Chapter 118: Visible Fatigue.
The Dongshan Hot Springs Holiday Hotel is expansive. Although located a bit away from the city, its affordability and initial design to be a rural resort make it attractive with numerous leisure facilities.
Encircled by a forest, its ambiance is serene. Usually, even outside of the fall and winter seasons, locals often stay for short breaks.
The recent marketing efforts for Dongshan Hot Springs have been impressive, drawing in many young visitors.
However, after the missing persons incident, its popularity waned quickly. Following the episode with Elder Zhong being carried out horizontally, the venue closed for a lengthy period.
Now reopened, the place remains mostly vacant due to Chi Shen's prior publicity efforts.
The sun shone decently that day. Even though winter sunlight is typically dim, some light is better than none. Some cleaning staff ambled in for their shifts, while the receptionist at the front desk yawned, counting the number of slots on her registration sheet.
Suddenly, everyone perked up, all eyes directed towards the entrance.
The grand entrance of the Dongshan Hot Springs Holiday Hotel is impressive. An in-between of European and traditional designs, it's quite majestic at first glance. A tour bus slowly entered and parked, with a group disembarking.
Five people stepped out - one woman and four men. Two of the men were especially handsome, catching the extra glances of the receptionist.
"Check-in," reminded the elegant man with glasses. The receptionist snapped back to attention, nodding repeatedly, "Oh, yes, of course!"
As she did so, her gaze shifted to the woman in the group who was notably dressed in bridal wear.
Oddly, the receptionist thought she saw something move inside the backpack of the most handsome young man, as if it held something alive. Redirecting her gaze, she proceeded with the check-in.
After completing the process, she found it peculiar that five people booked three rooms when there were reservations for seven.
Perhaps recent news frightened off some, but the courage of these present was commendable. Pondering, she plucked up the courage to ask the woman in the red bridal dress, "Excuse me, could you please reveal your face? We need to verify the guest's identity."
The woman in the bridal dress nodded, lifting her veiled headpiece with her gold-clad fingers.
The receptionist instinctively held her breath, her heart racing, a mix of fear and anticipation, wondering what lay beneath that veil.
As the veil slid off, a youthful face emerged - pale with striking red lips. Her gentle gaze made her seem less eerie and more human.
Relieved, the receptionist rationalized the girl's appearance - possibly here for a cosplay photo shoot. They've had guests in all sorts of get-ups aiming for perfect pictures or even dancing by the hot springs for videos. As long as there's profit, why bother understanding?
Reassured, she verified the IDs, returned them, handed over the room cards, and smiled, directing, "Go to the left."
Watching the group leave, the receptionist suddenly felt a twitch in her eyelid. She raised a hand to touch it, then looked towards the rooms they had booked and paused.
It was the same room from which guests had previously disappeared. Twice, guests vanished, and only one elderly man remained the second time. She distinctly remembered that day: an old man, face stricken with terror, rushed out from the hallway to her left, darting out the main entrance. She'd intended to check on him, but the police arrived shortly after, and she refrained.
The police had taken her statement, but she genuinely didn't know anything. She was just a receptionist in charge of check-ins and check-outs.
What's more, she found the police's insistence that the guests "disappeared" rather odd when they had simply checked out. She felt there might be some conspiracy against the hotel.
However, even if there was a conspiracy, what did it have to do with her, a mere receptionist?
Yawning, she looked down and skimmed through the duty roster.
Lucky her, she was on day shifts for the entire month, no more staying up late.
She had a vague feeling that having only day shifts was unusual. Before, she had night shifts every other day, and the pay remained the same. Who would want night shifts if day shifts were an option? Maybe the scheduler made an error. She decided not to question the manager about the roster and just quietly complete her shifts.
Yawning again, she thought of the group that had just checked in. She felt there was something off about those two good-looking guys, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
At that moment, she sensed that the two handsome men had already located their rooms.
With his usual demeanor, Chi Shen swiped his card and opened the door, greeting Zhong Yi and Zhong Jingzhu with a smile, "It seems your room is right next door."
Zhong Yi's brow furrowed, his gaze shifting between him and Ji Xingchen, seemingly wanting to say something. However, under Chi Shen's calm and smiling eyes, he remained silent.
"Anything else you'd like to say?" Chi Shen inquired, still smiling.
Being the elder, Zhong Jingzhu spoke up, "Let's go. Let's get to our room first."
Once the Zhong siblings left, Chi Shen turned to Bai Wan, who had followed them in, shaking his head, "It's not appropriate for a girl to stay with us."
Bai Wan reached out, pointing at the backpack Chi Shen was wearing.
