Shen Xifan’s attention was drawn to a spider. She was already somewhat nearsighted, but unfortunately, she had forgotten to put on her glasses during her inspection rounds.
The supervisors were somewhat nervous. The scene was already quite eerie: Shen, dressed in a deep blue professional suit, assumed a thoughtful pose, staring fixedly at a certain corner, her gaze distant as if anticipating something. It wasn’t until Zhang suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! There’s a big spider!”
Shen Xifan nodded satisfactorily. “Could it be that our hotel’s ecological environment is too good? Even spiders are crawling in here?”
The head of the guest room department, with a sincere attitude, said, “Manager Shen, it’s my negligence.”
She nodded. “I’ll come back to check again at five o’clock in the afternoon. Remember, it’s for all areas. I won’t find it troublesome.”
Back in her office, she turned on her computer to check the department’s accounts. Just as she had read two lines, the computer suddenly made a “pop” sound and went dead. She carefully sniffed. Wasn’t the computer burning? She then glanced at the indicator light on the water dispenser. Oh, there was a power outage!
The engineering department immediately called. “Manager Shen, there’s a large-scale power outage in the city, so we’re using the hotel’s generator. However, due to the large range of power usage, the administrative building is temporarily without power. Please understand.”
Shen Xifan responded with an “Okay.” She then put on her coat and went out, calling her father. Shen’s father said there seemed to be a large-scale power outage in the east of the city, but their home in the west was still receiving power. She sighed in relief. “I’ll be home a little later tonight.”
The lobby was a bit chaotic. Perhaps the sudden power outage had caused the elevators to stop abruptly. Although it was only for a moment, some guests were startled. A little girl seemed panicked, repeatedly calling out “Mom.”
The lobby manager, Ding Wei, explained the situation. Fortunately, the guests understood, and the situation was quickly brought under control.
Shen Xifan squatted in front of the little girl and asked, “Little friend, where’s your mom?”
The little girl, with a childish voice, spoke haltingly, “I… just now… my mom was still here… when the power went out… it was chaotic… I was pushed here… and then my mom was gone…”
She had no choice but to take the little girl to the security office, pull up the lobby surveillance footage, and let her identify. The little girl was clever, pointing at a woman of average height and saying, “This is her!”
Shen Xifan signaled to rewind the footage. When the woman turned around, her face was directly facing her. She was suddenly stunned. Guning Yuan?
She pointed at the screen and asked, “Are you sure this is your mom?”
The little girl nodded. “Mom suddenly said she wanted to go out. I didn’t want to stay at home alone, so I secretly got into her car and followed her there. But when we got here, my mom disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
“What’s your name?”
“Zhou Siqi.”
Shen Xifan breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t someone surnamed “Yan” or “Dai.” However, this little girl seemed to be around six or seven years old. How could she be Guning Yuan’s daughter? There was not the slightest resemblance between them. Perhaps she wasn’t her biological child.
“Auntie will help you find your mom now. You stay here with Uncle Security and don’t wander around, okay?”
“Auntie!” The little girl pleaded timidly, “When my mom comes, can you ask her not to hit me? Siqi is so scared!”
Guning Yuan. How many years had it been since she thought of that name? She had been deliberately ignoring that memory, but three years later, it was forcibly dug up. It still hurt, like a freshly coagulated blood clot. A gentle touch would cause it to bleed again.
Yan Heng was affectionate, but she couldn’t blame him. If she were clever enough, she wouldn’t have willingly jumped into it. But even if she was intelligent, she would become powerless in front of love. He would only love one person, and pamper one person. In front of him, you were a princess. But his affection for each person had an expiration date. When he felt it was no longer fresh, you expired. Then, like canned pineapples, you were packed up and thrown into the trash.
And he was too good, like a drug invading the mind, corroding the heart, and then seeping into the skin, occupying inch by inch. Slowly, irresistibly, every drop of blood in the body shouted his goodness. He was an addiction, with no cure.
But Shen Xifan couldn’t help but ask in her heart, Guning Yuan, this time you came to find Yan Heng, do you want poison or an antidote?
She didn’t need to personally go find Guning Yuan. Moreover, she had been deliberately avoiding Villa Area F. But, she didn’t know why. Perhaps it was reluctance, unfinished business, perhaps there were more reasons. She wasn’t the little girl who cried in hiding when she saw Yan Heng with another girl anymore. But what did she want now? She didn’t know.
After a deeply memorable first love ended, three years later, when both parties met again, what kind of expression should be used, what kind of words should be said, she didn’t know. But many times, everything didn’t need an explanation, and there was no way to explain it.
