First Time

Chapter 5: The First Time

Cheng Yun, as expected, didn't sleep well.

He hadn't slept well for over ten days, but last night's sleep quality was particularly poor.

The temporal node, the old mage, and the travelers from another dimension who could appear at any moment made him feel exceptionally agitated. Tricky, exciting, anxious, thrilled – various emotions surged through his mind, tossing and turning him until he finally fell into a deep sleep very late.

Cheng Yun thought a lot.

He never imagined he'd be in a position to change Earth's fate at any moment; he just wanted to live a peaceful life. He also absolutely refused to be a nanny for those transmigrators, at most, he'd be a somewhat special innkeeper.

After falling asleep, he had a dream.

In the dream, there were many high mountains, one after another, and many rivers, with a hundred streams flowing into the sea. It was as if he had changed perspective, walked countless unfamiliar roads, and seen countless magnificent landscapes.

Just as dawn broke, he was woken by his alarm clock.

Cheng Yun went out and scanned a shared bicycle, rode it to the university entrance to buy some breakfast, and then rode back home.

Cheng Yan, as expected, was not yet awake. He entered the house, placed a portion of the breakfast on the dining table, then walked into the empty master bedroom to get two sets of Professor Cheng's clothes before leaving in a hurry.

Back at the hotel, he knocked on the old mage's door and handed him the clothes and breakfast. "My clothes would look very strange on you. These are my dad's old clothes; if you don't mind, please wear them for a couple of days. This is breakfast; I don't know if you'll be used to it."

As he spoke, Cheng Yun looked the old mage up and down and said, "They might be a bit short on you, but not by much."

Professor Cheng was 1.76 meters tall, which was quite tall for an older generation Southerner. However, this old mage, despite looking ancient, was at least 1.8 meters tall, about the same as Cheng Yun. Fortunately, Professor Cheng was a bit stout, so the clothes were bought a size larger.

The old mage, wearing a patched robe, took the clothes and smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Remember to change into these clothes when you go out. The hotel officially opens today, and I don't know if any guests will come. If anyone sees you wearing your current outfit, they'll probably think you're crazy," Cheng Yun said. "Barring any accidents, I'll hire a cleaner and a cashier in a couple of days. You'd best not reveal yourself in front of them, or it will be very troublesome."

"I understand," the old mage said calmly, looking at him. "This is the attitude and tone needed, a conversation as equals, to tell future guests what should and shouldn't be done."

"..." Cheng Yun directly closed the door.

This old mage must have been an instructor at the magic academy in his youth!

He laid out a red carpet at the entrance. The flower baskets ordered yesterday had also arrived and were placed on both sides of the entrance for good luck.

The city didn't allow firecrackers now, and he had no intention of pretending to scatter confetti. The opening ceremony would probably be like this; pursuing too much grandeur and formality wouldn't help future business much.

Not long after, the old mage came down and sat on the sofa, calmly watching the scene.

Cheng Yun sat at the counter and yawned.

"It seems you didn't sleep well last night," the old mage said with a smile. "Were you too excited?"

"I've had insomnia for a long time. Do you mages have any methods to treat insomnia?" Cheng Yun asked without looking up.

"Many mental magic spells can achieve this, but these spells are at least level two spells, or spells that are strictly regulated by the state and can only be used in special situations with a special license," the old mage said calmly. "There are spells that can make you fall unconscious instantly, spells that can make you lose consciousness, spells that can make you skip a day with just one blink, and spells that can give you a sweet dream. Would you like to try one?"

"Sure," Cheng Yun replied indifferently.

"Which one would you like to try? I'll satisfy you tonight," the old mage said, his voice ancient and his tone calm.

"..." Cheng Yun was silent for a moment. "I want the kind that doesn't involve dreams, preferably one that lets me sleep until dawn. To be honest, I haven't had a good night's sleep in over ten days."

"I understand," the old mage nodded, then turned to look around. "An inn should allow people to rest well. In our world, every inn has devices that can soothe the mind and improve sleep quality. I can set one up for your inn as well. Since no one else will be able to sense it, consider it my room and board fee and an opening gift!"

"Huh?" Cheng Yun was taken aback. "There's such a thing?"

"In our world, it's a very simple thing," the old mage said, turning to look at the wall. "I'll set up a magic circle for you."

"Then thank you."

Around nine o'clock, much to Cheng Yun's surprise, people started arriving one after another with flower baskets to congratulate him.

He quickly went out to greet them.

At first, the owners of the supermarket and restaurant on either side saw the flower baskets and, wanting to maintain good relations, brought a small, inexpensive flower basket to offer their congratulations. Then came the colleagues of Professor Cheng and Professor An, the lecturers and professors from Yizhou University. Cheng Yun had some impression of them. Following them were about a dozen students, whom Cheng Yun guessed were students from Professor Cheng's or Professor An's classes, or graduate students.

Soon, a large area in front of the hotel was filled with flower baskets, giving the impression that 'this boss clearly has a wide network of connections.'

No one stayed long. They offered their congratulations, had a cup of water. Some reminisced about Cheng Yun's parents and sat down for a chat, while others left without saying much.

It wasn't until eleven o'clock that Cheng Yan slowly arrived from one end of the street, riding a Mobike bicycle.

