Chapter 2: The Face in the Basin
Wang Ming: “…”
The enthusiastic agent: “…”
“I mean, my name is Zhang Qiang!” the enthusiastic agent said, a little embarrassed.
“Brother Zhang,” Wang Ming nodded politely.
“Sure! We’re acquainted now. Just let me know if you have any problems. We focus on after-sales service and reputation. The apartment is good, no problems!” Zhang Qiang felt a warmth in his heart after being called “brother” and puffed out his chest confidently.
“But, if anything goes wrong… run,” Zhang Qiang added, his confidence vanishing as quickly as it appeared, sounding like a frightened quail.
Wang Ming: “…”
“Okay, no problem,” Wang Ming said.
Zhang Qiang walked Wang Ming to the storefront.
“Oh, I have another question,” Wang Ming said, just as he was about to leave, remembering something.
“Ask away, I’ll answer honestly,” Zhang Qiang readily replied.
“Why is your agency called ‘Jin Yu Liang Yuan’ (Golden Jade Good Match)?” Wang Ming looked at the storefront sign, puzzled, a question that had been on his mind since he first saw it.
Zhang Qiang: “…”
“Because before our boss bought it, it was a marriage agency,” Zhang Qiang leaned in and whispered.
“And, you know our boss is cheap, so he just changed a few words on the sign instead of paying for a new one,” Zhang Qiang said, rolling his eyes. He clearly didn’t like his stingy boss.
Wang Ming: “…”
Wow, Wang Ming thought, this boss has a similar philosophy to mine. It seems like fate brought me here.
Wang Ming bid farewell to Zhang Qiang, took his keys, and returned to his newly rented apartment.
Before heading home, he bought bedding, an electric kettle, a large pack of the cheapest instant noodles, a sturdy-looking basin, and a bar of soap from the nearby market. He felt ready to start his new life.
His previous temporary job had ended. Though he had been paid, he decided to save money until he found a new one.
After arriving home, Wang Ming boiled some water to test his new kettle and wash his hair to avoid wasting water.
Once the water was boiled, he poured it into the new basin and carried it to the cramped bathroom next to the tiny living room.
The bathroom was old. Even the overhead light was controlled by a pull string.
Wang Ming: “…”
Cheap things are no good, Wang Ming thought, pulling the string.
His grip was a little too strong, and the string snapped.
Wang Ming: “…”
My construction worker strength hasn’t gone away since I lost my job, he thought.
Despite the broken string, the light didn’t turn on. He fumbled in the dark bathroom until he found the sink.
The sink was cold and a bit stained, not very clean. But for Wang Ming, fresh from a construction site, this was nothing.
He placed the basin on the sink, turned on the tap in the dark, adding some cold water.
Used to conserving water, he turned the tap to a low flow.
In the cramped, dimly lit bathroom, the faint sound of running water echoed, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Wang Ming dipped his hand into the water. After a while, judging the temperature to be right, he turned off the tap and plunged his head into the basin.
His washing was rough. After wetting his short hair, he haphazardly applied soap and scrubbed vigorously, finally creating a head full of bubbles.
After scrubbing, he rinsed the bubbles out. Because of the soap, he kept his eyes mostly closed, splashing around in the basin before lifting his head to wipe the water from his face with the new towel.
Strangely, as he raised his head, just after wiping his face and opening his eyes, the previously unresponsive light bulb flickered and suddenly lit up.
Wang Ming was leaning slightly forward, his face towards the basin, drying his hair.
The light illuminated the basin in front of Wang Ming’s face.
Wang Ming saw another face in the basin.
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Chapter 3: Shower Time
The bathroom light lasted only a second before abruptly extinguishing, taking the face in the basin with it.
Did I imagine it? Wang Ming wondered.
He didn’t scream, and his pants remained respectably dry. Wang Ming wasn’t easily spooked by supernatural occurrences.
Probably just my reflection in the water, he concluded, adopting a scientific approach.
