Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 362: The Universe’s Number One Worrywart

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: The Universe’s Number One Worrywart

At the break of dawn, the plane landed at Wuyuan City Airport. The two took a car to their hotel, the Golden Faction Boutique Hotel.

While checking in, Cheng Qiaobei’s occupational habit kicked in, and he kept watching to see if the front desk staff violated any procedures.

After handing over his ID card, Cheng Qiaobei casually remarked, "The hotel is nicely renovated."

The receptionist returned his ID card, saying, "The boss had it renovated before the New Year."

Testing the waters, Cheng Qiaobei asked, "The Huilan Hotel down the street has its parking lot packed, yet this place doesn’t seem to have many guests."

The receptionist sighed, "Our hotel’s location isn’t as good as Huilan’s. Plus, the boss is too stubborn to cooperate with local taxi companies..." Realizing she said too much, she quickly smiled and gestured, "Sir, the elevator is straight ahead. Turn left. Breakfast is on the fourth floor, starting at 5:00 AM and ending at 9:30 AM. You’ll need the breakfast voucher to eat."

Cheng Qiaobei was impressed with the boss.

He took the breakfast voucher and meal card, "Thank you."

As the elevator doors closed, Deng Yan added, "Not playing by industry rules—the boss of this hotel is quite unique."

Cheng Qiaobei said, "The way of business, the way of dealing with others, the way of treating others—all come down to humanity."

Deng Yan countered, "Having principles is good, but being too rigid and stubborn can limit the hotel’s growth."

Cheng Qiaobei smiled, a subtle and meaningful smile, saying, "Being rigid is fine; after all, we’re here now."

Upon entering the room, Cheng Qiaobei placed his suitcase aside, sent Chen Ningxi a message, and shared his location.

north: Safely arrived.

At this hour, Chen Ningxi was still asleep. Cheng Qiaobei put down his phone and went to take a shower.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Cheng Qiaobei glanced at his phone—still no response from Chen Ningxi.

He leaned back on the sofa and opened the reviews for the Golden Faction Boutique Hotel. Comparing them with nearby hotels, he noticed Golden Faction’s ratings were incredibly low, with lots of negative comments. Moreover, these bad reviews were lengthy complaints, complete with images.

The hotel had responded to every review, but certain guests seemed impervious to apologies, persistently arguing with customer service.

Reading one negative review after another, Cheng Qiaobei began to notice something amiss.

Many of the reviews contained strikingly similar language, as if written by the same person.

He instantly understood—this was sabotage orchestrated by competing hotels, hiring people to deliberately tank the rating.

Nowadays, young people rely heavily on online ratings when booking hotels. A high rating significantly increases the likelihood of selection compared to a low rating.

Evidently, the opponent had found their winning formula.

First, deter potential guests through poor ratings on booking platforms, then collaborate with local taxi companies and travel agencies—this naturally leads to higher occupancy rates compared to Golden Faction.

The reality of corporate battles isn’t like the clever schemes in novels; it’s simpler and more straightforward, yet highly effective.

Cheng Qiaobei had seen it all before—from spending 1,000 yuan to hire a cleaning company to cut rival office power every half hour, greatly disrupting an electronic tech company’s operations, to placing massive advertisements on a competitor’s building to constantly remind them of their inferiority. Another ridiculous example involved pouring hot water onto a competitor’s feng shui tree—embracing "the universe’s end is mysticism."

Meanwhile, Deng Yan was seated at his laptop, busy working on company matters, when his phone dinged with a WeChat notification.

He unlocked the screen to see a message from Wei Lai.

Wei Lai: Has Secretary Deng arrived safely?

Just as Deng Yan was about to reply, another message from Wei Lai popped up.

Wei Lai: Make sure Cheng gets some rest. Call him at 9:00 to remind him not to forget the meeting with Manager Liang.

Deng Yan: "..."

Wei Lai: Did you fall asleep?

Wei Lai: How could you possibly sleep?

