Darting a quick glance down toward at his jeans and white t-shirt, Fang Cheng Ran bolted into the front office at the speed of light.
Inside, Director Huang looked up from his work in astonishment. "Young Master Fang, what can I do for you?"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Fang Cheng Ran gestured to him. Ever so gently, he cracked open the door and peeked into the hall.
Outside, Yang Wei and Sheng Lei walked down the stairs. Sheng Lei was laughing, "You're seriously made to be a teacher! You can't help but teach even in your private life!"
Cheeks red, Yang Wei raised her hands to fan herself. "Ugh-- I've been holding back so long in school, I just let myself go." What a pity she hadn't managed to have enough lunch.
"You've got it hard." Sheng Lei grinned, then whispered, "Are you agitated right now because of Qi Xiao Yan?"
"No!"
"No? Then why did you cut your hair all of a sudden?"
Yang Wei looked at her oddly. "O Great Lawyer Sheng, do you care more about a cheating bastard, or whether I cut my hair?"1
"Alright, alright." Sheng Lei held up her hands in surrender. "But I know you're still in love with that guy."
Yang Wei raised a brow, but did not answer. Her friend eyed her. "Honestly, after having seen so many assholes in my career, I feel like Qi Xiao Yan isn't actually all that bad. Have you ever thought about remarrying him?”
Yang Wei snorted. “Would you take that case?”
Sheng Lei spread her hands. “Well, I'm just asking. ”
The two made their way into the lobby. Fishing out her car keys, Sheng Lei told her, "Why don't you hang out here for a bit and wait for me while I fetch the car? We can go somewhere else and keep eating."
"Sounds good," Yang Wei nodded, seating herself on a sofa. Ever so gently, Fang Cheng Ran closed the door and frowned, deep in thought.
Ever since that kiss, he had not contacted Yang Wei again. Now, here, right in front of him, was an opportunity to resolve the issue. He couldn't just sit there and waste it.
Raising his head, he caught sight of Director Huang tapping away behind the computer.
Every hair on Director Huang’s skin stood erect, and he unconsciously shrank into his seat. “What... what is it?”
Fang Cheng Ran suddenly smiled at him in a very charming manner, leaning forward slightly with his hands on the table. "Would you take off your clothes?"
Director Huang: "..."
He could imagine the mythical scene of the waters of the Yellow River flowing out from Heaven, but never in his wildest dreams had he ever entertained the thought that young, wealthy, bachelor Fang actually... liked men!
He hugged his arms to his chest nervously and asked timidly, "What... what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to have you take off your clothes." A smile on his face, Fang Cheng Ran stepped closer ever so slowly. The pressure drove Director Huang to the brink of collapse. He peeled off his suit jacket and handed it over.
"The pants too."
"..."
Director Huang collapsed.
When Fang Cheng Ran stepped out from the front office in Director Huang's suit, Yang Wei was still sitting on the sofa nearby, eyes glued to her phone. Adjusting the collar of his shirt, Fang Cheng Ran revealed a smile and headed over in her direction.
"What a coincidence to see you here." His voice was very clear, like a flower blooming quietly in the spring, laden with the warmth of affection. Seeing him, Yang Wei got to her feet in some haste. "Fang Cheng Ran, I didn't expect to meet you here! Are you working?"
"Mmhmm." His smile was just enough to put her at ease. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Yang Wei replied, "Oh, I'm just here to have lunch with a friend. She's picking up the car right now."
"So that's how it is." Just as he was plucking up the courage to ask her to a movie, the front office supervisor rushed over in a panic.
"Director Huang, we've got a problem! The front office staff and the housekeeping staff are in a huge quarrel again! Manager Xu asked me to come get you--" When the supervisor arrived at Fang Cheng Ran's side, her mouth fell open. How on earth had Director Huang suddenly gotten so handsome in the space of a morning?!
Carefully looking him up and down, she finally recognized him as the youngest son of the chairman, and stood there at a loss.
Yang Wei was still watching. Fang Cheng Ran could only plaster a smile on his face. Well, as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. "No worries. Take a breath and speak slowly."
The front office supervisor opened and closed her mouth a few times, like a goldfish, but not a word came out of her mouth. Instead, Yang Wei asked, "Why did she call you Director Huang?"
