Chapter 56: Fifty-six, Drive Out Chapter 56: Fifty-six, Drive Out Song Yan Ning had just finished crafting two protective jade pendants when she heard someone knocking on the door. She put away her materials and went to open it.
Seeing the hotel’s attendant outside, Song Yan Ning immediately understood, “Is there something wrong?” A visit from the attendant in the dead of night definitely signaled trouble—it must be Liu Xin’s doing again.
“Little sister, I’m sorry! We just received notification that there’s a problem with this room and it’s not livable. You’ll need to pack up and find another place to stay,” the attendant said with a hint of reluctance in her eyes. Where could two elderly people with a child go in the middle of the night after leaving the hotel?
With this in mind, the attendant took a key from her pocket and handed it to Song Yan Ning. “Little sister, this is the key to my house. If you have nowhere to stay, you can go there. I live at 32 Yu Jia Lane, and I’m the only one residing there usually. You can just open the door and enter.” Since she was working the night shift, the house would be empty, providing them a place for the night.
Song Yan Ning did not take the key, but smiled at the attendant, “Thank you, sister! But helping us could get you into trouble. Aren’t you afraid?” Liu Xin’s influence in Beijing was evident from the fact that he could get the hotel to kick them out.
“What is there to be afraid of? I’m alone. Little sister, take the key, and later you with your grandparents go stay at my place. I’ll head down first.” The attendant pushed the key into Song Yan Ning’s hand, waved goodbye, and headed downstairs. She couldn’t bear the thought of them wandering the streets at this hour and was ready to quit her job if it brought any trouble—able-bodied as she was, she could find another job.
Song Yan Ning’s gaze followed the attendant before looking down at the key in her hand, a smile lifting her face.
She closed the door, returned to the room, and retrieved a porcelain vial from her small bag. Opening it, a fragrant aroma wafted out.
“Grandpa, Grandma, wake up,” she said as she gently nudged Li Meixiang and Yang Lisheng on the bed.
Li Meixiang and Yang Lisheng groggily opened their eyes and checked the time.
“Xiao Ning, are you unable to sleep because you’re scared?” Li Meixiang sat up, pulled Song Yan Ning into her arms, and gently patted her back, “Don’t be scared, we’re here with you.” Xiao Ning must have been awake due to unfamiliar surroundings.
Song Yan Ning shook her head. “No, it’s not that. The hotel just sent someone to tell us to move out now.” She had initially planned to let the matter of the two attendants slide, but it seemed someone really needed a lesson.
“What? Why?” Yang Lisheng and Li Meixiang looked surprised. They had never encountered a hotel expelling guests in the middle of the night. Where were they supposed to find a place to stay now? It might be manageable for the adults, but what about Xiao Ning?
They had many friends in Beijing, but it felt inappropriate to disturb anyone at this late hour.
“The sister who came to notify us said there is a problem with the room…”
“I’ll go speak to them about this.” Before Song Yan Ning could finish, Yang Lisheng stood up in anger, got dressed, and was ready to head out.
“Grandpa, wait a moment,” Song Yan Ning held onto Yang Lisheng and handed him a key, “This is from the sister who came to notify us. She’s letting us stay at her place.”
“This is not right. We don’t even know her. I will return the key to her,” Yang Lisheng took the key and stowed it in his pocket. He was intent on properly thanking her for her extremely timely help.
Their eviction from the hotel was undoubtedly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes, very likely connected to Mr. Liu, who had tried to buy their jade during the day.
“How about we look for another hotel?” Li Meixiang suggested. There were many hotels in Beijing; surely, they could find one, or at worst, stay in a more expensive hotel.
“It’s useless. Whichever hotel we go to now will be the same, given the influence of the person trying to harm us here in Beijing,” Yang Lisheng frowned.
“What should we do then? Should we call Xinxin?” suggested Li Meixiang. With the Song family’s involvement, the issue could definitely be resolved.
“Let’s first pack our things and then decide as we leave,” Yang Lisheng started to pack the luggage. He felt this eviction was only the beginning of more to come but he was reluctant to bother the Song family.
“Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry. Everything will be fine,” reassured Song Yan Ning, gathering her belongings into her small bag. If anyone dared approach, she was prepared to make them regret it.
Zhou Xiaofang was propping her chin with both hands, looking at the staircase, her eyes full of concern. She had given the family the key to her home, but she was still worried for them. Recently, the boss had made them give the room cards to two men and now was forcing them to evict the family. With two elderly and a child walking the streets at this hour, what if they ran into danger?
“Xiaofang, go and hurry them along. Make them come down faster,” Chen Ying pushed Zhou Xiaofang.
“Okay!” Zhou Xiaofang nodded, stood up, and moved away from the counter, but then she paused and turned back to Chen Ying, “Sister Chen, I want to take a leave of absence.” She felt it would be better to accompany them to her house, as she knew Beijing well after several years there.
“Do you have something to do?” Chen Ying looked at Zhou Xiaofang in surprise.
“I thought…” Hearing footsteps from the staircase, Zhou Xiaofang cut herself off and turned to look. Seeing Song Yan Ning and her grandparents with their luggage coming downstairs,
Yang Lisheng approached Zhou Xiaofang, handing her the key and room card, “Thank you, miss!”
Zhou Xiaofang shook her head, slightly embarrassed, “Don’t mention it. Uncle, aunt, please keep the key and stay at my place tonight. There’ll be no one else there.”
Yang Lisheng smiled and shook his head, “We don’t want to trouble you, miss. Do you have any paper and a pen?”
“Yes,” answered Zhou Xiaofang as she walked into the front desk and handed paper and a pen to Yang Lisheng.
Yang Lisheng quickly wrote down a prescription and handed it to Zhou Xiaofang. Seeing her puzzled expression, he explained, “This prescription will help balance your hormones. Drink it for two courses, and you won’t have pain anymore.”
“How did you know about my condition?” Zhou Xiaofang asked in astonishment. Her periods were always excruciating, and despite several hospital visits and numerous medications, nothing had helped.
“I’m a doctor. Miss, we won’t keep you from your work any longer,” Yang Lisheng smiled at Zhou Xiaofang, and he, Song Yan Ning, and Li Meixiang went outside.