Chapter 20: Initial Test
In the eyes of others, it was a blessing for Lin Qiushi to be able to live in the same room with such a beautiful woman like Ruan Nanzhu. However, Lin Qiushi knew very well in his heart that Ruan Nanzhu was not at all as gentle and lovely as he appeared to be in this world.
"Let's go check out the other rooms first," Ruan Nanzhu said, "and make sure where everyone is staying."
The others nodded.
The hostess of the house gave them four keys, one for each of the fourteenth-floor households. Ruan Nanzhu walked around the building, opening every door he could and finding that the rooms were essentially identical: one door, one window, and one bed. The rooms were as small as coffins, and the ceilings were so low that lying on the bed felt like lying in a coffin.
"I want to take a shower," the previously irritable middle-aged man suddenly said. "There's not even a bathroom here?" His face was now covered in blood, and his eyes were still filled with confusion. But at least he had calmed down and was no longer as naive as before, thinking it was just a prank.
"Yes, there is. It seems to be at the end of the corridor." Lin Qiushi said, "When I came up, I saw a public bathroom there. Shall we go and take a look later?" It always makes people feel a little uncomfortable to have a person covered in blood standing next to them, and there is always a disgusting smell of blood.
"Okay." The middle-aged man nodded and introduced himself, saying his name was Zeng Ruguo and that he was a jeweller. There was a hint of pride in his words, suggesting he was indeed a self-satisfied person in the real world. Unfortunately, once inside, reality became a handful of yellow earth. The ghosts here wouldn't hesitate for a moment just because you were rich.
"Let's divide the rooms." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I want to be in a group with Yu Linlin, and you can handle the rest of the group yourself."
The rest of the group looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally, after some discussion, they found their respective companions. Xu Xiaocheng, Tang Yaoyao, and the other two boys were all assigned to the same room, while Zeng Ruguo was naturally excluded. His face was ashen, and he was so angry that he didn't say a word for a long time, but no one here gave him face, and everyone pretended not to notice.
Ruan Nanzhu's attitude towards him was not very bad. He even gently advised him to wash the blood off his body as soon as possible.
"Am I going to live alone?" Although Zeng Ruguo didn't know that he was dead here and couldn't survive in reality, he also vaguely felt something. He said in a trembling voice, "What if something happens?"
Tang Yaoyao treated the middle-aged man with a very rude attitude: "Don't worry, if you are going to die, you will die sooner or later. It doesn't matter who you live with."
Zeng Ruguo wanted to say something else, but seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he had to give up.
After everyone was assigned to their rooms, Ruan Nanzhu suggested that they go to the rooftop to see if there was anything special.
Tang Yaoyao agreed.
The fourteenth floor of this building is the top floor, and above that is the rooftop terrace. The door to the rooftop is hung with a large rusty lock, and it looks like it has not been used for a long time.
Lin Qiushi peeked through the crack in the door toward the rooftop, but didn't see anything special. "Let's go downstairs and check. There seems to be nothing upstairs."
"Let's wait until tomorrow morning to come back and see." Tang Yaoyao suggested, "It's almost dark now, let's wash up and go to bed quickly."
"Can't we just get together and keep watch for each other?" The young man who entered for the first time raised the question that Lin Qiushi had previously struggled with. "There's strength in numbers. If we're scattered like this, we won't know what might happen at night."
"No," Ruan Nanzhu said, "If everyone gets together, they're bound to fall asleep at some point. As an old man, my advice to you is that the sooner you fall asleep, the safer it is. Don't come out to watch if anything unexpected happens at night."
Upon hearing this, the boy nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Let's go wash up first." Ruan Nanzhu said, "It's still early."
It was six o'clock in the evening. Although it was still afternoon, the dark clouds in the sky covered the entire sky tightly, as if the world would fall into darkness in the next moment.
The four men in the team arrived at the public bathhouse first. Zeng Ruguo found some spare clothes in the room where he lived alone and seemed to want to take a bath.
Lin Qiushi felt that taking a shower was too troublesome, so he planned to simply wash up and go back.
The others didn't seem to want to stay in the bathroom any longer, and their hands were moving in a hurry.
Lin Qiushi washed his face while observing the bathroom. It felt unpleasant. The floor was covered in greasy stains, and both the walls and the nearby squat toilet gave off a dingy vibe. As it was getting dark, the ceiling light came on. The light cast a dull yellow hue, casting a shadow in the bathroom, making everything around him feel like an old, filtered photograph.