...
Fang Cheng Ran took in a deep breath of his own, turned to Yang Wei, and bathed her in his most winning smile. "Her Mandarin isn't quite the standard version. She's supposed to address me as 'Director Fang'". When he was done talking, he shot a glance toward the supervisor, who immediately bobbed her head. "Yes, yes, yes, I'm supposed to address him as Director Fang!"
Fang Cheng Ran smiled in satisfaction. "You just said that the front office and the housekeeping department quarreled. What's going on?”
“Oh, yes! The guests in Room 1818 are requesting Western food at six in the morning. The housekeeping department says that reception should deliver the food. The front desk says that housekeeping should deliver the food. Now they're both up in arms in Manager Xu's office!”
Fang Cheng Ran’s brows rose. The hotel did not generally provide Western food in the morning. Such wayward guests must be a platinum member of the hotel.
Eyes on the supervisor, he asked, "Aren't the restaurant waiters generally the ones responsible for the meal delivery?"
"They are," she replied, "But the western restaurant usually isn't open that early. The restaurant's Manager Yao called in a chef to come in early and make breakfast for the guest, but had us solve the delivery aspect. In fact, this isn't the first time such a thing has happened - the last time, the front desk staff delivered the meal, so when they asked us to shoulder it again this time, everyone felt slighted. That's how the quarrel started.”
“Since Manager Yao was willing to call in a chef, will he also call in a waiter?"
The supervisor sighed. "No waiter in the western restaurant is willing to come in that early. The catering department is the largest department in the hotel, and Manager Yao is proud and competitive. He would hardly be willing to concede the matter."
Fang Cheng Ran frowned and thought for a moment, then told her. "If this situation ever arises again, then let the most beautiful employee in the housekeeping and front desk departments take care of the delivery."
The supervisor blinked. Then she nodded. "I'll let them know."
She clicked away on her high heels. Yang Wei smiled at Fang Cheng Ran. "You're quite a good director. This way, even when the chosen employee is doing a task that wasn't originally part of their duties, there will still be that inexplicable feeling of receiving an honour."
Fang Cheng Ran contrived a cough and adjusted his suit a little. "Well, in the end, we're all on the same team. We can't just mind our own business and not look out for our neighbours."
Yang Wei grinned. "Director Fang, what striking literary grace."
When Qi Xiao Yan knocked on the door to room 1817, the distinctive tap-tapping sounds of high heels approached. The door opened, and Auntie Zhao’s face peered out behind the door.
"Auntie Zhao, I'm here to take you to the airport."
With a smile on her face, Auntie Zhao invited him in. "Wait just a minute, I'm almost done packing."
Qi Xiao Yan nodded and stood aside silently. After everything had been packed into the suitcase, the phone on the table rang. "Hello. No, not yet. Didn't we already agree on that? Alright, I understand."
She hung up the phone, and looked at Qi Xiao Yan in some embarrassment. "Things have changed a little. I may have to stay here another couple days to wrap things up. Sorry you had to run over for nothing."
Not even his brow moved. "It doesn't matter. Do you need me to help you extend your stay?"
Auntie Zhao shook her head. "No, I can do that myself. Have you had lunch yet? Let me make it up to you by treating you to something."
Qi Xiao Yan smiled. "Don't worry about it. I actually have to go back to the school, so I won't be able to join you."
"Sounds good." Auntie Zhao did not retain him, so he said goodbye and left the room.
Right at that moment, the door to room 1818 was opening, and when the occupant emerged, they both halted at their doors.
“Professor Qi?” Song Jin straightened the sunglasses on her face, and gazed at him in some surprise. “How did you come to be here too?”
Qi Xiao Yan nodded to her on his way to the elevator: “A friend of my mother is staying here."
"What a coincidence!" Song Jin followed him into the elevator with a smile. "My house is being renovated, so I'm just temporarily staying here for now. I should be able to move back home in a couple days. Perhaps you'll come over for dinner then?"
Qi Xiao Yan made no response to that. Song Jin puzzled over whether this meant that he had agreed or not.
The elevator door opened with a ding. Outside, the front office supervisor bowed politely to them and waited for them to exit the elevator before entering. Song Jin pulled her hat a little lower and walked out beside Qi Xiao Yan. As they entered the lobby, however, Qi Xiao Yan halted in his tracks. Puzzled, Song Jin peered forward to see a man and a woman standing together at the front desk, talking and laughing.
