When they returned to the entrance of Dayin, Sanbing was sitting on a rocking chair by the courtyard gate, watching the road outside.
“Starting a part-time job as a security guard, are we?” Shan Yu stepped on the brake when entering the courtyard, rolled down the car window, and asked a question.
“Those sneaks inside are monitoring us,” Sanbing stood up with a face full of displeasure. “Probably afraid we’ll keep soliciting customers. I’m just sitting right here—I won’t make a sound, nor will I walk away. I’ll anger them to death.”
“Go patrol the floors,” Shan Yu said. “I’ll come sit here in a bit.”
“Ah?” Sanbing was stunned.
“Go inside,” Chen Jian got out of the car. “Go help Lao Si, Lao Wu, and the others. The guests are all out right now, so they’re servicing the rooms. Go help tidy up.”
“Alright,” Sanbing walked inside while turning his head back to confirm with Shan Yu once more, “Boss Shan, are you really going to sit here in a bit?”
“The doctor told me to soak up some sun,” Shan Yu said.
“Awesome!” Feeling extremely delighted, Sanbing ran into the house.
Chen Jian stood beside the car, looking at Shan Yu, who hopped out of the car on one leg: “You, soaking up the sun?”
“Sanbing was so pissed off—helping him vent some steam,” Shan Yu said. “I’m just an idle person anyway.”
“In a bit, when they come over again and see that it’s you sitting here…” Chen Jian looked at him.
Isn’t this just looking for trouble?
The boss really can’t stay idle for even a single day.
“The whole point is to let them see me,” Shan Yu said. “For things we’ve already agreed on, they still come to confirm back and forth—who would you say is looking for trouble?”
Chen Jian was stunned for two seconds, repeatedly confirming several times that he hadn’t spoken his previous thought out loud.
“I didn’t say…”
“That’s exactly what you were thinking,” Shan Yu let out a tsk. “We’ve already cooperated; if they won’t take the face given to them, we’ll slap it right back. At the same time, venting steam for Sanbing—killing two birds with one stone.”
“And you get to soak up some sun too,” Chen Jian said. “Killing three birds with one stone.”
“The Manager is meticulous.” Shan Yu raised a thumb.
“…Thank you, Boss,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu had a lame leg, but whenever it came to doing this kind of thing, his capacity for action was quite strong. He returned to the house, grabbed a pair of sunglasses, and sat in the position where Sanbing had been sitting earlier.
Once the sunglasses were on, he leaned back there very leisurely.
“What is Boss Shan doing over there?” Zhao Fangfang asked Chen Jian with a face full of bewilderment after returning from buying groceries.
“Soaking up the sun,” Chen Jian said.
“How nice it would be to soak up the sun upstairs—it’s quiet up there too,” Zhao Fangfang said.
“The great recluse hides in the city, after all,” Chen Jian said.
“Ooh, can’t understand that.” Zhao Fangfang shook her head. After putting away the groceries, she called Chen Jian to the side again and asked in a low voice, “Manager, can I bring my daughter over for these couple of days? She’s been home alone for a few days during the holiday. Her dad took on some work to do at home and can’t look after her; I was thinking of having her come here…”
“It’s fine, bring her over,” Chen Jian said. “Besides, we’re busy these days, and you have a lot of work. If there’s a suitable person, you can introduce them to come over and help out temporarily for a few days.”
Zhao Fangfang thought for a moment and said in a low voice: “Would child labor work?”
“What?” Chen Jian was stunned.
“Child labor is obviously not okay,” Shan Yu said, leaning his head back on the chair.
“Then I…” Chen Jian couldn’t see his expression clearly through the sunglasses either. “…should still have her look for someone else.”
“But having the young girl come help her mom with work during the holiday is no problem,” Shan Yu added.
Chen Jian looked at him.
Shan Yu waited a moment, hooked the sunglasses down to the tip of his nose with his finger, and glanced at him: “What’s wrong? Express your stance, Manager.”
“Waiting for you to finish your words,” Chen Jian said.
“That air,” Shan Yu gave a faint smile. “Let her come. Last time when eating, that young girl looked pretty quick and nimble; she should be able to help out. Wages certainly won’t be paid, but we’ll give her a red packet when the time comes… I’m done speaking, Manager.”
“Then we’re not looking for another person? Won’t Sister Zhao be too tired?” Chen Jian asked.
“Before opening, when there were so many rooms, she insisted on tidying them up alone—wasn’t that tiring?” Shan Yu said. “She just needs the money. Once these few days pass and the large wave of guests leaves, even if she wants to be tired, she won’t be able to.”
