Room No

Chapter 2

After experiencing that incident, Duan Lin suddenly felt that the world was amazing and there were so many things he didn't understand. So why not listen to other people's opinions?

He agreed, abandoned his still-dripping hair, and opened the bento box he had just bought to start eating.

Today I bought beef stew with potatoes. This dish from 7-Eleven is pretty good. The potatoes are very soft and delicious, and the meat is also okay... The rice is starting to get a little cold, so Duan Lin speeds up his eating.

Just as I finished eating the last grain of rice, the bathroom door rang, followed by the sound of slippers, then the door opened and closed... It looked like the person had finished showering.

Duan Lin threw the empty lunchbox into the trash can, wiped his mouth, picked up his things, opened the door, and went into the bathroom.

The steam from the shower was still lingering, filling the bathroom mirror and obscuring the person's face.

The bathroom and toilet here are combined and separated by a glass door. Presumably for privacy, someone has pasted a layer of colorful newspaper on the frosted glass, which perfectly covers the important parts. It's an old newspaper that Duan Lin discovered while sitting on the toilet out of boredom.

The newspaper in question is the most recent one. Someone probably thought it was old and replaced it with a new one featuring a celebrity's picture. From then on, Duan Lin felt very uncomfortable every time he went to the toilet, as if someone was spying on him.

Duan Lin turned on the shower and closed his eyes to welcome the water spraying onto his face... Men always shower quickly, and Duan Lin was no exception. He quickly rinsed his hair, and then his body... only to realize that he was out of shower gel. Frustrated, he watched the last few drops of lotion pitifully squeezed out of the bottle. Duan Lin stopped himself from calling Mu Zi, thought for a moment, and decided to just rinse off quickly and leave.

I need to buy new shower gel, which will cost money, but I earn so little each month. Since the Kangde incident, Duan Lin quit his job there. He came to this completely unfamiliar city specifically for that job, without any preparation. Finding a new job after quitting is naturally very difficult. He didn't bring many of his documents, so he can only do odd jobs.

Food, clothing, and accommodation are expensive here. The fact that no one has been collecting rent at first seemed strange, but now I'm grateful for it, as it has saved me a lot of money. Besides, I'm a man, so I don't need to worry too much about clothing. Even so, expenses are still considerable. Food is expensive, and given my good location, the surrounding shops cater to office workers, making it difficult for me to afford it. Add to that the transportation costs to work… My work is intermittent, and my monthly salary is barely enough to make ends meet. Clearly, I still need a stable job!

Thinking to himself, Duan Lin picked up the showerhead and began cleaning up the traces he had left in the bathroom. This was a generally accepted practice; after showering, it was the person responsible for cleaning up the mess they left behind, just like turning off the tap after using it—it was basic etiquette.

Duan Lin, always meticulous, followed the rules strictly, but... when he saw a strand of long hair, he paused... It must have been left by the person in front of him, right? It was very long and hadn't been washed away; the strand of hair just hung on the drain hole, wriggling with the water flow from the showerhead in his hand...

Are there any women among the tenants?

With that thought in mind, Duan Lin turned the shower on full blast, and the powerful water jet finally sent his hair "suddenly" disappearing into the sewer.

As I was drying my hair and getting into bed, I suddenly noticed a letter on the bed. "Huh? This..." I opened the letter and was surprised to find that it was an acceptance letter.

"Congratulations, Mr./Ms. Duan Lin, you have been admitted to Qilan High School. Welcome to join Qilan and become a proud teacher..." There were not many polite words. At the end, the school map, telephone number and email address were given, and it was hoped that those who agreed would go to take up their posts as soon as possible.

This was undoubtedly a great joy for Duan Lin, but... "Have I submitted my resume to this place?" Frowning, Duan Lin sat down in one of the only two chairs in the room.

"I voted for you." Mu Zi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, and what she said was quite explosive.

"ah?"

“You recently submitted an extra resume. I saw Qi Lan’s job posting online and applied for it for you. It’s a reputable school and seems to be quite well-known. It won’t hurt to go there.”

"ah?"

