I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Chapter 193 He can repeat my lines even if he doesn't say a word!

After working for a while, Shen Kang told Kang Zhengyang about the new second-hand website plan and the necessary cooperation from Anjia Housekeeping. Then, he finished his work for the night and went back to his room.

The competition had ended, and the contestants should have been able to return to their respective schools early the next morning. However, that would be too restrictive. The competition organizers and the teachers accompanying the teams from each school agreed that a more humane and people-oriented approach should be taken. Therefore, they negotiated with the hotel to change the check-out time from 12 noon to 6 pm the following day. Before that, the contestants could choose to go out and explore or relax in the hotel. This was naturally met with enthusiastic cheers from the contestants.

So that evening, everyone started discussing where to go the next day.

Shen Kang and his friends went to the ecological park on the first afternoon, and they also planned to go to the ancient town next door the next day.

The next morning, after Shen Kang woke up, he drew back the curtains and saw that the weather outside was not good; it was rather gloomy.

"It looks like it's going to rain—"

Shen Kang muttered something, then heard his doorbell ring. He went to check and saw Ma Liang standing outside, yawning.

"morning."

After exchanging greetings, Ma Liang came in, sat down on the sofa in Shen Kang's small reception area, looking somewhat listless.

Seeing his appearance, Shen Kang couldn't help but ask, "Are you very sleepy? Then why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"I can't sleep," Ma Liang mumbled in response.

He was indeed very tired, but his mind was unusually excited, and he couldn't fall asleep at all. This state had been going on for two days.

On the first day, he kept thinking about whether to ask Shen Kang to take him to get a foot massage; yesterday, he kept thinking about whether to call a hotel for a massage.

Although Shen Kang confidently stated that the hotel's general manager had said the hotel offered legitimate services, it's hard to say for sure. Maybe the hotel manager was just lying to Shen Kang. After all, what hotel manager would openly admit that their hotel offers illegitimate services?

With this thought in mind, Ma Liang tossed and turned all night. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he mustered all his courage, picked up the phone in the room, dialed the number, and ordered a Balinese aromatherapy massage.

A little while later, a woman arrived, quite pretty, carrying a small suitcase.

Ma Liang's heart was pounding faster than ever before, almost jumping out of his throat. He could barely speak, and then he accepted the service.

It actually turned out to be legitimate!

This left Ma Liang extremely disappointed.

However, after the masseur left, Ma Liang lay on the bed, reflecting on the experience for a long time: although it was a legitimate service, he still...

The first time he was massaged like this by a beautiful woman, he remained aroused for as long as her small hands massaged his body.

So much so that he kept reminiscing about it until midnight. Early the next morning, even though he was very sleepy, he got up excitedly and couldn't fall back asleep, so he simply came to find Shen Kang.

"It looks like it's going to rain." Ma Liang said, glancing at the weather outside the window, trying to make conversation.

"yes."

As Shen Kang spoke, he went to boil water, then opened two tea bags, intending to brew two cups of tea.

"By the way, didn't you tell Wen Chulan yesterday that you wanted to create a new secondhand website? And that I would be in charge of the technical aspects?" Ma Liang thought of a new topic.

"Hmm. But no rush, there are some other issues that need to be resolved first. By the way, how's the charity event section you're collaborating with Qianmin University doing?"

"It's almost done. The main problem was the extra work you gave me at the last minute, which took up a lot of time. But it's finished now, and it should be online in the next day or two at the earliest."

"That's fine."

After chatting for a while, the water boiled, and Shen Kang poured it, then brought over two cups of tea. He sat down opposite Ma Liang and said something else: "I applied for office space with the school, and it's been approved. If you can't find a place to work in the future, you can use that space. Also, I plan to formalize things and establish a platform technology department to be responsible for the Beiming community..."

Regarding the technical issues with websites like Xianyu.com, I will no longer pay you on a project-by-project basis; you will be directly hired as a technical staff member on this platform.

"In the department, I'll serve as the technical director, following Li Su's model—"

Shen Kang explained his thoughts.

Ma Liang had no objection to this: he would have to find a job anyway, and the platform provided by Shen Kang seemed pretty good to him, with good prospects, so there was nothing wrong with taking the job. Therefore, he accepted.

As they chatted, Ma Liang finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Have you ordered any massage services from the hotel these past few days?"

Shen Kang glanced at him. "No. What, did you call out?"