The man had his back to her, so she couldn't see his face, but the laughing woman she remembered - although her hairstyle had changed, it was Qi Xiao Yan's ex-wife.
Yang Wei also spotted Qi Xiao Yan at that moment, and her smile froze on her face. And that woman next to him in sunglasses and a hat... though dressed in a very low-key manner, it was Song Jin!
After a moment of hesitation, Qi Xiao Yan walked toward the front desk without a word. Song Jin moved to follow. Feeling the change in Yang Wei's emotions, Fang Cheng Ran turned around to follow her line of sight. As his gaze met that of Qi Xiao Yan, the air around them seem to burst with a crackling sound.
“What are you doing here?” Qi Xiao Yan asked. Though his face was calm, the words made those around them feel like the pressure was dropping rapidly. Running her eyes quickly over the four of them, the front desk staff smiled and handed a card to Fang Cheng Ran. "Your room has been arranged, sir. The room number will be 1106. Here is your room card."
The temperature dropped a few more degrees. Qi Xiao Yan looked down at the room card, then looked back up and spoke directly to Yang Wei. "You two are getting a room together?"
At the sight of the man's unpleasant complexion, Fang Cheng Ran’s heart set off firecrackers - dear God! How was it possible that he had such a witty and brilliant employee?! She should get a raise!
Under the approving eyes of Fang Cheng Ran, the smile on the front desk staff's face, became even sweeter.
Yang Wei glanced at Song Jin, who stood beside Qi Xiao Yan, and laughed bitterly in her heart. "And what are the two of you doing here?"
Hearing this, the front desk staff piped up once again, "Sir, are you checking out? Please show me your room card and deposit slip."
Fang Cheng Ran revised his previous thoughts - this lady should be promoted to the front office manager!
Yang Wei really laughed this time. "Oh, so you two are checking out."
Qi Xiao Yan's stoic expression finally twitched, and he couldn't help but grab onto Yang Wei, yanking her out of the hotel.
Darting a quick glance down toward at his jeans and white t-shirt, Fang Cheng Ran bolted into the front office at the speed of light.
Inside, Director Huang looked up from his work in astonishment. "Young Master Fang, what can I do for you?"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Fang Cheng Ran gestured to him. Ever so gently, he cracked open the door and peeked into the hall.
Outside, Yang Wei and Sheng Lei walked down the stairs. Sheng Lei was laughing, "You're seriously made to be a teacher! You can't help but teach even in your private life!"
Cheeks red, Yang Wei raised her hands to fan herself. "Ugh-- I've been holding back so long in school, I just let myself go." What a pity she hadn't managed to have enough lunch.
"You've got it hard." Sheng Lei grinned, then whispered, "Are you agitated right now because of Qi Xiao Yan?"
"No!"
"No? Then why did you cut your hair all of a sudden?"
Yang Wei looked at her oddly. "O Great Lawyer Sheng, do you care more about a cheating bastard, or whether I cut my hair?"1
"Alright, alright." Sheng Lei held up her hands in surrender. "But I know you're still in love with that guy."
Yang Wei raised a brow, but did not answer. Her friend eyed her. "Honestly, after having seen so many assholes in my career, I feel like Qi Xiao Yan isn't actually all that bad. Have you ever thought about remarrying him?”
Yang Wei snorted. “Would you take that case?”
Sheng Lei spread her hands. “Well, I'm just asking. ”
The two made their way into the lobby. Fishing out her car keys, Sheng Lei told her, "Why don't you hang out here for a bit and wait for me while I fetch the car? We can go somewhere else and keep eating."
"Sounds good," Yang Wei nodded, seating herself on a sofa. Ever so gently, Fang Cheng Ran closed the door and frowned, deep in thought.
Ever since that kiss, he had not contacted Yang Wei again. Now, here, right in front of him, was an opportunity to resolve the issue. He couldn't just sit there and waste it.
Raising his head, he caught sight of Director Huang tapping away behind the computer.
Every hair on Director Huang’s skin stood erect, and he unconsciously shrank into his seat. “What... what is it?”
