Ji Feng told Jiang Zhichun that the cat hadn't scratched him and there was no need to check. Without further ado, he left with Xue Rui to attend a meeting.
He left the driver for Jiang Zhichun's use, instructing him to drive one of the other cars parked in the hotel's underground garage.
The car he was riding in today would be driven by Xue Rui.
Throughout the journey, Ji Feng remained silent, gazing out the window as if deep in thought, or perhaps avoiding certain thoughts altogether.
As they stopped at a red light behind the white line, Ji Feng finally spoke.
"What do you think of Miss Jiang?"
A straightforward question.
His calm tone made it seem as though the person asking wasn't particularly concerned about the answer, as if it were just a casual inquiry.
Xue Rui pondered: What could he say about this Miss Jiang?
When he first met her, he thought she was perfect in every way—beautiful, from a good family, well-spoken, and elegant. Among all the people he had met, she seemed to be the one who best matched Ji Feng's standards.
But now, for some reason, every time Miss Jiang visited, he felt a sense of unease.
How could he describe this unease?
For example, when Xu Miyu came upstairs, he felt completely relaxed and at ease chatting with her. Everyone got along harmoniously and enjoyed each other's company.
But with Miss Jiang, although she appeared equally amiable, her friendliness felt like a favor she was bestowing.
And this friendliness was something she could grant, but he couldn't truly accept it. If she was friendly to him, he couldn't assume that they could now get along on equal terms. He had to be aware of his own status—she seemed even more like his superior than Ji Feng did.
Xue Rui glanced at Ji Feng in the rearview mirror, observing his expression to gauge an appropriate response.
Ji Feng caught his glance and the hesitation behind it in the mirror, immediately saying in a stern voice, "If even you can't speak frankly with me, if you have to weigh your words and tailor your answers to my preferences before responding, then how can I ever hear a single honest word in this world?"
Although it was a reprimand, the words stirred something in Xue Rui. He almost masochistically found a sense of unique value in the criticism.
He immediately decided to abandon caution and speak his true feelings.
"Miss Jiang... her looks and family background are impeccable. I heard she held a global tour at such a young age, which shows her abilities are exceptional." After a pause, he began to shift his tone. "But sometimes, she might give off a slight misalignment of information."
Ji Feng raised an eyebrow and asked, "What kind of information misalignment?"
The red light ended, and the green light lit up. Xue Rui smoothly set the car in motion.
After crossing the intersection, he answered Ji Feng's question: "I was chatting with the hotel's gossip squad earlier about the situation at the hotel. Lu Xiaoyan from the front desk told me that the elderly lady that day wasn't actually brought in by Miss Jiang. It was Mi Yu who saw the old woman collapsed outside the hotel and immediately decided to have her brought inside."
After speaking, he glanced in the rearview mirror again, hoping Ji Feng wouldn't think he was gossiping.
"You certainly know how to phrase things, calling it a 'misalignment of information,'" Ji Feng said with a mocking smile. "Tell me the truth—what is this really called?"
Xue Rui looked at Ji Feng in the rearview mirror again. Meeting those lie-detector-like eyes, he chose to be honest: "It's called playing mind games."After speaking, he noticed Ji Feng remained silent and turned to look out the window.
It wasn’t until quite some time later that Ji Feng spoke abruptly, without any preamble or context.
“She sure knows how to hold back, offering no explanation at all.”
As he spoke, Ji Feng recalled Xu Miyu’s two contrasting faces, as if she had two distinct personalities.
“Huh?” Xue Rui asked, somewhat confused. “Boss, who are you talking about? Miss Jiang?”
Ji Feng turned his gaze back and looked at Xue Rui through the rearview mirror. “What do you think about what happened today?”
Xue Rui gathered his thoughts before replying, “Well, today’s incident… Miss Jiang can be a bit naive at times. Hmm… so naive that she seems unaware of the hardships of life. Take today, for example—insisting on giving that poor elderly woman a Ragdoll cat. She meant well, but for both the cat and the elderly woman, they’d only become burdens to each other. The woman can’t afford to care for it, and the cat would suffer.”
Xue Rui glanced again at the rearview mirror and saw Ji Feng listening intently. He continued.
