Chapter 34: Achi, Sha Xia, and Zheng An
The elevator doors of the small hotel, plastered with colorful advertisements, slowly opened, revealing a middle-aged woman in a drab work uniform, her gray hair neatly tied in a bun.
She stood in the dim corridor, her hands clasped in front of her, nervously glancing into the elevator, softly saying, “Two gentlemen, Zheng An lives on this floor.”
Before she finished, two tall and muscular men, wearing loose black half-sleeves that looked like tight-fitting shirts, emerged from the elevator.
Standing in the less-than-three-meter-high corridor of the small hotel, their heads almost touching the ceiling, their massive bodies blocked most of the already scarce light, making the corridor seem even more cramped and oppressive.
People instinctively fear those taller and stronger than themselves. The middle-aged woman standing in their shadow was no exception; she shrunk her shoulders and moved back two steps, trying to distance herself from the two men.
Even after retreating, the middle-aged woman still didn’t feel safe and wished she could turn around and run.
“This way,” the middle-aged woman pointed to the corridor on the left, saying, “Please follow me, gentlemen.”
The muscular man in black training pants waved his hand, saying, “Auntie, you don’t need to lead the way; just tell us which room Zheng An lives in, and we’ll go ourselves.”
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman’s wrinkled face immediately relaxed, and her hunched back straightened.
She quickly said “336,” and before the two men could respond, she darted into the elevator at a surprisingly fast pace.
The two men left in the corridor watched the descending numbers, exchanging a bewildered look before simultaneously laughing.
“Seriously, Deputy Commander, are you that scary now? The auntie almost ran away just from seeing you?” The speaker was Sha Xia, dressed in a black training suit, pulled directly from the training ground by Achi without time to change.
Beside him was Achi, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and black casual pants. Their presence here was due to an event half an hour prior.
At that time, Mu Mu had just finished lunch and was holding his round belly, waiting for Xiao Ting to serve the after-dinner pudding.
Xiao Ting, in an attempt to please Yan Gui Xing, had specially baked the caramel pudding in the shape of stars.
After the pudding was served, Xiao Ting stood beside the table, waiting for his master to praise him after seeing his lover’s happy reaction.
Mu Mu, who had only seen pudding in the shape of stars online, reacted as Xiao Ting had expected, exclaiming in surprise.
However, his exclamation wasn’t about the pudding but about his beloved star lamp and the thing he couldn’t recall earlier.
—He had forgotten to inform Zheng An that he couldn’t move in with him.
Besides this, Mu Mu also remembered that all his belongings were still in the small hotel.
Mu Mu wanted to retrieve his luggage and personally explain to Zheng An that he couldn’t move in together.
Yan Gui Xing, wealthy and influential, didn’t care about Mu Mu’s meager belongings and hadn’t thought about having Mu Mu retrieve them.
But the poor Mu Mu couldn’t bear to part with his possessions, especially the star lamp and small blanket.
Yan Gui Xing couldn’t refuse Mu Mu but also didn’t want him to see Zheng An. He came up with a compromise: he used the excuse that Mu Mu didn’t have suitable clothes and sent Achi to retrieve Mu Mu’s luggage.
Mu Mu, looking at the oversized shirt that could pass for a dress, agreed to Yan Gui Xing’s plan.
Therefore, Achi, who had suffered stomach aches at Gongsun’s lunch, was rescued by Yan Gui Xing’s text message.
Ignoring his colleague’s desperate plea for help, he coolly left.
Achi and Sha Xia stood in front of the door at the end of the corridor, looking at the almost rust-covered metal nameplate, unable to confirm if this was room 336.
“Is this it? I think the arrow points this way,” Sha Xia raised his hand to scrape off some rust but stopped an inch away, hissing in disgust.
“No way, it’s so rusty and disgusting; I’m a neat freak; I can’t touch it.”
Achi rolled his eyes, coldly commenting, “I didn’t see you being a neat freak when you were cleaning your mecha.”
“That’s different!” Sha Xia retorted, “The mecha, that’s my wife! This…”
Sha Xia glanced at the nameplate, catching sight of an unclear blue door with unknown brown stains, recoiling in disgust, his voice rising.
“I can’t believe it; the hygiene is terrible! Don’t they clean?”
“What are you thinking? Turn a blind eye to hygiene in these small hotels.” Achi didn’t bother arguing with Sha Xia; although Yan Gui Xing hadn’t given him a deadline, he wanted to finish quickly and return to report.
