Chapter 4

There were three people in the tea room, and only one of them was talkative. Now that the talkative one was too angry to speak, the atmosphere instantly turned quiet.

When Xiao Yu pushed the door open, she was taken aback by the solemn mood inside. After confirming they had no intention of causing trouble, she cleared her throat and said, Everyone, please follow me to the front desk to check in.

She had expected it would take repeated invitations, but as soon as she finished speaking, the people in the room stood up one after another.

First was Shu Lin. As he passed by the doorway, Xiao Yu subtly rose on her toes and estimated he was a little over 180 cm.

Next was Zhu Feng, who was half a head taller than Shu Lin—conservatively estimated at around 190 cm.

Last was the burly A Ye.

Zhu Feng was already so tall, but A Ye appeared even taller. Xiao Yu couldn’t help asking, How tall are you?

A Ye glanced at her, his scarred face quite intimidating. What?

N-never mind, Xiao Yu said awkwardly.

The group-buying guests had already left, and it was a weekday, so the homestay was quiet and deserted with only three guests.

When the IDs were handed over, Xiao Yu paused in surprise after looking at them. Your name is A Ye?

Mm, his surname is A, Shu Lin nodded.

Xiao Yu: …

Yes, my surname is Shu, Shu Lin added calmly, clearly accustomed to such reactions. It’s a genuine ID. If you don’t believe it, you can verify it at the police station.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu gave a faint smile and didn’t ask further.

She quickly completed the check-in procedures and handed three room keys to them.

Shu Lin took the key and said, Miss, how about giving us a tour of the homestay?

Just call me Xiao Yu, she replied coolly, refusing outright. The homestay isn’t that big. You can look around on your own.

As soon as she finished speaking, Shu Lin pulled out his phone.

Xiao Yu had a bad feeling. What are you doing?

Writing a negative review, Shu Lin said without looking up.

Xiao Yu took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, A tour of the homestay, right? Please follow me.

Shu Lin cheerfully put away his phone and called for A Ye to join.

She had assumed Zhu Feng wouldn’t participate in such a trivial activity, but as soon as they stepped out of the living room, she noticed he had followed.

Shu Lin looked surprised, but before he could say anything, Zhu Feng’s gaze swept over him, and he immediately fell silent.

In places like Jinlin Town, staying at a homestay is part of the travel experience, so guests often request tours.

Most of the time, Xiao Yu would briefly explain the homestay’s layout and show them the rooms.

But today was different. She directly led the three guests out to the main road outside the homestay.

Where are we going? Shu Lin asked curiously.

Xiao Yu shot him a glance. Didn’t you want a tour?

A tour on the main road? Shu Lin spread his hands.

Xiao Yu pretended not to hear and began her introduction standing outside the homestay’s main gate. First, let me introduce the main gate of our Jin Yuanbao Homestay. Our gate looks like it’s made of solid wood—and it really is solid wood. Everyone, take your time to admire it a few more times, because our owner has ordered a new gate, and this one will be replaced in a few days.

Shu Lin: …

He could tell—they really weren’t welcome.

After spending five minutes describing two utterly ordinary wooden doors, Xiao Yu finally led them into the courtyard and started introducing the two stoves to the left of the gate.

Our owner had these built. When she’s in a good mood, she cooks Iron Pot Stew herself, Xiao Yu said, then added regretfully, You probably won’t get to taste it.

Shu Lin wisely didn’t ask why they couldn’t eat it.

After introducing the stove on the left side of the main gate, Xiao Yu went on to describe the two golden maple trees and the swing set on the right, chattering nonstop with no intention of leaving the courtyard.

Although it was already late June, the daytime temperature in Jinlin Town was only around ten degrees Celsius, with a cool breeze.

Zhu Feng and the other two hadn’t brought jackets when they came out, wearing only short sleeves or shirts, which seemed too thin for the temperature.

Shu Lin didn’t feel particularly cold, just a bit bored, and gradually began to space out. As for A Ye… he was still staring at the stove, seemingly pondering what Iron Pot Stew was and why they couldn’t eat it.

Xiao Yu dragged things out a little longer and was about to mercifully let them into the house when Zhu Feng suddenly looked up at her.

