Generally speaking, expensive things are expensive for a reason. For example, this suitcase is unique even among luxury goods, costing nearly six figures when bought abroad. Adding import tariffs makes it an astronomical figure for ordinary people.
Because he didn’t know how many days he would be staying, Ningma had to unpack some personal hygiene items from the suitcase, feeling somewhat annoyed that this exceeded the original plan for reaching his destination.
Plus, an unexpected event had occurred. Although he was passively drawn in and it was unintentional, the snatching of the Heart Bead still resulted in a death—he didn’t even know where the body was being kept at this moment.
Or was he being too pessimistic? The best outcome would be that the person didn’t die but was seriously injured and taken to the hospital?
Ningma leaned against the sofa armrest and pulled the suitcase closer to his feet. The moment he reached out, he froze…
He saw a clearly visible fingerprint on the brass combination lock of the suitcase. He had wiped it with a paper towel when he left in the morning, remembering clearly that a corner was stained and took some effort to clean off, casually wiping the entire surface of the suitcase.
Just less than two hours ago, he was dragging the suitcase to the hotel lobby to store it when he was told, right after stepping out of the elevator, that he needed to stay. Thinking that the room door was unlocked, he asked the doorman who helped carry the luggage last night to bring it back.
Could it be the doorman named “Luo Kang”?
Could it have been accidentally pressed on during the handling process?
[You see this text, please exit reading mode, or go to “source web page” to read normally]
[Please go to the source web page to read, the following content is automatically replaced to prevent collection] You──I, big──small, many──few, up──down, left──right….
Ningma stared at the fingerprint for a moment, trying to analyze it from different angles, until he determined that unless it was a pair of small hands, almost able to grab a basketball with one hand—it was impossible for a pinky finger to be pressed under the lock surface when pushing and pulling the suitcase.
He shook his head self-deprecatingly, his old habit returning. Ningma opened the suitcase and took out everything he needed, his gaze falling on the wooden box that had been holding the Heart Bead. After thinking about it, he picked it up and placed it aside.
How should he spend the time that followed? The hour hand on his watch only pointed to “9.” The executive deluxe room had everything, even a mini bar with various red wines from domestic or foreign sources.
Drinking wine—it was a bit early. He had no interest in television. Outside the window, the gloomy weather continued with a seemingly endless heavy rain.
Fortunately, there was a bookshelf, although it seemed to be more for decoration. But for someone bored and trapped in the hotel, it was considered lucky enough.
Unexpectedly, besides the colorful brochure introducing the entire Jiuhuang Valley Scenic Area from last night, the six-story bookshelf was full of outrageous book boxes, empty inside when opened. The only few books in the “true” sense were related to the hotel.
Ningma reluctantly and lightly stuffed back the shell with “Agatha Christie Complete Collection” printed on the spine. Could it be that the inside was originally empty?
Finally, he had to pull out a copper-plated color print introducing the hotel, flipping it open to find that most of it described the group’s five-star luxury buildings built around the world, including well-known tourist and cultural attractions similar to the Louvre Museum or Paradise Cinema.
Turning to the back was a floor plan of the entire hotel. He originally wanted to skip it, but when he glanced over, he realized—unexpectedly, there was a swimming pool on the hotel’s basement level?
A pool?
The next page introduced the various facilities inside the hotel. Besides the common restaurants, banquet halls, conference halls, bars, and cafes, there was also a multi-functional recreation hall, swimming, sauna, gym, chess and cards, a children’s playground, and even an indoor tennis room.
It seemed that as a five-star hotel, it had everything it should and shouldn’t have.
But he wasn’t too interested in any of it. His only hope at the moment was for the weather to clear up quickly so that the road out would be open sooner.
His gaze fell on the paper bag placed at the door, or rather, a gift. The kraft paper packaging was printed with the hotel’s logo. He couldn’t guess what was inside from the outside.
Ningma opened the paper bag. It was a package of tea produced that day, with only simple packaging, a large transparent bag, roughly around 100g.
He glanced at it roughly and put it aside. Another folded card fell out. Opening it, it was a handwritten message:
“Mr. Ningma, hello:”
“We are extremely sorry for everything that happened last night. It was a mistake in our work for such a thing to happen at the hotel. The injured person has been sent to a nearby hospital for rescue and is currently unconscious. We will continue to deal with it after he recovers. We express our apologies once again.”
The final signature was the full name: “Huang Caide.”
Ningma read the contents of the card again, “injured,” “rescue,” “unconscious”?
Did that mean someone survived falling from the five-story height and was immediately rushed to the hospital for rescue, after the private road out of the hotel was cut off last night?
In that case, the black-clad intruder from last night was truly lucky. At the same time, the hotel seemed to have blocked the news, including the lobby manager who took over didn’t know what happened last night. The confidentiality work was quite in place.
However—was a bag of simply packaged tea a bit stingy as hush money?
But at least no one died, which was a stroke of good luck in misfortune. Ningma’s mood couldn’t help but lighten a lot. He stood up and even felt interested in walking around the luxurious executive suite.
The room might not be the most top-notch in the hotel, but it was comfortable enough. To the left of the entrance was a wardrobe with sliding doors, closely followed by a bathroom with a washing machine and bathtub. Walking in further was a spacious Chinese-style living room and bedroom, separated by an embroidered screen, maintaining a degree of privacy while also enhancing the artistic conception.
The bed in the bedroom was 2.5 meters * 2.5 meters. Unlike the uniform white sheets of other hotels, it was covered with local Tianqing Ayilian Yiran bed sheets, with a rose-red bed surround, giving a warm color scheme and an impulse to immediately fall asleep in it, especially if a couple were staying…
Besides the carefully arranged small bed, the other furniture and appliances were also complete. Besides the wine rack and large bar counter, if he wasn’t mistaken, there was also a hand-sewn leather sofa. Although it was only a single one, once sitting down, the body lines fit perfectly with the sofa, and there was almost no desire to get up again.
The entire room reflected a sense of catering to guests everywhere. If you wanted to drink, there were more than a dozen imported red wines. If you wanted to relax, there was a high-end custom sofa. If you wanted to sleep, there was a fluffy down bed soft enough. If you wanted to watch TV or listen to music, there was a complete home theater system, with a total of six speakers for the surround sound alone.
Ningma felt that he should redefine the room he was in at the moment. Although it looked like just a slightly larger suite, the furnishings inside were more understated and luxurious than the so-called “presidential suite.”
So? If it was just simply changing rooms last night—from a regular business standard room to here—would it be a bit of an overreaction?
Or was this Huang Manager’s compensation for keeping quiet about everything that happened last night?
The Heart Bead in his palm was warmed by his body temperature. Ningma took his hand out of his pocket and walked towards the two windows in the living room and bedroom. They looked solid enough and could only be opened downwards to a width of one palm, so he didn’t have to worry about a ghostly figure standing by the bed in the middle of the night anymore.
Ningma leaned against the window sill and exhaled a long breath.