第二章 住宿登记

The next morning, Miya woke up at five-thirty.

Because last night she had checked information, and after checking, she was stunned.

"People who do not stay in a hotel must complete accommodation registration within 24 hours." She read it once. "From yesterday afternoon to now... I have less than three hours left!"

She quickly washed her face, put on a formal shirt, combed her hair, and also brought her passport, residence permit, and rental contract.

She walked out of the room and was startled—A Kai was standing at the door, wearing a hat, mask, and sunglasses.

"You... what are you doing?" Miya asked.

"To accompany you." A Kai's voice came from behind the mask. "I checked; registration requires going to the police station. I can't be recognized by the police."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid the police uncle will watch my livestream." A Kai said. "The moment I think of being recognized by the police, I want to find a hole to crawl into."

Miya thought seriously and said, "Thank you, A Kai. But the police are very busy at work; they don't have time."

"You're right." A Kai took off his sunglasses. "But we Chinese have a saying—'Fear not the ten thousand, but fear the unexpected one.'"

"I don't understand this sentence." Miya took out her little notebook. "Say it again?"

"Fear not the ten thousand, but fear the unexpected one." A Kai said.

Miya carefully wrote it down: "Okay. I'm going to use this sentence today."

The two went out. A Kai looked around all the way; whenever he saw someone in uniform, he pulled Miya to hide by the roadside.

"A Kai." Miya said. "We are going to handle affairs, not to steal things."

"I know." A Kai said. "But... are you sure we need to go to the police station?"

"Zhou Zhou said that if you don't register, the police uncle will invite you to drink tea."

"Zhou Zhou also said that takeout can be a meal." A Kai said. "You have to listen to her words with a 50% discount."

Miya stopped, thought for a moment: "You're right. Then I'll ask Xiao Mei first."

She sent a message to Xiao Mei: "Xiao Mei, where do I go to do accommodation registration?"

Xiao Mei replied instantly: "You can do it online. Just submit on the Immigration Administration’s website or app. No need to go out."

Miya looked at her phone, silent for three seconds.

"A Kai," she said, "we don't need to go to the police station."

"What?!"

"We can do it online."

A Kai stood in the middle of the road, his hat crooked and his mask loose.

"I got all dressed up... just to click two buttons online?" he asked.

"Seems... yes." Miya said.

The two returned to the apartment building and sat on a bench.

Miya opened her phone and followed Xiao Mei's steps, filling in each step.

Passport, residence permit, rental contract, landlord information...

"Landlord's name?" Miya asked.

"Aunt Wang." A Kai said.

"What's her full name?"

"I don't know." A Kai scratched his head. "We've always called her Aunt Wang."

Miya typed "Aunt Wang" on her phone, thought again, deleted it, and wrote in her notebook: "Landlord's full name: to be checked."

Two minutes later, a line appeared on the webpage: Registration successful.

"Done?" A Kai leaned over.

"Done." Miya said.

A Kai sat on the bench, looking at the hat on his head and the mask on his face, and didn't speak for a long time.

"A Kai, what are you thinking?" Miya asked.

"I'm thinking," A Kai said, "why did I wrap myself up like a zongzi."

Miya answered seriously: "Because you said, 'Fear not the ten thousand, but fear the unexpected one.'"

A Kai: "..."

In the afternoon, Miya went to school by herself and completed the accommodation filing.

In the evening, she returned to the apartment, and Xiao Mei asked her: "Done?"

"Done." Miya said. "Submitted online, filed at school, all completed."

"Congratulations." Zhou Zhou said from the sofa, not taking her eyes off her phone. "Your accommodation registration is done, my thesis is again..."

She paused, looked down at her phone: "Damn, I ordered takeout two more times."

Miya looked at her, took out her little notebook, and wrote: "Zhou Zhou's thesis progress: still 0 pages today. Zhou Zhou's takeout: 2 orders today."