Still Claiming Not the Upper Realm

Chapter 33: Still Saying It's Not the Upper Realm?

Just before ten o'clock, Cheng Yan bought two skewers of grilled meat from outside. After eating, she went upstairs to her room.

The Heroine calmed her emotions and began to mop the floor.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yun, propping his chin on his hand, stared blankly at the surveillance screens displaying individual rooms. He was tired of watching dramas and needed a break to clear his mind.

"Phew!" The Heroine straightened up and let out a long breath. The floor tiles at the front desk were now sparkling clean. "Okay, I'm almost done!"

"Are you going back to your room to rest?" Cheng Yun asked.

"Mm, I want to go back early to watch TV."

"I was thinking of buying some barbecue or something to fill my stomach later," Cheng Yun said. "Aren't you eating?"

"This..." The Heroine was immediately put in a difficult position and fell silent.

The food in this world was undoubtedly novel and tempting to her. After all, she had hardly ever eaten so much meat before, let alone such a variety! These past few days in this world had also helped her understand a principle: the meals that she once thought only emperors could afford were not the most delicious. The most delicious were these snacks, late-night meals, and treats.

But television was also something that fascinated her. She could watch any program with great interest, wishing she could crawl into the machine! She even felt that as long as there was television, she could stay in her room for three days and three nights without issue!

After agonizing for a long time, Heroine Yin finally said, "Then I'll... stay here with you for a while longer. But I'll go up to watch TV in a bit!"

Cheng Yun smiled, reminded of his childhood obsession with cartoons, feeling like he could never get tired of watching them.

"I have a TV here too," he said, beckoning Heroine Yin over. "What do you want to watch? Sit down, and I'll play it for you."

Faced with his gesture, which had a hint of a creepy uncle, Heroine Yin hesitated for only a split second before putting down her mop and gloves and walking into the front desk to sit beside him.

She suddenly froze, then leaned her head all the way back on the chair, spinning it like a child. "This chair is so comfortable!"

"I have to sit here for ten hours, how could I stand it if it wasn't comfortable!" Cheng Yun opened the browser and stayed on the search page. He turned his head and asked, "What do you want to watch? I'll play it for you."

"I... I don't know." Heroine Yin still couldn't distinguish between the different TV programs.

"Let me think. I won't show you historical dramas. What are some good modern Chinese TV shows, dramas, or movies?" Cheng Yun felt that given Heroine Yin's naivety, she would find anything he showed her to be good and awe-inspiring. "Let's see if there are any suitable crime films."

Cheng Yun felt it was important to establish the correct outlook on life, morality, worldview, and values for Heroine Yin, even though... her views were likely already firmly established.

Ultimately, Cheng Yun dismissed the crime films and found her a movie released last year, "Operation Mekong."

"Here, after watching this movie, you'll know that in our world, especially in our country, you should never try to confront state organs or commit illegal acts. Otherwise, even if you run abroad, our officers will still hunt you down." Cheng Yun said, then pressed play and leaned back in his chair, putting on headphones to listen to music. "If guests arrive, call me."

"Oh." The Heroine obediently replied, staring at the computer screen without blinking.

After listening to about two songs, Cheng Yun heard Heroine Yin softly call him. He looked up and saw several young female faces in front of him, full of youthful energy.

"Handsome boss!" Hao Nianwen called out first.

"Boss, we're here again," the plump He Qing said. "We booked a room on Meituan."

"Why so late today?" Cheng Yun asked with a smile, pausing the computer and switching to the store's backend.

"Because some stupid teachers wanted to check dorms and pretended to do a surprise inspection! We only got notified at six in the evening, so we had to wait until they left before we could come," He Qing said indignantly. "They won't even fix the air conditioning but insist we have to stay in the dorms. So much trouble!"

"It's like this every year at the end of the semester, just going through the motions," Cheng Yun said, having been through it himself.

"Hey, boss, which school did you graduate from?" Hao Nianwen suddenly asked, staring at Cheng Yun.

"I'm your senior."

"So you're a senior!"

"Ahem, let's check you in," Cheng Yun said.

"Use my and Nianwen's ID cards. The deposit is on the table too," He Qing said, taking out her ID card and a hundred yuan deposit. "Boss, you don't know the situation. Apparently, a girl from the economics department rented a place off-campus and hanged herself. She died a couple of days ago, but the landlord only found out this afternoon. In this heat, tsk tsk. That's why the school leaders are being so strict lately, forbidding students from staying out overnight!"

"Oh, no wonder," Cheng Yun nodded, then sighed. "Life is not easy. We must cherish it. If you die, you won't know anything, but your loved ones will bear the pain."

He wasn't particularly gossipy. After all, university lasted four years, with tens of thousands of students. Who hadn't heard of a few deaths at their school during their university years!

Especially in recent years, with rapid social development, all sorts of strange things have emerged.

"Senior, you're so young, but you speak with such emotion," Hao Nianwen said dismissively.

