最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 46
Magnificence, openness, and enhanced boldness in conflict are common traits among skilled con artists. They seem impossible to deal with at first. They’re just like the mafia, except harsher and intent on making a quick buck. However, the easiest fish to catch are the ones that bite the lure.
Although Zheng Feiluan doesn’t interact with many similar people in the real world, many businessmen share his daily habits. It’s only that his deceptions are more excellent, and he rarely loses his face in person. When it comes to filthiness, he might be even better. Zheng Feiluan was familiar with these tricks thanks to his significant knowledge and brutal practices, but before he could say anything, Cheng Xiu’s balloon filled with his sense of justice grew to its limit and exploded in their faces.
“You want the entire cost of your room refunded to you? Can you still fit a mask over your face, auntie? The description makes it very clear that the room has a street view and that there may be noise late at night. If you can’t handle the noise, you should’ve booked a room on the other side of the building!”
“Where is it written? Why didn’t I see it?” The aunt faked blindness by squinting her eyes.
Cheng Xiu nearly choked on his words, “Well, when you checked in yesterday, I especially reminded you of this.”
“Reminded me? When was this? Just who did you discuss that with? You! Have you heard it?”
The aunt threw her neck back like a dagger and turned to the man standing next to her. The man was so frightened by her behavior that he didn’t dare to raise his head. He backed away and firmly shook his head. When the lady got the answer, she glared at Cheng Xiu and said, “See? No one heard it!”
“You!”
When Cheng Xiu sees an injustice, he reacts angrily and directly. It’s like an eruption of a volcano now that he’s being made to look like an idiot and mugged in plain sight. Once he rolls up his sleeves, he is going to start swearing.
He An held him down and shook his head, patiently informing the elderly woman, “Your request is too much for us. We also know that this room is noisy, so we lowered the room rate, and what you paid is already the discounted price.”
“Discounted price? Oh, so you can have a disco in the room since there was a discount? You care about the expensive rooms, yet the cheap ones are so noisy that you can’t fall asleep, but no one cares. Tsk tsk tsk, people can put up a good face, but deep down they’re bullies who prey on the less fortunate and rob shamelessly from their customers!”
The woman’s shouting became louder.
Cheng Xiu couldn’t take it any longer when he watched her chucking dirty water on He An and said angrily, “What robbing customers? This is called differential pricing! It’s noisy because it’s cheap, not because it’s cheap, so it’s noisy. Got that?!”
His anger often gets the best of him, so he ends up arguing with people.
Reasoning may still be helpful when dealing with rational and regular people, but it’s of no use whatsoever when confronting a savage.
As expected, the woman was unyielding as an iron wall, even in the face of hurricane-like winds. She eventually raised her hand and pointed across the street, saying, “I don’t care how you handle it; in any case, I paid the money and must rest peacefully. Either ask the bar to quiet down or immediately refund my money; otherwise, I’ll write a negative review with a thousand words and then post the video so that people will see how loud it is here, and you won’t do any more business in the future!”
One thousand words of bad review.
Recorded video.
He An felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that these two people are not just random complainers but a professional troll eager to write a bad review to scare away potential guests—intentionally reserving a room in the clearly poor areas of the inn, not backing down, causing a scene, and threatening the business for a full refund.
What is this video?
It looks real and fake at the same time. If you enhance the volume of the faint noise in the background, it will become audible. So if they really post it, guests won’t even give them a chance to explain, and they’ll just leave.
After barely avoiding bankruptcy, Olive Inn knew that every potential customer was precious and that negative ratings would be a hefty price to pay.
“Sorry.” He An clenched his teeth and muttered, “I’m going over to the bar across the street to quiet them down.”
Then he turned and walked down the hall.
When Cheng Xiu saw that he was serious, his face went white, and he grabbed his shoulder and drew him back quickly, “Are you insane? Do you have any idea what time it is? There’s a swarm of drunk alphas over there, and their pheromones are as deadly as a gas bomb. If you took a trip there, wouldn’t they eat you alive? Let’s not act rashly, He An. Let’s stay calm, everything will work out. But first, I’ll go back and tell Dai Xiao—”
“What, the manager of your inn is an omega?”
The lady gave He An a disapproving look as she sized him up.
He An noticed the heavy mocking in her tone but answered calmly, “Yes, I’m in charge. Is there a problem?”
“So that’s why you can’t do shit! Would they even let you in if you went there?” The lady asked him, breathing heavily through her nose, “Is your alpha dead that you had to parade yourself around as an omega?!”
He An completely froze.
A humiliated, piercing sensation surged through his chest, foul and weak, making it uncomfortable everywhere.
He attempted to defend himself, but then remembered the other person’s claim that they would upload a video with the goal of leaving a poor review, and all he could think to say was, “Please don’t be biased against omegas. Just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I can’t figure out a way to help you.”
He held his posture straight and firm. A slender silhouette in the bright light, pushed by the open figure in the door, like a single pine tree enduring the weight of a mountain of snow that was about to fall apart.
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“I’m sorry, but this place is managed by an omega.”
A deep male voice echoed out of the darkness.
The husky voice was immediately recognized by He An. He looked towards the corridor and was startled to see Zheng Feiluan stepping out of the shadows—no, it’s more accurate to say that the darkness ran away from his intimidating presence and made the effort to avoid him.
