Chapter Text
"Would you care to tell me why you've blocked your calendar for the entire afternoon?"
Hua Cheng glares at the COO currently leaning in his doorway. "I wasn't under the impression that I owe you any explanations as to how I spend my time."
"Considering that we have an interview with a candidate for the hotel manager position in two hours, I think you do," He Xuan retorts.
"Do I need to be there?"
"You wanted to be there."
"Well, I don't want to be there anymore," Hua Cheng declares. "I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off, because I want to. Yin Yu and Jian Lan will be there; you'll be fine."
"You're going to see Xie Lian again."
Instead of responding, Hua Cheng loudly and pointedly closes his laptop and stows it in his briefcase. "Do you actually need me for something, He Xuan, or are you just here to annoy me?"
He Xuan snorts. "I need you to know that you're a colossal fucking loser."
Hua Cheng points at the door. "Scram."
He Xuan is kind of right, though. Since the first thrift shop incident, Hua Cheng has gone to visit Xie Lian at work nearly once a week—sometimes just to say a quick hello, sometimes to spirit him away to take an actual lunch break. He'd worry that he was being annoying, but Xie Lian always seems absolutely delighted to see him. If true, this would make him one of the only people on the entire planet who actively enjoys Hua Cheng's company.
That's not why Hua Cheng likes him, though. Hua Cheng likes him because he's funny and kind and unspeakably gorgeous, and because Xie Lian warms his heart and restores his faith in the goodness of humanity, a feeling he hasn't experienced in nearly two decades.
Maybe he's a bit of a colossal loser, but he can't really bring himself to care.
The door to The Scrap Collector opens with a gentle tinkling of bells. As far as Hua Cheng can tell, it's devoid of customers, so he walks up to the counter. With each step he takes, he feels his facial muscles relaxing into a smile.
"Hi, San Lang," Xie Lian says with a small smile. "Guess I owe you money, Banyue."
"I knew you'd come," Banyue mumbles, though she doesn't look at Hua Cheng or wave.
"Take your kid to work day?" Hua Cheng asks, trying to ignore the implication of Banyue's wager.
"Of a sort," Xie Lian replies. "We're taking a little mental health day today."
It's then that Banyue looks up to reveal reddened, teary eyes. "Dongmei left yesterday."
Hua Cheng looks at Xie Lian again, and he can feel something in his heart twist into knots. He's putting on a brave face; Hua Cheng can tell, but it's clear that this is affecting him too. "Back to her mother, or…"
"To another home, and it's my fault—"
"Banyue, it is not your fault," Xie Lian interrupts.
"But it is!" Banyue cries. "San Lang, you were in foster care; you'll get it. Tell him, Baba. He'll agree with me."
"San Lang," Xie Lian warns, quietly.
Hua Cheng nods to Xie Lian in acknowledgement, hoping the other man will trust him when he says, "I'm not so sure I'll agree, but just to be fair, let's hear it, gege."
Thankfully, Xie Lian picks up what he's putting down, albeit not without some trepidation in his eyes. "Banyue and her friend Pei Xiu got into a little trouble at school this week," he begins. "They were talking to each other during history class and apparently were sitting 'too close together' at lunch. So they got detention and they had to write an apology letter to the history teacher. And I thought that that was a sufficient consequence—they were disrespectful, so they had to apologize, and as for the 'too close together' business…"
"Let me guess, you think she only got in trouble for that because Pei Xiu is a boy."
Xie Lian nods. "Apparently Mrs. Zhao found out about the whole situation through the gossip mill, and when she learned that I didn't do anything else to punish Banyue, she threw a fit. She told Ling Wen that Dongmei can't live with a foster parent who 'encourages bad influences,' as well as some absolutely disgusting things about my daughter, and so…"
"And now Dongmei can never come back even if her stupid mother changes her mind," Banyue finishes. "It's not fair."
"Banyue is mad at me for that one," Xie Lian says with a small, sad smile. "After what Mrs. Zhao said about her, I told Ling Wen that she's never to come near me or my family again, and that does mean Dongmei can't live with us."
Hua Cheng suspects that Banyue is a lot angrier at herself than she is at Xie Lian, but bringing that up now will ruin the fragile trust Xie Lian has placed in his hands. "I see," he says. "I remember feeling like it was my fault every time I was moved, too, especially if I'd just gotten in trouble over something. But I don't think that's why she threw a fit. She's probably just jealous that gege showed her up as a better parent than she'll ever be. From what I've heard, the old cow is completely allergic to fun."
