Chapter One: Cola
Last June, the state-owned enterprise I worked for underwent bankruptcy and restructuring. Since we were contract workers without official positions, we were laid off, and in the end, we didn't even receive any severance pay.
I always thought that working for a state-owned enterprise was a secure "iron rice bowl," so when I heard the news, I was completely dumbfounded.
I didn't have much savings to begin with, and now, without a job, I spent several days attending interviews. Maybe because I was young, the interviewers initially had a good impression of me. But as soon as we got into professional knowledge, they all frowned, clearly unimpressed.
I couldn't really blame them. Honestly, I had little work experience. My previous job had been more about coasting through the days, but private companies were different—they wouldn't keep someone around just to take up space.
After walking out of my last interview, I squatted by the roadside, an overwhelming sense of helpless frustration washing over me.
Twenty-seven—supposedly the prime age for a man. My classmates were already having their second child, yet I was still aimless, hadn't even found a girlfriend, and had picked up a bunch of bad habits along the way.
I regretted a lot of things and had no idea what to do next.
I pulled out my phone to browse the latest job listings, but nothing looked promising—mostly insurance sales or real estate agent positions.
To be honest, I was lost. I even considered doing food delivery for the time being. Just as that thought crossed my mind, a new email suddenly popped up in my inbox.
"You are invited for an interview. Address: No. 6 Hubin Road, Xing'an District, Hecheng Medical School. Contact: Principal Wang. Phone number: ..."
To be honest, I was a little excited when I saw the message.
In my mind, a medical school was at least a formal institution, definitely better than an insurance company. So I sent a message asking what position they were hiring for, but after a long wait, I didn't get a response.
Thinking about how I was barely able to pay my rent, I grew anxious. After hesitating for a while, I decided to go check it out in person.
I hailed a taxi and told the driver to take me to Hecheng Medical School. The school was located in the suburbs, near a reservoir on a mountain. The drive took about ten minutes. Once I arrived, I asked around and finally found Principal Wang in the office building.
He looked to be in his forties, an oily-looking middle-aged man with a bit of a bald spot.
I told him I had received an interview invitation, and he smiled warmly, offered me a seat, poured me a glass of water, and asked for my name.
I said, "My name is Gu Yan, I'm twenty-seven, and I have a bachelor's degree."
Principal Wang waved his hand. "Your degree doesn't really matter. Here's the thing—our school has three student dormitories, and one of the girls' dorms is short on a dormitory supervisor. Are you interested?"
Honestly, at that moment, I wanted to kick him right then and there.
I had come all this way, thinking they were hiring a counselor or maybe even an assistant to the principal. But a dormitory supervisor? I might as well go sell insurance.
Seeing that I wasn't too pleased, Principal Wang quickly leaned in. "Hear me out first. The pay is quite good—your shift is from 7 PM to 7 AM, and you can sleep at night. The monthly salary is 5,000. Can you accept that?"
I was stunned.
Because in our small city, 5,000 was already considered a high salary. I had worked at my last company for four years, and even then, I barely reached 6,000 a month.
A dorm supervisor at a medical school, making 5,000?
Seeing that I was silent for a while, Principal Wang added, "The school cafeteria is free for staff, and you'll still get paid during winter and summer breaks. What do you think?"
Damn. This deal felt like free money. I was about to agree immediately, but something still felt off.
So I asked him, "Aren't dorm supervisors usually older women? Wouldn't it be inconvenient for a guy like me?"
Principal Wang lit a cigarette and said, "Normally, yeah. But this is a medical school, and those girls can be a bit wild. They often try to sneak their boyfriends into the dorms at night. If we had a female dorm supervisor, she might not be able to stop them."
I thought that sounded a bit ridiculous, but I didn't press further. The salary was just too tempting.
Principal Wang grinned. "Alright then, go home and get ready. You'll officially start tonight."
I was taken aback. "That soon?"
He tapped his desk. "It just so happens that the last supervisor at Dorm 1 quit. You can take over his shift right away. Any problem with that?"
To be honest, Principal Wang seemed friendly enough, but something about this didn't sit right with me. Wasn't this hiring process a bit too fast? And if the job had such great pay, why did the last supervisor quit?
But after thinking it over, I still nodded and told him there was no problem.
That made Principal Wang even happier. "Great. Be there at 7 PM sharp—don't forget!"
I nodded.
After leaving the principal's office, I went home first to take a shower and change into fresh clothes. Since it was my first day on the job, I wanted to make a good impression on the students.
At exactly 7 PM, I arrived at Dormitory 1. Principal Wang was already waiting for me at the entrance.
He led me into the security office and handed me a cigarette. "The person covering the day shift with you is a woman named Ms. Wang. I already let her go home. Oh, and Xiao Gu, there are a few things I need to explain to you in advance."
I quickly nodded.