“I think it might be because she comes from a wealthy family and has never had to worry about money. The people she interacts with are all similarly well-off, so she’s always lived in that kind of social circle. As a result, she assumes everyone in the country is fairly wealthy. It’s a bit like the ‘why not eat meat’ mentality.”
After he finished speaking, Ji Feng remained silent.
Xue Rui quickly tried to read Ji Feng’s expression through the rearview mirror. But that handsome face showed nothing beyond its usual sternness, revealing no trace of emotion.
Xue Rui grew uneasy and began blaming himself inwardly for being unable to hold back and spilling all his honest thoughts.
He really couldn’t keep his mouth shut!
When the upper class seeks an upper-class partner, what’s wrong with a “why not eat meat” attitude? In fact, it shows the person has never suffered or been tainted—pure and noble. Isn’t that perfectly suited to Ji Feng’s high standards for a partner?
After mentally scolding himself, Xue Rui cautiously kept his mouth shut for the rest of the journey.
Just as they reached their destination and Ji Feng was about to get out of the car, he suddenly spoke, giving Xue Rui an instruction.
“Later, draft a message in my name to Miss Jiang. Tell her that with the New Year approaching, there are many meetings and tasks. Starting tomorrow, she shouldn’t come to the hotel anymore. Also, let her know that I’m just a boring person who only knows how to attend meetings. She should find someone more interesting to spend her time with.”
Xue Rui immediately replied cheerfully, “Got it!”
He knew Ji Feng was tactfully telling Miss Jiang that the two of them weren’t a good match, without causing embarrassment on either side.
As the New Year drew closer day by day, the front office department finalized the holiday shift schedule. Lu Xiaoyan was assigned to work the night shift on New Year’s Eve.
From the moment she saw the schedule, she looked as if she had been struck by lightning, her face heavy with misery. She pleaded with everyone to swap shifts, pitifully explaining, “My boyfriend and I planned a trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand during the Spring Festival a long time ago. The hotel and flights are all booked! If I don’t go, it’ll be such a huge loss! Please, Huanhuan, aren’t you staying in the city for the New Year? Could you swap shifts with me for one day? I’ll even kneel for you or call you godmother if you want!”Shi Huanhuan quickly blocked the offer of becoming a goddaughter: "No! Stop right there. How about I call you godmother instead? Please, godmother, spare me this time. I was the one on duty last New Year's Eve, so it shouldn't be my turn again this year no matter what. Find someone else, godmother. No—if you spare me, you'll be my god-grandmother!" After a pause, she couldn't resist teasing Lu Xiaoyan, "We have sunny beaches and year-round spring-like weather in Xing City, just like in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. I really don't get why you'd specifically travel there during the New Year—are you after their stronger curry scent?"
Lu Xiaoyan, failing to persuade her, switched to snapping back: "That strong curry scent is India, Huanhuan. You should really brush up on your geography!"
She then went around pitifully begging others, offering to become their goddaughter left and right, but for once, everyone seemed to have grown a backbone—no one was willing to take her up on the free goddaughter deal. Anxious and distressed, Lu Xiaoyan was on the verge of tears.
Just then, Xu Miyu, who had returned from verifying forms at the administration department, spoke up voluntarily: "Xiaoyan, I'll switch with you. I'll take your New Year's Eve shift."
Lu Xiaoyan was both shocked and overjoyed, almost dropping to her knees in gratitude.
"Mi Yu, I love you! Next year, I'm willing to work like an ox or horse for you, devoting myself heart and soul! Thank you, thank you!"
Xu Miyu smiled and replied, "I should be the one thanking you."
Lu Xiaoyan was momentarily confused by her response.
Xu Miyu chuckled softly.
How could she explain that if she didn't work at the hotel during the New Year, she wouldn't even know where to go?
The premise of a family reunion is having a family to reunite with.
Where did she still have a home?
Her small family had fallen apart. Her larger family saw her only as a living blood bank to exploit—it was long overdue to sever ties.
The more festive and family-reunion-like the occasion, the more it highlighted her loneliness and bleakness.
But she didn't want to reveal that loneliness and bleakness. Exposing them might earn some sympathy, yet sympathy was the most fleeting and cheap thing in the world—hardly worth having.
So she told Lu Xiaoyan, "I'm thanking you in advance for being willing to work like an ox or horse for me next year."
Soon, New Year's Eve arrived.
