July was the height of summer, and it was the first time in Xiao He's life that he had set foot on °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the soil of Hong Kong.
Unlike the dry heat of the mainland, the air here was mixed with the faint, briny scent of Victoria Harbour—sticky yet gentle.
Street signs were stacked layer upon layer, with vertical and horizontal neon signs in traditional Chinese characters. Combined with the blooming Flame Trees lining both sides of the road, they provided a vibrant backdrop unique to a Hong Kong summer.
At the same time, there was no shortage of densely packed skyscrapers and glass curtain walls reflecting the blazing summer daylight.
Thus, a scene emerged where a modern urban skyline stood on one side, while old, cluttered streets and buildings stood on the other. New and old architecture overlapped, and every inch of the view bore a distinct Hong Kong imprint.
Listening to the faint tones of Cantonese conversations passing by his ears, Xiao He couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and take a deep breath in the hotel lobby.
"Following Director Zhuang around really makes for a good life!"
Even here, the choice was a luxury hotel in an excellent location, with a decor that carried the unique style of an international city.
Although it was a bit inferior to the manor where Xiao He and the others had stayed on the Island last time, the overall treatment was still very good compared to other Film Crews.
Beside him, Liu Rulan also nodded. "Yes, even in Hong Kong, Director Zhuang still has a very significant influence."
However, before the two could finish their conversation, the front desk responsible for the check-in ahead suddenly became noisy.
"What's going on? Why are the rooms we arranged in advance already occupied?"
Producer Wang Sheng tapped on the polished marble counter, questioning quite rudely.
"We are very sorry, it was an oversight on our part. How about this, can we help you connect with other hotels nearby?"
The receptionist bowed slightly and apologized to Wang Sheng in very fluent Cantonese. However, the speaking speed was too fast, and Wang Sheng didn't understand a single word, which only made his temper flare even more.
"Didn't you hear us speaking Mandarin? Please speak Mandarin. Don't pull that nonsense with me. I need your hotel to answer my question now! Why was there an oversight, and who was responsible? Your hotel isn't giving any explanation at all and just expects our people to go stay somewhere else?"
Wang Sheng laughed out of sheer anger, and his voice gradually grew louder.
Others in the back, who were already getting a bit impatient from waiting, also started walking over one after another.
At this moment, someone also leaned in to help soothe Wang Sheng's temper. "Hey, Producer Wang, don't be so angry. There's no need. We just need to get the facts straight."
Seeing that things were going south, the receptionist immediately called for the manager.
"What's happening over there?"
Xiao He tilted his head to ask Xiao Chen, who had just trotted over from the scene to report.
"Supposedly, before we arrived, the hotel ran out of rooms. Then, without communicating or contacting us, the hotel gave several of the rooms we had booked to others in advance."
Xiao Chen said in a lowered voice, "And they gave away all the best category rooms."
This category usually included rooms for the director, the producer, and the leads.
"Oh, they certainly know how to pick them. Using our rooms to play the good guy?"
Xiao He raised an eyebrow, but Liu Rulan felt that this matter wasn't that simple. She turned her head, glanced around, and asked Xiao Chen, "Where is Director Zhuang?"
"Director Zhuang is—"
Xiao Chen looked up and around but didn't see him.
True, if he were on the scene, he would have gone over long ago upon hearing the commotion.
Xiao He also took a quick glance and realized that among the team members who had arrived early, the ones who could'speak up' were basically just him and Liu Rulan, along with the accompanying producer for this trip, Wang Sheng.
"Then Sister Liu," Xiao He looked at Liu Rulan, "shall we go take a look too?"
Liu Rulan nodded. "Alright."
Just as they reached the front, the Hotel Manager arrived as well. After understanding the situation, his eyes quickly scanned the Film Crew members behind Wang Sheng. His face showed a mix of panic and a hint of guilt, but in the end, he suppressed it all and apologized to Wang Sheng very sincerely: "I'm sorry, sir. This was indeed an oversight by our staff. However, we really are short on rooms now. There's truly nothing we can do about this..."
