The Silly Fox Goes Down The Mountain And Gets A Happily Ever After With The Chief Eunuch - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Working Monster, Working Soul

Donning the hotel’s standard white shirt and black vest, Nining Qiyan stood at the entrance like a soldier.

He and Luo Haitang each guarded one side of the door. When guests arrived, they would take a step forward to ask if they had a reservation. If they did, they would notify a server to escort them to the corresponding numbered table; if not, they would go to the front desk to check for vacant tables. It wasn’t a difficult task.

“Yongfeng Hotel is a world-renowned luxury hotel, of course, we must make our guests feel at home,” Luo Haitang had said. Most of his body was hidden behind the door, perfectly avoiding the wind blowing from outside, and he would only step out to the side to “act the part” whenever someone approached.

Nining Qiyan imitated him, hiding behind the door until someone arrived, then stepping out to play along.

“What’s wrong with you two? Why are you hiding behind the door?”

Huang Muquan, who had come downstairs to get some documents from the front desk, looked at the two of them—who were acting as timid as mice—with a strange expression before having an epiphany. “You’re slacking off, aren’t you?”

“I am a peacock; what’s wrong with slacking off a little?”

Faced with Huang Muquan’s skepticism, Luo Haitang stated his case righteously.

Huang Muquan: “Do peacocks even eat fish?”

Luo Haitang smiled, kicked into a crisp goose-step, and stood at attention, completing the evolution from mouse to door god.

Nining Qiyan followed suit, goose-stepping into position. Yongfeng Hotel now had another door god.

Huang Muquan: “…Fox, stop learning everything you see.”

Thank goodness it wasn’t dining hours and there were no people around; otherwise, he feared the hotel would be in the news tomorrow.

“Shock! Yongfeng Hotel receptionists are mentally ill! Is this a distortion of human nature or a loss of morality?”

Do monsters get mental illnesses? Huang Muquan didn’t know, because he’d never had one.

He tapped Luo Haitang on the head with the documents and said, “Get serious. The boss is coming for an inspection tomorrow, so behave yourself.”

Luo Haitang saluted. “Mission guaranteed to be accomplished!”

Huang Muquan tapped his head again. “Watch fewer TV dramas, you silly thing.”

After he finished, he got into the elevator with his documents. Watching his back, Luo Haitang rolled his eyes and whispered, “Silly thing; as if you’re so smart.”

While Luo Haitang was making faces, Nining Qiyan over here—who seemed alive and was indeed alive—had been spaced out for a while.

The Boss?

Huang Muquan hadn’t spoken quietly; Nining Qiyan could hear him clearly.

A monster who could open such a large hotel in the human world must be a powerful one.

Nining Qiyan thought to himself, unable to help but feel curious about this monster boss.

He winked at Luo Haitang and asked in a voice he thought was very quiet: “Our boss… what kind of monster is he?”

A hint of a smile leaked onto Luo Haitang’s stunning face. Just as Nining Qiyan was concentrating, thinking he was about to hear a monster species… Luo Haitang pulled out his headset, dug into his ear, and then politely wiped his hand with a handkerchief, not flicking the debris directly onto the floor.

“That’s much better.”

Luo Haitang retracted the handkerchief, looked up at the dazed Nining Qiyan, and said, “It’s a human. Our boss is a human.”

Hearing this, Nining Qiyan became even more dazed.

Human? Not an ape? A pure-blooded human? Was Bai Tu’s information wrong?

Nining Qiyan: “Wow, how special.”

He came back to his senses and asked hesitatingly, “But why do monsters all come here to work?”

Nining Qiyan couldn’t figure it out. Facing so many monsters, wasn’t this human afraid?

He had even seen a brown bear server. This animal, whose original form was feared by humans, was being accepted by the boss.

Luo Haitang pulled a small mirror from who knows where, looking into it while grooming his hair. “How would I know? Even that ‘Yellow Dog’ doesn’t tell us. Anyway, the boss isn’t afraid, and we don’t spend much time with him, so we just need to do our part. Why do we need to know all the whys?”

Nining Qiyan opened his mouth, wanting to ask more, but stopped.

Then… how did the boss know about the existence of monsters?

He didn’t ask, because Luo Haitang was too immersed in his own beauty.

“I really am so good-looking.”

Luo Haitang gazed at his reflection in the mirror like a fool. “I wonder which guy will be lucky enough to get me in the future.”

Nining Qiyan’s mouth twitched. With sharp eyes, he spotted a group of people approaching outside. He immediately stood up straight, puffed out his chest, and reminded Luo Haitang, who was still fawning over his reflection.

“Haitang, guests are coming.”

Luo Haitang immediately closed the small mirror, flipped it between his fingers, and threw it upward. The square mirror landed steadily into his vest pocket—a skill so proficient it left Nining Qiyan in awe.

“Welcome to Yongfeng Hotel. May I ask if you have a reservation?”

Luo Haitang, with his keen insight, chose to ask the man who looked like the leader of the group.

“Yes, Shanhai Pavilion.”

Shanhai Pavilion was the name of a private room on the second floor. The man waved his hand, and Luo Haitang understood immediately, retreating with a generous smile. He spoke into the microphone pinned to his collar: “Guests for Shanhai Pavilion have arrived. Xiao Hei, go take the order.”

A crackle of static came through the headset, followed by a voice saying “OK.”

The man was clearly a regular; he found the location of the elevator on his own.

Today was a workday, and there weren’t many people eating. Plus, with the boss’s inspection scheduled for tomorrow, to ensure everyone was in good spirits, Nining Qiyan and the others got off work an hour early.

On the way back, he took a small detour to buy five chicken legs to reward himself for a day’s work.

Although he hadn’t come many times, the barbecue stall owner had already remembered him.