Ignoring the numbers on the nameplate, he directly knocked.
Three knocks later, there was no answer.
Sha Xia looked at his wrist datapad, “Maybe they went out to eat? It’s dinner time.”
“No, he’s definitely inside,” Achi, while investigating Mu Mu, had also investigated Mu Mu’s roommate, Zheng An.
He knew that Zheng An, like Mu Mu, only drank nutrient solution and didn’t eat cooked food, and today was Zheng An’s monthly day off.
On his day off, Zheng An usually didn’t go out. He had just video-called Mu Mu and said he found an apartment; he must be waiting in the hotel room for Mu Mu to go see the apartment together.
“Let’s knock again,” Sha Xia gestured for Achi to continue knocking.
After giving Sha Xia a sharp look, Achi continued knocking. It was more of banging.
“Bang!” The thin door shook slightly, and dust fell from the frame.
Sha Xia suspected Achi wanted to break the door down.
Was Zheng An in the room? Yes.
Did he hear Achi knocking the first time? Yes.
After Mu Mu ended the video call, Zheng An began packing their luggage. He thought Mu Mu would arrive soon, as usual.
But Mu Mu still hadn’t returned after he finished packing, drank his nutrient solution, and watched half a star beast match.
He tried video calling and texting Mu Mu, but it was like a stone thrown into the sea; there was no reply.
Zheng An suddenly recalled Mu Mu’s facial injury, the oversized shirt, and the luxurious sofa back.
Good and bad thoughts flooded Zheng An’s mind; he couldn’t sit still and wanted to go find Mu Mu, but he was afraid Mu Mu would worry if he couldn’t find him upon returning.
He was at a loss and could only anxiously pace the room.
When Achi and Sha Xia were talking at the door, Zheng An happened to be by the door.
The thin hotel door didn’t block sound; Achi and Sha Xia’s loud voices reached Zheng An’s ears.
Having recently been beaten by the landlord and his thugs, Zheng An had developed PTSD towards men with loud voices.
Zheng An cautiously peered through the peephole. Seeing two men as strong as the landlord’s thugs, he gasped, covered his mouth, and crouched down against the door.
He considered all the possibilities: a wrong address, the landlord returning for more money, or even a robbery…
Zheng An didn’t respond to the knocking, pretending no one was home. But when the knocking came again, Zheng An dared not pretend anymore.
He felt the door shaking; he felt that if he didn’t speak, the door might be broken down by the men outside.
If they had the wrong room, the person who broke the door would pay for the damages. But if it were something else, Zheng An feared he might share the same fate as the door.
He trembled to his feet, supporting himself against the wall, and asked in a trembling voice, “Who are you looking for?”
Hearing a response, Achi and Sha Xia sneered. Sha Xia spoke first, “Are you Zheng An of room 336?”
Hearing his name called out, Zheng An trembled, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He quickly tried to recall when he had offended such a powerful figure.
Zheng An didn’t dare to say yes or no, only vaguely asking, “What do you want with him?”
Achi and Sha Xia, having seen much while accompanying Yan Gui Xing, scoffed at Zheng An’s ploy.
Achi didn’t want to waste time, saying directly, “Open the door. We’re here to collect Mr. Mu’s luggage.”
Hearing Mu Mu’s name, Zheng An’s worry overcame his fear. He flung open the door, seeing two men as strong as himself, and anxiously asked, “Do you know Mu Mu? Did he send you to get his luggage? Where is he? Why won’t he answer my calls and texts? Did something happen to Mu Mu?”
Achi, annoyed by Zheng An’s incessant questions, pushed Zheng An aside and entered the small room.
After surveying the room, his gaze fell on two suitcases against the wall, “Which one is Mr. Mu’s?”
Zheng An, still not knowing Mu Mu’s whereabouts, couldn’t let Achi simply take Mu Mu’s luggage.
He regretted opening the door impulsively.
Who knew if they were good or bad guys? Maybe Mu Mu’s disappearance was because these people had abducted him!
Zheng An grabbed Sha Xia’s arm, overcoming his fear, and questioned, “Where have you taken Mu Mu? If you don’t answer, I’ll call the police!”
Sha Xia was caught off guard and really grabbed by Zheng An. He paused, looked down at Zheng An, seeing his pale face and forced composure, and raised an eyebrow with amusement.