Chapter 21: 21 Scandal
Chapter Twenty-One
The orchid had actually bloomed!
Long Xiaoshan could affirm that the orchid he watered last night was in a state of partial wilting; not to mention blooming, even the branches and leaves had turned somewhat yellow.
But now, this orchid was blooming so stunningly, captivatingly beautiful.
Su Wan, who was in the living room, heard Little Ling's exclamation and ran to the room, where she immediately froze, looking at the orchid on the windowsill and incredulously exclaimed, "How did the Shorthairy Antenoron bloom?"
She hurried to the windowsill, examining the orchid from all angles.
No one could be more shocked than her.
This Shorthairy Antenoron was very precious, a type of orchid extremely difficult to grow. It was said that this one was worth tens of thousands, which she could not afford to maintain. She had taken it from the chairman because the orchid was close to dying and the chairman was going to throw it away, and she felt it would be a pity to discard it, so she took it home instead.
Unexpectedly, it had come back to life.
She was too astonished, clearly remembering when she watered the orchid yesterday, it was nearly dead.
Without having done much, how did this precious, nearly dead Antenoron come back to life?
And to bloom so enchantingly.
"It's really strange, even if it did come back to life, now isn't the flowering season for orchids, is it?" Su Wan was both surprised and baffled, turning to ask Xiaoshan, "Xiaoshan, did you see it blooming last night?"
Of course, Long Xiaoshan wouldn't say that he had poured water into it; he shook his head and replied, "I don't know, I only saw it this morning."
Su Wan couldn't figure it out and could only take it as a miracle.
After admiring the orchid for a while, Su Wan took many photos with her phone; even to the layperson's eye, the orchid looked too seductively beautiful.
Moreover, this was a very valuable orchid worth tens of thousands.
"Manager Su, Little Ling and I will head home first. Thanks for last night," Long Xiaoshan said, seeing that Su Wan kept on looking at it.
"Hey, wait a moment, I have to go to work too," Su Wan said glancing at her watch, and quickly added, "By the way, Xiaoshan, can you hold this orchid for me?"
"You're taking the flower with you?" Su Wan asked.
"Yes, this flower belongs to a friend of mine who really likes flowers. But since this orchid was nearly dead, I just took it to try and revive it as a last resort, and it actually did! I'm going to take it back and give her a surprise," Su Wan explained.
Long Xiaoshan didn't ask any further and picked up the orchid pot.
As the three of them descended the stairs, Su Wan said, "Xiaoshan, last night Little Ling told me about your situation. Are you really not considering working as a security guard at our hotel? If you decide to accept now, I can still make arrangements for you."
"I'm not going to do it," Long Xiaoshan stated.
He had never intended to be a security guard, and if he truly wanted to be one, he would much rather call Old Xu and his contacts. Moreover, the blooming of that orchid had just sparked a new idea in him, further dissuading him from taking up the job.
Su Wan shook her head with a hint of disappointment. Why was Long Xiaoshan so stubborn?
His personality wasn't the best, but as acquaintances, it wasn't her place to comment deeply.
She sighed, "Well, let me offer you this: Little Ling mentioned she's looking for summer work. Although Lily Hotel doesn't usually hire temporary workers, I can make an exception. We can consider it an internship for Little Ling. Rest assured, Lily Hotel is completely reputable."
Long Xiaoshan wasn't too keen on having Little Ling work any more.
About to decline, Long Xiaoling interjected, "Brother, I'd like to go with Sister Su and take a look."
"You still want to work?" Long Xiaoshan's tone was slightly displeased.
"Brother, I trust Sister Su is a good person," Little Ling insisted.
"Alright then, I'll accompany you to take a look," Long Xiaoshan conceded.
Su Wan drove a yellow Volkswagen Polo out of the garage. It seemed that the treatment at Lily Hotel was pretty good; in Niu Y County, being able to afford a car worth around a hundred thousand yuan was quite an achievement.
After placing the orchid in the trunk.
Su Wan took the sibling duo and drove to the city center to a ten-story building with an all-glass façade that was very eye-catching.
At the entrance of the building was the sign for Lily Hotel.
Even in the center of the city, this building stood out sharply, with only two or three others of the same height.
Inside, Su Wan led Long Xiaoshan and his sister through the building, which was indeed decorated very formally. The first two floors were restaurants, and the rooms upstairs were hotel rooms. There were no miscellaneous facilities like KTV or entertainment rooms.
"Our Lily Hotel is a three-star hotel and can be ranked in the top three in terms of hotel strength in the city," Su Wan introduced with a hint of pride.
Long Xiaoshan found that it indeed appeared much more formal than Grand Tycoon Hotel. It was a real hotel. And after a day's contact, he found Su Wan to be quite trustworthy. It shouldn't be a problem to leave little Ling in her care.
"How about it, not bad, right? Little Ling can do her summer internship here, and she can sleep at my place at night. If there are any problems, you can contact me directly," Su Wan said.
"Alright then, Sister Su, I'll leave little Ling in your hands," Long Xiaoshan was someone who made decisions quickly.
After getting Su Wan's business card, Long Xiaoshan bid his farewell.
Before leaving, Long Xiaoshan hesitated a moment but then reminded her, "Sister Su, when you have time, you should still go to the hospital for a CT scan."
Seeing Long Xiaoshan bringing up the past, Su Wan frowned and seemed a bit irritated.
Long Xiaoshan sighed inwardly, realizing that Su Wan still did not believe him.
But it was understandable. He was just a farmer and had no connections with doctors. It would be strange if she did believe him. The fact that she hadn't thrown a fit on the spot already showed great restraint.
Without saying anything more, Long Xiaoshan left. He arrived at the bus station, bought a ticket, boarded the same bus he had encountered Shen Yuerong on last time, but this time there was no incident, and he made it back to Lotus Township without any trouble.
He didn't stop there but walked more than ten miles on mountain roads to get back to his village.
Upon entering the village, Long Xiaoshan noticed many villagers pointing at him. His ears were sharp, and he vaguely heard gossip about him seducing a widow as soon as he got back.
With furrowed brows, he continued toward his home.
He spotted a familiar figure and called out, "Chun Tao."
Chun Tao turned around, saw him, quickly covered one side of her face, and rushed back inside. Though it was just a glimpse, Long Xiaoshan still saw the swelling on Chun Tao's face, as if she had been hit.
What happened?
Long Xiaoshan walked up to the house. The door was already closed, and he could hear a scolding from an old lady inside: "You still have the face to come back here, you shameless hussy, seducing anyone you can. Of all people, you seduce the labor reform returnee just released."
There was also the vague sound of Chun Tao's crying.
Long Xiaoshan knew this was Chun Tao's husband's home. The voice he heard must have been Village Auntie Wu, Chun Tao's mother-in-law.
His brow furrowed deeper.
They were talking about him, weren't they?
How could it be that in just one day, all these rumors had spread? There was no one else on the mountain that day he and Chun Tao were there, and he returned to the village first. Yet, somehow, rumors had been started about them.
He raised his hand to knock on the door.
But then he lowered it without knocking. A widow's door attracts much gossip, and the village gossips loved nothing more than such salacious news. If he were to knock and enter, a situation that was nothing could turn into something. And Auntie Wu's fierceness was well-known throughout the village.
He silently cursed those who spread the rumors.
He could only pretend he hadn't heard and headed back to his own house.