Xu Miyu had almost forgotten how she used to spend previous Spring Festivals—she was too busy to reminisce or feel nostalgic.
Unexpectedly, more people came to check into the hotel on New Year's Eve than anticipated. She was busy greeting guests, handling check-ins, and managing room bookings, to the point where she didn't even have time to eat.
She was grateful that the hotel had such good business on a day like this, keeping her too occupied to notice any sense of loss or melancholy.
She remained busy like this until evening.
When her replacement arrived, she finally had a chance to grab a bite to eat.
In the cafeteria, she unexpectedly ran into Ke Wenxue, who was eating as if racing against time. Ke Wenxue told Xu Miyu that the housekeeping department had tried to give leave to as many out-of-town staff as possible, but with an unusually high number of guests checking in tonight—especially female guests, many with children who had high cleanliness standards for rooms—they were now short-handed. She had to finish her meal quickly and rush back to handle room cleaning.
Xu Miyu barely exchanged a few words with her before Ke Wenxue, with one last mouthful of food, dashed into the staff elevator.
After eating, Xu Miyu returned to the lobby for her evening shift and was surprised to see Lu Xiaoyan had come back.
She asked Lu Xiaoyan in astonishment, "Weren't you supposed to go traveling with your boyfriend?"Lu Xiaoyan shook her head and sighed. "Don't even mention it. That mama's boy boyfriend of mine—we were already at the airport, and his mom was still calling him, nagging him about everything from dressing warmly and eating properly to watching his step when walking. She went on about where she'd put his money, where his cards were, even where his socks and underwear were packed. She kept at it for a full hour without stopping. In the end, my boyfriend broke down sobbing right there in the airport, crying, 'Mom, I'm sorry for making you worry by traveling so far away.' When I saw that, I thought, screw this trip—why don't you just go home and be your mom's precious little boy! So I dumped him on the spot."
Xu Miyu listened, stunned.
She felt both envy and admiration for how decisively and cleanly young women today handled relationships.
If she had mustered that kind of resolve earlier, she wouldn't have had to wait until she was thirty to restart her life.
Lu Xiaoyan explained that after the breakup, staying home for the New Year felt suffocating—especially with her parents constantly asking questions—so she just packed her suitcase and came back to work early.
"Mi Yu, I'm back now, so you don't have to cover my shift anymore. Go get some rest!"
Xu Miyu smiled and agreed, stepping away from the front desk. But for a moment, she had no idea where she could possibly "go back to" during the New Year holiday.
Remembering what Ke Wenxue had mentioned at dinner in the cafeteria earlier—that they were short-staffed upstairs—she decided to go help out.
Xu Miyu went straight up to the executive level. She asked Ke Wenxue for a key card and started by helping strip the linens from the dirty rooms.
Her sudden appearance and assistance left Ke Wenxue both shocked and overjoyed. "Mi Yu! Mi Yu! Are you an angel sent from heaven? Oh, Mi Yu, you're too good to me! With your help, I might actually catch a break! Wow, I'm being graciously rescued by a leader from another department!"
Xu Miyu completely understood Ke Wenxue's situation as a local employee. During the New Year, they had it the hardest—they had to accommodate the out-of-town staff who only got one long break a year to visit their families, so locals often ended up working the holiday shifts.
Though Ke Wenxue was usually gossipy and talkative, she now showed tact by not asking why Xu Miyu was also working overtime during the holiday.
She knew Xu Miyu was divorced and had no family of her own to return to. She also knew about Xu Miyu's difficult family background—that returning to her parents' home would be like stepping into a dragon's pool and tiger's den.
While cleaning rooms and chatting idly, Ke Wenxue belatedly realized she'd inadvertently said something she shouldn't have.
By then, Xu Miyu had already finished stripping the beds in the dirty rooms and was helping her make them, while Ke Wenxue was scrubbing the bathtub in the bathroom.
Sighing as she scrubbed, Ke Wenxue said, "My mom must be grumbling about me at home. I bet she hasn't touched a single dumpling she cooked—she's probably waiting for me to come home and eat, even if they've gone cold. Ugh! Next year, I'm telling them in advance that I've got plans for the Spring Festival. I have to go home and spend the whole holiday with my mom and dad, so they won't miss me so much—even though they only live across half the city from me."
After she finished speaking, there was no response from Xu Miyu for a long moment.
