Chapter 44: Mid-Autumn Festival Gala
Chapter 44
"What's wrong?" Fang Yang looked at her with a smile. "Why did you come out so quickly? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"I'm... I'm fine," Ning Jie said, trying to appear calm. "I just suddenly felt a bit unwell, so I need to go back to my room to rest for a while."
"You're not feeling well? Do you want to buy some medicine? I can take you to the pharmacy."
"No need, I'll just head back now."
With that, Ning Jie fled in a panic.
Fang Yang watched her retreating figure and let out a derisive laugh.
It seems she was truly frightened.
Let's see if she still dares to act as an informant for the Muruo Base.
Speaking of which, the people from Muruo Base are really annoying.
The hotel and Muruo Base aren't even close to each other. Couldn't they just mind their own business and not bother each other?
But those people just had to be greedy and set their sights on the hotel...
Once they anger Boss Gu, they'll be in for it.
Ning Jie ran back to her room and took a good while to calm down. Only then did she remember that An Cairou had instructed her to go outside the hotel every day. An Cairou's people would be waiting there, and if she had any news, she should tell them so they could relay the information back to Muruo Base.
So, despite feeling incredibly flustered, she gathered her courage and left the hotel.
After wandering around the hotel vicinity for a while, she indeed saw a high-level ability user from Muruo Base waving at her.
She looked around to make sure no one else was there, then quickly ran over and relayed everything she had seen in the hotel, emphasizing the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
"You must tell Miss An that the dinosaurs here are real! I've confirmed it with my own eyes!" Ning Jie said in terror. "Tell her to give up immediately. This isn't a place she can covet! If she continues to be so obstinate, the consequences will be dire!"
"Alright, I got it," the ability user said, feeling his scalp tingle as he listened.
He glanced towards the hotel and licked his lips, asking, "Can you bring me some food from in there? I've heard the food in the hotel is delicious."
"I don't think that's possible," Ning Jie said nervously. "The hotel rules state that nothing from inside can be taken out and resold. I'm not sure if giving it to you directly would be okay, but it's better not to risk it."
She didn't want to end up like Gu Mingyu at all!
Hearing this, the ability user didn't push further. He turned and left to report back to An Cairou at Muruo Base.
Ning Jie returned to the hotel.
As it happened, Cola and Hamburger were chatting with Xu Shi and Fang Yang in the lobby. Fang Yang must have told some joke, as Cola and Hamburger were cackling with laughter.
Ning Jie watched them, her eyes filled with tenderness.
She actually loved children very much. Before the apocalypse, she had even enrolled in an early childhood education program, aspiring to become a preschool teacher.
However, just as she had been accepted by a kindergarten, the apocalypse began.
If adults struggled to survive in the post-apocalyptic world, it was even harder for children. There weren't many children at Muruo Base.
Now, seeing these two adorable kids, she naturally felt fond of them.
But at that moment, she suddenly realized something.
An Cairou had told her that the hotel owner had a younger brother and sister, and had instructed her to find a way to use them... If possible, to bring them to Muruo Base to use as leverage against the hotel owner!
But these children were so cute, how could she possibly bring herself to harm them?
They had managed to survive the apocalypse and were living so well in the hotel. Why should they be taken away?
What if they encountered danger outside the hotel?
How could An Cairou come up with such an idea?
Ning Jie felt immensely conflicted. At that moment, Cola happened to look her way, and she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. She hurriedly fled back to her room.
"That auntie is really strange," Cola said to Fang Yang and Xu Shi.
Fang Yang glanced at Ning Jie's retreating figure, smiled enigmatically, and then said to Cola and Hamburger, "Don't worry about her. I think she'll figure some things out on her own."
Hamburger nodded, looking confused.
...
Soon, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.
The Mid-Autumn Festival party was held in the lobby. Having experienced the apocalypse, no one stood on ceremony, and they all sat directly on the floor.
Although it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the post-apocalyptic weather had no rhyme or reason. Today was particularly hot, and even though it was evening, the temperature outside was approaching 50 degrees Celsius.
The air conditioning in the lobby was on full blast, blowing cool air, making it incredibly comfortable.
As a holiday treat, the system provided some mooncakes.
There was a rich variety of mooncakes, including red bean paste, five-nut, lotus seed paste, various fruit jam fillings, meat fillings, and even snow skin mooncakes.
Everyone got one, but they had to be eaten today. Any uneaten mooncakes would automatically disappear the next day.
The Mid-Autumn Festival party began. Xu Shi and Fang Yang, acting as the hosts, stood at the front and delivered an opening speech before introducing the first performance.
The first act was Cola and Hamburger singing a children's song together.
Wearing new clothes that Gu Wanyin had taken from the wardrobe, they stood at the front, showing no stage fright.
The children's song was lively, and coupled with the cute dance moves they had choreographed themselves, it immediately heated up the atmosphere.
When their performance ended, the audience erupted in thunderous applause. Gu Wanyin, sitting among the audience, clapped proudly.
These were her kids, after all!
Ning Jie's feelings, however, were more complex.
These children were so adorable; there was no way she could bring herself to deceive them or harm them!
The next time she saw the high-level ability user sent by An Cairou, she would definitely have to make things clear...
Several more guests performed after that. Some played the piano, while others played the violin or the pipa.
Of course, all the instruments were provided by the system and would disappear after the performances.
Gu Wanyin realized that the hotel guests were surprisingly talented and versatile.
The final act, naturally, was the play performed by Bai Shuwen, Zhuang Xiaoxia, and their group.
With the script revised by Teacher Wu, their plot had stronger conflicts and more engaging points. Although they had only rehearsed for a few days, they still won a lot of praise, with several people even moved to tears.
After their performance ended, Gu Wanyin came to the front to deliver a closing speech.
However, after the excitement, the guests' mood noticeably dampened.
Perhaps it was because today was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was supposed to be a time for family reunions.
But now, due to the apocalypse, each of them had lost many loved ones and friends.
Even the Dong Yue family, reunited as a family of three, still missed their other relatives.
It was precisely because they knew how difficult it was to survive in the post-apocalyptic world that they cherished their happy life in the hotel even more.
If anyone dared to harm the hotel... none of them would stand for it!