Chapter 330 - 263: Awkward Atmosphere

The atmosphere was rather awkward for a moment.

Ni Bingyan had no idea how things had turned out this way.

The proprietress blinked, staring at her for a full minute before tentatively calling out, "Miss Ni?"

Apparently, the awkwardness was all on Ni Bingyan’s side. The proprietress was adapting just fine; in fact, she seemed rather delighted by this sudden turn of events.

Now that she had been recognized, Ni Bingyan couldn’t very well pretend otherwise.

After all, her features were quite distinctive. The probability of someone having her exact face wasn’t zero, but it was extremely small.

"Ahem, that... that over-the-top praise, it’s really not..."

It wasn’t that she disliked being praised, but it couldn’t be so absurd!

’The praise is so ridiculous that even I, the person being praised, feel uncomfortable hearing it. Wouldn’t other people find it off-putting?’

She really didn’t want to gain a bunch of anti-fans because of this.

The proprietress acted as if she hadn’t heard a word. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at Ni Bingyan, and without waiting for her to say more, she grabbed her phone and made a call.

The call connected quickly.

"Honey! Hurry! Hurry up and slaughter the sheep! The Tan sheep our cousin just sent over yesterday! Get it in the pot and start stewing it as soon as possible! We’re hosting an honored guest tonight! Miss Ni is here! Let me tell you, just now..."

The moment Ni Bingyan heard the proprietress was going to slaughter a sheep, she grew anxious and quickly grabbed her arm. "There’s no need, really! I don’t like mutton! I really don’t! Please spare it!"

’The camera is still rolling!’

’When the show airs, people will find out a sheep lost its life because of me right after I arrived in Wutong County. What will they say about me?!’

From the proprietress’s attitude, it was clear she wouldn’t accept any money. Getting a free meal and lodging didn’t look good.

Besides, as the saying goes, excessive courtesy conceals a hidden agenda.

’The proprietress runs a business. What if she asks for something at the dinner table, like for me to do an advertisement or an endorsement? It’s hard to refuse after accepting someone’s hospitality!’

’Endorsing a luxury beauty brand on one hand and rural Tan sheep on the other... Sister Wei’s wrath would surely teach me a lesson on the basic professionalism of a female celebrity!’

’Better not risk it!’

You can’t just accept a free dinner. She wasn’t some glutton, after all.

If she really wanted to eat well, couldn’t she just go home? What kind of food couldn’t her dad whip up?

It wasn’t that she liked to assume the worst of people and was always on her guard.

It was just that most people in the world were driven by self-interest, and she had no personal relationship with the proprietress and didn’t know her true character.

No matter how small the chance, as long as there was a possibility, you had to be mentally prepared when navigating the world to avoid an awkward situation if it actually happened.

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t pull me! Honey! Slaughter the sheep, you have to slaughter the sheep!"

The person on the other end agreed. The proprietress, face flushed with excitement, hung up the phone and patted Ni Bingyan’s arm to reassure her.

"Don’t you worry! My aunt’s family is over in Yanchi, and they raise Tan sheep for themselves. It’s the authentic stuff! I know you ate half a leg of lamb by yourself last year, so what’s with all the needless politeness?!"

Well, that was more than a little awkward.

’I’m a celebrity, for crying out loud! Polishing off half a leg of lamb at the drop of a hat? Does that sound right?’

Good thing this wasn’t a livestream. She would definitely have Pei Jin edit this part out later.

Ni Bingyan hadn’t expected the proprietress to have such a good memory. Helpless, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:

"I haven’t done anything to deserve this. I can’t just eat your sheep for free."

The proprietress paused for a moment, then immediately understood.

Or so she thought.

"Oh~ Don’t worry, don’t worry! No one in our family is in the sheep business, we’re not asking you to help us sell them! My aunt is getting old, so she doesn’t raise many. They’re all divided among relatives for us to eat. We couldn’t sell them even if we wanted to!

"Relax, relax! I’m treating you purely out of gratitude!

