A Strange Incident from the Past

Last June, the state-owned enterprise I worked for underwent bankruptcy reorganization, resulting in layoffs for us contract workers who were not on the regular payroll. We were not even compensated in the end. I had always thought that working for a state-owned enterprise was a secure job, so I was shocked to hear the news. Since I had not saved much money, losing my job left me in a difficult situation. I went to several job interviews in the following days, and at first, my young age seemed to make a positive impression on the recruiters. However, when it came to discussing my professional knowledge, they all frowned and seemed dissatisfied. To be fair, I did not have much work experience, and I had not been very productive in my previous job. But in the private sector, they do not tolerate idleness.

As I walked out of the last company, I sat down on the roadside, feeling a sense of defeat wash over me. At twenty-seven years old, it was supposed to be the best time for a man. My classmates who graduated with me were already having their second child, while I was just idling around without even a significant other, and with all sorts of problems. I felt regretful and didn't know what to do next.

I took out my phone to check the latest job postings, but they were not that appealing. Most of them were for positions like insurance sales or real estate agents. I was feeling lost and even thought about doing food delivery in the meantime. However, at that moment, I received a message in my inbox. It was an invitation to come for an interview at the Hecheng School of Nursing with the contact person being Principal Wang, and the address was at No. 6 Hubin Road, Xing'an District.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised when I saw the message because, in my opinion, a school was at least a formal institution, better than an insurance company. I sent a message asking about the position they were hiring for, but I didn't receive a response for a long time. Considering that I couldn't even pay my rent, I became a little anxious. After hesitating for a while, I decided to go there in person.

I took a taxi and told the driver to go to the Hecheng School of Nursing, which was located in the suburbs, next to a reservoir. It took about ten or so minutes to get there, and after asking around in the school, I finally found Principal Wang in the office building. He looked like he was in his forties, a greasy middle-aged man, a little bald, and when I mentioned that I was there for the interview, he smiled and asked me to sit down. He even poured me a glass of water and asked for my name.

I told him my name was Gu Yan, 27 years old, and I graduated from college. Principal Wang waved his hand and said, "Your education level doesn't matter. Here's the thing: our school has three student dormitories, and one of the female dorms needs a dorm manager. Are you interested?"

Honestly, at that moment, I wanted to give him a kick. I came all this way, and you want me to be a dorm manager? I might as well sell insurance.

Seeing me looking unhappy, Principal Wang quickly stepped forward and said, "Listen to me first. Our salary is relatively high. You will work from 7 pm to 7 am, and you can sleep at night. The monthly salary is five thousand. Can you accept it?"

I was a bit stunned after he finished speaking. In our small city, five thousand was already a very high income. In my previous company, I barely reached a level of around six thousand after working for four years.

Five thousand for a dorm manager at the nursing school?

Seeing that I didn't say anything for a while, Principal Wang added, "The school cafeteria is free for staff, and you will receive your salary normally during summer and winter vacations. What do you think?"

Damn, I felt like I had just picked up money from the ground. I wanted to accept it immediately, but I thought it was still a bit strange.

I asked Principal Wang, "Isn't the dorm manager for female dormitories usually someone like an older lady? It might not be appropriate for me as a man."

Principal Wang lit a cigarette and said, "It's not very convenient, but this is a nursing school, and those young girls are a bit wild. They often want to bring their dates back to their dorms at night, and a woman might not be able to stop them."

I thought his explanation was a bit far-fetched, but I didn't ask any more questions. I just nodded my head because the salary he was offering was too good to pass up.

Principal Wang smiled and said, "Okay, go home and get ready. You can start working tonight, okay?"

I was a bit surprised and asked, "So soon?"

He tapped on the table and said, "It just so happens that someone from the first apartment resigned, and you can take his place. Is that okay?"

To be honest, Principal Wang seemed friendly, but something didn't feel right. The hiring process was too fast, and the pay was too good. Why did the previous dorm manager resign?

But after thinking it over, I nodded and told Principal Wang that I had no problem with it. He was happy and reminded me not to forget to come tonight at 7 pm.

I nodded and left the principal's office. When I got home, I took a shower and changed my clothes. I wanted to make a good impression on the students on my first day of work.

At 7 pm, I arrived at the first apartment, and Principal Wang was already waiting for me at the door. He took me to the guard room and handed me a cigarette, saying, "You will be on the night shift with a woman named Wang. I asked her to leave first. Oh, and there are a few things I need to tell you beforehand."

I nodded quickly.

