最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 42
At the exact moment he was thinking this, the doorway’s light flickered and someone walked in. The visitor was a tall, muscular man who nearly blocked out the sun with his huge physique. His face was dark and ominous, like a powerful god, for he was against the light.
He came straight to He An and presented his ID on the desk.
“Check in.”
He An and Cheng Xiu were stunned at the same time.
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One year after leaving Yuanjiang, Cheng Xiu still hasn’t broken his trained obedient habit of standing up, straightening out his waist, and shouting, “Zheng, Mr. Zheng!”
Why in hell didn’t you just go back to Yuanjiang?!
While sleeping, Liubailiu was dramatically thrown to the floor by a force. The little furball furiously clasped onto Cheng Xiu’s pants, hissed, and clawed him.
He An’s smile faded just as quickly, like a summer flower whose vibrant colors were suddenly subdued by an unexpected snowfall. He gave Zheng Feiluan’s ID card a quick look but didn’t accept or reject it; instead, he stayed still behind the counter in silent disagreement.
Cheng Xiu then said, “Uh…”
Why does this particular scene feel a bit familiar?
Did I get caught in the middle again?
He rubbed his hands together, mustered all his courage, and then his heart raced and his breathing became rapid. Still, he finished his words like a firing machine gun, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zheng, but you’ve found us at an awful time. There seems to be something in the air because our inn is fully packed and there’s not a single room available! The nearby inns might be worth a go, though… Uh, I mean, maybe you can consider the inn on the opposite side of the town? From my experience, the further out you go, the more available rooms you can find!”
“It’s fine, I have a reservation.”
With a single sentence, Zheng Feiluan hushed Cheng Xiu’s mouth.
With a complicated look flashing in his dark eyes, he turned to He An, put his fingers together, pressed the ID card, and gently pushed it forward, saying, “Made the booking at eight thirty last night, for a period of one year, in full payment. The agreement was made when you confirmed my reservation at six forty this morning—please check me in.”
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It was him?
That guest… was him?!
He An’s head shot up, his eyes narrowed, and the composure he’d been trying to maintain on the inside collapsed. Cheng Xiu was also stunned that the lollipop in his mouth snapped and fell to the ground.
Just what sort of scheme is this?
He An gritted his teeth together, pushed back the ID card, and let out a response: “No.”
Zheng Feiluan asked, “Why not?”
He asked softly, but that oppressive aura was back.
He An then raised his chin and said clearly and firmly, word by word, “Because I’m not willing to let you stay, because you’re not welcome at the Olive Inn.”
Zheng Feiluan looked down, smiled, and then said, “That is not a valid reason.”
“I’m the person in charge here at the inn. If I say you’re not welcome, then you’re not welcome.”
He An folded his hands into fists.
“No, what I mean is, based on the standard rules of an OTA platform1An online travel agency, or OTA for short, is a website where you can book travel services such as hotels, holiday apartments, and holiday homes, as well as flights, transfers, and activities. TripAdvisor, AirBnb, and Agoda are some examples., this is not a valid reason.” Zheng Feiluan gave him a calm gaze and gently clarified.
“You…”
He An’s face immediately turned white.
Zheng Feiluan continued, “I’m an expert hotel industry practitioner, and all those online travel agencies you can see out there are my partners. Considering that customers are not at fault, the inn definitely doesn’t have the right to pick guests. I would like to remind you that the money I paid was not a deposit but the total price of the transaction, and that you would be responsible for paying a fine of somewhere between one and three times the amount of the transaction’s total if you decided to rip up the contract without a valid explanation.”
The total amount, when multiplied by three, would be CN¥300,000.2Approximately US$41,000. Even if we were to lose all of the Olive Inn’s income for the next few years, we still wouldn’t be able to make up for this massive shortage!
He An’s shoulders shook so much that he needed to grab the handle of a drawer under the counter to steady himself.
Zheng Feiluan, have you completely lost your humanity?
You talk to me sweetly on the outside, but you’re laying a dangerous trap. After I refused to go home with you, you aimed to burn Dai Xiao’s inn as punishment for me not coming home with you!
Do you even have morals?
