Chapter 12 The Beginning of the Scandal: 12

Words : 998 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 The Beginning of the Scandal: 12 Zhou Yun was truly tired. As soon as she got back to her room, she forced herself to stay awake to remove her makeup, washed her face, applied some lotion, and then fell asleep almost immediately. This sleep was deep; according to her usual habit, she should have slept until the next afternoon, but for some reason, after an unknown amount of time, she drowsily heard a rustling noise. Zhou Yun initially furrowed her brow, then slowly became more alert. What was that noise? Mice? Zhou Yun opened her eyes and turned to look. The sound was coming from the doorway. The room was pitch-black, void of any light. The curtains were fully drawn, preventing even a sliver of light from outside to enter. Zhou Yun instinctively reached out to press the bedside lamp button, but the moment her fingertip touched it, a chilling sensation startled her fully awake. The rustling noise was coming from the doorway; was it through the door, or was there no door between it and her? Zhou Yun's movements froze, and she hesitated for a long while. In the middle of the night, in a strange hotel, hearing a rustling noise—these events combined felt quite eerie. Even with her bravery, Zhou Yun's scalp tingled. She didn't dare to turn on the light abruptly, afraid that someone had really sneaked into her room, and flipping the switch might startle them into doing something foolish in a panic. But she also didn't dare sit by and do nothing. What should she do? As this thought popped up in Zhou Yun's mind, her palms began to sweat. Just then, the rustling noise stopped. There was a "beep" sound. It was an electronic tone. It was not an illusion; this time, Zhou Yun was positive that the sound came from her room's doorway. It was like the sound of a failed card-key attempt to open the door. The room fell into silence once more. This silence was like a lake, gradually submerging a person who could not make a sound. Just at that moment, a voice came from the doorway. "Who is it? What are you doing here?" Zhou Yun, like a drowning person grasping a lifebuoy, didn't rush to open the door or turn on the light but instead reached for her cellphone charging on the bedside table, unplugged it, and called Zhou Lan. ... Ten minutes later, Zhou Lan sat on the edge of Zhou Yun's bed, wearing pajamas, a serious look on his face, staring at Zhou Yun, who had an undecorated and clearly panic-stricken face, still with a look of residual fear. Any girl facing such an incident would be scared. Zhou Lan moved a bit closer to Zhou Yun and embraced her in his arms. Another ten minutes passed, and a female hotel manager arrived at the scene with two attendants. She smiled apologetically at Zhou Yun and said, "Miss Zhou, we have checked the surveillance footage, and in the past half-hour, everything at your room's door was normal, and nobody passed by." Zhou Yun looked up in shock, anger flashing in her eyes. "How is that possible? I heard the noise myself, and someone else witnessed it as well!" The hotel manager gave a sorry smile, suggesting, "Miss Zhou, could it be that you had a nightmare?" Zhou Yun said coldly, "I can tell the difference between dreams and reality." The manager's response was clearly a lie! Why lie? Such an incident is very disgraceful for a hotel, and it could even deliver a fatal blow to the hotel's reputation. If a hotel cannot provide a sense of security for its guests, then it might as well prepare to shut down for good. Zhou Yun's disbelief caused Zhou Lan to swallow the words he was about to say. Could it have really been a nightmare? Zhou Lan thought so too. But Zhou Yun wasn't one to make a fuss over nothing, aware of this, Zhou Lan chose to hold back his words. If this incident were real, Zhou Lan, as her agent, must demand an explanation from the hotel on Zhou Yun's behalf! To Zhou Yun's surprise, the hotel manager didn't make it difficult for them and simply nodded, agreeing to her request. Without any hesitation, she agreed to show them the surveillance footage. It was as if she had anticipated their reaction. "Let's go then," Zhou Yun said, putting on a coat. ... Thirty minutes later, after watching the surveillance footage back and forth twice, Zhou Yun bit her lip in disbelief. Everything was indeed normal; not a single person entered or exited the corridor within the last hour. How could this be? The manager's smile remained proper and polite, but to Zhou Yun, it seemed to carry a mocking undertone. —You see, you had a nightmare, didn't you? As if she really was an unreasonable customer. Zhou Lan patted Zhou Yun's shoulder and said, "Xiao Yun, you were just secretly photographed by the paparazzi and made the headlines; it's normal to be upset and have nightmares, don't worry too much, it's alright." Zhou Lan's words were meant to comfort Zhou Yun but also to set the tone for the incident before the manager could say anything. Even if Zhou Yun made a bit of a fuss, having nightmares was due to the paparazzi's secret photography, because the hotel's lax management allowed the intrusion, which led to tonight's incidents. Zhou Yun was somewhat unwilling to let it go but realized it was pointless to continue the argument, and she said to Zhou Lan, "Let's go back." She then turned to the manager and said, "Sorry for bothering you, thank you." The manager smiled politely, "Serving you is our duty, of course, good night."

Chapter 12 The Beginning of the Scandal: 12

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