The Boy Who Could See (4)

The office fell into silence. Qian Xiaoyi had initially thought this guy might have seen something terrifying at night and came to him for help, or perhaps a friend of his encountered a supernatural event and needed advice on how to handle it.

If it wasn't too much trouble, Qian Xiaoyi, feeling he had nothing better to do, would have been willing to help. But he never expected this fellow was here to apply for a job. He couldn't even support himself, and he still hadn't figured out next year's rent, so how could he afford to hire anyone? Moreover, the applicant was just a green kid. If something went wrong, he couldn't take responsibility.

"Go back." Qian Xiaoyi lit a cigarette and held it in his mouth, not smoking, just letting it burn quietly.

"Huh?" Inuyama Heita looked up, trying to argue, "But..."

"No buts." Qian Xiaoyi replied curtly, "I don't need any help here. I understand the mindset of someone your age. During puberty, self-awareness swells, and you always think you're the chosen one. When you encounter unusual things, you want to delve deeper. I get it, we've all been through that age. But unfortunately, reality isn't like an anime for kids. The world doesn't need a high school student to save it. I have no obligation to hire a kid with no experience, even if you have clairvoyant eyes. Go back."

After saying all that, Qian Xiaoyi's biggest thought was actually that he was broke and didn't want to reveal the pathetic fact that he had no business. If he had plenty of work, he would have gladly hired someone for odd jobs, but unfortunately, there were no real clients.

"Please, I'll do anything, even odd jobs. I won't cause you any trouble. I really need money right now," Inuyama Heita said.

"I need it too..." Qian Xiaoyi thought to himself. He tapped the ash into the ashtray and then asked, "What do you need money for?"

"Food expenses, and tuition fees," Inuyama Heita replied.

"What about your parents? Don't they give you any?"

Inuyama Heita calmly said, "My mother passed away from illness when I was young. My father disappeared a few years ago. All he left behind was an apartment."

Qian Xiaoyi felt a headache coming on. He had seen the kid scrambling for half-price bentos just like him, so he knew his family situation wasn't good. But he never expected it to be this dire. He asked again, "Then how have you been living until now?"

Inuyama Heita replied, "My grandmother in the countryside sends me some money every year, and I also work part-time."

"So, you have a job. Why don't you continue?" Qian Xiaoyi asked.

"I was suddenly startled after I started seeing ghosts, and my unusual behavior often caused trouble at the store, scaring customers," Inuyama Heita explained simply. "Then the manager fired me, so none of my jobs lasted very long."

Qian Xiaoyi looked at the unlucky kid and sighed, "Alright, I lied earlier. Actually, I've been running this shop in Tokyo for three months and haven't received a single real client. I have no money to hire anyone." He dropped the pretense and admitted it: he was poor.

Inuyama Heita's eyes widened. "But... didn't you say your abilities are stronger than many famous psychics? How come no one is looking for you?"

Qian Xiaoyi sneered, cynical. "Young man, this is the sad reality of society. People who are good at talking often get further than those with real skills. Outsiders only see the surface and can't grasp the substance. Otherwise, why would I have met you at the half-price bento stall?"

"..." Inuyama Heita's eyes lost their luster. With not a single cent in his pocket, he didn't even know where his next meal would come from. He was even considering whether to take out a high-interest loan to get by for a while.

Just then, his stomach rumbled loudly.

Qian Xiaoyi looked at him with a strange expression. "Didn't you eat breakfast? Ran out of money? Was the money you were robbed of yesterday all you had left?"

"Mm..." Inuyama Heita nodded awkwardly.

"Tsk." Qian Xiaoyi got up, took a cup of instant noodles from under the table, and threw it onto the table. "Eat this. It's all I have. The water dispenser is over there."

"I..." Inuyama Heita was about to refuse, but thinking he might not have anything to eat later and still had to look for work in the afternoon, he hesitantly took the cup noodles. "I'll pay you back."

Qian Xiaoyi shrugged. It was just a cup of noodles, and it was on sale, close to its expiration date.

The aroma of instant noodles immediately filled the entire office. As Inuyama Heita ate, he secretly glanced at Qian Xiaoyi. The latter seemed to be playing on his phone, not paying him any attention. Inuyama Heita felt a bit embarrassed. Not only did he come without a thank-you gift, but he also got a free cup of noodles, causing Qian Xiaoyi a lot of trouble. It made him feel restless.

With that thought, he sped up his eating, intending to leave immediately after finishing and never return. Once he earned money, he would send it back along with a gift.

At that moment, Qian Xiaoyi's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Hey, Heitaro, I have a job here. Want it?"

"It's Heita..." Inuyama Heita looked up, asking cautiously, "What kind of job? Didn't you just say..."

Qian Xiaoyi waved his phone. "Not from me. I have a friend in Tokyo. I just asked him, and he can arrange for you to work at a Chinese restaurant he owns. They get a lot of customers every day and are short-handed. The working hours are weekday evenings during meal times, and all day on weekends. You get paid daily. How about it? Interested?"

Inuyama Heita stared blankly at Qian Xiaoyi, looking confused.

"Hey, are you stunned?" Qian Xiaoyi waved his hand in front of him. "Or do you not want to do it?"

"Why... why are you helping me like this? Not just last night, but now too..." Inuyama Heita asked, puzzled. "We've only met once, and we're strangers. This is very strange, isn't it?"

"Strange?" Qian Xiaoyi also looked confused. "I didn't do anything, did I? I just sent a text message to ask. It's a small favor, is that strange?"

"It is strange," Inuyama Heita nodded. "In Tokyo, I've never met anyone like you."

"Although this might sound rude..." Qian Xiaoyi put out his half-burnt cigarette in the ashtray and said, "This is just a normal gesture. Helping out a kid who's at his wit's end. So, the strange one isn't me, but this overly indifferent city, and you people living here. Before I came here, I never knew people's hearts could be so numb and repressed. Ghosts and spirits are everywhere; it's practically a paradise for exorcists."

Hearing this, Inuyama Heita was stunned.

"So, are you doing it or not? If not, forget it," Qian Xiaoyi said impatiently.

"Yes! I'll do it!" Inuyama Heita said excitedly. He didn't even have money for food, so there was no reason to give up this lifeline.

Afterward, Qian Xiaoyi wrote down the address and phone number of the restaurant for him. He then ushered Inuyama Heita out amidst his profuse thanks.

"Hoo~ Talking to Japanese people is such a pain. Even kids are so roundabout," Qian Xiaoyi sat back down and leisurely scrolled through his phone to pass the time. The reason he helped the high school student was simply that he didn't want to see him die in some dark corner. After all, if he had ignored the kid, what would this penniless, unemployed boy with clairvoyant eyes do? The answer was obvious: he would definitely use that talent to profit. And the consequences for such a rookie acting rashly would be harming himself and others, without exception.

Time passed. Today was another poor and leisurely day at the Lingkong Exorcism Office.