Chapter 14: Renovation
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Other people’s best friends were loyal wingmen in love; his was more like a torpedo boat—loud, chaotic, and bound to sink the whole ship. Not only did Xu You fail to assist, he always managed to cook up some completely unexpected disaster. Shi Wenze was beginning to suspect that even making friends required feng shui and fate. Maybe it was time to visit a temple and get a charm from a master.
Before he could even ask what kind of nonsense Xu You was up to this time, a colleague from the investigation team arrived. The one assigned to receive Lin Su was a hefty white tiger whose whole body jiggled with every step. His silver fur gleamed sleekly under the lights, and just climbing onto a chair took him a full minute. Flipping through the records took another two. He even left midway to find himself a pair of rimless glasses.
In human society, a service window with this kind of efficiency would’ve been obliterated on social media. But Lin Su had no complaints—mainly because this tiger looked like a silver-shaded tabby and the leopard officer from Zootopia combined. With those two buffs stacked together, any sense of boredom or irritation vanished. In fact, someone had even left a note in the feedback book recently: “Processing is too efficient. Please enact a policy where appointments must last at least 15 minutes. Any request that could be handled in one visit should absolutely require two.” Management’s response? Citizens with this need were encouraged to visit a cat café instead.
By the time Lin Su finished giving his statement, Shi Wenze still hadn’t come out of his supervisor’s office. He’d only managed to send Lin Su a text:
“Go rest at my desk—Room 2908.”
“Excuse me,” Lin Su asked a passing staffer. “Could you tell me where Room 2908 is?”
The patrol officer hiding around the corner, eavesdropping, panicked. He immediately called Xu You.
“Xu Ge, it’s bad. The inspection team guy’s asking for 2908. Shouldn’t you cram a few more pages of law code just in case?”
Xu You flashed back to the trauma of test-taking and didn’t hesitate for a second. He grabbed his bag and made for the window, already plotting his escape route. He even had a backup plan: quit and become a mukbang streamer. Never again would he suffer another CCCDDC.
When Lin Su pushed open the door to 2908, he just caught a glimpse of a turquoise fish tail sweeping across the night sky before disappearing into the clouds.
“…” He stood there, thinking hard. Did I bully this guy in high school or something? Where is this trauma coming from?
The office was shared by Shi Wenze and Xu You. Two desks stood on opposite ends of the room, each with its own computer. The rest of the space was cluttered with folders and brown paper bags—bags full of unsealed chips, unsealed preserved plums, unsealed beef jerky, and enough instant meals (hot pot, rice, noodles) to last a zombie apocalypse. To an artist, this was unacceptable. So Lin Su placed a call to Qingji Express and booked a local delivery service.
Luckily, the yellow-hatted, yellow-shirted little monster from the courier service was nearby. As soon as he got the order, he pedaled his beloved tricycle at top speed toward the address. He knocked politely on the window, pride shining from every pore. He’d made the delivery in just five minutes—faster than that other service… you know the one.
“If you don’t specify brands, we can be even faster!” he said, scanning Lin Su’s list. “But if you do, that’s okay too—they’re all in the same mall… Alright, no problem. Please scan to pay.”
Just outside the Chengdu suburbs was a 24-hour monster mall. Most of the products were made by monsters, but in recent years, a few boutique retailers had joined the roster, selling niche designer goods—sometimes even crystal art pieces.
The little yellow courier zipped from aisle to aisle with his pen and list clamped in his mouth, gliding on the wheels of his scooter with the enthusiasm of someone on a mission from fate. He brought the dreary, melancholic boutiques to life like it was a New Year’s sale at a discount superstore. The soundtrack in Lin Su’s head might as well have been “Good Luck Is Coming” or “Congratulations on Your Wealth.” Maybe happiness really was contagious.
Half an hour later, when Lin Su signed for the items from the beaming courier, he found himself wanting to dance too—Lockin’ Poppin’ We Dancing—Qingji Express, Express King!
After the delivery guy left, night had fully fallen. Lin Su usually lived a very health-conscious life. Tea, foot soaks, and bed by ten. But that night, he wasn’t sleepy at all. He pulled everything from the shopping bags and began renovating.
The hallway stayed quiet. Eventually, even the lights outside turned off. He assumed everyone had gone home. In reality, they were all just avoiding the inspection guy. No one wanted to be the next “lucky chosen one,” dragged off for a surprise quiz on Monster Law, so they tiptoed far away in wide circles.
Shi Wenze had thought the meeting would take half an hour, but the investigation team said Barbecue Bro had a special status and needed additional paperwork to leave. Getting signatures from every department took another hour. By 3:00 a.m., the entire city had gone still. Head pounding and dizzy, Shi Wenze chugged half a bottle of mineral water before making his way back to his office. He opened the door—and froze. What the hell is this? Mickey’s Clubhouse? He stepped back out, looked at the room number. Nope, 2908. He was in the right place. From behind him, Lin Su said, “What are you doing?”
“I—” Shi Wenze blinked, clearly sleep-deprived. Pointing at the room, he asked, “Wait, who took over my desk?”
Lin Su just stared at him.
“I mean, I do have official status,” Shi Wenze said, as if needing to prove something.
“I know.”
“And I’m prepping for the promotion exam.”
“Mm.”
