Previously, Qi Min was working in the back kitchen as the main prep staff, alongside Zhang Dingwen.
When Qi Min was in charge of prep, his job mainly involved endlessly making fried chicken and burgers, probably the busiest position in the store. Sometimes, they handled close to a thousand orders a day.
Later, the manager noticed his good appearance and transferred him to the front counter to work as a cashier and server.
Zhang Dingwen’s shifts were usually in the morning. The busiest time was right when the store opened at six.
Before opening, he had to defrost chicken drumsticks and wings, prepare marinades, clean breakfast utensils, and make mashed potatoes and drinks. However, after the morning rush, his workload became lighter.
Normally, he was supposed to help with the main prep work, but he never assisted Qi Min.
After finishing his own tasks, Zhang Dingwen would sneak off to play on his phone in the surveillance blind spots.
He’d go to the storage room for a drink, wander around the cold storage, or spend an extended amount of time in the bathroom.
Sometimes, he’d disappear for half a day, and Qi Min had to step in and prepare drinks for him.
But this kind of slacking off was common among senior staff. There used to be a girl in the back kitchen who worked even harder, yet she also occasionally slacked off.
However, Zhang Dingwen was particularly annoying because while he indulged in slacking, he would immediately report others to the manager if he caught them slacking—even if it was just playing with their phone during a quiet period.
Qi Min rarely slacked off, so he never got reported.
Perhaps because Qi Min often helped him, Zhang Dingwen felt a bit embarrassed about it.
Since they worked together every day, their relationship was generally polite and amicable.
After about a month, Qi Min was transferred to the front counter to work as a cashier, and they no longer interacted.
Although working in the back kitchen paid a slightly higher hourly wage, it was exhausting. He had to deal with hot oil fryers, and by the end of the shift, he’d be covered in grease, reeking of fried chicken and marinade.
The cashier position, on the other hand, was less taxing. It involved handling payments, taking orders, calling out orders, and providing service. Other than dealing with impatient customers, the job was relatively straightforward.
However, this kind of work was typically assigned to female staff, and men rarely got the chance.
Huang Xinrui had joined a few months earlier than Qi Min. During a staffing shortage, she had also worked in the back kitchen and was likely reported by Zhang Dingwen.
Zhang Dingwen wasn’t particular about oral hygiene and had severe dental calculus, with noticeably yellow teeth.
Out of new and old grievances, people had given him a nickname based on this.
“Sigh… I just wanted to earn some pocket money. I thought being a server would be easy, but this job is exhausting…”
“Not only do we rarely get breaks, but we often have to multitask. And then there are colleagues like him… I’m probably quitting after this summer break.”
“What about you, Qi Min? Are you staying?”
“We’ll see.”
This store was close to his school and offered relatively high hourly pay, so it was a practical option.
Oh, there was also a McDonald’s across the street, but in Qi Min’s eyes, the work was no different.
In society, there are people like Zhang Dingwen everywhere.
At least Zhang Dingwen was upfront about it. Although his comments were annoying, Qi Min didn’t consider him much of a threat—not even a bother.
Moreover, now that Qi Min was at the front counter, they had no interactions.
Hearing Qi Min’s answer, Huang Xinrui seemed a bit disappointed.
“…I wanted to recommend a job to you. My uncle has a clothing store in East City selling men’s clothing and shoes. He happens to need a salesperson.”
“You’re so good-looking; you’d definitely sell a lot! You’d earn more than here, and it’s not tiring. You could just sit and relax when there are no customers!”
Qi Min thought for a moment but declined. “I’d better not. East City is too far from my school. I still have classes, so I probably wouldn’t have the time. Besides, I’m not good with words. I’m okay as a server, but I’m not sure I could sell clothes.”
“Haha! With your looks, all you’d have to do is stand there in the store’s clothes. You wouldn’t even need to say anything—people would buy them!”
Despite her insistence, Huang Xinrui didn’t push further when Qi Min declined. She dropped the topic.
Just then, a customer came to order fries, tacos, a Coke, and a sundae, so the two got busy again.
Qi Min hadn’t eaten lunch, so during a lull before the dinner rush, he asked Huang Xinrui to take over while he went to the break room for a meal.
Before and after breaks, staff had to clock in and out, as break time wasn’t included in work hours.
Qi Min scanned his fingerprint and ordered a $12 chicken leg meal from the team leader.
Employees at the restaurant could purchase discounted meals, typically at 50% off, and a $20 budget was enough to eat their fill. However, the options were limited.
Other than chicken leg meals, the usual choices were plain chicken, burgers, Coke, and mixed fruit juice.
After working in the back kitchen for a while, Qi Min had developed an aversion to the smell of fried chicken and burgers. He also didn’t like Coke or fruit juice, so he always just ordered the chicken leg meal.
Since the restaurant specialized in fried chicken, even the regular chicken legs were juicy and flavorful.
After enjoying his meal in the break room, Qi Min wiped his mouth and returned to the counter, right on time after his 15-minute break.
Then it was Huang Xinrui’s turn to eat.
The cycle continued until 10 p.m., when Yun Linyan arrived for the night shift, allowing Qi Min to leave.