"San Lang," Xie Lian laughs. "I mean… you're kind of right, but don't be rude."
"Why not? She forced her daughter out of a stable situation for no reason, and she insulted Banyue. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't deserve any politeness."
Banyue stomps her foot once with a grunt before aggressively tapping it against the floor, fists clenched in agitation. It's clear that she's on the verge of exploding, while also trying desperately to hold herself back.
"Hey," Xie Lian murmurs, crouching in front of her. "I know. You're angry, and that's okay. Can you try and take some deep breaths?"
They breathe together for a few moments, and eventually Banyue scoots forward in her chair to hug Xie Lian. "I'm sorry," she mumbles as he hugs her back. "I know I shouldn't be mad at you."
Xie Lian clicks his tongue. "I'm sure I didn't just hear one of my children apologize for their feelings. San Lang, you didn't hear anything that ridiculous, did you?"
"Oh, of course not, gege. What a silly thing to say."
That, finally, gets Banyue to giggle. "Baba, I'm hungry. Can we get food?"
As if on cue, the door to the thrift shop opens. "Shoot," Xie Lian mutters. "Uh—"
"I could take Banyue to get lunch," Hua Cheng interjects. "With gege's permission, of course."
Xie Lian's eyes cloud over with guilt, and Hua Cheng can smell the "you don't have to" starting to form, but then Banyue pulls out of his arms with an actual smile on her face, and that guilt quickly parts to make way for relief. "That's very kind of you, San Lang. Banyue, do you want to go with—ah. Well, I guess that's a yes. Hang on, let me—"
"Gege's hand better not be reaching for his wallet," Hua Cheng warns. "I'm treating this lovely young lady to lunch and that's final. Would you like us to pick anything up for you?"
Xie Lian's hand twitches and his face scrunches up, clearly ready to push back, but then the tension dissipates, a visible surrender that Hua Cheng takes a moment to store in his memory forever. Beautiful. "Alright, alright. Have fun, you two—and no thank you; I'm not particularly hungry."
"Oh, we'll have fun," Hua Cheng promises, extending an arm to Banyue. He imagines he looks a little silly, wearing a perfectly crisp red-and-black suit while escorting a giggling teen in shorts and a t-shirt like she's a socialite, but he couldn't possibly care any less. Not when Xie Lian's eyes are softening ever further at the sight of it. "When do you need her home?"
Instead of answering, Xie Lian turns to his daughter. "Banyue, did you want to go to dance class today, or do you want to skip? I can call Chen-laoshi and tell her you're sick if you're not up to it, but let's decide now."
Banyue thinks about it for a few moments. "I think skip," she replies. "I don't really want the other girls to ask me why I skipped school but went to dance. They won't be mean, but I'll probably cry if I have to explain it."
"Then dinner is at seven," says Xie Lian. "The boys don't work today, so we'll all get to eat together."
Shit. Fuck. Up until this point, Hua Cheng has been clinging to the idea that maybe, just maybe, his crush on Xie Lian would eventually pass, but as his mind floods through with an image—canvas-clear, paintbrush-precise—of the five of them at a dining table Hua Cheng has never seen before, eating dinner as a family, a family goddamnit, he realizes he can't delude himself any longer.
(He wants, wants, wants, wants.)
"But you don't have to keep her that late!" Xie Lian says quickly, mercifully drowning out Hua Cheng's train of thought. "The store closes at five, so you can just drop her back here any time before that."
"I'll keep you posted," Hua Cheng replies. "Ready, Banyue?"
Banyue nods. "Ready."
Banyue, Hua Cheng learns, is an absolute delight. Now that she's no longer crying, her sharp wit comes out in full force while they talk. Hua Cheng has seen hints of that same sense of humor from Xie Lian, and talking with Banyue makes him suspect that when Xie Lian was that age, he was an absolute menace. Then again, he suspects that Banyue's beloved Xuan-jie has a lot to do with her personality as well. But underneath it all, Hua Cheng can tell that she's still rattled, and he's seen himself in the mirror enough times to know that the voices of self-loathing are still ringing strong in her ears.
As she finishes her lunch (steamed buns; she really is her father's daughter), an idea forms in his head, of something he could do that might help. It might be overstepping—actually, it's definitely overstepping—and if it goes wrong, it'll be the end of his friendship with Xie Lian. But if it works…
And then his fucking phone rings.
"Goddamn it," he mutters as he sees that it's He Xuan. "What?"
