How do you confirm if someone is a shut-in?
First, observe their living habits. If they stay alone in their private space during a time when the vast majority of people go out for activities, that fits one of the criteria for a shut-in.
Second, pay attention to their attire. Shut-ins staying at home usually don’t care much about their appearance, and their clothing tends to be simple and casual.
Xu Xiye had to tear his gaze away from those eyes for a moment and re-examine the man as a whole.
Very tall. A handsome face. A tall, powerful build. The flowing lines of muscle beneath the fabric were faintly visible. Ah, to be able to maintain such a perfect human form at this hour… he must live without much pressure, right? Xu Xiye thought sourly.
But would a shut-in have this kind of body?
Not likely.
Next, ascertain his interests and hobbies. This would require a long period of discreet observation, or perhaps a conversation with him.
Actually, none of these characteristics were absolute. The most reliable method was still to just ask directly. Xu Xiye was just about to speak when he saw the other man walk over. The handsome face enlarged before him, and the silver-blue eyes became even clearer.
Like the deep sea draped in starlight, or a blue sky wrapped in frost. Even his short hair, which looked black at first glance, had a very faint layer of the same hue.
In short, they were truly beautiful, perfectly matching Xu Xiye’s taste.
Distracted by this sight, his voice came out a few seconds too late. Then, the floor-to-ceiling curtains were yanked shut. The window vibrated, and Xu Xiye plummeted from it.
Xu Xiye: “…”
Xu Xiye fell through the air with an indescribable feeling, only to be caught mid-fall by a branch outstretched like an open, five-fingered claw.
At some point, a large tree had appeared at the entrance of the hotel. It took Xu Xiye a good while to make out a blurry face on its thick trunk.
That face was staring up at the top of the hotel, resentful and twisted.
The branches were extending, about to smash through the window. Xu Xiye hurriedly stopped it, “Grandpa, Grandpa! Breaking stuff costs money, you know!”
That’s right. Xu Xiye knew this old man. He was the gatekeeper for their Tai’an Residential Area. Considering the gatekeeper grandpa’s salary, there was no way he could afford to pay for damages to a hotel that was clearly this high-class.
The branches halted. The leaves rustled loudly, clearly because the old man was mindful of the money but still furious. “Still, you can’t just let yourself be pushed around! He threw you down from such a height, just like that! This old man has to go give him a piece of my mind!”
He knew it. Grandpa was a warm-hearted person. He couldn’t let them get into a fight over something so trivial.
Xu Xiye persuaded, “It’s fine. I’ve climbed higher places. I’m fine just jumping from anywhere.”
The old man was still huffing, “That’s different. How high you climb and where you jump from is your own business. Nobody has the right to just push you off.”
Xu Xiye continued to persuade him. “Forget it, forget it. Next time, I’ll seek him out myself. Grandpa, since we’ve run into each other, how about we go wander around some other place together?”
He finally managed to talk the old man down. He decided not to try talking to the man in the hotel tonight. Tomorrow night, he would seek him out again.
What if the man wasn’t there tomorrow night? No matter, he knew how to find him.
Eight o’clock in the morning. Time for work.
Wang Xiaodian had spent a restless, anxious night. Thankfully, nothing happened. He sat intact at his desk in the office.
Saying nothing happened wasn’t entirely accurate. He had heard things—rustling sounds, something crawling across the floor, vague human silhouettes on the window.
Wang Xiaodian had tried his utmost to control his thoughts, but if one could simply stop thinking on command, there wouldn’t be so many psychological and mental illnesses in the world.
He clearly felt his mental state today wasn’t as good as yesterday.
After sitting cautiously in his seat for a while, he felt a shadow looming over his head. He thought of the corpse hanging from the ceiling fan.
But he no longer had the courage to look up openly.
He glanced at Little Li. Little Li’s condition was even worse than his own. Since Little Li wasn’t reacting further, it meant there was nothing up there.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to look up. Sure enough, nothing.
“Little Wang, what are you staring blankly at?” Xu Xiye walked into the office right on time. The moment he entered, he saw his disciple doing something the locals found hard to understand. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Sh-Shifu, nothing, I’m not staring at anything. I… I’m just not used to the accommodation yet.”
“The dormitory conditions are a bit poor. Can’t be helped. It’ll get better once you finish your probation period and save some money.”
“Yeah, gotta get through the probation period first.”
Their words were clearly on different wavelengths, but at least they could talk.
“If you’re thinking of renting a place, I can help. Our residential area has plenty of vacant rooms. It’s not far from here, convenient for commuting.”
“Ah? Wouldn’t that be expensive?”
“It’s alright. It’s an older neighborhood. But considering the convenient transport and complete amenities, the cheapest is 1500 a month. Two bedrooms, one living room. You could share with someone.”
Xu Xiye himself had a spare room at home, but he never planned to rent it out. He had a slight possessive streak regarding his belongings and didn’t want anyone else living there. Now, however, he wanted to put someone inside.
If he were to actually rent a place and settle here, wouldn’t that be the death of Wang Xiaodian? He didn’t dare linger on this topic and quickly refused. “No, no, it’s way too early to talk about that. Shifu, I’ll get started on the proposal first.”
“Alright, do a good job on it.”
Wang Xiaodian was truly grateful to Xu Xiye. No matter what terrifying form Xu Xiye might shed his human shape into, at least during these two days of interaction, he had only offered positive help.
Xu Xiye was so strikingly handsome that the first glance always had a soul-shaking impact. But after just a few lines of conversation, the atmosphere would quickly shift to something mundane and ordinary.
That was exactly how Wang Xiaodian felt now. His originally panicked and helpless heart somehow steadied. He felt as if he really was just an ordinary corporate slave at an ordinary company.
