Not caught.
Yang Chaoyu let out a silent sigh of relief.
But whether it was an illusion or not, the instant she stepped past the main gate, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart, making her hair stand on end.
It was clearly the height of summer, yet the wind blowing past felt chilly.
The tree shadows swayed, and something seemed to be hiding in the dark corners, peering at Yang Chaoyu.
Yang Chaoyu drew in a sharp breath, feeling an urge to retreat.
Just as she took a step backward, someone suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder.
“!”
She nearly jumped, turning around warily, only to see a man. In the darkness, she could barely make out his features.
Just as she thought this, the scene before her suddenly brightened.
The young man turned on his flashlight and grinned. When he saw Yang Chaoyu’s face, his eyes lit up.
“Hi, young lady. Are you here for the interview too?”
He had rather delicate features; it was just that the lighting was terrible.
Yang Chaoyu shifted the flashlight to one side. “Don’t shine it upward from below. It’s scary.”
“Oh.”
Somewhat embarrassed, he pointed the flashlight at the ground.
Seeing his slightly aggrieved expression, Yang Chaoyu held back for a moment before adding, “When taking pictures of people at night, you need to make some sounds from the realm of the living first, got it?”
“Oh, you’re supposed to do that too? Sorry.” He scratched the back of his head. “I practice physical performance, so my body is relatively light, I guess.”
Since he had apologized, Yang Chaoyu said nothing more.
Perhaps because she now had company, that pervasive chill diminished considerably.
Yang Chaoyu asked him when he had arrived.
He said he had arrived a long time ago but had not seen anyone. He continued grumbling, saying that there was not even anyone to lead the way for the interview; it clearly showed a lack of sincerity, and he might as well not come.
Yang Chaoyu said flatly, “A hundred thousand yuan. Can you afford to pay it?”
He immediately fell silent.
“If not for that hundred thousand, I wouldn’t want to come either.” Yang Chaoyu sighed, then asked, “Do you know where 06-02-1302 is?”
The young man shook his head.
The two of them looked at each other, both utterly bewildered. Perhaps to ease the awkwardness, the young man began introducing himself.
“My name is Ke Xingyun. I’m a new student in the arts department at A university.”
Yang Chaoyu: What a tender little flower bud.
“Yang Chaoyu, an unemployed drifter.”
She felt her face grow a little hot, so she pointed toward the residential complex’s main gate and said there was usually a public map posted for people to find their way out during fires or earthquakes.
Ke Xingyun nodded, then followed her toward the sign.
When they passed the security room, Yang Chaoyu glanced inside subconsciously. She felt that a black shadow had just flashed past in there. Her heart jumped, and she decided it had only been a trick of the eye.
The surroundings were so dark. How could she possibly see one patch of black within another?
Fortunately, there was a map posted on the sign.
The residential complex had eighteen residential buildings in total, divided into three large sections. Based on the information they had been given, 06-02-1302 should mean Building Six, Unit Two, floor Thirteen, Room Two.
She shared her guess, and Ke Xingyun nodded. “That should be right.”
“Then let’s go to Building Six first.”
As she spoke, she pointed toward the area behind the property management building. The six buildings were arranged in three rows in the shape of the character "two"; Building Six was at the end, in the upper-right corner of the map.
She was not directionally challenged, and Ke Xingyun obediently followed behind her like a child.
From the main gate, everything looked pitch-black, but after entering and turning past the property management lobby, they found sparse streetlamps. They were not very bright, but they still made the place feel safer. Yang Chaoyu was still somewhat afraid, however, so she chatted with Ke Xingyun to dispel the fear.
But…
“Wow, the atmosphere here is really Supernatural. It reminds me of a ghost story I once heard. It said that when walking alone at night, if someone calls your name, you must never turn around. If you do, you’ll be left there forever. Yang Chaoyu~”
As he called out in that strange, sing-song voice, the flashlight beam swayed back and forth.
Yang Chaoyu: It was already scary enough, but why do I suddenly want to beat this brat to death after hearing the last part?
“Stop talking. Hold the flashlight properly and watch where you’re going.”
“Yes, Sister Yu.”
The first floors of these buildings all had black floor-to-ceiling windows, which presumably had some kind of one-way viewing function. During the day, people outside could not see in. But after the lights came on at night, it was also difficult for people inside to see outside.
Yang Chaoyu studied those patches of light, feeling that something was wrong.
After passing Building Six, they arrived at Building Six. Standing at the entrance of Unit Two, Yang Chaoyu stared at the closed building entrance door, feeling troubled.
“How do we get in?” she asked hesitantly. “In a high-end residential complex like this, the building entrance door usually requires access control, right…”
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Ke Xingyun walk over and pull open the building entrance door.
Yang Chaoyu: Forget I said anything.
The hallway was brightly lit, with an elevator on either side. One displayed that it was going up, while the other was stopped on the first floor.
After pressing the button to call the elevator, Ke Xingyun stepped inside.
Watching him wave her over, Yang Chaoyu was very afraid of the sort of sudden elevator malfunction that happened in movies.
“What are you thinking about? Hurry up and come in.”
She glanced to the side and saw the other elevator descending.
Because she was not from this residential complex, she subconsciously did not want any residents to see her. She quickly stepped into the elevator where Ke Xingyun was. But as soon as the elevator started moving, she realized where that earlier sense of incongruity had come from…
The residents.
Although it was deep into the night, with so many buildings, so many homes, and so many windows, not a single window showed even the slightest light!
All the Building Six structures they had just passed were pitch-black, as if they were about to collapse.
But she quickly calmed down.
The driver had said that many residents had moved away. Perhaps those who remained were all Elderly People who went to bed early?
Ke Xingyun, however, said as if in passing, “Hmm, this place feels like it’s been abandoned for a long time.”
Yang Chaoyu turned to look at him. “Why do you say that?”
“Although there’s no trash on the ground, everything is covered in dust. The landscaping plants have grown luxuriantly, but most of them are weeds. Most importantly, there isn’t even a trace of odor near the trash bins.”
Yang Chaoyu had spent the entire journey trying to dispel her fear and had not noticed any of these details.
“Really? I didn’t notice.”
“You did notice, Sister. Otherwise, why would you be so afraid?”
Yang Chaoyu looked at him and saw the young man smiling shyly, though his words were firm.
“People, like animals, possess an ability to predict danger. They are sensitive to smells, vibrations, and temperature, allowing them to sense disasters before they arrive. But people are different. Our brains have a powerful ability to organize information. Although our five senses are not quite as sensitive, we can unconsciously organize details and infer how things will develop. That is why many women can quickly notice when their husbands are cheating.”
Yang Chaoyu was somewhat stunned, unsure what to say.
“Then… thank you for the explanation?”
Ke Xingyun shook his head. “I noticed so many details before reaching that conclusion, but you only needed your intuition. That’s impressive.”
“?”
Yang Chaoyu did not understand.
They had not seen anyone else along the way and had assumed it would be just the two of them. Yet when they reached the door of Room 1302 in Building Six, Unit Two, four pairs of eyes stared straight at them.
At this moment, Ke Xingyun became timid again and subconsciously hid behind Yang Chaoyu.
Yang Chaoyu faced the four people directly, swallowed, and asked, “interview candidates?”