Yan Heng was wearing very little. Indeed, standing opposite him was Guning Yuan, the former belle of the chemistry department. Now, her glory had faded, and her delicate makeup couldn’t hide the haggardness of her face. Perhaps her marriage was not happy, Shen Xifan speculated.
She didn’t disturb them, just stood far away, unable to hear their conversation, only seeing Guning Yuan grabbing Yan Heng’s arm, only to be fiercely thrown away by him. Then she staggered out, her eyes full of tears.
Shen Xifan took a deep breath and called out, “Wait, Miss Gu!”
Gu Ningyuan and Yan Heng both turned their heads, one with surprise and the other with annoyance. Shen Xifan casually said, “Miss Gu, your daughter is in the security room of the lobby. Please take her away. Also,” she paused, “the child didn’t mean any harm by following. Please don’t blame her!”
Gu Ningyuan forced a smile, noticing Shen Xifan’s name tag, and paused slightly, “I didn’t expect you to work at this hotel. Nice to meet you. I’m very busy today, let’s schedule a time to talk privately another day.”
Shen Xifan wanted to scream, “Even if you invite me on a trip to the Maldives, I won’t go. I’m scared of you!” But she kindly added, “Please don’t scold your daughter!”
Gu Ningyuan smiled and walked away, saying, “My hand hurts just thinking about hitting her…”
Left facing Yan Heng alone, they were close but in an extremely awkward atmosphere. She had to break the silence, “Mr. Yan, there was a large-scale power outage in the city earlier. I hope it didn’t inconvenience you.”
Yan Heng shook his head, sounding somewhat softer, “Xifan, do we have to be so distant?”
She was suddenly at a loss for words, regretting coming here to stir things up. As she turned to leave, Yan Heng’s voice came from behind, causing her breath to hitch, immobilizing her.
“Xiaofan…”
“Shen Xifan, your name sounds a lot like porridge, but that’s just congee, very fragrant, just like you. You have to slowly savor it to appreciate its flavor!”
“Shen Xifan, now that you’re my girlfriend, calling you by your name doesn’t feel intimate enough. I’ll just call you Xiaofan!”
“Xiaofan, Xiaofan, do you like this name? What? Sounds like a dog’s name? How could it be? If you were a dog, you’d be the cutest dog in the world and the laziest!”
“Xiaofan, let’s break up. You’ve changed. You’re not the same Xiaofan anymore. Goodbye, Shen Xifan!”
Yan Heng smiled somewhat bitterly, “Xiaofan, only you know my tastes. I don’t like spicy food but I love hot pot. I don’t eat fish, only fish soup. Every meal I’ve had for the past three years, was it all instructed by you to the chef? You haven’t forgotten anything about me in three years, have you?”
Her eyes welled up uncontrollably. Shen Xifan dared not turn back, just the sound of a familiar name made her so moved and nostalgic. If she continued, she didn’t know how to face the scarred past and the uncertain future.
The wounds of a lifetime couldn’t be healed with words or forgotten over time, but with happiness. She was just lost, wondering if happiness had been taken away by him or if it had never existed.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed with the supervisor’s voice, “Manager Shen, do you want to inspect the hygiene at five o’clock?”
“I’ll be there right away. Okay, wait for me in front of Building 1.”
Shen Xifan dared not say goodbye, as if she had never said “goodbye” to him. Even if it was their last meeting, she didn’t say “goodbye.” This time, she just softly whispered, “Mr. Yan, I have something to attend to. Goodbye.”
She always said that “goodbye” had two meanings—one was “see you again,” and the other was “never see you again.” She didn’t like either meaning, because she didn’t want to part with him, nor did she want to miss the chance to meet him again.
But things always went against her wishes.
Walking around the artificial lake in Area C, she suddenly felt powerless. With the winter wind, she tried hard to clear her mind. She reminded herself that she couldn’t bring personal emotions to work, let alone have ambiguous relationships with clients. She had always been meticulous and sensitive but highly disciplined.
Taking a deep breath to adjust her state, straightening her uniform, she smiled at herself, repeatedly murmuring, “Guest room, door locks flexible, no fingerprints, room number clean and tidy, walls and ceiling free of spider webs, stains…”
As she recited, she turned to leave but saw a car parked in front of Villa No. 2. A stunningly attractive woman stepped out of the car. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be a famous model.
Shen Xifan sighed inwardly. Ling Huoshui, you’re truly a demon, but unfortunately, too many people fall for your charms. Then she thought, if she took a picture of this scene and sold it to gossip magazines, she would make a fortune. Then she’d get fired, sued, and thrown in jail, with her parents taking turns visiting her—forget it, she’d better walk away quietly.