Ma Liang nodded silently. "It really does seem quite professional. The masseuses are quite pretty too; they look to be in their early twenties at most, and they have great figures, especially after they put on their uniforms—"

It was the first time he had done something like this, and he couldn't hide his feelings. After finding someone to confide in, he started talking non-stop.

Shen Kang listened and watched, finding it quite amusing. A legitimate massage was making this kid so excited. If he went to an illegitimate one, wouldn't this kid be on fire?

After listening to Ma Liang's excited tale, the two checked the time and decided to head out to play. They first went to He Qiuzhu's room and rang the doorbell.

After ringing the doorbell and waiting a while outside He Qiuzhu's room, it wasn't He Qiuzhu who opened the door, but Ye Jintong. Moreover, Ye Jintong had changed her clothes: she was wearing a Chinese-style dress similar to a cheongsam and a long blue hat.

The wig and overall look gave Shen Kang a somewhat familiar feeling.

"Shampoo?" Shen Kang asked.

Seeing that her appearance had been recognized, Ye Jintong was also quite pleased. She thought to herself that although her boss could be a bit of a jerk at times, at least he was a fellow anime and manga enthusiast, which was pretty good.

"Yes, Shampoo."

"You specifically chose this role? Coincidentally, this character is Chinese, which matches the ancient town we're going to quite well."

"Of course we have to go! That's what you call professionalism."

As the two were talking, Ma Liang, standing to the side, was somewhat confused. "What is Shampoo?"

"A character from an anime called Ranma 1/2, whose character design is based on a Chinese girl."

Shen Kang gave a casual explanation, and then he saw He Qiuzhu sneaking up behind Ye Jintong.

She also changed her outfit, wearing a red cheongsam. Her hair was probably styled up, and she wore a short orange wig with two cute buns on either side of her head.

"Kagura?"

Seeing her appearance, Shen Kang asked another question.

Ye Jintong snapped her fingers: "BINGO!" Then she turned to look at He Qiuzhu, her eyes full of stars. She thought He Qiuzhu's look was so beautiful and cute, the most satisfying work of her life. She was completely charmed.

He Qiuzhu looked at Shen Kang.

"It's very pretty, especially cute." Shen Kang praised, and even reached out and grabbed one of the little buns on her head. "Especially these two little buns, they look like two little steamed buns, they make me hungry."

Hearing Shen Kang say it looked good, He Qiuzhu finally felt relieved, and her eyes crinkled with joy.

Ma Liang, however, was puzzled again: "What is Kagura?"

"A character in Gintama, although it is not explicitly stated that her character design is Chinese girl, her actual appearance has the attributes of Chinese girl."

Shen Kang explained again, then couldn't help but complain, "Ma Liang, you're a college student too, how come you're so clueless about youthful trends..."

"You don't even know as much as this old man?"

Ma Liang: "You talk like you're some old man. You're only a freshman. It's perfectly normal that I don't know about the stuff you young people know."

After chatting for a while, the group went out to prepare for breakfast.

Along the way, Yip Kam-tung kept saying, "Boss, you need to do your job as the photographer today and take a lot of pictures for us."

"I don't think the weather looks good; it might rain."

"Pah! The weather forecast says it'll be sunny today, it definitely won't rain!"

As it turned out, when the group was having breakfast, Shen Kang's jinx came true, and it really did start raining outside.

"Well, looks like today's plans are going to fall through."

Shen Kang glanced outside, picked up a piece of broccoli, put it in his mouth, swallowed it in a few bites, and said, "I think we should go back to our rooms and lie down like corpses."

Ye Jintong glanced out the window, feeling quite annoyed: she had gone to great lengths to get these two outfits ready early in the morning, and it would be such a waste if she didn't go out and take more photos.

"Boss, you're such a jinx," she said, first criticizing Shen Kang, then adding, "The weather forecast said it wouldn't rain today, maybe the rain will stop soon?"

"I admire your unwavering determination."

Ye Jintong's wish was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

After they finished their breakfast, the rain outside not only didn't stop, but it started to pour down even harder.

"I'd better go back to my room and lie down like a corpse."

Shen Kang then said this.

Ye Jintong was unwilling to give up and kept saying that maybe the rain would stop soon. In the end, she even dragged Shen Kang and the others into the elevator and down to the hotel lobby, intending to wait for the rain to stop there.

When they arrived at the hotel lobby lounge, they found that there were already quite a few contestants there: the girls were all dressed up in their finest clothes, and the boys had also tidied themselves up, with each boy having washed his hair.

