Shen Xi Fan’s gaze was drawn to a spider. She had slight nearsightedness, but unfortunately, during her rounds, she had forgotten to wear her glasses.
The scene was peculiar, and the supervisors nearby felt uneasy. There stood Manager Shen, clad in a deep blue professional suit, striking a pose reminiscent of The Thinker as she stared intently at a corner of the room, her gaze distant, as if anticipating something profound.
Finally, Zhang Jie exclaimed, “Ah! There’s a big spider!”
Shen Xi Fan nodded approvingly. “Could it be that our hotel’s ecological environment is just too good? Even spiders are moving in?”
The supervisor of Jing Pavilion’s housekeeping team responded sincerely, “Manager Shen, this is my oversight.”
Shen Xi Fan nodded again. “I’ll inspect again at five in the afternoon. Remember, I’ll be checking everything. I don’t mind the extra trouble.”
* * *
Back in her office, Shen Xi Fan turned on her computer to review the department’s accounts. She had barely read two lines when the screen suddenly went black with a faint “pop.” She sniffed the air—no signs of anything burning. Glancing at the indicator light on the water dispenser, she realized: a power outage.
A call came in from the engineering department. “Manager Shen, there’s a large-scale power outage across the city. The hotel’s generator has been activated, but due to the load, the administrative building won’t have power for now. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for your hard work,” Shen Xi Fan replied, throwing on a coat and stepping out.
She called her father. He explained that the outage affected the city’s eastern districts, while their home in the west still had power. Relieved, she said, “I’ll come home a bit later tonight.”
The hotel lobby was a bit chaotic—likely from the brief moment when the elevators stopped working during the outage. Though it was only a short disruption, some guests were frightened. A young girl looked particularly anxious, repeatedly calling out, “Mommy!”
Lobby manager Ding Wei explained the situation to the guests, who thankfully were understanding, and the scene was quickly brought under control.
Crouching down in front of the little girl, Shen Xi Fan asked gently, “Little one, where’s your mommy?”
The girl’s voice was soft and halting as she replied, “She was here… just now… but then the power went out… it got chaotic… I was pushed here… and now she’s gone…”
Shen Xi Fan took the girl to the security office, where they pulled up the lobby’s surveillance footage. The girl watched the video attentively, pointing to a short woman. “That’s her!”
“Rewind it,” Shen Xi Fan instructed. As the footage played back, the woman turned around, her face now in full view. Shen Xi Fan froze. Gu Ningyuan?
Pointing at the screen, she asked the girl, “Are you sure this is your mom?”
The girl nodded. “Mommy suddenly said she needed to go out. I didn’t want to stay home alone, so I snuck into her car and followed her. But after we got here, she disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
“What’s your name?”
“Zhou Siqi.”
Shen Xi Fan let out a small sigh of relief—at least the girl’s surname wasn’t “Yan” or “Dai.” Still, the child looked to be six or seven years old. How could she be Gu Ningyuan’s daughter? There wasn’t even a faint resemblance in their features. Perhaps she wasn’t biologically hers.
“Auntie will help you find your mom. Be a good girl and stay here with the security officers. Don’t wander off, okay?”
“Auntie!” The girl’s timid voice pleaded, “When you find Mommy, can you tell her not to hit me? Siqi is so scared!”
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