"It turns out you are still here, Mr. Duānmù," said the uniform man.
"Thank you, Hànróng. Luckily you came quickly," said the man who had been with the girl all night.
Hànróng, the custodian in the building, was a young man in his late 20s. He was tall and well-built. But, from the looks of his face, people could see that he was a little less smart. The man realized the young custodian was surprised to see them. Besides the man he already knew, a girl was standing there. He turned to the man.
"It's a long story," said the man. "Now we first go down, then talk." The three of them got off with the fourth elevator.
Once at the ground floor, the man, who was called Mr. Duānmù by the building custodian, speedily ran toward the restroom. He stopped briefly and turned to the girl. At first, the girl seemed didn’t understand. The man pointed downwards so that the girl then realized what he meant. The man knew that the girl must have wanted to go to the restroom too. Immediately the girl ran after the man.
After finishing the restroom matter, they gathered in a room on the ground floor. Hànróng gave them hot tea. While drinking tea, the girl and the man took a turn telling their stories to Hànróng.
"Yesterday, I went out for a while. I didn't lock it because I thought it was only for a moment. It turned out that for some reason, my business took a long time. When I came back here, I met those people. When I asked what they were doing, they said nothing and just walked away. I saw three people in the building. But in the SUV parked outside, there seemed to be three people as well. So I think there are six people in all. After that, I locked and went home right away.”
"The night watchman didn't come?" asked the girl.
"When I came home, he was not there yet. When I came this morning, he was not there either. So I don't know what time he comes and goes. I don't even know if he comes or not," replies Hànróng.
Hànróng then looked at them. With a slow tempo, he said,
"Something like this………"
The man called Duānmù understood what Hànróng meant. Criminal acts were the law enforcers' thing. So as good citizens, it was their duty to report this matter.
However, the man also understood this kind of thing would create difficulties for Hànróng. His absence at the time would probably make him got sanctions.
"Regarding that matter. We also don't know whether those people have actually committed a crime or not. So for the time being, we will postpone reporting to the authorities," the man continues his speech.
He did not tell Hànróng about a call from his friend. He did not want to burden Hànróng with these things. What's more, he knew Hànróng's brain capacity was somewhat below average. He was concerned that the information would cause Hànróng to feel depressed.
"Thank you, sir," replied Hànróng.
"Well, the important thing is we're okay." The man says in relief. "This bag belongs to Mr. Gōngyáng. I will bring it home. " Said the man to Hànróng.
"Oh, please, sir. Is there still a lot of stuff upstairs?" asked Hànróng.
"There are still many," replied the man. "But he only asked me to get this bag."
"Apart from him, there are still some people whose belongings are still here. I don't know when this building will actually close down." Hànróng explained.
"Thank you. I think we have to go now."
After saying that, the man and the girl at once stood up and prepared to leave the room.
"Do you not go upstairs to clean your body first?"
Hànróng advised the man.
"Ah, no need. I have to hurry, "says the man. Suddenly he patted his forehead because he remembered something.
"Can I use the phone for a while," said the man.
"Please, sir," said Hànróng. Then the man right away uses the phone there. The phone was connected to a box. People had to put the coins inside the box to make a call. The man did not use the phone for too long because he only called home to say that he was okay. After that, the girl and the man quickly left the building.
For security reasons, this time, they exited through the back door of the building. The backyard of the building was roughly the same size as the front yard. From the back door, they walked towards the small door that was on the back fence wall. Behind the door was an alley that led to the station.
"Now, where are we going, sir?"
"I am hungry. How about we have breakfast first at one of the food stalls at the station?"
The girl clenched her palms while cheering. The man could see that the girl was thrilled to hear his answer.
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