Thanks to his kind Boss and stupid life, Chen Jian will be able to earn more than ten thousand in just two months. Although the work was both plentiful and varied, if it had been Qian Yu instead, there wouldn’t have been much less work, but the pay would have been lower.
And they even delayed the payment.
Zhao-Jie also benefited thanks to the foolish life, earning several thousand in just three days—something that hadn’t happened in years.
To be precise, in his twenty years of life, Chen Jian had never encountered such a thing even once.
Today had been chaotic. Probably because they had eaten lunch late, dinnertime had already passed by the time Shan Yu realized that no one had eaten yet. Then, he suddenly really wanted to have Western food.
At this hour, the only food sources still open were basically just barbecue stalls. Chen Jian ran from the north side of the town all the way to the far south before finally managing to buy two hamburgers.
“Tell me, isn’t this Chinese food?” Chen Jian asked.
“No,” Shan Yu replied.
“Then it’s Western food,” Chen Jian concluded decisively.
Shan Yu didn’t argue. The seriousness with which he ate made Chen Jian feel that they could have just bought two loaves of bread from a small supermarket instead, and it wouldn’t have made much difference.
After dinner, aside from Zhao Fangfang, the three of them had nothing else to do. Shan Yu looked a little tired and went back to his room first. Zhao Fangfang had already cleaned Room 307 and replaced the bedding as soon as she had the chance.
Chen Jian was about to head back home. Just as he grabbed his motorcycle keys and was ready to leave, Liu Wu stopped him, carrying a crate of beer in one hand.
“Chen Jian, are you breaking your promise?”
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Chen Jian said.
“Going to get a change of clothes?” Liu Wu asked.
“Yeah.” Chen Jian nodded.
“Half an hour?” Liu Wu pressed.
“Listen,” Chen Jian pointed upstairs, “if you’re scared, go to the third floor and hang out with your brother for a while. If he kicks you out, go find Zhao-Jie. She talks a lot and has a loud voice—if a ghost shows up, it won’t even find a gap to scare you. Just stick with her.”
“That… doesn’t seem right,” Liu Wu hesitated. “If you come back too late, she’ll already be off work.”
“She’s working until the second half of the night today,” Chen Jian said. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to finish everything.”
“That… sounds intense,” Liu Wu was stunned.
“It’s all money, little brother,” Chen Jian said as he walked out.
The sky was completely dark by then. Maybe because it was going to rain tomorrow, there was neither moonlight nor stars. Once he rode out of town, there were no more streetlights, and the only thing illuminating his path was the headlamp of his motorcycle.
Chen Jian was quite used to this kind of darkness. Strangely, it gave him a sense of reassurance, a feeling of safety—like he was hidden away.
Only when he neared the village did lights reappear, prompting him to slow down.
He lived in a small courtyard at the very edge of the village. It was an old house, originally belonging to Xiao Dou’er’s grandfather. But he hadn’t lied to Shan Yu—he didn’t have to pay rent.
Xiao Dou’er was the real “left-behind child.” Her parents worked in the city and hadn’t returned in two years. By staying there, Chen Jian could also help look after the two elderly and the child.
“You’re back?” Xiao Dou’er was sitting at the doorstep in the unlit courtyard.
“Yeah.” Chen Jian parked his bike, took a plastic bag from the handlebar, and handed it to her. “Spicy strips, cheese sticks, and two packs of sausages for your grandma.”
“This much?” Xiao Dou’er peeked inside the bag in surprise.
“Got my paycheck today,” Chen Jian said. “Are your grandparents asleep?”
“Grandma watched TV for a bit, then went to bed,” Xiao Dou’er nodded. “Grandpa went to watch people play cards.”
“Did your grandma go out to pick up trash today?” Chen Jian walked into his room, turned on the light, and gathered a set of clothes to change into.
“No, she just fed the pigs and watched TV.” Xiao Dou’er followed behind him, eating spicy sticks.
“Go to sleep too,” Chen Jian said. “I’m staying at the haunted house tonight. Lock the door, charge your phone, and call me if anything happens.”
“I know, you don’t have to say it every time.” Xiao Dou’er nodded.
Chen Jian lightly poked her on the head before walking out of the house.
