"What? Mr. Chen is in Jinling?"
"Seriously?! Uncle's meeting up in real life?"
"Siqi, I'm so jealous!"
"Mr. Chen, post a picture! We want to see what you look like too!"
Chen Yuchen's simple message in the chat, "I'm in Jinling," caused an instant uproar. Initially, only a few female readers had been chatting, but after his post, the atmosphere in the group exploded. Dozens of readers popped up, teasing and joking around. Some complained that Chen Yuchen had already seen their photos, others urged him to "reveal himself," while a few demanded he hurry up and update his novel.
Chen Yuchen didn't respond to any of the jokes. Instead, he quietly exited the chat and added Chen Siqi as a contact on QQ. Meanwhile, Chen Siqi, standing at the Jinling subway station, nervously glanced at her phone while fretting over her accommodation. Suddenly, she heard the familiar "ding" of a notification—it was a friend request. She checked and saw that it was from "Mr. Chen."
Chen Siqi froze for a moment, her face flushing red. She covered her face with her hands, thinking, Oh my god, he really added me! Is this going to be a meet-up?
Despite her mixed emotions—part excitement, part nerves—she eventually pressed "accept."
As soon as the request was accepted, Chen Yuchen sent a message: "You don't have a place to stay?"
"Yeah…" Chen Siqi replied, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness.
"Didn't your teacher arrange anything for you?" Chen Yuchen asked.
"No, they said I have to handle it myself," Chen Siqi added a crying emoji, feeling more and more at a loss.
Chen Yuchen thought for a moment, then typed: "Have you tried finding a hotel?"
"Yeah… but either they're fully booked, or they're ridiculously expensive," Chen Siqi complained. She had tried several hotels, but most were either fully booked or charging inflated prices. The cheapest room she had found was a "business suite" for 588 yuan a night—far beyond what she wanted to spend as a student.
Chen Yuchen understood. During the start of the school year, it wasn't unusual for hotels to be overbooked, and for someone like Chen Siqi, who hadn't reserved ahead, she was bound to be taken advantage of. After a moment of thought, Chen Yuchen typed: "I'm staying at a five-star hotel in a suite with two rooms. If you can't find anything else, you can stay here for the night."
As soon as the message was sent, the chat group erupted again.
"Wow! Uncle is so generous!"
"A suite in a five-star hotel?! Siqi, I'm so jealous!"
"Go, Siqi! Uncle's definitely a good guy!"
Chen Yuchen had made the offer publicly in the chat on purpose—to make sure Chen Siqi felt comfortable and that the other members knew he was being transparent. He didn't want her to feel like this was a trap; he genuinely wanted to help.
"If you find somewhere else, that's fine," Chen Yuchen added privately, "but if you can't, the offer's there."
"Really? Uncle, are you serious?" Chen Siqi couldn't believe it. She had never imagined that the author she admired would go out of his way to offer her a place to stay—especially in a luxury hotel.
"Of course," Chen Yuchen replied simply.
The group chat immediately lit up again, with the other readers encouraging Chen Siqi.
"Go, Siqi! Uncle's definitely trustworthy!"
"Exactly, a five-star hotel! You'd be crazy not to go!"
Chen Siqi felt conflicted. She was curious about Chen Yuchen and grateful for his offer, but part of her was cautious, wary of meeting a stranger. Still, the thought of the suspicious hotel staff and the unsettling stares from strangers at the station made her uneasy. In comparison, meeting her favorite author seemed much safer.
At least this author is someone I admire, she thought to herself. That's got to be better than dealing with some shady hotel clerk.
After much deliberation, she finally made up her mind and shyly typed into the group: "Uncle, can you come pick me up?"
The group exploded with excitement once again.
"Ah! They're going to meet!"
"Siqi, make sure you take pictures when you meet him!"
"Mr. Chen is finally meeting one of his fans!"
Chen Yuchen glanced at his phone, a faint smile playing at his lips. He got up, put on his jacket, and headed for the door. This meet-up is going to be interesting.