Wei Lai: Deng Yan?

Wei Lai: Where are you?

Wei Lai: ?

Soon after, Deng Yan’s phone showed Wei Lai’s incoming call. Her contact name was saved as "The Universe’s Biggest Worrywart."

Deng Yan let out a deep breath, brought the phone to his ear, and answered.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was low and serious.

Wei Lai asked, "Were you asleep?"

Deng Yan: "No."

Wei Lai: "Then why didn’t you reply to my messages?"

Deng Yan replied, "I was about to, but then your call came."

"Oh..." Wei Lai said while already eating breakfast, "How’s the hotel’s environment?"

Deng Yan: "Very good. Renovated before the New Year; almost no odors in the rooms."

Wei Lai sipped her soy milk, "Really? That sounds nice. Send me a picture."

Deng Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you sure?"

Wei Lai, munching on a fried dough stick dipped in sweet soy milk, replied, "I am."

Deng Yan said, "Alright."

Putting down his phone, Deng Yan walked to the bathroom and stood before the mirror. After a night-long flight, his hair was a little messy, his face slightly oily, and his stubble was showing.

A photo like this wouldn’t look great.

So he took a shower, styled his hair to look sharp, and dug out his most "tasteful" outfit from his suitcase.

Half an hour later, on his way to the office, Wei Lai received a photo from Deng Yan.

As the car pulled into the company parking lot, Wei Lai opened her WeChat conversation with Deng Yan and was greeted by a suave, stylish selfie.

"..." Wei Lai’s mouth twitched slightly.

Oblivious, Deng Yan continued focusing on his work, forgetting about the photo entirely.

Later, when he finished tidying up and was about to call Cheng Qiaobei, he picked up his phone and noticed Wei Lai’s reply to his selfie.

The message on the screen froze Deng Yan in place, then... cracked him open.

Wei Lai: Dude, I wanted a picture of the room.

By now, the message was beyond its recall window. Unable to delete his selfie, Deng Yan rested his head in his hand and brooded for five minutes before wiping his face. Bracing himself, he reluctantly took a few shots of the room and sent them over.

All he could hope for now was that Wei Lai would forget the earlier mishap.

Wei Lai replied quickly: Got it.

She followed up with another message: That selfie pose reminded me so much of Wang from the sales center next door.

Wei Lai even sent a voice note. When Deng Yan opened it, he heard hearty laughter followed by, "Hahaha... it’s uncanny! You looked just like him striking that pose—add in the tagline, ’Top quality choice, rooted in excellence, illuminating urban living, enjoying comfort in style. I’m your property consultant, Wang. Hahaha...’"

Deng Yan: "..."

This might be the darkest moment of his life.

Not hearing back from Deng Yan, Wei Lai wondered, Could he be mad?

Despite the jokes and teasing, Deng Yan was a rare talent in the company. If she upset him enough to leave, she’d have no choice but to repent with her life.

Unsure how to directly apologize—doing so might only make it more awkward—Wei Lai decided to send over a file instead: Secretary Deng, Cheng asked you to verify the contract details.

Deng Yan replied two minutes later: Got it.

At least he responded, so he couldn’t be too mad.

Before Deng Yan could leave the room, Cheng Qiaobei knocked on his door.

When Deng Yan stepped out, Cheng Qiaobei looked him up and down. Deng Yan turned and asked hesitantly, "What’s wrong?"

Cheng Qiaobei said, "Very handsome."

With that, he headed straight for the elevator.

Deng Yan followed closely behind, asking, "Really handsome?"

When they reached the elevator, Cheng Qiaobei glanced at the reflection on the elevator door and nodded, "Yeah. What, got someone special in Wuyuan?"

Flustered, Deng Yan immediately blurted, "No."

Cheng Qiaobei found his reaction odd, "I know you don’t—why are you so worked up? I’m just joking."

Deng Yan thought to himself, This morning is going to kill me with these two messing around.