For some reason, He An breathed a sigh of relief.
The manic depression and helplessness dissipated, and the tightly pursed corners of his lips relaxed. He no longer found the alpha’s aura repulsive; rather, he felt it as an empowering force that supported him.
He An thought: It’s okay, it’s okay. What’s there to be afraid of?
The alpha he despised the most is here.
Zheng Feiluan walked over to where He An was and caressed him on the back to reassure him. The lady had never encountered an alpha with such overwhelming pheromones in her life. Her legs gave up, and the arrogance that had pierced the air flickered and died as quickly as an oxygen-starved fire.
“You are… his…” The woman made a trembling gesture, first pointing at Zheng Feiluan and then at He An.
“Inn helper.”
Zheng Feiluan spoke so naturally—not even a slight stutter.
The man abruptly looked away from the other person and turned to He An in an advising tone, “I just checked, and there seems to be an empty guest room in the back; it’s very quiet, and you can’t hear the bar’s noise. We can move them there, but only if you agree, of course…”
He smiled gently again, “Just a suggestion, the decision is yours.”
“You mean…”
A little unsure, He An frowned and asked him with his eyes: The one you have?
Zheng Feiluan replied, “Yes.”
He An quickly shook his head and refused.
Absolutely not.
He disagrees.
He understood that Zheng Feiluan had acted out of good intentions, but no matter what, Zheng Feiluan’s position is now that of a guest, not a family member, so how could he let an innocent third party suffer in order to appease an obnoxious guest? The inn offers other vacant room, so if Zheng Feiluan believes changing rooms is a reasonable option, then…
He An whispered softly, “That one won’t do. I’ve reserved that room for a gentleman from Yuanjiang who was stuck here because of the blizzard, so I can’t leave him without a place to stay.”
Zheng Feiluan was stunned.
He An’s eyes looking at him were radiant and gentle, and that warmth was shared by no one, entirely only for him—considering it had been a long time.
It’s been too long.
“Sorry, I forgot.”
After a brief pause, Zheng Feiluan agreed with a smile.
Now that he had an alpha by his side, He An felt a little more confident. He cleared his throat and told the irritating couple, “We have another vacant room on the northwest side; it’s quiet, and we guarantee that you won’t hear any noise. The cost is a little higher than the one you are currently staying at, but don’t worry, we won’t charge you the extra amount. If you two really hate the noise, please move to that room.”
⋮
People are generally cruel creatures who pick on the weak and cower before the strong; a single omega is perfect for bullying, but if an alpha unexpectedly shows up halfway and treats him with respect, then he won’t have to lower his head.
The lady gave up quite quickly. She turned down a free room upgrade and a refund. She only wished that Zheng Feiluan would simply disappear from her sight in the next second. While spitting out her saliva, she blurted out, “What else can I change? How troublesome! We’ll just tough it out for tonight; the worst that can happen is that we won’t be able to stay tomorrow!”
She said this as she slammed the door in his face.
After the ear-shattering bang, the inn was finally quiet.
⋮
Phew.
We overcame the hurdle at last.
He An felt exhaustion settle in as the chaos came to an end, so he yawned, stretched his waist a little, and rubbed his tired eyes. He turned around to thank Zheng Feiluan, but Zheng Feiluan’s gloomy expression stopped him from doing so.
“Why, what’s wrong?” He An asked.
“You came out in the middle of the night wearing a nightgown?” Zheng Feiluan snapped.
“Huh?”
He An looked down and saw that he really was only wearing a thin nightgown. The wind was blowing so strongly that the sleeves and pants swayed in the breeze.
But… it’s not his fault, right?
He had been sleeping soundly in bed when Cheng Xiu shook him awake. He felt dizzy as he moved, so he couldn’t cover himself properly even when he had the chance. He’d been out for a while, and his mind had been preoccupied with fighting with that aunt. He wasn’t feeling too cold yet, but Zheng Feiluan’s harsh reminder made him shiver immediately. He felt his entire body tremble and his nose had become stuffy—
“Ah—achoo!”
He let out a deafening sneeze.
“I…”
He An didn’t have time to turn his head, so he sneezed straight into Zheng Feiluan’s collar. To hide his shame, He An quickly covered his nose and lowered his head, but his eyes glanced diagonally upward to check out the damage.
“That’s it. Take a rest in my room.”
Zheng Feiluan teared up and laughed. Seeing that the courtyard was covered in ice and mist and the wind was blowing strongly, he took a big step towards his room, pushed open the door, and waited there, “Hurry, it’s cold outside.”
“Okay.”
He An sniffled, held onto his collar, and ran straight inside.
Zheng Feiluan pounded on the door frame again and shouted, “Cheng Xiu!”
“Ah… huh? Hey!”
Cheng Xiu had instantly shifted to a shadow state since Zheng Feiluan called him just now, clinging to He An’s side like a sticker with zero sense of space. Now that he was forced to show himself, he had to run over reluctantly.
Just as his foot passed the doorway, there was a clang, and the door shut tightly behind him, keeping the cold breeze out of the room.
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Translated and edited by janemoyu (11/17/23)
