Zheng Shuhui's eyes were slightly red, and she nodded.
As they rode the elevator together, Zheng Shuhui finally poured out her grievances like a wronged little girl. "Xinrou, I feel like Supervisor Li doesn't like me. She always gives me last-minute tasks."
Tao Xinrou patted her shoulder and encouraged her, "Don't overthink it. Just do the work well so she can't pick on you."
With Tao Xinrou's company, Zheng Shuhui regained her motivation.
The two first went to the Guest Room Center to pick up spare key cards for the rooms on the 20th floor, then carefully checked each room in the order of the inventory list.
From the number of bed linens and toiletries to the decorative paintings and crafts placed in the rooms, they checked and recorded everything against the list.
The first few rooms had no issues. But when they entered Room 2008—
"Crystal ornaments: one, two, three, four, five... Huh? One is missing. The list says a set of six."
Tao Xinrou's heart sank. She quickly walked over.
The crystal ornaments in the display cabinet were neatly arranged, but the empty spot still had a faint dust mark.
Zheng Shuhui trembled with anxiety. "How could this happen..."
Tao Xinrou frowned and thought calmly.
According to the checkout records from the Guest Room Center, the guest in Room 2008 had checked out at noon. The room had been cleaned by housekeeping in the afternoon. The cleaner would have noticed the items in the display cabinet. If nothing was reported missing then, it meant the ornaments were still intact at that time. And from the end of the cleaning until now, only Wei Jiaxin—who was supposed to do the inventory—and the two of them had been here.
"Shuhui, don't panic. This isn't your fault. Someone must have set a trap for you on purpose."
"Set a trap?" Zheng Shuhui's expression grew even more complicated. "Why would someone set a trap for me?"
"I don't know yet. But think about it—why did Li Meili suddenly swap Wei Jiaxin's task with yours? And why the 20th floor, which is full of valuable items?" Zheng Shuhui blinked. Tao Xinrou continued, "The cleaner didn't find anything missing in the afternoon. Wei Jiaxin was supposed to do the inventory but was reassigned. Now you come and something's missing. It's clearly someone who hid the ornament beforehand, waiting for you to discover it and take the blame."
Zheng Shuhui grew more frightened with each word, her face turning paler. "Could it be Supervisor Li? Why would she do this to me?"
Tao Xinrou didn't answer directly, but she already had a guess in mind.
In the days after the opening, Tao Xinrou had seen many precognitive visions through contact with people.
Yunlu Hotel's internal workings were not as harmonious as they seemed on the surface. The new branch manager, Zhang Hongbin, relying on Ying Huaishan's influence, was suppressing everyone who wasn't his own recruit, clearly aiming to take control of the new hotel. And Li Meili, as Zhang Hongbin's right-hand person, was subtly or openly forcing the newcomers to pick sides.
As recruits hired by Zhang Hongbin, they were naturally expected to align with him. But Zheng Shuhui was weak-willed, had no connections, didn't know how to flatter or ingratiate herself, and refused to take sides. So she naturally became Li Meili's primary target for purging dissidents.
"No matter who it is, we can't just accept this." Tao Xinrou took out her phone and started recording a video of the empty spot in the display cabinet and the inventory list. "Don't report it yet. Let's search carefully. Maybe we can find the hidden ornament. Even if we can't, we need to leave evidence proving it wasn't your fault."
Author's note:
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