Chapter 31

Ning Yuxuan and Yuan Shu were cooling off in the shade of a tree. Seeing them, Manager Wang hurried over. "Miss Ning, how long have you been here?"

Ning Yuxuan remembered this manager from the last time she visited the hotel with her mother. She hadn’t had a good impression of him then, as he had been unable to answer a single question she asked regarding the hotel's performance data.

"About ten minutes," Ning Yuxuan said, glancing at her phone. "The first five minutes were spent negotiating with that security guard, and the last five were spent contemplating how to prove that I am my mother's daughter."

The smile on Manager Wang's face froze for a second.

"A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding!" he chuckled nervously. "Didn't I come to greet you personally?"

The security guard, trailing behind the manager, looked stunned. He stammered, "Y-you really are the owner's..."

Manager Wang shot him a glare. "Shut up! This isn't your place to speak!" He then turned to Ning Yuxuan, saying, "Miss Ning, our company, Huayuan, has recently opened four new locations, leading to a shortage of staff and inconsistent quality among employees. Please rest assured, you won't be seeing him here after today."

The security guard’s expression turned even more miserable than if he were crying. He had only been here for three days—was he really being fired just like that? Offending the owner's daughter was effectively offending the owner. Seeing no room for redemption, he decided to burn bridges. "Miss Ning, I want to report Manager Wang!"

Manager Wang’s composure nearly cracked as he turned to glare at him. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Ning Yuxuan looked at the guard. "What do you want to report?"

"Manager Wang is in charge of hiring for this branch," the guard said. "But I’ve heard many people started working here without going through the formal hiring process. And I’ve also heard—"

"Enough!" Manager Wang barked. "Don't try to smear me just because you're being fired for your own mistakes!"

The guard retorted, "It’s because your own hands aren't clean—you’ve been taking kickbacks!"

Before the guard could say anything more shocking, Manager Wang used his walkie-talkie to call someone to escort him away. Once they were gone, he offered a fawning smile to Ning Yuxuan. "Miss Ning, please don't listen to that man’s nonsense. He’s just acting out of revenge."

Ning Yuxuan calmly observed the manager until he grew visibly uncomfortable. Then, she gave a simple "Hmm" and added, "I know. You’re a veteran of this establishment; I trust you."

Manager Wang let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he hadn't been dragged down by that fool. It was fortunate that his new boss, while seemingly sharp, was still young and easy to fool.

He led Ning Yuxuan and the designer into the hotel. To demonstrate his loyalty, he became increasingly deferential. "Miss Ning, you’ve likely seen the renovations here before, but is there any specific area you’d like to examine more closely today? I’ll take you there."

Ning Yuxuan left the decision to Yuan Shu. After a moment of thought, Yuan Shu said, "I’d like to visit the restaurant first, and then go through each room type in order."

Manager Wang nodded repeatedly. "No problem, please follow me!"

...

By the time Ning Yuxuan finished her inspection and returned home, Ning Fei had also returned from meeting with the producer. According to Ning Fei, the meeting had gone very well, and they had basically confirmed their cooperation; they were just waiting to coordinate everyone's schedules to set a start date for filming.

Ning Fei also mentioned running into an acquaintance at the producer’s office—the famous actor Liang Jihuai, a two-time winner of the Golden Dew Award for Best Actor. The first time Ning Fei had won the Best Actress award, her co-star had been this very same actor.

"I didn't expect to see him," Ning Fei said, her expression nostalgic. "When we filmed together, I was just in my early twenties. In the blink of an eye, nearly thirty years have passed."

Ning Yuxuan was surprised. "That Best Actor? Is he going to play a role in the film, too?"

"Yes," Ning Fei replied. "He will be playing Zhao Wanyi's husband."

Ning Yuxuan was even more astonished. She had heard a brief summary of the script from Qin Man on a variety show, and later, Ning Fei had explained it to her as well. Zhao Wanyi was the character Qin Man wanted to play, and while her husband was one of the two most prominent male roles, he was essentially a villain. The character existed solely to highlight the brilliance of the two female leads and lacked any real personal charm. Given Liang Jihuai's current status in the film industry, it seemed incredible that he would be willing to take such a minor, supporting role in a female-led film.

Ning Fei knew why her daughter was surprised, as she found it strange herself. "Time was tight, so I didn't get to talk to him much, but perhaps he and Qin Man have a friendship, which is why he agreed to a guest appearance."

After discussing the meeting with the producer, Ning Fei asked if the hotel visit had gone smoothly. Ning Yuxuan told her about the progress with the designer and mentioned the incident between the manager and the security guard.

Ning Fei’s brows furrowed. "The manager you mentioned joined when I founded Huayuan; he’s an old hand. Last year, he caused significant losses due to a work error. Out of old sentiment, I didn't fire him but sent him to manage odd jobs at a new branch. I didn't expect..." After a moment of contemplation, Ning Fei added, "Xuanxuan, I will have someone look into this matter carefully."

