Chapter 11

After that day, Zhu Ze seemed to have given up on integrating Fang Shimian into his social circle and didn’t bring up the idea of arranging a new job for him again.

Fang Shimian’s life returned to its usual calm, except for Xu Long, who was still bothered by Fang Shimian’s overnight absence that day, feeling that their precious little cabbage was in danger.

“Brother Long, we’re out of water. I’m going upstairs to get some,” Fang Shimian said, taking the small water jug off the water dispenser and grabbing the employee water card from the drawer at the workstation.

Xu Long, lounging with his legs crossed while playing a game, lazily moved over to sit in the front chair when he heard this. “Put on your coat, and be quick about it.”

Fang Shimian took a coat from the cabinet, casually agreed, and left the surveillance room with the empty water jug.

A few days ago, Fang Shimian signed a contract for a permanent position. This morning, someone from the company came to take his measurements and informed him that his first month’s salary after becoming permanent would have 500 yuan deducted as a deposit for the uniform. If he stayed with the company for three years, the 500 would be refunded.

However, the custom uniform would take some time, so Fang Shimian still had to wear the blue vest that had been passed down for generations during work hours.

While waiting for the elevator, a male resident stood next to Fang Shimian, his head buried in his phone. It wasn’t until the elevator arrived and they both entered that the man put his phone away.

“Can property staff use the elevator too?”

Fang Shimian’s hand, which was about to press the button for the first floor, froze. The rules didn’t explicitly state that they couldn’t use the community elevator, but Fang Shimian wasn’t sure if he had missed something.

The man politely held the door open but suddenly released the button after getting a good look at Fang Shimian under the elevator light. He pressed his own floor and asked in a strange tone, “Which floor are you going to?”

Just as the elevator was about to close, Fang Shimian reached out to stop it, stepped out with a calm expression, and said, “No need, thank you, sir.”

Actually, climbing from the basement to the first floor wasn’t difficult. The emergency exit sign glowing green in the stairwell had been kicked and broken by someone. Fang Shimian took a photo and posted it in the group chat, marking the building and location.

Footsteps sounded behind him, but Fang Shimian didn’t pay much attention, focusing on the group messages.

However, the footsteps didn’t continue upward. Instead, they stopped abruptly as they passed him. Fang Shimian turned off his phone and looked up.

It was the same male resident from before.

The man stared at him intently, his gaze unsettling Fang Shimian. “Is there something you need, sir?”

“A while ago, at the Shen family’s banquet… you were there, right?”

For some reason, the man’s voice trembled, and instinct told Fang Shimian that this wasn’t good. So, as he continued up the stairs, he casually replied, “What banquet? I’m exhausted from work every day and don’t have time for anything else.”

The man followed closely behind Fang Shimian, suddenly running a couple of steps ahead to see his expression up close, asking, “Really? Wasn’t it you who saved someone?”

With his path blocked, the man’s bloodshot eyes and dark circles looked eerie in the dimly lit stairwell, like a ghost from a horror movie.

Knowing his acting skills were poor, Fang Shimian suddenly covered his face, preventing the man from seeing him. “Sir, my internship salary is only 4,100 yuan, and rent takes up 2,000. My life is tough, and I don’t like men. I shouldn’t have used the elevator. I’m really sorry. Please don’t report me.”

The man seemed confused by his words, stepping back a couple of steps and slowly walking down the stairs.

Yeah, someone invited to such a banquet couldn’t possibly be a property staff member. Maybe he really was going crazy.

Only when the footsteps completely disappeared did Fang Shimian dare to continue upstairs. It was already past 1 a.m. when he walked out of the building onto the spacious green path of the community, only realizing he was drenched in cold sweat when the cool night air enveloped him.

The water machine was near the bulletin board not far from the building. Fang Shimian swiped his card and placed the jug into the machine.

The lights on the community’s sports field and pool were off, with only the streetlights on. Occasionally, someone would pass by in a hurry.

Once the jug was full, Fang Shimian capped it but didn’t immediately return to the surveillance room. Instead, he sat on the bench next to the bulletin board.

After a brief panic, Fang Shimian calmed down. Since he hadn’t suffered any life-threatening or disabling harm, it wasn’t a big deal to him.

Rustling sounds came from behind the bushes. Fang Shimian lifted his vest slightly and clumsily took out a ziplock bag from his coat.

The bag contained half a bag of cat food. Fang Shimian bent down and poured some on the ground. A large-bellied white cat emerged from the bushes, rubbed against Fang Shimian’s leg as if out of habit, and then, after cautiously surveying its surroundings, began to eat, making a soft “meow” sound as it did.

Fang Shimian wasn’t sure if it was guarding its food or expressing enjoyment. Once it finished eating, he poured the rest of the bag onto the ground.

But this time, it only took a couple of bites before running off. Fang Shimian played with the ziplock bag, and a few minutes later, a small gray and white kitten emerged from the bushes. It was a bit dirty, likely because it had rained during the day, with some mud clinging to its fur.

However, the kitten didn’t eat much either, possibly because someone in the community had already fed it. Fang Shimian knew that some elderly ladies in the community kept cats and would come out to feed the strays canned food when it got cold.

After the kitten left, Fang Shimian turned on his phone’s flashlight and picked up the scattered cat food one by one, putting them back into the ziplock bag.

The cold wind seeped through his collar, and a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky. Fang Shimian put the ziplock bag back into his pocket, picked up the water jug, and headed back into the building. He hesitated between the elevator and the stairs but ultimately chose the stairs.

