Xin Huohuo had placed the shoebox right in front of the full-length mirror by the door, so the little white dog strained to stand on his hind legs, just barely managing to see his own doggy head in the reflection.
He stared intently for a moment, then clicked his tongue in admiration. "There's just no helping it when you're this good-looking." He even seemed to sigh with a mix of resignation and self-pity. "Even as a dog, I'm still just as handsome, just as adorable."
"Even if we're partners for life, if you keep this up, you're going to make me sick," the little black cat said, shutting its eyes as if it couldn't bear it. "Do you want to be a dog forever?"
"What's wrong with being a dog? All living beings are equal; you shouldn't be so discriminatory. Though, this fleshly vessel of yours is quite good-looking too..."
The little black cat was finally and utterly speechless, so it simply buried its feline face in its crossed front paws.
"Hey, I was saying..."
"Don't bother me. I'm busy being annoyed," the little black cat growled, its patience gone, without even lifting its head.
"Fine, let's just sleep then. Anyway, as soon as it gets dark, we'll head back and report in. After that, we still have a new mission to complete," the little white dog said resentfully. He then tossed and turned for what felt like an eternity before finally falling silent.
But if Xin Huohuo had heard this exchange, it would have just sounded like the cat's meows and the dog's barks.
But basically, she slept like a log. Even if the two furballs had actually started speaking human words, she wouldn't have heard a thing. She slept straight through until two in the afternoon. After getting up and grabbing a quick bite, she went to a familiar dealership and bought a used electric scooter. Watching her savings dwindle with nothing coming in was agony. Her only option was to fire up a computer game and grind levels like crazy, hoping to sell the account for a good price to supplement her income.
Her night shift at the restaurant was from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM the next morning. Before heading out at eight, she suddenly remembered the two little strays she had brought back. She rushed over to check on them and saw they were still asleep, which made her a little worried.
She'd never had pets before, but she had common sense, and sleeping this long without waking up couldn't be a good sign. But while the two little things' breathing was faint as a thread, they were still breathing, and their bodies were still warm and soft.
"I'll take you for a check-up tomorrow," she sighed, reaching out a finger to gently stroke the soft, fragile little creatures. "If you have any spirit in you and know how to be grateful, you'll be up and jumping around tomorrow. That'll save me some money." The mere thought of spending money made her heart bleed.
She didn't know that as soon as night fell, the souls in the cat and dog's bodies had already departed. All that remained now was the residual warmth of life, which was why, of course, they were in a comatose state.
Heading off to work full of worry, Xin Huohuo was soon so busy she was run off her feet.
In truth, late-night meals are also called "ghost meals," as eating too much late at night is bad for your health. But modern people have such active nightlife that they often eat more lavishly in the evening.
From the start of her shift until after one in the morning, she was constantly out on deliveries. She had just managed to get a moment's rest when the clock struck 3:00 AM, and another order came in.
"It's the same number as yesterday," the manager said, handing her the order slip. "I remember this customer; they made a deep impression. They kept rushing us to deliver faster, seemed like they were starving."
Xin Huohuo's heart began to pound. She was afraid of getting a complaint because even though she had paid for the damages, she still hadn't actually completed yesterday morning's delivery.
"The customer didn't say anything else?" she asked, feigning nonchalance.
"The only request was to be fast," the manager said, patting her shoulder. "So, be fast!"
Xin Huohuo breathed a secret sigh of relief, mentally thanking the customer for not filing a complaint. She resolved to get there as fast as she possibly could.
It was not even 3:30 AM when she arrived at the building's entrance. But she felt like she had developed a mental block, unconsciously slowing down. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, and she didn't trip on flat ground again.
The building was supposed to be part of a high-end residential community with a lobby on the first floor, but the property management was terrible. Not only was there no one at the door during work hours, but the place was also filthy and messy. Only half of the four elevators were working, which was a real strain for a thirty-story building with eight units per floor. At least, in the dead of night, the entire building seemed to be asleep.
After pressing the button for the twelfth floor, Xin Huohuo double-checked the address: 1207.
'So, it should be in the middle of the hallway.' She checked the rest of the information—it was another online payment.
DING!
With a chime, the elevator arrived at the twelfth floor. Perhaps because it was the dead of night, the arrival tone seemed exceptionally loud, making Xin Huohuo jump.
She stepped out of the elevator and discovered the building's interior was I-shaped. The ends of the main hallway held units 1 and 8, which meant unit 7 had to be in the recessed middle section.
Carrying the insulated food container, she went to look. Sure enough, she saw a recessed section on the left side of the hallway, about three or four meters deep, with a door at the far end. For some reason, the overhead light in the corridor was out, casting a deep, triangular shadow in front of the door. She had to walk all the way into the alcove to make out the apartment number.
'1207. That's the one!'
She rang the doorbell twice, but there was no answer. The sound echoed in the empty hallway, making her heart jump into her throat. She had no choice but to call the customer's phone, but to her surprise, it was turned off!
'Weren't they starving? Weren't they in a huge rush? Did their phone die?'
There was nothing else to do but knock, even though she didn't want to for fear of waking the neighbors. In the dead of night, sounds were always inexplicably amplified. But before her fingers could even touch the door, a loud noise suddenly erupted!
A sharp, high-pitched singing, some kind of opera from a remote region, began without any warning. In an instant, the piercing, warbling sound filled the entire hallway. It was strained, like a desperate wail, and seemed to come from all directions, surrounding her.
It was so sudden! Her hand went limp, and she nearly dropped the insulated container. Her heart began to pound erratically.
Just as she stood there, bewildered, the operatic singing stopped as abruptly as it had begun. It was as if a sharp blade had sliced the sound clean in half mid-air.
She looked around, but besides herself, the area was completely empty. 'Did the sound come from inside the apartment, then? Has the customer who ordered delivery gotten up?'
She raised her hand, intending to knock again.
But once again, a sound rang out. Though it still startled her, she quickly realized it was coming from her own phone. She fumbled to answer it. The call was from the customer's number—the one that had been turned off just moments ago.
"Hello," she said politely.
Of course, she hadn't been willing to spend the money to replace her phone screen, so it was covered in a web of intersecting, lightning-shaped cracks.
"My food..."
"I'm already at your door. Could you please open it?"
"Leave it outside the door." With that, the line went dead again with a BEEP, not giving her a chance to say another word.
"Okay, no problem," Xin Huohuo said softly to the still-closed door. She did as she was told, taking the food container out, placing it by the door, and turning to leave.
This sort of thing happened sometimes, for instance, if a customer wasn't properly dressed and found it inconvenient to open the door.
She just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible. The building and the hallway were fine, but that cramped corner and the space in front of that door made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable, as if a chill was constantly closing in on her.
'When I have money,' she thought, 'maybe I should see a therapist. I might have claustrophobia.'
Still, it was just too dark in front of 1207.
Standing there was like standing inside a tomb.