At 11:50, Yang Sisi finally couldn't stand the smell of smoke in the room anymore and complained to us, "Brothers, can you please consider the feelings of non-smokers? If you keep smoking like this, before midnight, everyone in this room will be poisoned to death!"
Tie Nan patted Yang Sisi's head and coaxed her, "Be good, just hold on for ten more minutes and wait for the results. Then we'll all put out our cigarettes. I feel bad if I don't take a puff right now."
"Look how panicked you all are!"
I replied, "Aren't you worried? Why do you keep refreshing? You've practically worn out the mouse from clicking so many times."
Yang Sisi turned around and glared at me, then started clicking the mouse wildly on the computer in a fit of rage. This made everyone tense, and we quickly tried to calm her down, afraid that she would crash the computer and have to restart it, thus missing the results published on the official website.
To ease the tension, I asked Coach Ma, who seemed fairly calm, "What are you planning to do when you see the guest list for our inn later?"
Coach Ma flicked away his cigarette ash and replied, "Let me have a drink first, then I'll call my two sisters."
I was a little surprised by his words, because logically, parents are the closest and most important people, while sisters come after. Tie Nan seemed to read my confusion and explained for Coach Ma, "Don't be surprised. Coach Ma's parents are gone. Since junior high school, his two older sisters have been raising him..."
Those who didn't know him glanced at Coach Ma. He seemed nonchalant, but they could sense that he was somewhat saddened. They also knew that I wasn't the only one who had staked my hopes for a better life on the inn; Coach Ma was in the same boat, and he had even less of a way out than I did.
Because he had been sent to a labor camp, I can imagine how much his two older sisters hoped he could find an opportunity to start anew. The inn was his only gamble. I know he had been holding back for too long, especially since he was framed and imprisoned back then.
I clenched my fists instinctively, telling myself: For everyone's sake, I have to make this inn a success. In this inn, whether it's me, Instructor Ma, or Peach, we all desperately need to be saved.
...
The time finally came to 12 o'clock. Perhaps due to a delay, the website didn't publish on time, which made us even more anxious. Even Bai Lu and Tao Zi unconsciously lit a cigarette. Yang Sisi became even more agitated, refreshing the page at a rate of once per second…
Finally, at 12:02, the website updated with a notice about the results of the Erhai Lake cleanup, along with a list of guesthouses that could reopen. We all huddled around the computer and eagerly searched for the list…
Yang Sisi pointed at the mouse while reciting the names of the hotels and inns that had been notified that they could resume operations.
We discovered that Sun Jiwei's earlier information was accurate; the first twenty-odd names on the list were all well-known hotels in Dali, and the last few were highly-rated seaside inns. However, we didn't find the name "Waiting for You Amidst Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon" at the very end.
My mind went blank, and then I felt all the blood rushing to my brain. In that intense feeling of suffocation, I didn't know what was wrong. The others looked at each other blankly. We all seemed to have lost the ability to communicate; then, a sense of despair, like a giant black net, enveloped us completely.
Bai Lu was the first to act. She took the mouse from Yang Sisi, browsed the list again, and after confirming that our inn was not on it, she said, "That's impossible. A friend from the working group called me a few days ago to confirm this. Even if there were changes, they should have notified us in advance."
With my fingers trembling slightly, I picked up a cigarette and said to Bai Lu, "Let's take another look, see if we missed anything."
Everyone huddled together around the computer again, but the expressions on their faces grew increasingly desperate.
Bai Lu sighed heavily, then took out her phone from her handbag and said to us, "I'm going to call that friend in the work group. We need to get an explanation for this."
Everyone nodded solemnly...
Yang Sisi suddenly shouted, "Sister Bai Lu, don't hit her yet, don't hit her yet... There's a special announcement at the very bottom of the announcement."
Bai Lu put down her phone and turned back to stare at the computer. Sure enough, after scrolling down the page a little, there was a notice highlighted in red, and in this notice, the list of our inn's guests really appeared.
Hell and heaven can switch in an instant. It turns out that, just as that guy in the work group said, the "government" really wants to improve the local tourism image as soon as possible, so they made a special report about my previous rescue; and they hope that locals and outsiders can unite harmoniously to improve Dali's tourism market.
After confirming everything was correct, Tie Nan couldn't contain his excitement. He slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Holy crap, I'm flattered! This isn't just giving us a chance to reopen; it's practically free publicity! Now the entire hotel industry in Dali will know about our guesthouse. It'll be hard not to become an internet sensation!"
Everyone high-fived in celebration, and Coach Ma, true to form, pulled out a beer he'd prepared beforehand, downed it in one gulp, and then went outside alone to call his two older sisters. I imagine the call going through so late must have been incredibly long for them on the other end…
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