"You can think about it yourself." After saying this, the man who was sitting on the edge of the bed eating suddenly stood up, took the half-empty lunchbox, walked to the trash can, threw it away, picked up his things, opened the door and went into the bathroom.

Duan Lin was left alone, staring blankly at the clean, high-quality acceptance letter in his hand. To go... or... not to go? Staring at the empty shower gel bottle he hadn't had time to throw away, Duan Lin made up his mind after three seconds.

Three days later, Duan Lin, carrying a small suitcase, resolutely stood on the grounds of Qilan High School.

But... is this really the "primary school" advertised? It's huge...

Staring dumbfounded at the enormous campus, Duan Lin felt like a country bumpkin; his own university back then didn't seem this big.

Shaking his head, Duan Lin took out a small map, downloaded from Qi Lan's website. Looking at the blank paper in his hand, Duan Lin sighed. It was just a map showing the overall location of Qi Lan, not the interior. What he needed to find was Qi Lan's main gate. Staring at the seemingly endless wall, Duan Lin was dumbfounded: Where was the school gate…?

Carrying his luggage, Duan Lin could only slowly move forward along the wall.

As Duan Lin walked, he looked around: This area, within a hundred miles, was mostly barren mountains and wilderness. Building a school in such a place was probably to prevent students from experiencing the outside world, right? But…

When his legs were numb from walking and his stomach started to rumble, Duan Lin realized that the school was built in a really bad location.

How long had he walked? Still no one. Duan Lin began to seriously consider the possibility of climbing over the wall. However, he was currently wearing his only suit, the one he was going to wear when he met the principal later…

Duan Lin noticed that he had walked into a grove of trees.

A very dense forest, quite rare these days. But... now's not the time to marvel at its rarity. Getting here means I'm further from the school gate, right? Who would build a school gate in a forest? Besides... this forest, which feels eerie even in broad daylight due to its lush vegetation, gave Duan Lin a very bad feeling.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, suddenly… in the distant shadows of the trees… someone? Startled, Duan Lin picked up his luggage and walked towards that direction. “Excuse me…” Pushing aside the grass, Duan Lin looked at the person…

"Huh?!" The other person turned around at the sound, seemingly startled by the figure suddenly emerging from the bushes. After a moment, they chuckled, "Don't suddenly pop out and scare people. This old man is getting on in years, and his heart isn't strong..."

It was an elderly man, not young, dressed in a school worker's uniform, holding grass shears in his hand, seemingly trimming the grass.

"Sorry, I saw someone over here, I... got lost..." Duan Lin apologized to the other party with a stiff smile.

"Alright, alright, I'll take you away. It's just hard to walk around here. It's supposed to be a school forest, but it's like a primeval forest. That's why I come here every month to trim the weeds... Oh no! I've gone off-topic again. By the way, young man, who are you? You don't seem like a student who skipped class?"

"Um... I just received Qi Lan's acceptance letter..."

"Are you a teacher?"

"Huh? Hmm." But... I haven't even said how he knew my acceptance letter was from a teacher? Duan Lin agreed verbally, but a question arose in his mind.

"How would I know? Hehe, Qi Lan looks big, but it doesn't actually have many students or teachers. It's perfectly clear whether there's one more or one less. They just notified us yesterday that a new teacher is coming..."

"Oh, I see."

The old man led the way, and Duan Lin followed behind. Along the way, Duan Lin listened to the old man's rambling without saying a word. He was not a talkative person and found interpersonal communication very difficult.

Fewer people...it must be much easier for me, right?

Watching the old man walk with such vigor that he didn't look like an old man at all, Duan Lin followed behind, lost in his own thoughts...

"Ah?" Suddenly, Duan Lin clapped his hands and realized he had forgotten something. He hurriedly called out to the old man, "Sorry, sir, I forgot my bag!" After telling the old man, Duan Lin hurriedly returned to where he was. His luggage was right there.

"Phew..." Lifting his luggage, Duan Lin patted the dirt off the bottom of his bag. Suddenly, a ring on the bottom of the bag caught his attention.

Just as I was about to take a closer look, the old man's call came from afar, and I realized that I had made an old man wait there, how rude of me!