Like Ye Jintong, these students had planned to go out and relax, but unfortunately, the weather turned bad and it started raining. So they decided to wait in the lobby for a while until the rain stopped.

But as they waited, the rain not only didn't stop, but it got even heavier, and they didn't know when it would stop.

So some students decided not to wait any longer.

But if I'm not going out, what am I going to do? Go back to my room and lie around like a corpse?

Many students are unwilling to do this: they've finally come out, and it would be too boring to just lie around in their rooms like corpses!

It was at this point that someone suggested that everyone play the "murder game" together.

The suggestion received considerable support, but the hotel rooms were a bit small, and there wouldn't be enough room for so many people to play the murder mystery game together. The lobby lounge area was spacious enough, but it was a public area, and it wouldn't be appropriate for them to play the game and shout, especially since they were well-mannered university students. Therefore, someone suggested asking...

Does the hotel have a similar venue that can be provided?

So I pulled over a passing hotel employee and started asking him questions.

However, the results of the inquiry were not very satisfactory.

"—To meet your needs, our hotel can provide a small meeting room. The usual price for booking such a meeting room is around one thousand. Would you like that?"

The contestants exchanged bewildered glances; clearly, the price of one thousand yuan far exceeded their expectations. Even if there were about ten people in total who wanted to go, splitting the cost among themselves would mean each person would have to pay tens, or even nearly a hundred yuan.

Then people started whispering among themselves: "Why don't we just go back to our rooms and play?" "I think so too, let's see if we can squeeze in?" "Yeah, a thousand dollars is still too expensive."

Zheng Changhao was also among this group of students.

Seeing this, he thought for a moment, then stepped forward and discussed with the hotel staff: "We are participants in the competition sponsored by your hotel, and we come from various universities. How about this? While using the meeting room you provide, we will take some photos, and afterwards, we will upload them and write positive reviews on some university forums we use, promoting your hotel. I think this kind of promotional effect is much more valuable than a thousand yuan, so how about using this to offset the room fee?"

The staff member still refused.

Undeterred, Zheng Changhao said, "Why don't you call your manager over, and I'll discuss it with him?"

The staff member smiled and said, "I am the manager."

Just then, Shen Kang and the others arrived.

Zheng Changhao noticed that the staff member in front of him, who claimed to be the "manager," glanced at Shen Kang and then his eyes lit up.

Zheng Changhao also heard some contestants greeting Shen Kang and briefly telling him about what was going on. Some even suggested that Shen Kang should go and discuss it with the hotel.

Zheng Changhao's heart skipped a beat—why did this scene seem so familiar? Where had he seen it before?

Wait a minute, will that bastard Shen Kang come over and repeat what he just said, and then this guy who calls himself manager will agree?

It's not just Jung Chang-ho.

Several other contestants watching this scene felt a sense of déjà vu, as if they had witnessed something similar not long ago.

At the unanimous invitation of the contestants, Shen Kang had no choice but to come over and greet the man who claimed to be the manager.

"Good morning, Manager Dai. What are you doing here?"

The staff member who identified himself as the manager was none other than Dai Wangyan, the general manager of Haobo Hotel. Seeing Shen Kang approach to greet him, the previously stern man subtly broke into a smile. "Good morning, Shen. I'm on my rounds. I firmly believe that a hotel manager shouldn't be sitting in the office all the time; that would disconnect them from frontline work. So, while I wouldn't say every day, I spend at least three days a week experiencing all aspects of the hotel's operations from the perspective of a frontline employee."

The lobby manager, who was standing not far away, also heard this and secretly rolled his eyes in his mind: Where did this "three times a week" come from? This was the first time in the past two months that he had encountered Manager Dai while working on the front line.

Then the lobby manager glanced in Shen Kang's direction again, his eyes filled with curiosity.

The lobby manager had been wondering what had gotten into Manager Dai so early in the morning, walking back and forth constantly, checking every little detail. It was as if the sun had risen in the west.

But now he knows that Manager Dai came specifically for this college-aged guy and deliberately put on an image of a "grassroots" general manager in front of him.

"Manager Dai is truly dedicated to his job; he's admirable!"

Upon hearing Dai Wangyan's words, Shen Kang couldn't help but sigh. He then brought up the matter that everyone had asked him for help, "Manager Dai, my classmates originally wanted to go out and play, but as you can see, it's raining outside, so they can't go out. They want to find a place to play games."

Dai Wangyan nodded. "They just told me that too. Our hotel can provide a small meeting room, which I believe is sufficient."

That's enough for you.

