Chioujen looked at the back of Hannrong, who rushed away to go to his room to get the keys to the General Manager's room. The young man's movements were so fast. Not even five minutes later, Hannrong was standing before Chioujen again. He was holding a string of keys. Based on Hannrong's hand movements, it wasn't hard for Chioujen to conclude that Hannrong didn't know which was the Manager's room key from the string of keys. After four tries, the door opened.
Chioujen was slightly surprised. Unexpectedly, the room was dirty. There was a thick layer of dust all over the room.
"Sorry, Sir! This is how it is. I never opened this room, so I never cleaned it either."
"Your boss didn't tell you to clean this room?"
My boss said that I don't need to clean this room because no one is using it."
"Don't you feel strange about such an order?"
"It's a little strange, Sir. But I try not to ask too many questions."
Chioujen nodded. "All right! It's all right. I've been in dirtier rooms than this many times."
They entered the room. Hannrong looked confused at the atmosphere in the room. It was apparent that he didn't know where the files were supposed to be stored.
I think you'd better go back, Hannrong. Let me look for it myself." Chioujen felt sorry for the young man.
"Okay, Sir!" Hannrong didn't argue at all.
"Hold on! Can you bring me a rag and duster?"
"Yes, Sir!"
Hannrong went to get the things Chioujen asked for. About five minutes later, he was back again with the cleaning tools. When Hannrong tried to clean the room, Chioujen stopped him. "No! Just let me do it. You go back to the reception desk."
"Okay, Sir!" Hannrong nodded respectfully.
After Hannrong left, Chioujen started treading every corner of the room. First, he cleaned the table and chairs he would use. After that, Chioujen began to look for building plans or objects that looked like floor plans. It was tough to find something he didn't know in a strange place. But after about an hour of being there, Chioujen finally found something.
He found the floor plan of the building. The floor plan looked like a blueprint for the building. Chioujen was not without reason when he thought the plan looked like a blueprint. Unlike the actual blueprints, this floor plan that Chioujen found was not drawn on the blue paper normally used in building blueprints.
The plan was drawn on plain tracing paper. Although the papers were translucent, they were distinctly different from the paper used to draw the blueprints. Tracing paper was more brittle and could easily turn yellow with time. And indeed, the paper containing the floor plan that was currently in Chioujen's hand had turned yellow. Chioujen was a little worried that some parts might not be clearly visible.
He spread out the scroll on the table that had been the building manager's desk. Chioujen wasn't an architect, so actually, he knew little about these things either. He examined the papers one by one. Chioujen felt that there was something strange about the plan, but he didn't know where exactly it was.
Chioujen stared at the papers for almost an hour, but as he had expected, he found nothing but the feeling that something was wrong. His eyes felt tired and a little sore. Chioujen knew he couldn't force his eyes to work too hard. He then rested for a while. He sat on the chair in front of the table. Leaning back, he closed his eyes.
<>
Even though his eyes were closed, Chioujen didn't sleep. After about ten minutes, Chioujen opened his eyes. He got up from the chair and walked out of the room. During that kind of time, when he ran out of ideas, sometimes he took walks to get new ideas. It didn't have to be a walk in an open space. Walking back and forth in a building also produces the same effect. Chioujen took a walk inside the building. Hannrong, who was cleaning the reception desk, caught Chioujen walking around in circles without a clear direction. The youth tilted his head when he saw Chioujen's behavior.
"What are you doing?" Apparently, Hannrong couldn't help but leave any comments or questions.
"Ah! I was looking for a new idea. Don't worry, it's harmless!"
Chioujen answered Hannrong's question with a laugh. It's only natural that people were surprised to see what he did. Chioujen himself was surprised at first, too. Like some of Chioujen's other habits, he got this habit from Shannchyuan. Decades ago, when he had first seen Shannchyuan do such a thing, Chioujen had often laughed at him. But over time, even Chioujen himself also behaved like that. Chioujen had forgotten exactly when he started to change. According to the confessions of those he had known since childhood, the change in Chioujen's habits occurred gradually. Actually, it was a little strange because Chioujen started to imitate Shannchyuan's habits just after he moved from the city where Shannchyuan lived.
Hannrong didn't ask anymore. He continued the work he was doing. The innocent young man looked quite diligent.
Chioujen wasn't just walking around on the ground floor. He also circled around to the first and second floors. Just like before, the atmosphere was tranquil. Chioujen didn't know how Hannrong could put up with such a work environment. While at work, Chioujen met and talked to at least ten people every day. So such a quiet atmosphere was quite foreign to Chioujen.
"Hannrong!" Chioujen said in a low voice after he returned to the front of the reception desk.
Hannrong had already finished cleaning the reception desk. He was writing something on a white paper. Chioujen didn't see clearly what Hannrong wrote. He could only see irregular scribbles. Maybe it was not writing, but a work of art.
"What's the matter, Sir?" Hannrong put the pen he had previously held in his hand onto the table.
"Since I first came to this building, I have never stepped on the floors below this ground floor." Chioujen used his index finger to point at the floor.
"You mean the basement floors?"
"Yes." Chioujen nodded vigorously. "The basement floors of this building have been closed to tenants since when?"
"About a year ago, Sir!"
"What are the underground floors for?"
"That's a car park, a backup power generator, and a few spaces that are supposed to be used by the people who work here, Sir!"
"Could you explain it to me in more detail?"
"The B1 and B2 floors are for vehicle parking, while the B3 floors are for electricity generators and workers' rooms."
"Then, how about the B4 floor?"
"No floor B4, Sir! Only B1, B2, and B3."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Sir!"
"But in the plan of this building, the B4 floor is clearly depicted."
Hannrong had an expression full of surprise and confusion. "Is that so, Sir? I never knew there was a B4 floor."
Hearing Hannrong's answer, Chioujen felt himself getting even more excited. There were things he could investigate in that place. As it turned out, it wasn't only Shannchyuan that had affected him. Songfei, whom he had known relatively recently, had also passed on some things to him.