"First, the school officially turns off the lights at 10 pm, but some students come back late. You can let them in, but you must lock the door before midnight, and no one is allowed to enter or exit. Do you understand?"

I said, "Yes."

"Second, you should stay in the guard room most of the time. You can go to the corridor or the bathroom, but you must not enter the student dormitory. Got it?"

I nodded again. It made sense since it was a girls' dormitory, and it wouldn't be appropriate for a man to enter.

"Finally, once it's past midnight, you cannot go out no matter what happens outside, and you cannot open the door. Even if the sky falls, you must wait until after 6 am to leave. Do you understand?"

I hesitated and asked Principal Wang, "What if someone gets sick and needs to go to the hospital?"

He replied, "You still can't go out. Even if someone dies, you have to wait until 6 am to remove the body. Just follow my rules, and I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

I felt his rule was a bit unreasonable, but I agreed anyway.

Principal Wang said, "Okay, if you have any problems, give me a call. Oh, and take this box of cigarettes as a gift." He was so polite that it made me feel a bit embarrassed.

After that, I sat in the guard room all night. It was already dark, and the students had returned to their dorms after dinner. Many girls were looking at me, and some were pointing and whispering in the corridor, probably because they found it strange that a man was working in a girls' dormitory.

Not only were they curious, but I also felt awkward. To be honest, I never dreamed that I would become a dorm manager, especially in a girls' dormitory.

As I told Principal Wang, some girls would return to the dormitory after the lights were turned off, around 11:30 pm. Just as I was about to wash my face, a girl knocked on the window of the guard room and said, "Uncle, can we talk?"

Being called "uncle" made me very angry.

I turned my head and opened the window, saying, "Take a good look, do I look like an old man?"

She was a bit surprised and said, "Oh, I heard from my roommate that there's a new male dorm manager downstairs. I thought it was an old man, but it's actually a young man. What's your name?"

The girl was pretty and had a nice voice, but the way she addressed me made me angry.

I replied in a harsh tone, "My name is Gu Yan. What do you want? Hurry up and say it."

She seemed a bit embarrassed and said, "Gu Yan, I lost my wallet. Can you lend me twenty yuan? Something happened at home, and I want to take a taxi back."

I looked at her clean clothes and stylish appearance and didn't think she was desperate for money. So I asked her, "What about your roommate?"

She said, "They're all asleep. I don't want to wake them up."

It wasn't a lot of money, so I didn't ask any further and took out a hundred yuan bill from my wallet and handed it to her. I said, "Take it first. Don't worry about returning it now. Just remember to pay me back later."

"Thank you so much!" She took the money and looked quite happy. Then she took out a bottle of cola from her bag and handed it to me. "Here, take this drink. My name is Yingying. I'll come and pay you back tomorrow."

I said, "No, I don't want it." But Yingying insisted, "Just take it. I'm on a diet and can't drink anything sweet. You can throw it away if you don't want it."

After that, she quickly ran out of the dormitory building, and I shouted after her to be careful, but she didn't respond.

Later, I prepared to go to sleep and washed my face in the bathroom. During that time, a girl in her underwear came in to wash up, which made both of us feel a bit awkward. But she didn't say anything and left the bathroom after she finished. Fortunately, the bathroom was separate from the toilet in the dormitory building, or it would have been a big problem.

At that time, I even wondered what I should do if I needed to go to the toilet. Maybe I should use the sink?

Thinking about this made me laugh, and I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight, so I went to lock the door. But when I got to the dormitory entrance, I saw a girl in a white dress standing outside, and I had no idea how long she had been waiting there.

She looked thin and frail, with red eyes, as if she had just cried. She looked a bit pitiful.

I didn't know if she was a student in the dormitory building, so I asked her, "Do you want to come in?"

She didn't say anything, just nodded.

Then I opened the door, and she came in. As I locked the door, I told her to come back earlier next time, or else she wouldn't be able to get in.

When I turned around, the girl had disappeared, but I didn't think too much about it.

Before going to bed, I set an alarm clock to wake up at 5:50 am, so I could tidy up and open the door promptly at 6 am.

Overall, the guard room was okay, but one of the girls had been crying all night, perhaps because she had a fight with her boyfriend. It was quite unsettling and made it difficult for me to sleep.

When I woke up, I felt a bit thirsty, so I remembered the cola Yingying had given me. I opened it and took a sip, but I almost spat it out.

"What is this crap?"

I've never had such a terrible cola in my life. It had no fizz at all, as if it had gone bad.

Something felt off, so I checked the production date, and my jaw dropped.

This bottle of cola had expired three years ago.......