Chapter 17

Jinghui Hotel is located in Yangjing District, adjacent to the National Forest Park. It boasts beautiful scenery, a pleasant environment, and was once the site of the French Embassy.

Li Cheng, wearing a temporary employee badge from Meeseeks, gently placed the last chair on the grass, wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead, and walked to a stone bench in the garden corner, sitting beside Cui Yi.

In truth, Cui Yi was only a few years older than Li Cheng, but he had been forced to drop out of high school due to his parents' divorce and had spent these years struggling in society, his eyes bearing a weariness uncommon for his age.

"The flowers were air-freighted from the Netherlands, Germany, Colombia, and Yunnan. The tableware is identical to that used by the Belgian royal family."

Cui Yi gazed at the fully assembled birthday banquet setup and sighed, "Five cakes were made for the four-layer one, just in case something went wrong—transported here from the other side of the city in three refrigerated trucks."

Several Meeseeks employees meticulously measured the distances between every plate, utensil, vase, and wine glass on the pristine white tablecloth, allowing not the slightest deviation.

The photography team, hired at great expense and known for shooting viral music videos for famous singers, adjusted their equipment in the corner, preparing to record.

"This whole banquet must've cost a fortune," Li Cheng murmured in amazement. "Probably a couple million?"

"A couple million? That's just for the equipment."

Cui Yi sneered, "There's also the venue rental, staff salaries, orchestra fees, photography team fees, and several pop stars coming to perform."

Li Cheng glanced at the blue-and-white balloons flanking two rows of golden characters: 【Qiu Yourong】【Seventeen】. He clicked his tongue. "They really know how to spend money."

"That's how the rich think."

Cui Yi shook his head. "For them, value for money doesn't matter—it's about creating memories. Youth comes only once. If spending money can buy a precious memory, why not?"

"Time's up. Lay down the red carpet. Lighting team, set the lights. Also, confirm with the hotel once more that the surrounding grass has been sprayed with snake repellent—I don't want any guests startled by snakes or insects."

As he spoke, a sharp, short-haired woman entered the garden, holding several phones, a belt of walkie-talkies clipped to her waist, followed by two assistants.

Seeing her arrive, Cui Yi immediately stopped slacking off, rushed over to the balloon decorations, pretending to be busy, and whispered to Li Cheng.

The short-haired woman was Tan Liu, Cui Yi's superior. She spoke eight foreign languages, was exceptionally capable, and rarely made mistakes in her projects.

"Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?"

Tan Liu picked up her phone and spoke in French. After hearing what was said on the other end, her expression changed instantly. She hung up and ordered all staff to remove the Château d'Eau bottled mineral water from the tables.

"What happened?"

Li Cheng, slacking off alongside him, asked curiously.

"No idea. Let me check the company group."

Cui Yi pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and slapped his forehead. "Damn. Just now, news broke in France—Nestlé, Vittel, Contrex, and other premium mineral water brands falsified their processes, filling bottles with water from contaminated sources treated with tap water disinfection."

"Wait, that's it?" Li Cheng didn't understand the panic.

"The entire banquet will be recorded on camera. What if the client watches it again years or even decades later and sees themselves drinking counterfeit tap water at their own party? Wouldn't that be disgusting?"

Cui Yi sneered. "Our Meeseeks company prides itself on mission accomplished, striving for perfection. No mistake is forgivable. No flaw is ignorable."

"I thought you'd understand this well, Li Cheng—you made a whole smartphone's worth of money over one summer by doing homework for others."

"Ahahaha." Hearing someone bring up his "glorious past," Li Cheng laughed nervously and changed the subject.

Boom—

A dull rumble suddenly echoed from the sky. Seconds later, torrential rain poured down.

The pure white tablecloths soaked through instantly. The porcelain plates, white as jade, clattered under the downpour. The freshly arranged flowers were tossed into disarray by the wind, petals scattering everywhere.

"Huh?!"

Tan Liu, her hair drenched, looked up at the stormy sky, gritted her teeth, and stomped her foot in fury.

She had confirmed multiple times with her meteorology contacts that it wouldn't rain today—yet the storm had struck without warning, ruining every plan. It was enough to shatter one's composure.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and picked up her walkie-talkie. "Prepare to move everything indoors. The banquet will be held on the second floor. Camera team, confirm equipment status—"

Before she could finish the word, a chorus of gasps erupted around her.