"Ah, you should indeed take this." Chi Shen removed the backpack and handed it to her, "If you're unsure about anything, feel free to come to me."
Bai Wan nodded, holding the backpack as she moved towards the door opposite. The backpack shifted slightly, as if a kitten were inside. Bai Wan soothed it with a gentle touch, and the movement ceased.
Once everyone had left, Chi Shen turned to Ji Xingchen, "What do you think? This trip is turning out to be full of surprises, isn't it?"
Ji Xingchen adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light, "Indeed, but this 'surprise' is a bit much."
He gazed at Chi Shen, reaching out his hand. Chi Shen gently took it.
— It was a pair of warm hands.
Ji Xingchen removed his glasses with his other hand and gently exhaled, causing a mist to form on the lenses.
From the moment they entered the hot spring hotel, Ji Xingchen and Bai Wan suddenly came "alive." They had the warmth of living beings, even breaths and heartbeats, as if they were ordinary living people.
Chi Shen also confirmed that ghosts like Gui Lian (Ghost Face) and the woman in red, who have incomplete bodies, also possessed □□. However, their □□, just like their souls, existed in an incomplete state.
"Isn't this the perfect way to vacation?" Chi Shen seemed unphased by this small surprise. He happily flopped onto the bed, looked around the room that had seen the disappearance of two groups of people, and laughingly said, "Shall we take a nap?"
Chi Shen's smiling eyes were fixed on Ji Xingchen, and Ji Xingchen stared back.
Soon after, Ji Xingchen put on his glasses and withdrew his hand from Chi Shen's grasp: "You rest first, I'll go check out the hotel surroundings."
Chi Shen didn't try to stop him. He lay on the bed for a while; he'd slept during the journey and wasn't really tired now. He just felt that since they were at a hotel, he should definitely relax.
Before long, Chi Shen saw Ji Xingchen walk into the room, methodically unbuttoning his suit, and remarked, "There's a private hot spring here. I tried it out; it's quite good. Do you want to soak?"
Chi Shen immediately sat up from the bed: "There's such a treat?"
Meanwhile, a pale-faced ghost crawled out of Chi Shen's pocket, echoing, "There's such a treat?!"
Ji Xingchen gave the ghost face a nonchalant glance.
The ghost face quickly retreated back into the pocket, muttering in a muffled voice, "You enjoy your soak; I won't disturb you."
Chapter 118: Visible Fatigue.
The Dongshan Hot Springs Holiday Hotel is expansive. Although located a bit away from the city, its affordability and initial design to be a rural resort make it attractive with numerous leisure facilities.
Encircled by a forest, its ambiance is serene. Usually, even outside of the fall and winter seasons, locals often stay for short breaks.
The recent marketing efforts for Dongshan Hot Springs have been impressive, drawing in many young visitors.
However, after the missing persons incident, its popularity waned quickly. Following the episode with Elder Zhong being carried out horizontally, the venue closed for a lengthy period.
Now reopened, the place remains mostly vacant due to Chi Shen's prior publicity efforts.
The sun shone decently that day. Even though winter sunlight is typically dim, some light is better than none. Some cleaning staff ambled in for their shifts, while the receptionist at the front desk yawned, counting the number of slots on her registration sheet.
Suddenly, everyone perked up, all eyes directed towards the entrance.
The grand entrance of the Dongshan Hot Springs Holiday Hotel is impressive. An in-between of European and traditional designs, it's quite majestic at first glance. A tour bus slowly entered and parked, with a group disembarking.
Five people stepped out - one woman and four men. Two of the men were especially handsome, catching the extra glances of the receptionist.
"Check-in," reminded the elegant man with glasses. The receptionist snapped back to attention, nodding repeatedly, "Oh, yes, of course!"
As she did so, her gaze shifted to the woman in the group who was notably dressed in bridal wear.
Oddly, the receptionist thought she saw something move inside the backpack of the most handsome young man, as if it held something alive. Redirecting her gaze, she proceeded with the check-in.
After completing the process, she found it peculiar that five people booked three rooms when there were reservations for seven.
Perhaps recent news frightened off some, but the courage of these present was commendable. Pondering, she plucked up the courage to ask the woman in the red bridal dress, "Excuse me, could you please reveal your face? We need to verify the guest's identity."
The woman in the bridal dress nodded, lifting her veiled headpiece with her gold-clad fingers.
The receptionist instinctively held her breath, her heart racing, a mix of fear and anticipation, wondering what lay beneath that veil.
As the veil slid off, a youthful face emerged - pale with striking red lips. Her gentle gaze made her seem less eerie and more human.