Wang Sheng frowned. "So now that we've called you over, you're just going to brush us off with 'nothing we can do'?"
"Ah, this—"
The Hotel Manager wiped away sweat, his mind racing for a solution. Meanwhile, the receptionist beside him kept her head down and was muttering something in Cantonese.
"What did you mean by that sentence just now?"
A somewhat familiar male voice came from the side.
The receptionist was stunned for a moment. She looked up and found a very, very familiar young man standing in front of her—
The young man wasn't wearing a mask or a hat, just a simple pair of glasses. His outfit was also very basic—a short-sleeved shirt and large shorts—but perhaps because of his good posture, the clothes looked quite high-end and carried a bit of a trendy vibe.
The next moment, she almost cried out in surprise. Finally managing to suppress her shock, she stared at Xiao He's face, her own expression unable to hide her panic. "You're Xiao He! So this is your Film Crew?"
It was truly strange. Why hadn't they noticed Brother Xiao's registration information when the front desk checked earlier...
—This was actually a way for Xiao He and the others to disguise their movements. Otherwise, sasaeng fans would follow them wherever they went, which was very disgusting.
"Were you just insulting people? Insulting us?"
Xiao He didn't show a particularly friendly expression just because the receptionist recognized him. Instead, he looked at the person before him solemnly.
Coming to Hong Kong for filming this time, as the Male Lead, Xiao He certainly had to learn some Cantonese to avoid communication issues when collaborating with the actors here.
Coincidentally, with his enhanced memory, Xiao He could learn these languages faster. So, after landing, he was basically able to communicate with the locals in Cantonese without any barriers.
Thus, when the receptionist opened her mouth and said that this group of mainlanders was just being troublesome, Xiao He understood her instantly.
However, when questioning her, he still chose to use standard Mandarin.
"Ah—did you hear all that? Sorry, sorry Brother Xiao, I really didn't mean it—"
Reminded by Xiao He and recalling her own words, the receptionist suddenly became frightened and bowed repeatedly in apology. "Brother Xiao, I wasn't insulting you, I'm sorry..."
"You were insulting me, and you were insulting us. I heard it loud and clear,"
Xiao He said expressionlessly.
"I really didn't expect that your hotel has two faces when it comes to treating people."
Not to mention giving their rooms to others without their consent, as soon as they heard it was an entire Film Crew, they immediately panicked.
It turned out they were just looking for a soft target to bully.
Only this time, they had unfortunately struck a hard rock.
"What's going on? What's going on? What happened over here now?"
Seeing that the matter over there wasn't resolved and an argument had started here, the Hotel Manager could only hurry over to mediate the conflict.
The other members of the crew, seeing that the person in the conflict was Xiao He, immediately gathered around. This included Lao Qi, who doubled as a bodyguard and began to unobtrusively move behind Xiao He to prevent any emergencies.
Xiao He didn't speak, but Xiao Chen, who was beside him, pointed at the staff member and said very angrily, "Your hotel staff just insulted us! We're all Chinese, and yet she's acting like she has some regional superiority? What does your hotel mean by this? If you're not willing to receive guests from the mainland, just say so!"
As soon as these words were out, Xiao He coughed lightly, signaling Xiao Chen to tone it down. On the contrary, Wang Sheng, hearing this, got fired up and glared directly at the Hotel Manager. "Exactly! If you don't have enough rooms and don't want to host us, you should have said so earlier! And tell us, who did you give our rooms to? To think your hotel would make such an exception without even notifying the guests—kid, you've got some nerve! Even your boss wouldn't dare to directly reassign Director Zhuang's room, yet you went ahead and did it?"
The Hotel Manager was already dripping with cold sweat and tried to defend himself: "That, I am truly very sorry. It's just that we really couldn't make the decision, and we have no way to arrange more rooms for everyone. This time it's because a friend of the owner is coming, and they had an agreement from a long time ago, so on our end..."
"Oh, so you mean they booked first and we who came later deserve to be unlucky? Then why did you put on an act and say you had rooms in the first place?"
Wang Sheng crossed his arms and began to mock him, his sarcasm dialed up to the maximum.
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