Shen Kang asked about what he had heard: "I heard that this small conference room costs a thousand yuan?"

Wan Zihao was also in the crowd, watching from the side.

Seeing this, one can't help but feel envious: how does that bastard Shen Kang have such a wide network of connections? Everywhere he goes, people give him face. Wan Zihao can even imagine what will happen next: Shen Kang tells the hotel, "Don't charge us, just let everyone use it for free!" Then the hotel manager quickly says, "Since it's Young Master Shen's request, then that's settled." And so, Shen Kang once again shows off in front of everyone.

Wan Zihao felt incredibly good when he thought about that scene and put himself in that situation.

However, Shen Kang's next words surprised Wan Zihao, as well as many other contestants who were also hoping to get something for free by relying on Shen Kang's connections.

"—Of course, I don't mean to get something for free, after all, hotels have costs too. I just wanted to ask if you could give me a discount, like 20% or 30% off?"

Shen Kang asked this question.

He now knows that the Haobo Hotel is a property of the Qianlin branch of the Shengyuan Group, making it essentially "one of their own." The other contestants, however, were people he had only known for a couple of days and weren't really "one of their own."

So why should we sacrifice our own people to please those who aren't even "our own people"?

Getting the hotel to offer a 20% discount is already a big favor to everyone.

Not only were many students taken aback, but Dai Wangyan was also surprised.

He had assumed that since Shen Kang was representing the students, he would ask them to provide the venue for free. He had been prepared for this, but Shen Kang hadn't expected that he would only ask for a discount of 20% or 30%.

It seems that this young master Shen is indeed not the kind of person who would spend lavishly for the sake of face, Dai Wangyan thought to himself, while racking his brains.

Shen Kang might prioritize substance over face, but the general manager couldn't afford to disrespect Shen Kang. Otherwise, how could the general manager's value be demonstrated?

Dai Wangyan's mind worked quickly, and soon he had an idea. He smiled and said, "A 30% discount is no problem, of course. But, Shen, I have another suggestion. What do you think?"

"Oh? Please go ahead."

"You students are all elites and prominent figures from your respective schools. How about we provide some cameras so you can take some photos while you're having fun in the conference room, and then promote them on the student forums later? In that case, our hotel would be happy to provide a venue for you free of charge."

Listening to Dai Wangyan's words and witnessing this scene, Zheng Changhao felt a little numb.

No, isn't what Dai Wangyan said exactly what he just said?

Two days ago, when Shen Kang turned into a broken record, at least he opened his mouth and repeated what Miao Changqing had said.

Now, Shen Kang has evolved again; he doesn't even need to say a word, and the other person just turns into a repeating machine, cooperating with him, right?! ————

Wan Zihao was here, and Miao Changqing was naturally there as well.

Miao Changqing was silently watching from the crowd.

When he saw Zheng Changhao failing to reach an agreement with the hotel staff and Shen Kang coming over, he had a strong sense of déjà vu, as if he saw what had happened to him before, about to be repeated on Zheng Changhao.

This gave him a sense of shared suffering.

But to everyone's surprise, Jung Chang-ho was even worse off than him—

"sounds good."

After listening to Dai Wangyan's words, Shen Kang thought for a moment, then turned to look at the students around him: "What do you all think? Is it acceptable?"

The students around them were also experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions: when Shen Kang first arrived, they thought there was a chance...

They were initially disappointed when Shen Kang only offered a discount. However, to their surprise, the hotel manager repeated Zheng Changhao's earlier suggestion and offered a freebie option, which cheered them up again.

Therefore, they naturally all said "yes," indicating that they could accept it.

In their view, it was just taking some photos to post later, which was practically free, so it was much more acceptable than spending several hundred yuan together.

Seeing that everyone reacted in unison, Shen Kang said to Dai Wangyan, "Then let's do it the way you suggested, Manager Dai. Please arrange the rooms."

"it is good."

With General Manager Dai Wangyan in charge, things were handled very quickly. In less than two minutes, a small meeting room was set up, and staff members came to lead the students who wanted to go there.

Shen Kang and the others did not go; they remained seated in the rest area, watching outside and waiting for the rain to stop—mainly because Ye Jintong insisted on waiting for the rain to stop.

Zheng Changhao wasn't interested in the murder mystery game, but he didn't want to face Shen Kang here either, so he simply went along with him.

Miao Changqing did the same, silently following the group to the small conference room provided by the hotel. He even walked up to Zheng Changhao and patted him on the shoulder.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, feeling a deep sense of shared misfortune.