Chen Jian remained silent without speaking; this was indeed true.
He was the same himself. Tired was certainly tired, but if he could earn money after being tired, then so be it.
“We won’t be making staff meals these few days,” Shan Yu said. “Go contact a shop—a fast-food joint or a steamed bun shop—and have them deliver meals at set times.”
“Alright, I’ll go contact one in a bit.” Chen Jian nodded. Just as he was about to leave, someone walked over along the road from inside, peeking into their courtyard.
Upon seeing the two of them—one standing and one sitting—poking out here, the person was stunned for two seconds before nodding at them: “Boss soaking up the sun?”
“Mm, during the Dog Days of summer, one has to sun their back, after all,” Shan Yu said.
The person walked forward somewhat awkwardly.
“Where are any Dog Days coming from? The Three Nines of winter are almost here.” Chen Jian looked at Shan Yu. “And what you’re sunning is your face.”
“Who cares?” Shan Yu said. “He wasn’t genuinely asking, and I wasn’t genuinely answering.”
“They’ve already seen you. Are you going inside?” Chen Jian asked.
“I’ll go inside when it’s time to eat. Going in right away would be too insincere.” Shan Yu stretched comfortably.
“I’ll go buy lunch right now,” Chen Jian pulled out his phone to check the time. “When I come back, you go inside.”
“Mm.” Shan Yu cradled his arms, stretching his legs out very comfortably.
During these few days of the holiday, the bleakness of the small town over the past several months was diluted significantly by tourists. The streets where one could usually stroll leisurely were now full of people, and cars driven over by self-driving tourists were parked by the roadside.
Chen Jian rode his motorcycle forward along the road. Such bustling scenes occurred a few times a year, but he rarely slowed down like this to experience them.
He still went to that restaurant on Second Street from before; their freshly stir-fried fast food tasted decent.
The matter of Dayin’s boss catching Chen Dahu had indeed spread throughout the small town already. When the paralyzed boss took over the haunted house, the people in the small town had discussed it once. This time, sending Chen Dahu to the police station again immediately made it the talk of the town once more in this small town where nothing fresh ever happened…
“This boss of yours is pretty impressive,” the landlady sat behind the cash register with Chen Jian, waiting for the owner to stir-fry the dishes. “Just don’t know how long Chen Dahu can be locked up. In the past, he’d come out after just a few days, but I heard people say he’ll have to be sentenced this time.”
“The police are still investigating; it’s not known yet,” Chen Jian spoke very cautiously. Every time someone mentioned Chen Dahu, he would recall Chen Erhu’s tearful plea.
“He definitely has to be sentenced. He’s caused so much trouble—it can finally be a bit quieter in the future,” the landlady said. “This time you met a good boss; Heaven really does have eyes. Your dad is so lucky to have a son like you.”
Chen Jian gave a faint smile and didn’t speak.
When he returned to Dayin with a bunch of food dishes, Shan Yu was still leaning on the rocking chair. Even when Chen Jian drove his motorcycle into the courtyard, he didn’t move, looking as if he had fallen asleep.
Hu Pan ran out to take the packed boxes: “So much?”
“The boss gave two extra dishes free of charge,” Chen Jian said. “He’ll deliver to us for the next few days; Sister Zhao doesn’t need to make staff meals.”
“Boss!” Hu Pan shouted over toward Shan Yu. “Time to eat! Stop pretending to sleep!”
Shan Yu raised a hand to give an OK sign.
Sure enough, he was pretending to sleep.
In the afternoon, Zhao Fangfang’s daughter came over by herself on the shuttle bus. As soon as her things were put in the dormitory, she began helping her mother tidy up rooms—taking charge of various wiping and washing tasks, and even helping wash dishes and the like.
Although still an elementary school student, her work was indeed very nimble. She couldn’t replace a full Zhao Fangfang, but replacing a Lao Si or Lao Wu was no problem.
Chen Jian originally wanted to praise her for being capable and sensible, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Compared to the busy employees, the boss, just as he himself said, looked quite idle.
Perhaps to avoid causing trouble for everyone, during these few days, Shan Yu basically didn’t come downstairs except to eat. He was either hanging upside down in the gym or lying and sitting in the office, occasionally watching movies on his computer. Sometimes when Chen Jian went up, he would still see him sitting by the window staring blankly.
An hour ago he went up and he was staring blankly; an hour later he went up and he was still staring blankly.
The only one who could compare with Shan Yu’s state was the guest in Room 102.
After that day when he went up to the fourth floor once and found the wrong haunted house, this guy only went out a total of two times in three days, drank a cup of coffee, and ate once in the dining room.