Though his eyes were slightly blurry from soap, and the bathroom light, even at its brightest, was weak, he vaguely noticed that the handsome face in the basin was slightly different from his own.
Maybe I’m just more handsome in night mode, Wang Ming thought with typical self-assured modesty.
After washing up, he dumped the soapy water, wrapped a towel around his neck, and left the eerie bathroom.
——
The day passed uneventfully. Wang Ming, as usual, first cleared space on his phone’s dwindling memory, then re-submitted his applications for jobs matching his qualifications.
Then, following his usual routine, he cleared his phone’s memory again and started watching online lectures.
Wang Ming came from a modest background. After graduating high school, he started working, and had been living independently for years. He was intelligent and always worked while pursuing self-education.
After studying for a while, his eyes felt tired, so he put down his phone and decided to take a nap.
As he drifted between sleep and wakefulness, he heard a faint, dripping sound, just as the enthusiastic agent had mentioned.
Wang Ming: “…”
He wasn’t completely uninterested. But he was too tired, so he decided to ignore it.
I’ll deal with it later, he thought, if it’s something, let it try to eat me.
With that, he fell fast asleep.
——
He woke up some time later. Looking at the uncurtained window, he saw that it was already dark outside.
He moved his limbs, checking for any discomfort, and found himself unharmed by any supernatural attacks.
Wang Ming: “…”
Maybe it was just an urban legend, he thought, jumping out of bed to take a shower.
Due to the cramped bathroom, his basin, soap, and towel were all in a corner of the bedroom.
Getting ready for a shower, he took the basin from the corner and went into the small space that served as the living room.
As he entered the main room with the basin, something felt wrong. He remembered turning off and fixing the bathroom light before going to bed.
Yet, the closed bathroom door showed a dim light emanating from within.
And… a faint dripping sound.
Wang Ming: “…”
Here comes the big one, he thought.
But he wasn’t afraid, and didn’t flee screaming, as Zhang Qiang had suggested.
Calmly, he entered the bathroom.
The light flickered, like the eyes of a beautiful girl.
What was strange was that he could clearly hear the sound of running water, yet the shower head was clearly off.
Wang Ming: “…”
This building is really thin, he thought, checking the time and realizing it was almost midnight.
Taking a shower this late? He admired the upstairs tenant’s dedication to cleanliness, thinking they’d be perfect neighbors if they were this clean even earlier in the night.
Thinking this, he picked up his basin and went to stand under the shower head.
Just as he approached, a blinding white flash filled his vision.
He saw a stunningly beautiful person standing under the shower.
But Wang Ming didn’t avert his gaze immediately, because the breathtakingly beautiful person was male.
As a man who had spent considerable time in northern Chinese bathhouses, Wang Ming felt that not immediately looking away wasn’t against public decency.
He went back to the sink, got a large bucket, filled it with hot water, grabbed a wobbly little stool from the corner of the bathroom, and sat down to soak his feet.
Since I can’t shower, soaking my feet is good for my health, he reasoned, considering that many people start practicing self-care in their twenties.
He started his foot soak. It was indeed relaxing.
An older guy at his construction site had told him that no matter how tired he was at night, soaking his feet before bed was relaxing and good for his health.
Wang Ming had remembered this advice and took advantage of every opportunity to do so, so he wasn’t bored, unlike many young people who wouldn’t even use the toilet without their phone, treating it as their lifeline.
Leaning on his hands, he soaked his feet for a while, almost falling asleep.
Then, he heard a thud – something fell nearby.
Wang Ming: “…”
He opened his eyes and didn’t see anything alarming, but he did see a bar of soap.
Wang Ming: “…”
He picked up the soap and handed it to the beautiful man, who had turned off the water and was bending to pick it up.
“You dropped this,” Wang Ming said.
The breathtakingly beautiful man: “…”
“You can see me?”
The beautiful man spoke, his deep, commanding voice somewhat at odds with his delicate features.
“Yeah,” Wang Ming nodded.
The breathtakingly beautiful man: “…”
“Then why didn’t you say anything half an hour ago?” The beautiful man frowned.
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