"Compared to what you did for us, what’s slaughtering a sheep? Besides, you can’t eat a whole sheep by yourself! *We’re* the ones who want to eat it, we’re just including you, okay? You don’t need to feel burdened at all!"

After a few quick words and without a care for what Ni Bingyan thought, the proprietress told her to watch the shop for a bit, put on her coat, wrapped a scarf around her head, and headed to the back. She wasn’t treating her like a stranger at all!

As the head chef of the family, she didn’t trust her husband’s cooking skills.

Once the sheep was slaughtered, she had to stew it herself to be at ease.

Many of the shops around here were like this, with the business area right next to the living quarters. Some people even lived right inside their shops.

She crossed the courtyard, went out the back door, and her home was just across the street.

Seeing her leave, Ni Bingyan sat down helplessly behind the reception desk and sighed at the camera.

"Tell me, isn’t today’s experience a bit surreal?"

First, I came looking for a room, but there were none, and getting taken in by the proprietress was surprising enough. Then a sudden conflict broke out and my cover was blown, which was even more unexpected. And now I’ve become the temporary receptionist. How could the word ’surreal’ even begin to describe it?

The camera was still diligently recording. This wasn’t a livestream, so after her brief complaint, she got back to her own business.

She calmly raked her fingers through her hair, tying it up into a messy bun, then picked up her phone and opened a learning app.

When her emotions were in a turmoil, she liked to study.

No matter how turbulent her feelings were, a dip into the ocean of knowledge would always calm her down.

"RING RING RING~"

After memorizing a dozen or so words, the landline rang.

Ni Bingyan looked around, saw no one else, and sighed before picking up the phone.

"Hello, you’ve reached the front desk."

"I accidentally stained the bedsheets, could you please have them changed?"

"Oh, of course. Which room is it, please?"

"303. Thank you."

"Okay, someone will be there shortly."

Having stayed here for a long time before, Ni Bingyan was very familiar with the work procedures. After hanging up, she found Sister Chen’s phone number on the desk.

There was a glass pane on the desk, and under it was a list of numbers for everything: water delivery, maintenance, housekeeping, and Sister Chen for room service.

"Hello? Sister Chen, the sheets in 303 are dirty and need to be changed."

"Okay, got it. I’m on my way."

After hanging up, Ni Bingyan went back to studying.

A short while later, room 201 called again, saying they were out of tea and needed another packet.

Ni Bingyan put on her scarf and hat and ran the errand herself. She had just returned and her seat wasn’t even warm yet when the phone rang again. Someone was asking if they could order dinner for the evening.

The owner ran a restaurant right next door, and the menu was under the glass pane, so of course they could.

And so began another flurry of activity.

It was strange. When the proprietress was around, it was so quiet you could snack on melon seeds. The moment she left, things started popping up one after another.

’I have to say, being too capable is its own kind of trouble.’

Back when she was down on her luck, she had worked in a hotel for several months, so all of this was second nature to her.

By the time the proprietress finished stewing the lamb and came out to call her for dinner, Ni Bingyan had already handled at least five sudden incidents.

"Is everything okay? I forgot to tell you to call me if anything came up."

Her phone number was posted in large print on the computer monitor. Since she hadn’t received any calls, she just assumed nothing had happened.

Ni Bingyan wasn’t one to take credit, so she just went along with it and said everything was fine.

"I knew it would be fine! The weather is so awful, no new guests are coming in, and everyone is just staying in their rooms, hehe! Come on, let’s go eat some lamb!"

Ni Bingyan really couldn’t refuse her, so she had no choice but to get up.

Before she could grab her backpack, the proprietress had already slung it over her own shoulder.

"Let’s go, let’s go, you’re staying at my place tonight! That wire-frame bed is too drafty. What if you catch a cold?"

Ni Bingyan wanted to decline, but the proprietress was already walking away with her bag.

She had no choice but to put on her gloves and pick up the camera.

"Can you believe this? This is supposed to be a travel show, but first, I turned it into a talk show for the director, and now what has it become? I can’t even describe it. Oh, well! In for a penny, in for a pound. Let’s go, let’s go eat some lamb!"