fictionpage Chapter 89 Don't try to scam me!
Chapter 89 Don't try to scam me!
Chen Shi always said he didn't mind living in the office, but that was just him being stubborn and trying to maintain a certain persona.
Sleeping in the office is a makeshift affair, and washing and daily life are all done in a haphazard way. There is absolutely no private space, and it's incredibly stifling.
He only made do because he had nowhere else to go at the moment.
So after confirming that the haunted house was ineffective against him, he immediately decided that he had to move in as soon as possible.
Sun Tiemei originally wanted to be on the safe side and planned to wait for Zhuang Wen to come and thoroughly inspect the place to eliminate any potential problems before moving in.
But Chen Shi was already carried away and didn't care at all.
"Let's stay here and see how it goes. If there are any problems, we can ask Teacher Zhuang to come and investigate."
Sun Tiemei considered it for a moment, then thought that there was no real danger, so she acquiesced to his idea and took out her phone to call Director Zhang.
On the other end of the phone, Director Zhang even advised, "Why don't you reconsider? This is no joke."
Before Sun Tiemei could reply, Chen Shi quickly moved closer to the phone: "Uncle Zhang, no need to think about it anymore, this is the one. It feels great."
Seeing Chen Shi's resolute attitude, Director Zhang did not try to persuade him further. He was efficient and completed the formalities through someone that evening, and Chen Shi successfully obtained the keys.
The next morning, Chen Shi hired a housekeeper to clean his house. The standard cleaning service fee was 600 yuan, and the housekeeper, after glancing around the house, felt she had gotten a good deal.
It's just an empty house, maybe a bit dusty, and it doesn't look like there's much hard work to be done, so this money is easy to earn.
In fact, the aunt was overthinking it.
The brand-new toilet brush broke after only a few strokes. While mopping the floor, she took a couple of backward steps and ended up falling hard on her bottom. The scariest thing was cleaning the windows; the glass shattered while she was cleaning, and luckily the cleaning lady reacted quickly and grabbed the window frame, otherwise she might have fallen out.
When it was time to wrap up work, the auntie was very embarrassed and kept apologizing to Chen Shi, saying that it was because she was not in good condition and that Chen Shi should not doubt the business capabilities of their company.
Chen Shi was actually embarrassed, but he didn't dare tell anyone the truth. So he gave the aunt an extra two hundred yuan, lest her confidence in doing the work be shattered.
So the house's bad luck doesn't discriminate between ordinary people and those with superpowers; it's just immune to Chen Shi. Anyone else who enters is doomed.
This house has a built-in deterrent effect. Just thinking about how his colleagues or friends would suffer if they wanted to come over makes Chen Shi's scalp tingle.
In the afternoon, Fatty offered to help him move. As the two carried their luggage and belongings to the apartment entrance, Chen Shi kindly advised Fatty not to go inside.
The fat man immediately became unhappy: "What do you mean? I came all this way in this sweltering heat to help you move, and you won't even let me in the door? You won't even give me a drink of water, where's your conscience?!"
"I'm really doing this for your own good," Chen Shi earnestly advised him. "This house is very unlucky; it's easy to have bad luck if you go in."
"Are you trying to fool me? Look at how stingy you are." The fat man didn't believe him at all and stepped inside.
Chen Shi couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he simply let him go.
Within minutes, a series of unexpected events occurred.
The fat man poured himself a drink of water, choked, and coughed violently, tears streaming down his face. He got up to help move some things, tripped for no apparent reason, and fell hard. Then he went to the toilet, only to find the water had suddenly stopped, leaving him quite embarrassed.
Several incidents in quick succession made the chubby man, who had been grinning just moments before, turn tail and run.
That evening, Chen Shi treated the entire fifth group to dinner as a housewarming celebration.
During the meal, Director Liu called and, having heard that Chen Shi had moved into the haunted house, advised him to move out immediately and not take any risks.
Chen Shi was too lazy to explain further and shouted, "Director Liu, the signal at this hotel is too bad, I can't hear you very well." Then he hung up the phone.
During the meal, Su Xiaohe suggested that they organize a group to visit his house for a housewarming party sometime, but Chen Shi quickly declined. Su Xiaohe was initially a little unhappy, but when she turned around and saw that the chubby guy, who usually loved to join in the fun, was now looking frightened, she immediately realized that there might be something strange about the house.
After the dinner ended, everyone went their separate ways. Chen Shi and Sun Tiemei now lived in the same neighborhood, so he naturally hitched a ride with her.
Chen Shi opened the door and entered the room, where a pile of luggage was scattered all over the floor, making a mess.
He was exhausted today and had no energy to tidy up, so he decided to postpone it until the weekend.
After a quick wash, he lay down on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
After the lottery station incident, Chen Shi's dreams became remarkably repetitive. They were always of a scene resembling a community service center, with densely packed lines and a crowd of people surrounding him, pleading for help.
I still had a dream tonight, but the dream was different.
The entire dream was empty, surrounded by pure white. He lay on a large white bed, and then an old man with a white beard slowly walked over, glanced at him, and gave him a kind smile: "You've come?"
These words sound gentle, yet they carry a strange sense of destiny, making anyone think of the old man with the ring in a fantasy novel.
But Chen Shi didn't care about that. He now maintained a basic level of wariness towards any old man who tried to strike up a conversation with him: "Excuse me, sir, do I know you? This isn't some new kind of staged accident scam, is it?"
The old man paused slightly, then looked at him with a wry smile: "What do you mean by faking an accident? I was just feeling lonely by myself, and I thought you were a good match, so I wanted to chat with you for a bit."
Chen Shi didn't believe it for a second: "Just because you feel a connection with someone, you want to chat with them in your dreams? I advise you not to try that. I just started working here, I don't have anything for you to extort. Besides, I work for the Supernatural Abilities Bureau, I have connections."
The old man was amused by his words and said helplessly, "You're too guarded, kid. I really didn't mean anything by it, and I don't want anything from you. To be honest, this house is mine, and it's only you who suits my taste. I wouldn't bother with anyone else."
Chen Shi was stunned, then realized what he meant: "Who are you trying to fool? This is your house? I went through the proper procedures from the bureau. Don't try to extort money from me just because I was in your dream. I know the law."
The old man was finally silenced by Chen Shigan, and it took him a long time to speak again.
"I really didn't try to scam you."
Chen Shi was skeptical: "Uncle, let me tell you, breaking the law in your dreams is still breaking the law. Don't even think about trying to extort me. My salary is so low; after deducting performance bonuses, there's hardly anything left. There's really no way to make a quick buck."
The old man was completely convinced and spread his hands, saying, "I was just bored. This house has been empty for several years. I just liked you and wanted to find a compatible young person to chat with."
But Chen Shi still didn't get it. After thinking for a while, he actually sat up, looking like he'd been taken advantage of: "Wait, so I'm supposed to keep them company while they chat tonight? How long will that be? An hour or the whole night? Is there a fee?"
"Get lost." The old man finally snapped and stormed off.
Chen Shi didn't take it seriously at all. "In my dream, how could you possibly take advantage of me?"
So he went back to sleep.
But in the actual room, no one saw the faint airflow gathering from all directions, gently brushing against the hairs on Chen Shi's fingertips.
Countless tiny, invisible energies slowly flowed into his body through his pores.