Chapter 82 Calamity

"You really are the new boss?" The security captain, Lu Xiangqian, stared wide-eyed in astonishment. At the same time, a hint of fear crept into his heart—could this new boss fire him on the spot?

Qin Tian seemed to sense what Lu was thinking and gave his shoulder a friendly pat, smiling.

"You did well—sometimes, you do have to be tough. But you were a bit too impulsive. If I hadn't dodged just now, your punch would have landed right on my temple."

"Think about it: what if it had been someone else, someone with a frailer body? You could have seriously hurt them, couldn't you?"

With his hands clasped behind his back, Qin Tian adopted a composed, dignified posture and delivered his gentle admonition in a calm tone. This feeling of acting the boss and instructing his subordinates was, he found, rather enjoyable.

"Yes, yes, of course, may I ask how I should address you, sir?" Lu Xiangqian nodded repeatedly.

"My name is Qin Tian," he replied.

"Yes, yes, President Qin, thank you for your guidance." Lu nodded and bowed obsequiously.

"You as well—don't judge people by their looks," Qin Tian added, turning to the young woman at the reception desk.

He glanced at the name tag pinned to her chest—Sun Ruotong. What an elegant name, he thought.

"I understand, I was wrong," Sun Ruotong blinked, her eyes shimmering with grievance.

Qin Tian raised an eyebrow in surprise—wow, when this girl acts cute, it's really something!

"Ahem!" Nangong Xiao'e coughed pointedly from the side.

"Enough standing around—it's not a good look. Everyone, back to work," Qin Tian said, quickly adopting a serious demeanor.

Afterwards, he and Nangong Xiao'e made their way to the luxurious double room.

Though it was a deluxe double, it was still no presidential suite—there were no separate rooms, so showering and such was bound to be a bit awkward.

Qin Tian pressed down on the bed a few times. The mattress was really springy—almost as good as the one at Jiang Yingying's house. As expected from a five-star hotel.

"What are you doing?" Qin Tian looked up, suddenly realizing that Nangong Xiao'e was undressing, down to her—

And her hands were already at her buttons, apparently intending to unfasten them as well.

"Taking a shower," Nangong Xiao'e replied, giving him a puzzled look.

"Hey, there's still someone alive in here!" Qin Tian covered his face. This girl sure had nerves of steel these days.

"So what? You already saw everything when you applied medicine for me when I was little. It doesn't matter," Nangong Xiao'e pouted.

"How is it the same as when we were kids?" Qin Tian's face flushed deep red—and truth be told, the girl's figure was quite something now.

But he quickly caught himself—damn it! She's my sister, what am I thinking?

"Why wouldn't it be the same? The only difference is I've grown a bit, that's all," Nangong Xiao'e replied righteously.

Qin Tian almost spat blood—this girl was something else!

"Hurry up and shower, do it in the bathroom," he said, pointing toward it. Seeing the mischievous curl at the corner of her lips, he knew she was just teasing him.

"Want to join me?" Nangong Xiao'e beckoned with a crooked finger.

"Get lost!" Qin Tian shot back with a laugh.

Once Nangong Xiao'e disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of rushing water soon mingled with her humming. Qin Tian lay back on the bed, arms behind his head, one leg crossed over the other, relishing the rare moment of leisure. He hadn't noticed before that this girl could sing so beautifully.

But then, he frowned. Amid the noise of the shower and her singing, he picked up on some disordered footsteps outside. His hearing now was far sharper than most; he sensed several people in the corridor, apparently carrying something heavy.

What could they be doing at this late hour? Was a renovation crew working overtime?

Puzzled, Qin Tian went to the door and opened it.

He glanced left—no one. Right—he saw a shifty-looking man lugging a suitcase, the front end already inside a guest room, only the rear still exposed.

The man spotted Qin Tian and seemed flustered, hurriedly shoving the rest of the suitcase inside.

Qin Tian's instincts screamed that something was off.

Two or three minutes later, three men, including the shifty one, exited the room. As they passed Qin Tian's door, one shot him a glare, a faint warning in his eyes.

Qin Tian stroked his chin. To think they still dared to glare at him while stirring up trouble on his turf.

He could go to the front desk right now and ask for a key card to that room, but he chose not to. He wanted to see what these men were up to.

He closed the door and reentered his room, just as Nangong Xiao'e came out of the bathroom, nearly bumping into him.

Qin Tian couldn't help but sniff the air. Even the shower gel in a five-star hotel was this luxurious? The scent was divine.

"Why did you open the door?" Nangong Xiao'e asked, having heard the commotion earlier.

"There might be trouble tonight," Qin Tian replied.

"Trouble?" she echoed, perplexed.

He nodded and described what he'd seen.

"Qin Lei, go get a key card from the front desk," Nangong Xiao'e suggested.

"No, I want to see what they're up to first," he answered.

"I'm not going in to snoop, just to plant a bug," she said, fishing a tiny black device, no bigger than a fingernail, from her discarded clothes.

"Impressive," Qin Tian gave her a thumbs-up, then dashed off to fetch a master key card.

Together, they entered the suspicious room. On the floor sat a large suitcase.

"Could it be... a corpse? Should we check?" Qin Tian suggested.

"You open it; I'll plant the bug," Nangong Xiao'e replied.

Qin Tian unzipped the suitcase, and a clump of dark hair tumbled out. Frowning, he opened it fully—and froze.

A woman! There was a woman hidden inside the suitcase!

"Is this human trafficking?" Qin Tian's eyes widened in shock.

"Let's get out. We'll wait in the next room. They’re bound to come back, and we can listen in. If they plan to harm her, we’ll rush in immediately," Nangong Xiao'e proposed.

"Yes, maybe we can crack a major case!" Qin Tian nodded. He detested human trafficking—just how many lives and families had been destroyed by it?

"But she looks somewhat familiar... and quite pretty, too," Nangong Xiao'e mused, scrutinizing the woman crammed into the suitcase.

Jiang Zhengye swirled his wine glass contentedly. He had finally taken down the famous actress, Mi Xue!

She had already been delivered to the guest room, waiting for Qiu Yindang to enjoy.

If this worked out, it would mean their Emperor Group was about to break into the capital! With one of the Four Dragons of the capital, Qiu Lang, backing them, their business would grow exponentially.

By then, perhaps they could even use Qiu Lang’s influence to reclaim the lost Emperor Hotel!

Leaving the Emperor Hotel in the hands of someone like Qin Tian was a real waste, he thought. Recalling how Qin Tian had called him today, begging for help to prove his ownership of the hotel, Jiang Zhengye wanted to laugh.

So what if you took my hotel? The staff are all my people—you don’t know a single one of them, and they don’t know you!

Wait—Emperor Hotel? Qin Tian?

Jiang Zhengye suddenly snapped awake. Qin Tian had called him earlier, saying he was at the Emperor Hotel!

Damn it! This was bad—Jiang Zhengye had an ominous feeling that things were about to go very wrong.