought a bowl of noodles to Old Mage before heading down with his own bowl to sit side-by-side with Cheng Yan on the sofa and eat.
"Why does your complexion look so bad, like you pulled an all-nighter at an internet cafe!" Cheng Yun asked, slurping up a large mouthful of noodles before adding, "Don't tell me you were scared being home alone and couldn't sleep?"
"Tch!" Cheng Yan scoffed dismissively. "Am I that cowardly?"
"Not really."
"Well, there you go then!"
"Since you're already here, go upstairs for a catnap after you finish eating!" Cheng Yun didn't continue pressing; he knew the reason. It was just right to use Cheng Yan to test just how effective Old Mage's 'inn general magic array' really was.
"Fine!" Cheng Yan muttered, quickly eating the entire bowl of noodles clean, grabbing the universal room card from the counter, and heading upstairs.
Watching her back, Cheng Yun was momentarily dazed—he had still wanted to tell her to wash the bowls after eating!
Fortunately, the front-desk girl was very sensible. After drinking the soup completely clean, she whispered to Cheng Yun, "There's no one here right now anyway, I'll wash them. It'll be done in a second... You must have gone to sleep pretty late last night, you should go rest too."
"No need."
"That makes me... feel really bad." Little Yu Dian pursed her lips slightly and spoke. Today's morning egg noodles were much more delicious than the cold steamed buns she used to get out of the fridge!
"Then you wash them." Cheng Yun put down his bowl quite decisively. "I'm heading upstairs to rest, I'll get up before noon to cook."
"Mhm, sorry... sorry for the trouble."
Yu Dian clutched the bowl and stood obediently by the edge of the counter, watching him head upstairs before carrying the bowl toward the sink in the corner. She licked her lips, feeling the taste of sesame oil still lingering around them. She had no idea how long it had been since she ate such a 'lavish' breakfast.
Cheng Yun slept very soundly this time, not waking up until eleven. He went to the vegetable market to buy leftover meat and vegetables, and lunch was simply three dishes and a soup as usual.
Of course, for little Yu Dian, this was already a 'delicacy' she hadn't eaten in a long time.
Cheng Yun carried the food over to the coffee table, brought the bowls and chopsticks, took off his apron and used it to wipe his hands before heading upstairs. "If you're hungry, eat first. I'll go up and call her."
"I... I'm not hungry." Yu Dian looked at the three dishes and swallowed hard with a fierce gulp.
About five minutes later, Cheng Yun led a disheveled and sleepy-eyed Cheng Yan downstairs. Meanwhile, Yu Dian hurriedly tucked away the eager look in her eyes, sat obediently on her small stool, and had already handed out the bowls and chopsticks and dished out the rice for them.
The three of them started eating without a word.
Yu Dian remained constrained, only eating from the dish directly in front of her, but her eyes, which wandered haphazardly around the table of their own accord, had already been spotted by Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan.
"Cough cough." Cheng Yun gave a cough, moved the pot of taro chicken in front of Cheng Yan over to Yu Dian's side, and said, "Just pick whatever you want to eat, don't hold back. We agreed on free room and board from the very start."
"Mm." Yu Dian's face flushed.
"Besides, barring any accidents, we'll be eating at the same table for a long time. It won't do if you're always this shy," Cheng Yan chimed in. "Look at me, I don't do anything and yet I'm freeloading meals, and I'm not even embarrassed."
"Got it..." Hearing them say that, Yu Dian felt even more self-conscious.
Soon, she finished a bowl of rice, cast a lingering glance at the dishes on the table, put down her chopsticks and said, "I'm full. You guys... take your time eating, I'll wash the bowls later."
Cheng Yan helplessly pulled her back down.
Cheng Yun also smiled, cooperating with Cheng Yan to dish another bowl of rice for Yu Dian, and said, "Eat more, you still have to work this afternoon!"
Yu Dian only felt her cheeks burning hot. Facing the newly added bowl of rice and the plenty of remaining dishes on the table, she paused slightly before finally picking up her chopsticks again slowly. "Th—Then I won't be polite."
"Mhm, don't be polite from now on," Cheng Yun said. "No matter how much you eat, how many ounces of rice can you possibly manage!"
"Mhm."
After finishing her meal, Yu Dian consciously went to wash the dishes, then returned to the front desk. She stealthily poked her head out to look at the empty stairwell—Cheng Yun had gone upstairs for who knows what and didn't know when he would come back down, while Cheng Yan had left right after finishing her meal.
Only then did she open her old laptop and enter her password.
The laptop was one she had saved up to buy back in college. It wasn't expensive to begin with, and after being repaired a few times up until now, although it still worked, the keyboard was already worn quite severely.
That didn't matter; she had long since committed the position of every key to memory so familiarly that she wouldn't press the wrong key even with her eyes closed.
The sound of the keyboard, carrying a hint of plastic texture, began to echo continuously at the front desk with wide intervals. Whenever guests walked up and down past the front desk, Yu Dian would stop like a startled fawn, secretly watching the guests. Only after the guests left would she cautiously resume pressing the keys. From time to time, she would tilt her head to ponder for a moment, or prop her chin up in a daze, recalling the thoughts that had just been startled away by a guest.
The afternoon passed quickly. Yu Dian stretched, moving her sore cervical spine and fingers. She was satisfied with this job to the absolute extreme—
Just as Cheng Yun had said, the work was truly very easy. Business these past few days had been extremely good, and she had received around twenty guests in total the entire day, but each guest only took up a few minutes of her time, leaving her free to arrange the rest of the time however she liked.
Though she was always interrupted by coming and going guests and food-delivery couriers, they couldn't see the laptop behind the front desk anyway, and at most it only made her pause for a moment.
Compared to the food, this was simply not worth mentioning.
Cheng Yun didn't come down until close to five. He originally wanted to hand over the shift to Yu Dian, but Yu Dian blushed, waved her hands, and actually said, "Y—You should go rest for a bit longer, I still want to be on duty for a while."
She still had a few things unfinished just now, so she might as well just finish them right here to save herself from having to spend half the time trying to remember everything when she went back upstairs.
And Cheng Yun was dumbfounded on the spot.
Were there really employees like this?!
In the end, he dazedly agreed to his employee's request, feeling somewhat reluctant. He figured that if he didn't still have to cook, he definitely wouldn't have agreed.
When Cheng Yan returned from outside and saw Yu Dian still on duty, she was also taken aback, frowning as she asked, "Why are you still on duty?"
With that, she even glanced sideways at Cheng Yun and asked, "Did you see that she's innocent, kind, and easy to bully, so you're oppressing her?"
Yu Dian hurriedly waved her hands and said, "It's because I wanted to stay on duty a little longer myself."
Hearing this, Cheng Yan was momentarily stunned as well. Yet, after all, she was much more composed than Cheng Yun. She merely nodded and said, "That's good then. When you're out and about, you can't be too soft, or people will bully you."
Yu Dian nodded, deeply understanding this point.
...Yet felt powerless to change it.
"Why don't you just stay here tonight?" Cheng Yun looked at Cheng Yan. "Don't go back. There's only you in that house, and if you get hungry in the middle of the night, there won't even be anyone to make you a bowl of noodles."
Cheng Yan didn't speak, which was taken as tacit consent.
Though she was unwilling to admit it either, the fact was just like this—staying in this hotel, she clearly slept much more soundly, as if... there was some kind of reliance deep in her soul.
The contracted editor is so busy, ying ying ying...
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