Feeling apologetic, Duan Lin hurriedly put the item in his pocket without even looking at it, and then followed after them.

It took Duan Lin a long time to reach the school gate before he realized that he had gone in the wrong direction and that he had caused all that trouble.

However, once inside, Qilan is still quite magnificent: the quiet campus is very well-landscaped. I heard that most of the campus buildings here were reinforced and rebuilt on the basis of the original buildings, so they look ancient and old-fashioned. If it weren't for the two new buildings that were later invested and built by alumni, it would have a bit of a time warp feel.

There aren't many students here, around four hundred, but the campus is quite large. Perhaps it's because land is cheaper in the suburbs, but as far as the eye can see, the land stretches as far as the eye can see, all of which is Qilan's land. Duan Lin sighed with emotion.

"Young man, where are you staying here?" The old man's sudden question interrupted Duan Lin's reverie.

"ah?"

"As you can see here, it's all in the middle of nowhere, and there aren't any houses to rent around. The other teachers all drive themselves to and from get off work, but..."

Seeing the old man's gaze, Duan Lin nodded. He knew he couldn't afford a car, and the old man's concern wasn't meant to belittle him. "I applied to the logistics department and asked them to let me stay in the student dormitory. They've reserved a spot for me."

"Oh? I see. That's good. Okay, I'll take you straight to your dorm so you can put your luggage down before we do anything else."

Duan Lin glanced at his watch. He realized he had arrived early and had time to put down his luggage, so he readily agreed to the old man's suggestion.

However… “People should keep their promises. You said yesterday you would arrive at eleven, but you were late.” The dormitory supervisor, who looked to be in his sixties, seemed like a difficult person to get along with. He was tall and thin, with a sallow complexion, deep-set eyes, and thin, tightly pursed lips.

Especially... that hideous scar that covered most of his face. Not wanting to look at that mark, Duan Lin lowered his head. He had been lost and delayed for too long.

"Old Zhang, just give him a room. It's my fault for keeping him occupied and delaying things..." The school janitor pleaded with the dormitory supervisor with a smile.

"No! Even if you, Principal, plead for me, it won't work. There are no empty rooms here. There was one empty bed, but a transfer student booked it ten minutes ago. People have to be punctual. I waited for you until the agreed eleven o'clock, and you didn't arrive on time. Of course, I will give the bed I reserved for you to the person who arrived first. No one, teacher or student, can have special privileges." The old man said rigidly, pointing to the bed allocation table in the dormitory building.

"Huh? Principal?" Duan Lin opened his mouth slightly in surprise when he heard the term from the dormitory supervisor, and looked at the old man who had led him there.

"Hehe, sorry I didn't tell you," the principal said with a smile, then turned to the dormitory supervisor and pleaded, "Old Zhang, take another look, are there any rooms left? Are there really no empty rooms at all?"

The dormitory supervisor stared at the principal for a long while, then whispered, "...There's one..."

"Ah? That's great!" Duan Lin and the principal exchanged a happy glance, but...

"That room is empty," the dormitory supervisor said in a muffled voice after a long pause.

"Why?" Duan Lin was unusually stubborn, not noticing that the dormitory supervisor's body stiffened instantly.

"Exactly, what room can't people stay in?"

Is the roof leaking or a water pipe broken?

"No, that room has never been lived in, and it's... very dirty!" The dormitory supervisor stared intently at the paper, probably not good at lying. After talking for a long time, his hands started to tremble, but he couldn't find a suitable reason. In the end, he came up with this irrelevant excuse.

Duan Lin's lips curved slightly. "I'll clean it. I'll be a teacher here from now on. You're right, people shouldn't be late, especially teachers. I'm sorry for being late this time, but to avoid being late in front of the students in the future, I really need a place to live on campus. A little hardship or dirt doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't interfere with my work, right? So... please give me this room!" He bowed deeply, waiting for the dormitory supervisor's response. His explanation was perfect; it should be enough to stop the supervisor from refusing.

Sure enough, after a long sigh, Duan Lin nodded at the dormitory supervisor, his heart filled with joy while somewhat ignoring the supervisor's strange expression.