Tan Liu turned instinctively and saw the heavy wooden archway, entwined with flowers, slowly tilting toward her under the force of wind and rain.

If it hit her, broken bones and bleeding were the least of it.

The next instant, a hand seized her wrist and yanked her hard to safety.

Thud!

The wooden archway crashed onto the grass, leaving a deep dent, its bound flowers scattered across the ground.

"Are you okay?"

Still shaken, Tan Liu looked at Li Cheng, who had pulled her to safety. She stared for a moment, then regained her balance and thanked him before resuming her orders to move the equipment.

The sudden incident left Cui Yi stunned. He whispered, "Li Cheng, you reacted fast."

"Not really—I was just closest."

Li Cheng scratched his head. His first instinct had been to shove the archway away—but he realized that might reveal his strength, so he changed tactics and pulled her instead.

This minor incident didn't disrupt the relocation. Li Cheng followed Cui Yi, helping carry items to move the banquet to the hotel's second floor.

————

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you~"

"Our little Princess Qiu Yourong is seventeen today~"

On the hotel's second floor, laughter and clinking glasses filled the air.

Li Cheng, changed into fresh clothes, his hair still damp, sat downstairs, chatting half-heartedly with Cui Yi.

"So… is this client your classmate?"

"Just same school, same grade—not in the same class. Not close."

Li Cheng said casually. He'd crossed paths with Qiu Yourong a few times tonight, but she and the school's "celebrities" hadn't recognized him at all, caught up in the birthday excitement.

Ding-ding-ding.

His phone rang—it was Han Letian.

"Hey, Brother Cheng,"

Han Letian's voice was muffled and awkward. "I won't make it to your birthday tonight. I got too obsessed with that horror game, didn't rest well, got a fever this afternoon, and now I'm in the hospital. My mom won't let me out."

"Alright." Li Cheng's eye twitched. He was used to this buddy's bizarre behavior.

"I'm so sorry—I'll definitely treat you to dinner next time, two meals, and I'll give you my 30TB hard drive I've been saving all these years."

"Get out, get out, get out."

Li Cheng rolled his eyes, hung up the phone, and met Cui Yi's complicated gaze. "Xiaosheng, is today your birthday?"

"Sort of."

Li Cheng smiled indifferently; the birthday had been assigned to him by his aunt and uncle, and the actual date of his birth was probably known only to his dead father.

Cui Yi fell silent for a moment, then whispered, "Sorry, I didn't know."

The music and laughter from upstairs pierced through the floor, echoing in the gilded hall.

Everywhere one looked, roses and decorative balloons filled the space. The air was thick with the fragrance of youth.

Other people spent their seventeenth birthdays in lavish hotels, their parents spending millions just to create a precious memory.

Li Cheng's seventeenth birthday found him wearing a hotel employee's uniform soaked by rain, his palms still marked by thorn pricks from tying roses.

"This world is fucking ridiculous."

Cui Yi pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, about to light one—then froze. MS Corporation strictly forbade employees from smoking during work hours, to avoid the scent of smoke offending esteemed guests.

"It's fine."

Li Cheng waved his hand, murmuring, "What's that saying again? The fundamental logic of how society operates."

Tap-tap-tap.

High-heeled footsteps descended from upstairs; Tan Liu approached and handed Li Cheng an envelope.

"What's this?"

"You're not a formal employee of our company, are you?"

Tan Liu glanced at Cui Yi beside her and continued, "Temporary workers earn 1,800 yuan per day. There's also a personal sum I've added inside the envelope, as thanks."

"Uh, thank you." Li Cheng took the envelope and estimated the size and weight of the bills inside.

Tan Liu nodded. "Also, here's my business card. If you ever want to apply to MS for a job, feel free to call me ahead of time."

Li Cheng took the metal business card, its texture smooth and high-quality; beside him, Cui Yi's gaze grew fixed.

MS Corporation had only entered the domestic market two years ago; Tan Liu, as regional manager of this city, was Cui Yi's superior's superior's superior. If she hadn't known Qiu Yourong's parents, she wouldn't have personally overseen the planning of this banquet.

Cui Yi had once endured countless sleepless nights, studied countless books, and passed round after round of written and oral exams just to land this job.

And now Li Cheng gets in without any test?

(End of Chapter)