Chapter 7

As the saying goes, there are no secrets in the workplace. Friends tell friends, who tell their friends, and before long, many people know. However, just knowing isn’t enough; most people can’t imagine how serious the consequences of a small oversight can be.

Take, for example, the cracks in the hotel walls and pillars. Many employees knew about them, but they only discussed it in a joking manner, focusing on criticizing the boss. Few people took it seriously enough to consider quitting.

Some even thought that if someone brought it up, the boss would have it fixed, and everyone could continue working without worry.

As Yun Xin ate her corn pancake, she suddenly felt a familiar sense of unease. At the same time, her right eyelid started twitching uncontrollably, just like it did during the syrup leak incident.

Yun Xin fell silent. The corn pancake in her hand suddenly didn’t taste good anymore.

“Your boss is so stingy, haven’t you considered working somewhere else?” Yun Xin asked nonchalantly.

Her apprentices complained bitterly, “Our master insists on staying. Where else can we go?”

“It’s not like nobody tried to recruit us, but the boss once helped our master. Our master says it would be ungrateful to leave.”

“It wasn’t even a big deal. Back when the hotel was hiring chefs, our master applied. The boss liked his cooking skills and chose him. At that time, our master was struggling financially and asked for a three-month advance on his salary. The boss must have really appreciated his skills because he agreed. Our master got through that tough time thanks to that money, and he’s been grateful ever since. But I think our master is too sentimental. The boss is so stingy, withholding wages and not giving raises on time; he’s made back that three-month advance many times over!”

“You can’t say that. I heard that back then, our master’s family member was sick, and he was deep in debt, almost unable to put food on the table. Without that three-month advance, who knows what would have happened to him. The boss might be stingy, but without his help, our master might have been in a really bad situation.”

Others also chimed in with complaints.

“I’ve always felt that the reason why our boss chose our master, aside from his cooking skills, is because the hotel pays such low wages that no one else would take the job… Finally catching a sucker, the boss had to invest a bit at first. It’s a pity our master, with all his culinary skills, had such bad luck and got trapped by the hotel with a little bit of kindness. But to be fair, the boss does have a knack for making money.”

Seeing the conversation going off track, Yun Xin said, “Since we have some free time, how about I treat you all to a cup of coffee?”

Everyone was excited, “Sure, sounds great!”

“Let’s go to a coffee shop,” Yun Xin said as she stood up.

To her surprise, the apprentices shook their heads vigorously, “We can’t leave the hotel during work hours.”

“Slacking off is one thing, but leaving the premises is another,” they said.

“If our master finds out, we’ll be in big trouble.”

“How about we tell you what we want, and you go get the coffee? Or maybe we can order delivery.”

Yun Xin tried to persuade them, “It’s just this once, and it’ll be quick. If we get caught, I’ll take the blame. It’ll be on me!”

The apprentices firmly refused, “We could get kicked out.”

“We can’t take that risk.”

“A gambler ends up with nothing. We refuse to gamble, starting with ourselves.”

Yun Xin gave up, “Alright, you stay here, I’ll go alone.”

For a moment, she considered just letting it go. After all, her principle was to extend a helping hand to those who needed and deserved it. Whether they chose to accept it was up to them.

“Take your time, no rush,” the apprentices said with smiles.

“We’ll make something delicious for you when you get back!”

“I have some milk candies, take them.” One of them offered Yun Xin a handful of candies, gesturing for her to take them and put them in her pocket.

Yun Xin hesitated, feeling a bit reluctant to leave.

“Tong Jia!” Yun Xin shouted as she spotted Tong Jia from afar, running over to her.

Tong Jia was startled, feeling a chill down her spine. “What’s with this sudden enthusiasm?” she wondered.

“I have something very important to tell you, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Yun Xin said quickly. “Someone mentioned that the dressing table mirror in one of the guest rooms broke a couple of days ago, and there are cracks in the lobby’s beams and pillars. What should we do? I’m really worried. What if the hotel collapses?”

Tong Jia thought, “Please, don’t say that! Now that you mentioned it, I’m starting to worry too!”

Yun Xin didn’t give Tong Jia a chance to respond and continued, “This is a hotel. There are diners, guests, and staff—over a hundred people. If the building collapses, everyone will be buried…”

“Normally, such a thing is unlikely to happen. But for some reason, I feel very anxious and can’t stop thinking about it.”

” I know you have a strong intuition. What do you think?”

Tong Jia, her face expressionless, revealed her true feelings, “What you said has made my heart race, and my mind is already thinking about how to escape quickly.”

“Could the building really collapse?” Yun Xin’s speculation seemed confirmed, and she said in a panic, “No, we need to get out first, then I’ll call the police.”

Without waiting for a response, she started walking towards the exit while dialing the police.

The call was quickly answered.

Yun Xin briefly described the situation and then gave the hotel’s address.

Yun Xin urgently provided the hotel’s name and asked, “Can you contact the hotel and have the staff and guests evacuate immediately?”