A mini flower basket was placed in the front basket of the bicycle.

Cheng Yun stood at the entrance, looking at her expressionlessly.

Cheng Yan stopped her bike by the roadside, locked it, and then walked over with the small flower basket. She frowned as she looked at the array of flower baskets at the entrance, which clearly didn't look cheap, and then looked up at Cheng Yun. "You don't need to buy so many just to put on a show! You have no sense of thrift!"

"These were sent by teachers and students from the school," Cheng Yun said expressionlessly, then glanced at the small flower basket in her hand. "I can see you're quite thrifty."

"About that," Cheng Yan said lightly, casually placing the small flower basket on the ground.

It was clearly the cheapest assortment of flowers in the most modest basket, a genuine woven bamboo basket filled with miscellaneous flowers, not an exquisitely decorated display basket for an opening. Cheng Yun estimated that the flower basket could be bought for twenty to thirty yuan at most, and Cheng Yan might have even shopped around and bargained.

Cheng Yan pushed open the door to the hotel lobby and immediately saw the old mage sitting on the sofa. Frowning, she looked at Cheng Yun and asked in a low voice, "Who is this...?"

"A guest," Cheng Yun replied irritably.

"Already have a guest so soon!" Cheng Yan looked at the old mage again. "That's quite auspicious."

The old mage nodded at her. "Hello, young lady."

"Hello," Cheng Yan also smiled faintly, then her gaze became somewhat suspicious as she scrutinized him, her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" the Old Mage asked with a kind smile.

"To be honest, it's quite a coincidence. My dad used to have a shirt very similar to that one you're wearing..." Cheng Yan said, astonished. "And a pair of pants exactly the same, uh, and even a pair of shoes that are identical!"

"..." The Old Mage's expression froze for a moment, then he smiled faintly. "What a coincidence."

"You might not believe me, but it's true!" Cheng Yan insisted. "Because the back pocket of my dad's pants had a tear in it. My mom was out on business that day, so I helped him sew it up... it wasn't very neat, so I remember it vividly."

The Old Mage on the sofa leaned back slightly against the cushions, his movements a little unnatural.

Cheng Yun felt incredibly awkward, his face almost turning red. "Let's not dwell on these coincidences. You should explain to me first, I gave you two hundred yuan, and you bring me this?"

Cheng Yan turned her head, looking at him with a serious expression. "A goose feather sent from a thousand miles away, the gift is light, but the sentiment is heavy."

"How much was the flower basket then?"

"Two hundred."

"How much, exactly?"

"Twenty-five."

"..." Cheng Yun was speechless and changed the subject. "You should have submitted your college applications by now, right? Have you decided which school to apply to? What major?"

"Please, just mind your own business!" Cheng Yan frowned, displeased. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't talk to me like you're my parent."

"..." Cheng Yun felt helpless. In front of the Old Mage, he felt a bit embarrassed again. "What are we having for lunch then?"

"Maocai, Malatang!" Cheng Yan replied without hesitation. "You don't have time to cook either, let's order delivery."

Cheng Yun promptly ordered delivery, and secretly ordered a portion for the Old Mage as well. He felt it might be awkward to invite the Old Mage and Cheng Yan to eat together. A day or two might be fine, but they couldn't eat together every day. However, the Old Mage expressed his understanding.

In the afternoon, he printed a recruitment notice and posted it outside, and also published the recruitment information online. Then he sat at the counter, drowsy, waiting for customers.

Cheng Yan went home after lunch, estimating she would spend the entire day lying down.

At four in the afternoon, a "Hello" woke him from his slumber. Cheng Yun looked up and saw a young couple standing in front of him. The guy was quite handsome, and the girl was petite and cute.

"Hello," he said, quickly rousing himself. "Sorry, I was dozing off this afternoon."

"Do you have any rooms available now?" the girl asked, her voice sweet and polite.

"Yes, we do."

"What are the prices?"

"The prices are all here," Cheng Yun pointed to the price list behind him. "But we support group buying, it's much cheaper online. Standard single rooms and twin rooms are one hundred and twenty. We also have business rooms, deluxe rooms, and themed rooms."

"Oh?" The girl opened Meituan. "Is it Meituan?"

"Yes, Meituan included," Cheng Yun said. "We just opened, so everything is new."

The couple looked at the pictures and decisively booked a themed couple's single room online, staying for three consecutive days without any hesitation.

This single guy was heartbroken.

But no matter what, this was the first order of business. Cheng Yun handled their check-in with a very good attitude. As he handed them the room card, he said, "If you have any problems, please come find me. If you need any help, just say the word. The washing machine is free to use, and if you need more hangers, just let me know."

The girl held the boy's arm, leaning on him like a little bird, and smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

Cheng Yun's eyes welled up with tears. "If you enjoy your stay, please leave us a good review."

The Anju Hotel's price list wasn't inflated like many other hotels; the prices were realistic. But currently, there were few guests, and it was indeed much cheaper online. Moreover, the website would take a commission, earning even less. Cheng Yun was thinking that it would be best to start off well with the first transaction, especially since many people online were hesitant to try products with no transaction history or reviews.

A good review would make a difference.