The two men who lived together had finished their work and were preparing to go back. They called out to Lin Qiushi, "Yu Linlin, we're leaving first."
Lin Qiushi nodded. He was almost done, so he picked up his towel and prepared to leave with them.
"Yu Linlin." Zeng Ruguo suddenly called him from the bathroom, "Are you leaving?"
Lin Qiushi said, "Yeah." He knew Zeng Ruguo must be a little scared. "How long will you have? I'll wait for you for a while."
Zeng Ruguo thanked him repeatedly.
Lin Qiushi stood at the bathroom door, waiting for Zeng Ruguo to come out.
Each bathroom here has a small shower curtain, behind which is the shower head. The bathroom is very quiet, and the only sound you can hear is the sound of water falling to the ground.
"Why can't I wash it clean?" After a while, Zeng Ruguo in the bathroom suddenly said, "Why can't I wash the blood off my body clean?"
Lin Qiushi asked, "What's wrong?"
Zeng Ruguo said, "It can't be washed clean..." His voice was filled with confusion and immense fear. "It's all blood."
Lin Qiushi glanced toward the bathroom where Zeng Ruguo was cowering. Although the light was dim, he could still clearly see blood oozing from Zeng Ruguo's feet, flowing down the drain. Even if Zeng Ruguo was covered in blood, it was strange that it hadn't been washed clean after so long.
Zeng Ruguo was getting more and more frightened: "It still can't be washed clean——"
Lin Qiushi sensed something and said, "If you can't wash it clean, then don't wash it. Come out quickly."
Zeng Ruguo suddenly stopped talking.
Just as Lin Qiushi was about to ask, a pair of hands suddenly pulled aside the thin shower curtain. He saw Zeng Ruguo standing behind it—and he understood why Zeng Ruguo couldn't wash the blood off his body.
I saw a bloody piece of flesh lying on the shower head in the bathroom. The piece of flesh looked like the body of a baby. Blood kept flowing down and flowed along the shower head onto Zeng Ruguo's body - there was no way it could be washed clean.
Lin Qiushi said, "Don't wash anymore. Come out now!"
Zeng Ruguo saw Lin Qiushi's extremely ugly expression and quickly ran out with a towel, not even having time to grab his clothes.
When Zeng Ruguo ran out, the piece of meat lying on the shower head slowly raised its head. Lin Qiushi didn't dare to look at it any longer and quickly turned around and left the bathroom.
The two of them ran out in a hurry and happened to meet Ruan Nanzhu standing in the corridor.
At this moment, Zeng Ruguo was still naked, his whole body covered in blood. Ruan Nanzhu asked: "...What were you two doing in the bathroom for so long?"
Lin Qiushi: "I watched him take a bath!"
Ruan Nanzhu's expression was a little subtle: "...Your hobby is really unique."
Lin Qiushi: "What are you thinking?" He looked helpless as he told Ruan Nanzhu what happened in the bathroom. Ruan Nanzhu glanced at Zeng Ruguo, who was still shivering, and said, "Go back and change your clothes quickly, or you'll catch a cold."
Zeng Ruguo nodded and went back in embarrassment.
Ruan Nanzhu looked at his back with a grave expression. Seeing him like this, Lin Qiushi thought he was thinking about something serious. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Ruan Nanzhu say, "It's too short."
Lin Qiushi: "Ah?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "It's okay, go back to sleep."
Lin Qiushi paused for a moment before realizing what Ruan Nanzhu meant by "too short." His expression twisted, "You're a girl, staring at me there—"
Ruan Nanzhu: "Yeah." He lowered his voice, "A girl took out something bigger than you, are you embarrassed?"
Lin Qiushi: “…” It had to be said that Ruan Nanzhu’s words with his pretty face had truly shocked Lin Qiushi’s fragile heart.
Ruan Nanzhu looked like he was used to it and said, "Let's go, it's getting dark and we have to go back to sleep."
The two of them returned to the house one after the other and lay on the wooden bed.
It had to be said that the room was incredibly narrow, almost suffocating. Lin Qiushi could see the gray walls the moment he turned over. The unclean ceiling seemed poised to collapse at any moment. Ruan Nanzhu fell asleep as easily as ever. He himself described it as "darkness as soon as I closed my eyes."
Lin Qiushi also closed his eyes and slowly fell into a deep sleep.
The author has something to say: Lin Qiushi: I can't compare to this girl Ruan Nanzhu in anything.
Ruan Nanzhu: You look tastier than I do.
Lin Qiushi: ???
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