“You just sit here, alright?” Shi Wenze placed both hands on Lin Su’s shoulders, gently guiding him down onto the sofa. “I’m going to find Director Zhou and ask which bastard—sorry, which colleague—did this. Give me five minutes.”
“I did it.”
“I’ll be back right—huh?”
“I did it. You got a problem with that?”
The air turned still. Shi Wenze, groggy from exhaustion, needed a second to process.
“You did it?”
Lin Su let out a cool, aristocratic “Mm.”
Suddenly, Shi Wenze felt awe. He looked at the transformed workspace with new eyes. From the lens of love and artistry, this wasn’t some gaudy cartoon setup—it was the Louvre. Who the hell was the idiot earlier who thought it looked like Mickey’s Clubhouse?
“If you don’t like it—” Lin Su began.
“Are you kidding?” Shi Wenze cut him off. “This is my dream house!” And he even said it in English. Clearly, this was a man taking his exam prep very seriously—a dependable, ambitious, and charming gentleman indeed.
Shi Wenze borrowed Lin Su’s phone, took a full round of photos, and recorded a video of his brand-new dream office. Then he sent a message to Xu You: “While I’m on leave, you are strictly forbidden from letting anyone near this—not Mickey’s Clubhouse, but this high-end masterpiece.” Only then did he turn to Lin Su and say, “Let’s go. Back to Fortune Hotel.”
Just as luck would have it, the hotel owner had also finished his paperwork and was headed back to the Mist Realm. He offered them a ride. The old Wuling van rattled over the gravel road, reeking faintly of brine in the back. As he drove, the owner explained that he’d stopped by the seafood market behind Kunlun Tower to pick up a fresh haul at 2 a.m.—no way he was driving all this way back empty with gas prices like these.
Shi Wenze peeled a fresh squid tentacle off his lap. Yep, it was fresh. Lin Su, finally starting to feel sleepy, leaned against the seat and dozed off.
If this were TV, now would be the perfect time for Shi Wenze to take off his jacket and gently drape it over Lin Su. Lin Su would stir slightly, their eyes would meet, sparks would fly—and hey, even the hotel was already booked. But unfortunately, Shi Wenze didn’t have a jacket. All he had was a tacky Hawaiian shirt that made him look like he was about to yell, “Ladies and gentlemen, your sizzling beef is served!”
He’d lost at the starting line. But that was fine. The night wasn’t over yet—there was still the hotel segment to come. At that thought, a strange flutter stirred in Shi Wenze’s chest. He turned his head slightly to glance at the person beside him.
Lin Su was fast asleep. At the boundary between the human world and the monster mist realm, numerous floating halos shimmered faintly in the dark, their gentle glow flickering across Lin Su’s face. Instinctively, Shi Wenze reached out, holding his hand up to shield Lin Su’s eyes from the light.
Darkness settled back around them, quiet and undisturbed. Lin Su felt as though he’d had a dream—neither too long nor too short, just sweet enough to linger. Aside from the second floor of the bathhouse being temporarily closed, the Fortune Grand Hotel was just as dazzling and extravagant as ever. With a dramatic swerve, their Wuling Hongguang van slid into a spot right between a row of luxury cars, proudly claiming the unbeatable C-position. The hotel owner, practically glowing with enthusiasm, began pitching the car to Shi Wenze.
“There’s no man alive who can resist the charm of a practical seven-seater minivan,” he declared. “You should really consider getting one yourself!”
Shi Wenze gave a polite smile. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
A doorman came forward to open the door. Lin Su, still half-asleep, stirred as a gust of cold wind hit him.
“We’re here already?” he mumbled.
“We’re here,” the boss confirmed, already directing the kitchen staff to unload supplies while calling over a hotel attendant to escort the guests to their room.
By now, dawn was just beginning to break. Lin Su had been feeling groggy, but the moment they stepped into the elevator, he snapped wide awake—not gradually, but all at once. The hotel attendant had started explaining the breakfast schedule and the room layout to Shi Wenze, and it suddenly hit Lin Su: they were going to spend the night together.
Even if it was just two beds in the same room, that still counted. And this was the Fortune Grand Hotel—they didn’t exactly offer palatial space. Their standard double room couldn’t have been more than thirty square meters. Close enough to count each other’s eyelashes with a single glance. His perfect 5.0 vision was not just for show.
Lin Su cast his gaze downward slightly, already calculating how he should lie down when the time came—should he position himself like a graceful swan? Or go for a poised, statuesque elegance?
Shi Wenze, meanwhile, was equally tense. He had no idea if having impure thoughts would interfere with his ability to sleep. What if he ended up acting on impulse mid-dream and got up to sleepwalk? That would be a socially fatal event—he’d have to pack his bags and leave the beautiful blue planet altogether by morning.
Both men were preoccupied with their thoughts, which made the elevator ride feel unbearably long. Eventually, though, they realized it had nothing to do with their mental states. The elevator ride was just… objectively long. Shi Wenze frowned. “Aren’t we supposed to be staying on the 12th floor?”
“Yes, sir,” the attendant replied, unable to hold back his grin any longer. He had been waiting all ride for this big reveal.
“Our boss wanted to personally thank you for subduing the troublemaker earlier, so he’s upgraded your standard room free of charge—you’re now staying in our 388-square-meter Deluxe Imperial Supreme Suite. We hope you both enjoy your stay!”
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