An Unusual Life Beginning with Evil Spirits-Chapter 160 : Day 4

Volume 4: High School Arc - “I” Come to Find You~
I hung up the “Sold Out” sign and began scrubbing the steamer trays.
There may be many things I can’t do as an old man, but hygiene must be guaranteed.
Still, I was getting old.
Back then I could clean everything in one go, but now, even if I split it into three rounds, I had to take long breaks before finishing.
By the time everything was done, it was already past nine.
Once all that was handled, I began mixing a fresh batch of dough and took out the dough I’d prepared the night before, then started mixing the meat filling and wrapping the buns.
By the time the buns were wrapped, it was already 10:30.
Even with my practiced hands, if I’d been just a bit slower, it could’ve easily taken until eleven or twelve.
After tidying up, it was already 11.
Looking at the occasional car speeding by outside, and the few lights still on in the building across the street, I closed my eyes, zoning out, while memories of my youth surfaced in my mind.
I don’t know how much time passed before I snapped out of it, prompted by the ringing of my phone.
“Hm... that phone call again?”
Lifting my eyelids with some effort—getting old, I found it hard to sleep lying down, but oddly comfortable dozing off while sitting.
Just now... maybe I had fallen asleep?
Looking up, I saw the clock had reached 12.
Though it was blurry, I could still make out the time.
“Ai... young people these days.”
The phone kept ringing—‘ding ding ding ~ ding ding ding’—pulling my wandering thoughts back to reality.
I reached out and glanced at the caller ID; it was still that same ominous number.
But... I, an old man with no attachments, wasn’t about to be scared off by a small thing like this.
Just as I was about to reject the call, somehow, my finger unconsciously pressed the answer button.
“Ai... I really am getting old, huh? Is it senility? Why won’t my fingers obey me anymore?”
As I was thinking that, a voice suddenly came through the phone.
“I’ve found you...”
The voice had a hint of static to it, as if processed through some strange filter.
But that wasn’t the important part.
The important part was that the voice... seemed to echo from behind me?
A voice on the phone?
A voice behind me?
Wait a second—those young punks actually dared come into my shop to scare me?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a sudden chill crawled up my spine, flooding me with intense fear.
Even though I was already close to death... that icy sensation still made me feel utter terror!
There was... something behind me!!
Just as I turned my head, the raspy voice came again through the phone.
And at the same time, I felt a breath, reeking faintly of blood, blowing against the back of my neck.
“Who!!”
I jerked my head around, but there was no one behind me.
Yet... the voice came again through the phone.
And at the same time, from the back of my neck, I heard the same... perfectly clear voice.
“I... am behind you.”
---
I snapped my eyes open.
The ringtone echoed in my ears.
It took me five seconds to snap out of the old man's mindset.
I answered the call immediately, tossed the phone aside, and picked up my DV camera to start recording my current state.
Whether it was that little girl named Junjun, or that young man surnamed Wang, or any of the other details, including what the old man’s shop looked like, I recorded everything.
By the time I finished recording, I realized the call had ended at some point.
But I had no doubts about that. It was merely a tool to deliver a message.
Whether or not that message had been received directly by my ears didn’t matter.
As long as I understood it, the purpose of the call had been fulfilled.
Next, without a doubt, the memories began to rapidly fade.
In less than four minutes, they vanished completely.
However, I quickly snapped out of it and picked up the DV camera to check.
“Junjun... a little girl? A young man surnamed Wang? The old man’s bun shop? What kind of messy nonsense is this?”
Staring blankly at myself on the DV camera, even though I had been desperate at the time to record all the information, the amount of information related to that old man was simply overwhelming.
Because of that, I spoke extremely fast during the recording, spitting out dozens of names in a row.
Besides the two mentioned, there were plenty of others who had talked to the old man.
And now, after sorting through it all, I suddenly had a headache.
“Just the people who were recalled in the memory were no fewer than ten, and there were dozens more who weren’t recalled but were still people the old man knew. The old man’s wife... does that count as a clue too? The bun shop...”
Hmm, looks like I’ll have to go take a look early tomorrow morning.
But I can’t let Shao He come along.
I’ll need to think of a way to get Shao He to go elsewhere.
Just as I was thinking about this, the phone suddenly rang again, sending a shiver across my entire body.
But I quickly realized that the sound... wasn’t that ringtone.
It was the custom one I had set for myself.
Lifting the phone that I’d tossed on the bed, I felt a strange sensation the moment I saw the name and number on the screen.
After a brief hesitation, I still answered the call.
The moment the call connected, I heard a familiar voice.
The same one I’d heard during the day.
“Still awake?”
It was Lu Haochen on the other end of the line, sounding fairly relaxed, though that relaxation carried a hint of impatience, which made me furrow my brow.
“Mm...”
“Phew... that’s good. You got the call?”
“Ah... yeah, I got it.”
“You... all right?”
Lu Haochen’s voice held a trace of concern, and I raised my brow slightly.
“Of course. Who do you think I am, Liu Yunyan? You think I’d get scared by some damn phone call?”
“Heh... of course not. How could you be scared? You’re Miss Liu, after all.”
“Oh? Not bad, huh? After spending some time with me, you’ve even learned how to butter people up?”
I sat down on the bed, pulled Sha Ha into my arms, leaned against the headboard, and teased Lu Haochen on the other end of the call.
“Not at all, not at all...”
This guy really had some thick skin.
“What? Calling so late at night just to check in?”
While stroking the fur of the Sha Ha in my arms, I stared up at the ceiling and asked why Lu Haochen had called so late.
Lu Haochen chuckled lightly from the other end.
“Heh... what else? Did you get the DV recorded?”
“You really have no shame calling a girl in the middle of the night. Haven’t you ever heard of boundaries between men and women?”
“Hmm... how should I put it? Calling out of concern for a friend shouldn’t be bound by time, should it?”
Nice.
That line was flawless.
I praised him silently in my heart.
But unfortunately, I’m no little girl.
No matter how handsome you are, you’re not more handsome than the little golden-thread nanmu box sitting on my display shelf.
If you want to flirt with me, take a look at my urn first.
“All right, enough with the nonsense. Don’t you feel that kind of talk is just unbearable? I’ve got goosebumps all over.”
I’m a man, damn it.
Tsk tsk tsk... those words of yours—if it were a real girl, she’d probably have a heart pounding like a startled fawn by now.