Noticing Jiang Chen's puzzled glance at her name badge, Sun Die hesitated and looked around several times. Only after making sure no one else was nearby did she whisper, "Don't tell anyone about this, or I could lose my job."
"We were actually only transferred here recently, so we haven't had time to change our uniforms or name badges. We're using the previous employees'."
"Our supervisor, Sister Wu, said the last batch of employees were fired for making a mistake, but everyone's been whispering that they weren't actually fired."
At that point, Sun Die stopped.
"Oh? If they weren't fired, what happened to them? Don't tell me they died," Jiang Chen said deliberately.
Sun Die stared at him without blinking. "You guessed that yourself. I didn't say anything."
Ding!
The notification sounded as the friend request was accepted. Sun Die froze, then saw Li Jie waving at her from a distance with a slight smile.
She hadn't expected to actually add a rich young man as a friend. Delighted, Sun Die told Jiang Chen, "One more warning. Once it gets dark, don't wander around outside. Go back to your room early and get some sleep."
"Don't sleep in any of the rooms near the lake. Make sure you lock your door, and preferably barricade it with something."
"Why?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Three days ago, a guest disappeared from a room by the lake. I got up early that day and saw scratches all over one room's outer wall, as though something had climbed up the wall and into the room."
"But Steward Zhang painted over those scratches afterward. Most people probably don't know about it."
"As for why you need to lock your door, an older housekeeper disappeared here not long ago. She used to work with me at a hotel owned by Zheng. She liked going into rooms after the guests left to take fancy toiletries and tissues."
"One night, she saw a door standing ajar and wanted to check whether the guest had left early, so she could be the first to go in and take things. But when she leaned against the crack to peek inside, she saw a female ghost who was soaking wet!"
"She ran back that night and told all of us about it. We didn't take it seriously. We just thought she was getting old and talking nonsense."
"Who would've thought she'd disappear the very next day!"
"What was even scarier was that, on the night after she disappeared, we were asleep when we heard what sounded like someone outside pushing at the door, trying to get in. Luckily, we'd locked our dorm door that night."
"When we got up the next morning, a coworker in the dorm next door was missing. Her roommates said they'd heard the door open and close that night, but hadn't heard anyone get out of bed."
"Do you know what that means..."
"Sun Die!" She was about to say more when a stern shout came from a distance. A middle-aged woman in a suit, who looked like a lobby manager, walked over.
"Sister Wu." Sun Die trembled in fright.
"Chatting during work hours, slacking off, bothering guests without permission-you've lost this month's bonus! Don't let me catch you doing it again!" Sister Wu had an imposing presence. After that brief reprimand, Sun Die could only lower her head and sheepishly return to sweeping.
Then Sister Wu turned to Jiang Chen. Her expression was unpleasant, but she still forced a professional smile. "Haha, please don't mind her, sir. These employees are all uncouth country girls who like to talk nonsense. I hope she hasn't disturbed your rest."
Clearly, the management at Zheng Family Manor was quite professional. They could lose their temper with their subordinates, but they had to greet guests with a smile.
"It's fine." Jiang Chen glanced at her, then turned to leave.
He didn't rush to defend Sun Die. At most, doing so would make the supervisor promise the guest that she wouldn't punish the employee. In reality, she would certainly carry out the decision she had already made.
Otherwise, her authority over the staff would be greatly diminished.
Once Jiang Chen had walked some distance away, he opened WeChat and sent Sun Die a red packet containing three thousand yuan to compensate her for the loss.
Then he glanced at the sky. It was already growing dark.
"Come on. Let's head back to the room."
Li Jie had already attracted the attention of two ghosts. Going back first would be safer.
In Guest Room 106, Jiang Xinyi had returned early to rest after dinner because she was carsick. She was half asleep when she suddenly heard a creak. It sounded as though her room's door had opened.
Who's back?
I locked the door. Why didn't I hear a key turning?
Puzzled, she rolled over in bed and looked toward the doorway.
The room's lights were off, but the corridor was lit, so the first thing Jiang Xinyi saw was a strip of light falling across the floor through the gap in the door. Then she looked up and saw a pair of furtive eyes, their corners covered in wrinkles.
"Who's there? The housekeeper?"
Thinking back, she remembered that an older housekeeper had indeed been bent over cleaning the corridor when she returned earlier. She relaxed. The woman might have pushed the door open by accident.
Jiang Xinyi pulled the covers over herself and tried to go back to sleep. But just as she closed her eyes, she noticed a detail that instantly drove away all her drowsiness.
Someone's standing in the doorway, so why do I remember that strip of light being unbroken? There wasn't any shadow from that woman!
She hesitated for a few seconds, then poked half her head out from beneath the covers and looked up.
The woman was still at the gap in the door, peering into the room with ill intent. And the strip of light on the floor... really was unbroken!
Jiang Xinyi's eyes widened as a chill rose from deep within her.
Then she remembered another terrifying detail. When the Mountain Villa's employees had come to welcome them earlier, most of the women had been fairly young. The oldest had been a woman who looked like a supervisor, but even she hadn't had any obvious wrinkles.
Steward Zhang had said the entire staff was there to welcome them. If he hadn't lied, that meant the woman outside the door wasn't a Mountain Villa employee at all!
Or had she been one before, but was dead now?
The more Jiang Xinyi thought about it, the more frightened she became. She clutched the covers tightly, her body trembling and her heart beating faster and faster.
"Anyone here?" the woman outside suddenly called. Her voice was dry and hoarse, with a hint of ill intent.
Jiang Xinyi didn't dare answer.
"Anyone here? Anyone here?"
The woman asked several times.
Finally, a trace of a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "If no one's here, I'm coming in!"
Jiang Xinyi's heart lurched. She was caught in a dilemma.
If she didn't answer, the woman would come in.
But if she answered, wouldn't she give herself away?
"Hehe, if the guest has left, I'll come in and take a few things..." The woman's smile deepened as she slowly pushed the door farther open.
Jiang Xinyi's heart pounded wildly. She realized the woman was staring straight at her on the bed. Could the thing she wanted to take be her head?
She felt as though she could no longer breathe. Overwhelming terror flooded her heart.
No! Don't come in!
Jiang Xinyi prayed desperately in her heart.
Just then, Jiang Chen, Li Jie, and Zhao Erhu arrived outside the guest room corridor.
Before you continue