Fang Cheng Ran suddenly smiled at him in a very charming manner, leaning forward slightly with his hands on the table. "Would you take off your clothes?"
Director Huang: "..."
He could imagine the mythical scene of the waters of the Yellow River flowing out from Heaven, but never in his wildest dreams had he ever entertained the thought that young, wealthy, bachelor Fang actually... liked men!
He hugged his arms to his chest nervously and asked timidly, "What... what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to have you take off your clothes." A smile on his face, Fang Cheng Ran stepped closer ever so slowly. The pressure drove Director Huang to the brink of collapse. He peeled off his suit jacket and handed it over.
"The pants too."
"..."
Director Huang collapsed.
When Fang Cheng Ran stepped out from the front office in Director Huang's suit, Yang Wei was still sitting on the sofa nearby, eyes glued to her phone. Adjusting the collar of his shirt, Fang Cheng Ran revealed a smile and headed over in her direction.
"What a coincidence to see you here." His voice was very clear, like a flower blooming quietly in the spring, laden with the warmth of affection. Seeing him, Yang Wei got to her feet in some haste. "Fang Cheng Ran, I didn't expect to meet you here! Are you working?"
"Mmhmm." His smile was just enough to put her at ease. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Yang Wei replied, "Oh, I'm just here to have lunch with a friend. She's picking up the car right now."
"So that's how it is." Just as he was plucking up the courage to ask her to a movie, the front office supervisor rushed over in a panic.
"Director Huang, we've got a problem! The front office staff and the housekeeping staff are in a huge quarrel again! Manager Xu asked me to come get you--" When the supervisor arrived at Fang Cheng Ran's side, her mouth fell open. How on earth had Director Huang suddenly gotten so handsome in the space of a morning?!
Carefully looking him up and down, she finally recognized him as the youngest son of the chairman, and stood there at a loss.
Yang Wei was still watching. Fang Cheng Ran could only plaster a smile on his face. Well, as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. "No worries. Take a breath and speak slowly."
The front office supervisor opened and closed her mouth a few times, like a goldfish, but not a word came out of her mouth. Instead, Yang Wei asked, "Why did she call you Director Huang?"
...
Fang Cheng Ran took in a deep breath of his own, turned to Yang Wei, and bathed her in his most winning smile. "Her Mandarin isn't quite the standard version. She's supposed to address me as 'Director Fang'". When he was done talking, he shot a glance toward the supervisor, who immediately bobbed her head. "Yes, yes, yes, I'm supposed to address him as Director Fang!"
Fang Cheng Ran smiled in satisfaction. "You just said that the front office and the housekeeping department quarreled. What's going on?”
“Oh, yes! The guests in Room 1818 are requesting Western food at six in the morning. The housekeeping department says that reception should deliver the food. The front desk says that housekeeping should deliver the food. Now they're both up in arms in Manager Xu's office!”
Fang Cheng Ran’s brows rose. The hotel did not generally provide Western food in the morning. Such wayward guests must be a platinum member of the hotel.
Eyes on the supervisor, he asked, "Aren't the restaurant waiters generally the ones responsible for the meal delivery?"
"They are," she replied, "But the western restaurant usually isn't open that early. The restaurant's Manager Yao called in a chef to come in early and make breakfast for the guest, but had us solve the delivery aspect. In fact, this isn't the first time such a thing has happened - the last time, the front desk staff delivered the meal, so when they asked us to shoulder it again this time, everyone felt slighted. That's how the quarrel started.”
“Since Manager Yao was willing to call in a chef, will he also call in a waiter?"
The supervisor sighed. "No waiter in the western restaurant is willing to come in that early. The catering department is the largest department in the hotel, and Manager Yao is proud and competitive. He would hardly be willing to concede the matter."
Fang Cheng Ran frowned and thought for a moment, then told her. "If this situation ever arises again, then let the most beautiful employee in the housekeeping and front desk departments take care of the delivery."
The supervisor blinked. Then she nodded. "I'll let them know."
She clicked away on her high heels. Yang Wei smiled at Fang Cheng Ran. "You're quite a good director. This way, even when the chosen employee is doing a task that wasn't originally part of their duties, there will still be that inexplicable feeling of receiving an honour."