Xiao Yu instinctively straightened her posture.

Why not repave it? Zhu Feng asked.

Xiao Yu didn’t understand. What?

You said the path was hard to walk, Zhu Feng said calmly, looking at her. Why not repave it?

Xiao Yu was taken aback for a moment before remembering that just a minute ago, she had mentioned how the owner, during the renovation of the guesthouse, had whimsically turned the path between the living room and the main gate into a Stepping Stone Path. The result was awkward—one step too cramped, two steps too stretched—making it difficult to walk and requiring luggage to be carried.

She had only said it offhand, never expecting Zhu Feng to actually take note.

Meeting his calm gaze, Xiao Yu’s mind went blank. The, the owner thought it was too troublesome, and redoing it would cost quite a bit.

Zhu Feng nodded slightly, as if it were just a casual question.

Xiao Yu blinked, finally snapping back to reality.

Wait… why did she even answer his question!

Realizing she had been momentarily mesmerized by the villain’s good looks, Xiao Yu grew more alert. She decided she couldn’t stay alone with them any longer and sped up her explanations.

Standing here and looking straight ahead, the door in the middle is the living room. The one on the left leads to the kitchen and dining hall, though the kitchen is rarely used. If your room reservation includes breakfast, just let me know what you’d like to eat the day before. At 8 a.m. the next morning, the owner of the Everything You Need supermarket will deliver the meal.

Ying what? A Ye immediately asked.

Getting excited as soon as food is mentioned, huh? Shu Lin shot him an exasperated look.

Xiao Yu explained, Everything You Need—it’s the name of the supermarket. The owner also handles some of the guesthouse’s breakfast orders, but she’s been away these past few days. Her cousin is handling the meals, so the taste might be a bit different.

Everything You Need… your naming style here is quite interesting, Shu Lin said, hoping to build a good rapport since they’d be seeing each other frequently over the next ten days. Like Tingjing Pavilion, Chuyang Residence, Qixian Erwo… Jin Yuanbao—I like Jin Yuanbao the most. It has a kind of unpretentious yet overwhelmingly wealthy beauty.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu gave him an appreciative glance. Those you just mentioned are all names of guesthouses. You saw them on the booking app, right? Where did you stay last night?

Seeing her attitude soften, Shu Lin quickly replied, Qixian Erwo.

Xiao Yu instantly turned cold. Oh.

Shu Lin: ?

Zhu Feng glanced at Xiao Yu.

Not wanting to waste any more words on them, Xiao Yu pointed to the two separate doors on the right side of the living room. These are the premium guest rooms, named Mountain View and Water View. You can step directly into the courtyard from them. The guest in Mountain View is checking out tomorrow. The one you booked is Water View.

Water View is reserved for you, Shu Lin promptly informed Zhu Feng.

Zhu Feng, however, showed no interest.

Xiao Yu pointed to the second floor: There are four rooms on the second floor, from left to right: Money Come, Wealth Come, Gold Come, Money Come.

The naming styles of the first and second floors… are quite disjointed, Shu Lin genuinely didn’t know how to compliment it.

Xiao Yu pouted: The first-floor names were chosen by the previous owner. When our boss took over the guesthouse, the doorplates for the two rooms on the first floor were still quite new. Plus, the Taobao custom doorplate package was 100 yuan for four, and ordering a single one would cost 30 yuan each. The boss simply decided not to change them.

Shu Lin: …That makes perfect sense.

You’ll be staying in Money Come and Wealth Come. Make sure not to go to the wrong rooms. That’s all for the introduction. Xiao Yu let out a long sigh.

Talking is truly exhausting.

Zhu Feng: What about the third floor?

The third floor is the boss’s room. It’s not open to the public. Xiao Yu had run out of patience and walked into the living room without looking back.

As soon as the living room door closed, Shu Lin sighed: The Queen is so poor that she couldn’t afford to buy a doorplate just because it was five yuan more expensive.

She doesn’t have much money, but it’s not like she can’t afford a single doorplate, Zhu Feng glanced up at the third-floor window. She’s just plain stingy.

Shu Lin nodded silently and handed over the room key.

Zhu Feng took it and saw the words ‘Wealth Come’ written on the keycard.