“Why hasn’t he checked out yet? Liu Wu and the others are so good at having fun, yet they’re checking out tomorrow,” Chen Jian brought the brewed Chinese medicine to Shan Yu, taking the opportunity to report the situation of the past few days in the office. The only anomaly was Room 102. “Every extra day he stays, I can’t sleep peacefully for a day.”
“How about you take a few sips?” Shan Yu had been holding the medicine for five minutes, stubbornly not taking a single sip.
“Drink it quickly,” Chen Jian said. “Hold your breath, gulp it down in a few mouthfuls, and be done with it.”
Shan Yu held the medicine, walked over to the sink, and stood there. Taking a deep breath, he tilted his head back and began gulping down the medicine. A few seconds later, he set down the bowl, retched twice toward the sink, and then let out a long breath.
“Is this a fixed procedure?” Chen Jian hadn’t noticed before how Shan Yu drank his medicine.
“Mm.” Shan Yu reached back and handed the bowl to him.
“You’ve drunk it so many times, yet you still haven’t gotten used to it?” Chen Jian was somewhat curious. “Is it really that unpalatable?”
“Next time after it’s brewed, why don’t you take two sips first to taste it? Then I’ll go look for He Liang and the others to pick a fight.” Shan Yu said.
For a moment, Chen Jian couldn’t even find suitable words for his internal commentary.
“Manager, Manager, calling Manager.” Hu Pan’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.
Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu, unclipped the walkie-talkie from his waist, and just as he picked it up to speak, Lao Wu’s voice came out from inside again: “Is the Manager there? Is the Manager there? Panpan is calling you.”
“You didn’t leave the Manager a gap to breathe; how could the Manager be there?” Chen Jian raised the walkie-talkie. “Panpan, what’s up?”
“The guest in 102 went out carrying a backpack,” Hu Pan said. “Should we…”
“Wait till I come down,” Chen Jian said.
“Are we going to secretly enter the guest’s room?” Shan Yu asked, lying on the sofa.
“Tidy up the room.” Chen Jian said.
“And secretly inspect it while we’re at it?” Shan Yu said.
“Normally tidy up, go in and take a look around to see if there’s any anomaly,” Chen Jian said. “Are you the boss or what?”
Shan Yu gave a faint smile: “Ask Panpan how his state was.”
“How could his state be? Just that half-dead look with a bit of a smile,” Hu Pan said. “I asked him where he was going and if he needed help buying admission tickets or something; he said no need, just going into the mountains to take a look.”
“Going into the mountains at this hour?” Chen Jian looked at his phone—it was three in the afternoon. Anyone entering the mountains now was going camping. “Did he bring a tent?”
“No,” Hu Pan shook her head. “Just an ordinary backpack.”
“You go in first to tidy up a bit.” Holding his phone, Chen Jian opened the video recording. Although it was normal room cleaning, given this guest’s abnormal behavior distinct from ordinary tourists, it was safer to record a video.
Hu Pan opened the room door, and Chen Jian walked in behind her.
Everything inside looked normal and very tidy. Even the quilt on the bed was folded, and the bedsheet was smoothed out. If not for the fact that he still had a jacket hanging on the coat hook, this room was almost the same as when Sister Zhao had just tidied it up.
“Seems like there’s no problem?” Hu Pan took out the used towels from the bathroom and replaced them with new ones.
It looked like there was no problem, but it seemed precisely because there was too much lack of a problem that it made one feel a bit uncomfortable.
“It’s a bit…” Chen Jian knitted his brows. “…hard to put into words.”
“What kind of medicine is this?” As Hu Pan put the new toiletries into the bathroom drawer, she pulled out a box from inside.
Just as Chen Jian was about to go over to take a look, Shan Yu’s voice came from behind him: “Let me see.”
“Who?” Hu Pan was startled.
Chen Jian had originally felt a bit inexplicably guilty. Even though he recognized that this was Shan Yu’s voice, he was still startled along with Hu Pan.
“Your boss.” Shan Yu leaned by the doorway.
Hu Pan came out of the bathroom holding the medicine box. Before she could walk close, Shan Yu swept his eyes over her hand and said a sentence: “Put it back first, both of you come out.”
“Oh.” Hu Pan turned around again and put the medicine box back.
“Chen Jian, take two people into the mountain to look for him,” Shan Yu sat on the chair beside the front desk. “His ‘not yet’ has probably reached its time.”
“What ‘not yet’?” Hu Pan asked.
“He might be planning to commit suicide,” Chen Jian instantly became tense. “Which way did he enter the mountain?”