A while later, she heard Xu Miyu say with a light laugh, "That's wonderful—having something to look forward to, with your parents waiting for you at home. Once we finish these rooms, you should head back. Don't keep them waiting too long on New Year's. I'll take care of the remaining rooms—Luo Qingping won't stop me."It was only then that Ke Wenxue could grasp the faint desolation hidden in Xu Miyu's heart. Her parents didn't even wait for her to come home for the New Year—they probably hadn't even bothered to check in on her.
Ke Wenxue wanted to say sorry, but she felt that actually voicing it would only hurt Xu Miyu all over again.
For the rest of the time, she tried her best to cheerfully gossip with Xu Miyu, hoping to distract her from her melancholy thoughts.
She talked about who in the hotel had gotten together with whom, who had cheated on someone and then hooked up with someone from another department.
As she chattered on, the topic shifted to the top floor.
"Oh, right, there's some gossip from the top floor too! Li Kunlun from the Food and Beverage Department—you know him—told me that when he went to the top floor this morning to deliver a meal to General Manager Ji, he happened to hear Assistant Xue answering a call for the General Manager on speakerphone. It was that Ms. Jiang who used to come to the hotel frequently—the one rumored to be General Manager Ji's romantic interest. You know who I'm talking about, right, Mi Yu? It was her. She told General Manager Ji that she has a New Year's Eve performance tonight and invited him to come watch."
Xu Miyu's motion while spreading the bedsheet faltered slightly, nearly causing most of the sheet to slip to the floor. She quickly adjusted her movement and spread it again.
Ke Wenxue continued broadcasting the gossip on her own: "But General Manager Ji told Ms. Jiang that he had to stay home tonight to keep his mother company for the New Year's Eve vigil. Li Kunlun later told me—men understand men best—he said that General Manager Ji's reply was clearly an excuse to avoid attending Ms. Jiang's New Year's Eve performance, which is why he brought his mother into it. But you know what, Mi Yu? It would've been better if General Manager Ji hadn't used his mother as an excuse—by doing so, he ended up trapping himself!"
This time, Xu Miyu spread the sheet perfectly; it settled neatly and fully over the mattress.
"How did he trap himself?" Xu Miyu asked smoothly while deftly tucking the sheet around the mattress.
Ke Wenxue deliberately paused her work for a moment, leaning out from the bathroom to watch Xu Miyu as she delivered the twist: "As soon as General Manager Ji said he couldn't go to the concert because he had to stay home with his mother for the vigil, guess what happened? The big move came—General Manager Ji's mother suddenly appeared on the call! She said she was going to Ms. Jiang's concert tonight too and told General Manager Ji to drive her there!"
Xu Miyu finished tucking in the sheet and looked up at Ke Wenxue, thinking for a moment before understanding: "So Ms. Jiang was at General Manager Ji's house, with his mother, when she called him?"
Ke Wenxue nodded: "Exactly!" After a pause, she added, "Actually, we used to think privately that this Ms. Jiang was almost General Manager Ji's girlfriend because she could enter his top-floor suite every day—a place no one else is allowed into. But then suddenly one day, she stopped coming to the hotel. We guessed that maybe General Manager Ji's standards were too high, and things just didn't work out between them. But who would've thought that as the year-end approached, Ms. Jiang would start trying a different approach—if she couldn't win over General Manager Ji, she'd win over his mother first. She quietly cornered him. So this Ms. Jiang is really something else!"
Xu Miyu chuckled at this. It seemed she understood better than others that Jiang Zhichun was no ordinary girl.
"Mi Yu, do you think Ms. Jiang and General Manager Ji will end up together?" Ke Wenxue pulled her head back into the bathroom and continued scrubbing the bathtub as she asked.She didn't actually need Xu Miyu's answer, because after asking the question herself, she immediately started answering it: "I think there's an eighty percent chance it'll work out. Isn't it often said that cold men are afraid of persistent women? No matter how cold a man is, faced with a beautiful woman's active pursuit, he'll eventually give in sooner or later. Because men, after all, are creatures of sexual desire. If women's brains are engraved with the word 'beauty,' then men's brains are engraved with the word 'sex.'"
Xu Miyu couldn't help but laugh out loud at this.
After laughing, she felt she didn't want to hear any more about Ji Feng and Jiang Zhichun. She subtly changed the subject.
