Chapter 287 No One Answers the Phone
Chapter 287 No One Answers the Phone
The lake surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the evening glow in the sky, as if everything that just happened was nothing but an absurd illusion.
Melinda patted Dylan on the back, helping him catch his breath, and asked with concern,
"Are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Dylan waved his hand and couldn't help coughing a few more times, his face pale as he said,
"I'm, I'm fine, just choked on some water. I'll be okay in a minute."
"Bro, is this manor really haunted?"
Dylan lowered his voice, leaned close to Charles's ear, and asked quietly, his eyes full of fear.
Charles rolled his eyes at Dylan dramatically, quickly reached out to cover his mouth, and reminded him in a low voice,
"Keep it down! We're still streaming!
What are you talking about!
If the manor is really haunted, our investment will be a complete failure!
Forget about making money, we won't even get our principal back!"
The viewers in the live stream saw Charles and Dylan, who had been dragged into the water by dark shadows and were soaking wet, still worrying about their investment returns. They couldn't help but post comments, which instantly flooded the stream:
[Typical nobles, even when facing life and death, all they care about is profit. I'm speechless!]
[This shows that Isabella's so-called ghost-hunting live stream is just about making money too. This whole family is all about business!]
[Exactly, they chose to stream at Royal Peaks Manor, which Charles and Dylan bought. Isn't it just to attract stupid fans like us to their business? So calculated!]
[Right! I think this is just a very ordinary way to drive traffic and get customers. They talk about doing charity and good deeds, but it's all nonsense! All an act!]
[She first expands her fame, uses some tricks to make people believe her, and then gets huge profits. What a great plan!]
[Exactly, this Royal Peaks Manor is clearly an abandoned haunted manor, yet the Tudor Family dared to spend 3 million dollars to buy it. It's nothing more than hoping Isabella can bring traffic to Royal Peaks Manor. In the end, it's still all about money!]
[I wonder what those Isabella supporters have to say now? How embarrassing!]
In no time, comments flew across the screen rapidly. More and more doubting voices appeared, almost drowning out the entire live stream screen.
Just then, Isabella's fans started fighting back:
[What are you talking about? Didn't you know at the start of the stream that Isabella had no idea Royal Peaks Manor belonged to Charles and Dylan? It was pure coincidence!]
[That's all acting, and you believe it? What a naive viewer!]
At this point, Isabella's supporters were at a loss for words, not knowing how to argue back.
Because Charles and Dylan bringing Sophie, who was streaming, to Royal Peaks Manor did attract a lot of traffic,
turning this unknown manor into an internet-famous check-in spot overnight;
Plus, Charles and Dylan were playing the victim here, acting, and talking about wronged souls in the water.
But the viewers, watching through their screens, only saw Charles and Dylan fall off the boat into the water.
After all, they couldn't see those dark shadows underwater clearly and just thought it was a carefully planned performance.
Isabella didn't want to argue with the online viewers either. There was no point in arguing.
She watched the sun set quickly, the sky getting darker, and felt a vague uneasiness rising in her heart, so she urged them a couple of times.
Everyone stopped delaying, picked up their oars, and rowed hard toward the shore.
Finally, they made it back to the white hotel before 6 o'clock.
At this moment, there was no sign of the receptionist Zola behind the hotel counter. Only a notice board with text stood there alone, with neat and elegant handwriting.
【Dear Guest:
I am Zola, and my working hours are from 8 AM to 6 PM.
That means after 6 PM, please check in by yourself.
The hotel is fully booked with no vacant rooms.
If you want meal service, there's a self-service restaurant on the first floor with automated food service,
so don't worry about going hungry.
Dear guest, have a pleasant stay.
—Zola】
Dylan grabbed a towel from the counter, wiped the water droplets from his head while handing the towel to the equally disheveled Charles beside him, and muttered quietly,
"Charles, did you hire this person?
How can she just leave her post?
No professional ethics at all.
Besides, no matter how broke we are, we can't have just one receptionist,
and no one to take over shifts. What about the night shift?
If something happens, who's responsible?"
Charles looked around the empty lobby,
touched his nose somewhat guiltily, and said,
"We just took over this manor not long ago. There's too much to handle. I guess we haven't had time to arrange for a manager yet."
Dylan grumbled irritably,
"Look at how you handled this, not thorough at all.
And now you've called our cousin over too.
Whatever, let's just be our cousin's servants today and take good care of them."
After saying that, Dylan turned around, put on a flattering smile, and said to Isabella, Melinda, and Sophie,
"Ladies, Charles and I will go upstairs to take a shower
and change into clean clothes.
Wait for us here,
we'll come down in 10 minutes and have dinner together, okay?"
Isabella nodded and said flatly,
"Go ahead, hurry up."
Then, the five of them split into two groups. Charles and Dylan took their room cards and hurried toward the elevator,
while the other three sat on the soft sofas in the restaurant, waiting for them to come down.
10 minutes passed, and there was no sign of Charles and Dylan coming down. The restaurant was quiet, with only the sound of the air conditioning running.
15 minutes passed, still no sign of Charles and Dylan. Melinda picked up a magazine from the table, flipped through a few pages, and put it down again.
20 minutes passed, and the atmosphere in the restaurant gradually became somewhat stuffy. Sophie also turned off her streaming equipment and leaned back on the sofa with her eyes closed.
Half an hour passed, and even Melinda, who had learned ladylike etiquette since childhood and was always the most gentle and patient, was getting impatient.
She stood up from the sofa, paced a couple of steps, looked at Isabella, and said somewhat helplessly,
"Bunny, I'm hungry.
When are those two guys coming down?
Should we call them to hurry them up?"
Isabella was stunned for a moment, only then realizing that she didn't have Charles and Dylan's phone numbers.
Then she thought again—Charles and Dylan had indeed been upstairs for quite a long time.
Normally, taking a shower and changing clothes shouldn't take this long.
She picked up the phone on the restaurant table and dialed the room number from memory. The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.