NHWSG chapter 3

In the next half-hour, Sheng Zhao was forced to stand in the first-floor lobby, listening to the “Manager Li” talk eloquently about the habits of the “seventh-floor resident.”

By the end, he was so dazed that he almost forgot he was here for a job interview and not a blind date.

“But actually, there’s not much to pay attention to,” Manager Li concluded this one-sided speech, “He usually doesn’t come out. I’ve been working here for three years and haven’t seen him leave the door once.”

—Oh, Sheng Zhao mentally checked: A shut-in.

“So, your job is just to deliver three meals a day to him,” Manager Li said. “You don’t need to arrange anything; usually, he orders takeout himself. You just need to deliver it upstairs.”

“Takeout?” Sheng Zhao asked. “There’s an elevator; shouldn’t the delivery be made to the doorstep?”

“This brings me to the second thing I need to explain to you,” Manager Li said sternly. “You must remember, aside from the residents of this building, do not let any outsiders in.”

“Huh?” Sheng Zhao asked. “No outsiders at all?”

“All of them,” Manager Li repeated, “Whether it’s takeout or any other person, if they’re not on the bulletin board, they are not allowed in.”

Fine, Sheng Zhao thought. Although the service wasn’t great, at least the security work was surprisingly serious.

“Got it,” Sheng Zhao said. “But if I may ask, who lives on the seventh floor?”

Strictly speaking, he could be considered your boss,” Manager Li gestured from top to bottom and said, “Because he owns this building, and the others are tenants.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

In an instant, Sheng Zhao had a sudden realization.

Delivering meals to the boss, guarding the entrance—nicely put, it’s a property manager; bluntly put, it’s a secretary plus security! No wonder they provide accommodation; which security doesn’t get accommodation!

No wonder they only need one person for this job. Looking at the job description, it seems like some rich boss wants someone to deliver meals and guard the entrance daily, and maybe “manage” other tenant requests. It’s not that they need a team; just one person is enough.

The life of a wealthy person is so carefree. Sheng Zhao, with only 528.6 yuan left in his Alipay, felt a bit melancholic.

He wanted to ask more about Mr. “Xing,” but before he could speak, Manager Li glanced at the time and sighed.

“It’s almost time. I have to leave,” Manager Li said, quickly searching his few pockets and handing a bunch of keys and two access cards to Sheng Zhao.

Manager Li’s movements were swift, patting Sheng Zhao’s shoulder and leaving with a parting phrase, “Work well, young man, you have a promising future.” He turned and left without giving Sheng Zhao any time to react.

Sheng Zhao: “…?”

Confused, Sheng Zhao stood in the first-floor lobby for a good five minutes before belatedly realizing that he had officially started his new job.

What’s going on? He was puzzled. The guy just left him with all this work, and he didn’t even mention when he would get paid or how the salary would be paid.

Sheng Zhao lowered his head and looked at the things in his hands. The bunch of keys was fine; each key had a small sticker indicating which room it was for. The other two cards—one was an access card for the neighboring community, and the other, which Sheng Zhao hadn’t seen before, was a pure black card with a gold border. It felt cold and smooth, quite different from common plastics or PVC, almost like jade but much lighter.

Sheng Zhao absentmindedly put away the two cards, used the key to open the door of Room 103, placed his bag at the entrance, and then circled the first-floor lobby.

Although Manager Li had explained his “job responsibilities,” Sheng Zhao still had no idea what to do. He was contemplating whether to call Manager Li back to discuss the salary issue when he saw something flash in the corner of his eye.

Subconsciously, he turned his head and saw a delivery guy in a blue uniform standing outside the glass door, peering inside. When the delivery guy noticed him, he quickly waved.

—No way, Sheng Zhao thought. Is he starting the job so soon?

At the same time, a half-open window on the seventh floor was blown wide open by the wind. The window frame gently bumped against the cement balcony, causing a small canned bottle on the balcony to fall. It was about to shatter on the ground when a well-defined hand reached out in time, catching the bottle.

Inside the bottle, two snails made a clattering sound as they collided. Xing Yingzhu, with a casual glance at the two, casually placed the canned bottle back on the windowsill.

His gaze casually swept outside the window, and he saw a chubby figure walking along the small path in front of the building. The person turned around halfway and looked back. Seeing Xing Yingzhu by the window, the person shivered and quickly hastened his steps away.

