First Time

The First Time

Naturally, Cheng Yun did not sleep well.

He had not slept well for more than ten days, but the sleep quality last night was especially poor.

The spacetime node, the old mage, and the out-of-world travelers who might pop out at any moment all made him feel exceptionally upset and flustered. Tricky, thrilled, uneasy, and excited—various emotions surged back and forth in his mind, causing him to toss and turn until he finally drifted into a deep sleep very late.

Cheng Yun thought a lot.

He had never imagined that he would have a day where he could change the fate of Earth at any moment; he only wanted to live out this life plainly. He would definitely not act as a babysitter for those time-travelers, at most acting as a somewhat special hotel manager.

After falling asleep, he had a dream.

In the dream there were many tall mountains, layer upon layer, and many rivers flowing into the sea, as if he had changed his perspective, walked through countless unfamiliar roads, and seen countless magnificent sceneries.

Just as the sky was turning bright, he was woken up by the alarm clock.

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

Naturally, Cheng Yan was not awake yet. He entered the door, placed one portion of the breakfast on the dining table, then walked into the empty master bedroom to take two sets of Professor Cheng's clothes, and then left in a flurry.

Returning to the hotel, he knocked on the old mage's door and handed the clothes and breakfast over. "My clothes will look very strange on you. These are my dad's old clothes; if you don't mind, just take them and wear them for a couple of days. This is breakfast—I don't know if you'll be used to eating it or not."

As he spoke, Cheng Yun looked the old mage up and down, saying, "You might look a bit short in them, but it shouldn't be too far off."

Professor Cheng stood one meter seventy-six tall, which was considered quite tall among the older generation of southerners, but this old mage, looking aged, was at least one meter eighty tall, about the same as Cheng Yun. Fortunately, Professor Cheng had a somewhat bulky build, so the clothes were bought a bit larger.

Wearing a patched robe, the old mage took the clothes and smiled as he said, "Many thanks."

"You're welcome. Remember to change your clothes when you go out. The hotel officially opens for business today, and I don't know if any guests will come. If you let others see you wearing your current outfit, they'll probably take you for a lunatic," Cheng Yun said. "Barring any accidents, in a couple of days I'll be hiring a cleaning lady and a cashier. You'd better not slip up in front of her, or it'll be very troublesome."

"I know." The old mage looked at him calmly and said again, "This is the exact attitude and tone needed right now—this kind of egalitarian dialogue tells future visitors what should be done and what shouldn't."

*...* Cheng Yun shut the door directly.

When this old mage was young, he was probably a tutor at a magic academy!

He laid out a red carpet at the entrance, and the several flower baskets ordered yesterday had also arrived, placed on both sides of the doorway to bring some good luck.

Nowadays people in the city didn't dare set off firecrackers, and he had no plans to fake scattering colored paper either; opening for business would pretty much just be like this. Overpursuing pageantry and form wouldn't help future business much anyway.

Not long after, the old mage walked down, sat on the sofa, and calmly watched this scene.

Cheng Yun sat in front of the counter and yawned.

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

"I've had insomnia for quite a while. Do you mages have any methods to cure insomnia?" Cheng Yun asked without raising his head.

"Many mental spells can accomplish this, but those spells are at least tier-two spells, or spells strictly regulated by the state to be used only with special licenses in special occasions," the old mage said very calmly. "There are ones that can make you pass out instantly, ones that can make you lose consciousness, ones that can make you close and open your eyes to fast-forward through an entire day, and ones that can let you have a sweet, pleasant dream. Would you like to try?"

"Sure," Cheng Yun replied indifferently.

"Which kind would you like to try? I'll satisfy you tonight." The old mage's voice was old, his tone calm.

*...* Cheng Yun was silent for a moment. "I want the kind without dreams, preferably one that lets me sleep straight through until bright morning. To not keep it from you, I haven't had a good night's sleep in over ten days."

"Understandable." The old mage nodded, then turned his head to look around. "An inn should let people rest properly. In our world, every inn has devices that make people feel comfortable and calm while increasing sleep quality. I can arrange one for your hotel as well. Anyway, others won't be able to sense it; consider it the room rent for staying here and a grand-opening gift for you!"

"Huh?" Cheng Yun was startled. "There's this kind of thing?"

"In our world, it belongs to the category of very simple things." The old mage muttered as he turned his head to eye the wall. "I'll set up a magic array for you."

"Then many thanks."

At around nine o'clock, contrary to Cheng Yun's expectations, people actually arrived one after another carrying flower baskets to show their support.

He hurriedly went out to receive them.

First, the owners of the supermarket and restaurant on the left and right sides saw him displaying flowers and, based on the stance of maintaining good relations, brought over a cheap little flower basket to offer a few words of congratulations. Next came Professor Cheng and Professor An's colleagues—meaning professors and lecturers from Yizhou University; Cheng Yun had some impression of them. Then there were also a dozen students whom Cheng Yun guessed were students or graduate students in Professor Cheng's or Professor An's classes.

For a time, flower baskets were actually arrayed in a massive patch at the hotel entrance, giving people a sense of this boss clearly has very extensive interpersonal relationships.

No one stayed long. They offered a couple of congratulatory remarks, drank a cup of water; some people would reminisce about Cheng Yun's parents and sit down to say a few words, while others said nothing at all and simply left.

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

A miniature flower basket was placed in the bicycle's front basket.