He looked at Shu Lin.

Shu Lin wore an innocent expression: It’s the closest to the third floor.

Zhu Feng raised an eyebrow slightly and entered the room.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Yuan Ying, after the brief wave of heat faded, thought she had imagined it because she saw Zhu Feng.

She didn’t dwell on it and, after stuffing all the trash into a bag, began dragging the huge garbage bag downstairs with great effort.

As she approached the staircase, her back suddenly bumped into a wall. She turned her head and nearly buried her face in her ex-boyfriend’s abs.

The familiar scent stirred up some unsavory memories. With her hormones raging lately, Yuan Ying felt all her hairs stand on end and immediately jumped aside.

Zhu Feng took the garbage bag from her: Where should I throw it?

Yuan Ying narrowed her eyes, seemingly debating whether to answer him or just tell him to get lost.

Not going to use free labor? Zhu Feng’s tone was faintly teasing.

Yuan Ying promptly stopped hesitating: There’s a green dumpster outside the main gate.

Zhu Feng carried the trash downstairs. The bag she had struggled to drag swung lightly in his hand like a weightless bouncy ball.

Yuan Ying stood still for a few seconds, then turned and went back into the guest room.

When Zhu Feng returned, she was in the guest room, struggling to remove the duvet cover.

Without a word, he took the duvet from her and deftly pulled out the inner filling.

Yuan Ying simply stepped back, crossed her arms, and watched him.

Soon, the sheets and duvet covers from several rooms were all stripped. This time, before Zhu Feng could ask, Yuan Ying proactively said, Take them to the living room on the first floor. Someone from the laundry will come to collect them later.

Zhu Feng glanced at her and went downstairs carrying the pile of sheets and duvet covers.

Yuan Ying turned and went into the linen room to fetch new bedding sets.

Then, she waited.

When Zhu Feng returned, he indeed took the bedding sets from her and entered ‘Wealth Come,’ the room closest to the staircase.

Yuan Ying stretched and was about to head downstairs when a hand reached out from the room and pulled her inside.

Bang, the door closed.

An enclosed space, a man and a woman alone.

Yuan Ying pressed herself tightly against the door, forcing calm: What are you doing?

Zhu Feng didn’t speak, only stepped closer, one step at a time.

With no one else around now, he seemed too lazy to maintain any pretense. That slow, deliberate composure reminiscent of a large wild beast began to seep out again.

What felt like composure to him was pure pressure to Yuan Ying.

Logically speaking, they knew each other so well she shouldn’t be this nervous. But given how often he’d acted less than human during their cohabitation, she was genuinely afraid he might suddenly drop his pants right then.

Of course, he wouldn’t force her—but she’d been in a spring-fever mood lately and found it hard to control herself.

She really didn’t want to get entangled with an ex again.

As he kept closing in, Yuan Ying fumbled for the door handle. The moment she pressed down, a scorching hand clamped around her wrist.

It was just a bit of physical contact, just a hint of body warmth seeping through.

Yet Yuan Ying shuddered, unable to even maintain surface calm. I’m warning you—the police station is only two kilometers from here. You’d better not try anything, or else…”

Before she could finish, Zhu Feng slid both hands under her armpits and lifted her as effortlessly as if she were a child.

Yuan Ying: ?”

Without changing expression, Zhu Feng carried her over to the wicker chair by the window, fished a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth.

The orange flavor she loved instantly spread across her tongue.

Zhu Feng straightened up. Stay. Supervise.”

Before Yuan Ying could process it, he’d already picked up the bedsheet again. With a sharp snap, the neatly folded sheet billowed out like a cloud.

He smoothed it down deftly, then bent over to tuck the edges under the mattress.

His clothes weren’t particularly tight, but the movement still stretched the fabric, revealing his well-defined muscle lines.

Sucking on the orange lollipop, Yuan Ying’s gaze drifted uncontrollably—over his shoulders, his spine, his waistline, and further down… It was like a conditioned reflex honed through repetition. Even without any warning or cue, pure instinct made her jerk her eyes away.

But it was too late. Zhu Feng, halfway through making the bed, had already paused and was watching her with an amused, knowing look.

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