The operator was hesitant. “According to standard procedure, we should first send someone to inspect the building’s structural integrity. If issues are found, we would then stop the hotel’s operations. Only after the necessary repairs and compliance checks would the hotel resume business. Evacuating people without verification would disrupt normal operations.”

“But what if the building collapses?” Yun Xin pleaded, “I’m really scared. As a hotel employee, hearing these things from my colleagues makes me feel like the building won’t last long—it might collapse any second.”

“Please send someone over quickly!” Yun Xin urged.

“I understand how you feel, but you might be overreacting,” the operator tried to calm her. “Think about it—the pillars cracked and the mirror broke some time ago, yet the building is still standing, right? The situation likely isn’t as dire as you fear; you’re just scaring yourself.”

“I’ll notify my colleagues to go there as soon as possible.”

“If you’re really scared, find an open area to wait for a while.”

“After the inspection, if there are indeed structural issues, we will evacuate everyone immediately.”

Yun Xin wanted to throw her phone. What she needed wasn’t comfort or even the police arriving immediately; she needed the authorities to notify the hotel to broadcast an evacuation order to everyone inside.

However, the operator was too meticulous, strictly adhering to protocol. Perhaps they also doubted Yun Xin, suspecting she might be lying or making a false report. Seeing that reasoning wasn’t working, Yun Xin simply said, “Please come quickly,” and hung up.

At this point, Yun Xin and Tong Jia had left the hotel and were in the empty parking lot. Yun Xin’s right eyelid had finally stopped twitching. But as she looked at the six-story building, she couldn’t help but frown—while they were safe, what about everyone else inside?

Before she could take further action, she heard a soft sigh beside her. “Ever since I met you, my peaceful life has become incredibly exciting.”

Feeling a bit guilty, Yun Xin defensively replied, “It’s only after coming to New World Hotel that I realized what ‘full of disasters’ truly means.”

“But it’s after meeting you I became crazy,” Tong Jia said, pulling out her phone. With a sense of resolute determination, she dialed the emergency number.

When the call connected, she spoke in a casual tone, “Hello? I’m planning to bomb the New World Hotel on XX Street, but I don’t want to harm innocent people, so you should evacuate everyone inside.”

“You heard me right, and I’m not joking. I’ve placed bombs throughout the hotel, and it’ll blow up soon.”

“Why? Of course, it’s because I have a grudge against the owner!”

With a sinister smile, Tong Jia added, “The hotel owner loves money. Losing his wealth will hurt him more than losing his life. With all the awful things he’s done, he deserves this!”

After finishing what needed to be said, she abruptly hung up the phone with a snap. Yun Xin was left speechless. Before she coanduld react, Tong Jia dialed another number.

“Hello, Manager? I just received a notification from the police saying that bombs have been planted in our hotel  could detonate at any moment. You need to broadcast an evacuation message immediately.”

Then, she raised her voice dramatically, “What? You think I’m joking? How could I joke about something like this? Hurry up and don’t delay. I’ve informed you about this; if any delay leads to more casualties, the police will hold you responsible.”

With that, she unilaterally ended the call. This maneuver, deceiving both the hotel and the police, would surely earn admiration from anyone who witnessed it, with comments like, “Impressive!”

After completing all this, Tong Jia said to Yun Xin, “This dog-eat-dog job, I’m not interested in continuing anymore.”

“Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. Except for the boss, every employee is a victim,” she quoted from Sina Weibo.

“Upon careful consideration, there’s nothing worth clinging to. It’s just that I got used to it and thought I could get by, so I kept at it.”

Ever since Yun Xin told her about the cracks in the hotel beams and her fear that the whole building might collapse, a voice had been echoing in her mind, “It’s true, run, run fast.”

At the same time, she was trembling with fear, her whole body shaking.

The last time she felt a similar sensation was when she saw Wang Ze, who was bitten by a stray cat and didn’t get vaccinated in time.

So she was very worried. What if her intuition was right again this time? Would she just think of saving herself and ignore the others in the hotel?

Tong Jia thought for a long time and realized she couldn’t do it. So, abandoning reason and breaking free from constraints, she went mad on the spot.

“Falsely reporting a crime and obstructing public order could land me in jail for half a month,” Tong Jia sighed. “My feelings are quite complicated right now. On one hand, I hope my intuition is wrong, and nothing happens at all. On the other hand, if my premonition is right, I hope they listen to advice and evacuate quickly, so my sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

Yun Xin wanted to praise Tong Jia for her actions, but her persona didn’t allow it. She checked her phone. It had been thirteen minutes since the first palpitations. Yun Xin silently hoped it wasn’t too late.

The manager was dumbfounded when he received the call. What? Bombs in the hotel, and urgent evacuation? It sounded like a poorly executed April Fool’s joke.

Before he could figure out what to do, the front desk received a notification from the police. If the police were calling them, there was no room for hesitation. The manager immediately ordered the staff to make announcements.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the hotel has just received a notification. Bombs have been planted in the hotel and may explode at any moment. Please evacuate quickly. I’ll repeat it again, ladies and gentlemen, the hotel has just received a notification…”