On his way back to Zhenxi, Chen Jian hesitated for a moment. Instead of taking the shortcut, he chose the main road. As his car passed the intersection, he glanced inside. He didn’t see anyone, but his sixth sense told him that Chen Erhu and his gang were probably there.
These guys would definitely go to Zhenxi again. Whether they were going to apply for the security job or cause trouble a second time was unclear.
As Chen Jian drove into the courtyard of Zhenxi, he could already see many lights on from a distance.
Some were left on by Zhao-jie while cleaning, while the entire first-floor hallway was brightly lit, including the decorative garden lights—probably Liu Wu’s setup for ghost expelling.
Before Chen Jian even stepped into the front hall, he heard Liu Wu’s voice: “You’re back!”
“You’re just afraid the electricity bill isn’t high enough, aren’t you?” Chen Jian entered and immediately switched off the courtyard lights at the main breaker.
“Now I can’t see what’s outside!” Liu Wu protested.
“If there’s really something outside, you’d be scared out of your mind,” Chen Jian said. “If you’re afraid, just close the curtains.”
Liu Wu carried his half-case of beer and followed him inside, going over to draw the curtains.
“Are you exorcising ghosts?” Chen Jian eyed the beer in Liu Wu’s hand. “Why are you carrying that thing around?”
“Just drinking a little.” Liu Wu plopped the case onto the table, opened a bottle, and handed it to him.
“Not bad for a college student; that’s quite the drinking habit.” Chen Jian took the bottle.
“You don’t understand.” Liu Wu opened one for himself and downed half of it in one go. “Drinking helps me sleep better. I didn’t stay here last night, but I kept dreaming about murder. It was awful.”
“Just don’t wet the bed tonight.” Chen Jian said.
“You’re really sharp-tongued.” Liu Wu laughed and sat down next to the tea table.
“Not as much as your brother.” Chen Jian replied.
“My brother is just like that. Don’t take what he says too seriously,” Liu Wu said with a chuckle while drinking. “You’ll get used to it.”
If someone can’t get used to it, they’d just end up with broken legs, huh?
Chen Jian smiled, leaned against the headboard, and started scrolling on his phone.
“He’s actually a good person…” Liu Wu sighed, holding his beer bottle up.
Chen Jian lifted his gaze from his phone and looked at Liu Wu. At first, he thought Liu Wu could handle his liquor well, but now, after just one beer, the guy was already getting sentimental.
Just as Chen Jian was waiting for some juicy gossip about Shan Yu, Liu Wu suddenly changed the subject: “Hey, Chen Jian, Zhao-jie said you had a tough childhood.”
Catching gossip only to have it suddenly turn on himself—Chen Jian was caught off guard. He froze for a moment. “So you’ve been asking about me now?”
“No,” Liu Wu waved his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I was just scared, so I went to chat with her. She mentioned that you’re fearless, and she said kids who’ve suffered are usually braver. I told her that’s not necessarily true—my brother didn’t suffer much, but he’s always been fearless. My mom says his stomach has no other organs, just one big gallbladder. He’s just one big ball of guts!”
“What the hell?” Chen Jian burst out laughing. He had been thinking about how to answer if Liu Wu bluntly asked about his hardships, but Liu Wu had suddenly veered off into this ridiculous topic.
It sounded a little silly, but Liu Wu was clearly someone who had grown up in a happy family—he was quite interesting.
Liu Wu had probably been warned by Shan Yu not to spill too much, but since he’d had some alcohol and Shan Yu likely hadn’t told him not to talk about himself, he started rambling about his own childhood.
To Chen Jian, Liu Wu’s stories were dull but full of happiness. Even so, he managed to pick up some useful information—Shan Yu was definitely not a model citizen. He had gotten into fights, had to repeat a grade, never went to college, and had gone into business with a friend…
When Liu Wu talked about that friend, he suddenly got angry: “That guy was scum! A total scammer! If not for him, my brother…”
Chen Jian perked up, turning his eyes toward Liu Wu.
But all he heard next were a few slurred, incoherent murmurs before Liu Wu flopped onto the bed and passed out.
“Would saying one more sentence really kill you?” Chen Jian kicked him lightly.
Apparently, it would. After all, Liu Wu had driven all the way here, been scared out of his wits for two days, and hadn’t slept well—so this time, he slept straight through until past ten in the morning.