Nothing to be afraid of.
Wang Xiaodian steadied himself. So much so that even when Supervisor Hao leaned over his shoulder while he was buried in his work, he stayed calm.
Just before noon, as he was about to stretch his shoulders, he looked up and saw Little Li in front of him. The man kept shuddering and touching the back of his neck, shuddering and touching the back of his neck.
It was as if something was touching him, making him extremely uncomfortable.
But behind him was empty space. Nothing was there.
Wang Xiaodian’s heart tightened a little.
If that woman was really hanging above them, the tip of her foot, suspended mid-air, might just be at Little Li’s nape.
The sound of chairs scraping and being dragged across the office floor filled the room. It was lunchtime. The entire space became noisy. Before he could speak to Little Li, Little Li turned around first.
Nervously, he said, “Little Wang, Little Wang, look again for me… is there something behind me?”
Wang Xiaodian swallowed. “No.”
“Really, there’s nothing?” He touched the back of his neck again. “It feels like something cold touched me.”
“Little Wang,” Little Li leaned in closer, his pale face right up close, his black, sunken eyes eerily unnerving, “Take a closer look for me. Is there really nothing?”
Wang Xiaodian’s throat tightened. He felt Little Li’s current state was even more terrifying than any ghost that hadn’t yet appeared. “There really isn’t. Have you forgotten what Sister Ning said? Stay calm. We might not all see things at the same time. Even if you do see something, you can’t panic.”
“Right, we can’t see at the same time. What I see, you might not see. I can look for myself. Look for myself.” So saying, he trembled, then slowly and stiffly raised his head.
Wang Xiaodian leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Little Li’s expression.
The giant ceiling fan was firmly mounted on the ceiling. Wind came in through the window, causing the blades to slowly turn a couple of rotations.
Wang Xiaodian: “S-So? Did you see anything?”
Little Li: “No one there.”
“That’s good,” Wang Xiaodian breathed out, not forgetting to offer comfort. “Even if there is something, don’t be afraid. Remember her characteristics, see her face clearly, and we’ll find her.”
“Little Wang, what are you dawdling for? Coming to lunch or not?”
“Coming, Shifu.”
Wang Xiaodian quickly stood up. His Shifu was already standing there waiting. He tugged Little Li along, only to find that Little Li was still looking up at the ceiling.
If there was nothing up there, then what was Little Li looking at?
“Let’s go, Little Li,” he leaned close to Little Li’s ear and lowered his voice. “Actually, you could talk to my Shifu.”
Little Li didn’t react. “What?”
Wang Xiaodian: “What I mean is, if you feel like you can’t hold on anymore, go chat with my Shifu. He’s an approachable good person… good anomaly. Chatting with a person… anomaly like him will improve your mental state.”
That was all Wang Xiaodian could say. It was just his own feeling, after all. Whether Little Li would feel the same was another matter.
“Let’s go. Eat first! I’m coming, Shifu! Shifu, do you like milk tea? I saw a milk tea shop in the cafeteria. Let me treat you.”
Xu Xiye’s fondness for milk tea was moderate, but since his disciple was being filial, he would accept.
When they sat down in the cafeteria, a classic pearl milk tea was placed near Xu Xiye’s hand. Thanks to him, Brother Zhang also received a cup offered by Little Wang.
Jiang Wuning’s group of three joined them this time. At the moment, she was watching Wang Xiaodian, who was getting along remarkably well, with a smiling, intrigued expression.
Wang Xiaodian was genuinely timid, even afraid to meet her gaze directly for too long, but he was also surprisingly clever.
Wang Xiaodian: “Shifu, Brother Zhang, do you know if anyone in our company is dating or just been dumped?”
Xu Xiye: “I know of a few dating, but I’m not sure who’s been dumped. Why do you ask? You haven’t taken a liking to someone and are using this roundabout way to find out, are you?”
Brother Zhang thought the same. “Just tell us the name directly. I can help you get some information.”
Wang Xiaodian: “No, no! I’m just a bit of a gossip. Really, there’s no one I fancy.” He wouldn’t dare.
“Hey, I know something about that,” an unfamiliar voice interjected. “Are you guys interested? Can I sit here?”
The newcomer was a tall, thin man, as thin as a bamboo pole, with a very pointy head. He introduced himself as being from the Sales Department and said to just call him Sharp Head.
“You guys know Liu Lingling, right? The department flower. She’s a real beauty. Recently, she and her man have been arguing constantly. I’ve seen her crying in the restroom several times. If you ask me, women are just too petty, always suspecting their man of messing around with this one, or that one’s not clean. And she’s not exactly clear with her clients either.” At this point, Sharp Head shook his head disapprovingly.
How much of this was true, no one knew. But Jiang Wuning and the others all mentally noted down the name Liu Lingling. To avoid an awkward silence, she casually added, “Love always comes with a sense of possessiveness.”
Xu Xiye looked at her, and his attention was naturally drawn to her hand resting on the table.
She wore a black wristwatch, very similar to the one on that man in the hotel.
But black watches all looked pretty much alike. He might have been mistaken.
“What is it?” Jiang Wuning asked with a smile.
“Nothing. Just reminded of someone. I have a possessive streak too. I’m thinking of a way to bring someone home.”
Wang Xiaodian was shocked. “What? Shifu, you have someone you like? What kind of person needs you to pursue them personally?”
As his words fell, the air went still. Brother Zhang and Sharp Head simultaneously looked at Xu Xiye.
Jiang Wuning narrowed her eyes. Brother Zhang was one thing, but the fact that Sharp Head, clearly not familiar with them, also tensed up—that was worth investigating.
Xu Xiye… who exactly was he?
