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Song Bunan stood in the elevator, holding a bag of takeout, feeling puzzled about why he had to pick it up when he was still recovering from an itchy wound on his back that made it hard for him to stand straight. He felt like a patient being ordered around by his brother, which only added to his frustration. Today, for some reason, the elevator seemed to stop at every floor, and each time the doors opened, there was no one outside.
Living on the Fifteenth Floor, it took him twice as long to reach the Tenth Floor. He reluctantly set the bag down on the ground to scratch his back. Just then, an elderly lady entered the elevator, leaning on a cane. She stared at the button panel for a long time before finally pressing the button for the Seventeenth Floor.
He stood almost side by side with the old lady, and the elevator lights had been dim for some time. In the low light, he accidentally caught a glimpse of her; Song Bunan felt nervous. The old lady had a fierce-looking face, her silver hair braided and pinned up with what appeared to be a silver Clamp. He sneaked a look at the Clamp and noticed it had beautiful and intricate patterns.
The elevator continued its slow journey, stopping at each floor while the old lady stood quietly waiting to get home. Song Bunan picked up both bags of food and continued to sneak glances at that Clamp. When the elevator doors opened again and the old lady slowly walked out, he finally got a good look at the Clamp just as he realized he had reached the Seventeenth Floor.
As the doors were closing, he heard a strange melody coming from above. The tune sent chills down his spine, and he quickly pressed the button for fifteen, shaking his head to forget about it.
As he opened his front door, he collided with Xin Yi, who was carrying things of his own. With no balance due to his load, Song Bunan was steadied by Xin Yi's gentle grip on his shoulder. "Have you been waiting long?" Xin Yi asked as he took the items from Song Bunan's hands. Suddenly, Song Bunan found Xin Yi's voice particularly pleasant.
He shook his head. "No, the elevator kept stopping today. Are you hungry? Let's eat."
The dining table was already set with bowls and chopsticks. As Song Bunan excitedly opened the bags, a large hand suddenly covered his forehead. The warmth from Xin Yi's palm radiated directly to his scalp, making him feel as if all his pores were opening up. "The fever has gone down; are you still feeling unwell?" Xin Yi explained.
In Song Bunan's ears, Xin Yi's deep voice was something he rarely heard in real life. It reminded him of powerful characters from animated shows whose voices always brought comfort to young protagonists. At that moment, Xin Yi gave him that same sense of reassurance; Song Bunan felt his ears heat up as he vigorously shook his head in response: "Not anymore."
He really liked this older brother figure; although Xin Yi didn't talk much and had an air of distance about him, his soothing voice conveyed maturity and stability that was undeniably attractive. Song Bunan always held a fondness for good-looking people—a trait often teased but one he felt was harmless—so after indulging in eye candy, he happily continued retrieving food containers.
"I said I'm fine," Song Buxian said as he emerged from the bathroom and noticed his friend looking at his younger brother with an expression he'd never seen before—so gentle it seemed like it could drip water. The question he intended to ask morphed into another: "Are you dating someone?"
Both men reacted to this question; one reaction was exactly what Song Buxian wanted to see. Holding onto a box of food, Song Bunan shook his head innocently: "Nope." Meanwhile, Xin Yi paused in surprise but quickly regained composure and calmly looked at Song Bunan.
Understanding what was going through someone's mind at that moment, Song Buxian elongated his tone playfully: " Xin Yi mentioned he's looking for an assistant; would you be interested in interning?"
"But I don't study that kind of major; wouldn't I be a hassle? Besides, aren't you two working together?" Song Bunan had no clear plan for work; during college internships, he merely floated along thanks to friends helping him out. Now freshly graduated and thrust into work just ten days later left him feeling unprepared.
Fortunately, it was Xin Yi who answered: "I have a secretary handling professional matters; an assistant just needs to do some minor tasks. There will be training provided so you don't need to worry about your major."
"As for me," Song Buxian chimed in: "I'm much busier than him so don't worry about me checking on you every day."
"You guys have everything planned out already?" After receiving confirmation, Song Bunan pouted slightly: "Then why ask me..." He watched as Xin Yi opened the last takeout box and handed him a pair of chopsticks: "Because if you don't want to do it, I won't force you."
"That's not it. As long as you're okay with it, I'm fine." Song Bunan wasn't fond of hiding things regarding serious matters; although slightly annoyed by how his brother handled things, work was significant enough that family input mattered—so he agreed.
Dinner turned out quite enjoyable as Xin Yi explained what tasks would entail while they discussed their start dates together. Eventually, it came time to say goodbye; Xin Yi helped clean up while grabbing the trash before heading out when Song Bunan insisted on accompanying him.
Standing in the elevator again, Song Bunan heard that soft yet strange music once more. He tilted his ear to listen closely but noticed that as they descended, the sound gradually faded away. " Xin Yi bro, did you hear any music?" Once outside the elevator, a cold breeze slipped down his collar making him shiver as he asked.
Xin Yi nodded after opening the building door first: "Yeah, it's probably funeral music from someone who passed away in our building. It's chilly outside; don’t linger too long—call me if you need anything."
Back inside the elevator with a silly grin plastered on his face from excitement over adding Xin Yi on WeChat, Song Bunan forgot to press any buttons but didn’t feel anything amiss as they ascended until they stopped again at the Seventeenth Floor.
This time when the doors opened again, there stood that same old lady holding not just her cane but also a medium-sized black plastic bag. The music was clearer now from outside along with an unmistakable scent of burning paper.
As Xin Yi mentioned the term Funeral Music, he couldn't help but lean out to see what was happening outside. Just as one foot was about to leave the elevator, an old lady struck his extended leg with her cane. It didn't hurt, but it startled him. Rubbing his leg, he looked at the old woman with a puzzled expression and suddenly noticed in the elevator's mirror that there was an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit standing outside the door.
However, when he turned to look, all he saw was darkness; nothing was there. Surprised, the elevator doors began to close, and the old lady, who merely glared at him without speaking, pressed the button for the fifteenth floor and then the ground floor. Confused about what had just happened, Song Bunan decided it was best not to ask any questions and stood up straight, waiting for the elevator to reach his destination on the Fifteenth Floor.
Once he stepped out, he wanted to thank the old lady, but when he turned around, he found that the old man was still in the elevator, standing right next to her with a rather unsettling smile directed at him. The old lady seemed oblivious to everything as she coldly switched her cane to her other hand.
The night before, Song Bunan, who had been chased by ghosts, stood in the hallway for a long time. After much contemplation, he sent a message to Xiao Mei: “Xiao Mei, I think I saw a ghost.”
Meanwhile, Xiao Mei, who had just settled down after tidying up in her large house, was chatting with Zhang Long about how foolish various adventurers had been over the past two years while exploring Dragon Garden. As both of them began to feel sleepy and were ready to drift off into dreams, they heard a notification sound from Xiao Mei's phone. This message left her momentarily stunned; she stared at the screen for quite some time without reacting until half-awake Zhang Long leaned over and asked who it was. Suddenly jolted awake, she flipped over and started changing her clothes.
According to Song Bunan himself, before going to Dragon Garden, he had only seen ghosts in dreams and had never encountered anything like that in reality. He wasn't one to lie and promised that if anything like this happened again, he would tell her the truth. Now that he claimed to have seen a ghost, it was possible that this ability had indeed been activated.
Zhang Long, yawning as he sat up, asked what was so urgent. Xiao Mei smiled and replied, “Do you remember that person I just mentioned?”
Now more awake, he took a sip of water and said, “That kid from Dragon Garden who came to life? What happened?”
“He said he saw a ghost.”
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