And he didn’t wet the bed.
When Chen Jian opened the door and entered, Liu Wu was checking the bedsheets.
“Checking if you wet the bed?” Chen Jian asked. “Just touch your pants. Or did you take them off and pee directly onto the sheets?”
“I’m looking for my bracelet!” Liu Wu waved his wrist.
“You took it off last night when you were making grand speeches and left it on the tea table.” Chen Jian said. “Shan Yu told you to go eat breakfast. After that, hurry up and leave. If you delay, it’s going to rain again. It pours in the mountains.”
“Oh,” Liu Wu pulled open the curtains and looked outside. “It really is cloudy again.”
Breakfast wasn’t store-bought—it was made by Zhao-jie.
To leave a good impression on their benevolent boss, when Chen Jian went to buy breakfast, Zhao Fangfang had him buy fresh ingredients and noodles from the market. She made a bowl of beef noodle soup, and it tasted great.
Chen Jian remembered that Zhao Fangfang had once sold boxed meals at construction sites. Though it was just boxed meals, judging by her noodle-making skills, her cooking must be decent. So when she took over both lunch and dinner preparations, saving Chen Jian the trouble of buying food, Shan Yu didn’t object.
After breakfast, Shan Yu rushed Liu Wu to leave.
Liu Wu got in the car but then leaned out of the window again. “If I drive this car away, you won’t have a car to use, right?”
“I don’t need one.” Shan Yu said.
“But it’ll be inconvenient for you to go anywhere.” Liu Wu said.
“I’ll use a wheelchair.” Shan Yu replied.
“But…” Liu Wu frowned.
“Then get out of the car.” Shan Yu opened the door. “Leave the car for me and walk back. If you start now, you’ll make it back to school by next week on foot.”
Chen Jian, sitting on the motorcycle behind them, laughed out loud.
“No, no, no,” Liu Wu quickly closed the car door again. “I meant, why don’t you buy a car?”
“…Get lost.” Shan Yu took a step back, waved his hand at him, and said, “Go.”
Liu Wu was the kind of person who could lighten the mood. When he was around, he could be annoying, but once he left, the entire building suddenly felt eerily quiet.
Chen Jian went to contact someone to wash the curtains and bedsheets, while Zhao Fangfang continued cleaning up. The sounds of their work echoed in the emptiness, making the space feel even more deserted.
The doctor had advised Shan Yu to move his legs daily for better recovery. He rode the elevator from the first to the fourth floor and finally entered Qian Yu’s former office-turned-bedroom.
Zhao-jie hadn’t cleaned this room yet. She said she was afraid of touching any valuable items and wanted Shan Yu to check first.
There wasn’t much of value. The most expensive thing was probably the desk and chairs. Shan Yu knocked on them—it was probably just a thin layer of rosewood veneer. There were also a lot of decorative bottles, giving the place an artistic feel. They looked valuable, but when Shan Yu picked up two of them, he found price tags underneath.
One was 320 yuan. The other was 175 yuan.
There wasn’t much in the bedroom either. He even had a small walk-in closet, but it was empty.
This guy was too boring.
Shan Yu was just about to go downstairs when he heard the loud sound of shattering glass from outside the window.
Right after that, Zhao Fangfang’s shouting rang out, and her panicked voice also came through the intercom in the fourth-floor hallway. But Shan Yu couldn’t make out what she was saying.
Judging by how strong her voice was, she was fine.
That was good enough.
By the time he hobbled his way to the hallway with his crutch, Zhao Fangfang had already rushed up. “Boss! Boss Shan—”
“I’m here, I’m here,” Shan Yu quickly responded.
“The second-floor window got smashed!” Zhao Fangfang pointed outside. “It was hit from this direction!”
“Did you see who did it?” Shan Yu walked toward the hallway window.
Zhao Fangfang was anxious, and seeing how slow he was moving made her even more anxious. She grabbed his arm with one hand and shoved the other under his armpit, practically dragging him to the window.
“So impatient…” Shan Yu was helplessly pulled over.
“The glass was smashed!” Zhao Fangfang exclaimed.
“Can we see the broken glass from here?” Shan Yu asked.
“No.” Zhao Fangfang leaned out to take a look.
“Can we see the person who smashed it?” Shan Yu asked again.