"Mm." Cheng Yun lowered his head to scan the ID cards.

The six girls stood outside the counter, their conversation flowing, and they couldn't help but chatter.

Hao Nianwen continued, "I think I've seen that girl before. She was in the street dance club, but she didn't come often later. I heard she was quite wild, anyway... her reputation wasn't great."

"Really?" He Qing's curiosity was piqued. "Do you know why she committed suicide?"

"I'm not sure. Some say it was for love," Hao Nianwen shrugged nonchalantly. "But the cases of university suicides in the past couple of years are all similar, either heartbroken or unable to repay online loans."

"Tsk, single people really can't understand!"

Another petite girl frowned. "The school hasn't announced the cause of death either. It's all rumors. Sometimes they say she hanged herself, sometimes they say she was strangled. Who knows?"

"Really?"

"Who said she was strangled?"

"Is that true or not?"

"Alright, stop discussing it. She's dead already. Be careful, or she might come looking for you tonight," said Wu Wenshan, who was quiet and demure. She took the deposit receipt Cheng Yun handed over, tucked it into the side pocket of the backpack He Qing was carrying, then took the room key and headed upstairs.

After the girls left, Heroine Yin looked at him blankly and said, "Isn't this the Upper Realm? People commit suicide by hanging? That's ridiculous! Others can't even get in here if they wanted to."

"Who told you this was the Upper Realm? Nonsense," Cheng Yun shook his head. "I told you this is just a transit station, your destination is still ahead."

"You still say it's not the Upper Realm…" Heroine Yin mumbled softly, frowning, then suddenly raised her voice. "Even if it's not the Upper Realm, you have big bowls of plain white rice every meal, more than you can eat. How could anyone be so foolish as to hang themselves? If it were me, I'd be happy eating plain white rice all day without doing anything else!"

"We haven't experienced the hardships you have, so we can't understand. Naturally, you can't understand us either," Cheng Yun shook his head. "People's pursuit of life is endless. Once they have plain white rice, they won't crave it anymore, but will pursue other things."

"What things?"

"Like love, like freedom, like wealth, power, fame, and status."

Heroine Yin fell silent. She remembered the movie she had watched earlier.

After a brief pause, she gestured towards the computer screen with her chin. "Hurry up and turn it on, I want to keep watching."

Cheng Yun switched to the movie page and pressed play.

********************

July 2, 2017.

Cheng Yun slept exceptionally well, with no dreams last night.

After finishing his morning routine and going downstairs, Cheng Yun saw two uniformed police officers push open the door and walk in. They knocked on the front desk, their stern expressions startling Yu Dian, who was engrossed in her work.

"Hello, comrade."

"H-hello." Yu Dian looked like a student caught daydreaming by the teacher.

Cheng Yun quickly walked over.

As the two police officers presented their identification, the young girl Yu Dian, as expected, looked flustered. Her face turned red, and seeing him arrive, she looked at him for help, "Boss!"

Hearing this, the two police officers turned to Cheng Yun, appearing somewhat surprised by his youth, and then asked, "Are you the owner of this inn?"

"Yes," Cheng Yun nodded, frowning. "Is there something you need?"

"We are from the criminal investigation team of the Jinguan Public Security Bureau. We're here to inquire about some information and need to take up a little of your time." One of the officers handed him his identification. His attitude was decent, but his expression was a bit stern. "Don't be nervous. If you know anything, please cooperate. If you don't know, just say you don't know, and we'll leave after asking."

Cheng Yun looked at the identification. This officer's name was Zhou Jiaxing. The ID looked genuine, but he couldn't be sure.

"Oh," he nodded. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you for your trouble," Zhou Jiaxing said.

The two police officers looked young, no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. One was quite tall; that was Zhou Jiaxing. The other was about 1.7 meters tall; Cheng Yun didn't know his name.

Cheng Yun picked up paper cups and poured three cups of water. The other officer quickly waved his hand, saying it wasn't necessary. Cheng Yun then placed the water in front of them and blew on his own hot water.

The young girl Yu Dian hesitated for a moment, then somehow fetched two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk for him. She glanced timidly at the two police officers and said, "Cheng Yan left these for you to eat when you woke up."

"Put them here, thanks." Cheng Yun was quite hungry too.

"If you're free now, we can begin our inquiry," Zhou Jiaxing said after a brief exchange of glances with the other officer. "On the 29th of last month, around 8 PM, who was on duty at your front desk?"

"I'm on duty every night," Cheng Yun replied. "The 29th? Was that the day it rained?"

"Yes, it rained heavily," Zhou Jiaxing nodded. "Did you have any foreign guests here that day? Someone with very distinct features, like a Black person or a White person?"

He paused after speaking and added, "This matter is of great importance, so please answer truthfully."

"Foreign guests?" Cheng Yun frowned and thought for a moment before recalling. "I think there was a Black man, very tall, at least 1.9 meters."