“The small hiking trail. I saw him walking inward through the window.” Hu Pan said immediately. “How could you tell? What kind of medicine was that medicine?”
“Antidepressants,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian glanced at him without speaking. He simply took the walkie-talkie and instructed Sanbing and Lao Wu to come to the front desk immediately.
“Give Liu Wu a call,” Shan Yu said. “Aren’t they still up on the mountain? Have them keep an eye out for this person while playing. If they see him, have them call you.”
“Mm.” Chen Jian nodded.
“Don’t mention suicide or not—just say someone is looking for this person. Otherwise that gang of university students will directly stop playing and perform a grid search for you,” Shan Yu said. “Too much commotion easily causes trouble.”
“Got it.” After asking Hu Pan clearly about what the man was wearing today, Chen Jian led Lao Si and Lao Wu out the door.
Making a call while walking, before he even walked out of the courtyard, Chen Erhu entered with his head full of bandages.
“Erhu-ge?” Sanbing looked at him in surprise. “Didn’t you take ten days of leave?”
“I’m fine now.” Chen Erhu glanced at them. “Where are you guys going?”
“Going into the mountain to look for someone,” Chen Jian knitted his brows. “Go back and rest; this injury of yours is pretty severe…”
“I’ll go look for the person,” Chen Erhu said immediately, the eyes in the gaps of the bandages widening by a millimeter. “Look for who? Chen Dahu’s accomplice?”
“No, a guest,” Sanbing said hastily. “He… something came up at home and they called to look for him. It’s pretty urgent.”
Chen Erhu didn’t speak. Only after a moment did he give a faint smile: “It’s fine, no need to refrain from telling me the truth.”
“No, Boss,” seeing him like this, Lao Wu felt a bit anxious. “This is the truth; we didn’t exclude you.”
Chen Jian glanced at Lao Wu.
You really know how to talk.
“Did I say anything?” Sure enough, Chen Erhu became even more displeased.
“Erhu is here?” Shan Yu walked out, leaning on his cane, and offered a greeting.
Chen Jian breathed a sigh of relief and looked back.
Shan Yu raised his chin toward him.
“Let’s go,” Chen Jian said in a low voice and walked briskly out of the courtyard.
“Erhu-ge…” Sanbing walked out of the courtyard while turning his head back continuously.
“Erhu,” Shan Yu looked at Chen Erhu. “You came at just the right time.”
Chen Erhu stood without moving, nor did he make a sound.
“Come,” Shan Yu tilted his head slightly. “Let’s chat.”
Chen Erhu hesitated for a moment, walked over, and spoke in a muffled voice: “What’s the matter?”
“Have an afternoon coffee.” Shan Yu turned and walked toward the cafe.
“Who is looking for him?” Liu Wu asked. “The police?”
Listening to Liu Wu’s somewhat excited voice over there, Chen Jian realized Shan Yu was right to emphasize downplaying the matter—this person’s thinking truly was unique.
“Is he a fugitive?” Liu Wu asked again.
“What? What fugitive?” Immediately over there, some Joyful Beans crowded over.
“No, no, no, no,” Chen Jian felt somewhat helpless. Not just Liu Wu, this gang of righteous beans who had just caught a thief a few days ago were still in an excited state. He had no choice but to state things more clearly. “It’s just that someone is looking for him normally. Something came up at home, and he didn’t bring his phone out. If you see this person on the road, just let me know.”
“Why tell you instead of telling him directly?” Liu Wu was a top-tier university bean after all; although excited, his brain still turned with seamless logic.
“Why didn’t you answer your mom’s calls a few days ago?” Chen Jian asked.
“…Is he hiding from his family?” Realization dawned somewhat on Liu Wu.
“Pretty much. In short, don’t make it like catching a fugitive. If you see him, just tell me,” Chen Jian added some weight. “Your brother worked hard to get Dayin reopened…”
“I get it! I understand!” Liu Wu said immediately. “Don’t turn a small matter into a big one and make people think something happened again.”
“Right,” Chen Jian said.
“Alright, we’re at that Wangcai Pavilion, about to detour down from the side path,” Liu Wu reported his location. “I’ll keep an eye out on the road.”
Liu Wu’s position was directly facing theirs—they were going up, while Liu Wu was coming down. As long as Room 102 hadn’t jumped down somewhere immediately upon entering the mountain, they should be able to find the person.
“How did you guys know this person might be planning to commit suicide?” Sanbing walked at the very front with large strides, his head looking into the woods on both sides from time to time.
It wasn’t “us”—only the boss knew.
As for how the boss knew…
Asking might truly cross the line.
