Chapter 117: The Hotel

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The car gradually pulled away from Beijing International Airport.

“Lazy cat, are you okay after that bump just now?” Li Ran asked with concern as soon as he sat down, referring to Jiang Yihan’s condition.

“I don’t know, I don’t feel anything for now,” Jiang Yihan touched himself, only sensing numbness but no particular pain.

“Let me have a look.” Li Ran moved over and lifted Jiang Yihan’s shirt. The shoulder was bruised and blue. Pressing on it, he asked, “Does it hurt?”

“A little, but not too much,” Jiang Yihan frowned slightly.

“Remember to apply some ointment when we get back. Luckily, it’s nothing serious.” Li Ran lowered his shirt and tidied it up. Jiang Yihan moved his shoulder a bit to alleviate the soreness.

“Wow, it’s so crowded today, really didn’t expect this. It’s quite a spectacle,” Jiang Yihan sighed, thinking that such a reception was probably only given to top-tier stars.

“Hehe, looks like brother is still quite popular here. It’s his home turf after all,” Jiang Ziyi smiled in agreement.

Just then, Jiang Yihan glanced out the window and saw several taxis running parallel to their car, closely tailing them. Looking carefully, he saw someone in the back seat of one taxi holding up a small banner with “Jiang Yihan” written on it. Jiang Yihan was startled—such a scene was rare in Korea.

Outside, about five taxis were following Jiang Yihan’s car. Jiang Yihan smiled, rolled down the window, waved at the closest taxi, and shouted loudly, “Be careful!” Then he gave a big smile before rolling the window back up. The fans in that taxi screamed wildly, expressing their excitement.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yihan’s car smoothly headed toward their residence, while chaos still reigned at the airport.

“Master, where’s the next destination on the schedule?” Castle fan Xiao C asked happily, still unable to calm down from the excitement, her voice several decibels higher than usual.

“I think there’s no scheduled itinerary today, probably just back to the hotel to rest,” Castle fan Xiao A sighed, sweating from the earlier crowd crush.

“Which hotel?” Xiao B asked.

“Hyatt, I heard,” Xiao A seemed to have the most reliable info, and everyone looked to her for answers.

“So, shall we head to the Hyatt now?” Xiao D asked eagerly.

“No rush. We wanted to follow the car, but it was too chaotic today and we lost track. Also, I saw Master bump into the door earlier; not sure if he’s hurt. Today’s really a mess,” Xiao E, clearly an experienced fan, replied.

“What? Master injured? How could this happen?” A chorus of worry broke out immediately.

“What do we do now?” Xiao B asked anxiously.

“It’s too late to chase now. Let’s contact others and find out which hotel Master actually went to, then we’ll all go there and wait,” Xiao A said.

It was clear these Castle fans formed a welcoming group. Xiao A and Xiao E were the most informed among them, and the others gladly followed their lead—it at least gave them some direction.

“Hey, where are you now?” Xiao A answered a call. “What? Lost track? What now?” Xiao E’s voice was full of anxiety. After a short exchange, she hung up. “A friend I know just tried to follow Master’s car but lost him. Now we don’t know where Master is. What do we do?”

“Could it be that Master isn’t going to the Hyatt?” Xiao D asked. “Should we go wait there?”

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“We’re not even sure which hotel Master is staying at right now. If we go to the Hyatt and book a room but Master doesn’t go there, we’d just be wasting time,” Xiao A answered, clearly anxious. She needed to know his hotel so they could book a room and have a chance to get close to him. Judging by the crowd at the airport, if they delayed, by the time they knew where Master checked in, the hotel might be fully booked.

At that moment, Xiao E thought for a moment and said, “I’ll try calling an older sister. Maybe she can help us get some news.”

The call connected, followed by a rapid burst of Korean that lasted a while before the call ended.

Seeing Xiao E’s excited smile, everyone knew there was hope. “Haha, didn’t expect that older sister to come along. They’re circling around and will head to the XX Hotel, not the Hyatt. Probably about 20 more minutes. Let’s hurry.”