The earlier incident might have left a bit of a shadow on him. Fang Shimian descended the stairs quickly, only relaxing once he entered the warm surveillance room.

The sound of a crystal shattering was followed by a loud failure announcement.

“Yo, I thought you weren’t coming back,” Xu Long said, putting his legs down from the chair and muttering, “This place is cursed for me. I’ve never won a game here.”

Fang Shimian took a small pack of crispy noodles from the cabinet, flavored with soy sauce and beef.

He crushed the noodles inside, shook the pack with a devout expression, then slowly tore it open and sat at the workstation to eat.

“Hey, newbie, don’t you know to offer some good stuff to your grandpa here first?” Xu Long, not in the mood to sleep, sat at the machine behind, playing on his phone.

Without lifting his eyes, Fang Shimian replied seriously, “Brother Long, your physique isn’t suited for extra snacks.”

“Hey, I’m eating it today, no matter what,” Xu Long grumbled.

“Alright,” Fang Shimian surrendered to the chubby authority and handed Xu Long a pack of roast chicken-flavored noodles.

Xu Long didn’t mind, tore it open, and finished it in two bites, clapping his hands. “Go to sleep. Kids shouldn’t stay up late.”

The camp bed behind the machine gave Fang Shimian a sense of security. With two sides surrounded by tall machines and the other two by walls, the only gap covered by a cabinet, it was even better than his rented room.

Fang Shimian placed his black coat as a pillow, used his thick coat as a blanket, and the machine’s rhythmic noise became a kind of lullaby.

Fang Shimian slept quietly, barely moving once he settled into a position.

Honestly, Xu Long had never seen a man who didn’t snore while sleeping.

When he first brought Fang Shimian back, Xu Long took him on a night shift. Fang Shimian made no noise in the back, and at first, Xu Long thought the machine’s noise was drowning him out, but even when the machine was silent, Fang Shimian made no sound.

Recalling Fang Shimian’s shaky mental state and emaciated body at the time, Xu Long checked on him at least ten times that night, worried the kid might die if he wasn’t careful.

In the morning, Xu Long checked the time on the computer, logged into WeChat, organized the unprocessed information on the system software, sent it to the front desk, then turned off his phone, stretched a bit, and went to the back to wake Fang Shimian.

Fang Shimian groggily got up, put on his coat, wrapped himself in his thick coat, and sat on the bed in a daze.

Before nine, the surveillance room door opened, and Ma Liang arrived first. He took off his cold coat, tugged at his uniform coat, and asked Xu Long to help him take a clock-in photo.

Only then did Fang Shimian emerge from the machine area, rubbing his eyes, and greeted Ma Ge.

The two left the surveillance room, Xu Long carrying two helmets. Fang Shimian stopped outside the non-motorized vehicle garage, and Xu Long placed one of the helmets on Fang Shimian’s head before going inside to get his bike.

After a while, Xu Long came out, speaking to Fang Shimian through the helmet, “Got paid.”

Fang Shimian’s sleepiness vanished instantly. He happily took out his phone to check his balance, finding a few thousand yuan credited. He immediately transferred half of it to another account dedicated to savings.

Xu Long didn’t need to look to imagine the money-grubbing expression on the guy’s face behind him.

Having slept well and just received his salary, Fang Shimian bought some fruit and milk powder, cheerfully riding his little electric scooter to the Zhao family.

This time, it was a surprise visit. Zhao You wasn’t home, so Fang Shimian spent the morning playing with Zhao Shun.

In the afternoon, on his way back, Fang Shimian stopped by the supermarket to buy snacks for Zhao You. He packed two bags in a black bag and left them at the security room, worried the guards might confiscate them if they saw they were snacks. He sent Zhao You a message on WeChat.

Zhao You didn’t reply, probably in class. Fang Shimian told him to pick them up after school and leisurely rode off.

With plenty of time before work, and knowing Xu Long was likely napping, Fang Shimian wandered around on his bike, eventually stopping at Haishi’s Wetland Park.

On weekdays, the park was sparsely populated. There was a cycling path, and occasionally, groups of cyclists would speed by. In this environment, Fang Shimian felt relaxed.

He slowly walked to a secluded lakeside area, surrounded by dense flowers and plants. Sitting on a rock, he picked up small stones and tossed them into the lake for fun.

This was a secret spot he discovered last month, not even shared with Xu Long. Only a path hidden by trees led here, making it hard for anyone to find.

However, as Fang Shimian bent down to find more stones, he heard a noise from the woods behind him, along with faint voices.

For some reason, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, the closer the voices got, the more unprecedented tension he felt.

In such a corner, in such a place, he hoped he wouldn’t stumble upon a murder scene.

Just as Fang Shimian’s body stiffened in indecision, the noise in the woods stopped. It seemed they didn’t plan to come to the lakeside. Fang Shimian had even started considering whether swimming to the other side of the lake would get him discovered faster if he were being chased.

He tried to curl up as much as possible, staying still to lower his presence, hoping not to be seen and wishing they would leave.

“Do you want me to teach you how a dog should crawl?”

A deep male voice sounded behind Fang Shimian, not too loud but just enough for him to hear clearly from his position.

Fang Shimian’s mind went blank, feeling as if a thunderclap had struck him, leaving him utterly shattered.

He didn’t know what they were doing, but it was definitely nothing good.

“Kneel properly.”

In the absolute silence, the man’s voice was particularly cold.

Was it an illusion, or did that voice sound familiar to Fang Shimian?

After a crisp sound, Fang Shimian vaguely heard a whimper.

The birds in the bushes suddenly took flight, followed by a suppressed groan.

“Silence.”