Chapter 043 First Day at Work
Lin Xi's performance obviously surprised them. The woman was the first to react. She took a step towards Lin Xi and said, "Hello, I'm a few years older than you. You can just call me Sister Sun. This is Xiao Zhao, and Uncle Li." Sister Sun introduced the other two employees to Lin Xi with a smile on her face.
Xiao Zhao was a cheerful young man who looked a few years younger than Lin Xi. Lin Xi estimated that he was probably in his early twenties. Uncle Li was more serious. When Sister Sun introduced him, he nodded expressionlessly.
This was a brief introduction. Lin Xi went straight to Sister Sun's side. There was no other reason, it was simply that Sister Sun was a woman and seemed easy to get along with. Sister Sun was also enthusiastic and explained to Lin Xi what they would be doing that night.
"It's actually very simple. Just go on patrol during patrol hours. Other than that, just stay in the duty room." Sister Sun said as she led Lin Xi to the duty room. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, there are no ghosts in this world. Don't be afraid. We've been on duty for years and nothing has gone wrong. Although the funeral home can be eerie at night, it's not so scary when we're on duty together."
As he spoke, he led Lin Xi up to the second floor. It was even darker than the first. The first floor at least had a glass door, through which a little night light filtered in, spilling onto the floor. On the second floor, it was truly a dark witch sky. There was no lobby on the second floor. Once upstairs, there were only narrow corridors on both sides and a staircase leading to the third floor.
Lin Xi had seen the main building of the funeral home from outside before. It was only three stories high. Behind it were several different bungalow courtyards, presumably the farewell area. Further inside was the centralized incinerator. Behind the incinerator were the administrative area and the cafeteria. Further back were Lin Xi's dormitory building and the back hill.
The back hill is full of mausoleums, which are also managed by the funeral home. However, customers do not go to the hill through the administrative area, but choose to go through the side door next to the centralized incinerator.
The choice was to leave or continue to the mountain for burial. However, the incinerator was rarely used. Lin Xi had lived here for three days and had never seen smoke from the incinerator, but he often saw convoys coming in and out of the side door.
Ghosts probably won't be cremated.
Lin Xi couldn't understand why these ghosts would come to the funeral home and pretend to go through the process of sending off their loved ones. Lin Xi's little brain was rather dull, so she didn't understand and simply stopped thinking about it.
But that was too much. The focus now was on work. After Sister Sun and the other two reached the second floor, they barely hesitated before entering the left corridor. Lin Xi glanced at the sign above the entrance as she passed it. The three characters "Office" were particularly prominent. After spending so much time in the dark, Lin Xi could even see objects clearly through the faint light of the secret channel sign.
The three of them walked in front, and Lin Xi followed behind. They didn't stop until they reached the end of the corridor and could see the windows.
The corridor was lined with rooms on both sides, making it pitch dark. Uncle Li, who was walking in front, pushed open the door on the left side of the corridor and pressed the switch beside it. The lights in the room flickered a few times before turning on completely.
Sister Sun introduced at the right moment: "This is our duty room. After each patrol, you must come back here to rest. There is also a surveillance display in the duty room. Although it is always good and bad, it can more or less tell you what is happening outside."
Lin Xi took Sister Sun's words to heart. She'd said "all" instead of "anything," meaning this was also a hidden rule. During nighttime shifts, except during patrol hours, you weren't allowed to leave the duty room, or you'd be in danger. Lin Xi truly found the rules of the strange story so insidious. Many of them weren't explicitly stated, always sneaking up on you unexpectedly.
For example, during her first level, "Sweet Home," Lin Xi was kept in the dark about the rules. After she emerged, Cai Hua explained the rules to her, revealing that they involved gaps. If anyone approached a gap, they risked being taken away by the younger sister. Similarly, on the bus, the most important rule was announced over the announcement, with no mention of it on the posted bus rules.
Now, such important news was just said casually by Sister Sun. If we are not careful, it is very likely to be triggered.
Lin Xi asked: "What if I need to go to the toilet?"
She had just walked all the way here and didn't see the toilet, which meant that the toilet was not in this corridor at all. The toilet could be in the opposite corridor or on the first floor. When she was in the lobby, Lin Xi saw the sign for the toilet; in addition, it could also be on the third floor.
The toilet on the first floor is for guests. Logically, there should be another toilet for our own use, which is most likely to be in the opposite corridor or on the third floor.
But bathrooms are also a hotbed for strange stories. Lin Xi often encountered these kinds of ghost stories while reading novels: hands emerging from toilet bowls, pale fingers reaching out from the next stall when you forget to bring toilet paper, red high heels lingering at the door of your stall.
This is not a weird story at all, this is clearly Ningning’s food.
Uh, forget about that hand that came out of the toilet. It smells weird, and Lin Xi couldn't bear to see Shen Sang Ning eat it.