"It seems like a lot of single female guests checked in today, some with children."
Ke Wenxue immediately said, "Well, our city is next to the neighboring province, and there are some customs there where divorced women aren't allowed to return to their parents' home on New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year, saying it's unlucky. But after they divorce, they have no in-laws' home to return to either. So those without children spend New Year's Eve and the first day alone, and those with children bring their kids to stay in hotels around the neighboring province, waiting until the second day of the new year to return to their parents' home."
Hearing this, Xu Miyu felt a wave of sorrow in her heart.
She was also a divorced woman, with nowhere to go during the New Year.
At the same time, she felt indignant. Divorced women had simply ended their marriages, just wanting to leave unhappy marriages and start anew, yet they were treated with such disdain and abandonment.
A wave of desolation and sadness surged in her heart, growing stronger with each passing moment. In the lively and bustling New Year celebrations, countless people were laughing and reuniting, but who could see the lonely divorced women abandoned by the New Year within the four walls of the hotel?
After helping Ke Wenxue clean the guest rooms, Xu Miyu returned to the lobby and glanced through the guest information.
She thought that perhaps tonight, as a divorced woman herself, she could do something for the other divorced women abandoned by the New Year within these four walls.
With his mother's personal request, Ji Feng couldn't continue to decline Jiang Zhichun's invitation during the New Year.
In the evening, he first went home to have dinner with his mother, then drove her to the concert hall to watch the New Year's concert. That afternoon, he had already sent Xue Rui and the driver home for the New Year, so this time he drove himself.
Jiang Zhichun had reserved VIP seats for them, right in front of the center of the stage. Jiang Zhichun had changed her outfit tonight, dressing as a mature and dignified musician.
She had her hair tied up, wore a floor-length gown, and sat in front of the piano, bending her elegant neck as her fingers flowed effortlessly across the keys.
The music was melodious, and Feng Xuelan couldn't help but sigh in admiration. During every brief pause in the music, she would praise Jiang Zhichun enthusiastically to Ji Feng:
"Zhichun is such a beautiful girl!"
"Zhichun plays the piano so well, I'm almost moved to tears! What an outstanding girl!"
"How was such a wonderful girl like Zhichun raised? Wouldn't it be great if she could become my daughter-in-law?"
...
Ji Feng let Feng Xuelan's brainwashing-like chatter wash over him, remaining calm and composed as he watched the performance on stage.
It was undeniable that Jiang Zhichun was indeed beautiful, and tonight he had also witnessed her professional excellence. She was truly the girl who most closely matched his standards for a partner in his nearly thirty years of life.
She had indeed made him consider giving it a try.But the faint discomfort he had felt later made him abandon that thought. Now, listening to his mother's endless praise and watching the person on stage glowing with focused performance, he heard a soft sigh escape his heart.
It was as if someone was hiding inside him, persuading him to give it another try. Perhaps with this girl, that discomfort had already reached its minimum. If it were another woman in the future, the discomfort might only increase.
This discomfort might ultimately just be a matter of unfamiliarity. But discomfort and unfamiliarity can always be worn away through adjustment. Just like how he used to despise Xu Miyu so much—she made him so uncomfortable, so unaccustomed. And now, wasn't he...
He abruptly cut off that train of thought, forcefully suppressing it.
Xu Miyu didn't meet a single one of his criteria for a partner. He reminded himself clearly.
No more wild thoughts—he made himself focus seriously on the concert.
As the concert was nearing its end, Feng Xuelan said she needed to use the restroom. But she never returned.
By the time the concert ended, Ji Feng received a message from Feng Xuelan: "I've asked the family driver to pick me up and go home first. Your father said he'll be home later too. No need to rush back to keep me company for New Year's Eve—spend some quality time with Zhichun. She's a one-in-a-million kind of girl, so make the most of it. I've arranged for flowers to be prepared—remember to give them to Zhichun when the concert ends."
Ji Feng frowned as he read the message. His father was actually coming home for New Year's—it was nothing short of a moral awakening.
A faint worry stirred within him—a concern about his parents being alone together. After all, when faced with his father, his mother's gentleness rarely lasted more than three minutes before turning hysterical.
While lost in thought, Jiang Zhichun on stage had already finished her performance, taken her bows, and was now walking straight toward him.
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