Chapter 45: Night Service

Calculating the time, it was still early before Cheng Minghao would return.

Lin Qingya walked down a street and arrived at the entrance of a hotel.

The sign of ‘Hongxing Hotel’ glowed in colorful neon, standing on the exterior of the building inside the hotel courtyard.

After gazing at the hotel’s name, Lin Qingya lowered her head and looked at the entrance of the hotel building.

The entrance door was glass, allowing a view inside and outside.

On each side stood two cheongsam girls—young and beautiful, the ‘resistant to cold’ type.

Their outfits were quite revealing, exposing arms and thighs, but fortunately, the chest and hips remained relatively covered, not revealing much more skin.

The black and gold cheongsam’s bottom was at mid-thigh, just above the legs.

Each cheongsam accentuated and tightened the girls’ figures, drawing the eyes of passing male guests.

Lin Qingya blushed.

She merely stood at the entrance.

It seemed she didn’t need to go in after all.

Perhaps the original Lin Qingya was also an ‘ornamental’ presence, standing there just as a pretty face.

This job was simple—just endure the cold and potential teasing or harassment from guests.

Lin Qingya hadn’t expected her original self to have done such work.

She turned and left immediately.

But a voice suddenly rang out at the hotel entrance.

“Qingya!”

A female voice called out to her.

Lin Qingya turned back and saw an adult woman with a graceful figure approaching her in a cheongsam.

“Who are you…?”

Lin Qingya asked in confusion.

“Are you dumb?”

The woman explained, “You still have a month’s salary unclaimed. Come with me. Why haven’t you come to work? We’re shorthanded.”

The woman was familiar and took Lin Qingya by the hand, pulling her along.

“Ah? No, I don’t want to wear a cheongsam, I… I don’t know how!”

Lin Qingya blushed.

It was like wearing underwear—she hadn’t even known how to put that on before.

Now she was supposed to wear a cheongsam? Not to mention whether she wanted to.

Just the act of putting it on…

She might even wear it backward.

That would be even more embarrassing.

“Hmm?”

The woman continued pulling Lin Qingya forward, puzzled.

“You want to wear a cheongsam? If you want to, I’ll teach you! It’s easy to learn.”

After speaking, the woman pulled Lin Qingya further into the hotel, explaining:

“I’ve been keeping your money for you. Come get it quickly. What if I lose it by leaving it here?”

“Ah? Oh! Money…”

Lin Qingya mumbled, becoming more compliant.

Staying meant getting money for free—an inheritance from ‘Lin Qingya’.

Leaving meant no money, and wasting ‘Lin Qingya’s’ hard work.

Either way, no matter what Lin Qingya originally did, she should inherit the latter’s earnings.

After all, life…

Had to go on.

So…

Lin Qingya followed the cheongsam woman inside the hotel.

“Qingya, why haven’t you been to work in so long?”

A cheongsam girl at the right side of the entrance asked.

“Heh~ I…”

Lin Qingya didn’t know how to explain.

Fortunately…

“Qingya, come get your money. It’s all here—count it yourself.”

A woman with a ‘Zhang Ying’ name tag hanging at her chest spoke.

“Oh, thank you. One, two, three…”

Lin Qingya counted the money and smiled as she put away five hundred yuan.

The cheongsam woman, Zhang Ying, asked:

“Are you still coming to work after this? If not, I’ll find someone else. Your spot’s still reserved. Not doing night service anymore?”

“Ah? Night… night service?!”

Lin Qingya blushed, feeling shy and awkward.

Could it be that Lin Qingya really…

The cheongsam woman, Zhang Ying, sized up Lin Qingya, noticing her face turning red and odd.

There’s no reason to become embarrassed all of a sudden, right?

Zhang Ying asked:

“Night service means helping guests tidy up the bedding and making the beds in advance, so they can sleep when they come back late. Any problem with that?”

As she spoke, Zhang Ying glanced at the other girls around.

“No problem.”

“No problem at all.”

Two girls inside replied casually.

There was no one behind the counter—it seemed Zhang Ying alone was handling it.

Outside the glass door, one of the ‘resistant to cold’ girls spoke softly:

“It’s not strange, but when I first arrived, I thought it was that kind of night service. But Qingya shouldn’t be unaware—unless she lost her memory.”

“How could that be?”

Another girl outside muttered softly:

“Real life isn’t a novel. Who loses their memory just like that? Is it that melodramatic?”

“Ah~ Haha~”

Lin Qingya laughed awkwardly, noticing the girls’ gazes converging on her.

The intellectual and alluring Zhang Ying was no exception—her eyes fixed on Lin Qingya, examining her carefully as she asked:

“Are you still working? Did you get a better job? Or do you have a boyfriend now? Is he supporting you? Hm?”

“I’ll tell you…”

Zhang Ying was about to offer advice.

Lin Qingya quickly interrupted:

“Zhang-jie! I don’t! At least, I’m not being supported!”

“Hmm?!”

The four girls around, including Zhang Ying—who was likely twenty-seven or twenty-eight—became interested.

They couldn’t help but step closer to Lin Qingya’s position.

The two ‘resistant to cold’ girls outside just glanced inside, uninterested in any customers who might arrive.

The two girls inside stood beside Lin Qingya, but Zhang Ying glared at them, making them step back, unsure of what to do.

Zhang Ying looked around, especially at both ends of the hallway, then instructed the two girls inside to return to their spots and told the ones outside not to peek.

After she finished scolding the four girls, she asked:

“Really got a boyfriend? Is he handsome? Does he treat you well? Where’s he from? Student or working? Or some rich second generation? He’s not bullying you, is he?”

With each question, Zhang Ying stepped closer, her concern pressing Lin Qingya back until her waist and back touched the counter.

“N-no…”

Lin Qingya stammered.

Zhang Ying’s questioning left her unable to respond.

So many questions at once left her bewildered.

“What do you mean, no? No as in he doesn’t treat you well, or…?”

Zhang Ying pressed.

One girl inside couldn’t help but interrupt in a small voice:

“Zhang-jie, calm down, your gossip flame’s scaring little Qingya.”

“Yes! Yes!”

The other girl inside chimed in.

Lin Qingya looked gratefully at the two, her small head nodding quickly like a pecking chick.

“Oh~ Fine, I’m just being nosy. Then just one question,”

Zhang Ying asked,

“Are you in or out?”

“I…”

Lin Qingya hesitated.

The girls nearby added,

“It’s just making the bed before people come back late—easy. And we’re all familiar, so we’ll help you.If you go somewhere else, being this pretty, you might get bullied instead. Before graduating, just stay here. After graduation, you can go full time, work at the hotel, and… slowly earn tuition money.”

Hearing this, Lin Qingya hesitated.

Then she…

Nodded slightly.

Lin Qingya spoke:

“Then I’ll…”

“Qingya!”

Suddenly, a man’s voice called from outside the hotel.