"Can I help you?" The man had a refined, scholarly air about him—nothing at all like a businessman.
"
"Good, I understand. You can go attend to your other work." Director Luo gestured for Uncle Xu to leave, and soon it was just him and Chen Ge in the office.
"I already know about your plan to lease the underground parking lot. Can you tell me what you intend to use it for?" Director Luo had Chen Ge sit on the sofa and poured two cups of tea.
"Expanding the haunted house. I plan to convert the underground parking lot into an underground maze."
"An underground maze—good idea. But do you have the ability and the funds to pull it off? The lease fee is only a small part of the equation. The real challenge is building out the scenes." Director Luo leaned back against the sofa, a trace of weariness and world-weariness in his eyes. "I'm not opposed to your idea, and I can lease the space to you. But first, I need to ask you a few questions."
Although Director Luo agreed to lease the underground parking lot to Chen Ge, he hadn't mentioned any rent, so Chen Ge still felt a bit uneasy. "Go ahead."
"You run a haunted house, so you should understand better than anyone how much upfront investment goes into one. And a haunted house isn't like a restaurant or a hotel—if a restaurant goes under, you can sell off the dishes and furniture secondhand. But if you can't keep going, who's going to buy all those severed hands, severed legs, and assorted props in your haunted house?"
Director Luo made a fair point—these were things Chen Ge had never considered before.
"Even if your haunted house does well, let's consider the repeat-customer rate. A haunted house is a one-time experience. After a burst of popularity, it will inevitably fade, because your pool of potential customers is finite. Can you recoup your investment with that kind of massive upfront spending?"
"And one last question—if you build the haunted house inside an underground parking lot, where are you going to get any visibility? Your visitor count depends on the amusement park's visitor count. But what if one day the amusement park shuts down? What happens to your haunted house then?"
Chen Ge could tell Director Luo was trying to dissuade him out of genuine concern. In truth, the people who tried to stop him were the ones who truly wanted to help him and didn't want to see him suffer a loss.
Director Luo's three questions echoed in Chen Ge's mind. The first two didn't worry him because of the black phone—what he was concerned about was the third question.
If New Century Amusement Park shut down, his haunted house wouldn't be spared either.
Opening again somewhere else—even setting aside everything else, the sheer pile of permits and licenses would keep him busy for ages. And with his limited funds, finding another venue capable of housing the horror scenarios from the black phone would be virtually impossible.
"Have you thought through these three questions?" Director Luo seemed to have already anticipated Chen Ge's answer. "Go home and think it through properly before making any decisions."
Chen Ge sat on the sofa without moving. He looked up at Director Luo and suddenly asked, "Is the amusement park really on the verge of shutting down?"
Director Luo neither confirmed nor denied it. The fatigue in his eyes only deepened. "If I told you the park really was about to close, would you still lease the underground parking lot?"
"I would." Chen Ge's answer took Director Luo by surprise. His gaze was steady and unwavering. "Director Luo, for your first and second questions, I've already thought of solutions. As for your third question—it doesn't hold up at all."
There seemed to be flames dancing in Chen Ge's eyes. He simply didn't understand the meaning of fear or retreat. "My haunted house has never relied on anyone else. My visitor count has absolutely nothing to do with the park's overall attendance. Just give me time, and I won't just draw countless visitors to the haunted house—I'll revitalize the entire park along with it! Leasing the underground parking lot is only the first step. I'm going to create something unprecedented—a special amusement park themed entirely around horror and terror."
Having said all of that in one breath, Chen Ge suddenly remembered Uncle Xu's advice—say less to make fewer mistakes, say nothing to make none.
He looked at Director Luo with a twinge of unease, mildly regretful that he'd blurted out everything on his mind.
After hearing Chen Ge's words, Director Luo set down his teacup. The weariness in his eyes had vanished. He was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a laugh. "Every sentence was 'I'll do this' and 'I'll do that.' You remind me of myself when I was young."
He stood up and drew back the curtains. From the office window, the entire amusement park spread out below them.
"If New Century Amusement Park shuts down, I'll be the one who's most reluctant, the most heartbroken of anyone." He opened the window and let the wind toss his hair—half black, half gray. "This park holds a different meaning for me. If I could, I'd want it to keep running forever."
Director Luo wore a smile, though it was a complicated one—the calm, practiced smile of someone long accustomed to life's storms. "I've heard about your situation. Your parents went missing, you quit your job, and you've been running the haunted house they left behind on your own. The truth is, we're quite alike—you're just much luckier than I am."
He picked up a framed photograph from the desk—the only photo displayed in the entire office. It showed a man and a young girl together.
The man wasn't particularly tall, with a refined and scholarly bearing. The girl cradled in his arms had a sweet face, though her arm was deformed and her smile was vacant.
"This is my daughter. She has a severe reading and writing disorder and needs a special apparatus just to keep her back upright. God was very harsh to her, but she's incredibly strong. She loves to smile—at me, at any stranger." Director Luo gazed out the window, his eyes distant. "But this world doesn't necessarily return your gentleness in kind. I once took my daughter to a park, and none of the other children would play with her. She looked at me, helpless—so afraid, wondering if she'd done something wrong. I didn't know how to comfort her. After that, I only took her to places with fewer people, at noon or on rainy days. That was when the idea first took root—to build an amusement park for her."
"Unfortunately, she never lived to see it finished." He set the photograph down, his gaze still calm and steady. "A lot of people don't understand why I'd go bankrupt to keep running an amusement park that loses money every year. But I think you might understand that feeling."
"I know exactly what you mean." Chen Ge had already risen to his feet. He hadn't expected Director Luo to share all of this with him.
"Everyone else is busy planning their escape routes. You're the only one who's surprised me." Director Luo closed the window and pulled a document from a drawer. "Actually, when they first brought this to me, I already agreed. Here—take it. If you need anything, let me know. But remember: you probably only have two to three months."