Wan Qian returned to the dormitory alone. Wen Xirou and Xiao Lin had already showered. When they saw Wan Qian come back, they didn't ask her anything.
After all, someone as formidable as her could come back unscathed from a place like the farm owner's office. There was no need for them to worry about her safety.
After what happened yesterday—when a girl died in the shower—everyone was extra careful while bathing tonight. No one else died in the bathroom this time.
Once they confirmed that their beds were fine, they all went to sleep as usual.
Before bed, some people reviewed the day's events, refining their understanding of the rules. Others worried about how to survive the next day.
After confirming that Wan Qian was safe, Wen Xirou felt relieved for a moment. But soon, anxiety crept in.
She knew very well that, without better tools, there was no way she could finish clearing such a large patch of grass on her own in just eight hours.
She glanced at Wan Qian, hesitating, wondering if she should ask her for help.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the dormitory hallway.
A young woman in her twenties stood outside, knocking desperately on the door.
"Let me in! Let me in!"
But the door in front of her remained shut. Someone inside was leaning against it with all their strength, refusing to let her in.
"You should sleep in another dorm tonight," a trembling female voice said from behind the door, carrying a barely detectable trace of fear.
Wen Xirou walked to the window and looked outside. In the hallway, there was only that girl.
Other dormitories, like that one, had their doors tightly shut. No one was willing to step out of their rooms, nor was anyone willing to speak up for the girl.
Wen Xirou recognized the girl—Jiang You. She was the only one, aside from Wan Qian, who hadn't returned after dinner.
No one knew if the girl who returned was still the same person she had been before.
The knocking grew more frantic. Jiang You stood at the door, her face visibly panicked.
"I really just worked an extra shift. It's so late, I need to hurry up and take a shower and go to bed. Let me in. I don't want to break the rules, please, I beg you."
Behind the door, one person, feeling sympathy, was about to open the door. Another quickly stopped her, "Think carefully. If she's really an imposter, letting her in will get both of us killed."
She then said to Jiang You outside, "There's another empty dorm room. You can stay there."
Outside, Jiang You was already in tears.
"If I stay alone, I'll definitely break the rules. Please, I beg you, don't make me stay by myself."
"Go ask the other dorms if anyone is willing to share a room with you," the person inside the door said.
But no one in any dorm dared to take her in.
Jiang You knocked on every door, pleading with the others to let her stay—even just for one night, at least so she wouldn't be alone.
But there was no response. She knocked on three doors in a row, and behind each one, there was only silence.
She broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Could she really be human?"
The people inside the dorms, who had been quietly watching, began to waver. After all, it was rare for a ghost or monster to display such raw emotions.
But no one was certain, and no one dared to open their doors.
Liu Wen and Tian Fang were also hesitant. If they let Jiang You in and she turned out to be something inhuman, they would be doomed.
But if no one opened their doors and she died outside, those who had refused to help her would surely be haunted by guilt.
They would wonder, What if Jiang You really was human? What if it had been me in her place?
As most people found themselves trapped in this dilemma, a door suddenly slammed open.
Wan Qian strode out of her dorm and walked up to Jiang You. Without hesitation, she grabbed Jiang You's hand and dragged her to the door of her original dorm.
"Open the door! What you're doing is really too much! We all came here for the internship, and who knows, we might even become colleagues in the future.
Even if there are conflicts, we can sit down and talk it through, work things out. How can you isolate someone like this? It's so late, and you're leaving her out in the hallway, refusing to let her in!"
Wan Qian was filled with righteous indignation. In her farm, workplace bullying was absolutely not allowed! The act of collectively isolating one person was truly despicable!
"…"
Silence stretched from behind the door.
Finally, a voice spoke up. "If you're not afraid, then you can stay with her."
"Fine! I'll stay with her!" Wan Qian declared, dragging Jiang You to the dorm at the end of the hallway—the one closest to the bathroom.
Jiang You, her eyes brimming with tears, stared at the girl in front of her. Wan Qian was the only one who had stepped up to help her when she was on the brink of despair.
"You're sleeping with me tonight," Wan Qian told her.
Jiang You nodded softly.
This dorm, like all the others, had three beds and a large wardrobe.
As before, Wan Qian took the bed closest to the wardrobe. Jiang You, timidly, chose the bed near Wan Qian.
"Um… I-I haven't showered yet. I'm too scared to go alone. Can you come with me?"
Jiang You sat on the bed, her eyes red and filled with unshed tears, looking at Wan Qian pitifully.
"Oh, I haven't showered yet either. Let's go together," Wan Qian said, pulling out a staff uniform from the locker and speaking to Jiang You.
Jiang You quickly found a uniform from the locker as well.
The two of them headed to the bathroom together.
The bathroom was no different from yesterday, except another light in the corner had broken, flickering weakly.
There were ten lights in total; with two broken, it wasn't enough to affect visibility.
Wan Qian and Jiang You each entered a stall.
Thinking about the shampoo and body wash that had been tampered with, which had been tampered with, Wan Qian didn't use anything today. She just casually ran some water and rinsed off.