So he didn't have to greet the people on the sofa. That couldn't have been better!
Chi Yining was very pleased, and even his steps grew lighter.
Following the staff member up the stairs, Chi Yining lifted the bulky suitcase lightly with one hand and reached the second floor without any effort.
At a corner without cameras, the staff member stopped. "Hello, could I ask your name? The rooms have all been assigned already, and I forgot to ask you downstairs."
After speaking, the female staff member pushed up her glasses.
"Chi Yining."
"Huh? What? I didn't catch that. Could you say it again?"
"Chi Yining."
He looked down at the staff member's disbelieving expression as she stood rooted to the spot, as if turned to stone.
Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Chi Yining said nothing either.
The staff member remained silent for over a minute.
She took a deep breath. "Follow me."
Chi Yining felt nothing about the drastic change in her attitude.
He would only get more cold looks in the future anyway. He had no time to pay attention to such things. People couldn't always live under the weight of what others thought.
It was clear that the staff member had originally intended to put him on the conveniently located second floor.
Now she went up another floor and led him to the room tucked into the farthest corner at the very end.
Looking up, he saw that even the cameras installed in the hallway would have trouble covering this spot. They could practically capture neither his doorway nor the one opposite.
This suited him perfectly! Chi Yining felt a little burst of happiness. After all, meals and lodging were both provided here.
But they might film three episodes in one location and stay for about fifteen days.
Fifteen days was enough for him to do plenty of things. He could even use his tablet for some freelance work.
The original owner had intended to give this tablet, which cost over ten thousand, to Gu Chengyuan. Even if he had managed to give it to him, Gu Chengyuan might have passed it on to someone else.
"The room's default passcode is 123456. You can change it by following the instructions posted above. It's a single room with a shower and toilet." The staff member left after finishing expressionlessly.
That sounded pretty good to Chi Yining. He just didn't know whether there were cameras inside. If there were, he would simply cover them. He wanted to take a nap right away.
Filming hadn't started yet anyway.
After changing the passcode, Chi Yining entered the room and looked around. It was no different from an ordinary hotel room, with grayish-brown wallpaper and ceiling. The bed was probably 2.2 by 2.2 meters, fitted with a pure white four-piece bedding set.
The bathroom was partitioned off with frosted green glass.
The bathroom was reasonably clean.
Walking back to the bed, he noticed a camera to the left of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He picked up the blue decorative runner on the bed and wrapped the camera tightly. Only after making sure not even a corner was exposed did Chi Yining take off his mask.
He switched on the air conditioner using the wall controls and set the temperature.
Chi Yining then took the tablet out of the square yellow paper bag in his suitcase.
He made a whole ritual of unboxing it on the blue-gray fabric sofa. Unboxing electronics in particular was what Chi Yining found most enjoyable.
Inside the white cardboard packaging was a completely black 10.2-inch tablet. Well, the size would just about do. It also came with a capacitive stylus.
Power on, register an account, log in.
Chi Yining proceeded methodically, searching online for platforms where he could take commissions. He found the YOYO Platform, a commission platform teeming with great gods, and registered an account.
Worried he wouldn't get any commissions, he also registered a merchant account on Moubao and filled in his details: "Accepting commissions. Prices negotiable."
Done. Time for a nap. I'll draw later...
And so, without showering, he lay down on the sofa and soon fell asleep from exhaustion.
Meanwhile, when Director Feng heard the staff member say that this was actually Chi Yining, he fell silent.
Sitting in his chair, he pulled a cigarette from its pack and held it between his lips.
With a grave expression, he watched room eight's obstructed view.
Chi Yining wasn't acting normal today... Was he preparing some big move? Would it be a move he could withstand?