After all, who would come to buy five chicken legs every night for several nights in a row?

But this young man did, so the boss was touched—this was the greatest recognition a cook could receive.

“Here you go: three honey-flavored and two mild spicy. Take care.”

The barbecue boss squeezed a kind, gentle smile onto his fierce face, making even the fierce green dragon tattoo on his arm look a bit silly and cute.

Nining Qiyan had already planned it out: he’d eat a honey-flavored one first, then a spicy one, so he wouldn’t get tired of the taste.

They say hot food is the best, especially in winter; it’s the most comforting. As soon as Nining Qiyan got his hands on them, he picked a lucky leg to start gnawing.

Two words: Refreshing!

Exclamation mark included.

“Big Brother’s skills are as good as ever.”

Nining Qiyan was never stingy with his praise. No living being would dislike praise. Especially sincere praise—a single compliment could make a person or monster happy all day, and it only took moving one’s mouth to achieve it.

After returning home, Nining Qiyan took a shower, put on the white shirt he was to wear tomorrow, “swooshed” under the covers, and pulled out a heat patch he’d “accidentally” grabbed from the company to stick on his back.

Perfect!

Sure enough, Brother Haitang was right; the free things from the company are the most useful.

In order to keep up with the times and enrich his knowledge base, Nining Qiyan pulled out his phone… and started scrolling through short videos.

Before long, muffled laughter drifted from under the quilt.

When his alarm went off, Nining Qiyan pressed the screen-off button with great self-restraint and turned off the lights to sleep.

He was a disciplined fox, after all.

Not long after, the breathing in the room became steady.

The next day, Nining Qiyan was awakened by the alarm. His dazed state lasted until he stepped out the door and was slapped in the face by the cold, howling wind, waking him up instantly.

Survived another day, hooray!

The boss was coming today. Whether it was psychological or not, Nining Qiyan felt like something was different.

Like the red carpet in front of him, the party poppers in his hand, and Luo Haitang’s face, which was a shade whiter than usual.

“Your face…”

Nining Qiyan was baffled. It wasn’t just him; even the two young ladies at the front desk were a shade whiter, and their eyes seemed a bit larger too.

When Luo Haitang saw him like this, he burst out laughing. “Don’t you know about makeup? It’s a craft that allows you to make yourself look better.”

Makeup? Nining Qiyan had heard the word vaguely; it seemed to be one of the “four great sorceries,” but looking at Luo Haitang’s face, it didn’t seem quite the same as the “head-swapping” techniques he’d seen in videos.

At the very least, he could still recognize Luo Haitang.

Explaining makeup was a hassle, so taking advantage of the early hour, he decided to demonstrate it on Nining Qiyan himself.

Luo Haitang pinched Nining Qiyan’s chin and looked left and right. “Your skin is quite good, durable. Hmm, your eyes are bright enough, and the rest is quite coordinated. Just adding some lipstick and blush will be ‘OK’.”

Nining Qiyan didn’t understand: “‘OK’?”

He had heard the word yesterday, but because Luo Haitang was teaching him how to use the headset to contact people at the time, he had forgotten to ask.

Luo Haitang: “English. It means ‘can’ or ‘alright’.” He smiled and added: “I only know a few words of English.”

Luo Haitang’s hair was very long—the longest Nining Qiyan had ever seen on a male—reaching almost to his chest.

Seemingly finding it a nuisance, he tied his hair up and threw it behind his back, but because he was bending over, it secretly slid back to the front.

Nining Qiyan obediently let him do as he pleased with his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the long hair and asked curiously: “Haitang, Brother, why is your hair so long?”

Luo Haitang flicked his head, throwing the strands that had been tickling his neck back to where they belonged: “A joke. That’s like asking why a peacock’s tail is so long. I don’t want it to be, but if I cut my hair, my tail will get shorter by a segment, and that would be a disaster.”

Nining Qiyan had thought it was a fashion trend; turns out it was just the helplessness of a male peacock.

“Alright, close your little mouth. I’m going to apply lipstick to you.”

Nining Qiyan immediately shut his mouth and held his breath.

He didn’t plan on making any funny faces just yet.

“Done.”

It didn’t take long. With Luo Haitang’s command, Nining Qiyan immediately opened his mouth and breathed heavily.

Luo Haitang: “?” I didn’t tell you to hold your breath?

Nining Qiyan gasped: “I was scared.”

Luo Haitang: “…The first time is always like this.”

He handed the small mirror to Nining Qiyan. “Take a look, doesn’t your complexion look much better? That little face of yours was so white before, you looked frail.”

Nining Qiyan wasn’t happy about being told that and retorted immediately: “I’m not frail, that was from the wind blowing on me.”

Don’t think he didn’t know: men shouldn’t be called “frail.”

Luo Haitang didn’t expect Nining Qiyan to know that and laughed: “Alright, you’re not frail; the Yellow Dog is frail.”

Speak of the devil.

“Yellow Dog” Huang whispered: “Peacock, chatting away? Pretty good at slacking off, aren’t you? You must do it often. Stop standing there and go guard the door; the boss will be here soon.”

Luo Haitang whispered: “A dog telling a person to guard the door—how strange.”

Huang Muquan: “Who said dogs have to guard the door? Please stop with the stereotypes, thanks.”

Luo Haitang was shocked: “You heard that?”

Huang Muquan felt a slight pain in his temple: “I’m not deaf, thanks.”

He would never admit that he had also done the job of guarding the door.

Jokes aside, Luo Haitang and Nining Qiyan stood guard at the entrance, waiting for the boss to arrive.

About half an hour later, a Maybach pulled up. The driver hurried out of the car to open the door, and the figure of a man in a suit appeared. His black leather shoes stepped onto the red carpet, one step at a time.