"Um... if anything happens, just tell me..."

"Okay, I'll trouble you again then."

With the housing problem solved, Duan Lin suddenly felt that the old man in front of him had become more amiable. Duan Lin agreed and picked up his luggage, following the old man into the long corridor until they stood in front of the door at the end.

The wooden door, though old, looked clean on the outside, suggesting it had been regularly cleaned. Duan Lin looked at the number on the door panel, a number he should remember from now on—"143"—the number to which letters should be sent from home.

The lock seemed to be quite old, and the dormitory supervisor spent a lot of time trying to open it but couldn't. Seeing the old man's trembling hands as he tried to open the door, Duan Lin took the key from the old man's hand.

Click! With a click, the door opened, but the key broke off inside the lock. Looking at the broken key in his hand with surprise, Duan Lin looked apologetically at the dormitory supervisor.

"this……"

The dormitory supervisor lowered his head and after a long pause, said, "Never mind, you can move in first. I'll come over tomorrow to change the locks for you." He finished speaking in a dry voice, gave Duan Lin a deep look, and then left.

The sound of the large bunch of keys in the dormitory supervisor's hand carried far down the corridor. Duan Lin, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Welcome back to you. You'll be Teacher Duan from today onwards. My surname is Han, and I'm the principal here..."

The old man still had a smile on his face; he looked more like a school janitor than a school administrator, his cheerful demeanor making people feel genuinely close to him. Duan Lin immediately felt much more relaxed.

"Qilan is a primary school. In order to cultivate outstanding students, we have hired young and promising teachers, like Teacher Duan. This is an all-boys school, and I think Teacher Duan will definitely get along well with the children."

Watching Principal Han address Duan Lin as "Teacher Duan" repeatedly, Duan Lin nodded awkwardly. He knew he wasn't that outstanding, but... Qi Lan was indeed an excellent school.

The school's long history and extremely high college entrance rate are the reasons why countless students and parents still flock to it, even though it's located in a remote area. Duan Lin had specifically investigated this before coming. However, after feeling reassured about the school's credibility, new doubts arose. Why would such a good place choose someone like him with no connections?

Although I graduated from a decent school, it wasn't a top-tier university, nor was it a professional teachers' college. I'm also relatively young for a teacher, and I'm from out of town...

The flaws were too numerous, and Duan Lin became increasingly confused. However, the generous treatment was truly tempting, and the title "Teacher Duan" was too alluring. With his head down, Duan Lin ultimately did not voice his doubts.

"Alright, you don't need to come to me to sign in this afternoon. Take some time to tidy up and get plenty of rest so you can report to the office tomorrow. They'll assign you some work there." The principal patted Duan Lin on the shoulder and then left.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Finding the light switch by the door, Duan Lin tried turning it on, only to find that it didn't light up. This reminded him that he needed to buy a light bulb later, but in this desolate place, it seemed he would have to ask that old man for one.

With a sigh, Duan Lin surveyed his future living space—a room of about twenty square meters, neatly furnished with three rows of bunk beds, enough to sleep six people. The windows were very small and very high; although it was afternoon, the room was dark because it was on the shady side.

Duan Lin didn't understand why the windows here were so high; it didn't seem to conform to modern building principles! But then he suddenly remembered the introduction to Qi Lan he had once seen: "Most of the school buildings are converted from old school buildings." He understood a little better; it was probably the original layout.

Thinking of this, and feeling the creaking of the old wooden floor beneath his feet, Duan Lin actually smiled faintly.

"...I've arrived. It's not bad here. I don't have any work yet, but I'll know tomorrow... Okay, take care of your meals... Goodbye." After making a call to Mu Zi, Duan Lin looked at the thick layer of dust under his feet and then prepared to clean it up before dawn.

He couldn't explain why he called Mu Zi. Maybe it was just a habit, a habit of letting people know he was safe. That girl was about the same age as his younger brother, although she was much more mature. Subconsciously, Duan Lin still treated her like a younger brother, even if she didn't necessarily need his care.

Without thinking much about it, Duan Lin called his hometown again, gave them the address, and then hung up.