Xing Yingzhu was aware of the new property manager coming today. Li Shan, getting old this year, couldn’t continue this job, and he had informed Xing Yingzhu half a month ago that he was looking for someone to replace him. Unfortunately, finding the right person was challenging, and it took a full half month to find someone just before Li Shan’s resignation deadline.

Xing Yingzhu never interfered in the replacement of staff matters. For him, it didn’t matter whether the one delivering meals was male or female, fat or thin; he didn’t care much—after all, the property manager couldn’t be eaten.

But this time, the person who came seemed a bit better than the previous few waves, at least not unpleasant, Xing Yingzhu thought.

Xing Yingzhu stood by the window for a short while. Lazily leaning against the wall, he appeared as if he were taking a nap.

However, the noon sunlight was scorching, making people feel irritated. Xing Yingzhu quickly became impatient, frowned, and, twisting his eyebrows, nudged the can with snails into the shadow. Lazily and indolently supporting himself, he walked back into the room.

The three rooms on the seventh floor had already been connected by Xing Yingzhu. It wasn’t clear how he managed it; even load-bearing walls had been smashed. He turned the entire seventh floor into a brightly lit and spacious flat.

Half of the room had normal room decor, with typical furniture like sofas, TVs, and refrigerators. The other half was entirely open and transformed into a large bathroom-like space. It was unclear how he did it, but on that side of the floor, he had dug out a bathtub about three meters square.

The bathtub seemed to have a circulating water system, with bubbles popping up on the pool wall. The water flowed layer by layer towards the edge, creating white foam.

In just a few steps, Xing Yingzhu had already taken off most of his clothes. He casually tossed his T-shirt aside, stepped on the rippling water waves, and entered the bathtub.

He sighed comfortably in the chilly pool water, closed his eyes, and leaned against the pool wall.

Outside the first-floor hall, the delivery guy seemed eager to move on to the next delivery. Seeing Sheng Zhao in a daze, he furrowed his brows, once again reaching out to press the doorbell outside.

Sheng Zhao hastily snapped back to reality, walked to the door, and opened the glass door.

The delivery guy held a paper box with Japanese-style patterns, politely asking, “Excuse me, is this Room 701? Did Mr. Xing order takeout?”

“Yes.” Sheng Zhao, still not very familiar with his “duties,” stammered, “Uh, give it to me.”

The delivery guy, probably accustomed to delivering in this area, knowing that no outsiders were allowed in this building, handed the paper box to Sheng Zhao without asking much.

Subconsciously reaching out to take it, Sheng Zhao’s force was a bit too strong. His right index finger accidentally scraped against the edge of the box cover, leaving a bloodstain right on the edge.

Sheng Zhao frowned, hissing, and instinctively pulled back his hand.

“Oh.” The delivery guy was startled, not expecting such an occurrence. He quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t pay attention.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Sheng Zhao said, waving his hand and using one hand to support the paper box, accepting it.

For some reason, Sheng Zhao had been prone to accidents since childhood, from cutting himself accidentally to stumbling along the way, the “disasters” involving blood never seemed to stop. Fortunately, they were never too serious, and he had become accustomed to them.

He sent the delivery guy away, pondered over the paper box in his hands, sighed deeply, and, with a brave face, headed towards the elevator.

Although he was confused about his new job, at least this was his “main job content,” and he couldn’t just not do it. Besides, he was a bit curious himself and wanted to see what kind of person the wealthy boss was, who hired someone specifically to deliver meals.

—If he turns out to be unreliable, I can still run away now, Sheng Zhao thought.

The elevator wobbled and stopped on the seventh floor. Sheng Zhao held the takeout box as if cradling something fragile, carefully placing it level, and stepped out of the elevator, cautiously looking around.

The layout on the seventh floor didn’t seem much different from the first floor. The residential doors on both sides of the corridor were sealed with cement, leaving only the one in the middle.

This door looked ordinary, similar to a regular apartment door with no gold borders or extravagant features like those of a domineering CEO.

Sheng Zhao’s nervousness eased a bit. He intended to make a good first impression on his future boss, so he mentally encouraged himself, took a deep breath, suppressed his inner tension, and stood confidently in front of the door. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Five seconds later, the door opened from inside. Sheng Zhao almost reflexively put on a polite plastic smile, raised his head to speak, but when his eyes fell on the man in front of him, he was stunned. For a moment, his mind was blank, leaving only one thought.

—Extremely handsome!