But she couldn’t help but glance sideways, seeing Ling Yufan leaning against the door, smiling at her. Without his glasses, he was incredibly charismatic. Shen Xifan immediately put on a bitter face, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
She calmed herself, clasping her hands together, silently reciting, “When faced with a dead end, turn back to shore to exchange for RMB.”
After checking all the floors, Shen Xifan nodded in satisfaction. “The hygiene is very good, I’m pleased. Thank you all for your hard work this afternoon!”
Then she prepared to go back to the office to tidy up. As she passed by the Chinese restaurant, she hesitated, then doubled back, exaggeratedly sniffing the air. She hurried to the backstage operation room to find Xu Xiangya. “Ivory, will there be fennel dumplings tonight?”
Xu Xiangya jumped. “Are you a dog with such a keen sense of smell? You can smell it from that far away? Hey, what are you up to? Fennel in winter is hard to come by. Even if we found some, it’s not for you to eat! Give up!”
She was annoyed. “Is it for Yan Heng? No, give them all to me. He prefers celery dumplings!”
Xu Xiangya’s eyes lit up. “Really? Are you serious?”
“Not kidding, not kidding!” She reached out to grab the exquisitely packaged dumplings in the blue and white porcelain bowl. The delicate patterns made them look exquisite, and fit for VIPs.
Chef Li chuckled. “No problem, Manager Shen. If you like them, take them to go. There’s still a lot left, we can make more. Oh, Manager Xu, are we making celery or fennel dumplings now?”
Shen Xifan answered for Xu Xiangya. “Celery ones for Mr. Yan, with a bit more sugar. He likes them sweeter. Use aged vinegar, he doesn’t like balsamic! As for the remaining fennel ones, make them together with some cabbage dumplings and distribute them to various departments as a token of appreciation. The winter solstice is coming soon, let’s celebrate, and everyone has worked hard for this meeting.”
The assistant nearby packed the dumplings and added a bowl of noodle soup, placing it beside Shen Xifan.
Xu Xiangya was extremely frustrated. “I’m such a failure as the head of the catering department. How about we swap roles?”
Shen Xifan quickly shook her head. “No way. I’m afraid I’ll lead to corruption. You know I can’t resist Chef Li’s excellent cooking. Besides, aren’t you afraid I’ll bankrupt the hotel?”
Everyone laughed, except for Yan Heng, who stood not far away, his expression somewhat lonely.
He still remembered that Shen Xifan was a food lover, not as picky as he was but extremely fond of good food.
The first time he saw her was in the second year of a law elective class. Winter mornings were the most torturous, with most people sleeping until just before class and rushing in with milk and bread, openly eating in class. Because it was an elective course, the teacher just smiled when faced with such situations. Some unreliable teachers would borrow money from classmates during breaks to buy breakfast. He had been borrowed from several times, and even repaid double the amount. In short, winter was a great excuse for laziness.
Shen Xifan had slipped in through the back door ten minutes after class started, carrying a lunch box. She sat casually in the second-to-last row by the window, in front of him. Then she opened the lunch box, immediately releasing a burst of steam and the aroma of rice and noodles. He was surprised—she was so bold to bring steamed dumplings from the cafeteria to class.
Not only were there dumplings, but she also added some vinegar. Immediately, nearby classmates turned to look at the source of the aroma, smiled, and then turned back, tacitly acknowledging her breakfast. But she was also self-aware, lifting the bench and squatting by the window to eat. The moment she took the first bite, he smelled it—it was fennel dumplings.
At that time, he was suffering greatly, his empty stomach starting to rebel against the aroma of the dumplings. His mind began to wander due to a lack of blood supply. He wanted to tell her, could she not eat here? The aroma was too tempting, it was seriously affecting the class.
Just then, as she sat up to drink water, he gently tapped her back with his pen and whispered, “Classmate, could you please eat the dumplings outside?” But he didn’t know what she heard, he just saw her pause slightly, then reach for the lunch box, shaking her head. She took out half a pack of digestives from her bag. “There’s half a dumpling left. If you’re hungry, have these first!”
He could only laugh at himself, reluctantly accepting the cookies. He didn’t dare to move for a while, intending to return them to her at the end of class. But she suddenly jumped up, shouting, “It’s mealtime! Hurry up and grab food, or there won’t be any left!”
He, holding half a pack of cookies, was at a loss. It wasn’t until later that he realized Shen Xifan had misunderstood his words as “Can you, classmate, give me the dumplings?”
Yan Heng thought she hadn’t changed. She still loved eating dumplings, adding plenty of vinegar, then drinking water until her lips turned white, and gulping it down.
He suddenly realized that the three years gone by felt like three seconds, and he had never altered his memories. The days of youthful recklessness were gone forever, but he could never return to that time to make up for his mistakes.
She, she must hate him, right?