Facing Lin Xi's question, Sister Sun showed a secretive smile: "I advise you not to go. You should take care of it in your own dormitory in advance. After all, it's very dark outside, and the flashlight is running low. It would be bad if you accidentally fall. Of course, if you must go, you can call me and I will go with you. It will definitely be safer if there are two of us."
Where is it safe? Sister Sun, you are a ghost. Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if we call you?
Most importantly, Lin Xi didn't plan to feed her colleague to Ning Ning right now, so she politely declined: "No, I can go by myself. I can't come out of the bathroom when there are others here."
While they were chatting, they had already entered the duty room. The two people who had entered first also found a seat. Uncle Li occupied the seat closest to the monitor, holding a book and already reading. Xiao Zhao, on the other hand, sat in the corner, slumped in his chair, spinning a Rubik's Cube incessantly.
Sister Sun said, "Just sit anywhere. I'll call you when it's patrol time." She took a seat next to a coffee table, sat down, and began knitting with the wool on the table. Lin Xi didn't quite understand what she was knitting, but she saw it was a long strip, so she guessed she was knitting a scarf.
After the three of them sat down, there were not many seats left for Lin Xi, only two, one near the bed and one near the door.
These two positions were both high-risk, but after careful consideration, the window was the more dangerous. After a moment's hesitation, Lin Xi chose the one near the door. He couldn't choose the window on his first day. What if a ghost came from outside? Lin Xi would be exposed. To avoid being exposed as possessing a demon and having to silence his colleagues, Lin Xi had no choice but to choose this position. How would he survive in the funeral home for the next twenty-nine days if he was exposed?
Lin Xi was not doing this for his own safety, but for his colleagues.
After she chose a seat at the door, she looked up at her watch and saw that it was only 8:05. There were still nearly two hours before the patrol. She was not like Uncle Li who could read, Xiao Zhao who could play with the Rubik's Cube, or Sister Sun who could knit. She could only stare blankly.
Lin Xi crossed her legs, propped up her chin with one hand on the armrest of the chair, and placed her other hand horizontally across her chest in the elbow of the armrest. She looked like she was in a daze, but in fact she was playing the finger-entanglement game with Shen Sang Ning. While Lin Xi was in a daze, Shen Sang Ning's hand emerged from Lin Xi's chest, but because of her sitting posture, no one could see Shen Sang Ning's hand.
In a corner that no one noticed, Shen Sangning's finger gently poked Lin Xi's arm. Lin Xi pressed inward, trying to push Shen Sangning's finger back. But Shen Sangning thought Lin Xi was playing with her, so her finger stretched out further and further, sticking to Lin Xi's arm and moving forward. She stretched out her entire arm, sticking to Lin Xi's, and her finger slid to Lin Xi's palm.
Lin Xi glanced up at her three colleagues and shifted her sitting position. Her hand, tucked into her arm, pinched Shen Sang Ning's, and Shen Sang Ning's slightly pointed fingertips prodded hers. Her strength wasn't strong enough to hurt, but her nails were sharp, making a strong presence that Lin Xi couldn't ignore.
Lin Xi simply wrapped her hand around Shen Sangning's finger. Shen Sangning tried to pull back, but Lin Xi used a little force and she didn't pull back. Shen Sangning didn't really want to pull back. If she did, Lin Xi wouldn't be able to hold her finger.
The two of them were just playing around, and later, Shen Sangning became bolder, entwining her fingers with Lin Xi's. Lin Xi thought this action was a bit bold, so she moved her hand back a little, but she didn't expect to be entangled by Shen Sangning. Shen Sangning's fingers were a little cold, especially at night.
However, the three colleagues barely glanced at her, their minds focused on their own tasks. They weren't anxious to kill Lin Xi that night, to experience what it was like to be alive. They probably shared Lin Xi's thoughts: killing her like this would be awkward. They were also waiting, waiting for the right moment.
This strange situation made Lin Xi feel like he was having an affair in front of his colleagues.
——Strange, she and Shen Sangning are clearly a couple, how can she use the word "affair"!
Lin Xi's face turned a little red.
Although the colleagues on the other side could not see Lin Xi and Shen Sang Ning playing finger hooks, their big eyes faithfully recorded what Lin Xi did from a high angle. The live broadcast room fell into silence at the beginning, and then the barrage of comments exploded:
[It's worthy of being my favorite love variety show, it's really worth watching. 】
[To be honest, this scene is quite awkward. Too awkward. An arm extends from the chest, and then plays with Lin Xi...]
[It’s so exciting, "Colleagues face each other, Jun loves to steal". 】
[Hey guys, that person in front, hand over the network disk! Share the resources!]
[If nothing else, how did Lin Xi hold back?! Look at Ning Ning's fingers, so soft and clingy!]←
[It's really weird. In front of so many people in the live broadcast room, Lin Xi, you don't feel embarrassed at all!]
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