Fang Cheng Ran contrived a cough and adjusted his suit a little. "Well, in the end, we're all on the same team. We can't just mind our own business and not look out for our neighbours."
Yang Wei grinned. "Director Fang, what striking literary grace."
When Qi Xiao Yan knocked on the door to room 1817, the distinctive tap-tapping sounds of high heels approached. The door opened, and Auntie Zhao’s face peered out behind the door.
"Auntie Zhao, I'm here to take you to the airport."
With a smile on her face, Auntie Zhao invited him in. "Wait just a minute, I'm almost done packing."
Qi Xiao Yan nodded and stood aside silently. After everything had been packed into the suitcase, the phone on the table rang. "Hello. No, not yet. Didn't we already agree on that? Alright, I understand."
She hung up the phone, and looked at Qi Xiao Yan in some embarrassment. "Things have changed a little. I may have to stay here another couple days to wrap things up. Sorry you had to run over for nothing."
Not even his brow moved. "It doesn't matter. Do you need me to help you extend your stay?"
Auntie Zhao shook her head. "No, I can do that myself. Have you had lunch yet? Let me make it up to you by treating you to something."
Qi Xiao Yan smiled. "Don't worry about it. I actually have to go back to the school, so I won't be able to join you."
"Sounds good." Auntie Zhao did not retain him, so he said goodbye and left the room.
Right at that moment, the door to room 1818 was opening, and when the occupant emerged, they both halted at their doors.
“Professor Qi?” Song Jin straightened the sunglasses on her face, and gazed at him in some surprise. “How did you come to be here too?”
Qi Xiao Yan nodded to her on his way to the elevator: “A friend of my mother is staying here."
"What a coincidence!" Song Jin followed him into the elevator with a smile. "My house is being renovated, so I'm just temporarily staying here for now. I should be able to move back home in a couple days. Perhaps you'll come over for dinner then?"
Qi Xiao Yan made no response to that. Song Jin puzzled over whether this meant that he had agreed or not.
The elevator door opened with a ding. Outside, the front office supervisor bowed politely to them and waited for them to exit the elevator before entering. Song Jin pulled her hat a little lower and walked out beside Qi Xiao Yan. As they entered the lobby, however, Qi Xiao Yan halted in his tracks. Puzzled, Song Jin peered forward to see a man and a woman standing together at the front desk, talking and laughing.
The man had his back to her, so she couldn't see his face, but the laughing woman she remembered - although her hairstyle had changed, it was Qi Xiao Yan's ex-wife.
Yang Wei also spotted Qi Xiao Yan at that moment, and her smile froze on her face. And that woman next to him in sunglasses and a hat... though dressed in a very low-key manner, it was Song Jin!
After a moment of hesitation, Qi Xiao Yan walked toward the front desk without a word. Song Jin moved to follow. Feeling the change in Yang Wei's emotions, Fang Cheng Ran turned around to follow her line of sight. As his gaze met that of Qi Xiao Yan, the air around them seem to burst with a crackling sound.
“What are you doing here?” Qi Xiao Yan asked. Though his face was calm, the words made those around them feel like the pressure was dropping rapidly. Running her eyes quickly over the four of them, the front desk staff smiled and handed a card to Fang Cheng Ran. "Your room has been arranged, sir. The room number will be 1106. Here is your room card."
The temperature dropped a few more degrees. Qi Xiao Yan looked down at the room card, then looked back up and spoke directly to Yang Wei. "You two are getting a room together?"
At the sight of the man's unpleasant complexion, Fang Cheng Ran’s heart set off firecrackers - dear God! How was it possible that he had such a witty and brilliant employee?! She should get a raise!
Under the approving eyes of Fang Cheng Ran, the smile on the front desk staff's face, became even sweeter.
Yang Wei glanced at Song Jin, who stood beside Qi Xiao Yan, and laughed bitterly in her heart. "And what are the two of you doing here?"
Hearing this, the front desk staff piped up once again, "Sir, are you checking out? Please show me your room card and deposit slip."
Fang Cheng Ran revised his previous thoughts - this lady should be promoted to the front office manager!
Yang Wei really laughed this time. "Oh, so you two are checking out."
Qi Xiao Yan's stoic expression finally twitched, and he couldn't help but grab onto Yang Wei, yanking her out of the hotel.
