Come on, What Kind of CEO Chases His Roommate Back to the Country? - Chapter 45

“Wait for me a moment.” Pei Song got up to pay the bill, and when he returned, he had an exquisite box in his hand. He pushed it toward Shi Yancheng. “I bought two small ones for you. Figure them out yourself.”

Shi Yancheng opened the box and found two palm-sized face-changing dolls inside. He picked one up and played with it for a moment before finding the mechanism on the back.

“That’s it?” He seemed a bit disappointed but still put the dolls into his bag.

“What else did you expect?” Pei Song chuckled at his reaction. “You thought it was some high-tech gadget?”

After finishing their meal, they strolled through the old town streets. This area still retained its architectural style from the past century. The red brick and dark tiles reflected a warm glow under the streetlights.

Among the lively calls of street vendors, a melodious erhu tune drifted through the air.

An elderly musician was playing The Moon Reflected on the Second Spring at the street corner, his performance moving and soulful.

Pei Song couldn’t help but stop. “My mom used to mention this song a lot when I was little. She said it was my grandma’s favorite.”

Shi Yancheng also paused to listen, his gaze softening. “My grandma loved this song too.”

They stood in silence for a while, listening as the musician transitioned into Butterfly Lovers.

“When I was a kid, I thought these songs were too sorrowful,” Pei Song murmured. “But now, they feel incredibly moving.”

Turning a corner, they arrived at a charming, vintage-style square.

Several elderly couples were ballroom dancing, their graceful movements flowing with the gentle music in the night air.

“My grandma once told me this was her and my grandpa’s favorite pastime when they were young,” Shi Yancheng said.

They sat on a bench at the edge of the square, watching the elderly dancers. The music shifted from The Moon Represents My Heart to Sweet As Honey, and the dance steps became lighter and more playful.

“Look how happy they are,” Pei Song said with a smile.

Shi Yancheng nodded. “Every era has its own kind of romance.”

Turning another corner, they saw a group of young people gathered around a street musician with a guitar.

“I used to hear this song a lot when I was in Country D,” Pei Song said, stopping.

Shi Yancheng glanced at the guitar. “Want to hear me play?”

Pei Song was surprised. “You play the guitar?”

Shi Yancheng had already stepped forward, speaking briefly with the street musician, who happily handed over his guitar. Pei Song had never seen this side of Shi Yancheng before. With his head slightly lowered, his light brown eyes focused intently on the fretboard, his usual sharp expression softened.

As his fingers moved, a beautiful melody flowed into the night.

It was a French folk song, gentle, soothing, and warm.

The usual coldness in Shi Yancheng’s demeanor seemed to melt into the music, softening the very air around them. When the song ended, applause erupted.

“That was amazing, big bro!” A stylishly dressed girl ran up. “Can I add you on WeChat?”

Shi Yancheng politely shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Come on, just WeChat! Maybe we can hang out sometime,” the girl persisted, her friends cheering her on.

Pei Song stood aside, watching, feeling oddly irritated. Shi Yancheng returned the guitar and maintained his polite but distant attitude. “Really, I’m sorry.”

The girl seemed like she wanted to say more, but Shi Yancheng had already turned back toward Pei Song. “Let’s go.”

Seeing the girl’s disappointed face, Pei Song felt a little smug.

“What are you smiling at?” Shi Yancheng asked after they had walked some distance.

“Nothing,” Pei Song replied seriously. “I just think that girl was kinda cute.”

Shi Yancheng glanced at him, as if trying to read his thoughts.

“But I really didn’t expect you to play the guitar,” Pei Song quickly changed the topic.

“I learned it for a while at boarding school,” Shi Yancheng said. “But later, I got too busy and barely played.”

“Never would’ve guessed,” Pei Song teased. “A math genius with an artistic side.”

Shi Yancheng’s lips curled slightly. “What, surprised?”

“Yeah, pretty surprised.” Pei Song grinned. “I’m always discovering new things about you.”

Shi Yancheng looked at his smile, his gaze gentle. “Tell me a song you like. I’ll play it for you sometime.”

Pei Song’s heart skipped a beat. Avoiding his gaze, he quickly pointed at a candied hawthorn stall. “I want to eat that.”

The grand opening of Future Hotel was set for early September, the perfect season with clear autumn skies. The week before the launch, Pei Song practically lived at the hotel, personally overseeing every system test.

From smart room controls to robotic dining services, he left no detail unchecked.

“Everything running smoothly?” Zhou Feng asked during an inspection.

“So far, no issues.” Pei Song was reviewing system logs. “I had the tech team recheck all test data, everything is stable.”

“Good,” Zhou Feng nodded in satisfaction. “This opening is a big deal. The headquarters is watching closely.”

On the opening day, the hotel entrance was packed with guests, including industry elites.

“Welcome to Future Hotel.” The lobby’s AI service robot greeted guests flawlessly.

Liu Yan stood nearby, beaming at the guests’ amazement. “Looks like our system is running perfectly.”

Pei Song didn’t respond, staying focused on the backend monitoring data. Despite appearances, he had a nagging feeling that something was off. Then, during the opening gala, the unexpected happened.

With a sharp “ding,” the entire building plunged into darkness.

Every smart system shut down at once, even the emergency lights didn’t turn on.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Feng’s voice cut through the darkness.

“Checking now.” Pei Song had already opened his laptop. “The system shows a core server failure, which caused a total network collapse.”

“Restore the power, now!” Liu Yan panicked. “Guests are stuck in the elevators!”

The engineers scrambled to diagnose the issue, but the system was completely unresponsive, as if it had been infected with a virus.

“This is definitely the tech team’s fault!” Liu Yan seized the moment. “Pei Song, didn’t you say the system was tested? How do you explain this?”

Pei Song ignored his provocation and continued typing rapidly on his keyboard.

“I told you,” Liu Yan’s voice grew sharper in the darkness. “Handing such a crucial project to an inexperienced newbie was a mistake! Zhou, with this disaster, the company’s reputation is ruined!”

Zhou Feng frowned, about to speak when another voice cut in.

“Liu, now is not the time for blame. We need to fix the problem first.”

It was Manager Lin from the marketing department, someone who had always clashed with Liu Yan. Zhou Feng cleared his throat. “Enough. Pei Song, what’s the status?”