Although Qi Min had said earlier he had no plans to switch jobs, by the end of his shift, he started reconsidering.
Handling payments, taking orders, calling orders, plating, and packing non-stop for hours left him feeling completely drained.
Since the restaurant didn’t have self-service kiosks, customers had to use a mobile app to place orders. For those who didn’t know how, Qi Min had to guide them, which was exhausting.
The restaurant job was truly grueling.
Still, finding a nearby part-time job that paid well and allowed flexible scheduling around his classes wasn’t easy.
Lost in thought, he walked under the streetlights.
With the buses no longer running at this hour, Qi Min had to walk back to his apartment.
Exhausted from the day’s work, Qi Min felt like he could collapse any moment.
If it weren’t for the strange man he spotted again, he would’ve completely forgotten about what happened that afternoon.
Qi Min walked up to the second floor and stopped at the door of his room. He pulled out his key to unlock it.
The hallway was pitch black, completely deserted. Only the shaky light from his phone’s flashlight flickered back and forth.
Just as Qi Min found the keyhole and was about to turn the lock, his phone rang.
The monotonous ringtone, with just a few notes repeating, echoed eerily in the empty midnight corridor, adding an unsettling vibe.
Glancing down, Qi Min saw that the caller was Kong Pengfei, the team leader for the night shift at the restaurant.
Why was he calling after Qi Min had already clocked out?
Expressionless, Qi Min picked up the phone.
In the silent hallway, the voice on the other end was loud and clear.
“Hey! Qi Min, right? You left your wallet in the employee break room. One of the shift workers found it earlier. Do you want to come back and pick it up?”
Wallet?
Instinctively, Qi Min reached to check his backpack but then remembered.
He must’ve left it there after paying for his meal in the afternoon, forgetting to take it when he left the break room.
Inside the wallet were some cash, his student ID, bank card, and ID card.
Just as Qi Min was about to respond, a movement caught his eye.
He turned his head to the left and saw a shadow at the end of the hallway.
Standing in front of a door was a figure dressed in a black coat, hunched over, with gloves faintly visible on their hands.
It was the same strange man he had encountered earlier in the day.
Under the dim glow of his phone’s flashlight, Qi Min could see the person standing motionless, their back facing him.
Meanwhile, in the brightly lit restaurant, Kong Pengfei stood holding his phone in one hand and a mop in the other, cleaning the floor.
The cleaning lady had already gone home, and the dessert window for the night shift was unstaffed.
Yun Linyan, juggling two windows, was busy lifting a large bucket of ice.
The kitchen’s main prep worker, Zhao Xinmiao, seeing her struggle, came out to help.
With hardly any customers around, only four people—front and back staff combined—were working, including the dishwashing assistant, Miao Lijun.
As Kong Pengfei busied himself mopping, he heard Qi Min exclaim, “Huh?” through the phone.
“What’s wrong?” he asked casually.
Qi Min described what he saw.
There was a brief silence before Kong Pengfei responded, sounding uneasy.
“You’re saying… in the middle of the night, in your apartment building, there’s someone standing motionless in the hallway, back facing you?”
The sound of Kong Pengfei swallowing nervously was audible through the phone.
Qi Min replied, “Yeah, and there wasn’t anyone in the hallway before. So he must’ve just come out, closing the door… but it’s been so long. Why hasn’t he moved? Does it really take that long to close a door?”
Kong Pengfei hesitated. “Qi Min… in situations like this, I think you should just…”
“I’ll go take a look!”
“What?! No! Don’t—”
“What’s the big deal? Look, he’s hunched over, back bent, and facing away. Doesn’t it seem obvious that his zipper is stuck? And he’s been struggling so long he can’t fix it himself! As a neighbor, I should help him out!”
Kong Pengfei: “…”
Hold on—why would anyone be fixing a zipper in the middle of the night in a hallway? And why would it get stuck?
…Something was definitely off!
But apparently, this didn’t occur to Qi Min.
He hadn’t even lowered his voice, and his “helpful” declaration echoed throughout the hallway.
The man clearly heard him, but he remained motionless, seemingly agreeing to accept the help.
Still on the phone, Qi Min walked toward the figure with his flashlight, raising his voice as he approached. “Hey, buddy, are you okay? Need some help?”
Kong Pengfei froze, even forgetting to continue mopping.
In the middle of the night, encountering a figure standing eerily in a dim hallway—wasn’t the logical thing to retreat to your room immediately?
Who in their right mind would approach and strike up a conversation instead?
After hearing no response, Qi Min even repeated his question.
If the phone call had video capabilities, Kong Pengfei was sure he’d see Qi Min’s genuinely concerned expression.
This level of naivety… was his common sense still intact?
On the other end of the call, Kong Pengfei could only sigh in disbelief, bracing himself for what might come next.
The Author has something to say:
Huang Xinrui: “I introduced you to that job in Dongcheng…”
Qi Min: “I refuse!” (terrified hamster face)
Shang Jingshui (walking from Dongcheng Hospital to the city center): “A tree dies if it’s uprooted, but people thrive when they move!”