"First, in theory, the school enforces lights out at 10 PM. Some students come back late, and that's fine—you can let them in. But you must lock the doors by midnight. After that, no one is allowed to enter or leave. Got it?"
I said yes.
"Second, you should stay in the security office as much as possible. You can walk around the hallways or go to the restroom, but under no circumstances should you enter the students' dorm rooms. Understood?"
I nodded again. That made sense. It was a girls' dorm, after all—it wouldn't be appropriate for a man to go inside.
"Lastly, and this is very important—after midnight, no matter what happens outside, you are not allowed to go out or open the door. Even if the sky is falling, you wait until after 6 AM to unlock it. Do you understand?"
I hesitated for a moment and asked, "What if someone gets sick and needs to go to the hospital for emergency treatment?"
Principal Wang shook his head. "No exceptions. Even if someone dies, the body stays inside until after 6 AM. Just follow the rules—if anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
I didn't know what to say. His rule seemed pretty inhumane, but I still agreed.
Principal Wang nodded. "Alright then. If anything comes up, call me." Before leaving, he even stuffed the pack of cigarettes into my hand. He was being so polite that I almost felt embarrassed.
After that, I stayed in the security office. By then, it was already dark, and students were gradually returning to their dorms after dinner. Many of them stared at me, and some even stood in the hallway, pointing and whispering. They were probably surprised to see a male dorm supervisor in a girls' dormitory.
To be honest, I found it weird too. Never in my life did I imagine that I'd end up as a dorm supervisor—especially in a girls' dorm.
Just like Principal Wang had said, some students returned after lights-out. Around 11:30 PM, as I was about to go wash my face, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the security office window.
"Uncle, can I ask you for a favor?"
I was stunned. That was the first time someone had ever called me "uncle," and it pissed me off.
I turned my head and opened the window. "Take a good look. Do I look like an uncle to you?"
She seemed surprised. "Oh! My roommates told me the new dorm supervisor downstairs was a guy, so I thought you'd be an old man. Didn't expect you to be a young guy. What's your name?"
She was quite pretty, with a pleasant voice—but that "uncle" really annoyed me.
So I answered flatly, "My name's Gu Yan. What do you need? Get to the point."
She hesitated for a moment. "Well… I lost my wallet. Can you lend me 20 yuan? Something urgent happened at home, and I need to take a taxi back."
I looked her up and down. She was dressed nicely and seemed well-off, not like someone short on cash. So I asked, "What about your roommates?"
"They're all asleep. I didn't want to wake them up."
It wasn't a lot of money, so I didn't ask further. I took out a 100-yuan bill from my wallet and handed it to her. "Here, take this. Just in case 20 isn't enough. Just pay me back later."
"Wow, thank you!" She looked genuinely happy as she took the money. Then, she pulled a bottle of Coke from her bag and handed it to me. "Here, take this drink. My name's Yingying. I'll pay you back tomorrow."
I waved my hand. "No, thanks. I don't drink this stuff."
Yingying smiled. "Just take it. I'm on a diet, so I can't drink anything sweet. If you don't want it, just throw it away."
Before I could refuse again, she ran off into the night. I called out, "Be careful!" but she didn't respond.
After that, I started getting ready for bed. While washing my face in the bathroom, a girl in her pajamas came in to freshen up. We both froze for a moment, clearly feeling awkward.
But she didn't say anything—just finished washing up and left. Luckily, the dorm had separate areas for washing and using the toilet. Otherwise, bathroom breaks would have been a serious problem for me.
I even wondered—if I needed to pee, should I just use a basin?
The thought made me chuckle. I glanced at my watch—ten minutes to midnight. Time to lock the doors.
As I walked toward the dorm entrance, I suddenly noticed a girl in a white dress standing outside.
I had no idea how long she had been there.
She looked frail, her eyes red and swollen as if she had just been crying. She seemed… pitiful.
I wasn't sure if she was a student from this dorm, so I asked, "Do you need to come in?"
She didn't speak, just nodded.
I opened the door for her and said, "Try to come back earlier next time. Any later, and I won't be able to let you in."
As I turned back to lock the door, I realized—she was gone.
I didn't think too much about it.
Before sleeping, I set my alarm for 5:50 AM, planning to wake up, freshen up, and unlock the doors at exactly 6.
The security office wasn't bad, but I had no idea which girl had been crying all night. It sounded like she had been fighting with her boyfriend or something. Her wailing was eerie, keeping me awake for most of the night.
When I finally woke up, I was feeling a little thirsty. That's when I remembered the Coke Yingying had given me.
I opened it and took a sip.
I almost spat it out immediately.
What the hell was this?!
I had never tasted such awful Coke in my life. It was completely flat—like it had expired ages ago.
Something felt off, so I checked the expiration date.
And then, I froze.
July 8, 2017.
That Coke had expired three years ago.