Chapter 30 Mt.Diecui (1/2)

“Oi, since no one booked a hotel room, where are we going to stay tonight?” Shi Yitong groaned.

“Uhh, don’t worry. We’ll look for a hotel when we arrive,” Su Xiaoyun tried to calm him down.

However, the worst case scenario happened. When we arrived at Mt.Diecui, it was already evening. Not only were the mid-range hotels completely full, but the high-end hotels had no empty rooms either. The streets were so full of people continuously going back and forth that you would have mistaken it for the city center.

“This is… so strange,” said Shi Yitong, standing confused next to a fully-booked hotel. “Although Mt. Diecui is a tourist attraction, it usually doesn’t have that many tourists. What’s going on?”

“It’s because of the temple fair,”

A voice suddenly answered. We looked back and saw a man in his forties, standing right behind us. He wore a gray woolen coat and had a gentle smile on his face.

“The temple fair?” Su Xiaoyun asked.

“Yes, the biggest temple fair in Yan City will be held on Mt.Diecui in two days, that’s why there are so many tourists. You look like college students out for fun, aren’t you here for that?”

“Um, we didn’t plan anything at all, and we didn’t expect to see so many people here.” Shi Yitong helplessly scratched his head. “All the hotels are full.”

“I see.” The kindly-looking middle-aged man smiled. “Since you’re here, I suggest you visit the temple fair. It’s worth having a look. By the way, since all hotels are full, you have nowhere to sleep, right?”

The three of us look at each other in dismay and nodded.

“If you don’t mind, how about staying in my hostel?” The middle-aged man invited us warmly. “I have a double room and a single room available.”

Shi Yitong’s eyes suddenly glittered. “Really? You’re a hostel owner?.”

“Yeah, my hostel is at the back of this street. I was just going out to buy some food,” The middle-aged man said happily. “Would you like to go to my place and take a look?”

We couldn’t miss this opportunity, so Su Xiaoyun and I nodded.

As the man said, after we walked across the street, we saw a small, inconspicuous hostel at the corner. No wonder this hostel still had vacant rooms, it was really unnoticeable.

It had neither neon signs nor any prominent signage. It was just a small house, sitting alone on the street corner. When I came closer, I found out that it had a wooden signboard over a porch. The decor reminded me of Wen Jiubo’s old residence.

“Come in; it’s here. You just need to register your name at the front desk.” The man opened the wooden door, walked behind the counter, and began to look for something in the drawer. “Ah, the register, the register… How strange, where is the registration book?”

We stared at the man who was searching his register book in a drawer, feeling speechless — what a careless hostel owner he was.

“Oh, it’s here. I found it.” I didn’t know how much time had passed, but the man finally lifted his head and handed over a creased register book. “Write your name and phone number here.”

Shi Yitong and I looked at each other helplessly before picking up a pen to start writing.

“This hostel isn’t that small, but I don’t see a lot of people in here.” Su Xiaoyun curiously looked around. She seemed very interested in this small, old hostel.

“Yeah, it’s located away from the center of the city, so we don’t usually get a lot of guests. Usually, I’m the only one that does all the cleaning chores,” The man said with a smile. “Oh, right, I almost forgot, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Xu Yingchen. You can call me Uncle Xu, or Yingchen.”

‘Uncle Xu is kind of cute,” Su Xiaoyun couldn’t help but laugh out.

Xu Yingchen laughed out. “Really? Although people often say that to me, it’s the first time I’ve heard it from such a lovely young lady.”

Su Xiaoyun introduced us, “I’m Su Xiaoyun, a college student from Yan University. These are my classmates, Shi Yitong and Gu Yu.”

Shi Yitong finished the registration. He looked up and greeted him respectfully,

“Hi, Uncle Xu.”

“Gu Yu, your name is Gu Yu?”

As soon as I looked up, I was startled because Xu Yingchen was looking at me strangely,

“Uhh… yes, that’s right.”

“Good name.” Xu Yingchen laughed heartily, making me feel even more perplexed.