The middle-aged man didn't believe a single word
"Mm, he's my friend." Zhang Ya wore a helpless smile. The scene before her was utterly bizarre—a zombie gripping a red-clothed vengeful ghost, carefully guarding against an ordinary person. "Dad, Chen Ge just got out of the hospital. Can we go inside and talk? There aren't any visitors coming anyway."
"Why do we have to go inside to talk? He's probably got you fooled! He walked into our haunted house like he owned the place—before I even triggered a single mechanism, he already knew where everything was. This guy's been planning this for ages!" The middle-aged man kept rambling, and Zhang Ya, seeming a bit embarrassed, physically pushed him into the haunted house.
"I wasn't finished talking!"
"Chen Ge, come in and let's chat." Zhang Ya led Chen Ge back into the haunted house and had him sit at the spot where visitors normally signed liability waivers. "There's bottled water on the table. Have a seat here for a bit. I'm going to get my mom. If she agrees, you can work here from now on."
"What do you mean if your mom agrees, he can work here? I'm absolutely against this!" Zhang Ya's father seemed to hold a rather low position in the household. While he was still talking, Zhang Ya had already dashed off to the second floor's Fire Official Village set.
Chen Ge and the middle-aged man sat on opposite sides of the table. The man felt the air was thick with awkwardness, whereas Chen Ge looked perfectly at ease.
A minute or so later, Zhang Ya returned with a woman who was slightly shorter than her.
Maybe it was because she was wearing vengeful ghost makeup, but the woman didn't look so much like Zhang Ya's mother—more like her older sister.
"Mom, this is Chen Ge, the one applying for the job." Zhang Ya and the woman sat down across the table from Chen Ge. The woman studied him carefully, then shook her head slightly.
"It's not that I don't want to hire him. The boy has such a kind face, so bright and sunny—I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to scare anyone playing a ghost." Zhang Ya's mother spoke with genuine concern.
Hearing this, Chen Ge smiled even more bashfully. "Auntie, I've actually worked in haunted houses before. How about this—give me a two-week trial. If I haven't brought any significant improvements to our haunted house, I won't take a single cent in wages."
"I could tell from the start your intentions weren't purely about the job. Half a month for free? No wages? You're just trying to get close to Zhang Ya, aren't you?" Zhang Ya's father, still clad in a slightly bloated zombie costume, waved his hand dismissively. "I won't allow it. Being a haunted house performer isn't something just anyone can do. If you want to scare visitors, there's a lot you need to learn."
He stood up from his seat. "Kid, don't let the fact that we don't get many visitors fool you. A few years ago, we were the most famous haunted house in all of Xinhai. Scaring visitors—that's what we do professionally."
"Uncle—"
"Don't call me uncle. It gives me goosebumps just hearing it."
"Uncle, I actually agree with you. The haunted house business isn't just about scaring people, the way most people think. A good haunted house can help visitors release their negative emotions and give them an immersive, emotionally moving experience. I really understand what you're saying." Chen Ge came across as highly professional the moment he spoke, naturally picking up where Zhang Ya's father had left off.
After visiting just one set, Chen Ge had already identified every problem in the haunted house as it currently stood. More importantly, not only did he point out the issues—he came up with solutions for all of them.
At first, Zhang Ya's parents didn't pay much attention, but before long they were completely absorbed in what he was saying.
A full half hour passed before Chen Ge finally stopped. By then, Zhang Ya's parents had developed a vastly different opinion of him.
"I think young Chen really does have talent. Why don't we let him try it out for half a month?" Zhang Ya's mother glanced at her husband.
Even the father, who had been so resistant to Chen Ge at first, began to waver. "I suppose it's not impossible."
"Then it's decided." Zhang Ya's mother beamed at Chen Ge. "Whether or not it works out, you'll receive your full wages. Just go ahead and do your best."
"Thank you, Uncle, Auntie. But there's one more thing I need to be upfront about." Chen Ge opened his backpack and took out the hospital's rehabilitation certificate and his identification documents. "I don't want to hide anything from you. Zhang Ya mentioned earlier that I just got out of the hospital. The truth is, I was in a car accident some time ago, and afterward I developed a rather severe case of delusional disorder."
Most companies wouldn't consider hiring someone with a history of mental illness, and many applicants would go to great lengths to conceal their past. But Chen Ge didn't want to do that.
"Delusional disorder? Absolutely not!" Zhang Ya's father slammed his hand on the table. "The work environment in a haunted house is already oppressive and overstimulating! What if you have a relapse? I'd strongly recommend you find a somewhat easier job."
While Zhang Ya's father spoke, Zhang Ya's mother was carefully leafing through Chen Ge's rehabilitation certificate. She also noticed his still-healing leg. "It says here that your delusional disorder was caused by your parents?"
"Yes. That car accident took a lot from me." A trace of pain, impossible to hide, flickered through Chen Ge's eyes.
"Come to work here starting tomorrow. Until your leg has fully healed, Zhang Ya will look after you." Zhang Ya's mother made the decision on the spot, gazing at Chen Ge with a look of sympathy.
"Honey? You're not going to think about this a bit more? What if he suddenly has an episode and hurts a visitor? What if this job makes his condition worse?" Zhang Ya's father was the more rational one. "You're being way too hasty with this."
"Whose child isn't a child?"
"I won't allow it! Are you kidding me? How can we hire someone who's had delusional disorder as a haunted house performer?"
"Zhang Ya, take Chen Ge around and show him our haunted house sets." Zhang Ya's mother completely ignored the middle-aged man.
"Okay!" Zhang Ya happily grabbed Chen Ge's arm and led him toward the second floor. Behind them, Zhang Ya's father's grumbling and complaints trailed after them.
"My dad's a bit of a chatterbox, but he's actually a really good person. He once rescued a drowning child, helped the police crack a case, and even received a civic bravery medal from the city." Zhang Ya held onto Chen Ge's arm, and because the corridors inside the haunted house sets were quite narrow, the two of them stood very close together.
"Your dad's pretty impressive." Upon hearing that Zhang Ya's father had once helped the police solve a case, Chen Ge felt an instinctive sense of admiration, as though anyone who had done such a thing deserved both his respect and his desire to learn from them.
"He just has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He was actually the first one to discover the white cat. He even snuck over to feed it in secret, but it scratched his face up." Zhang Ya couldn't help but laugh as she spoke. "Your cat seems so smart. It won't let anyone near it—not even a single touch—but it's completely obedient to me. Whatever I tell it to do, it does."
"Maybe that cat… remembers some things that we've forgotten." Chen Ge said softly.
The interior of the haunted house wasn't large. In about half an hour, Chen Ge had visited every set.
He had barely finished the tour before he already had a complete renovation plan in mind. "The first floor is the Zombie Revival Night, the second floor is the Ghost Marriage set, and the third floor's sets can't open because we don't have enough staff. To change the haunted house's current situation, I need to work with these three sets."
Without needing Zhang Ya to guide him, Chen Ge found his way to the staff break room, located some paper and a pen, and began writing out his modification plan.
His mind seemed to brim with an endless supply of scare-point designs. His pen moved as if guided by a god.
Beside him, Zhang Ya simply watched Chen Ge's focused, earnest expression in silence, not wanting to disturb him.
In roughly ten minutes, Chen Ge had completed the first draft of his design. "These scare points don't require much in the way of props. We just need to add a few small mechanisms, and it'll do the trick."