Out with the Old, In with the New

"So that's how it is..."

"Fine, then I'll leave my car parked outside your dealership for now."

"If you don't dare move it, then you can at least keep an eye on it, right?"

"Don't worry. Once I've dealt with today's business, I'll come back and pick it up myself."

"Um..."

The saleswoman hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. We'll watch over it for you."

"But you need to come back and collect it as soon as possible. I'm worried something might happen if it stays here too long."

"If that happens, we'll be in a difficult position too. I hope you can understand us ordinary people, sir."

"Alright, it's settled, then."

"But you can relax too. With the price of that car, no one would dare set their sights on it."

"Of course, I'll come back to pick it up as soon as I'm done."

Seeing that she had agreed, Lin Chen nodded happily.

Without lingering any longer, he drove his newly purchased Volkswagen Phaeton away.

However, not long after he drove the Volkswagen Phaeton out of the 4S dealership, his phone suddenly rang.

Beep, beep, beep—

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Lin, Lin Chen?"

"Yes, that's me. And you are...?"

"Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm Chen Liming, the lobby manager of the Zhonghai Emperor International Hotel."

"Here's the situation: since you spent a huge sum to acquire one hundred percent of our hotel's shares, we would like to invite you to inspect the hotel."

"Of course, the time is entirely up to you."

"Whenever you're free to come, you can come. At that time, we'll gather all of the hotel staff to give you a warm welcome."

Zhonghai Emperor International Hotel?

Hearing what was said over the phone, Lin Chen finally remembered.

When he had opened the treasure chest, the system had awarded him one hundred percent ownership of the Zhonghai Emperor International Hotel. He was now their big boss.

What puzzled him, though, was that they usually called immediately after an award was issued.

Why had they only called now, after he had been enjoying himself for so long?

"Alright, I'll be there right away."

"Oh, and notify your General Manager. Starting today, the hotel is not to receive any outside guests for the time being."

"My friend is holding a class reunion tonight. His name is Cheng Gang, so make the arrangements immediately."

"And remember this: you don't know me. Don't screw this up."

"Yes, sir."

After hanging up, Lin Chen finally let out a breath of relief.

Just as he was about to drive to the Zhonghai Emperor International Hotel, however, he noticed a problem.

"Hm? Why did my phone suddenly receive so many text messages?"

Looking at the string of ellipses and numbers that had suddenly appeared in his messages, Lin Chen was confused.

Even Lin Chen himself had no idea exactly how many messages there were.

He only knew that his message inbox was currently displaying an alarming red number.

Unread messages: 999*

He casually opened one and found that they were all missed-call notifications.

"No way. My phone was clearly on, so why couldn't the calls get through? Is it broken?"

"Looks like I'll have to replace it with a new phone after a while."

Looking at the Xiaomi phone in his hand, Lin Chen felt somewhat conflicted.

This Xiaomi phone had been with him for a full six years.

After using it for so long, he naturally felt reluctant to part with it now that it had suddenly broken.

Still, it was only a little reluctance. Now that he had money, buying a new one would not hurt at all.

Besides, didn't the old ancestors have a rather philosophical saying?

Out with the old, in with the new. If people spent their entire lives dwelling on nostalgia, how would technology ever advance?

Therefore, for the sake of society's flourishing technological development, Lin Chen decided that he was definitely replacing this phone.

And he had to replace it with a more high-end, more expensive phone.

As for what exactly he would buy, he could only think about it after the class reunion was over.

Zhonghai Emperor International Hotel.

At this moment, after Chen Liming, the hotel's lobby manager, hung up on Lin Chen, he was frantic with anxiety.

There was no other reason: their General Manager, Chu Ying, had taken leave today and could not be reached by phone.

On top of that, news of the share transfer had come so suddenly that it left him agonized.

"Whatever. With General Manager Chu absent, I'll just have to take this on myself."

Chen Liming gritted his teeth and made up his mind. Then, through the internal intercom, he summoned all hotel employees to assemble.

Very quickly, the hotel staff who had originally been scattered throughout the building all gathered in the first-floor lobby.

Once he saw that every employee had arrived, Chen Liming announced the matter.

"We've just received special news: the ownership of our Emperor Hotel has changed hands."

"In other words, the chairman of our Emperor Hotel has been replaced."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was stunned, followed by waves of incredulous discussion.

Seeing this, Chen Liming hurriedly raised a hand to quiet them before continuing.

"I know all of you have many questions and are shocked right now. Naturally, that includes me as well."

"But like it or not, this is the truth."

"More importantly, our chairman will be arriving at the hotel shortly."

"So you'd all better stay sharp. Don't make any mistakes."

"Oh, and there's another important matter I need to tell everyone."

"Today, our hotel will not receive any outside guests at all. We will only receive someone named Cheng Gang."

"This person is special because he is the chairman's classmate. He will be coming to the hotel for a class reunion."

As he spoke, Chen Liming specifically showed everyone the identity information and photos of Lin Chen and Cheng Gang that he had received on his phone.

After everyone had looked at them and committed them to memory, he continued.

"One final point that everyone must remember: the chairman specifically instructed us to pretend that we do not know him."

"The reason I showed you the chairman's photo is, first, so that everyone can meet the boss we'll be working for from now on."

"Second, although the chairman wants us to pretend we don't know him, we must understand something in our hearts."

"As for Cheng Gang's photo, it was so that you could recognize him too, lest you fail to understand tonight's priority."

At this point, Chen Liming paused abruptly. He then swept his gaze across the crowd before continuing.

"I want to emphasize one thing here."

"Whether the chairman wants us to recognize him or not, we must serve our big boss with the highest-quality service and smiles."

"So when you are serving him later, you must pay special attention to the chairman's needs, including anything he instructs you to handle."

"That is everything for today. Do you all understand?"

"If anyone has any questions, ask them immediately."

"Otherwise, if anything goes wrong later, I'll hold you accountable."