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

Cheng Yan parked the bicycle by the roadside, locked it, and then walked over carrying the miniature flower basket. She frowned as she looked at the patch of flower baskets by the door that clearly didn't look cheap, and then looked up at Cheng Yun, saying, "You didn't need to buy so many just to put on a show! You have no idea how to be thrifty at all!"

"These were sent by teachers and students from the university," Cheng Yun said expressionlessly, then glanced at the small flower basket in her hand. "It's clear that you're quite thrifty, though."

"It's alright," Cheng Yan said indifferently, casually placing the miniature flower basket on the ground—

That was strikingly the cheapest miscellaneous-flower arrangement among all the flower baskets, in the smallest basket. It was genuinely a bamboo-woven basket holding some miscellaneous flowers rather than an exquisite decorative flower basket meant for a grand opening. Cheng Yun guessed this flower basket could be bought for twenty or thirty yuan at most; perhaps Cheng Yan had even shopped around at three different stores and haggled over the price.

Cheng Yan pushed the door open and walked into the hotel lobby, instantly catching sight of 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 ungraciously.

"There are guests already so soon!" Cheng Yan glanced at the old mage again. "It's quite auspicious, though."

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

"Hello." Cheng Yan also smiled indifferently, and then her gaze sized him up with some suspicion, furrowing her brows.

"What is it?" The old mage asked with a benign smile.

"To tell you the truth, we really have an affinity. My dad used to have a piece of clothing very similar to the one you're wearing..." Cheng Yan was very astonished. "And an identical pair of trousers—uh, you even have an identical pair of shoes!"

*...* The old mage's expression stiffened for a moment, and then he smiled slightly. "What a coincidence."

"Don't you go not believing it, this is true!" Cheng Yan said. "Because a rip was cut into the back of the seat of my dad's trousers, and that day my mom went out to take care of business, so I was the one who helped him sew it. I sewed it... not very nicely, so it's fresh in my memory."

The old mage sitting on the sofa leaned back slightly against the sofa back, his movements somewhat unnatural.

Cheng Yun was the one who was incomparably awkward, his face nearly turning red. "Stop dwelling on these coincidences. You should explain to me first: I gave you two hundred yuan, and you brought this sort of thing over?"

Hearing this, Cheng Yan turned her head and looked at him with a completely earnest face. "A goose feather sent from afar—the gift is light, but the sentiment is heavy."

"How much was that flower basket?"

"Two hundred."

"How much, really?"

"Twenty-five."

*...* Cheng Yun was speechless, shifting the topic. "You should be filling out your college application choices now, right? Have you figured out which school you're applying to? What major?"

"Do me a favor and just mind your own business!" Cheng Yan frowned with displeasure. "How many times do I have to say it—don't talk to me using a parent's attitude."

*...* Cheng Yun was quite helpless; right in front of the old mage, he felt somewhat awkward again. "Then what are we eating for lunch?"

"Maocai, spicy hot pot!" Cheng Yan said without a single moment of hesitation. "You don't have time to go back and cook either; just order takeout."

Cheng Yun very decisively ordered takeout, and secretly ordered a portion for the old mage as well. He felt that calling the old mage and Cheng Yan to eat together might be a bit awkward to explain—a day or two would be fine, but they couldn't possibly eat together every single day. Still, the old mage also expressed that he understood very well.

In the afternoon, he printed out a recruitment notice and posted it outside, also publishing job postings online. Then he sat at the counter half-asleep, waiting for guests to arrive.

Cheng Yan went back after finishing her lunch, figuring she would lie down at home for a whole day.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, a "hello" roused him from his drowsiness. When Cheng Yun raised his head, he saw a young couple standing in front of him; the guy was quite handsome, and the girl belonged to the petite and cute type.

"Hello." He hurriedly roused his spirit and said, "Sorry, I dozed off in the afternoon and fell asleep."

"Excuse me, do you have rooms available right now?" the girl asked, her voice very sweet and polite.

"Yes, we do."

"May I ask what the price range is?"

"The prices are all right here." Cheng Yun pointed to the price list behind him. "However, we support group-buying; it's much cheaper online. Ordinary single rooms and standard rooms are both one hundred twenty, and we also have business rooms, deluxe rooms, and themed rooms."

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

"Yes, including Meituan," Cheng Yun said. "We just opened for business, so everything in the rooms is brand new."

The two looked at the pictures and decisively booked a couples-themed single room online, and furthermore stayed for three consecutive days without any hesitation.

The single dog was brutally abused.

No matter what, though, this was still the very first business transaction of the opening. With a very good attitude, Cheng Yun processed their check-in procedure, and when handing them the room card, even said, "If you have any questions, feel free to come find me, and don't hesitate to ask if you need any help. The washing machine is provided free of charge, and you can also tell me if you don't have enough clothes hangers."

The girl linked her arm through the guy's, acting bird-like and dependent, and smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

Cheng Yun wept tears of gratitude. If you stay comfortably, please leave a good review.

The price list of Anju Hotel was not randomly and falsely inflated like many other hotels, but was instead an honest price. However, with few guests right now, booking online was indeed much cheaper, and the website would also take a commission fee, leaving him with even less earnings. Cheng Yun also figured that the first transaction had better get off to a good start; after all, the purchasing habit of many people online was not to easily try commodities with zero transaction records and reviews.

Having a good review was a different story.