...

For the rest of the work week, Ning Yuxuan and Yuan Shu met every day. Ning Yuxuan's office at the hotel headquarters had been cleared out, and they spent their days either conducting on-site inspections or discussing design plans.

By their second visit to the branch, not only was the security guard gone, but Manager Wang himself had been dismissed. According to Ning Fei, while Manager Wang appeared to be a loyal long-term employee, he had actually been pocketing kickbacks from suppliers for years. Ning Fei had always been lenient with the old staff who had started with her, which allowed him to get away with it for so long. Only with her daughter’s reminder did she finally investigate him, uncovering a host of sordid deeds. The legal department was already at work, and Manager Wang would soon be facing a lawsuit.

By Friday morning, the first phase of the design work was mostly complete. Ning Yuxuan was exhausted, and Yuan Shu, as the designer, had not only accompanied her on every site visit but also had to produce renderings for her. To celebrate the temporary conclusion of the design phase, Ning Yuxuan treated Yuan Shu to a big lunch. Of course, there was still much to do, and their collaboration was far from over.

Ning Shiyue was set to join his cast for filming over the weekend, with the first leg in Haicheng, and he had a flight the next morning. Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei’s new variety show was also starting filming on Saturday morning. Since everything happened to coincide, Ning Fei suggested the family have a nice meal on Friday night as a final gathering before Ning Shiyue left.

They had trouble deciding what to eat. Usually, such decisions were left to Ning Yuxuan, but she had been eating out with various people lately and had already visited all the restaurants in North City she had been craving. Eventually, Ning Fei made the final call: they would have hot pot at home.

The last time they had hot pot, Xie Zhiyan had been there, and it was hard not to think of him. Ning Fei said with a touch of regret, "It's a pity Zhiyan is away on business these past two days; otherwise, we could have invited him over."

Hearing Xie Zhiyan's name, Ning Shiyue, who was drinking water, choked and began to cough incessantly. Ning Fei didn't understand why, assuming her son had simply been careless, so she helplessly handed him some tissues. "How old are you? You still choke on water—how can you make your mother worry?"

Ning Shiyue coughed and wiped his mouth, finding a moment to glare at Ning Yuxuan. The look meant: *This is all your fault.*

Ning Yuxuan wanted to laugh but held it in. Why couldn't he hide his feelings better? He reacted more strongly than she did at the mere mention of Xie Zhiyan. If someone didn't know better, they’d think Ning Shiyue was the one in a "special relationship" with Xie Zhiyan.

A moment later, Ning Shiyue finally caught his breath. Ning Yuxuan responded to her mother, "Xie Zhiyan is busy with work. Even if he weren't on a business trip, he might not have had time to come over for hot pot."

Ning Fei nodded. "That's true, but come to think of it..." She frowned, looking puzzled. "Speaking of which, it seems like Zhiyan has been over to the house three times in the last two weeks, hasn't he?"

A few days ago, when Ning Fei met with her friend Zheng Xinmei, the friend had complained about only seeing her son once or twice a month, envying Ning Fei for seeing her children so often. By comparison, Xie Zhiyan’s recent visits seemed rather frequent.

Ning Shiyue quickly jumped in, "Probably just a coincidence? Maybe he was nearby for work and just happened to pass by, right, Ning Yuxuan?"

Ning Yuxuan suppressed a smile. "Yes, you're right."

Fortunately, Ning Fei didn't mention Xie Zhiyan again, or Ning Shiyue might have lost his appetite for the rest of the meal.

After they finished, Ning Shiyue volunteered to clean up the kitchen. Ning Yuxuan went back to her room and found a new message from Xie Zhiyan. Earlier, when Ning Fei mentioned him, she had asked if she should send him a message to let him know they were having hot pot and that he should come over next time. Ning Yuxuan had followed her mother's suggestion, taking a photo of the hot pot and the ingredients and sending it to him. She hadn't bothered to check if he’d replied until now.

She clicked on his message and saw he had sent her a photo. In the image, there was a table set with several plastic food containers—the kind typically used for takeout.

Ning Yuxuan inexplicably remembered Tao You’s description of Xie Zhiyan from a few days ago. She typed: [So even a "big boss" eats takeout?]

Xie Zhiyan, likely on a break, replied quickly: [Big bosses have to eat too. When I'm busy and have no time, takeout is the only option.]

Ning Yuxuan curled her lips into a smile: [I thought you would ask me what "big boss" meant.]

Xie Zhiyan: [I'm five years older than you, not twenty-five.]

This time, Ning Yuxuan laughed out loud. Through the screen, she could almost picture his helpless expression. After laughing for a while, she realized something: she had sent him the photo to tell him they were having hot pot without him. Why had he sent her a photo of his dinner?

Ning Yuxuan: [Why are you sending me this?]

Xie Zhiyan: [Sharing the contents of my dinner with my girlfriend.]

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

Her heart skipped a beat, and then she realized something was not quite right.