“They ran off ages ago,” Zhao Fangfang said. “By the time I got there after hearing the noise, no one was outside anymore!”
“Then why’d you drag me over here?” Shan Yu sighed.
Zhao Fangfang looked at him, seemingly at a loss for words. In the end, she waved her hand and ran downstairs, saying, “You’re really… I’ll call Chen Jian back.”
In Room 203, there was a rock about the size of a fist. It had been thrown straight through the window facing the courtyard wall, leaving a big hole.
Using a rock to smash a window was a pretty common method—rocks could easily be picked up outside the courtyard. But this one was a little different.
It had a smell.
Chen Jian sniffed it, and Shan Yu, who was standing beside him, clicked his tongue.
Chen Jian turned to look at him. “What?”
“If you’re hungry, ask Zhao-jie to cook you a bowl of noodles,” Shan Yu said.
“It was Chen Erhu and his gang,” Chen Jian said.
“I didn’t need to smell it to know that,” Shan Yu said. “So what was the point of your sniffing?”
“To confirm,” Chen Jian said. “It’s not like Chen Erhu is the only one in town. Who knows if someone else doesn’t like you or this inn?”
After all, your mouth causes more trouble than you do.
“How did you confirm it?” Shan Yu was intrigued.
“This rock came from a pigsty,” Chen Jian said. “It smells like pig shit.”
“Does Chen Erhu live in a pigsty?” Shan Yu frowned.
“Not quite, but they like to hang out there. Hardly anyone takes that path,” Chen Jian said, then tossed the rock back out through the broken window. “They’ll probably come again.”
Shan Yu looked at the hole in the glass. “Pretty good aim.”
“What do we do?” Chen Jian wanted to hear the boss’s opinion.
“Open all the windows,” Shan Yu said.
“What?” Chen Jian was stunned.
“If they’re open, there’ll be nothing to hit. Saves on glass money,” Shan Yu said. “There’s nothing inside worth worrying about, and if they’ve got the arm strength to smash through the wall, I’ll go find them myself and have them sign a contract.”
“A security contract?” Chen Jian asked.
“A performance contract,” Shan Yu said.
But Shan Yu was a cautious person. After opening the windows, he had Chen Jian go outside the courtyard and test throwing a rock inside.
The rock landed directly in the hallway.
“Taking the opportunity to get revenge?” Shan Yu stood by the window, looking down at Chen Jian.
“I didn’t even use my full strength,” Chen Jian said.
“To be safe,” Shan Yu pulled the curtains closed, “let’s let the curtains catch them. Haven’t taken them to the wash anyway.”
So, all the windows were opened, but all the curtains were drawn.
There was no telling if Chen Erhu and his gang would come again or when they might come.
But after dinner, Shan Yu sat in the restaurant with great patience, as if he were waiting for something—or maybe just spacing out.
It was already after hours, so technically, Chen Jian could go home. But since he was also doing part-time “assistant” work, he figured he’d wait until Shan Yu went to bed before leaving.
With nothing else to do, he opened the side door, intending to check out the courtyard.
“Where are you going?” Shan Yu called out to him.
“Taking a walk outside,” Chen Jian said. “See if there’s anyone suspicious, stay alert.”
“Don’t go. If they see you, they won’t come,” Shan Yu said.
“Wait, what?” Chen Jian was confused. “You want them to come?”
“This needs to be dealt with,” Shan Yu said.
“How?” Chen Jian immediately became wary. Even if Shan Yu was pretty good in a fight, between the two of them, they only added up to one and a half people with three legs. Chen Erhu’s gang had more legs just by headcount.
“Let them throw.” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian waited for a moment. When he was sure Shan Yu wasn’t going to say anything else, he asked, “And then? After they’re done, should I send them a thank-you letter?”
“Then, you call Chen Erhu and tell him that the crippled boss thinks this place is indeed dangerous and wants to discuss security arrangements with them,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian didn’t respond right away. He needed a moment to process this. “Are you sure they’ll come?”
“Let’s try,” Shan Yu said. “Not much else we can do. Even if I wanted to beat them into submission, I’d have to wait two months until my brace comes off.”
“No, no, no,” Chen Jian hurriedly stopped him. “No fighting. If they don’t show up tonight, I’ll go outside and throw some rocks myself, then call them tomorrow.”