"Jian Lan's son is sick. She can't make the interview. I need you here in thirty minutes."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Don't I pay you to handle shit like this for me? I'm busy, He Xuan—it's none of your fucking business what I'm up to. Are you saying you can't handle this yourself?"
Banyue giggles from across the table, and it does two things to Hua Cheng's brain. First, he can feel himself soften; under normal circumstances he would think he was being mocked, but given that Banyue knows He Xuan he's comfortable assuming otherwise.
Second, it gives him an idea. A wonderful, brilliant idea that will both handle the (admittedly very real) problem of Jian Lan not being available for this interview, and drive He Xuan absolutely insane.
He Xuan, who is currently mouthing off in his ear about the importance of not thinking with one's dick, as if Hua Cheng doesn't personally sign his paychecks.
"Fine. I'll be there. Have Yin Yu contact the candidate. See you in thirty." With that, he hangs up and sets the phone on the table. "Alright, Banyue, here's the deal. Your Xuan-jie's annoying boyfriend is trying to drag me into an annoying meeting, and unfortunately I can't just ignore him the way I usually do. But if you'd like… you can help me annoy him right back."
Banyue grins. "Get the check."
"You've got to be kidding me."
Hua Cheng grins, slinging an arm around Banyue's shoulder. "Oh, come now, be nice to your meimei."
"She's Qingxuan's meimei, not mine," He Xuan huffs. "Fucking hell, Hua, I know you're mad at me for dragging you here, but seriously? Bringing a kid to the interview?"
"I think it's a great idea," says Hua Cheng. "It'll be a good test for the candidate. We might have a lot more families in the hotel going forward, so if she reacts poorly to an unexpected teenager, that's proof she's not a good fit."
"I won't even talk," Banyue pipes up. "I have some schoolwork in my backpack that I can do. I won't get in the way at all."
He Xuan opens his mouth to argue, but then the intercom in the room pings.
"Mr. Hua, the candidate is here. Shall I send her up?"
Hua Cheng presses the button in the center of the table. "Go ahead, Xiao Ying. We're ready for her."
A few moments later, a well-dressed woman knocks on the door of the conference room. He Xuan glares at Hua Cheng one more time before going to open it. Banyue scurries off to a table in the corner and grabs her schoolwork.
The interview is pretty standard, as interviews go. Liang Yawen shows promise; she has nearly two decades of hospitality experience but unlike many of the applicants, she climbed her way to the top through hard work and experience in the day-to-day roles of restaurants and hotels. She answers He Xuan and Hua Cheng's questions skillfully, and though she sneaks a few looks at Banyue throughout the interview, she doesn't say anything negative.
"Well, I think that's all from us," says Hua Cheng. "Thank you very much for your time, Ms. Liang. I do have to go; Banyue's dad will be expecting her home soon."
"Can I go to the bathroom first?" Banyue asks.
"What do I look like, your teacher?" Hua Cheng retorts, a hint of a smile on his face. "Straight down the hall; you'll see it on the left just before you hit the elevators."
"I think I'll go to the bathroom as well," says Liang Yawen. "Thank you again for your time; I look forward to hearing from you." She waves, and then she follows Banyue out the door.
"I think you should hire her," Banyue declares when she comes back into the conference room. "Turns out she followed me to the bathroom to ask if I was safe and if I actually knew you guys."
He Xuan and Hua Cheng stare at each other, and to Hua Cheng's surprise, his COO matches his smile. "Jian Lan didn't put you up to this, did she? It's the kind of thing she would do to test if a candidate knows the red flags for human trafficking."
Banyue tilts her head. "Who's Jian Lan?"
"Our director of hospitality," Hua Cheng explains. "She's been at Ghost City since before you were born, but she came from working on the streets. He Xuan is right; that is something she would do. See, I told you that bringing Banyue wouldn't be a bad idea. Now, if it's all the same to you, I am done for the day, so do not bother me. Understood?"
"Whatever," He Xuan mutters. "I'll tell Qingxuan you said hi, Banyue. They're out of the country doing some big photoshoot right now."
"Okay!" Banyue walks over to the table where she'd been working on her homework and quickly packs her bag. "Back to the thrift shop, San Lang?"
Now's his chance. "Actually, Banyue, would you mind coming with me on one more errand? It's on the way back to the shop, and it shouldn't take too long."
Across the room, He Xuan raises an eyebrow, but Hua Cheng glares him into silence. Thankfully, Banyue doesn't notice. "Yeah, that's okay. Seeya, He Xuan!"
He Xuan waves at her lazily, and Hua Cheng guides her out the door.
Here goes nothing.