Chapter 579: Chapter 306: The Allegiance of Holy Hands, Irony_4

—————–

At such a critical moment, the other party actually hadn’t shown up, which left Du Qian utterly puzzled.

Could it be that Xu Ran, having just arrived in Bright Radiance City not long ago, wasn’t very clear about the rules of the Pet Beast Cleaning and Caring Exhibition and couldn’t find the place for the award ceremony?

For a moment, he felt some regret, thinking he should have taken a detour to Xu Ran’s cleaning room after the competition ended and brought him over together.

That way, they could have exchanged a few words on the way, making up for the regret of not having met the previous night…

While Du Qian’s mind was filled with thoughts, the host took the card in hand, and began to speak word by word.

“Second place, Du Qian!”

Is it me?

Du Qian was stunned for a moment, then shook his head wryly.

Still, he hadn’t managed to surpass Xu Ran.

It seems my sister was right, Xu Ran’s strength is indeed formidable.

Although slightly disappointed, more than that, Du Qian felt a surge of combativeness and curiosity toward Xu Ran.

As for the title, he was still young; there would be more opportunities for him to win it in the future.

He walked up to the stage step by step, casually dealing with a few complimentary remarks from the host, his gaze once again sweeping over the seats below in distraction.

Standing high on this spot, he could see clearly.

Xu Ran indeed hadn’t come.

After collecting his reward, Du Qian returned to his seat, frowning deeply.

Xu Ran, where had he gone?

—————–

“Next… Achoo!”

Just as Xu Ran was about to call the next person, he suddenly sneezed without warning and rubbed his nose, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

As a General Level Beast Master, could he actually catch a cold?

“Mr. Xu, are you feeling alright?” the next customer, who was getting ready to step forward, asked with concern, “I heard you stayed up all night cleaning and caring for everyone’s pet beasts. Maybe you should call it a day?”

“I’m fine.” Xu Ran shook his head with a smile, looking past the customer.

There were only three customers left.

Having come this far, there was no sense in giving up halfway.

“Come on in!”

“Okay…” The customer stopped trying to persuade him and followed Xu Ran into the cleaning room, “When Mr. Xu’s Foster Shop opens, I’ll definitely refer my friends.”

“I’ll thank you in advance then. If all goes well, it should be officially open in a couple of days,” said Xu Ran with a smile, gesturing for the customer’s Pet Beast to wait at the cleaning station.

As he watched Xu Ran methodically proceed with the pre-washing preparations, the customer suddenly remembered something, “Mr. Xu, around this time, they should be announcing the ‘Cleaning Saint’ title.”

“In my opinion, you stand a very high chance of winning that title. Aren’t you going to check it out? That honor is no small matter.”

“It’s fine.” Xu Ran shook his head slightly.

“What’s meant for me won’t escape.”

—————–

“Let’s give a warm round of applause and congratulate the caretaker Xu Ran for obtaining the highest rating in the entire cleaning contest and for becoming today’s first place winner, as well as the recipient of the title ‘Cleaning Saint’!”

Amidst the host’s fervent voice, the venue burst into enthusiastic applause.

However, many in the audience clapping their hands were filled with puzzlement.

Before this, they had never heard of such a person.

Where had he emerged from?

And as the applause on the stage continued for an increasingly long period without anyone coming forward, their confusion deepened.

Where was he?

Soon, the clapping became sparse, as if sensing something amiss, the venue fell into silence.

Puzzlement also appeared on the face of the host.

The current situation was clearly beyond expectation.

The most important award was at hand, yet the recipient was nowhere to be seen?

“Does anyone here know Xu Ran, or where he might be now?” Out of options, he could only seek help from the other caretakers in the audience.

The crowd exchanged glances, and after a while, a middle-aged man stood up, “My washing and protection room is right next to his.”

That was Liu Cang from the Green Cloud Pet Foster Care Shop, who once had the honor of being called “Cleaning Saint.” Now, he was one of the “former Saints” present, and this time at the cleaning showcase, he had only managed to secure the eleventh spot, a subject of sighs.

With all eyes on him, Liu Cang fell silent for a moment, “If nothing unexpected happened, he should still be in his own washing and protection room.”

“When I left, I saw there were still customers lining up outside his room.”

“It seems… he plans to finish cleaning for those overtime customers.”

As Liu Cang’s voice faded, an eerie silence enveloped the venue.

Surprise showed on everyone’s face.

Clearly, they had contemplated all possibilities, but this had not occurred to them.

However, within moments, many faces showed admiration.

When the bell rang, were there not people queued outside their own cleaning rooms as well?

Of course, there were.

But they had not considered continuing to clean for these customers because the award ceremony was about to start.

When compared to an award ceremony, a rating-less, non-profit cleaning seemed obviously less important.

All they could do was utter an “I’m sorry,” or promise some discount for cleaning later at the shop.

But now, there was someone who disregarded the award ceremony, insisting on completing the cleaning for the waiting customers for free.

And more ironically, the most significant reward of the ceremony belonged to him.

There were also quite a few who looked on with scorn, considering Xu Ran’s behavior somewhat foolish.

Since the awardee was not present, the host had to make idle conversation, awkwardly chatting with the audience to pass the time.

As the minutes and seconds ticked away, an Association staff member stepped onto the stage and took the microphone from the host.

“Since Mr. Xu Ran is not present, the Association will temporarily keep his award, and Mr. Xu Ran himself will collect it from the Association later on.”

“The title of ‘Cleaning Saint’ is now in effect; from this moment, Mr. Xu Ran will bear this title and its corresponding honors for the next three years.”

After finishing, the staff member returned the microphone to the host and left the stage.

“I declare this award ceremony concluded!” the host announced, relieved, quickly going through the scripted closing remarks.

He was finally freed from the awkward chitchat!

When the host also left, only the caretakers remained in the venue.

Without the slightest hesitation, Du Qian stepped out of the venue and headed briskly in a particular direction he remembered.

The other caretakers then turned their gazes to Liu Cang.

“Big Brother Cang, where is Xu Ran’s room? Can you take us to have a look?” one of the caretakers asked, and the others echoed in agreement.

“It’s just over there.” Liu Cang pointed, pausing as he watched Du Qian’s retreating figure, “It turns out Du Qian is also going to find him.”

The group exchanged glances and then followed swiftly, trailing behind Du Qian.

Regrettably, they were destined never to see the man who had received the honors without making an appearance.

Having been notified by the staff that the title was in effect and that he could collect his reward from the Association later on, Xu Ran, after serving the last customer in the thankful eyes of the patrons, rode away on his ‘Star,’ hastening away into the night.

At that moment, his heart was set on Dawn Building No.1.

He intended to be an unfeeling homebuyer.

When Du Qian and the other caretakers arrived, Xu Ran’s cleaning room was empty, with only the signboard hanging there conspicuously bearing the words “Starfire Foster Care Shop.”