Chapter 127: All an Act
The woman’s face bore obvious signs of excessive plastic surgery, to the point of slight deformation. It was clear that too many procedures, along with the passage of time, had caused the fillers to shift.
Seeing her face, the hotel receptionist hesitated, glancing between the woman’s ID and her appearance with an awkward expression.
The nearby bellboy, initially interested, now looked disappointed—even regretful.
“What a shame… Such a great figure…” he muttered internally.
“Ma’am, please wait a moment. The facial recognition system is not accepting your input. I need to call my manager,” the receptionist said cautiously.
She was visibly uneasy—perhaps even a little fearful. She had encountered guests with plastic surgery before, and they often reacted strongly when their facial recognition failed. If the guest had a bad temper, she might get scolded—or worse.
Sure enough, before she could finish speaking, the woman’s expression twisted with rage.
“What do you mean by that?” she screeched, pointing at the receptionist.
Before the words fully left her mouth, the young boy holding her hand suddenly burst into tears.
“Waaaahhh!!”
The woman immediately turned to comfort him, all the while glaring daggers at the receptionist. Her anger-warped face sent a chill down the receptionist’s spine.
From the neck down, she was a goddess.
From the neck up…
She looked more like a demon.
Or perhaps even… a vengeful spirit.
The commotion quickly drew attention. Guests in the lobby turned to watch, some even edging closer for a better view.
“Ma’am, please remain calm,” the receptionist urged. “We can manually enter your details. Please give us a moment.”
As she spoke, she discreetly used her walkie-talkie to call for backup.
Three Minutes Later
The hotel manager arrived with a team of security personnel.
“Ma’am, let’s discuss this calmly,” the manager said smoothly. “If there was a service issue, we sincerely apologize and will compensate you accordingly.”
A seasoned professional, he remained unfazed by the woman’s disturbing expression, keeping a pleasant smile.
At his subtle cue, the receptionist and security staff began dispersing the curious onlookers.
Still cradling the boy, the woman glared at the manager, her face twitching with barely contained fury.
“I’ll manually input your details for you. Is that acceptable?” the manager asked gently.
“Hmph! Just hurry up!” she snapped.
Without missing a beat, the manager jotted down her ID information. At the same time, he discreetly entered her details into the computer system, forwarding her ID photo to the local police precinct.
“Here’s your key card, ma’am,” he said, handing it over with a professional smile.
Snatching the card and her ID, the woman shot him a glare before putting her mask and sunglasses back on. Taking the boy’s hand and grabbing her suitcase, she swayed her hips dramatically as she made her way toward the elevator.
With the show over, the crowd slowly dispersed.
However, one young man—his face fresh and youthful like a baby’s—watched the woman’s retreating figure with a puzzled expression.
It was Shiguang, the same officer who had delivered food to Fang Xiaocao moments earlier.
“Weird… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before,” he muttered, scratching his head.
“Shiguang, is it Han Xue?” came Wang Qiang’s voice through his earpiece.
“No, sir,” Shiguang replied. “Her face has obvious signs of surgery, but there’s still some resemblance to her ID photo. She looks nothing like Han Xue, and even her figure is much fuller.”
“Bring all three photos back to HQ for a detailed comparison. We need to be absolutely certain,” Wang Qiang ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
Shiguang walked to the hotel front desk, flashed his credentials, and requested access to surveillance footage. He captured a still image of the woman’s face and sent it to his email.
Once finished, he quickly exited the hotel.
Meanwhile, on the Fifth Floor
The elevator doors slid open with a ding.
The woman and the boy stepped out, pulling their suitcase behind them as they walked toward Room 512.
But as they passed Room 508, the boy suddenly stumbled and fell flat on his face.
“Ow!”
He immediately burst into loud sobs.
“There, there, don’t cry,” the woman cooed, crouching down to help him up. She dusted off his clothes—despite there being no actual dust—and whispered comforting words.
They lingered in front of Room 508 for several minutes before the boy finally stopped crying. The two then continued to Room 512, swiping their key card and entering.
Inside Room 507
Fang Xiaocao, busy eating, heard the noise outside.
Her instincts kicked in immediately, but as soon as she recognized the sound of a child crying and a mother’s soothing voice, she relaxed.
Hotel Surveillance Room
Wang Qiang’s sharp eyes locked onto the monitor, tracking the woman and boy.
Only after they safely entered Room 512 and closed the door did he finally look away.
He grabbed his radio and pressed the transmit button.
“Send two people to check the hallway outside Room 508. See if anything has been left behind.”
“Copy that,” a colleague responded.
Two Minutes Later
On the surveillance screen, a young couple appeared in the hallway.
As they reached Room 508, an argument suddenly broke out.
The girl yelled, the boy shouted back.
In a fit of rage, the girl slapped him across the face.
Furious, the boy shoved her to the ground.
The girl, seemingly having dropped something, began patting the floor, searching for it while sniffing dramatically.
Watching the scene unfold, Wang Qiang suddenly chuckled.
“Heh… These two are really something,” he murmured, shaking his head with amusement.
The “boyfriend” simply crossed his arms, watching coldly.
(End of Chapter 127)