Zheng Feiluan dismissed his irritation and kept going, “…Don’t forget, I have a professional team of lawyers behind me; they have been fighting hotel industry lawsuits for more than ten years and are well-versed in handling these kinds of sudden breaches of contract. I have faith that they can not only win a settlement on my behalf but also negotiate for a higher amount if I so demanded—”
Thwack!
A loud, hard slap.
Zheng Feiluan was taken by surprise, turned his head, and felt a piercing heat on the left side of his face.
He turned around in shock, shielding his cheek, only to be showered with a pack of brightly colored lollipops, along with its basket and lid, that shattered and smashed against his skin.
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“Get the hell outta here!”
He An warned seriously, dropping his usual timid omega persona, picked up the Thousand Buddha’s Hand flower pot on the counter, and ran out.
Cheng Xiu cursed “Shit!” and dove half a body length away to avoid being hit. In the next moment, he also grabbed a sturdy flower-feather duster for himself.
“He An, stop, don’t be like this…”
Zheng Feiluan was never beaten as a child; thus, he grew up pampered and spoiled rotten. He used up all his imagination and didn’t expect He An to get real angry with him, and he didn’t dare to resist for fear of hurting his own omega, so he had to go away, and his arrogant, elitist attitude completely fell apart.
The omega runs, the alpha leaves, and the beta takes refuge from the chaos.
Chicken feathers floating in the air and lollipops on the ground.
The lobby is a total disaster.
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“He An!”
Zheng Feiluan seized the opportunity, finally catching the man’s flailing wrist and pushing him into the gap between the wall and the counter.
He An was cornered and struggled a few times, but ultimately his power was too little to overcome the alpha’s naturally different and scary physique.
Unwilling to give in, he leaned his head back, his chest rising and dropping erratically, and glared furiously at Zheng Feiluan.
The omega’s eyes were damp, with emotions radiating through them, so full that they were about to overflow. It had never been as vivid in the past, reflecting a bit of light, like a set of smooth, shining glass, sharply cutting the alpha’s heart.
It hurts.
It hurt enough to wake up.
It wasn’t until this second that Zheng Feiluan completely sobered up and shook his head. He couldn’t believe that the person who was so obnoxious and babbling about settlements and lawyers just now was himself.
He wanted to be by He An’s side so badly, but it was difficult; after being turned down repeatedly, he had given up hope of ever being acknowledged. As a result, he resorted to using such high-pressure methods out of habit, and at that moment, he felt more at ease and powerful than ever before.
But finally he remembered that He An wasn’t his rival, but rather his omega.
What an idiot.
Every path before him, whether narrow or dangerous, was blocked by his own hands.
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“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry…”
Zheng Feiluan apologized over and over again as he softly stroked He An’s face, saying, “My intention was not to threaten nor to blackmail, it wasn’t like that… I just want to stay, and live in this modest inn that you personally manage… He An, I take back what I said just now; forget everything I said, forget them all. I’ll say them properly this time, okay?”
He An clenched his teeth and said nothing; he simply stared at him with pure hatred, and a small pool of water formed under his eyes.
The heat in Zheng Feiluan’s chest intensified.
“You want to run this little inn as your own business, right? I’m here to lend a hand. I may not be good at other things, but after twelve years in the hotel management industry, I know everything there is to know. Allow me to stay here and ask me questions whenever you don’t understand something; if you ever run into a crisis, I’ll help you figure it out, no matter how tricky it is.”
“I don’t want to.”
He An shook his head.
“Then… I’ll ask the most capable of my managers to coach you. They’re all professionals who know more than the professors at Yuan University. They will show you how to provide the highest achievable standard of service, how to make extra services unique, how to stand out from the cruel competition, and how to save money without sacrificing quality. You can always catch up on the lessons you missed.”
“I don’t want that either.”
Once again, He An shook his head.
The omega, once a soft and sweet person, now has two hard clam shells and sleeps on the rocky, filthy sea floor, clinging to his shell tightly around him and refuses to let go.
Zheng Feiluan was hopeless.
“Then, if…” with his head bowed down, he pleadingly looked at He An then continued, “If I get kicked out by Jiusheng and have nowhere to live, would you be willing to give me a place to stay?”
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Translated and edited by janemoyu (10/28/23)