Relieved, the receptionist rationalized the girl's appearance - possibly here for a cosplay photo shoot. They've had guests in all sorts of get-ups aiming for perfect pictures or even dancing by the hot springs for videos. As long as there's profit, why bother understanding?
Reassured, she verified the IDs, returned them, handed over the room cards, and smiled, directing, "Go to the left."
Watching the group leave, the receptionist suddenly felt a twitch in her eyelid. She raised a hand to touch it, then looked towards the rooms they had booked and paused.
It was the same room from which guests had previously disappeared. Twice, guests vanished, and only one elderly man remained the second time. She distinctly remembered that day: an old man, face stricken with terror, rushed out from the hallway to her left, darting out the main entrance. She'd intended to check on him, but the police arrived shortly after, and she refrained.
The police had taken her statement, but she genuinely didn't know anything. She was just a receptionist in charge of check-ins and check-outs.
What's more, she found the police's insistence that the guests "disappeared" rather odd when they had simply checked out. She felt there might be some conspiracy against the hotel.
However, even if there was a conspiracy, what did it have to do with her, a mere receptionist?
Yawning, she looked down and skimmed through the duty roster.
Lucky her, she was on day shifts for the entire month, no more staying up late.
She had a vague feeling that having only day shifts was unusual. Before, she had night shifts every other day, and the pay remained the same. Who would want night shifts if day shifts were an option? Maybe the scheduler made an error. She decided not to question the manager about the roster and just quietly complete her shifts.
Yawning again, she thought of the group that had just checked in. She felt there was something off about those two good-looking guys, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
At that moment, she sensed that the two handsome men had already located their rooms.
With his usual demeanor, Chi Shen swiped his card and opened the door, greeting Zhong Yi and Zhong Jingzhu with a smile, "It seems your room is right next door."
Zhong Yi's brow furrowed, his gaze shifting between him and Ji Xingchen, seemingly wanting to say something. However, under Chi Shen's calm and smiling eyes, he remained silent.
"Anything else you'd like to say?" Chi Shen inquired, still smiling.
Being the elder, Zhong Jingzhu spoke up, "Let's go. Let's get to our room first."
Once the Zhong siblings left, Chi Shen turned to Bai Wan, who had followed them in, shaking his head, "It's not appropriate for a girl to stay with us."
Bai Wan reached out, pointing at the backpack Chi Shen was wearing.
"Ah, you should indeed take this." Chi Shen removed the backpack and handed it to her, "If you're unsure about anything, feel free to come to me."
Bai Wan nodded, holding the backpack as she moved towards the door opposite. The backpack shifted slightly, as if a kitten were inside. Bai Wan soothed it with a gentle touch, and the movement ceased.
Once everyone had left, Chi Shen turned to Ji Xingchen, "What do you think? This trip is turning out to be full of surprises, isn't it?"
Ji Xingchen adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light, "Indeed, but this 'surprise' is a bit much."
He gazed at Chi Shen, reaching out his hand. Chi Shen gently took it.
— It was a pair of warm hands.
Ji Xingchen removed his glasses with his other hand and gently exhaled, causing a mist to form on the lenses.
From the moment they entered the hot spring hotel, Ji Xingchen and Bai Wan suddenly came "alive." They had the warmth of living beings, even breaths and heartbeats, as if they were ordinary living people.
Chi Shen also confirmed that ghosts like Gui Lian (Ghost Face) and the woman in red, who have incomplete bodies, also possessed □□. However, their □□, just like their souls, existed in an incomplete state.
"Isn't this the perfect way to vacation?" Chi Shen seemed unphased by this small surprise. He happily flopped onto the bed, looked around the room that had seen the disappearance of two groups of people, and laughingly said, "Shall we take a nap?"
Chi Shen's smiling eyes were fixed on Ji Xingchen, and Ji Xingchen stared back.
Soon after, Ji Xingchen put on his glasses and withdrew his hand from Chi Shen's grasp: "You rest first, I'll go check out the hotel surroundings."
Chi Shen didn't try to stop him. He lay on the bed for a while; he'd slept during the journey and wasn't really tired now. He just felt that since they were at a hotel, he should definitely relax.
Before long, Chi Shen saw Ji Xingchen walk into the room, methodically unbuttoning his suit, and remarked, "There's a private hot spring here. I tried it out; it's quite good. Do you want to soak?"
Chi Shen immediately sat up from the bed: "There's such a treat?"
Meanwhile, a pale-faced ghost crawled out of Chi Shen's pocket, echoing, "There's such a treat?!"
Ji Xingchen gave the ghost face a nonchalant glance.
The ghost face quickly retreated back into the pocket, muttering in a muffled voice, "You enjoy your soak; I won't disturb you."
