Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Meeting Lin Zhu’s earnest gaze, Cheng Miao’s mouth twitched. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Of course you have to decide something like that for yourself! As for me, I intend to return.”
Cheng Miao came from a very happy family. They argued and made noise, but they were happy.
That sense of happiness marked a person’s face. No one would question it, just as no one imagined Cheng Miao would choose to stay.
“Then we’ll work hard and clear everything! Let’s go!” Lin Zhu was more childlike than Qi Jiajia. Freed from the burden of schoolwork, he had become much more carefree.
Qi Jiajia thought him childish and chased him down the street, the two creating a lively scene as they ran.
“There’s no need to rush too hard. We’re already advancing faster than most people. We should rest when we need it.” Qin Musong gently reminded Cheng Miao, worried that she might place too much pressure on herself.
Cheng Miao laughed and teased him. “I was about to tell you the same thing. Based on news from reality, time flows differently there and in the Survival Inn. Even if we’re trapped here for decades, only a few months or a year or two may pass outside.”
She stroked the cat’s tail with a delighted expression. “I want to enjoy myself here for a while. I couldn’t stay in rooms this nice every day in reality.”
Cheng Miao adored hotels. A stay at one she loved practically elevated her soul. This place suited her perfectly. She wanted to slowly enjoy a Grand Hotel, a Resort, and a Club as well.
Qin Musong rubbed his nose with an embarrassed smile and looked at Qi Jiajia, who had jumped onto Lin Zhu’s back. “A destination matters, but so does the journey.”
They exchanged an understanding smile.
Qiudong lazily brushed the tip of his tail across Cheng Miao’s face. The young woman’s skin was quite lovely, like silken tofu or a soft mochi dessert, dewy and tender.
Under cover of a stretch, Qiudong pressed one paw pad to Cheng Miao’s cheek. Then, as if nothing had happened, he moved to her other shoulder and lay down.
The moment they returned to the Hotel, Qiudong leaped from Cheng Miao’s shoulder and vanished.
Cheng Miao stretched. Strange. Qiudong had ridden on her all evening, yet her shoulder did not ache. Front Desk attendants truly were remarkable.
Everyone was tired by the time they entered the suite. Cheng Miao took Qi Jiajia’s clothes from her Space Backpack. “Wear these for now. We’ll buy new ones tomorrow.”
Qi Jiajia accepted them unhappily and returned to her room. Cheng Miao wished the other two good night and entered her bedroom.
The Hotel’s facilities were more than twice as good as those at a Guesthouse. Cheng Miao started filling the bathtub.
The shower had powerful, warm water pressure. The shampoo and body wash even carried her preferred woody fragrance. Cheng Miao enjoyed a thorough shower, washing away her fatigue and the smell of hot pot.
By the time she emerged with her hair pinned up, the bath was ready. She dropped a bath bomb from the shelf into the water and watched it turn rainbow-colored. Then she took sparkling water and complimentary strawberries from the mini fridge, arranged them on the bath tray, and climbed in.
Warm water enveloped her. Just as she relaxed in the steam, her phone chimed.
Despite being an old model, the phone had excellent waterproofing and anti-fog protection. Cheng Miao picked it up and found messages in the large player group chat, Players Are Family.
Jiang Qi: We made it back. Thanks for treating us today.
Cheng Miao: A corner of the bathtub with sparkling water.jpg
Lin Zhu: Soft king-size bed.jpg
Qin Musong: Prosperous night view.jpg
Qi Jiajia: Finger covering the camera to express disdain.jpg
Jiang Qi: …That’s too much! I’m leaving this group!
Jiang Hao: Qi, go ahead. I want to keep observing how the upper class lives.
Zhang Hui: Same here… [crying cat emoji]
Jiang Qi: …Now I’m depressed.
Cheng Miao: Li Cheng isn’t too drunk, is he?
Zhang Hui: He’s fine. You can trust our boss to hold his liquor!
Jiang Qi: Of course! He has work tomorrow. If he won’t get up, I’ll dump water on him!
Cheng Miao: …What a tragic story.
Tong Qian: Miaomiao, we found jobs! I signed my contract just now. Bai Jiang found one too. He’ll be delivering food for 700 a day.
Cheng Miao: That’s great! Keep it up!
Bai Jiang: We owe it to you again. That’s one more favor I owe you.
Cheng Miao: We’re friends. You don’t have to keep score. Get some rest.
Cheng Miao had barely left the main group chat when the Looks Are Justice chat started chiming nonstop. She opened it to find Qi Jiajia and Lin Zhu discussing where they should go the next day.
Watching a yandere little girl slowly return to the right path gave Cheng Miao quite a sense of accomplishment.
She also had a private message. The profile picture showed a parrot in a suit, so she tapped it open.
Brother Parrot: Long time no see. I miss you so much, boohoohoo. [crying emoji]
Cheng Miao: Pull yourself together! You’re a mature Front Desk attendant now!
Brother Parrot: …How is Qiudong’s place? Is it fun? I’ll come visit you in a couple of days. Starry City has so much good food! And Qiudong seems to know the owners of tons of places…
Voice message after voice message poured in until Cheng Miao’s dread of audio messages flared up. She converted them all to text and skimmed through them.
Brother Parrot rambled on as if it never got tired, only reaching the important part at the very end.
Brother Parrot: I ran into the Cockroach Brothers yesterday, and you came up. Turns out you started out at their place! They asked for your contact details, so I gave them your number.
Cheng Miao had not expected the world to be so small. She privately wondered if all the Front Desk attendants had their own group chat and occasionally organized team-building events.
Cheng Miao: Okay.
Brother Parrot: My show is about to start. I have to go record it. Remember to watch!
Cheng Miao: …Okay.
At last, the world was quiet. Cheng Miao set her phone aside and took a long, leisurely bath. By the time she got out, her hair was almost dry.
Struggling to keep her eyelids from sticking together, she finished blow-drying her hair, hastily rubbed on some of the Hotel’s complimentary skincare products, and collapsed onto the bed.
She had slept only that afternoon, but the hot pot had been too delicious, the bath too soothing, and the bed too soft. She fell asleep almost instantly.
The Hotel rooms were well soundproofed, so Cheng Miao slept without a care until she woke naturally at eleven.
If she had not already slept through half of the previous day, she suspected she could have slept a full twenty-four hours without waking once.
After washing up, she stepped out of her room to find that Lin Zhu had already brought up breakfast.
Cheng Miao stared at the bowl of glossy small-pot rice noodles, so moved that tears nearly spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Lin Zhu rubbed his hands together like a fussy housekeeper. “They have everything here, but it all seems to be Chinese food.”
Qin Musong had no complaints. Unlike the younger members of the team, he had always preferred Chinese food anyway.
Cheng Miao waved magnanimously. “If you want Western food, we’ll go out and get some!”
Lin Zhu gave two foolish chuckles, exchanged a conspiratorial look with Qi Jiajia, and posted a file in the group chat.
“This is the itinerary Jiajia and I made. Sister Miaomiao, Brother Qin, see if it works for you.”
Slurping her noodles, Cheng Miao opened the file. The schedule was packed: shopping, beauty treatments, an amusement park… Huh? Why was there a gym on the list?
Were they not tired enough inside instances already?!
Cheng Miao, terminally afflicted with laziness, refused.