Xiao E took off running, and the others quickly got into their car. Questions arose on the way. Xiao B was the first to ask, “Why is Master making circles? Why not just go straight back?”

“If Master didn’t circle around or throw a smokescreen saying he’s going to the Hyatt, the hotel he’s staying at would be mobbed. Everyone would swarm over,” Xiao A patiently explained. “So Master is trying to confuse everyone’s line of sight, hoping not to be surrounded. It’s dangerous for him and for us. The airport earlier was really...”—Xiao A trailed off, still worried about Master’s bump against the door.

The car fell silent for a moment; nobody wanted to think about the accident. Eventually, someone broke the silence.

“E, who did you just contact? How did you suddenly know Master’s direction?” Xiao D asked, voicing what everyone wanted to know.

Xiao E smiled, then said, “Actually, I know a sister at One Company who handles costumes. She’s met Master many times before, and I’ve always envied her.” Her news caused excitement and envy among everyone, who immediately pictured the scene. Xiao E continued, “Since I couldn’t think of any other way, I called her to see if she had any news. Didn’t expect this sister to actually come along. They’re now in a nanny car behind Master, heading to the hotel. That’s how I know.”

“Wow, really?” Everyone immediately began chattering excitedly, knowing that if this sister was really there, their five-person group’s chance of getting close to Jiang Yihan would greatly increase.

Meanwhile, all the Castle fans were trying their best to find out where Jiang Yihan was staying, hoping to get as close as possible. After all, this was Jiang Yihan’s first official appearance in the Chinese market in two years. In early 2005, when Jiang Yihan debuted, only a few knew him in China. In 2006, he was very popular, but his sudden return to China due to family issues was so hurried that few were informed. Even those who knew thought it wasn’t the right time to interact with him, so it went quietly. Only now, in 2007, was Jiang Yihan making a high-profile appearance in front of the public. Naturally, the fans were thrilled.

Elsewhere, Jiang Yihan and his group were confirming hotel check-in details.

“Which rooms are ours? We’re almost there; let’s go straight up when we arrive,” Li Ran was coordinating with the hotel manager.

“We originally allocated rooms on the sixth floor, but possibly due to staff oversight, many fans have already booked there. We’ll move you to the eighth floor instead, is that okay?” The manager was resigned. When Jiang Yihan finally arrived to check in, the manager thought it quite normal. After all, as a five-star hotel, hosting celebrities was common, and even big stars had visited.

However, the manager only knew Jiang Yihan from the classic movie “Can I Love You?”—beyond that, little else. He never imagined such a scene. Upon learning Jiang Yihan would stay for a week, many staff got excited, making the manager helpless. Among the staff, there were many fans of Jiang Yihan, so work was tricky. Despite attempts to keep things secret, news leaked. Even more striking, given the hotel’s high cost as a five-star, many fans had booked rooms—though still only a few dozen—surprising the manager.

Currently, about 100 people knew Jiang Yihan was staying there, so the check-in numbers didn’t show much power yet. The manager might be even more shocked when Jiang Yihan actually arrived.

After circling around Beijing city for nearly an hour, Jiang Yihan’s group finally reached the XX Hotel. Jiang Yihan wisely entered through the underground parking lot and went straight to the eighth floor, entering his room. Of course, he had no idea about the scene in the hotel lobby. Meanwhile, the manager at the front desk was again stunned trying to maintain order.

Once it was confirmed which hotel Jiang Yihan stayed at, fans flooded in from all directions. This time, whether they had come for the airport or not, everyone showed up. Imagine over 3,000 people gathering at one hotel, filling every corner. The only word that came to mind was “Wow.”

Back at the front desk, Xiao E was booking a room. “Please, are you sure there are no rooms left on the sixth floor?” Everyone still believed Jiang Yihan stayed on the sixth floor, making those rooms highly coveted.

“Sorry, the sixth floor is fully booked,” the clerk replied robotically.

“Then, how about the fifth or seventh floor?” Xiao E was nearly panicked. There was a long line behind her.

