"What... what's going on?!"
Ye Xiaomei felt like she was about to lose her mind. Was she hallucinating, or were these people just not normal?
"This is clearly a toy doll! Can't you see that? It's not a real person, how could it talk?!"
"Are you all crazy?!"
The moment Ye Xiaomei spoke, the other three participants' expressions shifted. Xiao Bai opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly felt an invisible, heavy pressure bearing down on him!
Sure enough, as soon as Ye Xiaomei's words left her mouth, both the master and mistress of the house immediately darkened their expressions. Even Wei, the butler, who had been so amiable from the start, now wore a very sour look.
"What? You dare say our son isn't human?"
"What's wrong with this agency this time, sending such unqualified staff?!"
"If you're not happy with this job, I can have someone send you away right now!"
As she spoke, the mistress's face grew even more grim, tinged with a hint of hidden hysteria.
Hearing this, Xiao Bai and the others' faces changed drastically in an instant.
The story's task required them to work here for seven days, with the clear instruction that they could only resign and leave after that period.
If they were kicked out before the task even began, there was a slim chance it might be a shortcut to completing the story, but more likely, Xiao Bai thought, it would lead to task failure, directly triggering a deadly outcome and wiping them all out in this world!
"No, we're willing!"
Realizing the situation was dire, Chen Cailing quickly spoke up. "We'll do this job well."
As she said this, she shot Ye Xiaomei a fierce glare. The latter, now aware of the mistake she'd made in her panic, hurriedly nodded. "I'm sorry, it was my fault. We'll get along well with Tongtong."
Under the mistress's menacing gaze, she had no choice but to steel herself, take the doll's hand, and greet it.
"Hello, Tongtong. Big sister was wrong just now. A good kid like you will surely forgive her, right?"
Forcing a smile, she leaned her ear close to the doll's mouth, mimicking the butler's earlier action.
Unsurprisingly, there was no response from the doll.
Ye Xiaomei's补救 seemed to satisfy the painter couple.
"Actually, we've hired many nannies before, but Tongtong rejected them all."
"It seems Tongtong is quite pleased with you. I believe after some time together, you'll grow to like him too."
"But Tongtong is a bit different from other children. Perhaps our past indulgence spoiled him. To help you take better care of Tongtong, we've prepared a checklist. You must complete the items on it on time, no matter what. Otherwise, Tongtong will be unhappy."
"The checklist is already in your room. It's getting late now. We need some time alone with Tongtong. You can go to your rooms to settle in and rest."
The white-haired old butler nodded, then looked at Xiao Bai and the others. "Everyone, please follow me."
Following the butler down the corridor, they once again arrived at the staircase at the end.
"There are two guest rooms here—one on the first floor and one on the second. You can share them in pairs, however you like. Also, my room is next to the first-floor guest room. Feel free to come to me if you need anything, but I prefer peace and quiet, so please don't disturb me without a good reason."
With that, Butler Wei took out two guest room keys from his pocket and disappeared into the dark corridor.
"Two guest rooms—one upstairs, one downstairs. Could there be any issue with this arrangement?" Ke Shufan asked with some concern.
"I don't think so. Otherwise, it wouldn't align with the story's emphasis on fairness," Chen Cailing considered. "The question is how we should split them."
"Then... can I stay downstairs?" Ye Xiaomei asked timidly. The second-floor guest room was right next to that eerie doll's room, and an indescribable weirdness made her unwilling to get anywhere near "that thing."
"In that case, I'll take the second-floor guest room," Chen Cailing said without much concern. In her view, choosing a room wasn't the key to this story.
"I'll take the second floor too," Xiao Bai added immediately.
"Then Ye Xiaomei, you and Ke Shufan can stay on the first floor. But the first-floor room is right next to the butler's, so don't let your guard down—who knows if he's trustworthy."
Chen Cailing's words made Ye Xiaomei shudder. Ke Shufan glanced at her with a hint of displeasure. She had really wanted to room with Xiao Bai, since they were more familiar with each other, but the second-floor room was too close to "that thing," and thinking about it, she couldn't muster the courage to ask for a swap.
"Since no one objects, it's settled. According to the story, we have to work here for seven days. Right now, I'm worried the story might throw some bizarre requirements at us that we can't fulfill."
Chen Cailing's concern clearly struck a chord with everyone, and their expressions turned serious.
"Should we investigate the surroundings a bit more?"
Hearing Chen Cailing's suggestion, Xiao Bai shook his head. "The mistress just told us to rest early. I think it's best not to go against the characters' instructions lightly. Besides, it's already dark. We can investigate tomorrow during the day."
"And about that checklist the mistress mentioned—we should check it out as soon as possible."
Everyone nodded and dispersed. Xiao Bai and Chen Cailing climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor.
The eerie, cold feeling from before was gone now. Upon reaching the second floor, they saw another long corridor with several rooms on each side. One smaller room was likely the guest room the butler had mentioned. The others, Xiao Bai guessed, were the master bedroom, study, child's room, and toy room. But since it was getting late, Xiao Bai didn't start investigating immediately and instead walked straight into the open guest room.
Though it was just a guest room, it was still luxuriously furnished—two solid wood beds, furniture, carpet, and a bathroom, all complete. On the nightstand of one bed lay a white sheet of paper printed with black text, presumably the checklist the mistress had mentioned.
Picking up the paper, Xiao Bai read the words aloud.