My Missing Boyfriend Has Returned

Chapter 3

The next day brought fine weather again.

Since Yuan Ying’s guesthouse was fully booked, Shu Lin had randomly booked another one yesterday, located just three hundred meters away in a straight line from Yuan Ying’s place.

The guesthouse included breakfast. At half past seven in the morning, A Ye was already up and eating.

When Shu Lin entered the small dining area, the kitchen auntie was washing dishes with a stony expression, occasionally casting wary glances toward the dining table.

At the table, A Ye sat upright, working on his fifth bowl of noodles that morning.

…Take it easy. Don’t gorge yourself just because it’s free, Shu Lin approached to remind him.

A Ye looked up and called toward the kitchen: Another bowl of congee for me, and six eggs.

The auntie: …

Shu Lin: …

He had originally come for breakfast too, but after seeing the auntie’s suppressed anger, he decided against eating.

A Ye felt no qualms and continued filling his stomach.

Shu Lin watched him for a long while before sighing: Thank goodness you have that intimidating face.

If anyone else ate like this, the auntie would have been cursing them to their face long ago.

A Ye glanced at him indifferently.

Shu Lin stole an egg from his plate and asked while peeling it: Has the King not gotten up yet?

Probably not, A Ye replied without looking up, focused on his meal.

Shu Lin looked puzzled: Strange. We’re going to see the Queen soon. Shouldn’t he be the first one up?

No sooner had he spoken than Zhu Feng entered from outside. Shu Lin immediately offered him the peeled egg.

Zhu Feng didn’t take it, instead casually picking up a free lollipop from the table.

Shu Lin initiated small talk: Your Majesty, did you sleep well last night?

Zhu Feng: Yes.

Shu Lin paused, and A Ye also stopped eating. Both stared at him in silence.

What? Zhu Feng’s voice carried morning laziness.

Shu Lin cleared his throat: Generally speaking, when I ask ‘did you sleep well last night,’ you either ignore me or say ‘what’s so good about it.’ Never such a concise and firm answer.

A Ye nodded in agreement.

Zhu Feng glanced at them: Which shows it’s genuinely true.

Shu Lin: …

A Ye: …

Whether it was true or not remained unknown, but it felt like he’d taken the wrong medicine.

While the three were talking, a middle-aged woman around fifty years old walked in. The kitchen auntie, who had been suppressing her anger earlier, suddenly looked surprised: Aren’t you working today?

I am, the middle-aged woman entered the kitchen, took out a tomato, and ate while talking, Group guests are checking out today. Just thinking about it makes me tired. I’ll go later.

Oh my, you have such flexible working hours. Doesn’t your boss say anything? the kitchen auntie asked enviously.

The middle-aged woman laughed: Her? She’s probably cleaning rooms right now. I’ll go over after she finishes.

What a good boss you’ve found, the kitchen auntie said with genuine envy.

But the middle-aged woman dismissed it: Found nothing. It’s all thanks to my nephew. If someone else worked for her, they might not get the same treatment.

While the two aunties chatted, A Ye finished his last mouthful of congee, with two freshly peeled eggs remaining in his bowl.

The kitchen auntie finally caught him: Excuse me, we serve buffet breakfast here. Uneaten food must be paid double…

Before she finished, A Ye swallowed the eggs whole, one after another.

Pay for what? he asked.

The kitchen auntie coughed: …Nothing.

A Ye nodded and followed Zhu Feng out the door.

Shu Lin went to the front desk to check out. After leaving the guesthouse, Zhu Feng and A Ye were waiting for him not far away.

Room booked? Zhu Feng asked.

Shu Lin nodded: Booked.

Can we just check in after booking? A Ye knew nothing about how this world operated, but that didn’t stop him from asking questions. What if the Queen doesn’t allow it?

Shu Lin chuckled: She won’t.

Hearing his certainty, Zhu Feng gave him an extra glance.

What the hell? Is this person sick? Xiao Yu at the front desk of Jin Yuanbao exclaimed in surprise.

Yuan Ying had just finished throwing out a large bag of garbage and was holding a broom, about to go upstairs: What’s wrong?

Xiao Yu: When this person booked the room, they bought 1,000 copies of ‘Peace of Mind Stay’.

Jinlin Town was famous for its snowy mountains and hot springs. Winter was the peak tourist season, and guesthouse prices soared between December and March.

Last winter, several guesthouses, in order to make more money, sold rooms that had already been booked online to walk-in tourists at higher prices, leaving customers who had booked in advance with nowhere to stay.

The incident was so severe it even trended on social media at the time.

Since then, the booking platform had introduced this commercial insurance called Peace of Mind Stay. It cost two yuan per copy, and customers could decide whether to purchase it or not.

After purchasing the insurance, if the merchant refused check-in through no fault of the customer, the platform would order the merchant not only to refund the room fee but also to pay the customer 30% of the room fee as compensation. One insurance copy covered one incident, with a maximum total compensation of 200,000 yuan.

Maybe they bought it by mistake. Remind them, Yuan Ying said, eager to clean the rooms, and went upstairs after speaking.

Xiao Yu agreed and started replying: Dear customer, please check your order. Did you purchase by mistake?

Little Dragon: No mistake.

…They bought a thousand copies and still claim it’s not a mistake.

Xiao Yu typed rapidly: Are you sure you want to buy 1,000 copies of the insurance?

Little Dragon: Yes.

Xiao Yu: …

Was this person trying to scam the guesthouse this way?

When Peace of Mind Stay was first introduced, some people specifically bought multiple insurance copies when booking during peak season, and those repeatedly offending guesthouses suffered significant losses as a result.

However, that hadn’t happened again since then. Even if it did, it certainly wouldn’t be at their Jin Yuanbao, because even before Peace of Mind Stay existed, Jin Yuanbao had never done such a shady thing as refusing customers check-in.

Xiao Yu began thinking about how to dissuade the other party from scamming, but before she could carefully choose her words, the other person sent another message.

Little Dragon: Sorry, I have hotel check-in anxiety disorder. I have to buy a bunch of insurance every time I book a room to feel at ease. I really mean no harm.

There’s such a disorder?

Xiao Yu found it strange and was about to ask more when a shadow suddenly fell over her.

She instinctively looked up and met a brightly smiling face.

Hello, checking in, Shu Lin waved enthusiastically.

Xiao Yu looked at him, then at the two behind him, and frowned: Why are you here again?

To check in, Shu Lin said innocently.

Xiao Yu clicked her tongue impatiently: No rooms left.

I already made a reservation. How can there be no rooms? As Shu Lin spoke, he suddenly pointed at the chat window on her computer. That’s me.

Xiao Yu immediately had a bad feeling.

Are you sure you want to refuse us check-in? Shu Lin looked troubled.