“Sorry, ma’am, floors four through seven are all full, but there are vacancies on the eighth floor and above. Would you like one?” The clerk smiled as always, but Xiao E felt no joy.

People behind began urging, “Are you going to book or not? If not, hurry up; it’s our turn.”

Since several counters were busy, things had to move quickly. The people behind were getting anxious.

“Fine, book me a room on the eighth floor,” Xiao E said helplessly.

The procedures went quickly. Xiao E soon had her key card and left the line, but she was a bit dazed. The chance of seeing Jiang Yihan from the eighth floor was slim. From what she knew, the sixth floor was heavily guarded by security, so sneaking in would be difficult. She sighed—only time would tell.

Back with the group, they discussed that even though it was the eighth floor, they had to stay there since only by checking in would they have a chance. Since the room was for four people, one person couldn’t go up. After discussion, they decided three would go up first, then one would come down to get the remaining two.

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When all five reached the eighth floor and put down their things, they planned to check the sixth floor. Upon arrival, many fans were already walking around, all trying to figure out which room Jiang Yihan was in. Occasionally, Korean staff passed by, confirming their suspicions—Jiang Yihan was definitely in a room on the sixth floor. Walking and watching felt like being a thief, which was frustrating. They also encountered security guards in black suits—security was indeed tight.

After wandering for a while with no clue, they gave up and returned to the eighth floor. As they stepped out of the elevator, no one spoke, disappointment hanging in the air. Suddenly, Xiao B grabbed everyone’s clothes, shaking them hard. The others raised their heads, wondering why she was so excited. Xiao B’s mouth was wide open, eyes full of disbelief. Following her gaze, the others were stunned as well.

Jiang Yihan and Jiang Ziyi were walking down the hallway, chatting happily.

“What should we have for dinner later?”

“Ask Brother Li Ran. He said he’d call for delivery or maybe we’ll eat out; we’ll decide later.”

Passing by the elevator, they noticed the five people standing frozen outside the door, who didn’t react at all. Jiang Yihan thought they were ordinary guests, smiled, nodded, greeted them, and continued walking with Jiang Ziyi.

“Just now… was that…”

“Ma… Master?” Xiao C could barely control her excitement.

“Master just walked right past us?” Xiao A finally managed a full sentence.

“And he smiled and even greeted us?” Xiao E was equally surprised.

“Ah…” Understanding what had happened, the five suddenly screamed and ran after him.

“Master! Master!” They quickly caught up to Jiang Yihan.

Jiang Yihan and Jiang Ziyi were standing by the door looking for a room card. “Hmm?” Jiang Yihan gave the five a puzzled look.

“Um… we’re your Castle fans,” Xiao E explained, and Jiang Yihan immediately understood.

“Oh, that explains it, hehe.” Jiang Yihan was clearly in a good mood. “So you’re staying on this floor too?”

Jiang Yihan’s approachable manner made the five girls’ hearts race wildly.

“Yes, we wanted to stay on the sixth floor but there were no rooms left. Didn’t expect…” Xiao A said shyly.

“Ha, then it’s fate, hehe,” Jiang Yihan laughed happily. “This place is expensive. Are you guys okay? Don’t waste money or your families might not be happy, you know?”

Hearing this, the girls happily nodded. “Don’t worry, Master, we’re very well-behaved. Master, could you take a photo with me?”

“Ha, of course! That’s no problem at all,” Jiang Yihan readily agreed.

“Brother Li Ran said no photos today, though,” Jiang Ziyi said worriedly. That was the rule agreed upon before coming—since Jiang Yihan would officially appear tomorrow, today was a rest day, and generally such requests were declined. Jiang Yihan was also without makeup, so it was better not to take pictures.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him,” Jiang Yihan reassured, making the girls’ gloomy faces light up again.

Photos, autographs, and handshakes—all were fulfilled. Jiang Yihan then smiled and bid them goodbye before entering the room.

“Ah… ah… ah…” The girls were overwhelmed with excitement. Even excitement could not fully describe their feelings. Their hearts raced so fast they could hardly bear it, and only screaming helped ease their emotions.